[TN:Early tuesday chapter enjoy]
The rocket exploded midair in a burst of exaggerated flame. Pedestrians nearby screamed and scattered, and the NCPD sirens immediately began to blare!
"Cough, cough..."
Beneath the overturned sports car, a woman in a black combat suit crawled out. Her legs were clearly reinforced cybernetic limbs—she kicked the jammed car door clean off with a single motion.
BOOM!
Ahead of her, several rockets soared through the air. A just-started Mackinaw was hit directly, the blast shoving the vehicle sideways as the shockwave stretched outward in a wave of searing flame.
A G240 sped up and skidded to a stop beside the wreck. The large, muscular man stepped out, his left arm's rocket launcher still steaming.
He grabbed the crumpled, lifted car door and yanked hard—ripping it off and pulling Jimmy out from inside.
The previously stoic braindance editor now wore an excited expression, as if only this kind of life-and-death combat could stir real emotion in him.
"No wonder you're a pro solo."
Jimmy's left hand was slightly warped, but his face was full of admiration.
"That kind of explosion—won't it cause problems?"
The woman who spoke, callsign: Phantom, didn't seem too familiar with Night City.
Jimmy leaned on the car and climbed into the G240.
"Of course not. This is Night City. Stuff like this happens every day. We better leave fast though—those people aren't amateurs."
Before he could even finish his sentence, Phantom suddenly ducked her head—
BANG BANG BANG —several rounds slammed into the underside of the sports car. David was catching up!
Her eyes flared with red data streams, and Jimmy spotted a signal transmitter device mounted on the G240's roof. It blinked rapidly in that moment—
"Sandevistan? Nice cyberware. And two netrunners too."
David, activating his Sandevistan, sprinted at high speed toward them—but his movements suddenly glitched, his body staggered for a split second!
[Lucy: They've got a netrunner—and specialized anti-hack radar!]
The lag lasted just a moment before David recovered, but that was more than enough for Jimmy's crew to reposition.
Just as the big guy dropped into the driver's seat, he caught sight of the Mackinaw he'd blasted earlier...
Suddenly, one of its car doors shot through the air like a bladed projectile!
BANG!
The A-pillar in front of the driver seat was smashed and bent by the impact, the massive force jamming the door into the chassis like a blade wedged in deep!
All three people in the car froze—
What kind of strength was that?!
But shock didn't mean hesitation. As elite solo, their muscles knew what to do. The big guy stomped on the gas, tires spinning and releasing a foul burnt rubber stench.
And then—things got even crazier.
The burning Mackinaw suddenly lurched. The already-damaged chassis let out a tortured creak as something erupted upward—
A man, body covered in burns, leapt into the air with a raised fist!
It was Jackie!
Flames still clung to him. His exoskeleton's boosters misfired in bursts, jets of air roaring like a multi-stage rocket propelling him straight at the car!
The driver's jaw dropped slightly at the sight—but his training kept him sharp. He immediately raised his cyberarm with the rocket launcher—
[Leo: Aim for the front.]
Jackie instantly shifted direction, and his fist came down on the car's front end!
BANG!
The impact was deafening!
His reinforced knuckle duster hammered into the hood with such force that it completely halted the car's launch, lifting the rear end high into the air!
The airbags exploded instantly, slamming into the driver's face. The rocket launcher misfired—getting caught on the interior roof and exploding on the spot!
BOOM!
The car stood momentarily upright, then the micro-rocket's blast sent it toppling backward.
THUD.
Then it crashed down.
Inside, the occupants felt the world spin. The driver was covered in burns, skin peeled away to reveal subdermal armor beneath.
In the backseat, Phantom pulled her head free from the crushed launcher mount—completely dazed, totally unaware of what just happened.
"What the hell just happened..."
"Ah!!!"
She looked up and saw her companion in the driver's seat roar in anger as he threw a punch—only for it to be caught by a much larger exoskeletal mechanical hand.
Then came the second punch, which was also caught.
His cybernetic limbs were crushed by immense force. Motors shorted out, parts flew off, and hydraulic fluid dripped from his powerful cyber arms...
Next, over 200 kilograms of body weight was lifted like a baby chick and thrown outside. The car shuddered violently—the chassis had clearly snapped!
Inside the now-deformed car, Phantom suddenly felt fear creeping in. In the cramped space, she looked at the client, asleep like a baby in the front passenger seat.
Who the hell is chasing this guy?!
Screech!
The sound of metal being torn echoed—two mantis blades stabbed through the vehicle!
Phantom broke into a cold sweat, staring as one of the blades sliced through the twisted metal and internal systems of the car like a hot knife through butter, passing right by her nose.
She didn't even feel it—but realized her synthetic skin had been cut open.
In the midst of extreme tension, her subdermal injectors dumped every last drop of neural stimulant into her central nervous system—ready to make a last stand.
But—
The blade tip merely brushed against the synthetic skull beneath her skin, and in that instant, an overwhelming computational surge crashed her personal system. It felt like she was facing a corporate-level black-ops hacking team!
Screech!
The mantis blades retracted. System failure nausea hit her hard, her mind went blank, and she stared dully as a pair of hands tore the car shell open.
The one tearing it open was a woman, swift and precise. Her clothes were still lightly burning, scorched open in places to reveal her fit, toned body and skin.
There was a unique beauty to her—sharp facial features, a cold gaze, flowing hair in a color Phantom personally adored.
"Tch."
V spat on the ground, looking at the frightened Phantom.
"You fight well. What crew you with?"
"I…" Phantom's mind blanked out. After a long pause, she blurted:
"Будапешт, товарищ!"
The translator kicked in:
"Budapest, comrade."
V thought for a moment but couldn't recall any gang named Budapest, so she calmly said:
"So you're just a little punk."
[Leo: Idiot! Budapest is a city in Neo-Soviet territory!]
[V: Oh.]
[V: Neo-Soviet?]
[Leo: That's the 'Sov' from SovPetroChem.]
[V: Damn, that hardcore?]
[V: Wait—if you're so lucid right now, why are you texting instead of just talking?]
[TN: Lol Leo, deadbrain body in the cyberpunk while he talks to them while he'sis conscious in Marvel, make this very funny]
Neo-Soviet Union.
Not a direct translation like "New America." The changes in former Soviet territory were far more complex than the U.S.'s straightforward collapse.
The full name was the Soviet Federative Republic. The central government had weakened authority, and the constituent republics had gained more power.
But the real power wasn't the government. It was the Soviet Petrochemical Conglomerate—SovPetroChem.
V probably hadn't remembered because SovPetroChem had little to no presence in Night City, so knowing about the Neo-Soviet Union wasn't necessary.
Why would some Russians come all the way to Night City...?
[Leo: Take them in. If you have questions, ask them later.]
"This food is amazing—is it a Latverian specialty?"
At the dinner table, King T'Chaka praised Maya's cooking. She looked a bit flustered.
Though Leo's mother spent most of her life in the States, she was originally from Latveria.
Latveria only had a Grand Duke as its ruler—T'Chaka, on the other hand, was a king!
Leo rubbed his head, steam rising off him. Thankfully, at the steamy dinner table, it wasn't obvious to T'Chaka across from him.
With a smile, he said,
"This is mysterious Eastern cuisine. Latverian could never afford this stuff. On that note—besides our food aid subsidies, I'd like to purchase some grain to send to Eastern Europe as humanitarian relief."
"That's no problem at all."
In Wakanda, they lacked many things—but not food. Wheat yields of 1,800 kilos per acre were totally achievable.