Chapter 154: Collapse

As Karl reached the entrance, he received an updated tactical map from Oliver in the team comms.

From his vantage point overlooking the entire camp, Oliver had a clear view of every movement the Wraiths made.

"Karl, perfect timing. Forty meters ahead of you, behind that brown-modified Hera, there are four guys—probably the leaders. Take them out. They're on high alert and seem to be packing some kind of electromagnetic jamming gear. My scope can't penetrate cover well enough to get a clean shot."

"Can't you just put a round through the Hera's engine and blow it up?"

"Tried that on another vehicle. They react too fast. Engine gets hit, but it doesn't blow immediately. Before it does, they scatter. If I don't activate my Sandevistan, I can't catch them."

"You might not be fast enough, but come on—no way all four of them have Kerenzikov implants."

"Who knows?"

Kerenzikov wasn't exactly rare. Plenty of gang goons in the city had it. But in the harsh, dust-filled environment of the Badlands, using such a precision-based implant? Seemed like a maintenance nightmare.

Not that it mattered to Karl what these guys shoved into their bodies.

Time slowed.

Karl stepped forward, weaving through the storm of bullets.

Each footfall sent dust swirling beneath him as he moved effortlessly between gunfire.

He watched the rounds carve paths through the air, felt every fiber of his body screaming with exhilaration.

Just speeding up his reaction time, his muscle movements—

It was enough to make it feel like he owned time itself.

No wonder people got addicted to cyberware.

That overwhelming sense of power, that absolute control over movement… maybe that was the real root of cyberpsychosis.

Karl didn't fully understand the mechanics behind Sandevistan. But in his mind, he'd always imagined it worked like a fish.

When he was a kid, he used to watch other children trying to catch fish in a creek. No matter how close their hands got—just centimeters away—the moment they struck, the fish would already be gone. It was as if it had teleported, effortlessly gliding through the water, as if the child's outstretched fingers had never even been there.

That explosive burst of reaction speed, that seamless motion—it was something beyond human capability.

So maybe that's what Sandevistan did.

It gave people what they lacked, letting them move like fish in a slowed-down river of time, slipping through the gaps, dodging the sluggish hands of reality.

Too much thinking.

Karl had already crossed twenty meters, reaching the Wraiths' position.

He shook his head slightly.

He wasn't some protagonist from a time-stopping story. Those guys had all the time in the world to monologue about existential nonsense.

This was just time dilation.

Thinking too much in a moment like this? Did time slowing down automatically make people think they were above humanity?

Screw that. He had no intention of becoming some cyberpsycho clutching a steamroller.

Karl forced himself to suppress the chaotic thoughts flooding his mind. Maybe it was just the neural response boost making his brain overactive. Either way, he'd made it to his destination.

A sharp sting coursed through his nerves and body as he came to a stop. He had covered a total distance of twenty-four meters from his starting point.

He could push a little further, but this was pretty much the limit.

Time resumed its natural flow.

Standing in the midst of the Wraiths, Karl raised both hands.

From his wrists, the monowire hummed to life, glowing as it reached full charge.

"Hoo…"

"The hell is this guy?!"

The six Wraiths surrounding Karl snapped their heads toward him, pupils dilating in shock. But before they could react—

The monowire lashed out.

A flash of light sliced through the air as Karl swung, then retracted the wire in a fluid motion, stepping forward.

"Sorry, just passing through."

"Aaaaaaah!!!"

The ones screaming weren't the six Wraiths already lying in twelve separate pieces on the ground.

Seeing someone appear in their midst and instantly carve up half a dozen of their own, the remaining Wraiths responded exactly as expected—from a gang that nobody in the Badlands had any respect for.

"They wiped out our guys! We're screwed! Run for your lives!"

"Get to the cars! Move it!"

They bolted.

Calling it a total rout might've been an overstatement, but at the very least, they had the basic survival instincts to retreat toward their vehicles and grab their weapons before making a getaway.

And as Karl's attack sent shockwaves through their ranks, the rest of the Wraiths made one thing very clear—nobody was sticking around to cover for anyone else.

They knew each other too well to expect that kind of loyalty. Every man for himself.

When they had the advantage, they hesitated.

The moment things turned against them, they collapsed like a house of cards.

Not even street gangoons were this pathetic.

Night City's big players really were on another level.

Everything had gone far smoother than anyone in Karl's crew expected.

Oliver had assumed they'd need to inflict at least fifty percent casualties—along with taking out the Wraith leaders—before the gang would consider running. That was why he'd insisted Karl prioritize their leaders first.

Who could've guessed that just six bodies hitting the ground would completely break them?

"This would get you executed in the 6th Street Gang!"

Oliver holstered his Mox. He wasn't some bloodthirsty psycho—he wasn't about to chase them down just to kill them. Things were wrapped up. No need to go overboard.

"Damn shame. I kinda wanted to see if those four leaders were worth anything."

Karl watched their retreating figures. "Though… it looks like at least one of them did have a Kerenzikov. I caught a glimpse of one guy's back—clear signs of an implant slot. No idea how they're getting proper ripperdocs out here in the Badlands."

"Maybe they've got backing? I mean, it's already crazy enough that they managed to jack a Militech convoy."

As Oliver finished speaking, Karl's comms lit up.

An incoming call.

The name on the screen—

Blanca.

P.S.: I originally planned to take a break because of a stiff neck. Even posted a notice. But then I slapped on some Yunnan Baiyao, felt better, and decided to update after all. That stuff is seriously strong.

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