"That was way too fast..."
T-Bug stayed silent for a moment before finally muttering over the channel, "There wasn't even any suspense. That merc squad is toast."
"Those rookies didn't even need the NetWatch main unit to show up—the agents already stationed inside the Grand Imperial Mall were more than enough to deal with them."
"Heh, Voodoo Boys. Where the hell did they dig up such bottom-feeding trash?"
Roqi noticed that T-Bug was talking more than usual. Under normal circumstances, she'd be far more succinct. This deviation from her usual brevity spoke volumes.
To her, the presence of NetWatch's main unit was like a ticking time bomb—something that could blow up the Voodoo Boys at any second, and might even take them along with it.
Despite being pretty good with netrunning, none of Rogue's people dared act boldly. Under the threat of NetWatch, they played ostrich—using every trick in the book to hide their presence. Other than essential recon, they erased every trace they left behind. No risks, no footprints.
There were plenty of aggressive netrunners out there, but when it came to NetWatch, the smart ones either ran fast or hid well. Unless you had an overwhelming numbers advantage, it was practically suicide. Backed by supercomputers and monopolizing what remained of the global subnet, NetWatch was an almost unbeatable force in the digital realm.
Still, this unknown-size NetWatch team was being unusually quiet. Aside from sweeping through video feeds—satellite maps, street cams, and the like—they didn't make any bold moves or conduct sweeping probes through the Haitian District.
Clearly, they understood the importance of not spooking their target.
"To be honest, I kinda feel like turning back," T-Bug said with dry sarcasm, "But Rogue's payout is just too damn tempting."
"So what now? We just keep waiting?" Roqi was feeling a bit stuck.
It looked like a fight was about to break out—but maybe not.
After back-to-back assaults by two different merc squads, the Grand Imperial Mall had responded with impressive restraint. After wiping them out, not a single Animal had left the building. They were just... staying quiet inside.
The Bati Hotel, a known Voodoo Boys front, also saw no increased activity. Just the usual handful of gunners hanging around, maintaining a delicate balance with the local residents.
Hard to believe the infamously vicious Voodoo Boys could actually get along with civilians. But here it was, playing out in front of them. Media outlets had painted them as literal demons, but that wasn't the case here.
It was like a block under the control of Night City's Haitian community—closed off, culturally exclusive, and impermeable to outsiders. Almost a sovereign territory within the city.
Other gangs had turf too, sure, and plenty of fights had broken out over it. But nothing matched the sheer exclusivity and xenophobia of the Haitian District.
So much so that Rogue's mercs never even got a chance to infiltrate. Didn't matter if you found a Black guy to try and blend in—if he wasn't Haitian, locals would spot the difference immediately.
That's why Roqi and his crew were now stuck at the Floating Pier area. Moving rashly before NetWatch and the Voodoo Boys went at each other would only stir up trouble.
All they could do was wait.
"How long are we supposed to wait? Isn't there anything else we can do?"
Roqi let out a long yawn. He wasn't even tired—just bored out of his mind.
"Take it as a rare chance to relax while on a job," Pangolin said, amused by Roqi's inability to appreciate peace. He turned to his second-in-command. "Pull back some of our spotters. Make sure we don't get exposed."
"You don't get it. Waiting like this is worse than actual fighting," Roqi groaned. "You've got to stay alert, ready to move at a second's notice, but also conserve mental energy. It's exhausting."
"You'll get used to it," Pangolin said simply.
"Is there any way we could disguise ourselves as Voodoo Boys or NetWatch? Go stage a fake skirmish on the other's turf and then bolt?"
Roqi asked the question aloud to his PDA, struck by sudden inspiration.
"Oh sure," T-Bug replied. "You just might not make it back. But hey, I'll light a candle for you on your deathiversary next year."
Doing that would be like pissing into enemy trenches—you'd be dead in seconds. These weren't impulsive groups either. They could keep still for hours, days even, just to maintain the upper hand.
NetWatch and the Voodoo Boys were like two soldiers in a jungle skirmish—both aware of each other, neither knowing the other's location. The first one to move would likely lose... unless they struck first and hard enough to kill.
If there was going to be movement, it would be with a thunderous, earth-shaking blow.
That was T-Bug's professional assessment.
Which only highlighted how awkward and powerless their own position was. They wanted to be the fisherman that benefits when the "snipe and the clam" fought—not become prey themselves.
"Wait a sec... What the hell is Kangtao doing here?"
T-Bug had been poking around quietly in cyberspace. She was trying to keep a low profile, but boredom had pushed her to sift through ambient signals—and what she found surprised her.
"Kangtao? What are corporate goons doing here?" Pangolin tensed, arms falling to his sides.
"They've been building server hubs and an automated logistics center around here," Roqi explained. "Didn't you see the news? The city sold off a piece of land in Pacifica to Kangtao for free. Guess they want them to clean up the garbage."
"If City Hall had really wanted to do something about Pacifica, they would've done it years ago," T-Bug scoffed. "Now they've got corps willingly throwing themselves into the mess? They're probably ecstatic."
"Kangtao's power plants and other installations are all to the southeast," Pangolin added, pointing eastward. "Past those half-finished towers—it's all Kangtao land. Jackson Plains and beyond."
"Huh. Yeah, makes sense," Roqi muttered, pulling up a map of Night City.
The hills between Pacifica and Jackson Plains were lined with unfinished skyscrapers—barely a kilometer or two across. But those towering ruins acted like a visual and mental barrier, cutting Pacifica off in every sense.
If development was in the works, then it was only natural that Kangtao personnel would be popping up nearby.
"You think they can get a foothold here? Pacifica chews up outsiders like nothing," Roqi said. "Try parking a transport truck here overnight, you'll come back to a stripped chassis."
Anything of value would be scavenged in seconds. Pacifica was home to the city's highest concentration of vagrants and junk pickers.
"I overheard some Scavs talking the other day," Roqi recalled suddenly. "Said they found a Kangtao limo parked by the docks, guy inside was jacked into a braindance. They tried seducing him, but he couldn't get it up—so they trashed the car and dumped him in the bay."
"Sounds exactly like something the Scavs would do," T-Bug muttered.
"Wouldn't Kangtao retaliate? With their tech, it should be easy to track those bastards down."
Just as he said that, another round of gunfire rang out in the distance.
"Place really is a war zone."
T-Bug didn't answer right away. She was scanning data feeds—and then, after a few seconds, piped up as she streamed a video feed into Roqi's PDA.
"Shit, Lucky. I think you nailed it."
On the screen, gunfire was erupting—and the shooters were unmistakably Kangtao. Their gear and vehicles were all tagged with company logos, and the victims? Scavs running for their lives.
"Hot damn, straight to business."
Roqi watched as smart rounds filled the air like fireworks, turning the Scavs into Swiss cheese one by one.
He didn't know if it had anything to do with the incident he heard about, but one thing was certain—Kangtao didn't fuck around.
Their efficiency and firepower were on par with Arasaka and Militech. In a weak zone like Pacifica, they were basically gods of war—no one could match them.
"Building a base here... yeah, they've got the muscle for it."
Now it was clear—Kangtao wasn't bluffing.
Too many projects over the years had turned out to be vaporware. Politicians would announce them like revolutions, only for things to fizzle out quietly later with a lazy "conditions not suitable for development."
Funds and personnel would be quickly rerouted to whatever ventures the corporations actually cared about.
But now, it looked like Kangtao was serious.
They had boots on the ground, real infrastructure, actual presence. No way were they doing this just to kill time.
The skirmish on-screen wrapped up fast. After confirming there were no survivors, the Kangtao operatives calmly pulled back from the Scav-occupied parking lot, leaving nothing but a mess behind.
"Whatever the reason, they definitely pissed Kangtao off."
T-Bug almost sounded smug. She didn't have much personal beef with Scavs, but it was hard to find anyone who liked them.
"So where exactly is Kangtao's plot?" Roqi asked.
He combed through the Pacifica map but didn't spot any ideal locations.
"Right in that abandoned skyscraper zone. Whole place is sealed off now. No clue if Kangtao plans to clean it all up," T-Bug replied. "Used to be full of squatters and junkies. Supposedly even had a black market in there. I've never gone in."
"But now? Probably all cleared out. Once construction starts and the security teams roll in, anyone still squatting there is toast."
The towering ruins could be seen for kilometers—a dense cluster of half-finished megastructures. All that concrete and steel made it easy to admire the raw power of industrial ambition, even in failure.
Those buildings had been abandoned far earlier than the Grand Imperial Mall. Many investors in the so-called "Pacifica Oasis Project" had offed themselves before a single tenant moved in. The land technically belonged to the city now—but they obviously had no plans to manage it. Now it was all Kangtao's.
The area wasn't huge—barely enough for a satellite energy relay by Jackson Plains standards—but for a smart logistics center, it was more than sufficient.
With Kangtao's track record of vertical integration, they could easily construct a layered logistics hub. Picture something out of a sci-fi movie—drone highways, rail lifts, robotic arms and elevators working 24/7. The age of humans handling cargo was over.
Sounded impressive. Almost... inspiring.
Of course, that was just the brochure. Every plan looked like utopia on paper.
And none of it had anything to do with Roqi and his crew. This was corporate territory, not public infrastructure. It had zero bearing on their lives.
The ones getting pushed out would be companies like RCS. The only ones benefitting would be Kangtao themselves—and maybe the occasional wide-eyed dreamer lured in by Night City's promises.
After that Kangtao aircar was shot down, the company had promised military retaliation against the squatters responsible. Roqi hadn't followed up—but maybe V and Panam knew something.
Whatever Kangtao was doing here didn't matter—so long as they didn't mess with their plans to deal with the Voodoo Boys or avoid NetWatch.
"Where the hell are they...?"
T-Bug muttered under her breath as she carefully navigated cyberspace.
It was risky, but she couldn't help herself.
A hidden netrunner unit lurking in the dark? That was a thorn in her side she couldn't ignore. Even with the danger, she had to find out what they were up to.
She'd rather take the risk than trust her safety to luck.
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💘 MY GIRLFRIEND'S A CYBERPSYCHO—WHO KNEW?
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💘 LOVE IS COMPLICATED.
Especially when your girlfriend could probably tear a squad of heavily armed mercs apart.
Welcome to Night City romance.
My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew? has 100+ chapters ahead waiting for you.
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💀❤️ ROMANCE, CHROME... AND QUESTIONABLE LIFE EXPECTANCY
💘 Romance
🤖 Cyberware
🧠 Cyberpsychosis
🔫 Night City action
😂 Chaos & dark humor
🌃 Dangerous relationships
🔥 Very bad situations getting much worse
People say relationships require patience.
Communication.
Trust.
Nobody mentioned surviving cyberpsychos.
🔥 100+ CHAPTERS AHEAD.
👉 Keep reading if you're brave enough.
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⚠️ Power Stones help decide release priority!
💘 Love hurts. In Night City, sometimes literally.