"They've taken down three already…"
Kurt Hansen stared intently at the battlefield. Watching Karl's squad dispatch three Militech operatives in heavy exosuits with such alarming efficiency sent waves of shock through his heart.
He had heard the rumors before—that even without Karl himself, the KK Squad was one of the most elite rc teams in the city. And now, seeing them in action, it was clear those rumors were no exaggeration.
Don't be fooled by how dismissive he'd sounded earlier, criticizing the New Aricans and Militech's training thods in Los Angeles. Hansen was actually well aware of how effective those thods were in producing elite combatants.
He liked to boast that his way of training soldiers would outperform them—but that was mainly referring to large-scale warfare.
When it ca to small-unit raids, the effectiveness of those LA-trained troops had been proven long ago. Back in the Corporate Wars, Arasaka's soldiers—trained using that very thod—had gone toe-to-toe with Militech's freshly-developed ACPA units. That alone spoke volus.
And yet, these chemically altered, brainwashed killing machines, fitted with Militech's riot-control exoskeletons, had just been torn apart like cheap scrap by Karl's squad. Karl himself hadn't even lifted a finger—his team had handled everything. That alone forced Hansen to reevaluate the capabilities of every mber of Karl's team, not just the man himself.
If this squad had stord into his base back during the Unification War, fully assembled and determined to take his head, there would have been very little that could stop them. The only real defense would've been extending recon ranges, preventing them from getting close—or using overwhelming firepower to flatten the area in open-field combat.
The more Hansen thought about how to counter a team like Karl's from a commander's perspective, the more he realized—there was no good answer.
Not here in the city.
Modern warfare, even during the height of the corporate conflicts, rarely involved large-scale bombardnts of major cities. Why? Because every gacorp had assets in those urban zones. Leveling a city would inevitably damage your own bottom line.
That's why the standard approach was surgical deploynt—urban suppression squads sent in to root out resistance. Just like when New Arica sent Hansen to Night City.
But that approach? It wouldn't work on Karl's team.
Eliminating them would require an operation so large it'd risk massive financial losses. Worse yet, if another corporation's property got caught in the crossfire, you'd be liable for damages—or even retaliation.
And that's assuming Karl's squad had no outside backing.
If a corp tried to take them out and one of its rivals found out, that rival might leak intel or even provide support to Karl's team. Then the whole operation collapses. And if Karl's crew survives and launches a revenge op with corporate backing? The damage multiplies.
Hansen glanced at Karl's team, still guarding him closely.
Now he understood why rcs like these were cultivated in Night City like maggots in a vat of synthetic at—constantly growing, constantly being fed into the machine, and always crawling back out.
The city needed them—just like synthetic at needed that special maggoty tang to give it flavor.
Oddly enough, Hansen didn't even dislike the taste. He'd spent half his life in military camps. To him, the best rations were those synthetic at packs that crunched with a bit of soft cartilage. These days, manufacturers replaced the maggots with high-yield larval substitutes—and the taste just wasn't the sa.
n like these were valuable, in their own twisted way.
The last exosuit soldier didn't last much longer either. Surrounded by Karl's team and the Phantom Dogs rookies, he was taken out within monts.
"My people have found their position. We've got them surrounded," Hansen announced. "Your squad and the New Aricans can withdraw. I'll take it from here."
"Fine by ," Karl said nonchalantly. "But as for the New Aricans—you'll have to talk to Ms. Alex about that yourself."
Frankly, Karl hadn't even done much. The mission was wrapping up and he hadn't broken a sweat. Militech's little op? Disappointing.
He'd assud that stealing riot gear from MaxTac ant Militech had so clever plan—layers of traps, contingencies, maybe even a coordinated ambush. Sothing to keep him on his toes.
But this?
Karl had expected at least a few ACPA troopers to crash the party. Or maybe so high-speed Sandevistan units to test him. But nope. The fight ended, and he'd barely moved. V and the others had done all the heavy lifting.
Not that Karl minded. He enjoyed slacking off. But damn—this was almost boring.
Seems like high status doesn't always an high intelligence.
Whoever tried to assassinate Hansen had not only failed, but also tipped him off that there were leaks in his own ranks. Now, even if they tried again, Hansen would be on guard. That alone ruined their chances.
Unless…
Unless they changed their approach.
A strange thought crossed Karl's mind.
The people behind this had already taken a shot at destabilizing Rosalind Myers' presidency. If they wanted to survive the inevitable purge she would launch after this ss—what were their options?
Think boldly…
If they couldn't force her out through external pressure, maybe they'd resort to sothing simpler.
Sothing tried-and-true in old Arican politics.
If Rosalind Myers couldn't be forced to step down… then maybe they'd just remove her.
Assassination.
After all, even the President of New Arica is still made of flesh and blood.
-
-
-
🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless
📢 Chooms, Listen Up! 📢
Cyberpunk: The Relentless has 500 chapters ahead available on Patreon! 💾🔥
Jack in deep and experience Night City's chro, blood, and chaos far ahead of the public release.
🛑 Exclusive and early-access novels on Patreon include:
Ga of Thrones: Secrets Beneath the Dreadfort
Cyberpunk: Lucy Adopted and I Got a System
My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew?
My Cyberpunk 2077 Simulator
The Rebirth of Harry Potter
Dragon King of Ice and Fire
Star Wars: Relics of the Past
R18: Reincarnated in Her World
🔗 patreon/c/MrMagnus👤 SrMagnus🐦 sx/SrMagnusBook
⚠️ The novel with the most Power Stones always gets more chapters first!
Reviews
All reviews (0)