Chapter 20

"You can do it, Jack, just don't look down." Jack muttered to himself, comforting himself, and swallowed hard. He accidentally glanced down and shuddered, "Damn! It's really high."

The two began to inch their way forward, with the footing going from about an arm's width to just a palm's width.

A slight misstep would result in a deadly fall.

Just then, a hover armored vehicle rose into the air and flew over from the other side of the building.

"Damn! Is it the Trauma Team?"

"If they're here to save Saburo, they're a bit late!" V yelled angrily.

"Hopefully they don't see us..." Jack muttered.

Perhaps his prayers worked, as the Trauma Team's hover vehicle simply ascended and flew over them.

But then, an even more terrifying thing appeared.

Wrapped in cold, black armor, a combat aircraft accompanied by a wailing engine sound and spewing blue ghostly flames like a grave, came face to face with V and Jack.

It was Arasaka's Hachibunmei!

The two of them had been discovered!

"Hijo de puta! (Oh shit!)" Jack was so scared that his heart and lungs almost stopped on the spot.

" (Suspected security threat detected)"

The Hachibunmei opened its crab-like wings and began to buzz like a multi-winged beetle.

Everything seemed predetermined.

Even if they had arrived earlier, it would have made no difference.

This was all destiny's choice!

The wind blew softly, and the rain drizzled.

Loki knelt on one knee, transparent raindrops striking his face at an angle and flowing down. In his eyes, there was a touch of madness.

"Destiny?"

"Destiny?"

"Destiny!?"

The shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft missile launcher suddenly shook, spewing a large amount of white smoke from the back, blending into the night rain.

A twisting warhead "whooshed" out of the barrel, and in an instant, penetrated the Hachibunmei's side armor.

"(Under attack!)"

Amidst the fireworks, the Hachibunmei lost its balance and began to fall, wobbling and smoking like a drunkard.

The entire aircraft was blinking with red warning lights.

"Not dead yet!?..." Loki stood up, took the last warhead from the box, loaded it into the launcher, and kicked the heavy iron box off the 300-meter-high building.

"Screw your destiny!!!"

A hundred meters away, the missile that hit the aircraft head-on disappeared. In an instant, the truck-sized armored drone exploded into a ball of fire from within. Large pieces of debris, smoking black, fell like a meteor.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang-!!!!"

The flying metal fragments, carrying fire trails and the sound of ammunition detonating, pierced through the atrium of the high-rise building.

"Hahaha- Vete a la mierda! (Eat shit!)"

Jack was first scared, then suddenly, with the situation turning around, he laughed with delight.

"Hurry up! There's one more!" V shouted, and as the distance seemed right, he leaped and hung onto the ladder, "Throw the box to me."

Seeing another Arasaka Hachibunmei appearing in their sight, about to round the building and pounce, Jack moved forward two steps and threw the box.

"Get out of the way, I'm jumping over!"

V immediately shrank down upon hearing this, and Jack yelled "hey" and jumped over as well.

"Ouch, shit, hurry... give me a hand." Jack didn't pull properly, his left foot stepped into the void, and his body hung on the circular railing outside the ladder.

"Give me your hand." V quickly extended a hand, pulling Jack in before the Hachibunmei arrived, and they hid in the ladder well.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud-!!!"

The large-caliber machine gun began firing, shattering the surrounding glass fence, with sparks flying everywhere like a paper castle being crushed.

But the two targets had already been lost, and only one figure remained on the edge, unable to escape in time.

Loki: Damn!!!

The Arasaka Hachibunmei ascended, illuminating the entire Tavenny Suite with its searchlight.

Fully transparent, naturally partitioned, with an unobstructed view of Night City.

But Loki didn't want to appreciate the damn night view of Night City right now; he only resented the lack of cover here.

No, this kind of reinforced concrete cover was useless.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud-!!!"

Like a wall, the TV wall, large enough to hide V, Jack, and a relic storage box, was reduced to rubble.

The machine gun seemed like a stupid brute, plowing the entire room into a mess.

"Bad luck, bad luck, bad luck...!"

Loki rolled and crawled towards the glass stairs leading to the rooftop: "T-Bug, start the car!"

He then didn't hesitate to pretend to be dead on the last few steps of the stairs. At this position, with the outer wall blocking him, the Arasaka Hachibunmei couldn't scan his head nor see his butt unless it flew right above him.

"Give me two seconds!" T-Bug said, "Okay, taking off!"

The luxurious hovercar of Arasaka Saburo, with its landing gear touching the ground, closed the cabin door, and the blue flames of the four vector engines gradually intensified, slowly lifting the massive black body into the air.

The rainwater on the ground was blown wildly, and Loki's face crumpled into a bitter gourd expression.

The Hachibunmei hesitated because it was Arasaka Saburo's car, and they hadn't received specific information, only knowing that there were intruders in the building and a red alert was issued.

The hovercar flew into the night sky, heading towards the Arasaka Tower in the city center.

Immediately, two Arasaka Hachibunmei followed, although they hadn't received information, escorting was a top priority.

"Clang-"

The armored gunboat hovering near the rooftop turned on its searchlight, illuminating the entire landing pad as if it were daytime.

Arasaka still hadn't given up on searching for him!

Loki didn't hesitate to turn around and run, almost sliding down the stairs.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud-!!!"

The Hachibunmei detecting the anomaly started spewing machine gun flames again, shattering the glass walkway.

"Quick! Open fire! Shoot down that thing in the sky..."

Loki pressed the speed dial, shouted half a sentence, then stumbled, almost rolling down the stairs.

Arasaka Saburo's "satori" tripped on the step, almost killing him.

Even in a life-or-death situation, Loki didn't forget to take the Arasaka family's katana.

But now, it didn't seem to be a matter of having the katana or not.

Loki glanced sideways, and the Hachibunmei outside the window reflected a frightening metallic luster in the pouring rain.

"Heh..."

Loki let out a bitter smile, the corners of his mouth widening.

He indeed changed the world's trajectory, but who could say for sure whether he could withstand the impact of the massive gears of time?

Many large holes were opened in the glass curtain wall, and the wind and rain poured in from outside. He could even hear the mixed noises from near and far.

"Whoosh-"

"Bang-!!!"

Suddenly, like lightning blinding a dog's eyes, followed by the sound of thunder, the stable Arasaka Hachibunmei seemed like it was overturned by an angry guest, its rear end bouncing up and losing balance in thick smoke.

It was Mael.

...

The bright military technology laboratory flashed through his mind, and when he opened his eyes, it was a dim basement that seemed to be operated by an illegal doctor.

The cyberware doctor, who didn't look old but had experienced many hardships, was busy with his work at the table.

[Are you the scavengers?... I never thought I'd fall into the hands of a kidney harvester one day.]

[Kidney harvesters wouldn't save people.]

[?]

[If you have any questions, ask him later. He's the one who decided to save you.]

Mael held the launcher, looking up at the dazzling fireworks blooming hundreds of meters high in the sky.

Raindrops fell on her bob hair, on her face mask, and drenched her unmarked tight combat suit.

It seemed like she could hear Loki's words to her back then.

[Why did you save me?]

[Because you're useful to me. Otherwise, I would've saved someone else instead of you.]

She even remembered that guy's smug expression.

"Whoosh-"

The missile was fired, pulling a long white tail, wobbling and then accelerating, howling straight into the sky, like a naughty child.

Her gaze followed the gradually shrinking shadow, slowly moving away.

[You want to use me?]