"Now do you understand what's going on?!" Logan Lane shouted.
Manny's realization hit like a freight train—it was all a setup.
"Dorio! We have to take down the Hellhound and him together!"
Separated by a thin wall, their shouts rang clear in each other's ears.
The bullets from Logan's pistol were futile against the bulletproof drone. He quickly stepped back, picked up the sniper rifle, and pulled the trigger amid the dense line of fire.
The sniper rifle, with its piercing power, brought the drone crashing to the ground, engulfed in flames.
"Well done!"
Manny gave Logan a smile of approval for dealing with the troublesome drone, then continuously called his teammates to retreat over the communication system.
Logan: Hello, your mother!
"You idiot, your boss sold you out, what do you think?"
Logan pursed his lips, ignoring Manny. His heart was racing as he quickly holstered his gun and ran in the opposite direction without looking back.
Now it wasn't about whether to keep Manny's team or not—he couldn't save himself.
What was happening?
[Call: Mr. Hands]
[No one answered]
In the dark night, Logan's eyes repeatedly flashed red with the attempted call. He tried to piece together everything in his mind. Hands had entrusted the middleman of Dogtown to let him check the details. He was ordered to stop the cyberpunks wanting to check Dogtown's goods...
Where did it all go wrong?
Wait!
The words Mr. Hands had asked with a smile echoed like thunder in Logan's mind.
"Do you know her?"
Was it Sasha? Logan thought he had no flaws. Why was Hands so sure he knew this team?
His heart sank. Though he didn't know why Militech's hacker had killed the Hamster, one thing was certain:
This was the company's murky water; he was the bait, thrown into the water where big fish and small fish battled to the death—and eventually, the company was also drawn into the chaos.
No one answered the phone, and Logan finally understood the truth of the matter: In Night City, there is never any trust.
His arrogance, thinking he knew Mr. Hands very well, and even considering himself a "player" equal to Hands, was his downfall.
Many mercenaries had died at the hands of middlemen in Night City.
This is the bloody reality.
"Damn, are you kidding me?"
Logan turned his head to look at the Heart-wrenching Club behind him. The green laser shot into the sky, and he wanted to throw his gun at Hands' face and unload a few bullets into him.
But reason will always prevail in Logan's head, and he gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and continued to run as fast as he could.
He knew that if he stopped, he would face the worst possible ending!
From the beginning to now, he had been too focused on improving the abilities on the panel and forgot that the world operates on a dark side, and human hearts cannot be predicted by any force.
What the hell is the reward? Staying alive is more important than anything else.
Logan felt he had done his best for Manny's team.
Unknowingly, there were a few more people running wildly in the same direction in the distance.
Logan laughed in frustration. Personal heroism may prevail in the struggle, but that is also based on having extremely strong abilities.
And now, he didn't wake them up, but the Ghost Dog made them sober up a little.
They were all idiots!
Logan didn't bother to care and quickly climbed over a level of Dogtown, sliding down the iron bracket next to him.
His goal was the place where the Voodoo Gang often gathered on the right side of Dogtown. On the top of the mountain, it could lead to other places in Dogtown. The gang would also cause chaos nearby because of the Ghost Dog. Logan's goal was to escape in the chaos and lie low for a while.
On the other side, Manny and his team were also running in the direction of retreat. Abandoning the vehicle and running away was a helpless move. Now the Dogtown Road was full of Hellhounds.
"What did Sasha say?"
Dorio asked in a deep voice.
Rebecca turned around, shot a drone to a standstill, then spun back around to continue running. "Manny, where is the middleman?"
Manny shook his head. "I can't get in touch with him. The guy was used by the Hellhound to block the bullet. Sasha said that military technology was used to block the bullets with Arasaka—"
"Most likely, they want to wipe out our entire line."
"The data is fake. Arasaka's hackers are attacking the data. No one can move."
Pyrrha shouted, "The drone is biting! Damn! I said that tinkering with my new research in the house is the real business!"
"Don't yell, bastard!" Rebecca fired a shot to block the drone for him, and kept cursing her brother.
Rebecca also noticed the young man who fell from the unfinished building in the distance, and her mood was a little strange.
Though the guy didn't know why he could call out her name, everyone fell into the mud this time. Manny didn't expect the job would involve the giant of Night City—the company.
Back then, the middleman said a certain client wanted to mess with Dogtown and disgust them. The price was not cheap, so everyone took the job.
After all, it could last for half a year, so no one would refuse.
"Ahem, this is Colonel Kurt Hansen."
The broadcasting devices scattered throughout Dogtown sounded, and Hansen's voice echoed in every corner of Dogtown.
"Dogtown is our homeland, we need weapons to equip ourselves and resist oppression!"
"But now, the damn military technology and Arasaka want us to lay down our weapons and listen to them!"
"There is no compromise here..."
"Dogtown residents, take up your weapons and get rid of these scum who entered our paradise!"
"I, Kurt Hansen, swear here: to protect the rights of every resident of Dogtown! Let those corporate bastards go to hell!"
"The company violated our rights, I will let everyone in Night City know the company's true face!"
What a clever trick to divert trouble.
Logan realized what card Kurt Hansen was playing!
In short, the interests of Dogtown were damaged, and the blame was placed on the companies, so they could fight amongst themselves.
Before crossing, Logan couldn't understand why Dogtown was stationed in Night City and no one dared to move.
Even the New United States and Night City officials kept silent.
Logically, military technology in Night City, Arasaka, Kanto... could directly confront it—even the new United States had the ability to combine military technology to raze this private city!
But this did not happen, and the real version of rat-killing-the-rat-is-playing.
No matter which company took action first, there were always people watching behind the scenes to find loopholes and interests.
The fisherman benefits from the snipe and the clam fighting, and whoever takes action first will suffer.
Not only that, the company has to stay away from this plague god. Hansen is eager for the company to bite,
and everyone will be furious, so that he can watch the tiger fight. Not to mention that there is a Cuban "pharmaceutical" group behind Hansen: every time Havana lights a cigar, someone in this world will die. (Note: Pharmaceutical is said very euphemistically, and book reviews should not be discussed. This is a background story, and everyone should treat it rationally.)
Why Hansen can live comfortably in Night City is due to these reasons, and Logan understood it immediately.
Logan's clearest understanding of this world is only from 2076 to 2077, and it is about several legendary stories. How this world will develop and whether it will continue as he knows are unknown.
The lessons in Night City are not worth taking, and they completely wake up Logan, who has been confused all along!
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