"Subdermal armor, grounded plating, experimental military-grade Sandevistan, military-grade neural processor, military-grade frontal cortex, enhanced reflex Kerenzikov, a custom projectile launch system in his left arm firing high-explosive rounds, and mantis blades installed in his right arm and leg. Tsk tsk tsk."
Oliver read through the intel while shaking his head. "This guy's loaded to the teeth. At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if he turned cyberpsycho. Honestly, it might not even be the Sandevistan that set him off."
"A 150,000 eddies bounty... No wonder. He's practically a walking armory of military-grade implants, including an experimental model. Damn, he's gonna be a tough one," Jack compared himself to the target and realized his own implants barely amounted to a fraction of what this former lieutenant was packing. Sure, more implants didn't always mean victory in a fight, but this was an overwhelming gap—one that felt downright oppressive.
"With Kerenzikov enhancing his reflexes and Sandevistan boosting his speed, one wrong move and he could wipe us out in a second."
Karl nodded in agreement and looked at Oliver. "We'll need your sniper rifle for this one. A clean shot to the head should do it."
"You're not even gonna try talking first? The client did say we should attempt communication if possible."
"What, gamble my life on the off chance he hasn't gone cyberpsycho? No thanks."
Karl made the call. "Once we locate him, I'll approach—but from a safe distance. Jack, you'll be recording everything. The moment he so much as twitches with an aggressive expression, Oliver, you take the shot. We'll send that footage to Blanca as proof that he snapped."
Oliver's newest rifle, the Nekomata, was a Tech sniper rifle manufactured by Tsunami Defense Systems. With its electromagnetic acceleration, it could pierce even reinforced exoskeletons—so a mere subdermal armor wouldn't stand a chance.
"Karl, you're really gonna be the one to approach him? Isn't that too dangerous?"
"That's why I said I'll keep my distance. Relax, if shit hits the fan, I'll run like hell without hesitation."
At least he had the reflexes to keep up with a Sandevistan user. If anyone was gonna do it, it had to be him.
"So now, the only issue is finding James Norris."
Oliver scanned the corporate district, bustling with suits. "A former military officer should stick out like a sore thumb. I know military types—I can tell if someone's a soldier at a glance."
"Where do we start looking?"
Karl asked, and Oliver immediately pointed in a direction.
"Corpo Plaza."
[Corpo Plaza]
Rebuilt after the Fourth Corporate War, Corpo Plaza is now one of the most iconic locations in Night City. Its signature circular memorial park serves as a tribute to those lost in the war.
Karl followed Oliver's gaze and immediately understood.
In a district where land is worth more than its weight in eddies, a rogue ex-military officer who just gunned down his own company's contact could only go somewhere anyone had access to.
A public memorial park.
It's not like he could just stroll up to another corporation's headquarters and loiter around. Any corpo security would kindly greet him with a friendly shock baton.
"So, we'll—"
Karl started, but mid-sentence, he felt a cold drop hit his forehead. He glanced up.
Rain.
The pollution-heavy sky of Night City released its toxic drizzle, covering the city in filth.
"Let's find some cover first. Sure, we won't get sick from it, but I'd rather not smell like rotting chrome for the rest of the day."
Lifting his sleeve, Karl sniffed the raindrops soaking into the fabric, then pointed toward the memorial park.
"There are some bio-trees over there—we can use them for cover."
"Hiding from the rain while scoping out the homeless who stay in the park even during bad weather? Yeah, that's a solid plan."
With Jack casting his vote in favor, the three of them stopped standing around like idiots in the rain and made a run for Corpo Plaza.
When they arrived, however, they saw that the NCPD had already set up a cordon around the central memorial park.
Judging by the scene, something had gone down.
The three exchanged glances before moving to a bio-tree near the NCPD's perimeter, looking toward the restricted area.
Because of the rain and the distance, Karl couldn't see clearly past the cordon. He turned to Jack, who had cybernetic eyes.
"What's going on in there?"
"I see a corpo stiff lying on the ground. Big hole in his head."
"Blown to bits?"
"Nah. Just a clean hole—judging by the size of the wound, probably a shot from a Lexington."
A Lexington, used to pop a corpo's skull?
Karl didn't quite understand what had happened.
Could this be related to our target?
Just as he was pondering this, his gaze landed on a familiar figure among the officers inside the cordon.
"I know someone here. Gonna go say hi."
Leaving Jack and Oliver under the tree, Karl stepped out into the rain and jogged over to the NCPD officer.
A few seconds later, while Johnson was busy handling the murdered corpo case, he heard a voice from beyond the police barrier.
"Officer Johnson, what happened here?"
Hearing his name, Johnson instinctively looked over.
He paused for a second upon recognizing Karl, then handed his current task to a subordinate before walking toward the holographic cordon set up between police cruisers.
Stopping just inside the barrier, Johnson greeted Karl with a nod.
"Long time no see, Karl. How's life?"
"Not bad. Officer Johnson, did you guys get a cyberpsycho here? Need some help?"
"Cyberpsycho?"
Johnson turned to glance at the dead corpo behind him and quickly pieced together Karl's reason for showing up.
Looking for work again, huh?
Unfortunately, today wasn't his lucky day.
"Nope. Just a standard revenge killing. We already caught the perp on the spot—just cleaning up now."
Johnson shrugged. "Not the kind of action you're looking for."
"Damn."
Karl was disappointed. He'd thought he might've stumbled onto a lead.
After a brief moment of regret, he was about to thank Johnson for the info when his peripheral vision caught something.
A massive, bare-chested man with short golden hair, a pair of guns strapped to his back, a cybernetic visor over his eyes, and a physique like a war machine, was walking slowly toward the crime scene.
"That guy is..."
Karl's pupils widened.