Near the underpass in the northern industrial district.
"Any luck?" Ethan Cross lowered his binoculars and turned toward Arasaka Yuto, stationed below. As a top-tier sniper, Ethan was also a skilled scout and observer.
He remained alert for any nearby movement. This industrial zone wasn't safe. Gangs often prowled the area, always ready for a drive-by shootout or ambush. Especially the Vortex Gang—those lunatics had never heard of peaceful coexistence.
"Stop rushing me. I'm trying," Yuto grumbled. He wore a silver-white helmet full of blinking display lights, covering the upper half of his face. Data cables ran from the helmet to a laptop through a multiplexer. It was a full Braindance analysis setup.
Dozens of video windows flashed on-screen, showing security footage from nearby cameras. Yuto had traced and hijacked them from a local server.
There were two main types of surveillance in Night City: corporate-grade and civilian.
Corporate systems had internal alert mechanisms. Trigger the wrong protocol and the whole building would go on lockdown. Every move had to be surgically precise.
Civilian systems, however, were laughably insecure. Anyone with a basic understanding of wiring could tap into them, review the last hour of footage, and walk away without leaving a trace.
These cameras didn't stream footage in real time. Instead, they uploaded clips to a control hub every few minutes. That meant any footage retrieved was always delayed.
Worse, they could only cache an hour's worth of video. After that, the system automatically packaged the clip, sent it to the local database, and wiped itself for reuse—causing a ten-second blackout in footage.
And because there was no standardized database or indexing, Yuto could be watching ten-minute-old footage one moment, only to be randomly tossed two days back in time the next.
It was chaos. The kind that could drive someone with OCD insane.
Still, for a few dozen eddies, you could buy a used unit and get basic security coverage. For most, that was enough. If it broke, so what?
"Got it!" Yuto called out, just as Ethan stopped his surveillance. The video feed paused as Yuto zoomed in and isolated several vehicles on-screen.
Peeling off the heavy helmet, Yuto wiped the sweat from his forehead. Braindance hacking was no joke. It left his mind foggy, his body aching, and his heart racing—like a sleepless traveler stumbling forward on adrenaline.
"Get some rest," Ethan said as he climbed down and checked on Yuto. His eyes weren't bloodshot, and he still looked lucid. That was a relief.
Then Ethan turned his attention to the monitor.
A four-vehicle convoy in textbook "one-two-one" formation: lead scout, reaction force, command car, and rear guard.
Although Meredith Stout's actions were unofficial and didn't involve too many corporate assets, that didn't mean she came unprepared. As a seasoned exec, she had her own loyal team and enough firepower to hold her ground.
Ethan silently assessed their numbers and weapon configuration. No signs of heavy artillery or armored support.
If the mercs weren't all top-tier, they might stand a chance.
The timestamp read "yesterday," confirming that Stout had moved fast.
They'd taken Aoi the day before yesterday, fled here yesterday, and now lingered near the mission site. The target—Flathead—had to be valuable.
But Ethan couldn't help but wonder: why didn't Militech act directly? They had more muscle than this. Was there some hidden agenda?
He passed the intel along to Leon Black, confident their captain would extract deeper meaning from it.
---
Elsewhere, Leon Black was on his way home when he received Ethan's message. A faint, knowing smile touched his lips. The Flathead arc was now in motion.
He first checked in with Mike Taylor on the bomb preparations. The report came back: one more day needed.
Leon texted Ethan back, "Inform Stout: we'll begin operations the night after tomorrow."
When he arrived home, he ran into Nina, who had stopped by to check on Evelyn's condition.
"Mr. Black," Nina greeted, sitting on the couch with a warm cup of water in hand. "The number of wounded has surged recently. Medical supplies are running low, and some items are already being rationed."
Leon nodded. "That's to be expected. Saburo Arasaka's death is stirring up trouble. People are starting to get bold."
He sipped his tea calmly, then added, "You should prepare as well. Stock up while you can. Soon, even hospitals might not remain open."
Nina looked shocked. "You're not serious, are you? Hospitals are neutral zones. Even gangs like the Vortex have some respect for doctors."
Leon didn't respond directly. The collapse of a megacorporation like Arasaka wasn't a simple matter—it would send ripples through the entire social order. Everyone would fight for a piece of the pie.
In the end, chaos wasn't destruction. It was a reshuffling of power. A new world order.
Compared to that, a hospital was just collateral damage.
Seeing his silence, Nina nodded. She trusted Leon's judgment. Though she couldn't see the big picture, she knew someone who could—and that was enough.
She shifted the conversation. "Her recovery is slower than expected."
Leon raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Nina hesitated. "Psychological trauma. Her body's recovering fine, but her mind... not so much. She's afraid. Deep down, she believes healing will bring more suffering. That fear is keeping her from recovering properly."
Leon frowned. With two top doctors and the best tech, there should've been no error. Yet trauma had created an invisible wall.
After Nina left, Leon walked into the medical suite. Evelyn lay there, eyes dull and lifeless.
"If you give up now, it's too easy on the people who broke you," Leon said coldly.
She didn't respond. Her gaze was vacant. Death, to her, was a relief.
Leon sat beside her. "There's a woman named Judy Alvarez. She's been doing everything—dirty jobs, even whoring herself out—just for a sliver of information about you."
"She gave me this." Leon took out the Braindance device Leileike had given him. "For free. She begged me for your whereabouts. Pathetic, really—but touching."
He held the device in front of Evelyn, eyes narrowing.
"If someone like her ended up in Tiger Claw hands, sold off as a toy... what do you think? Would she fetch a high price?"
Evelyn's chest rose sharply. Her breathing became erratic. Rage began to flicker in her eyes.
Leon smirked and delivered the final blow.
"Just like you."
Øóffer going on for diamond tier
pàtreøn (Gk31)