The Creators: From Night City

Page 309

The second vehicle, the Columbus V340-F freight truck, began to veer erratically. Within two seconds, it looked as if several buckets of tomato sauce had burst inside, and blood instantly stained all the windows.

The car stopped.

Jiang Bing stepped out of the carriage, stretched out his cane from thin air, leaned on the ground, and looked at the war breaking out in the distance, the flames burning, a ferocious look appearing on his lips.

Li De wanted to call his teammates to check on the other party's situation, but found that the communication function had been blocked at some point.

The situation spiraled out of control so quickly that he was completely unprepared.

But worse news kept coming.

The figure of the 'Ghost Assault' suddenly appeared beside Jiang Bing. The laboratory-grade prototype optical camouflage would not fail even when the opponent was attacking, but would only show some slight spatial folds.

But in an instant, her graceful body was blasted into a cloud of blood mist in mid-air, blooming before everyone's eyes.

Chapter 622 The Fall of the King of Spies

Jiang Bing could use the Ether Flame to roast the opponent directly, but the amount of Ether gained from burning someone was far less than the amount spent. It was a losing proposition.

[Reverse Entropy] often engages in business that could cost them their lives, but Boss Jiang would never do a losing proposition.

This is normal. After all, no matter how much the other party changes themselves, becoming more and more cyborg, their body is nothing more than a pile of metal and flesh that are not particularly precious. The environmental limits of this world inherently determine that it is extremely difficult to cultivate (valuable) great souls and precious (equally valuable) extraordinary elemental devices.

There are quite a few of those crazy and chaotic souls in cyberpsychosis.

Unless all of the other party's prosthetic bodies are made of gold or even rarer metals, burning them one by one would definitely be a losing proposition for Jiang Bing.

In this situation, swinging his fist is actually more cost-effective.

Without a second's hesitation, the agents unleashed a barrage of bullets at Jiang Bing, as if on sale at a supermarket.

Jiang Bing responded to their attack without hesitation for even half a second.

Have you ever seen Roberto Carlos's powerful football shot? If not, you'll have the chance to witness it today.

When Jiang Bing kicked the four-ton vehicle, the first thing to bloom was the golden flame at the point of contact. The main purpose of this flame was to distribute the force exerted by Jiang Bing, preventing the kick from directly creating a hole in the not-so-sturdy vehicle body.

The third car was hit by a beautiful world wave, taking off into the air and colliding with the fourth car. They tumbled and crashed into an abandoned building in the distance, kicking up clouds of dust.

Moments later, the already crumbling building collapsed completely.

As for the FIA ​​agents inside and beside the car.

What secret agents?

Li De wanted to escape, but he couldn't.

To regard Jiang Bing merely as a mindless, reckless warrior is to seriously underestimate the value of a 'craftsman'.

He's a versatile character who can fight, tank, control, heal, and even handle logistics.

Li De's vehicle is a Hilux six-wheeled heavy off-road vehicle. The body has been modified with a complete set of bulletproof steel plates and bulletproof glass. Although it looks unremarkable, it is absolutely sturdy, durable, and powerful.

This metal fortress, capable of withstanding heavy machine gun fire, inexplicably went out of commission. No matter how Li De tried to restart it, there was no response; it was as lifeless as an iron coffin.

This situation is quite normal. Jiang Bing spent a tiny bit of ether to directly and physically melt and destroy a few key circuits of the car's ECU (Electronic Control Unit), bringing this metal behemoth to a standstill.

"Li De, he's coming." Alex, in the co-pilot's seat, gripped his M251S Ajax automatic rifle, but felt no sense of security.

That's outrageous, absolutely outrageous! The combat dominance the opponent displayed in just over ten seconds is ridiculously exaggerated. Even Hercules, the mighty god of mythology, probably couldn't have done that.

Li De pounded on the steering wheel in vain, somewhat exasperated.

“He’s coming, Reed!” Alex straightened his head and reiterated, his voice trembling slightly, “That monster is coming.”

Li De finally gave the steering wheel a whack, choosing to accept his fate.

"Get out of the car and fight him."

Whether it should be said or not, both agents absolutely possessed the courage to face death.

The two men got out of the car and fired repeatedly, venting their fear and anger with bullets.

When the bullet with an initial velocity of 1100 meters entered Jiang Bing's face, it suddenly seemed to hit an invisible shield, flashing a few sparks in the darkness before being violently bounced in all directions.

Jiang Bing was fiddling with the bullets as he advanced.

Boss Jiang is a pragmatic person. He is not hesitant to show off when he needs to, and he is equally true to his word when it comes to saving money.

He could easily melt the bullets that had intruded into his vicinity instantly with the [Ether Furnace], making a more impressive display, but the two clearly dying agents in the audience were obviously not worth his elaborate efforts.

After all, even showing off has its cost-effectiveness; even the richest man's ether is not in surplus.

So he chose the less dignified but more 'ether-efficient' 'physical work'.

This is what it means to ride a bicycle to a bar – save where you can, spend where you can.

After emptying his automatic rifle magazine, Li De discarded it without hesitation, exchanged a glance with Alex, pulled out his own pistol ("discard pawn"), and continued charging towards Jiang Bing, firing repeatedly.

One of the ricocheting bullets even hit him, but it couldn't deter his determination to fight to the death.

He was certainly not that kind of mindless brute; he felt he had a chance to trade one for one with the opponent.

As he fearlessly charged toward the windmill like Don Quixote, toward Jiang Bing, Alex had already dropped her gun and run without hesitation. Her mission changed the instant she met Li De's gaze; she had to survive, at least until she could transmit everything that had just happened, the intelligence obtained at the cost of the entire squad's lives, back to headquarters.

She had to tell the others that the information that seemed like mere rumors or urban legends was real, and not a smokescreen released by the enemy to pollute their intelligence pool!

Unfortunately, Li De overestimated his abilities, and Alex overestimated his escape speed.

There may be people who can rival gods with their mortal bodies, but they will never appear in the life of a Black man of New American descent living on Torria Movie Avenue in Liberty City, Night City, Southern California, or Dogtown, Southern Pacific State.

Therefore, Li De's desperate charge ultimately ended four or five meters in front of Jiang Bing. As the [Forger], whose essence was 'unfolded' in the present world, cast his golden eyes at him, a burst of golden lightning erupted from Li De's body. All his prosthetic bodies were instantly dominated by an unstoppable force, and he was instantly overloaded to the limit.

Like a robot that had lost power, he lost all consciousness within milliseconds. His body, propelled by the momentum of his forward motion, took a few small steps forward before crashing heavily to the ground, rolling half a circle, and peacefully falling asleep in a classic behind-the-back throw.

In short, he got up, he went up, and he was instantly defeated by Jiang Bingyi, the "forger," with just one look.

This is indeed the real gap between the two sides, a suppression of the lower-level being by a higher-level being who disregards the consumption of their own essence.

Alex, however, was not so lucky.

She rushed forward even faster and more urgently, causing her body to go limp and her entire body to lose control when the machine was forcibly shut down. Her forehead slammed against the curb in front of her, making a crisp, teeth-grinding sound.

Does it sound good? If it sounds good, it's a good start! ·JPG

These two senior FIA agents were still alive, after all, the intelligence in their heads was far more important than their lives.

Of course, this was mainly aimed at Li De; Alex was just an extra.

Chapter 623 The Real and Fake Hansen

The battle in the distance intensified.

As the Ghost Hound force gradually assembled, urban warfare began to reveal its meat grinder nature.

Explosions echoed one after another as various micro, small, and large drones circled and fought fiercely in the night sky above Dogtown, vying for air superiority.

Meanwhile, projectiles, man-portable missiles, anti-vehicle missiles, and the high-energy cutting rays unique to the Ghosthound armor illuminated the night sky from time to time, making Dogtown as lively as if it were Chinese New Year.

On the internet, things have already exploded, the roof has been lifted, and it's as noisy as a public toilet after being bombarded with firecrackers.

Although the hackers of New America are thousands of miles away and have not physically arrived, they have already projected their power into Dogtown through the internet, frantically devouring the data fortresses of the Hounds, and of course, the data fortresses of the Voodoo Gang.

Although online battles may not involve real-world conflict, they are far more brutal and crucial.

If the facilities, network interfaces, communication base stations, public surveillance camera networks, power equipment, etc. throughout Dogtown fall into enemy hands, in this era where everything is connected to the Internet of Things, the Ghost Hound will be fighting in the enemy's territory, and its every move will be exposed.

Fortunately, the predecessor of the Ghost Hounds was a regular army, and it had all the necessary network protections. In addition, the Voodoo Gang joined the battle early on, and the three parties fought a fierce and evenly matched battle in cyberspace.

What's even more different from the real world is that the chaotic battles in cyberspace make it incredibly convenient for onlookers to watch the spectacle.

The internet has infinitely weakened the impact of physical distance, and the massive data flow disturbance in Dogtown has attracted the attention of various organized and unorganized groups, individuals, men, women, young and old, and even wandering AI from the surrounding area.

Among the more important ones are the cyber surveillance agent who has been operating in the shadows in Dogtown, a bored guy with glowing blue eyes, the hacker Arasaka who lives in a tower, Otto Cunningham who extends a hidden data tentacle from behind the black wall, and Nix, the chief hacking expert of the Reincarnation Rogue.

Of course, we can't forget Boss Jiang from High-Dimensional Biotechnology, who has been constantly watching the screen and has never gone offline.

"BOSS"

Jiang Bing's guards quickly located their monarch using the location he sent.

Mann glanced at Li De lying on the ground, frowned, and ultimately chose not to speak.

It's hard to get someone who has suffered under the system to turn around and embrace it. Mann now only wants to make [Reverse Entropy] bigger and stronger.

Jiang Bing also wanted to expand and strengthen his business.

Although the battle in Dogtown is at a stalemate, Rosalind Miles is not yet deeply involved.

Therefore, Jiang Bing decided to add some ingredients to the other party's scheme.

As Jiang Bing flicked his finger, Hansen's voice suddenly rang out again from the broadcasting system that spanned the entire town of Dogtown.

"This is Kurt Hansen. If you can hear me, listen up. Everyone's saying I was attacked by the new FIA. I'm here to say it's true..."

"Is our Colonel Hansen being pushed to the limit, or is he just going to throw caution to the wind?" Dogtown, which has become a battlefield, is no safe place anywhere, but Mr. Hans, who is the middleman in Dogtown, did not choose to leave. At most, he used his connections to return from the martial law-bound Gemstone Blue Building to the Concerned Club and kept a close eye on the developments of the war.

Of course, he wasn't completely unprepared; the small group of edge travelers around him was his way of ensuring his safety.

Every middleman has his own network of fringe travelers, and he is no exception.

However, he wasn't speaking to the people around him; he was talking to himself.

This is because Hansen's broadcast statement was so shocking. It's important to understand that the fact that the new United States attacked him and his public announcement on the radio that he had been attacked by the new United States are two completely different things.

The latter can be considered to have pushed the two sides into a situation of no return.

"The FIA's rats only know how to launch sneak attacks, but the Hounds of the Underworld are not to be trifled with. In 2070, we served the new America faithfully, enduring the pressure from the Arasaka Army, and firmly rooted ourselves in Pacific State, all so that this country could better achieve unification and pave the way for a full-scale attack on Night City. But that bitch Rosalind Miles turned around and signed the Alvin Accords with the various Free States, abandoning the plan to attack Night City and discarding all the success we had achieved at the cost of our sacrifices. Of course, for the sake of the greater good, this is not unacceptable, but do you know why I was unwilling to withdraw my troops back then? It was because I didn't want to leave. I'll tell you the truth here."

Jiang Bing's eyes flashed with a golden light as he glanced at Colonel Hansen, who was being dragged out of the car by the 'Black King's Apostles,' during a break from hacking into the Netherhound Broadcasting Station.

The other person was still fast asleep, unaware that Jiang Bing was preparing to subject him to a form of 'social death'.

Dogtown's broadcasts are broadcast to the entire town, and gossip is something no human can resist, so even though the war continues, everyone is still listening intently, including Mr. Hans.

"The answer is that I never received any order to retreat. Isn't that ridiculous? I only realized afterwards that we had been tricked by Rosalind Myers, tricked by politicians who only cared about their own interests. As a condition for peace, the new United States promised the enemy to abandon our force."

"Ha, it's ridiculous, isn't it? The valiant warriors who won the victory were ultimately sacrificed to appease the enemy's anger. That's why I established Dogtown here. I did it just to earn back my and my brothers' lives from the new America. And it turns out, I did it. If we could do it years ago, we can do it today. If we don't want to be used as toilet paper by those fat pigs in Atlanta again, we must unite."

"Netherhound, fight!"

On the radio, Hansen spoke passionately and inspired people with his personal charisma.

In reality, those low-ranking Ghosthound soldiers did indeed fall for his American-style heroism.

The counterattack begins.

At Westwind Manor, Rosalind Miles listened with a furrowed brow as her staff reported on the state of the war.

"Your Excellency, our men have been pushed back to the Cradle Street area by the Ghost Hounds, suffering heavy casualties."

The new US president was unconcerned about the number of soldiers killed; her first question was the one most relevant to her position: "Has Agent Reed still not responded?"

The answer is obvious.

This iron-fisted president is willing to accept any number of deaths as long as it achieves her goals, but the current situation is precisely what she cannot accept.

She was already considering leaving.

But now that things have come to this, and she's gone to such great lengths, she's prepared to make one last attempt.

"Send all our reserve soldiers up there."

Chapter 624 This is a tribute

As a result, a large number of new American soldiers rushed out of Westwind Manor again, joined the battle through the breach in the Dogtown wall, and expanded the front line of the battle westward into Dogtown.

That was the last place Li De sent a message before he lost contact.

Looking at Dogtown, which was in complete chaos, Jiang Bing instructed Mann, "Have everyone get ready."

Mann bowed his head in response.

In the wasteland west of Dogtown, on the ruins of a biotechnology protein farm that was once destroyed by Jiang Bing's tornado, a massive army lies in wait.

The blackened power armor gleamed with a somber matte finish under the faint starlight, while the equally imposing firearms were already loaded and ready to fire.

They were waiting; they had been quietly in place since before nightfall and had been waiting patiently.

Although Jiang Bing doesn't have Mr. Blue Eyes's city-wide network of informants or his highly efficient big data models, the online world is unlikely to hold any secrets for him if he wants to.

He entered the game himself, and in return, Rosalind Myers did the same.