The following morning, Lena and Valerie lay across the bed in their room at El Coyote Cojo, lazily browsing messages through their neural interfaces.
Since most people in Night City possessed neural links, conventional phones had become almost unnecessary.
News, messages, videos, and braindance advertisements could be displayed directly through cyberoptics.
Someone with enough processing power could theoretically watch twenty food streams simultaneously while eating a bowl of tasteless synthetic noodles.
The cyberware recovered from the Animals had already strengthened the squad considerably.
Lena had integrated the Tier 3 Micro-Rotors and additional combat enhancements into her existing system, while Valerie continued adapting to her new Dense Marrow and Subdermal Armor.
Lena opened her banking interface.
The three-thousand-eddie bounty for the Animals leader and the ten-thousand-eurodollar payment for clearing the district had both arrived.
[Current Balance: €$24,548]
“We should rent our own place,” Valerie said.
“Living above someone else’s bar forever feels strange.”
“Agreed.
We have enough money now.”
Their discussion quickly shifted from reasonable rental prices to how many weapons they could fit inside their future apartment.
Before either of them reached a conclusion, an incoming call appeared in the corner of Lena’s Kiroshi display.
Incoming Call: Sebastian Ibarra
“Morning, Padre,” Lena said.
“Do you have another contract?”
“I do.
This one concerns the Scavengers.”
Padre’s expression appeared unusually amused.
“A client purchased a batch of secondhand cyberware from them.
He intended to repair and resell it to mercenaries, but the merchandise was defective.
Several implants short-circuited, and another nearly killed its new owner through neural rejection.”
“Sounds like he chose the wrong supplier,” Valerie said.
“He learned that lesson,” Padre replied.
“After compensating his customers, he confronted the Scavengers who sold him the chrome.
They removed one of his kidneys and warned him that anyone demanding a refund had better bring MaxTac.”
Even Lena couldn’t deny the absurdity.
“Our client survived and now wants revenge.
He has paid for the destruction of a Scavenger operation controlled by Ivan Kuzma.
Make the response public enough that the other Scavengers understand why it happened.”
“Rules of engagement?” Lena asked.
“Everyone inside the stronghold is a valid target.
Dead or alive makes no difference.
If you accept, the intelligence is attached.”
Padre ended the call.
The contract file appeared immediately.
Valerie leaned closer.
“That man has terrible judgment.
First he bought discount chrome from Scavs, then he went back to complain.”
“Night City is full of people who think one cheap deal will make them rich,” Lena said.
“If making money were that easy, everyone would be living in North Oak.”
She opened the attached intelligence.
Scavengers weren’t a conventional gang with a single leader.
Their crews operated independently, connected through black-market networks dealing in stolen cyberware, organs, and human tissue.
Different cells occasionally fought one another over victims and territory.
Ivan Kuzma—better known as Mandrill—controlled the targeted crew.
His known implants included heavy Subdermal Armor, Kiroshi Oracle Optics, a Recoil Dampening System, Reinforced Tendons, and a modified Black Mamba toxicology implant.
The last piece of chrome helped his body resist poisons and recover from chemical damage.
Such protection was valuable in Night City, where poisoned blades, contaminated ammunition, and viral quickhacks were all common threats.
Mandrill commanded more than twenty Scavengers from an abandoned refrigerated warehouse in southern Heywood.
They kidnapped victims, stripped their cyberware, harvested organs, and occasionally sold defective implants to inexperienced mercenaries.
The client had paid forty thousand eurodollars for everyone inside to be eliminated.
Valerie reviewed the enemy equipment.
“More than twenty targets, but their firepower isn’t impressive.
Mostly Tamayuras, Omahas, and melee weapons.”
“We’ll accept.” Lena sent their confirmation to Padre.
“But we improve our equipment first.
Jackie can acquire two DB-2 Testeras while you come with me to buy quickhacks.”
She opened the system inventory and withdrew the Yinglong, then pushed it into Valerie’s hands.
Valerie stared at the smart weapon before feeling behind Lena’s back.
“Where were you hiding this?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“You pulled an entire gun out of nowhere.”
“Focus on what it does.
Connect through your Smart Link, hold down the trigger, and let the guided EMP rounds handle the rest.”
Valerie examined the weapon with growing interest.
“Now that sounds fun.”
The two travelled to a netrunner shop in Kabuki.
Inside, several customers wearing interface visors were connected to a local data center, studying and downloading quickhack protocols.
Quickhacks weren’t simple chips that instantly granted knowledge.
A netrunner needed to understand the attack’s code structure, adapt it to their cyberdeck, and possess enough processing capacity to breach an enemy’s defenses.
Lena’s Arasaka Mk.II Cyberdeck supplied seven units of base RAM, while her frontal-cortex RAM upgrade provided another two.
Against an unprotected Scavenger, five RAM might be enough to overload cyberware or trigger Synapse Burnout.
A target protected by military-grade ICE would require substantially more processing power.
Lena purchased two quickhack suites.
[Synapse Burnout Acquired]
[Cyberware Malfunction Acquired]
[Total Cost: €$3,000]
Synapse Burnout could overwhelm a target’s nervous system by forcing hostile signals through neural cyberware.
Cyberware Malfunction disrupted selected implants, temporarily disabling optics, combat enhancements, or defensive systems.
With sufficient RAM and a powerful Cyberdeck, Lena could kill or cripple an enemy with little more than eye contact.
Without those resources, attempting the same breach would exhaust her processing capacity before the hack finished uploading.
Once their preparations were complete, Lena and Valerie collected Jackie and headed for the mission site.
Four Scavengers stood outside an abandoned cold-storage warehouse in southern Heywood, smoking beside a rusted security barrier.
“People aren’t buying like they used to,” one complained.
“We still haven’t sold the last batch.”
“Because the chrome was garbage,” another replied.
“We need better merchandise.
That crew in the next district harvests fresh implants, resets them, and installs them directly.”
“You know how much a competent ripperdoc costs?
Mandrill would rather remove his own other kidney than pay one.”
The third man lifted the crowbar in his hand.
“Look at us.
We don’t even have decent weapons.”
An engine roared from the far end of the street.
The four Scavengers looked toward the sound.
The Thorton Galena rounded the corner at full speed.
“What the hell?”
The driver didn’t slow down.
“Move!”
The Galena smashed through the security barrier and struck the nearest Scavenger.
His body flew across the entrance and slammed into a shipping container, leaving blood across its metal wall.
The remaining guards stumbled back.
“We’re under attack!
Get everyone outside!”
They grabbed crowbars, machetes, and cheap pistols.
The Galena’s rear door opened.
Lena stepped onto the pavement in her black tactical gear, holding a DB-2 Testera.
The short power shotgun carried only two shells, but at close range, its simultaneous double-barrel discharge could tear through almost anything.
She aimed at the nearest Scavenger.
The Testera thundered.
Both barrels fired together, unleashing a wall of pellets.
The target was thrown backward as blood and fragments of damaged cyberware scattered across the entrance.
Lena broke open the shotgun.
Two smoking shells dropped onto the concrete.
Her consciousness connected to the system inventory, and fresh ammunition appeared between her fingers.
She inserted both shells and snapped the weapon shut in a single smooth movement.
For most mercenaries, the DB-2 Testera’s greatest weakness was its two-round capacity and constant need for reloading.
Lena’s system storage almost eliminated that disadvantage.
She could retrieve prepared ammunition instantly without searching through her equipment.
Another Scavenger charged from the side.
Lena turned and fired.
On the opposite side of the Galena, Valerie raised the Yinglong.
The Smart Link in her hand established an immediate connection.
[Smart Weapon Connected]
[Targets Identified]
[Trajectory Assistance Active]
Red markers appeared across her Kiroshi interface.
The weapon calculated the Scavengers’ movement, distance, and available cover.
Valerie smiled.
“So this is how it feels.”
She pulled the trigger.
The Yinglong unleashed a stream of guided ammunition.
A Scavenger tried to hide behind an abandoned vehicle.
The bullets adjusted in mid-flight, curving around the edge of the car.
The first struck his shoulder.
Before he understood what had happened, the second and third rounds followed.
Blue-white electricity erupted across his body.
His pistol dropped from his hand as the EMP discharge disabled the cyberware in his arm.
Mechanical joints twitched uncontrollably, sending him crashing to his knees.
“EMP rounds?” he shouted.
“Who the hell are these people?”
The warehouse doors burst open.
More than a dozen Scavengers rushed outside.
Some carried Tamayura pistols, others wielded Omaha tech pistols, while several had nothing more than machetes or reinforced crowbars.
Mandrill remained behind the first wave.
He was larger than the others, with crude interface sockets covering his face and heavy metal armor surrounding his neck.
Lena’s optics matched him to the contract profile immediately.
She fired the Testera again, blasting apart two Scavengers attempting to close the distance.
“Primary target confirmed,” Lena announced over the team channel.
“Jackie, Valerie—begin clearing the field.”
“Understood,” Valerie replied.
Jackie stepped from behind the Galena and rolled his shoulders.
His newly installed Subdermal Armor and Dense Marrow made his body heavier, stronger, and far more resistant to gunfire.
In his hands were his paired gold-plated pistols, La Chingona Dorada.
An eager grin spread across his face.
“Come on, cabrones.”
Both pistols fired.
Large-caliber rounds slammed into the approaching Scavengers.
One attempted to raise his weapon, but Jackie charged directly through the incoming fire.
Bullets struck his tactical vest and Subdermal Armor, bruising him without penetrating.
Jackie drove his fist into the Scavenger’s chest.
Reinforced bone and muscle sent the man flying backward into his companions.
Jackie raised both golden pistols and opened fire again.
“Hah!
Now this is an upgrade!”
Valerie remained at medium range, using the Yinglong to control the battlefield.
She swept its muzzle across the approaching enemies without needing to aim at each one directly.
Her Smart Link did the precision work.
Guided rounds curved around obstacles and pursued Scavengers attempting to escape.
EMP pulses erupted wherever the bullets landed, disabling cyberarms, optics, and weapon systems.
Men screamed behind cover as their implants malfunctioned.
At the front, Lena’s Testera roared again.
Two Scavengers charging with melee weapons were caught in its spread and thrown onto the pavement.
Return fire struck her ballistic vest but failed to reach the Tier 3 Subdermal Armor beneath her skin.
Lena and Jackie advanced side by side.
Valerie followed at a controlled distance, the Yinglong laying down continuous fire over their shoulders.
For the first time, the three mercenaries moved as a fully equipped combat squad.
Lena broke the enemy line with overwhelming close-range firepower.
Jackie absorbed incoming attacks and prevented anyone from reaching Valerie.
Behind them, Yinglong’s guided EMP rounds hunted every Scavenger who attempted to hide.
The three advanced toward Mandrill in perfect formation.
And the Scavengers finally understood that this wasn’t an ordinary territorial dispute.
Someone had paid for their entire stronghold to disappear.
]”
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