Chapter 242 - 224: Saving Martha

In the colorful room, the TV displayed what the Prosthetic Eye saw.

Fighting, gun battles, a one-sided massacre...

A bunch of Tiger Claw Gang members sat together, silently watching the content on the TV—

It wasn’t their turn to speak yet; the man who should speak was in the back, running his hands through his hair as he paced.

This guy was dressed in a white suit, looking quite honorable, but the purple and pink lights in this place made him look somewhat sinister.

Then a lackey came in: "Boss, the NCPD found out, it’s someone called... someone called a Desert Husband!"

"What the heck?" Jotaro was stunned for a moment, "Say that again?"

"Desert... uh, Desert Husband."

"You... what else?"

"Er, this, this... there’s also a rumor saying they are the same ones who caused trouble at Company Square..."

"Rumors, rumors... what the hell, why is he messing with me?

I have nothing to do with those high-tech companies, and this isn’t a restaurant, is it?!"

Jotaro nearly scratched his scalp raw, unable to fathom why this group of psychos targeted him.

But the key question was what to do now.

Hiroto was a good kid under him, with decent strength, and was efficient at leading a team for jobs.

The guys he took with him were not lacking in talents, but what about the outcome? They were dealt with in just two encounters.

It made his heart bleed.

After much thought, he glanced at his account balance, steeled his heart, and dialed the "equipment supplier’s" number.

"Got any good gear? Send me some, the more badass the better, your knives are trash, the ground’s littered with fragments...

Expensive is okay, don’t you watch the news? That bastard is causing trouble at Company Square, aren’t you handling it?

Strategy? What crap...right, hurry up and deliver the goods."

After hanging up, Jotaro said to his lackey: "Go contact Eguhai, tell him there’s a big job, and go now."

"Boss, that kid might not come, he only listens to Saito..."

"Saito is just crap, I’ve been sick of him for a while now. Doesn’t Eguhai have a little girlfriend mixing in the gang as well?

You tell Saito straight, if those two snitching idiots don’t die, he can get lost, and get ready to film Eguhai’s little girlfriend too."

"Yes, boss."

Just as the lackey was about to leave, Jotaro suddenly added: "Ueno-san, I remember, during this time weren’t there also old guys causing us trouble? Seemed like one was a soldier."

"Yes, called..."

"Called whatever, I don’t care, tell him, help us take out the snitches and this... er, husband, and we’ll return his daughter... or was it a son?"

"Daughter."

"Right, tell him to do the job for us, and we’ll give his daughter back to him."

"Er..." Ueno hesitated, "But boss, her daughter was already... by you..."

Ching!

A throwing knife whizzed past Ueno’s cheek and embedded itself in the wall behind him.

Jotaro’s voice was very low: "This isn’t about whether it’s his daughter or not, it’s about revenge, do you understand!

Whether it’s the soldier or that husband, I want them to understand there’s no good end to being against the Tiger Claw Gang! You idiot!"

Ueno was terrified: "Yes!"

"Hurry up! This ain’t Japan; don’t ’yes’ all day long!"

"Yes... right!"

...

[Burger King Commission: Save Martha]

[There’s a woman named Martha Frex in Meiquan District, with a reckless younger brother who first sold Black Superdream for the Tiger Claw Gang, then got the NCPD knocking.

They coerced him with sentiment and logic, promised to spare his life if he snitched, and his soft heart led him to reveal the gang’s dealings.

Then the cops turned their backs, claiming a lack of budget, and told him to find his own way.

Now the Tiger Claw Gang are hunting him and his sister all over, and he has taken stock of all his belongings, pleading for me to save his sister.

Martha is waiting for him at the docks of Meiquan District, bring Martha here.

Oh, and my car should be fixed by now, bring it along the way.

Don’t worry about scratching it; if the Tiger Claw Gang doesn’t watch out, you know what to do.]

Legend Mackinaw!

This Mackinaw, which had seen life and death with Burger King, now stood in front of David, transformed into a true urban tank.

A sturdier chassis, a more powerful engine, thicker armor, more reliable tires, beneath the black composite armor was an equally hard red body.

While driving, David asked, "Have Man and the others arrived yet?"

Lucy sat in the passenger seat, "They said they’d head straight there and not meet up."

"Good... I’ve never driven this kind of car before, how much do you think it’s worth?"

"Don’t know."

Lucy felt quite conflicted; the car was probably worth more than the cheapest Moon ticket...

The Old Captain patted the car door, snapping the two out of their thoughts: "Fuel’s topped up, ready to head out—say hi to Burger King for me."

"Will do."

David nodded, pushed the gas pedal, and the Mackinaw roared to life like a beast unleashed, its heavy rumble echoing through the streets—

Leaving behind the poverty of Saint Domingo, heading straight for Meiquan District.

The streets became wider and smoother, the cars on the road more expensive, and the skyscrapers blocked out the moonlight, replaced by the artificial lights showering the street.

David used to be in awe when he traversed this street, intimidated by the sheer assets owned by the corporations, marveling at the clean and orderly streets and the humongous high-rises challenging the limits of physics.

But this time he didn’t, he didn’t invest any unnecessary emotions into those vibrant advertisements, building structures, and skyscrapers, focusing only on his goal...

Because this time he knew he wasn’t that unaccomplished poor student from Arasaka Academy anymore, but a destroyer.

A disruptor of the peace in the wealthy district.

Boom—

The engine roared behind them as Man’s van, outfitted for action, finally caught up. The big brother rolled down the window and gave David a thumbs-up with his new arms—

The prosthetic hands looked pretty normal, without any excessive functions.

David grinned, shouting into the wind, "You listened to the big brother!"

"What do you mean I listened? I did this because I’m extremely confident in my combat skills! Do you think it’s easy to rescue someone from the Tiger Claw Gang?"

"We’re just delivering a person!"

Man’s spirits seemed much higher than before, and David could even see Rebecca in the back seat stepping on her brother’s head to greet him—

But now was not the time for greetings.

In the passenger seat, Lucy’s Prosthetic Eye scanned the street ahead:

"There are a few Tiger Claw Gang cars parked up front, which is rare around here, this isn’t their usual turf."

"Then we’ll hit them first and ask questions later..."

"Wait, I see the target."

Lucy’s Prosthetic Eye scanned and identified a match from the database: Martha Frex.

"That makes it even more a hit first, ask questions later situation..."

Lucy looked at David with a mix of helplessness and tension, the kid grinning like an evil hit-and-run offender.

Is driving this van really that much of a thrill?

...

"Let me go! Let go..."

Smack!

The Tiger Claw Gang punched Martha squarely in the stomach, "Shut the fuck up, or we’ll chop you right here."

Martha curled up on the ground in pain as another Tiger Claw Gang member grabbed her hair and began dragging her toward the car.

"This girl’s got some guts."

"She won’t be so tough once she gets to the boss."

As they reached the front of the car, a grotesque engine roar surged through the street—

At first, the sound blended with the traffic and ads, unremarkable from a distance; they hadn’t taken notice.

But as it grew closer and closer, they finally lifted their heads, curious to see which ride dared to be even more brazen than the Tiger Claw Gang!

Bang!

The Mackinaw charged like a beast from the roadside, hitting sports cars and motorcycles like a bulldozer—wrecking them all!

The sound of mechanical friction, engine roars, and screams merged into a grisly symphony;

Metal and flesh squished together under a tremendous force...

The two Tiger Claw Gang members grabbing Martha nearly got into the car when they saw their ride flattened into scrap metal.

Then a van followed closely, with a variety of guns poking out the windows—

A barrage of bullets flew, cutting through flesh like it was nothing.

The operation was so swift that there was no time for the people inside to even attempt a counter-attack.

As the magazine emptied and bullet rain briefly paused, Rebecca threw two Hand Grenades to finish it off—

Boom!

Martha had never seen anything like this before; she curled up with her head in her arms on the ground until a warm liquid splashed onto her. That’s when someone pulled her up.

Pulled up by David.

She opened her eyes to see the two Tiger Claw Gang members who had been pulling her were now dead, lying in a pool of blood.

Killed by David.

"Can you walk? I’m here to rescue you; your brother commissioned us."

"My... my brother? That idiot?"

"Uh, yeah, we’re going to pick him up now. Do you guys have anywhere to go?"

Martha shook her head blankly, "In Night City, if you’ve been marked by a gang, is there any safe place left?"

Indeed, that was a problem.

In theory, for ordinary people like them in Night City, whether it be corporations or gangs, both were untouchable entities.

Many thoughts flashed through David’s mind, but now wasn’t the time to wax philosophical.

"Get in the car first, we’ll find a place."

"Okay..."

As the car started, Man suddenly remarked, "This job seems pretty easy, doesn’t seem like the Tiger Claw Gang is that tough."

"Hmm... Man, your ’crow’s mouth’ just jinxed us," Qi Wei said dissatisfied from inside the car.

The two hackers with the decent prosthetic eyes saw what was coming—

A few motorcycles with Tiger Claw Gang flags raced out from the end of the street.

David’s grin widened, as if he was using his smile to cover up the nervousness inside. But the sweat on his forehead wouldn’t stop:

"Check your weapons..."

Over the comm channel, Rebecca said, "...Are you serious, you want to pull this off in Meiquan District?"

"Have you seen the video of Burger King taking on the Six Street Gang in Saint Domingo?"

"Saw it," Man interjected quickly, "Is it ’Mackinaw Legends Episode 1’?"

"Yeah," David grinned even wider, "I was there at the scene, I’m pretty familiar with this."

"You call that familiar!"

Rebecca shouted in dissatisfaction, but soon her voice was drowned out by her brother’s excited yell—

"Wuhu! Let’s take down the Tiger Claw Gang!"