The Creators: From Night City

Page 293

However, it's difficult to say how many of them are genuine space pirates and how many are just spies secretly supported by various powerful forces.

"Space pirates?" The lark carefully hopped down the steps made of scrap metal and reached out to help Matilda, who was vomiting and fleeing and hadn't had a peaceful day.

"Can they be relied upon?"

"Most of the time it is possible. In fact, these space pirates often value their reputation. For example, the 'Black Rangers' I mentioned earlier often resupply and sell their spoils at Tycho Colony. It's hard to say that they don't have the support of the High Knights behind them."

"Instead of worrying about these things, let's think about where the two of us can get this 60 euros in toll fees."

The lark tossed its greasy, limp long hair, and its two prosthetic eyes gleamed faintly in the dim light.

"Don't worry about the money. Don't forget who I am. Our main priority now is to find a safe house that can connect to the Crystal Palace's intranet. Leave the rest to me."

Making money was never a concern for Nightingale. As long as she could get into the Crystal Palace network and into cyberspace, she had plenty of ways to make money. The problem was that she needed to find a quiet and safe environment to provide cover for her upcoming immersive operations.

“I know a place that should meet our requirements.” Matilda thought of the other party’s elusive hacking skills and couldn’t help but believe it to some extent.

“There is a place to stay outside ‘Cocoon Village’, a capsule hotel. I stayed there for a while when I first came. It’s much cheaper than the single cabins in ‘Honeycomb Zone’ and it also provides a data interface for internet access, although that costs extra.”

They acted immediately.

The two walked through the bustling main street of 'Black Well', a semi-circular planar bridge filled with scrap steel and built with the original beam structure as its skeleton. The rough construction made it extremely uneven to walk on. Coupled with the small vendors selling various tetanus enchantment controlled knives, lighting fixtures, food and drinks, it was just like a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world.

Of course, it could also be called the Cyber ​​Crystal Palace 'urban village'.

As one of the most powerful hackers in New America, Lark had every reason to be proud. As she and Matilda moved forward, she silently hacked into all the cameras and video equipment they passed, using this opportunity to briefly check if anyone was tracking them. At the same time, she had to endure the mental damage caused by her personality shift while monitoring and erasing their traces on the network.

However, as the world's largest economy, the European Union naturally has its own trump card, the European Space Agency.

They are the space station's top secret and most valuable strategic assets, typically carrying out only the most critical and dangerous missions. Their very existence is a deterrent, and this deterrent is directed only at certain high-level adversaries; ordinary underlings don't even have the right to know of their existence.

In a dark tunnel, Orion Oculos gently twitched his nostrils as his prototype scent-tracking nasal pods continuously captured scent particles belonging to his 'prey' from the murky and stifling air.

He walked unhurriedly through the dark passageway, completely unafraid of losing sight of his target.

This is his confidence in himself, the confidence of an old hunter.

"I thought the Twelve Angels of the Crystal Palace were just a legend concocted out of thin air. I didn't expect you to actually exist." A strange male voice suddenly rang out from in front of him, making the seasoned hunter tense up instantly.

Jiang Bing emerged from around the corner of the passageway.

Orion Oculos, the 'All-Seeing Eye,' twitched his nostrils a few more times, only to be surprised to find that he could not smell any scent molecules on the man in front of him.

"Absurd!!" Orion's worldview was almost turned upside down; he was so surprised that he could hardly believe it.

It should be noted that the 'Seeker' prosthetic body he is equipped with is considered the pinnacle of European Space Agency's technology. Its principle is based on bionic enhancement and multi-level molecular capture and analysis technology. The odor particle tracking prosthetic body (prototype) belongs to the world's most advanced odor detection and tracking technology.

But today it failed to work, which surprised him greatly.

Chapter 582 The Decision of the All-Seeing Eye

This is a special prosthetic body specially developed by the European Space Agency for the closed environment of the space station. The ultrasensitive biomimetic olfactory mucosa array composed of nano-porous graphene and bio-enzyme composite film, combined with the core of the quantum cascade laser spectrometer in his chest, has a detection sensitivity of up to ppt (one part per trillion). It should be noted that the olfactory sensitivity of a well-trained police dog is at most ppb (one part per billion).

However, he couldn't detect any odor on the other person, as if their body wasn't made of matter.

“However, I’m sorry, you can’t go through here. The fish I’m trying to catch haven’t taken the bait yet, and I can’t let you disturb them.” Jiang Bingke ignored the other party’s rich inner thoughts and stated his thoughts directly.

Jiang Bing's target was naturally the High Knights. To ensure the smooth progress of the 'Coloring Plan' and prevent leaks, they would definitely try to find Matilda. As for the Lark, she was most likely the target of the European Space Agency's 'Twelve Angels' mission.

After all, only the European Space Agency, a local power, could uncover the truth about the 'Gold Crystal' incident in such a short time and have sufficiently strong intelligence capabilities to help them understand the true value of the Lark, this 'cyber nuclear bomb'.

The fact that the European Space Agency immediately recalled and dispatched "All-Seeing Eye," the ace lone wolf among the "Twelve Angels" best at tracking, is clear evidence of this.

"So you really are in cahoots with them." The other person clearly knew Jiang Bing and had a subtle misunderstanding.

It's no wonder the other party would have such thoughts. After all, Jiang Bing's actions at 'Golden Crystal' seemed like those of an accomplice responsible for attracting everyone's attention. And his disappearance along with Song Zhaomei and Matilda immediately after the turmoil occurred also indirectly confirmed this suspicion.

However, despite his stern words, Orion's first action in the battle was to throw a grenade the size of a water glass, and then turn and flee.

What a joke! Since they already know his true identity, why would they dare to stand here and ambush him with such impunity? Anyone with a brain can guess that the other party is definitely acting with impunity.

He doesn't necessarily need to capture the other party; in fact, ensuring his own safety and directly shaking off the enemy is the most correct course of action.

The grenade was accurately thrown next to Jiang Bing and exploded instantly, but it did not produce any shrapnel. Instead, a large cloud of milky white foam flew out from it.

Nonsense. Using explosives inside a space station would be suicidal. After all, a random explosion in this confined environment would destroy the entire tunnel and all other nearby structures.

However, this does not mean that Orion does not have high-explosive grenades. In fact, he not only has them, but also three, all stored under his left armpit. When the moment comes that he must use them, Orion will not hesitate for even half a second.

However, when it comes to hindering enemy operations, his "noose foam" grenade is definitely superior.

This multi-functional grenade, when triggered by a time-delay fuse, releases a large amount of rapidly expanding, extremely viscous inert polymer foam. Within seconds, this foam hardens into a rubber-like solid, but ten times harder, trapping enemies within its range.

This thing can not only restrict the enemy, but it is also a very effective means of emergency repair of the bulkhead. Although the foam can only last for ten minutes or so before it softens, it is enough to achieve the tactical purpose of using it.

Of course, it also has a very obvious drawback, which is that it is expensive.

However, this was naturally no problem for Orion.

Of course, this wasn't a problem for Jiang Bing either.

Orion, who had turned to run away, hadn't even taken two steps before he was blocked back to where he was by the three witches waiting behind him.

As he turned his head, he saw Jiang Bing raise his hand and tear open the solidified foam in front of him, which was as tough as steel. He then casually pulled off a piece and played with it in his hand, analyzing it as he went.

The European Space Agency truly lives up to its reputation as a world-class company; it's incredibly wealthy and powerful. The equipment that its staff casually pulls out is cutting-edge technology that Jiang Bing had never even recorded.

"The items are nice, they're old," Jiang Bing joked.

The situation was clear: he was surrounded. Ignoring the enemy's ravings, Orion glanced at the two groups of enemies, and without uttering a word, drew his gun and fired.

The gel spikes only managed to lift Jiang Bing's hair before all their efforts were in vain.

This was definitely not because Orian's shot was inaccurate, but because Jiang Bing dodged too quickly.

The initial velocity of this gel nail pistol is much slower than that of kinetic energy weapons, and it's no exaggeration to say that Boss Jiang can dodge even the armor-piercing nails of an electromagnetic sniper rifle.

"How rude! Can't you see we're talking here?"

Jiang Bing didn't even have the desire to move a step, and just watched as the other party turned around and rushed towards the three witch sisters.

After all, in the eyes of this 'All-Seeing Eye', these three identical bio-engineered humans were much easier to deal with than Jiang Bing in front of them. After all, there was a faint sulfur-like smell emanating from these three, while Jiang Bing had no smell at all, making him seem strangely unlike a normal living being.

You should know that even a stone has its own unique scent.

This unusual situation made him very uneasy.

The experienced Orion emptied his gel nail gun the moment he took a step, and unsurprisingly, all three of his opponents dodged it.

This was not unexpected for him either. After all, as long as you are prepared in advance, you don't even need to activate S.A.S ....S.A.S.A.S..A.S..A.S..A.S..S.A.S..A.S..A.S..A.S..S..A.S..A.S..S..A.S..A.S..S..A.S..A.S..S..A.S..S..A.S..S

His real trump card is the monomolecular short blade in his hand.

Unlike the combat environment on Earth, all marginalized individuals or lone wolves who thrive in space must possess formidable close-quarters combat skills. After all, space stations or lunar colonies are generally cramped, and kinetic weapons are strictly controlled and cannot be abused in most situations (unless one wants to perish together). Close-quarters combat becomes a cost-effective and unavoidable choice.

Orion not only possesses superb close-combat skills, but a significant portion of his cybernetic body is also designed for close-combat in such confined terrain.

The close-quarters combat style in space is different from that on Earth.

Orion did not choose to face the three directly. Halfway through his run, he used the jump boost from his leg prosthetics to leap onto the side of the tunnel wall. Like a gecko, he used his hands and feet to step on the wall for leverage, and attacked Clara on the left at an unusual angle.

Who told her that her gentle and weak appearance made her look like the easiest person to bully?

Chapter 583 Taking it Too Seriously

In fact, his choice was not wrong at all; Clara's close-quarters combat skills were definitely the weakest among the three.

But Orion would never have guessed that she was a mage.

Whether it's the prayer unique to the Dark Souls world or the ability to manipulate fire, she almost always aims for a grand spectacle whenever she takes action. Not to mention, as her soul, which was distorted by the chaotic flames, was corrected by Jiang Bing using the [Ether Furnace], the crystallization magic that manipulates the power to shape souls was also added to her learning plan.

So, just as Orion lunged forward, Clara casually pushed him back using the repulsive force generated by the 'Force'.

As a demigod, Clara's prayer exuded an air of effortless power. The repulsive force that was originally spreading in all directions was precisely restrained in front of her, and its power was multiplied without affecting her two older sisters in the slightest.

This was under the premise that she was kind by nature and that the spells she studied were mostly auxiliary; otherwise, what awaited Orion might not have been a 'Force' prayer, but a sizzling lightning spear.

The repulsive force was strong, but its destructive power was not significant. Orion nimbly turned in the air and, with the help of his full-body prosthetic cushioning device, landed steadily without making much of a sound.

But his expression changed when he looked up.

Kragg had already drawn her longsword, shaped from a part of her own soul, from her own soul. Standing before her two sisters, the bizarre, spider-like blade was now ablaze with chaotic flames.

Compared to her innocent and pure younger sister Clara, this older sister has far more experience in the world of sleuthing. The number of undead who have died at her hands over the past thousand years could at least be piled up like a small mountain.

Beside her, Klara had already summoned her seemingly weak magical fire, and pulled out a ball of fire the size of a ping-pong ball.

If anyone dares to underestimate this small fireball, its explosive power, comparable to a high-explosive grenade, will immediately teach them a lesson, not to mention the insidious chaotic flames that follow the explosion and cause further burning and damage.

With the addition of the support-heavy White Spider, these three sisters formed a classic "warrior-mage-priest" trio. It's no exaggeration to say that even Jiang Bing before his advancement would have to think twice before facing these three.

However, the three of them really showed too much respect for Orion's combat strength.

It's understandable that the three demigods would go all out in their first battle in this world, but this led to them being really reckless in their subsequent attacks.

Undeterred, Orion activated his Sianwistan the moment he landed, transforming into a streak of light to bypass the obviously formidable Kragg, abandoning the already fruitless Clara, and turning his attention to Clara as his breakthrough point.

His idea was simple: never engage in prolonged fighting, and as soon as he found an opportunity to break through the encirclement, he would immediately flee.

However, he overestimated his abilities.

Orion, who thought he was fast, hadn't even gotten close to Klara when Krag, with a speed that no ordinary person could see, stepped forward and slashed at the arm holding the short sword, leaving the opponent with a broken arm and a severed sword.

That's not all. As the progenitor of sorcerers, Krana didn't need to charge up or channel her spells beforehand. As the 'Daughter of Chaos,' playing with fire was as natural as instinct for her.

With a mere wave of her hand, a burst of fiery energy surged forth, striking Orion squarely in the chest with tremendous force. It instantly burned through his clothes, his bionic skin, and his subcutaneous armor, melting the metal sternum, the strongest defensive structure on his chest. The remaining flames continued to burn and spread along his flesh.

The built-in drug delivery pump inside this ace lone wolf, one of the 'Twelve Apostles,' operated at full power almost instantly, frantically pumping all the built-in combat drugs into his body, giving his severely injured and dying body a powerful surge of energy.

Ignoring the sizzling sound of the chaotic flames still burning his flesh, Orion, upon landing, didn't even bother to roll and extinguish the fire. He instantly activated his laboratory-grade prototype Sianwistan and charged towards Jiang Bing's location.

He needs to make a substitution to break through!

He's going to make one last desperate attempt!

Before he could even react to how he was attacked, he felt a blur before his eyes and found himself embedded in hard foam, all four limbs severed, the combat support system malfunctioning, and external detection components offline.

As Jiang Bing gently stroked his body, the illusory golden flames spread like wildfire, engulfing his entire body. The next moment, accompanied by the brain-computer interface system's frantic error messages, the entire system instantly collapsed, forcibly shutting down his consciousness as well. He went black and lost consciousness.

Jiang Bing blinked his golden eyes, scattering the last distress signal sent by the other party again, ensuring that no message could leak out from his sweetly sleeping brother. Then, he reached out and summoned a crack leading to the internal warehouse area of ​​the 'Heimul' 'Craftsmen's Workshop'.

Because this area is a highly classified operational zone, all the staff on duty are Palicoes from the Monster Hunter world.

A tabby Palico on duty heard the alarm bells triggered by the opening of the spatial rift and was immediately jolted awake. In its panic, it elbowed its sleeping companion in the waist, causing the companion to yelp in pain, but at least it woke up.

The two cats called to their friends, carrying their equipment, and soon gathered the remaining three Felynes to form an emergency rescue team. Together, they cautiously peeked out from the rift, curiously observing the environment on the other side. The lead Felyne, with its tabby spots, stared blankly at its boss.

Jiang Bing could only helplessly point to Orian on the ground.

"Carry him back, lock him up, but be careful not to let him die."

"Don't worry, boss. I used to work for a hunting transport team, and I even worked as a hunter first aider for a while." The lead tabby feline squeezed out of the crevice and called to its companions to help lift the person up.

"Until my leg was pierced by the venomous stinger shot by the thorn spider, meow, I was always the best rescue cat in the Hunter's Guild, boss."

The tabby cat does indeed have a slight limp, which is the main reason it left the dangerous hunting party to join the less dangerous [Anti-Entropy] and continue its adventures.

And it is indeed true.

The tabby cat called to its companions to carry the person, while it took out a bamboo medicine jar from a satchel woven from the stems and leaves of some kind of plant, uncorked the equally distinctive insect-like plug, and poured a large amount of medicine directly onto the 'goods'.

At least they managed to keep the other person alive.

Chapter 584 Capsule Hotel

Compared to ordinary workers, Palicoes are definitely excellent movers. Although Palicoes are generally less physically capable than humans, it depends on the race they are compared to.

They are certainly not as strong as individual hunters, but compared to ordinary people in Night City, they are basically worth three people.

Having undergone extensive prosthetic modifications, the 'All-Seeing Eye' weighs two to three hundred kilograms. Several Palicoes lifted it up and walked away without any hesitation or strain.

"Remember to numb him before locking him up," Jiang Bing instructed.

"Don't worry, boss." The tabby cat limped into the spatial rift last, and the scene that came before it closed made Jiang Bing's eyes twitch involuntarily.

The tabby cat had already pulled out a special tranquilizer ball from its pouch, a powerful tranquilizer that could paralyze a weakened Anjanath with just three or four of these balls. If it were used on the unfortunate Orion, Jiang Bing was even a little worried that the other party might never wake up again.

Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story. Leaving aside how Jiang Bing's group of four would wrap things up, Matilda led Song Zhaomei secretly to the location of the capsule hotel.

Although this place is operated and maintained by the 'Pipeline Guild', it is clearly the work of Crystal Palace. After all, they only accept Euros here and do not accept the barter payment method used in 'Cocoon', which is enough to prove the rationality of this speculation.

But coincidentally, the two refugees had neither money nor supplies.