Chapter 242: "All That You Own Will Belong to Us, Atlas Thanks You for Your Generous Donation"

Atlas?

The stall owner and several customers were taken aback. They, along with many passersby, had taken cover in an alley filled with homeless people.

From their confused expressions, it was clear that none of them had any idea what "Atlas" was.

"Atlas... is it some new gang trying to make a name for themselves?" a customer holding a bowl and chopsticks guessed, continuing, "Maybe they're targeting the Tiger Claw base to build up their reputation?"

"Impossible," the more experienced stall owner immediately dismissed that idea. "Those guys' equipment isn't something a gang could get their hands on. Judging by their style, they look more like military tech. I wouldn't be surprised if they're puppets backed by some military corporation."

"Yeah, could be Militech," the customer agreed with a nod. But then he noticed that the signal indicator in his cybernetic eyes was showing an "X."

Disconnected? He couldn't even record or take pictures of the "AECS" forces.

He had no access to his camera? As this realization dawned on him, his vision went completely dark, and his brain seemed to "shut down."

From an aerial view, all the pedestrians around the low-rise building appeared frozen in place, as if someone had hit the "pause" button. Their eyes were empty and unfocused, standing there in a trance.

——

Meanwhile, inside the building's lobby, Xiao Qiang, having deactivated his optical camouflage, was heading towards the elevator with Selene and three elite investigators. The bodies of Tiger Claw members were scattered across the floor.

The building's residents and the unrelated civilians who had come for "entertainment" were in the same unconscious state as the stall owner and customer outside.

Thanks to intel provided by the investigators, Soap, Ghost, and Leroya, who had arrived earlier, could accurately identify the Tiger Claw members and avoid any accidental killings or injuries. Most Tiger Claw members were of Japanese descent, typically carrying katanas and sporting gang-related glowing tattoos, making them easy to distinguish.

This building was one of the Tiger Claw's bases, housing "legal" bars, casinos, nightclubs, and clubs that provided various services. As for illegal activities, the list was endless. Selling illicit drugs and weapons was common, and the pink-haired woman who had earlier cried out for help had been kidnapped by the Tiger Claws, forced into becoming a "sex doll" in Night City's underground market.

Sex dolls, in this context, weren't robots, but humans fitted with sex doll behavior chips. During their service, their bodies were taken over by AI, fully dedicated to serving customers, and could even be customized to fulfill various desires. After their services ended, their memories would usually be wiped to ensure total "confidentiality," guaranteeing customer privacy and reducing the mental burden on the sex doll.

In other words, it was like installing an "automatic drive" function in specialized service workers.

At that moment, inside the elevator heading to the top floor:

"Unbelievable," commented Jill Valentine, the team leader of the investigation squad, dressed in casual bulletproof gear. She glanced at Selene and remarked, "The company's latest AI model can easily hack into the brains of Zero-Nine humans."

"Agent Valentine, I merely used a targeted pulse attack to make them see and hear only what is publicly available," Selene explained with a smile. "So, it's not really hacking in the strict sense. Besides, this pulse attack doesn't work on higher-level cyborgs like most of the Tiger Claw members."

"Even so, it's quite handy. This is probably the easiest mission I've ever been on," Jill mused.

Back in the day, when the company didn't have advanced AI, avoiding detection by civilians required using optical camouflage throughout the entire operation. But even that came with many risks and limitations, which is why the Investigation Department had always relied heavily on support from the Intelligence Department.

Now, with the help of advanced AI like Selene, previously tricky tasks like finding surveillance blind spots and deleting data no longer posed a problem. And in front of Selene, whose computational power was practically godlike, Zero-Nine cyborgs, who heavily relied on cyberware, were as exposed as if they were completely naked, with no privacy at all.

Standing behind Selene, Xiao Qiang nodded in agreement with Jill's words. His minimap displayed red dots representing enemies, and the assault team members, including Soap, Ghost, and Leroya, only needed to focus on their combat expertise.

Boom, boom.

Muffled explosions echoed from above, indicating intense fighting. However, the number of red dots on the minimap was rapidly decreasing, showing that the Tiger Claws were unable to resist the overwhelming force of Soap's team.

"Everyone," Selene suddenly said to Jill and Xiao Qiang, "I've hacked into the exclusive NCPD network for Westbrook since Major McTavish initiated the assault. Despite some resistance, I've gathered a lot of intel. For example, the police higher-ups have been deliberately ignoring crimes committed by gangs like the Tiger Claws and Scavengers, and they've been involved in arms deals with Arasaka and Militech."

"I also found out that Night City's network operates like an intranet, with a 'wall' used to isolate and block access. Beyond that wall… well, all I can say is it's extremely dangerous."

"Extremely dangerous? Do you mean Zero-Nine universe AIs?" Jill asked.

"Not just that," Selene deflected. "I'll apply for a dedicated cooling system from the Bio Department later to help me navigate beyond the wall. For now, our main objective is to secure this location, acquire local currency, and establish a branch office here as per Colonel Price's orders. I'll handle the cover-up, including how we stage the gang war, so don't worry about that."

Ding—

Just as Selene finished speaking, the elevator doors slid open.

Before them lay a corridor with a red carpet and high-end decor. It was strewn with the remains of Tiger Claw members, some of whom had been smashed apart by sheer brute force, while others were reduced to burnt husks from plasma blasts.

Xiao Qiang and the others exited the elevator and walked down the hallway to the top-floor office, where they witnessed Soap, who had just deactivated his optical camouflage. With two punches, he broke the mantis-like arms of a high-ranking Tiger Claw member, followed by a whip-like kick that shattered the man's legs.

The man's bulky body flew several meters before slamming into a wall and finally stopping.

Even then, the high-ranking member's face twisted with rage as he demanded, "あなた...あなたは誰ですか?! (Who... who are you?!)"

It seemed he still wasn't convinced. Even though his office was filled with a group of special forces who had just slaughtered all his subordinates, he showed no fear.

No one answered him. Selene walked over, slightly bent down, grabbed him by the neck with her left hand, and lifted him effortlessly with one arm.

Her purple eyes glowed as she spoke coldly:

"All your assets and memories will belong to us. Atlas thanks you for your generous donation."

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