Three hours ago, Haywood Valley Region, Ryan’s office.
Ryan was a large fat man. He had an external transmission antenna on his left temple, and apart from that, there were hardly any signs of modification on his body.
His skin was slightly dark, and his features were Latino. With few implants and a very fat physique, one had to say, this mayor was an oddity in today’s political arena, even in the entire wealthy circle; he was quite morable.
After all, in the technologically advanced year of 2076, wealthy people no longer needed regular routines and ticulous training plans to stay healthy. As long as you had money, you could lie in bed every day, drink sugar like it was water, and still have a healthy body and a supermodel figure.
What money could buy was a symbol of prowess. People with so status would choose to maintain their desired appearance and opt for prosthetics that demonstrated their wealth.
Ryan appeared rather... authentic and approachable. Perhaps this was also one of his "election strategies."
Unlike the many paupers in Night City, Ryan’s view was a multi-cara shoot.
Military Technology, Kantao, Arasaka, Cyber Surveillance...
Any company had its own dia show and TV station, and Ryan could get a VIP observation seat.
Centaur chas ford a defense line, occupying the main road. Electromagnetic guns, heavy machine guns, energy-gathering cannons... there were so many dazzling weapons blocking a large pickup truck. At first glance, it looked like a company’s regular army was blocking the road.
But Ryan instantly determined they were just a ragtag bunch.
"Hehe, looking decent. The AI is quite good, but unfortunately, just by watching, I can feel this group of rcenaries is about to piss their pants."
Big scenes didn’t happen every day. Those who could afford full-body prosthetics and operate power armor, even quasi-military chas like Centaur chas, mostly joined companies.
There were too many desperados in this world, but not all had the talent to use these lethal weapons.
The rcenaries under Munemasa were indeed not bad, but standing together did not add any organizational value for them.
Thinking this, Ryan’s left hand, holding the glass of wine, paused in midair. The glass reached his mouth but did not pour any wine in...
No matter the judgnt, when things were about to happen, people would still get nervous; anything was possible.
The red-hot energy-gathering cannon streaked through the air, amid a hail of bullets, the giant pickup truck didn’t back down an inch—
The shell was about to hit the truck. The storm of tal bullets and explosions shook the truck, the armor began to warp and blacken, and the creaking sounds seed to herald the vehicle’s impending limit...
Had the limit really co?
It had arrived.
Amid the exploding smoke, a red-hot large blade was flung out by a strong man, like the scythe of Death, instantly blowing apart the leading Centaur cha.
The speed of the female rcenary was absurdly fast. Under the cover of the frontal attack, she quickly breached the defense line.
As expected, the seemingly solid defense line of the rcenaries was nothing but a paper tiger!
"Beautiful!"
"Aweso!"
Ryan threw his glass away and swung his arms in the air!
In such life-risking gladiator fights, sotis the audience could get crazier than the contestants.
Every place in Night City was now enacting scenes of smashing TV sets, just like the World Cup upsets—
Not that Burger King was an underdog, but there would always be gamblers going all-in.
As the large pickup truck breached the defense line, the explosions shifted from the front edge of the defense to inside the defense positions.
The Tiger Claw Gang’s motorcycles joined the fight, and deserters appeared among the foreign rcenaries!
They were too terrified!
Using new equipnt they had never used before, feeling power surging through their bodies they had never felt before, but seeing companions with the sa power and equipnt being easily blown away...
Fear shattered their psychological defenses: after all, they had got the equipnt. Abandoning the mission to save their lives was common.
Seeing this ragtag bunch being scattered instantly, while the gangs originally considered disorganized got back on track under the lead of the large pickup, Ryan slumped on the sofa.
"Aweso!"
After the thrill ca endless emptiness—the match seed to be without suspense.
Ti to get back to work.
As a mayor, Ryan had a lot of work to do, especially today, as these "gang mbers" showcased many excellent technologies, which would make many companies intrigued.
As the mayor of Night City, of course, he had thoughts too—
He genuinely wanted such a badass team to work for the municipality.
But the unexpected ca so suddenly.
Ryan stood up, ready to return to his computer to make preparations while probing the attitudes of various companies...
Zap!
As his hand touched the computer, a huge burst of electrical light exploded outside the window!
The entire Watson District was hit by an EMP attack!
Moreover, this EMP wasn’t just random electrical currents. Instead, the electromagnetic signals hacked into the entire region’s electronic control systems in a way humans could not comprehend and flooded these currents into the nearest electromagnetic devices!
Electricity and magnetism rapidly exchanged in the air, with energy and information synchronously swapping...
Sothing enormous from Cyberspace had descended!
The exaggerated scope of the electromagnetic strike instantly penetrated his computer, triggering the defense system of the residence. The explosion-proof armored plates sprang out, turning the house into an iron fortress.
In the darkness, Ryan activated the backup power and began checking and initially repairing the system.
The outside world didn’t care about his qualifications, but he was actually a top student, an engineering student, studying network technology at Richard Knight University.
"Great, this rogue AI can attack the power supply of almost half of Night City in one go, if we include that ti in Saint Domingo, it really is half of Night City...
Cyber Surveillance, your assessnt system is a bit outdated..."
Ryan repaired the computer, activating the backup line.
He wasn’t worried that anyone would do anything during this ti because outside his office were Arasaka’s security, a small force from Military Technology, the distant factory of Kantao, and the Cyber Surveillance office was just downstairs...
In short, as the one who established the twisted balance of Night City, he was like being in the eye of the storm—
Fighting surrounded him, but the eye of the storm was always calm.
Click.
An electric current flickered, personal link connected.
[Ryan: I’m going out...]
Suddenly, large swaths of garbled text appeared before his eyes!
He had been hacked!
The disorder brought by implant malfunction caused nausea and dizziness, making him lose control of his body instantly. He collapsed to the ground with a shudder!
Bang!
Just as he fell to the ground, the door was also breached!
The good news was that this high-spec explosion-proof door was only partially opened; to fully open it, soone had to use breach equipnt personally!
"Ugh..."
Ryan struggled to turn over, the chaotic currents causing problems with all his endocrine glands.
He only turned over, but in the process felt like he had rolled many tis, yet also seed not to have rolled at all.
It was almost impossible for people to operate in such a state, but Ryan...
A single thought filled his mind:
The storm was out of control!
He needed to... reach that place...
The last security asure.
The final distress signal...
"Damn, good thing I recorded that..."
...
Two hours later.
"Ryan’s missing!"
The Cyber Surveillance office, right below the mayor’s office, was the first place Blais arrived, hoping his colleague could provide so useful information.
But the result was just an empty room and...
"You guys didn’t hear or see anything?"
"A rogue AI is very cunning. It seems that rcenary was sowhat negligent after all."
A colleague routinely set up a clue analysis device in the empty office...
But Blais found it incredible: the door to the office was breached right above your heads! And you didn’t hear it?!
"More importantly, your recent job was to capture the rogue AI. Where is that AI?"
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