The night streets were as intense as a forge, bullets were the sparks, and lives were the fuel.
Simply put, they were beaten until even their own mothers wouldn't recognize them.
The netizens of Night City were caught in a frenzy over this feast of flesh and blood.
"Hit them, hit them, hit them hard!"
"Justice will prevail!"
"To the guy above, I don't know about justice, but you're just a Honeycomb Mercenary-loving son of a bitch!"
While these bystanders were falling into a frenzy, Berry, as the commander-in-chief of the "Western Army," remained completely clear-headed.
...
"Have you really decided?"
Looking at the brand-new Johnny Silverhand, Berry asked again.
"Of course, I know what I'm doing."
The voice was not the crisp, girlish voice of Johnny, and the person standing in front of her was not that five-foot-tall, two-hundred-and-fifty-pound Jiaoni Silverarm.
When you heard that gravelly male voice, ravaged by cigarettes and alcohol, you knew that Johnny Silverhand was back.
His silver cyberware arm held a Cuban cigar in his mouth; he took a puff, the embers glowed, and he exhaled a ring of white smoke.
Johnny let out a sigh of relief.
He had finally truly returned.
His black hair was draped behind him like a Viking's, his beard was scruffy, and his face looked weary, but his eyes revealed a fiery determination, as if they would be ignited in the next second.
Johnny Silverhand, a one-to-one replica, that savior of Night City (self-proclaimed) was back.
"Heh, this is what you call cool. What, am I handsome?"
His cigarette-and-alcohol-ravaged voice carried weariness, but more than that, a kind of arrogant conceit.
Johnny examined his familiar face in the mirror with satisfaction, nodded, and then suddenly threw a punch.
With a bang, the mirror shattered and fell to the ground like snowflakes.
"Hmm, not bad, looks like a cheap porn version of Keanu Reeves."
Looking at the small-eyed Keanu Reeves in front of her, Berry nodded earnestly.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Sarcasm didn't seem to work on a bird like Johnny, especially since his face was now made of artificial synthetic skin.
"But seriously, are you really planning to storm the Tyger Claws headquarters alone to pull off something big?"
It had to be said, Johnny's idea was very bold.
This bomber seemed to always be thinking about changing bases, and the plans he came up with were always so extreme.
Even Berry was a bit unsure about this idea.
"Stop the f*cking chatter, tell me the target information, and I'll bring you his head. It's that simple."
As if his balls had grown back, Johnny spoke with a fiery temper, completely unlike the cute version of Johnny.
"Fine, just remember that your repair costs are all covered by Rogue."
She sighed helplessly.
Handing the data chip to Johnny, Berry began to explain the target Johnny needed to deal with this time.
"Jotaro, a beast in a suit, a scumbag. He is the culprit behind this war."
"The information from Rogue is already very clear. Judging by the communication transmission distribution of the Tyger Claws, the target is in this building, but the specific location cannot be determined; you'll have to find it yourself."
"Currently, the passages between Watson and Westbrook District have been blocked, except for the main cross-river road where fighting is ongoing. You can only swim over from the outer sea. Frogman tactics, understand?"
"Also, these three brothers are former scouts, experts in stealth operations. They will fight alongside you."
Berry stepped aside and gestured to the three silent Honeycomb Mercenaries behind her, who were wearing black stealth combat suits and hoods, with only two circular, lens-like eye holes visible.
Their combat suits had heat signal shielding and stealth functions.
Although they couldn't handle security at the level of Arasaka Tower, they could still manage things like sneaking into Old Wang's house next door via the sewers and coming back, or assassinating the Tyger Claws boss.
"Alright, I understand."
Glancing at the three of them, Johnny nodded.
He took two steps, then suddenly turned back.
"If I say this, just pretend it never happened, but if I don't say it..."
After pondering for a few seconds, Johnny finally spoke.
"Thank you, thank you for pulling me back from hell."
With that, Johnny didn't look back.
"..."
Although it was rare to hear a few nice words from this old guy Johnny, in this situation...
Why did this old guy seem like he was setting up a flag?
Berry felt an ominous premonition.
...
With Johnny in the lead, the four of them walked in the dripping sewer.
It was quiet all around; there was no sound other than their boots stepping on the sewer steel plates.
They would pass through the sewer unnoticed to reach the outer beach, then swim from the sea to land in Westbrook District to launch a decapitation strike.
Everything had to be done in stealth.
After all, it was the Tyger Claws' headquarters; if even one step went wrong, this infiltration team would face failure.
But it would be fine.
After all, they had the legendary Johnny Silverhand of Night City on their side.
The three scouts thought excitedly.
This was a tough guy who could even blow up Arasaka Tower; the mere Tyger Claws would be no problem.
The group reached the exit and prepared to go up to the street.
"Wait, what's that noise behind us?"
But before acting, Johnny suddenly looked behind them, as if something in the passage they came from had attracted him.
Although the three of them didn't hear any noise.
According to their professional experience, they should have trusted their own judgment.
But after all, they were being led by the legendary Johnny Silverhand.
Out of trust in Johnny, the three of them still turned back with their guns raised, on alert.
"Urgh!?"
"Ah!"
With two short exclamations, two Mercenaries collapsed to the ground.
And behind them, Johnny was holding his silver Malorian pistol upside down, raised in the air.
"Silverhand!?"
The only remaining Mercenary turned around in surprise, looking at Johnny Silverhand in disbelief.
He couldn't understand why he would attack friendly forces.
Still a bit rusty.
Johnny thought, then looked at the Mercenary.
"Are you going to turn around yourself and expose your neck, or do you want me to help you?"
Johnny said calmly.
Bad.
The Mercenary judged the current situation in less than half a second, kicked his legs, and turned to run.
He had to go back.
Warn everyone that Johnny Silverhand had betrayed them.
After judging that he was no match for Silverhand, he chose to run away at the first opportunity.
But after all, there are limits to human reaction speed.
Although the Mercenary, as a former scout, reacted quickly, he still couldn't outpace Silverhand, who was no longer human.
His mechanical body reacted instantly, extending a foot to hook him.
The Mercenary was careless, lost his balance, and fell flat on his face.
Just as the other person was about to climb up, Johnny crouched down, and the pistol grip accurately struck the Mercenary's back of the neck.
The Mercenary let out a muffled groan and passed out, just like his two companions.
On the spot, only Johnny remained, half-crouched, looking indifferently at the unconscious Mercenary below.
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