Inside a convenience store in front of Clouds, four strange-looking bodies lay on either side, dressed like bodyguards.
And right in the middle of the two rows of shelves, an Asian youth casually picked up a bottle of water from a collapsed shelf and stepped on the person lying on the ground in front of him.
The convenience store owner, an Asian-looking woman, was cowering in a corner, trembling. She looked at the mess on the floor, huddled in the corner of the cash register.
"How much is this?" the Asian youth, who had smashed through his store's wall, rushed in, killed four men, and was now stepping on a man in a suit, suddenly asked.
Sakurako's body trembled at the sound, and she immediately said, "No, it's free."
"Don't be afraid." Jax looked at her, then at the destruction he had caused. This convenience store also had Tyger Claws's markings, but the woman in front of him was clearly not a Tyger Claws member.
She looked extremely ordinary, but Jax judged that she wasn't a Tyger Claws member because she didn't have the Tyger Claws's characteristic fluorescent tattoos.
Tyger Claws members, regardless of their rank, all have large tattoos on their bodies.
Let's put it this way, even an old woman like Wakako, if she were to take off her clothes, the large tattoos on her back would scare anyone!
In the island nation, people in the underworld seem to all get tattoos. Is that their culture?
Because of this, Jax still felt a hint of apology towards this ordinary person whose livelihood he had destroyed.
Ever since he broke into Japantown, although he didn't intend to harm ordinary people, this attack on Japantown undoubtedly harmed many ordinary residents of Japantown in an invisible way, both Jax and Maine.
Jax wasn't a cyberpsycho, nor was he a madman who enjoyed doing bad things and felt excited when innocent people were dragged into it.
Even a seasoned mercenary like Maine would feel bad about something like this, so how could Jax, who held the beliefs of his previous life, not?
However, there was nothing he could do; Jax really couldn't think of a second way to resist.
A long, long time ago, Johnny Silverhand, the rock and roll kid, showed everyone in his own way that for those at the bottom to resist those at the top,
the only way out... was violence.
This seemed to be the only fair way, because those high and mighty figures would also die; they only had one life.
If he hadn't seen it, Jax could pretend not to know, but something that happened right before his eyes... Sure enough, he still couldn't do it; he couldn't pretend it hadn't happened.
"Really, it's really free..." Sakurako sobbed, the other party hadn't said a word when he killed, rushing in and directly killing four people.
Sakurako had thought these people were just coming in to buy things!
Seeing this, Jax was a bit helpless. He looked at the equipment next to the woman, then scanned the equipment with his Kiroshi Optics and made a unilateral transfer.
"Two euros for the water, and two thousand euros as compensation for the damage to this store." Jax said, twisting open the water bottle, taking a sip, then pouring the remaining water over his head, tilting his head back to wash his face.
Sakurako froze for a moment, then she realized she had actually received 2002 euros...
"Get out of here quickly." Jax said, his back to the store owner.
"Yes, thank you, thank you!" Sakurako paused, then quickly turned and left the cash register, running out of the store.
Afterward, Jax bent down, his foot on Faraday's head, pressing his cheek firmly against the cold ground.
"Faraday, how do you feel? Is this outcome very surprising?" Jax said to Faraday.
Two of Faraday's three eyes had been violently plucked out by Jax and casually tossed aside, rolling under a fallen shelf.
His eye sockets bled, revealing black lines inside, and he said with a trembling voice, "I, I was wrong, Jax, this wasn't my intention, this was Tanaka's intention, a high-ranking Arasaka official, he forced me to do this!"
"Call Tanaka." Jax increased the pressure on his foot, which made Faraday groan in pain, struggling to breathe.
"Call, call, I'll call now!"
"You know what I want you to say?" Jax looked at him, pressing for an answer.
The weakness period from his potential overdraft had arrived, but the debuff effect of the weakness was not as great as Jax had imagined.
Currently, Jax's attribute values, all three main attributes, had dropped to around 8, but even so, it was enough to deal with trash like Faraday.
"I know, I'll cooperate with you. You want Tanaka to... Tanaka to come over, right? I'll cooperate with you, Jax, spare my life, I'll listen to you in the future, I have a lot of connections on the street, I, I also have money." Faraday said loudly.
Jax smiled.
Faraday was still very smart. To become one of Santo Domingo's top Fixers, first getting involved with Militech, and then with Arasaka, it would be unreasonable to say this guy was truly stupid.
To get to where he was today, Faraday had means far beyond ordinary people, but it was also because of his character flaws that Faraday, while climbing up step by step, ultimately met a clown-like end.
He wanted to change his social class?
It's not that easy.
"Make the call, stop wasting my time with your bullshit." Jax released his foot and stepped back.
Faraday instantly sat up, looking at Jax in fear.
"Don't let me hear a single word that displeases me, otherwise, you know the outcome." Jax looked at him quietly, speaking.
Faraday dialed the number, looking at Jax.
"Put it on speaker." Jax reminded him.
Faraday swallowed, and after dozens of seconds, the call connected.
"How are things going?" a deep voice came from Faraday's device.
Faraday immediately said, "Everything is taken care of, Jax has been captured by me, but Maine's crew is still wreaking havoc in Japantown."
"Captured? Then why didn't Kobayashi call me?"
"Mr. Tanaka, Jax is unexpectedly powerful. Both senior agents were significantly injured while apprehending him. They just used cyberware inhibitors and healing agents and are currently unconscious."
"Where are you?" Tanaka pressed.
Faraday looked at Jax, who gestured twice with his hand, then pointed to the building outside.
"Clouds, we are currently on the very top of Clouds." Faraday stammered.
"Heh heh, perfect, I'll come over in an AV."
"Yes, Mr. Tanaka, I await your arrival." Faraday immediately said.
The call ended, and Faraday looked at Jax fawningly, receiving a punch to the face in return.
Knocking Faraday out with one punch, Jax grabbed him, then turned to look at Clouds.
Most of the Tyger Claws members had been dispatched to Moxes territory. His and Maine's surprise attack on Japantown had emptied Clouds, and most of the high-ranking Clouds members had gone out to maintain the streets and attack Maine's crew.
Damn... Looking at it this way, he and Maine's crew really did seem like villains.
Rubbing his hair, Jax grabbed Faraday and ran towards Clouds.
A few minutes later, after dealing with a few guards at Clouds' entrance, Jax successfully took the elevator to the top floor of Clouds.
The twelfth floor, and then up the stairs to the rooftop. Clouds' rooftop was vast, with a huge marking in the center,
which was used for helicopter and AV landings.
Jax sat quietly in the stairwell, waiting for Tanaka's arrival.
With his superhuman hearing, and the many sounds that could be heard from high up, Jax heard the sounds of battle coming from all directions.
Gunshots, cannon fire, impacts, and roars and screams.
Then, there was a burst of air current and a roar.
Shaking his head, Jax reached out and slapped Faraday twice.
"Ugh."
Faraday's cheeks were swollen, and he staggered to his feet, looking at Jax in a daze.
Then, Jax slapped him again.
This slap woke Faraday up. He looked at Jax, then knelt directly in front of him, lowering his head.
"Tanaka has arrived. You know what to do, right?"
"Leave it to me, I understand." Faraday immediately said.
Saying this, he stood up and straightened his suit, brushed off some dust, then looked at Jax and said, "I'll go out now and have Tanaka come over."
With his back to Jax, Faraday walked out of the stairwell and onto the rooftop outside.
An AV was seen weaving through the distant skyscrapers, and not far behind it followed a helicopter,
with a large '54' logo on it.
It was the dedicated helicopter of 54 News.
Seeing this, Faraday immediately raised a hand and waved at the AV in the air.
At the same time, a cold and angry expression flashed in Faraday's eyes.
"Vroom vroom—"
The AV landed, the door opened, and Tanaka, accompanied by Jiang Tengjing, stepped out of the AV.
And when he saw Faraday, a hint of confusion clearly flashed in Tanaka's eyes.
He stopped, looking at Faraday: "Wait, Faraday, why are you the only one here?"
Tanaka looked at Faraday warily, sensing that something was wrong.
Faraday's cheeks were swollen, and his face still bore the horrific injuries from his removed eyes. How could this be normal?
But in the next moment, a figure suddenly sprang out of the stairwell.
"No good, Mr. Tanaka, get in the car quickly!" Jiang Tengjing, who had been observing his surroundings, was the first to notice and quickly shouted.
But... it was useless!
Tanaka and Jiang Tengjing came alone. Unlike helicopters, AVs, though more luxurious and prestigious, typically only seat two to three people. Therefore, Tanaka didn't bring many people.
Moreover, this was Tyger Claws territory, and Minister Arthur had sent two senior combat agents. These were high-level agents, on par with Militech agents, who had clashed countless times. With them present, Tanaka didn't believe there could be any surprises in capturing a gang member without cyberware.
But Jiang Tengjing's shout made Tanaka react quickly as well.
He turned to get back into the AV, but a hand had already grabbed the back of his collar.
Then, with a forceful tug, Tanaka felt his body lift off the ground.
"Thump!"
Flying backward heavily, rolling a few times on the ground, Tanaka groaned as he raised his head and adjusted his glasses.
Then, he saw Jax's indifferent face, and Faraday standing beside Jax like a lackey.
Faraday's lungs were about to explode with rage at this moment. He had just been thinking that if Tanaka had brought many people, he would immediately tell Tanaka the truth.
But seeing only one AV arrive, and only Tanaka and a person dressed as a secretary inside, Faraday instantly fell silent.
"Good afternoon, Tanaka." Jax kicked Jiang Tengjing, who was standing nearby. This high-ranking Arasaka employee had a small amount of cyberware installed, but under Jax's kick, he also flew out, hunching over like a shrimp on the ground, clutching his stomach, and fell silent.
Tanaka slowly stood up, first looking at Jax, then at Faraday, and said in a deep voice, "So, what does this mean?"
Faraday stood behind Jax like a lackey, about to speak, when Jax suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the back of his collar, then lifted him up.
The high-end suit was very tough, and being custom-made, when he was lifted, Faraday was directly trapped within the suit.
Grabbing Faraday, Jax then turned and walked towards the edge of the rooftop, ignoring Tanaka's question.
"No, wait, Jax, we had an agreement!" Faraday was first stunned by this, then instantly panicked. He understood what Jax intended to do.
Struggling desperately, Faraday shouted loudly, "You can't do this!"
"You're betraying me, Jax, you, you scoundrel!"
Jax remained silent. After reaching the edge of the rooftop, stepping on the protective wall, Jax reached the very edge.
His black hair was disheveled by the high-altitude wind. He then, like throwing trash, threw Faraday out, without saying a word. "No!" Under a charming parabola, Faraday flailed his limbs, letting out a scream.
"Agreement? Faraday, when did I ever agree to anything with you?"
Jax looked at Faraday, who was free-falling, and only said one sentence to him.
Then, Jax stepped down from the protective wall and walked towards Tanaka.
Faraday's screams still echoed behind him, but the sound grew fainter and fainter.
And Jax also noticed that all of this was being filmed by the helicopter not far away.
The moment Faraday flew out, Serena on the helicopter immediately screamed.
He, he just threw a person out like that?
This was thirteen stories up!
This person named Jax was indeed a ruthless mercenary!
Serena pulled the camera closer and shouted, "Hey, can you try to capture their voices?"
"We'll have to get a bit closer! I'll try to see if the equipment works after I turn it on!" The accompanying 54 News technician immediately said.
His face was flushed, and unlike Serena's panic, he was clearly fascinated by such violent scenes.
Damn it... Of course he'd be fascinated!
This was huge news!
A Fixer was thrown out, and now an Arasaka executive was being threatened.
As someone from 54 News, how could such a scene not excite him?
Damn, if this went well, it would be a fantastic scoop!
Maybe he could officially transition from technician to on-screen personality!
So, the helicopter circled once, then lowered its altitude, approaching the edge of the rooftop.
Jax noticed the helicopter, but he ignored it. Damn it... dozens of meters away, how was Jax supposed to deal with that?
At full power, with Potential Overdraft activated, Jax could at most jump seven or eight meters. Dozens of meters...:
What, did they want Jax to chase after Faraday and play aerial acrobatics together?
Therefore, ignore it, just ignore it.
Returning to Tanaka, Jax looked at him and said:
"Come on, now, it's time to talk about our business."
"I heard you've been looking for me?"
Jax looked at Tanaka, saying expressionlessly.