"Ms. Stott, fancy meeting you again. What are you planning this time? Are you here to stop us, or is there something else you want?"
Peter led the group forward, stopping in front of Stott, who was lying weakly on the ground. His voice was calm, almost indifferent.
"Peter, why are you even talking to her?" Johnny said with a sneer, clearly irritated. "She's from the company. It's a waste of time. Just let me shoot her."
Johnny's disdain was obvious. In his eyes, there was no point in communicating with people like Stott; it was simply a waste of effort.
"No, no, no! Mr. Peter, we can talk. I can take you to Gail Gibbs! His office is upstairs," Stott said hurriedly, panicking at the sight of Johnny's impatience.
"Then please, Ms. Stott, lead the way," Peter said with a slight nod, gesturing for her to move.
Stott shakily got up and began walking ahead, leading Peter and his group toward Gail Gibbs' office.
---
Inside the Top Office
Meanwhile, Gail Gibbs sat comfortably in his chair, feeling a rare sense of relief. As far as he knew, Stott had successfully stalled Peter's team. No news was good news—or so he thought.
He leaned back slightly, preparing to enjoy the small victory, when suddenly the office door swung open with a bang.
"Who the hell—?"
Gail Gibbs' voice, meant to bark an angry reprimand, caught in his throat.
Standing in the doorway, with a casual smile playing on his lips, was Peter.
Gail Gibbs felt a shiver run down his spine as his eyes locked with Peter's. His scalp tingled, a cold sweat instantly forming on his forehead.
And then he saw Stott, standing submissively next to Peter.
"You… Stott!" Gail Gibbs roared, his voice trembling with anger. "You brought them here! You traitor! The company will never forgive you!"
He gritted his teeth, glaring at Stott with pure hatred.
Peter chuckled lightly, shrugging. "Mr. Gibbs, it seems all that time I gave you to prepare your defenses was a waste."
In truth, Peter was a little surprised at how swiftly Jack and the others had taken down the security forces. Despite Peter disabling the surveillance and hacking systems earlier, he hadn't expected the ground forces to crumble so easily.
Johnny stepped forward, smirking. "Peter, let me have a word with this guy. We're old acquaintances, after all."
Peter raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me this is the guy who gave you the nuclear bomb fifty years ago?"
"More or less," Johnny replied casually.
Without waiting for a response, Johnny walked up to Gail Gibbs, looking him square in the eyes.
"Recognize me, Gibbs?"
At first, Gail Gibbs squinted at the long-haired figure, feeling a strange sense of familiarity. But decades had passed, and memories faded. It wasn't until Johnny spoke again that the realization struck him like a lightning bolt.
"You… you're Johnny Silverhand?!" Gail Gibbs gasped, his face draining of color. "You're supposed to be dead! How are you standing here?!"
Johnny laughed grimly. "Dead? Sure. But some lunatic brought me back—turned me into a robot, if you can believe it."
He cast a glance at Peter as he said this.
Peter smirked. "What? Don't want a second chance at life? Should I shove you back into the chip where you belong?"
Johnny immediately shook his head. "Forget it. You're the boss. I'll do whatever you say."
He wasn't about to test Peter's patience. Over their time together, Johnny had learned Peter was ruthlessly pragmatic. If he crossed Peter, he might very well find himself imprisoned in that cold, lifeless chip again.
He'd tasted freedom—drinking, smoking, chasing women, actually living. He wasn't about to give that up.
Desperation flashing in his eyes, Gail Gibbs turned his attention back to Peter. "Peter, listen! As long as you spare me, I'll give you whatever you want! Money, power—name it! Anything within my ability, it's yours!"
Peter didn't even blink. He stepped forward slowly, pulling a pistol from his jacket and aiming it squarely at Gail Gibbs' forehead.
"I'm not here for your money," Peter said, voice cold. "I just came for a little fun—and to borrow something from you."
Gail Gibbs' heart nearly stopped.
"No! You can't! If you kill me, military technology will never forgive you!" he shrieked.
Boom!
The gunshot echoed through the luxurious office. Gail Gibbs' body jerked backward, blood spraying against the polished walls.
One bullet. That's all it took for Peter to end the life of one of the most powerful veterans in military technology.
Peter twirled the gun casually before holstering it.
"Alright," he said cheerfully, "we're done here. Let's go drink."
With that, he turned on his heel, leading Johnny and the others out of the building without a second glance.
---
Aftermath in the Office
Stott, who had been rooted to the spot, waited until Peter's group was long gone before she cautiously approached Gail Gibbs' lifeless body. Blood was still pooling on the floor around him.
She took a shaky breath and pulled out her phone, dialing headquarters.
The line connected, and Donald Lundy's furious voice blasted through.
"What the hell happened? Why was the call cut off?"
Stott closed her eyes for a moment, then spoke with difficulty. "President Gibbs… is dead."
Silence.
Donald Lundy, usually quick-witted, froze.
Dead? In just a few minutes?
"Who did it?" he demanded, though he already had a sinking feeling.
"A group of mercenaries," Stott confirmed.
Donald slumped into his chair, the weight of the news crashing down on him.
It was absurd. Ridiculous. Gail Gibbs—one of the three legendary veterans of military technology—dead, killed by a handful of hired guns from Night City.
When the media got wind of this, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Just a few days ago, they had lost 100 billion euros in stock value when a military base had been bombed. Now? The death of Gail Gibbs could cost them another 100 billion euros.
Two hundred billion euros—gone.
It would take countless weapons contracts, countless national defense systems to ever hope to recoup such a loss.
---
At Kangtao Corporation
Meanwhile, at Kangtao's headquarters, news traveled quickly.
A staffer from the intelligence department hurried into Ling Xiaohan's office, face pale.
"President Ling, Peter's team was just spotted leaving the military technology building," the staffer reported breathlessly.
Ling Xiaohan, calm as ever, nodded. "And their condition?"
"They appear… largely unharmed," the intelligence agent said, though he clearly struggled to believe what he was saying.
Ling Xiaohan tapped his fingers on the desk thoughtfully. "Have you scanned the situation inside the building?"
"Yes, President," the agent replied. "We used the most advanced thermal detectors. Except for one individual with weak vital signs on the top floor, the building is… completely cleared."
"All military tech soldiers—dead."
Ling Xiaohan leaned back in her chair, massaging the bridge of her nose in frustration. She waved the staffer away without another word.
As he exited, she turned to Xu Xinyue, who had been quietly observing.
"Xinyue, what do you think?" Ling Xiaohan asked.
Xu Xinyue shook her head, stunned. "Aunt Ling, I… I don't even know what to say."
She couldn't wrap her mind around it. Based on satellite data, military technology had deployed nearly 2,000 soldiers at the bombed base, and another 4,000 here at the headquarters.
In just one day, Peter and his team had wiped out 6,000 trained soldiers.
To put that into perspective—when military technology contracted to defend an entire small country, they often deployed fewer forces than that.
The scale of the massacre was beyond comprehension.
And Peter's group had walked away almost without a scratch.
--