Chapter 151: Seven-to-One Disparity, The Advantage is Ours

V watched as Oliver's optics flickered with shifting colors. It was clear he hadn't seen this particular model in real life before, and his curiosity made him take a closer look. After observing the changing hues, he recognized the type.

"That's a Kiroshi Selective Color variant, just hit the market recently. If I remember right, it comes with built-in anti-surveillance features, a scanning function, and the latest high-resolution zoom tech."

"You really know your stuff. Been keeping up with this tech?"

Oliver was busy scanning the camp but didn't mind chatting with V, who already seemed like the type to make friends easily. "It's not the most high-end model out there, but it suits me just fine."

"Yeah, I've been keeping an eye on it. Big brand and all."

V seemed to have a solid grasp of cybertech, and he and Oliver had barely been talking when Oliver suddenly spotted something.

"Got something. West side of the camp—there's a cave. Heat signatures inside. Even with all this movement and relocation, the people in there haven't budged an inch. I'm guessing that's where our target is."

"Any count on numbers?"

Karl walked over.

"Still scanning. So far, I've picked up forty-two life signs, but I can't tell how many are inside the cave. The heat signatures in there are messing with the readings."

"Forty-two, huh? Got it."

Karl turned to V.

Beep.

"This job's done."

V blinked in confusion as another 15,000 eddies landed in his account.

"Wait… the job isn't over yet."

"Huh?"

What the hell did he mean not over yet?

Wasn't this gig simple? V and his crew tracked down the Wraiths, brought Karl's team here, and now they'd handle the rest.

Seeing Karl's confused expression, V looked just as baffled.

"You said half up front, half on delivery. I get why you sent me the eddies, but the job's not done yet. We still haven't wiped out the Wraiths or rescued your people."

"Huh?"

Jack and Oliver, who had just wrapped up their scans, turned their heads. "Wait… you guys are helping us take out the Wraiths and rescue the hostages?"

"What else would we be doing?"

V's two nomad companions had already grabbed their gear and were heading over. V, still not getting why the three of them looked so surprised, just frowned.

"You paid 30,000 eddies. Isn't that for us to help with the rescue? The money's already in our account—why wouldn't we do the job?"

What the hell is wrong with city folk?

That was V's current thought.

What the hell is wrong with these nomads?

That was the thought running through the minds of Karl, Jack, and Oliver—three people completely immersed in Night City's way of thinking.

In mercenary work, you get what you pay for. After spending enough time in the business, Karl and his crew had learned that lesson well—how much you get paid determines exactly how much you do. No more, no less.

But this situation… was different.

To Karl and his team, 30,000 eddies was just the fee to have V and his crew track the Wraiths and lead them to their base. But to V and his people, tracking and guiding were just minor details. That kind of money? That was payment for the real job—helping with the rescue. There was no debate about it. As for why the job listing only mentioned tracking the Wraiths… well, what else would you do after tracking a bunch of Badlands gangoons? The obvious next step was a fight.

This difference in perspective suddenly turned a three-man operation into a six-man team, completely unplanned.

"Good thing you guys aren't mercs. The fixers would be fighting over you."

Karl sighed. All he wanted was a group of capable trackers to find the Wraiths' trail. He hadn't expected the tracking to be just an afterthought and the real service to be hired muscle delivered straight to his doorstep.

Thinking the money was too much for an easy job, so the real task had to be harder? Being a hired gun and then worrying for the client, making sure they got their money's worth?

Karl could only think one thing.

These guys are the ultimate suckers.

Watching V casually spin his Nova revolver, Karl got the feeling this guy would probably take on a job for a fixer over just a few thousand eddies.

After a moment's thought, Karl walked to the back of their pickup and popped open the trunk.

Originally, he hadn't planned on counting V's crew as part of the job. But since they were here, they deserved some proper compensation.

Handing them more eddies and explaining why 30,000 wasn't a lot for a merc team? Too much of a hassle. Better to just give them something useful.

"If you're in, at least swap out your gear."

Karl motioned for V and his two nomad companions. "That Nova revolver's not gonna cut it. Take these instead."

With that, he tossed them the extra weapons he'd packed before leaving.

A Copperhead assault rifle, a Crusher shotgun, and a Saratoga SMG—loot from past gigs, now in the hands of the three nomads. He followed up with a pack of ammo.

"Four full mags for each. Should be enough."

After shutting the truck's tailgate, Karl pulled back the slide on Saphire, ensuring the chamber was ready.

"Saratoga's a good piece of hardware." "Crusher's worth at least a thousand eddies."

While his companions checked their weapons, V, holding the Copperhead, didn't seem particularly impressed. His old nomad family had plenty of these. He'd just never bothered upgrading—his Nova had always been enough.

"Alright, let's go over the plan."

After making sure everyone had checked their gear, Karl continued.

"The target is likely inside that cave on the west side of the camp. We wait until most of the Wraiths have finished packing up and are about to move. That's when we strike.

"One team takes out the guards at the cave entrance and moves in to retrieve the target.

"Another team holds the entrance to prevent reinforcements from cutting us off.

"Once the Wraiths realize what's happening and regroup, a third team attacks from the rear. The ones inside will push out while we flank them from both sides."

Karl glanced around at the five others. "In simple terms—two go in, two hold the entrance, two stay outside for backup."

Attacking from the outside first ran the risk of the Wraiths killing the hostages before they could get inside. But if everyone charged into the cave at once and got trapped inside, they were as good as dead.

Splitting into teams of two ensured they weren't outmaneuvered. A larger Wraith force might surround the cave entrance, but they'd be pinned down once the third team struck from behind.

Karl had considered just brute-forcing his way through with cyberware, but Viktor had warned him about the risks of implant rejection. Oliver and Jack had already used their Sandevistans and berserk implants earlier today—there was no telling if pushing them too hard again would cause complications. A more tactical approach was the safer play.

Originally, Karl had planned to do this with just the three of them, but now each group had doubled in size.

Six against forty-two.

Each of them only had to deal with seven enemies.

The advantage was clearly theirs.

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