Ten minutes after Arasaka began its skirmish with Militech, their reinforcements finally arrived.
But the first feeling that welled up in the Arasaka Counterintel chief's heart wasn't relief—it was sheer terror.
"Why... why is it HIM?!"
He couldn't imagine how his superior—even one technically ranked below the man now approaching—had managed to speak with someone of such status, let alone convince him to step onto the field.
Arasaka's "reinforcements" amounted to a single AV.
More precisely: an unmanned AV.
One man stood aboard, leaning half his massive frame out of the open hatch, silently gazing down at the battlefield.
And he was Arasaka's only response to nearly a hundred Militech troops.
The moment the AV blazed into the center of the fight and slammed to a stop—perfectly framed for maximum impact—everyone noticed. Arasaka. Militech. Everyone.
They all looked up.
And when they saw him, terror bloomed like wildfire.
That monstrous, cybernetic frame.
Those inhuman, red-glowing optics.
Gulp.
The gunfire died.
As if the entire battlefield held its breath.
The name echoed in every mind—then someone shouted it.
"Adam Smasher!"
Fear erupted across both factions. No one had expected that monster to show up.
Why was Adam Smasher here?
This was supposed to be a minor op—small-time stuff, the kind handled by section chiefs. Even with Militech involved, this didn't warrant the head of Night City's Arasaka Security making a personal appearance.
Had he... come out here because he was bored?
No one had an answer. And to Adam Smasher, that didn't matter.
A person might crouch to observe ants, squash a few out of idle curiosity. But to think he cares about them?
That's just stupid.
Smasher didn't see "soldiers." He saw ants.
And today?
He felt like crushing something.
He was sick of the tower. Claimed a routine "intervention" as an excuse to get some fresh air—"rescuing" a field unit technically under his command.
"Militech."
His emotionless, cybernetic gaze swept the battlefield.
Ninety-one targets.
That would do.
He jumped—thirty meters straight down from the AV.
And just like that, the spell broke.
Everyone snapped into motion.
"Fall back! Get to the cave—NOW!" the Arasaka officer screamed.
Everyone knew—when Adam Smasher moved, anything in his path died. Arasaka or not.
The only hope was that he'd drop toward Militech.
"Fire! Hit him with rockets! Hurry! HURRY! If he gets close, we're all dead!"
Militech had no illusions.
They were already dead.
But that didn't mean they wouldn't fight.
Biological instinct took over.
Mounted machine guns—capable of 2,200 rounds per minute—roared to life. A storm of lead tore through the sky. In moments, the desert sun was eclipsed by the shimmer of bullets and brass.
Adam Smasher dropped into that golden storm.
Sparks flew as rounds bounced off his steel frame, the clanging ricochets singing like metal chimes.
His descent never slowed.
Even that hail of gunfire couldn't breach his armor.
BOOM!
He landed like a meteor.
The ground cratered beneath his boots.
Militech weapons swiveled to re-lock—but something was wrong.
No targeting data.
No visual confirmation.
The crater was there—but Adam Smasher was gone.
"He disappeared!"
"Where the hell is he?!"
No one had time to answer.
Instead, a new sound took over—
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM!
The armored vehicles that had just opened fire exploded one after the other.
No one saw him move.
No one heard him land.
He was just gone.
The blasts didn't kill most of the Militech soldiers—many weren't in the vehicles—but the devastation shattered their morale.
The air thickened. Nerves frayed.
Then it happened.
A shadow zipped past one soldier.
He spun, wide-eyed, heart pounding. Pure terror flooded his brain.
He pulled the trigger—aimed at the motion, desperate to survive.
But what he hit…
...was a fellow soldier.
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🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless
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