Chapter 25: Help Me Take Someone Out!

Chapter 25: Help Me Take Someone Out!

Li Ang suppressed the urge to curse out loud. When he looked up, he noticed Lucy smiling brightly at him, her glass of wine untouched.

"Why aren't you drinking?"

Lucy brushed the stray hair behind her ear with a flirtatious smile. "I get drunk as soon as I touch alcohol. To ensure your personal safety, I can only replace wine with water."

After saying this, Lucy picked up the soda on the table and drank it in one go. She chuckled softly as Li Ang, clearly tipsy, slowly slumped over.

Half-dreaming and half-awake, Li Ang caught the scent of Lucy's lime-scented hair and felt the softness and firmness of her arms. Her slender fingers lightly grazed his skin.

But soon, the pungent smell of Manen's sweat and the sensation of his solid muscles rubbing against him pulled him back to reality.

Manen: "What's wrong with the boss?"

Lucy: "He drank a bit and passed out. Let him rest for a while—he's been too exhausted lately."

---

Westbrook District, H8 Skyscraper.

Cloudtop Club.

Amid the flickering neon lights, Royce finished his final vigorous bout. After releasing his pent-up tension, he swaggered out of the private room.

"Heh, Boss, you really have stamina! That little Eastern chick was screaming for a whole half-hour. Did you swap out your lower half for some nuclear-powered contraption?"

Dum smiled wickedly as he spoke.

Royce and Dum were low-level leaders of the Maelstrom gang. They mainly roamed the northern industrial area of the Watson District and the northern part of Kabuki.

They made their living through smuggling, robbery, extortion, and occasionally taking on jobs that others wouldn't dare to touch from middlemen.

This time, their presence on Tiger Claw turf was due to an invitation from Wu Dong.

"Hah! Do you think I need to swap anything? A natural-born stud like me doesn't need enhancements. My full-body cyberware—this is the hardest thing I've got!"

"Impressive! Truly impressive!" Dum grinned.

"Let's get to the next room and see what Wu Dong wants with us," Royce growled, his voice rough. Without hesitation, he pushed open the door of the adjacent private room and strode inside.

Inside, Wu Dong, Jojo Jotaro, and Hiromi Sato were lounging in their chairs, casually chatting about gang matters.

"Royce, you finally wrapped up. We've been waiting for ages," Jotaro said impatiently. "Can't you move faster next time? Stop wasting everyone's time."

Royce shrugged, the cybernetic red glow of his terrifying eyes gleaming. The mix of mangled flesh and metal on his face was a grotesque sight.

"Hmph, if I don't blow off some steam, I might just snap and shoot the lot of you!"

Dum nodded in agreement. "That's just the Maelstrom way. If you don't like it, stop calling us for jobs."

"You..." Jotaro was about to lose his temper, but Hiromi Sato held him back.

"Now that you've both had your fun, let's talk business. This job is a big one."

Wu Dong, calm and composed, smiled as he addressed Royce and Dum. "You've probably noticed the recent prominence of the Triad in Night City, haven't you?"

At this, Royce immediately frowned and cursed:

"Those Triad dogs! They've been hijacking my shipments every day, and we can't even beat them!"

The Triad and the Maelstrom were originally two gangs that didn't interfere with each other. But ever since Chen Tao expanded his influence into the Kabuki area, the Maelstrom in the northern region couldn't avoid being affected.

The Triad's philosophy, much like that of the Tiger Claws, focused on internal unity and external dominance.

In contrast, the Maelstrom, with its fragmented structure and numerous leaders, was no match for the Triad. Recently, Royce had even been planning to move operations to Westbrook.

If you can't win, retreat. Flexibility was key to surviving in Night City.

"Heh, I heard the Tiger Claws also suffered a huge loss to the Triad, even losing Kabuki—such prime real estate."

"What? Can't take down Chen Tao, so you're planning to use our lives to settle your scores?"

Dum, his face also aglow with red cybernetics, sneered. "You do know the Triad has backing, right? That LA Corporation or whatever. Their sugar daddy's far better than your unreliable Arasaka Corporation. Guns, artillery—they've got it all. What a life they must lead!"

"And you Tiger Claws? A bunch of bastards without a proper family—no one loves you, no one wants you. Hahaha!"

Hearing this, Jojo Jotaro nearly exploded, itching to smash a bottle over Dum's glowing cyber-eye. That foul mouth was worse than a cesspit.

"Dum, show some respect!"

Jotaro glared at him viciously. "We brought you here to get a job done, not to shoot your mouth off."

"Cut the crap. I don't want you to go head-to-head with the Triad. Just take someone out for us."

Wu Dong, puffing on his cigarette, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. "Do the job, and you'll get 500,000 eurodollars. After that, you're free to go wherever the hell you want."

"Clear enough for you?"

Royce chuckled coldly, the red glow in his eyes locking onto Wu Dong. "Just 500k? You'd throw a million at the Triad, but we're only worth this much?"

Hiromi Sato gritted her teeth. "That million was forcibly taken by Chen Tao. We'll settle that score someday!"

"Fine. Who's the target?"

Royce cracked his neck. Killing and looting were just daily routines for the Maelstrom. This job was right up their alley.

"Lucius Rhyne. You should know the name." Jotaro's tone was heavy.

"What? Lucius? Are you insane? That fat district chief is the head of the NCPD's Watson precinct—and a mayoral candidate!"

Even Royce, accustomed to bloodshed, was stunned by the target.

They usually preyed on nobodies with no background. Who would dare provoke someone at the top? That was suicide!

"Are you trying to wipe out the Maelstrom completely? And for this price?" Dum couldn't hold back his shock and yelled.

"Calm down. This job has to be done quietly. Leave a few Triad corpses at the scene to frame Chen Tao," Wu Dong explained, outlining the assassination plan he'd devised.

This mission didn't involve just the Tiger Claws—it also had the backing of another mayoral candidate, Weldon Holt.

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