Chapter 154: Destroying Arasaka Tower
The convoy pressed forward, the resistance growing stronger with every meter.
Arasaka deployed more armed AVs and ground troops, attempting to establish a defensive line on the main arteries leading to the City Center.
However, in the face of absolute firepower and technological superiority, these defensive lines were as fragile as paper.
Sasha and Kiwi didn't even leave their vehicle.
When encountering enemy drone swarms or troops attempting to lock onto them via electronic warfare, the two simply closed their eyes slightly. An invisible, powerful field of electronic warfare expanded instantly, centered on them.
Enemy drones within range dropped like puppets with their strings cut, trailing black smoke. Security personnel's cyber-optics instantly turned to static snow, their comms channels filled with ear-piercing screeching, and the smell of overloaded implants began to permeate the air.
The tone of the news media began to shift: "...Oh god! Viewers, are you seeing this? These militants... they possess electronic warfare capabilities we cannot comprehend!
"Arasaka's security systems are useless before them! Are they... are they really ordinary street mercs? This looks more like a... military operation!"
Maine blew the entire second floor of a building used as a sniper nest away with a single shot, speaking calmly over the channel. "Don't get distracted. Let the media say what they want. Falco, left turn at the next intersection. Avoid the heavy troop concentration on the main road."
"Copy that," Falco's voice remained steady. Under his control, the vehicle performed a near-perfect drift, shaking off the suppressing fire from the pursuers behind.
The closer they got to the City Center, the wider the streets became, but the density and intensity of combat climbed geometrically.
The massive silhouette of Arasaka Tower was right before them, looming like a dark cloud pressing down on the city.
The Arasaka North American branch was clearly gambling everything, piling almost all available armed forces onto this final line of defense.
Streets were sliced up by metal barricades and makeshift fortifications. High points were bristling with snipers. Heavy armored vehicles blocked key intersections. Armed AVs circled at low altitude, trying to strangle this tiny squad with a crossfire net.
Yet, all of this appeared futile and fragile before the absolute firepower of Maine's crew.
Rebecca's Heavy Bolter became the primary tool for breaking lines.
Standing on the roof of the car, the Heavy Bolter mounted on her reinforced shoulder armor, she faced a fortified barricade and the dense cluster of security personnel behind it. She simply grinned with excitement and pulled the trigger.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The .75 caliber bolt shells were like invitations from the Reaper. Every impact was accompanied by sky-high flames and scattering metal, concrete, and severed limbs.
The so-called sturdy cover was like paper mache before the Bolter rounds, torn apart and leveled along with the people behind it.
An Arasaka armored vehicle attempted to ram their car from the flank.
Maine didn't even move his feet. He raised his left arm, blue light gathering in the master-crafted Plasma Cannon muzzle. After a brief charge, a blinding sphere of plasma shot out silently.
The orb hit the hood of the armored vehicle. There was no explosion, only a dull hum, as if space itself was being torn.
The front half of the armored vehicle was instantly vaporized by the high temperature, leaving a massive gap with glowing, molten edges. The rear half, carried by inertia, tumbled forward and disintegrated, erupting into a roaring fire.
Dorio's fighting style was even more direct and brutal.
When enemies put up stubborn resistance from within buildings, she would charge out like a cannonball. Her enhanced body and protective armor ignored the sporadic small-caliber fire hitting her.
Upon closing in, she didn't even need to punch. A simple shoulder check or a body slam, combined with her internal Seismic Generator firing at full power, caused entire load-bearing walls to crack and collapse with a low rumble, burying the enemies inside or exposing them to follow-up fire.
Heavy troopers attempting to block her in melee were picked up single-handedly—armor and all—and used as projectiles to smash their comrades.
Mower was a phantom on the battlefield.
Her Sandevistan system turned her into a blur impossible for the ordinary eye to track.
She specifically targeted high-value threats carrying rocket launchers or heavy machine guns.
The trajectory of her sonic blade was invisible, leaving only a faint hum in the air and precisely severed throats, spines, or weapons.
Wherever she passed, enemy heavy fire points would go silent one by one, leaving only bewildered corpses falling to the ground.
Pilar's flamer was responsible for battlefield sanitization and area denial.
When enemies tried to swarm from narrow alleys or underground passages, or put up a fight from complex terrain, the viscous, ghostly blue Promethium flames would sweep through like a tide from hell.
The fire didn't just consume life; it ignited everything, creating massive burning zones that effectively cut off enemy reinforcements and retreat routes, forcing enemies out from behind cover or turning them directly into charcoal.
The media reports had completely changed their tune, shifting from initial shock to a panic bordering on breakdown: "...They aren't human! They are monsters! Arasaka's defense lines are like sandcastles before them!
"That woman's gun... one shot destroys half a block! The blue light from that man's arm... it vaporizes armored vehicles!
"And that shadow that's too fast to see... God, what are we reporting on? This isn't a battle. This is... extinction!"
In the channel, Rebecca laughed maniacally as she swapped drum magazines. "Hear that? They called us monsters!"
Maine's voice remained calm through his mask. "Ignore the noise! Falco, main road ahead is locked down. Find a way through."
"Leave it to me," Falco responded. Under his control, the vehicle violently swerved into a side road, shaking off the dense frontal fire. Simultaneously, he called out the next threat with precision: "Building on the right, third floor, two sniper teams. Mower."
"Cleared." Almost before his sentence ended, Mower's flat voice rang out in the channel.
They were like a red-hot knife cutting through butter, plowing a path of destruction straight to Arasaka Tower through the core of Night City.
The live news cameras frantically chased this one-sided slaughter, the commentary laced with panic and disbelief: "...They've broken through! They've breached the final defense line! They are heading straight for Arasaka Tower! This isn't a challenge... this is destruction!
"These... these aren't ordinary Cyberpsychos. They are walking natural disasters! Night City is witnessing history! A dark history written by... by violent insurgents!"
"Hear that? 'Walking natural disasters'! That name's got a kick!" Rebecca shouted excitedly amidst the deafening gunfire.
Maine ignored it, his gaze locked tightly on the ever-looming Arasaka Tower. He pressed the comms key. "Everyone, final gear check! We're here."
(End of Chapter)