Completely unexpected.

Even V, equipped with Si Anweisitan, couldn’t stop the sword that suddenly appeared and split Kuno in half!

V almost instantly raised a pistol and fired, but the attacker reacted quickly; the bullet missed!

The samurai sword was stuck in Kuno’s body and fell to the ground with his corpse with a thud—

The chip Kuno was going to give them was gone too!

Lille gritted his teeth and growled, "Damn, optical camouflage—that way!"

The attacker’s movement weakened the optical camouflage’s effect, and the three of them saw a distortion in the light at the end of the alley!

V charged out first, followed closely by Lille and Jack. As they turned the corner, Lille saw four bodies on the ground!

It was the Tiger Claw Gang from earlier! Except for one person!

"Damn it, we’ve been played—"

Beep—

Before Lille could finish speaking, a faint alarm began to sound in his ear, its frequency rising steadily—there was a laser tripwire mine on the ground!

Boom!

A terrifying explosion erupted, and a wave of fire consumed the alley!

Everything turned upside down!

The massive impact made Lille’s internal organs feel numb. The pain almost made him pass out.

In his prosthetic eye, the biometric monitor kept flashing error messages.

[Biometric Monitor Warning:]

[Minor spleen rupture, localized bleeding]

[Minor lung edema]

[White blood cell count in the left arm rising rapidly, possible bruising, fracture]

[Please proceed to the nearest hospital for treatment.]

But this was already a stroke of luck amid misfortune.

Just outside the alley, V saw the agent mounting a motorcycle, but before she could start the chase, an explosion sounded behind her.

V anxiously called out over the comms, "Lille? Jack?!"

"Cough cough... we’re fine, but you’ve got to catch that guy! Damn it... NCPD and the Tiger Claw Gang will be here soon! V, you have to catch that guy!

Don’t look at the motorcycle; just drive our car!"

Lille’s voice was weak over the comm channel, but his instructions were clear.

If they were to operate in the city, the maneuverability of the motorcycle would far surpass that of their Mackinaw Pika, but V didn’t question Lille’s reasoning.

With Si Anweisitan activated, V instantly appeared on the Mackinaw, roaring as she pursued the guy.

In the alley, Jack shook off the debris; his clothes were in tatters, still smoldering, with cuts on his face and disheveled hair.

However, though he took the brunt of the explosion, his injuries might not be as severe as Lille’s.

Fortunately, it was V who triggered the mine.

Obviously, the other party intended for them to keep moving after triggering the laser tripwire, ensuring the entire alley would be inside the explosion’s range.

But V was too fast, and though Jack and Lille were right behind, they hadn’t really entered the alley when the explosion occurred.

Otherwise, even if Jack’s subdermal armor was tougher, his legs would have been blown off for sure.

Lille knelt, trying to ease the impact on his internal organs.

Jack extinguished the flames on his body and looked over with concern, "Are you alright, Lille?"

"I’m fine..." Lille shakily pulled a pneumatic injector from his pocket, containing both a pain reliever and a hemostatic agent.

After giving himself two shots, Lille barely managed to stand—

"Help me to the motorcycle; the Mackinaw lacks the agility and power; V will lose him."

"But you said not to ride the motorcycle..."

"I know, that was because we didn’t have time to take care of it... cough—"

Lille coughed up blood as Jack helped him to the motorcycle.

He pulled out a mechanic’s glove and began inspecting the motorcycle—

Just as he suspected, the motorcycle had been tampered with, an improvised explosive device attached to the electronic starter outside. Evidently, the guy had planned to sacrifice these fools all along.

If they had started it directly, when the fuel in the tank was sufficient, the detonator would have triggered an explosion.

Such an explosion would come suddenly, and if V had actually sat on it, there’d be no time to escape once it went off.

But now, that’s not the most troublesome thing—the Tiger Claw Gang had lost people, as had the corporation.

Tailing, hiding, assassinating, then planting mines to block pursuit—

Clearly, the assailant was a seasoned agent, and he wouldn’t miss the chance to make things difficult for the three of them.

Chances were, the guy had already tipped off the Tiger Claw Gang and the NCPD about the deaths before acting.

Lille dialed a number.

Contact: Rogel.

Beep beep—

Rogel: "Burger King, looks like we have a problem."

Lille: "Yeah, we have a problem. Get me Ogata Wako’s number."

Rogel: "You dare call her? The Tiger Claw Gang is looking for you; if you go to her, she might just sell you out to them."

Lille: "I didn’t kill the Tiger Claw Gang member. It was an undercover corporate agent."

Rogel: "Big news, I’ll get you the number."

Ogata Wako, the fixer of Westbrook, the queen of Japan Street.

Officially, she was just a fixer, not the leader of the Tiger Claw Gang, but she had been involved with several of their top brass—all of whom were now dead.

The Tiger Claw Gang wanted to find someone, and Lille, not wanting to clash with them, had to seek her mediation.

Beep beep—

Contact: Ogata Wako.

Ogata Wako: "Oh, isn’t this the up-and-coming newbie?"

Ogata Wako: "You come to my turf and start killing Tiger Claw Gang members, are you tired of living?"

Lille: "Long story short, I didn’t kill them; it was a corporate agent undercover in the Tiger Claw Gang, either Biotechnica or Arasaka."

Lille: "Help me get the Tiger Claw members away, and I’ll provide you with evidence."

Ogata Wako: "...You think I’ll believe you?"

Lille: "It’s your gang’s bike, and there’s an explosive attached to the gas tank."

Ogata Wako: "That could be your doing too."

Lille: "Yeah, sure, it could have been me. The city center is probably in chaos right now. My guys are chasing that bastard in a Mackinaw; see if he’s heading towards Westbrook or Company Square."

Lille: "Once he reports back to the corporation, that corporate immunity bullshit will kick in!"

Lille: "Then he’ll go on vacation with company support, boasting about how he played the Tiger Claw Gang, how even Ogata Wako, the queen of Japan Street, was left in the dust!"

Lille: "But give me some time, and you’ll still be the queen of Japan Street, feared even by corporations! I’ll bring back that bastard’s head!"

Ogata Wako: "...I’ll grant you some time, but if there’s no evidence for your claims, you know what will happen."

The call ended just as Lille finished fixing the three remaining motorcycles.

He breathed a sigh of relief inwardly—Ogata didn’t necessarily have to help him, so he had to speak in this way to get them a chance.

The good news was, he secured that chance.

"Jack, go after V and steer that guy towards Company Square; be cautious of NCPD’s pursuit."

Jack opened his mouth, a bit doubtful of his ears.

"...Brother, did I hear that right?"

"You heard it right. That guy’s mission is only half-completed; you must catch up."

Lille patted the motorcycle beside him.

"I’ve modified the bike’s circuit. Pressing the horn will overload the engine, ensuring you can catch up, but don’t hold it down."

"So... we’re to capture a corporate agent in the city center?"

Jack clicked his tongue: "My mom’s gonna kill me."

Lille got up and patted Jack’s shoulder solemnly: "Listen, Jack, this is on you.

If we don’t catch him or let him return to the company, everyone who died here will be our fault—the corporation, NCPD, Tiger Claw Gang, they’ll all pin it on us.

But that won’t happen. We’re going to humiliate the corporation, right here, in the heart of Night City, where all the wealthy can see.

Show Night City what a kid from Haywood is made of.

You and V, we must catch that agent in the city center."

Jack laughed and rubbed his nose, then mounted the motorcycle: "Leave it to me."

The motorbike roared to life, and Jack glanced back at Lille: "Aren’t you coming?"

Lille shook his head: "I’m not going. With such commotion, regardless of the outcome, you’ll have to face NCPD’s pursuit. I’ll figure out a way to hack them."

Besides, the intensity of motorcycle chases was too high for Lille to be of any use.

If he had to go, he’d need to find a way to hack the downtown systems first.

"Alright then, be careful, brother—"

Jack wanted to say that this would leave Lille alone.

But saying so felt a bit patronizing, so Jack just cautioned Lille to be careful and started the bike. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

As the motorcycle started, Jack noticed the remaining two bikes also started in sync.

Lille explained, "These bikes come with an autopilot system. I’ve unlocked its power; now they’ll follow you, mimicking your bike’s movements.

I’ll send you some software, and as long as you lock the target with your prosthetic eye, the bikes will kamikaze into him."

"Impressive, so now I have a motorcycle squad."

"Go on," Lille urged again, "you must catch that guy and retrieve the chip."