At this moment, Lin Bai had, by virtue of his agile movements and a slight environmental advantage, plus a negligible boost from his profession, appeared stealthily and without a trace on the tall scaffolding at the top of the church, unnoticed by everyone.
Lin Bai's body was hidden in the shadows behind the scaffolding, and he hadn't expected his actions to be so easy.
He had originally prepared for a struggle, but he hadn't realized that his professional ability had such an invisible passive trait that hadn't yet manifested.
However, Lin Bai felt that his achievements were more due to his perseverance and hard work than to any professional boost.
Lin Bai looked at his excellent stealth capabilities and thought he seemed well-suited for infiltration and assassination work in the future. Could he be a killer who could be trained later?
Suddenly, Lin Bai collected himself and meticulously observed the various gangs below through a gap.
They all stopped what they were doing, as if they had received a command, and began to converge on the open space in the central area.
Although the Voodoo Boys were notorious for their evil deeds and had a loose organizational structure, as a faction that truly advocated surrender, they could exhibit exceptionally strong execution at certain times.
For example, now, they had assembled in less than two minutes. Anyone who didn't know better might even mistake them for high school students preparing for morning exercises.
Although the distance was a bit too far, Lin Bai couldn't clearly hear the specific content of the white-haired, dark-skinned priest's sermon on the stage.
Through their raised arms and the roars of cheers, it was almost certain that it had something to do with the AIs beyond the Blackwall.
"These guys are truly despicable. These aren't even on the level of collaborators; this is pure treason against their own species."
Lin Bai didn't know how far they had progressed, or if they had already established a closer connection with the Blackwall AIs through the third layer of cyberspace.
But even if there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance that these guys actually helped the Blackwall AIs and let them all in, Lin Bai was certain that the situation at that time would definitely be a case of "if they are not of our kind, their hearts must be different."
Humanity would likely face widespread, indiscriminate slaughter, and all sorts of high-tech products would transform from convenient items into deadly weapons.
Everything around you would become hostile, and it would be a real-life version of "Final Destination" specifically targeting humans.
There was a very small possibility that the Voodoo Boys might be converted into cybernetic life forms, but if the AIs calculated that exterminating them was more efficient, the greater probability was that they would be kicked aside like a dog on the street and killed.
The cheers from below gradually faded, turning into a silent stillness.
Lin Bai had already placed the "gifts" from his backpack at the critical connection points of various pillars. As long as they were detonated, this building would undoubtedly collapse—after all, Lin Bai was using a super-enhanced version of "all-nitrogen anion explosive" based on a formula from over a decade ago.
According to the person who gave it to him, its specific power was at least ten times that of previous versions. In a confined environment like this, the actual power could probably reach dozens of times more.
However, Lin Bai wanted to see who this mysterious figure was that could make these fanatics so humble.
The initiative was now in Lin Bai's hands, and he was not in a hurry. If he could find the person behind this operation, it would be a huge gain.
At the very least, he could use this commission to entice V; he was sure V would be interested in this news.
Accompanying this unsettling calm, the screen on the stage gradually began to change.
The originally deep, dark screen began to emit white light outwards, gathering in tiny points towards the center, eventually forming a human figure.
At first glance, Lin Bai recognized his identity.
"Bartmoss!"
Lin Bai recognized him by his distinctive long hair and his wild, arrogant eyes—the one who destroyed the original Net, leaving humanity to barely survive in only 21% of the network world.
Undoubtedly, this guy in front of him hadn't died; instead, like Alt Cunningham, he had transformed into a cybernetic life form, existing in the virtual digital world.
But Lin Bai had no doubt about the harm he could inflict on the real world.
If the Voodoo Boys were seen as useless stray dogs, then under Bartmoss's leadership, they would become the most vicious wolves! They would mercilessly tear apart any enemies who looked down on them.
Lin Bai looked at Bartmoss below, his brows furrowed. Was this indeed a change in the timeline brought about by the Contractor?
In the original story, the Voodoo Boys never cooperated with this guy.
Lin Bai found it hard to judge the Voodoo Boys in this timeline.
If you say they're stupid? They managed to find one of the three cyber-hacker gods to cooperate with. If you say they're smart? They didn't weigh their own standing before seeking cooperation. With their size, they're probably just cannon fodder.
One could only say that the Voodoo Boys in this world knew how to choose partners and had strategic vision.
He couldn't hear the sound from below; it seemed Bartmoss was transmitting information through some electronic device. One could only say, as expected of Bartmoss, he was still so cautious even in his own stronghold.
When he was alive, he turned everyone in his building into puppets just to protect himself. He hadn't expected to be so cautious even after death.
Lin Bai was certain that all electronic devices in the church were currently under his control.
His current stealth ability might fool ordinary Voodoo Boys members, but to fool high-tech electronics? Lin Bai felt he might be a bit delusional right now.
So, after some thought, Lin Bai decided not to rush out immediately but to detonate the church after Bartmoss left.
However, reality was that plans never kept up with changes.
At this moment, Lin Bai watched a tall, burly figure swagger in through the door.
"V? Shouldn't he be stealing the Relic chip right now? Why is he here?"
Lin Bai had specifically asked Maine about recent news in Night City earlier in the car.
After all, mercenaries like V always did big things.
He was just infiltrating Arasaka Tower, and now he's here to clear out the Voodoo Boys?
V, are you always in overclocked mode?
Lin Bai's mouth twitched involuntarily. Although he had some psychological preparation, experiencing the horror of it firsthand for the first time was quite shocking.
Lin Bai looked at V, who showed no trace of being human anywhere on his body, and naturally understood that V had probably already implanted the chip.
V's expression, initially displeased upon entering, morphed into an exaggerated grin after seeing so many Voodoo Boys members in the church. He seemed somewhat deranged.
"Since you're all here, that's really convenient! Come on, darlings, get intimate with my bullets."
V suddenly slapped his head, as if someone had told him something. He looked at the crowd with a seemingly regretful expression and said, "Sorry, I'm a bit pressed for time, so I'll have to inconvenience you all for now."