Chapter 114: Chapter 107 Commission: The Shadow of the Tower (Part 1)

The fire was caused by the Wanderers.

Just as Lille had guessed, the NCPD had long been short-staffed, and this time, the trouble was in the city center.

The south of the city center was Haywood, where various roads crisscrossed and made it difficult to completely block off.

And today, tonight, Lille was not the only one pushing them to their limits.

A large number of Wanderers had entered the city, holding signs and pulling banners.

Their weather-beaten cars looked like piles of scrap metal on wheels, but the strong engine noises proved these vehicles were still in good shape.

On the hood of the leading car, however, was tied a special object—a coffin made of iron plates, sealed with glass at the front, and lined with windproof torches on the sides.

Inside the coffin lay a corpse that had turned slightly black—a member of the Red Ocher Tribe who had died a tragic death due to experiments.

This was something Lille had not expected—he had only pushed a bit, suggesting the Red Ocher people draw fire, and they had gone to this extent.

They did not even hesitate to display a corpse.

The people of Haywood had come out, following behind the Wanderers, just to watch the commotion.

But this spectacle provided cover for the Wanderers—the NCPD wasn’t going to kill people in the streets, were they?

"Immoral Biotechnology! They poisoned us! Several of us are dead! Let us pass! We want an explanation from Biotechnology!"

"Biotechnology has no conscience, 5000 euros per life, a life for a life!"

"Corporate dogs! Idiot cops! Go to Hell!"

Bang.

Plastic bottles and metal cans hit the NCPD’s armored vehicle; besides making a noise, nothing else happened.

But they were really, really loud.

The NCPD officers were on edge, making sure each time a can was thrown that it wasn’t a hand grenade.

Especially the Red Ocher patients were terrifying.

Parts of their skin, exposed under thick clothes, glowed slightly in the moonlight and lamplight, and their eyes were bloodshot—truly resembling a red ocher stone.

Dark red eyes stared at them, like wolves watching their prey, as if they really would eat someone the next second.

Flames reflected off the corpses, and banners shone under the neon lights.

In a police car, a robust young officer watched everything with a grim expression, his left eye modified into a tactical prosthetic eye, making him look like a one-eyed man.

His other eye, the normal one, revealed helplessness and anger—anger at the current state of affairs.

The car door swung open with a snap, and an older officer, more relaxed, stepped in holding two cans of coffee.

The young officer said, "...we’re just going to watch?"

"What else? Reaver, you need to relax; our job is to keep an eye on these mobs.

Gotta admit, these Wanderers have been quite obedient, haven’t even pulled out guns."

The older officer on the passenger seat opened a can of hot coffee.

"The city center is in chaos, and we’re just going to sit here?"

"Such high-level incidents are beyond us."

The new officer was tense, his resolve and ideals shaken, while the older officer sipped the hot coffee.

After a sip, he added, "It might be just corporate dogs fighting among themselves, nothing we can handle, only higher-ups can coordinate.

If it’s not corporate dogs, it’s a terrorist attack, and the Terrorist Mobile Team would handle that.

Our job is to deal with minor stuff."

The slightly younger Reaver sighed in frustration once more.

His experience with the NCPD made him feel:

They pointed guns at the poor, not the rich; couldn’t handle big issues, didn’t want to handle small ones; called the Terrorist Mobile Team when trouble arose, and patrolled the streets otherwise.

This... was the NCPD, who claimed to be the defending line of Night City!

Just then, orders came over the police channel.

"The Wanderers have started to roam freely in the Haywood lockdown area, lowering the lockdown level in the east and north of the city center, preparing to mobilize forces toward Haywood."

"Haywood defense area, coordinate the lockdown lines."

The older officer gestured to Reaver, and the car began to move slowly along with the protesting Wanderers.

He turned down the police radio and even switched to a personal channel—

"Welcome to tonight’s ’Talking with Zig Q,’ are you aware of the chaos in the city center today?"

"Rocket explosion, Wanderers protesting, a luxury car worth millions blown to smithereens—is this the distortion of human nature or the degeneration of morality?"

"Tonight, we have a special guest—a Wanderer from Adkaduo, Hector!"

The older officer pulled a small bag of chips from his pocket and said with interest, "These media guys are incredible; we couldn’t even catch a Wanderer..."

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From: Hector.

Hector: Our people are in position—for your request, we didn’t even need to think.

Hector: We will provide all the help you need.

Hector: The company never treated us like humans from the start; it was my naivety and stupidity that got Andri, Cedric, Ares, Cesar, Albert, Seville killed.

Hector: I will go to Hell for this, but before that, I want to take some corporate dogs with me.

Hector: All the best fighters are in the city, given enough restorative agents, they won’t fail before dawn.

Hector: I know this request is unreasonable, but I ask you to take care of Navi and the remaining tribe members after this.