Ruan Xian had undergone Sanda kickboxing training in his previous world.
Though it wasn’t overly advanced, he still knew the fundamentals: throwing punches, kicking, maintaining stance, and keeping balance.
Cockroaches like Scavengers didn’t warrant any dialogue.
Striking first was key.
You hurl an insult at me, I give you two fists—perfectly fair.
Stepping forward with his left foot, leg slightly bent, his left arm guarded his face.
He rotated his waist, twisted his hips, pushed off firmly with his right leg, and hurled a tight right hook straight into Pretty Boy’s left jaw.
With 15 points in Body honed to perfection, Pretty Boy’s neck snapped hard to the right, dying on the spot.
So what good was being handsome?
The ugly live long; the handsome die young—unless you were a High-Dimensional Observer, who were fam and could be as handsome as they pleased.
But a punk like him?
Daring to look handsomer than a High-Dimensional Observer meant taking a fist to the face.
“Fuck, a cyberpsycho!” Seeing Pretty Boy turn into a dead pretty boy with a single punch, Merle instantly felt like he’d hit the worst lottery jackpot.
Neither Maelstrom nor Tyger Claws were this brutal—skipping the trash talk entirely and going straight for the kill.
A pure cyberpsycho.
He was totally screwed.
“Damn it, luckily I installed those Gorilla Arms I harvested last time to haul bodies, plus my medium subdermal armor.
In close quarters, I won’t necessarily lose!
At worst, I can hold out until MaxTac arrives!” Merle hadn’t become the leader of this Scavenger cell by relying on fat alone.
When backed into a corner, he was ruthless and willing to risk it all.
They were less than three paces apart.
At this distance, Merle didn’t even have time to draw a gun.
Against fists that could kill in one hit, pulling a gun meant taking at least two punches—and against that kind of power, his subdermal armor couldn’t guarantee his survival.
Glinting with feral savagery, Merle launched a heavy right straight straight at Ruan Xian’s face.
“Heh, instead of running away, you chose to strike back?
You truly don’t understand the gap between us.” To Ruan Xian, this punch was sloppy, weak, and sluggish.
Not a single movement was proper.
Aside from a desperate ferocity that might scare ordinary citizens, the guy wasn’t even qualified to share the same stage with him.
Parrying with his left hand, Ruan Xian seized Merle’s right wrist, yanked him forward, and thrust his right hand out.
Taking advantage of Merle’s loss of balance and delayed reaction, he clamped his hand directly around the man’s throat.
“It’s over.
Repent in hell.” Ruan Xian exerted his strength, crushing Merle’s throat and killing him instantly.
The chrome Gorilla Arms and mere medium subdermal armor on Merle effectively put his Body attribute around 8–9, making him an elite mob.
Yet it couldn’t compare to Ruan Xian’s forged 15 Body, gained through sheer perseverance and hard sweat.
By game standards, human physical training capped at 10; going any higher required cyberware installation.
Generally, 4 points was average—enough to be a corporate drone; 8 points was elite—the core backbone of a force.
15 points was extraordinary—a top-tier master recognized even by megacorps; 20 points was legendary status, where one could no longer be called human, existing like a god walking among mortals.
Taking Adam Smasher as a benchmark, he was generally considered a hair shy of legendary—meaning fully armed and packed with top-end combat cyberware, his Body attribute sat around 18–19.
Crushing these Scavengers with sparse cyberware was child’s play.
“Not a scratch again.
When I fight that big guy later, I should let him land a couple hits to feel what damage reduction and health regeneration actually feel like.” Ruan Xian felt that with his current 15 Body and buffed under his totem’s range…
He probably still couldn’t beat Adam Smasher.
Guns in 2077 were insanely deadly, and Ruan Xian’s only extraordinary stat was Body.
Smasher had high combat intelligence and zero sportsmanship—if he had missiles, he would definitely fire them.
Winning against him before getting military-grade cyberware was improbable, but Ruan Xian could at least escape.
With his current stats, taking down Sasquatch in melee wouldn’t be a problem.
“Still a long way to go.
I need to find a way to level up.” Remembering his exp mechanics, Ruan Xian activated his spiritual vision, blue light shimmering in his eyes.
[High-Dimensional Overseers’ Spectating: Though not fully satisfied, this is only the beginning, so They still have patience]
[Rating: C (Not Bad)]
[Exp Bonus: 120%]
[Exp Earned (Combat): Scavenger × 5, Scavenger Elite × 1]
[Exp Earned (Hacking): NCPD Database, Scavenger Hideout Surveillance]
[Exp Earned (Action): Stealth, Misdirection, Style Points]
[Exp Pool Settlement: Executes during rest]
“‘Style points’?
Did I flex?
It’s natural aura, okay?” Ruan Xian’s cheat stemmed from the gaze of the High-Dimensional Overseer and the attention of the High-Dimensional Observers.
He was gradually coming to understand everything.
“When I fight the remaining two Scavengers, I can test whether my hypothesis is correct.” Ruan Xian grabbed the two Scavenger corpses in the stairwell, dumped them into the Spirit World, and performed the full service: harvesting cyberware and scattering their ashes.
Merle: Bruiser, stop messing around!
Something happened, get back here right now and lend a hand!
Bruiser: Fuck, I just paid!
Haven’t even started!
Merle: Forget your Jig-Jig Street sweetheart!
I’ll reimburse you, just fucking hurry back!
Bruiser: Double reimbursement!
She won’t recognize me if I leave and come back later!
Merle: Fine, I’ll pay!
Just get your ass back here, shit hit the fan!
Move it!
[Transfer: -500 eddies]
“Boss is generous—500 eddies, double, just like that.
Wait, is Boss insulting me?” Seeing that Merle was genuinely frantic, Bruiser stopped delaying.
Luckily, it wasn’t far.
Watching Bruiser leave after barely walking in, two joytoys on Jig-Jig Street had blue light flashing in their eyes as they began messaging each other.
Joytoy A: Bruiser is pathetic, huh?
Barely a few minutes.
Joytoy B: Under five minutes.
If he showered or something, it’s even worse.
Joytoy A: Probably didn’t shower.
Usually he books an hour and goes two rounds, like ten minutes each.
He really flopped today.
Joytoy B: Look at his size, he gained more muscle.
Probably hit the gym with the Animals.
Must be pumped full of juice—guy’s limp now.
Good for us though, let me handle his bookings next time.
Same money, way faster turnover.
In his rush home, Bruiser didn’t realize his reputation had just been dragged through the mud.
Not that it mattered—he wouldn’t survive today anyway.
Strictly speaking, the moment he arrived home would be the moment he died.
Combined with his social death, that made two deaths in one day.
Congratulations!
Riding a bike he’d hijacked last time, Bruiser sped down the streets and arrived downstairs at their hideout within five minutes.
“Finally.
You’ve kept me waiting long enough.”
“Huh?” Bruiser froze, startled.
Where did this try-hard come from?
Striking a pose even harder than him!
Looking up, he saw a heavily built man wearing a polo shirt and tattered shorts, posing dramatically with his back turned.
“Who the fuck are you waiting for, your mom?!
Look at you, pathetic dumbass, you suck to the core!
Get the fuck out of my way!
Boss has business with me today—move before I beat you to death with one punch!” Bruiser was never one to hold back, unleashing standard Night City profanity.
“Fuck!
Son of a bitch, I can hold in my piss and shit, but I can’t hold back against you!
Die!” Ruan Xian instantly broke character, unable to maintain his stylish pose any longer, and decided to just beat him down.
“I fucking knew you came looking for trouble!
Let’s see how many whacks from my club you can take!” In the Scavenger crew, Bruiser was the one responsible for close combat.
When Pretty Boy lured a target in, Bruiser would choke them out or knock them unconscious with a club.
Using guns or blades risked damaging valuable cyberware and organs, making them harder to resell.