Johnny's sudden appearance stunned not only Jack and his group but also sent shockwaves through Huangban Laixuan, Ling Xiaohan, and the others.
"That's impossible! Johnny Silverhand? How is he alive?!"
Laixuan's body froze when he saw Johnny on the drone feed.
He had experienced the incident firsthand—the one that had shaken the entire world.
Johnny Silverhand, or Johnny Yinshou as some called him, should not be alive. Bi Tong Relid had also been taken away by Peter and his team.
In Laixuan's mind, Peter must have sold the chip containing Johnny's consciousness to some other corporation. And yet, here stood Johnny Silverhand, very much alive.
Goro Takemura, standing beside Laixuan, knew all too well that the Relic housed Johnny's consciousness. Now, seeing Johnny physically present beside Peter and the others, even he was at a loss for words.
Peter had once assisted Laixuan in capturing Herman. That event alone had earned Peter a complicated place in his memory. But what troubled Laixuan now was far more serious.
What terrified Laixuan the most wasn't Johnny's return. It was not knowing how Peter had brought Johnny Silverhand back to life.
He knew his father's consciousness had been uploaded to Mikoshi, and Peter had even shared that Saburo Arasaka intended to use his body for resurrection. Laixuan had spent months trying to thwart Arasaka Hanako, even orchestrating a memorial float ceremony in Night City just to assassinate her.
But now, if Hanako had access to the same resurrection technology that Peter used on Johnny Silverhand, then Saburo Arasaka could return without needing a physical host. All of Laixuan's efforts would be for nothing.
"Johnny Silverhand?" Ling Xiaohan narrowed her eyes. "Xinyue, scan him using our drone."
"The results are back, Aunt Ling!" Xu Xinyue replied. "This guy is completely mechanical!"
Her words confirmed Ling Xiaohan's suspicion.
"Peter… just how many secrets are you hiding?" she murmured.
By this point, Peter and his crew had already entered the gates of Militech HQ.
"Peter, there are high-lethality induction mines on both sides," Sasha warned.
"No worries," Peter replied calmly. "Everything's been set to friendly mode. David, it's your turn."
Peter hacked into the mine control system in an instant, switching all sensors to friendly recognition.
"No problem," David said. At that moment, his fifth-order Sandevistan activated, transforming him into a blur of motion.
Even the soldiers stationed on the first floor barely noticed any movement. The tech was top-tier—an Adam Smasher-grade prototype. There was no way to track David's movements.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wielding Ajax, David cleanly headshotted every soldier in sight. Fifteen in total—surprisingly few. Clearly, Gail Gibbs hadn't stationed much defense here.
"Brother Peter! All targets neutralized!" David reported.
"Good work," Peter said with a nod, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Now, let's go all in."
Peter didn't just want to infiltrate Militech—he wanted to sharpen his team's combat edge. Only through real, high-stakes battles could he prepare them for what was to come.
He quickly hacked into Militech's internal surveillance system. Though their cybersecurity division detected the intrusion, they couldn't keep up with his decryption speed.
Disabling the surveillance effectively blinded Militech.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL DOING?!"
In his office, Gail Gibbs slammed his fist on the table as he watched the monitors go dark. He had never had much faith in stopping Peter, but losing control of the security systems now left them completely exposed.
With or without Peter leading the charge, Jack and the others advanced at a staggering pace. In minutes, they had already reached the tenth floor.
"Peter, these Militech soldiers aren't even worth the bullets," Jack said as he reloaded his weapon, glancing at the fallen enemies with disappointment. "I expected more."
Peter rolled his eyes. "You think it's that easy because you're mowing down blind men. I hacked their surveillance. They can't even see you coming."
He had a point. Jack's success came not just from raw power, but because Peter had crippled Militech's defenses. Peter also outfitted each member of the team with custom anti-hacking implants. Without them, Jack's aggressive tactics would've likely ended in their neural systems being fried.
Gail Gibbs grew more frantic as reports of breaches flooded in over the comms.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could someone like Peter even exist?
If it weren't for Peter, Jack and his team wouldn't have made it past even the lower levels—no matter how advanced their prosthetic bodies were.
Peter didn't just give orders—he was their insurance. He stayed behind the scenes, ensuring everyone's survival.
"Is this your idea of a f***ing defense?! Those mercs are FIVE FLOORS AWAY FROM ME!"
Gail roared and pounded the desk again.
"President, we didn't have time to organize more layers of defense," said Stott, second-in-command of the security division, wiping sweat from her brow.
"These mercenaries have top-tier prosthetics, and they're backed by elite hackers. Every time our system tries to breach theirs, it gets instantly countered."
Normally, Stott might have welcomed the chance to take over if Brandon were removed. But now? She wished she could disappear. No promotion was worth facing off against Jack, David, and Johnny Silverhand—especially with Peter guiding them.
While Jack, David, and Johnny handled close quarters, Mann and the others with mid-tier prosthetics stayed at range, picking off any remaining hostiles.
"You call this 'limited defense'?!" Gail bellowed. "This is a f***ing embarrassment! If you can't hold them off…"
He paused, breathing heavily.
"…then once HQ hears of this disaster, you're all dead anyway! I don't care what it takes—you MUST stop Peter and his team!"
By this point, Gail Gibbs had completely lost it.
Gone was the composed executive, one of Militech's revered "Three Veterans." In his place was a man on the brink—shouting, sweating, and terrified that his legacy would be shattered by a ghost named Johnny Silverhand and the relentless rise of Peter.
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