Chapter 164: Because of Me, You'll Remember That Minute - It’s the Cyber Age—Still Playing a Traditional Villain?

Chapter 164: Because of Me, You'll Remember That Minute Night City, on the border. "What day is it today?" "The sixteenth." "Payday is coming soon... Can I get a cigarette?" "Call me dad." "Piss off." Two members of the border patrol unit were casually chatting while smoking, discussing trivial matters. Their job wasn’t particularly demanding; they just needed to keep an eye on the "Forgotten" so they wouldn’t cause any trouble. In fact, nobody caused trouble at all. Those people looked as if life had been drained out of them; they seemed so lifeless that even a few kicks wouldn’t provoke any reaction. They didn't appear to possess any fighting spirit or the will to rebel. Who cares? Isn’t it better to just get paid without much hassle? Investigations aren’t their duty; that's for the city hall. They didn’t have to deal with the director’s stern face either, which made the job even sweeter... As they were lost in such thoughts, a bullet suddenly whizzed past unexpectedly, knocking the cigarette off one man's lips with perfect accuracy. "Who the... wait, no!" One of them cursed in pain as sparks flew into his eyes, but he quickly realized something was amiss. The once-empty buffer zone was now engulfed in a cloud of dust and smoke. With engines roaring from afar, a cavalcade approached them with great momentum. It was a sight they'd never seen before—the outfits of these people were bizarre. The vanguard wore leather, revealing protective gear, their faces concealed behind iron masks etched with tusks. Those following closely weren’t much different. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was a strange costume parade... The vehicles they rode looked equally intimidating—almost as if they were cobbled together from scrap metal, adorned with spikes, rust, and dents, yet their mechanical power seemed contradictory to their appearance, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. "It's an enemy attack!" After a brief moment of shock, they finally reacted, realizing that the "Forgotten" were staging a revolt. "Quick, sound the alarm..." Before the sentence was completed, another bullet arrived, this time not missing its target—a sharp purple-glimmering projectile, tearing through the air and piercing their bodies. Within moments, both men convulsed and collapsed, their exposed skin turning a deadening shade of bluish-purple, their eyes bulging lifelessly like dead fish. It was a high-concentration "Rust Mist" armor-piercing bullet! "Charge!" A massive figure flipped onto the vehicle’s hood, bellowing, "Blast open this city wall!" It was none other than Zhao Yuan, the leader of the "Forgotten" outside the city. "If you don’t want to toil away in the mines every day from dawn till dusk, fight with everything you’ve got!" His words were like a shot of adrenaline, making the already fervent group even more zealous. "Yeah, why should they live in comfort inside the city, while we do their dirty work!" "Let’s have a bloody brawl!" "Go completely mad!" "The life of the 'Forgotten' is still a life!" "… Let’s make this quick, Leader Zhao." At last, someone dressed normally beside Zhao Yuan displayed a calmness that was out of place among the others, reminding them. It was Li Tang, sent by Shen Qin to assist him. "The alarm has already sounded. The city’s defense artillery will activate soon." He cautioned, "That’s not something we can withstand. We need to capture this checkpoint before that happens." "I don’t need you to tell me!" Zhao Yuan scoffed, his voice muffled through his mask. Even as he spoke, he discarded his rifle for a specially designed rocket launcher. "Stop just using your words; if it needs to be quick, let’s all go!" Watching him charge into the battlefield without hesitation, Li Tang didn’t immediately follow. Instead, he sighed thoughtfully. Though he belonged to a different faction, as a fellow "Forgotten," he was well aware that Zhao Yuan’s subordinates were all lunatics. Normally, they didn’t seem like much, but in battle, they were the hardest to deal with, willing to sacrifice themselves to bite a chunk out of you. During internal struggles, they were undoubtedly the most troublesome group. Therefore, he wasn’t worried about Zhao Yuan’s combat enthusiasm. Many had even injected special stimulants before setting out, likely unaware of pain even if their heads were severed. He was more in awe—of Shen Qin’s brother’s influence. Truth be told, he initially looked down on Shen He, who seemed like a bedraggled, destitute figure during their first encounter. How could anyone respect such a forlorn creature? But after some time together, he realized that Shen He indeed possessed a certain charisma, showing leadership potential. In less than a month, he had forged good relations with both the "Forgotten" who remained outside the city and many others. In fact, it felt like those supporting him secretly might outnumber Zhao Yuan’s supporters. Because of this, instigating an assault against Night City was considerably easier. Otherwise, even if Zhao Yuan resented Night City, agreeing wouldn’t have been so straightforward. However, he was acutely aware that despite the grand appearance, this battlefield wasn’t the main front as initially planned. It served more as a distraction to facilitate the uprising within the city. After all, it wasn’t just the defense artillery; the inspectors’ security forces themselves were formidable... No one explicitly stated it, but Li Tang had long mentally categorized them as cannon fodder. Hence, his priority was self-preservation, overseeing and reporting the situation as necessary, not actually charging into battle with them. Just as expected, moments after the alarm blared, a significant force from the inspector’s bureau had already gathered near the border wall—of course, there weren’t just two guards; they were just unfortunate. Contrary to the "Forgotten’s" savage demeanor, the arriving inspector forces appeared more coordinated, uniformly clad in standardized protective gear, wielding state-of-the-art equipment. As for the leader... it wasn’t the inspector bureau chief Tang Shuang, but her adjutant, Yu Xingchuan. "This is your only warning. Withdraw now, and we will not pursue action against your disturbance!" The adjutant’s voice boomed from the speakers, "Otherwise, the inspector’s bureau will initiate a suppressive strike!" Her conciliatory warning was ineffective, answered only by whistling bullets. Upon closer examination, the "Forgotten" all had bloodshot eyes and faces twisted with rage, incapable of heeding words. "… Open fire!" Witnessing this, Yu Xingchuan understood the situation. "Maintain formation, hinder the enemy from all directions!" With her order, the inspector’s forces swiftly dispersed, setting up positions within moments. Indeed, it was almost instantaneous—the inspectors were all "Ascended," their abilities well beyond ordinary. Combined with tactical enhancement chips they carried, their movements were almost too quick to track. Under their assault, the "Forgotten" faced immense resistance, unable to advance further. "… Don’t waver, hold the line!" Zhao Yuan’s tone momentarily faltered, clearly shaken by the inspector’s magnitude. Their weapons were on par, but distinctly not the standard Night City-designed firearms. Instead, they were rifles incorporating the "Forgotten's" rust mist technology, but it was evident through just a brief exchange that in terms of quality, the inspector’s weaponry was superior! Impact strength, precision, durability—each metric surpassed their own, with even the drones above firing high-concentration "rust mist" crystalline rounds! And they weren’t merely standard rounds—these were improved munitions—"rust mist" crystalline bullets differed from regular ones, injecting excessive "rust mist" into a body upon impact, causing corrosive alterations for damage. With ordinary humans, the effect might not be apparent, but against high-defense "Ascended," the results were clear. Like those poor souls earlier, completely eroded in appearance, their bodies shriveled into grotesque forms—death was exceedingly grim. But the inspectors’ ammunition wasn’t limited to that. Upon a target’s death, the body would rapidly expand before a delayed explosion, unleashing harmful gases with considerable impact! This single aspect alone was enough to disrupt the "Forgotten’s" formation, and their protective gear and masks offered insufficient filtration! In contrast, their bullets were effortlessly blocked by the inspectors' suits—likely due to some form of energy shield. My goodness... Yet, this wasn’t everything. The clash wasn’t confined to long-range gunfire alone; there was brutal close-quarters combat as well. Vanguards had already engaged, escalating the chaos further. The bloodshed escalated to another level—the speed and power, enhanced by "Twin" augment chips, significantly amplified everyone's abilities. Those familiar with close-quarters combat knew what to expect. Ordinarily, a powerful punch isn't fatal, but if it hit like an iron ball whizzing at a speed of 120 yards per second, it would definitely kill... that's precisely the scenario. However, in hand-to-hand combat, the "Forgotten" also found themselves at a disadvantage, perplexing Zhao Yuan. After all, his men were equipped not with "Twin" but with second-generation augment chips smuggled from inside the city. This should have put them on par with the inspector’s bureau, right? There shouldn’t have been such an imbalance... Amid his confusion, Zhao Yuan noticed a small detail. It seemed that the inspector bureau members had something on their protective suits—were those injectors? After injecting the substance, their abilities transformed dramatically. Was it… a stimulant? Zhao Yuan had no idea what it was. Indeed, he couldn't have known. The fact that "Prism" had developed "Transcendence" was a secret known to few, and those stationed outside the city had no channels to access such confidential information... Moreover, he didn’t realize that the inspectors were merely equipped with first-generation "Twin" chips, working in tandem with "Transcendence" drugs—second-generation drugs and chips had clearly superior results. Seeing where things were headed, he understood a defeat awaited him! Without hesitation, Zhao Yuan gritted his teeth, pushed his chip to its maximum capacity, and injected himself with three concentrated stimulants. "Roar—" A beastly growl echoed across the battlefield. Turning to look, Zhao Yuan's appearance had become grotesque. Within moments, his body began to swell, muscles bulging with black, icicle-like spikes protruding from his skin. In a few breaths, he transformed from a hulking figure into a full-fledged monster! "What the heck…" His hideous transformation shocked everyone present, especially the inspectors. Before they could react, Zhao Yuan leaped from atop the vehicle, his claws slashing through protection and slicing them in half. "Monster!" Even with strong nerves, such a sight unnerved the inspectors, who fired haphazardly. However, bullets lodged into his body caused no harm. Instead, the spikes on him expanded, shooting out and claiming more lives. Even the "Forgotten" were not spared, knowing full well that their leader, in this monstrous state, couldn't distinguish between ally and foe. It might sway the battle, but they too would suffer... The only one who remained relatively calm was Yu Xingchuan, familiar with Zhao Yuan’s ability, similar to Song Ziyou’s "Giantization," called "Beastification," turning him into this monstrous form upon activation. Yet, this seemed more exaggerated than documented, with greater destructive force. Taking a deep breath, she injected the "Transcendence" into her system from her suit. In the next instant, her eyes turned azure, her aura growing threatening. She leaped, charging towards Zhao Yuan, her firearm disassembling, transforming into blades that attached to her arms. Her ascendant ability, "Metal Manipulation," was rated A+. "Slash!" The blade tore through Zhao Yuan's chest, purple blood gushing as the beast staggered, releasing a mournful wail. "What are you standing there for? Hold your formation, leave this to me!" "… Yes!" Seeing this, everyone regained their composure, quickly responding affirmatively. To be honest, compared to Chief Tang Shuang, this adjutant wasn't particularly well-regarded within the inspector bureau. Partly overshadowed by Tang Shuang's brilliance, but also due to her questionable ethics—she was notorious for corruption and misuse of authority... Few pondered why someone so flawed was tolerated by the meticulous Chief Tang. It was because her personal abilities were anything but weak. Not only was she an A+ rated "Ascendant," but she was also adept at management—Chief Tang couldn’t oversee everything. Most tasks were executed by Yu Xingchuan. For instance, she handled training for inspector members—proven effective, as their formation remained unbroken before Zhao Yuan's rampage. Additionally, Adjutant Yu had a remarkable trait. Greedy as she was, she always stepped up in a crisis. Like now. "Die, you ugly brute!" Because of her, everyone would remember this minute. (End of Chapter)