The Scavengers were located in City Center. It was the heart of Night City, where corporations clustered together and security was at its highest.
For corporate employees, stories about robberies and gang violence were just rumors. According to NCPD danger ratings, the area was considered safe.
No one would have guessed that one of the busiest areas in Night City hid a nest of Scavengers. Standing outside the high-rise apartment, Oliver rolled his wrists and picked up the Nova Revolver. He gave a short laugh, saying he used to believe that City Center was truly safe.
"Official promotion stopped meaning anything the moment I stepped onto the streets," he added.
Jack Welles held the Saratoga SMG in his hands, his thick arms making the compact SMG look almost toy-like by comparison. The contrast made it seem as if an adult were holding a child's chopsticks.
"Everyone's young at some point," someone replied.
After locking the car doors, Oliver looked at Carl, who was holding the Kenshin Pistol. "So what do you say, Carl?"
"The target is on the sixth floor. We take the elevator," Carl answered.
He had already shared the basic intel with Jack Welles and Oliver on the way. "That Fixer marked the exact floor and room number for us. They even sent video files, looks like there is a professional hacker backing them. There are four Scavengers inside, and our target is still lying there, not yet processed."
"Then let's move fast," Oliver said.
Four Scavengers were not worth worrying about in Oliver's eyes. These were people who preyed on civilians and isolated gang members, and their implants and weapons were usually low grade. He doubted their bullets could even get through his body armor, and if time were not tight, he could have handled them alone without trouble.
Even though Oliver had only stayed in 6th Street for a week before getting kicked out, he had trained with guns and tactics since childhood. Before meeting Carl, it would have taken seven or eight Scavengers to bring him down, and now he was sharper from working alongside Jack Welles and Carl. Dealing with organ harvesters felt simple, even if killing animals was no longer allowed in Night City.
With Oliver at that level, it was even less of an issue for Jack Welles and Carl, who handled the front line. Any of them could fight through a building full of Scavengers without much trouble. As they had expected, the job was easy except for the rush, with most of the time spent driving, then going upstairs, and only then clearing the room and saving the target.
"Looks like my shooting has improved again," Oliver said.
He spread his hands and faced Carl while looking at the four bodies on the floor. "So, give me an evaluation."
"Three shots to the head, one to the heart. Total firing time was two seconds. Accuracy is fine, but your firing speed can still improve," Carl replied.
"Alright, I'll review some western Braindance later and practice," Oliver said with a grin. "You know, Carl, I never noticed before that those Braindance could actually be useful."
"That's because you were only watching them for fun," Carl said, shaking his head.
He turned to Jack Welles, who was checking the target beside a filthy, bloodstained bed. "How is he? Any problems, or do we need Oliver to take a look?"
"He's fine," Jack Welles answered. "They just knocked him out with anesthetics. The dose might be a bit high, so he probably will not wake up today."
After confirming there was nothing serious, Jack Welles stepped aside and let Oliver handle the rest. When Oliver looked closer, he saw the brown-haired male target was much younger than expected, maybe seventeen or eighteen, about the same age as Carl.
"A kid about your age, Carl. I do not mean anything by it," Oliver said. "He really does look young. What's his name?"
"Let me check," Carl replied.
He flipped through the files and confirmed it. "Hu Li Eurodollars. His name is Hu Li Eurodollars, from Japantown."
"Hu Li Eurodollars, sounds pretty ordinary," Oliver said. "So why did organ harvesters target someone this young?"
Jack Welles frowned, clearly confused, while Oliver finished his own check and spoke again. "He's young and has no implants, easy prey. Japantown is close to City Center, so he probably wandered over here."
"Hopefully he learns something from this recklessness," Jack Welles said.
He then looked at Carl. "So what's next, contact the Fixer?"
"Already done," Carl said. "The vehicle they sent will arrive downstairs soon. We just need to carry Hu Li Eurodollars to the back seat. After that, it's no longer our problem."
"When you look at it this way, proper jobs really are different," Oliver said. "The Fixer handles everything, and we just execute."
"Yeah, and they take more than half the money," Carl replied.
After answering Jack Welles's naive comment, Carl walked over to the Scavengers computer and connected his Cyberdeck. He wanted to dig deeper and see if he could find other Scavengers locations to clear out on the side.
Groups like Scavengers were common in Night City, and wiping them out completely was unrealistic. Still, reducing their numbers was better than doing nothing. At the very least, he wanted them to panic when they heard his name.
Streams of data passed before Carl's eyes, most of it unpleasant transaction records. One file stood out, clearly marked and separated from the rest.
"This is…" he murmured.
He opened it, and a series of images appeared on the screen. "Jack Welles, Oliver, come take a look. I found something strange."
"Strange?" Jack Welles echoed.
Both of them stepped closer, leaning in to see the images more clearly on the screen. The photos were taken in dim light, and the shapes were hard to make out.
"What is this?" Jack Welles asked. "Some kind of large machine?"
"It's not a machine," Oliver said.
Unlike Jack Welles, Oliver recognized it immediately due to his background in 6th Street. What he said next made both Jack Welles and Carl freeze.
"This is ACPA."
"ACPA? Are you sure this is ACPA?"
Hearing Oliver say that, Jack Welles looked genuinely shocked, because everyone knew what ACPA was. It was not something that showed up casually, especially not in places like this.
ACPA, short for Assisted Combat Personnel Armor, was what people called Combat Support Armor. Put simply, it was armor a human could wear that carried the firepower and protection of an armored vehicle or even a tank, complete with extreme G-Force tolerance and heavy plating. In modern Braindance terms, it was also often called Power Armor.
"I am very sure, Jack Welles. 6th Street used to have three small Riot Control ACPA units hidden away. I never thought that after the ceasefire agreement between Arasaka and Militech, ACPA would no longer be openly allowed in Night City, yet I would see related data inside Scavenger Den. It is strange."
"So ACPA does not need to appear openly?"
Carl searched his memory. "But I remember NCPD officers blocking traffic sometimes have a fully armed Mech standing next to them. Is that not ACPA?"
"At most, that is just an Exoskeleton fitted with ACPA weapon platforms."
Oliver explained calmly. "Real ACPA completely outclasses those things in firepower, armor thickness, and crew safety. What you saw only looks like an ACPA Mech shell, but a real one moves like a tank. It can push through almost anything."
"Then I suddenly have a question."
Carl brushed his bangs back. "If Power Armor is that strong, why do companies focus so much on Cyberware research? Is Cyberware actually more useful than Power Armor on the battlefield?"
"Carl, you really do not understand much, do you."
Jack Welles answered for Oliver. "Cyberware is tied to the lives of those Corpo Rats at the top. Swap a heart or lungs and they still look human. But if they climb entirely into Power Armor, replace their bodies with machines, and live on nutrient fluid, they just become metal shells. That is no different from being meat in a can."
It felt like certain fearless Mech veterans from old stories had just been mocked.
"And there is more than that."