96-100

Chapter 96: Trap 

Riku slotted the sukiru chippu (skill chip) into his system, but something felt off right away. This wasn’t his kokyū-hō (breathing technique)!  

Pira had made it sound like this “Breathing Technique Skill Chip” was just a watered-down copy of his Mizu no Kokyū (Water Breathing), maybe 70% as effective. But as soon as he activated it, Riku realized it was a whole different beast. The breathing pattern in the chip took a different rūto (route) in some places, not matching his own at all. 

It was like someone had taken Mizu no Kokyū, simplified it into a new kokyū-hō, and made it weaker but easier to pick up—like a beginner-friendly move from a shōnen anime, stripped of its full ki (energy). 

“Can you tweak it some more?” Riku asked, suppressing the backlash from switching breathing styles. He yanked out the chip, sounding like a picky kōhai (client) making endless demands. 

“If you want it to be exactly the same, no can do. My gear’s got limits. Honestly, what I pulled off is already pushing it,” Pira said, spreading his hands. Even a tensai (genius) tech expert couldn’t turn a pile of janku (scrap) into a perfect high-end rig. 

Truth be told, getting this level of result was beyond Pira’s expectations. Riku had gotten lucky. Tech expert gear was always a gamble—sometimes you got a mirakuru (miracle), sometimes a disaster. 

Riku’s kokyū was a total mystery to Pira. The fact that the equipment managed to record it this well? Pure un (luck). 

“…” Riku touched the saiyoke kitsune-men (disaster-warding fox mask) hanging at his waist. Could this be the work of its rumored 0.01 luck boost? 

“Alright, make me another copy,” Riku said, accepting the situation. No choice—he didn’t have the skills to tweak the sukiru chippu himself. 

Pira’s tech was solid; the problem was his janky equipment. Maybe Judy could help refine it—she’d definitely have access to some kōkyū (high-end) gear. 

“15,000 eddies. I’ll copy it and throw in the equipment. Guaranteed no backups, and you can check the storage chips yourself. Since Sasha’s vouching for you, no need for any… post-deal cleanup,” Pira said, holding up a long index finger, his face deadly serious. That’s what you call puro (professional) standards. 

“...Deal,” Riku said with a chuckle, shaking his head. He nodded to Sasha, the one person both of them trusted, to handle the inspection. 

“Leave it to me,” Sasha said with a playful wink. As a pro hakkā (hacker), no data could slip past her eagle eyes. 

Riku gave her a thumbs-up. Honestly, he didn’t care if this kokyū-hō sukiru chippu got out there. If he had the means, he’d start a kaisha (company) and sell it himself.  

He wasn’t one of those “weapons are evil” types. Sure, if some akui (malicious) jerk learned his kokyū-hō, they might use it for bad stuff. But a seigi (justice)-driven hero could use it to take down villains. It’s not like kokyū-hō was some evil jutsu that warped your personality—good or evil came down to the person. 

“If you wanna sell this for profit, just pay me a kenri-ryō (royalty fee),” Riku teased with a grin. He didn’t have time to make and sell chips himself, but hiring someone to do it? Not a bad idea. 

“Nah, I’m good. I don’t wanna get on the radar of some kaisha inu (corporate dogs). If this thing blows up, no one’s getting away clean. I’d rather stay a free janku-ya (scrap guy),” Pira said, rolling his eyes. Thinking you could just start a company with a unique tech? That’s a one-way ticket to getting chewed up by the big corpos. 

“Fair enough,” Riku said, switching gears. “Hey, Pira, got any sukiru chippu that can turn someone into a tech expert?” 

Why rely on others when you could jiriki (do it yourself)? If he could get tech expert skills, he could tweak the chip on his own. 

“You think anyone’s dumb enough to turn their shokunin waza (craftsmanship) into a sukiru chippu and hand it out?” Pira said, his face comically exaggerated, like a side character in a gag anime. No one’s gonna teach their trade secrets and lose their edge. 

“Yeah, makes sense,” Riku admitted, nodding. If he were in Pira’s shoes, he wouldn’t do it either. 

“Maybe check with the big kaisha. They might have something,” Pira tossed out casually. Corpos were all about mass production and efficiency—they wouldn’t pass up using sukiru chippu. Sure, their mass-produced tech experts couldn’t handle kōseido (high-precision) work, but they’d still outshine regular screw-turning grunts. 

“Could I learn from you? Paid lessons, of course,” Riku said, pivoting. If he couldn’t speed-run it with a chip, he’d grind it out the old-fashioned way. 

“Ha? You serious?” Pira lit a cigarette, his expression skeptical. He tossed Riku a chip. “Master what’s on this first, then we’ll talk about lessons.” 

Pira rocked back and forth in his chair, clearly doubting Riku could handle it. 

Riku slotted the chip and started reading. It was a ton of study material—engineering, mechanics, biology, medicine, electronics, software, you name it. Tech experts were like rebellious mekanikku (mechanics) and iryo-sha (medics) rolled into one, dabbling in everything: weapon mods, gita (cybernetic) repairs, parameter tuning, hardware-software synergy. A top-tier tech expert was basically a zen’nō (all-rounder) badass. 

“Thanks,” Riku said, genuinely grateful. This chip was a goldmine. Studying? No problem. As a kan-maki (grind king), he wasn’t afraid of hard work—just afraid of having nothing to learn. 

“All clear. No issues,” Sasha said, finishing her inspection. Pira’s puro rep held up—reputation matters in any trade. 

“Take your stuff,” Pira said, handing over the equipment. Riku transferred the eddies without hesitation. The money he’d saved for a new katana ended up here instead. 

“Thanks. Catch ya later,” Riku said, grabbing the gear. His goal was met, so no reason to stick around. 

“Wait up, Devil. I’m coming with,” Sasha called, waving goodbye to Rebecca and Pira before catching up. 

“Mind if I hitch a ride?” Sasha asked with a bright smile, her mood clearly high. She’d come by NCART subway. 

“No problem at all,” Riku said, popping the trunk of his Seresu and tossing in the janky gear. He opened the car door for Sasha with a gentlemanly flourish. 

“Please, Sasha-san.” 

“Thank you, Devil-san,” Sasha replied, playfully curtsying as if wearing a seifuku (school uniform). They locked eyes and burst out laughing. 

But before Riku could say anything else, Sasha’s expression shifted, like she’d just gotten urgent mesa (message). 

“Sorry, Devil, I’ve gotta run. Emergency,” she said, clearly having received some pressing news. 

“Get in. I’ll drive you,” Riku said, narrowing his eyes. She’d just helped him out—he wasn’t about to ditch her. 

“…” Sasha bit her lip but hopped in. No time to hesitate with something this urgent. 

“I sent you the address,” she said. Riku glanced at it—a apāto (apartment) building in Little Chinatown. 

“It’s a journalist I was in contact with. She’s been attacked—probably kaisha inu,” Sasha explained as the car sped off. 

Sounded serious. Riku pushed the Seresu faster. Good thing it wasn’t too far. But deep down, he knew if the journalist wasn’t sharp, they’d probably just find a body by the time they arrived. 

Soon, the Seresu pulled up to the target apāto. The outside looked calm—no kōtai (corporate) goons surrounding it in layers like some shōnen villain ambush. 

“It’s been a while since her last message. Hope she’s okay,” Sasha said, jumping out and sprinting toward the building. Her eyes glowed as she started hacking into the apāto’s security cameras. 

Riku stayed close, a bad feeling creeping up. This screamed wana (trap). 

Sasha was cautious, though. Her first move was to breach the cameras, which should spot any trouble. 

“…” Sure enough, as soon as they entered the building, Sasha froze, her face grim. 

“The room’s cameras have been tampered with,” she said, confirming Riku’s gut. No need to collect a body—the kaisha inu were in the journalist’s room, waiting like ninja setting a trap. 

“Pull back?” Riku suggested. The smart move was to avoid walking into a tiger’s den when you knew it was a trap. 

Chapter 97: Breaking Through the Siege 

Sniff sniff. 

Riku twitched his nose, stepping back a few paces to the doorway. 

Bang! 

A gunshot rang out. Riku activated his Sandevistan, and everything in his vision slowed to a crawl. He darted back into the apartment building. 

Boom! 

An explosive blast followed, shattering the tiles on the ground and sending debris flying. The bullet left a crater in the floor. 

“Damn it!” Riku cursed. A sunaipā (sniper)? These corporate dogs must’ve realized they’d been found out. 

Good thing his Sandevistan was fully flesh-integrated now. Otherwise, that shot might’ve blown apart whatever it hit. 

Even with that kind of firepower, his subdermal armor was probably no better than paper. Sure, he could survive getting his head blown off, but the problem was—it was still broad daylight! 

“To get out, we’ve gotta take out that sniper first,” Riku decided quickly. 

He wasn’t too worried for himself. The flesh-integrated Sandevistan gave him confidence. With his speed and the Sandevistan’s boost, if he went all-out, that sniper would need some serious luck to land a hit. 

But Sasha? She was a different story. Her cyberware was mostly geared toward hacking, boosting her nō (brain) for computational power. She was nimble enough, with decent close-quarters skills, but nowhere near capable of dancing through a hail of bullets like Riku. 

He could carry her, sure, but that’d slow him down, making it way easier for the sniper to tag them. Too risky. 

“What the hell’s going on?!” The sniper’s shot was loud enough to rattle the apartment building, sending the tenants into a panic. They knew something big was happening. 

When Riku and Sasha had arrived, there were still a few curious onlookers nearby. But the second the gunshot echoed, those tama (bystanders) scattered like roaches. 

For Night City citizens, knowing how to escape when danger struck was practically a mandatory survival skill (seizon sukiru). 

“They’re coming down!” Sasha said, checking the building’s surveillance. The ambushers upstairs had clearly realized they’d been spotted. 

“And more are coming from outside,” Riku added, picking up a scent. While everyone else was fleeing the building, some were rapidly approaching. 

No way those were reckless bystanders. It had to be more corporate dogs lying in wait. 

“Looks like we’re not leaving until we take them all out,” Riku said, pulling the blade from his back. It was a thermal katana—a netsu-ken with a black blade that glowed with fiery light, radiating waves of heat. 

Of course, Arasaka Corporation made katanas. As a Japanese company with a long legacy, the samurai blade was their pride and joy. This thermal katana was one of Arasaka’s latest creations, so pricey Riku could only dream of affording it. He had Mother Nature to thank for this one. 

“Let’s head to the second floor. We can’t get pinned down here,” Sasha said, staying calm despite the chaos. Getting caught in a pincer attack was the worst-case scenario. 

The second floor was a solid choice. If things went south, they could always jump out a window. Surely there couldn’t be snipers everywhere, right? 

Riku nodded, understanding her logic. He dropped an optic at the entrance for vision, then followed Sasha up the stairs to the second floor. 

As they emerged from the stairwell, a group of agents rounded the corner—black-clad, no obvious corporate logos, but it didn’t take a genius to guess they were Biotech’s goons. After all, Sasha hadn’t pissed off any other corps, and she was here to meet a reporter to dig into Biotech’s dirt. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

The four agents opened fire, bullets raining down on Riku and Sasha. 

Bzzt! 

Riku took a deep breath and triggered his Sandevistan. The bullets slowed to a crawl in his vision. 

Clang! Clang! Clang! 

He swung his thermal katana, deflecting every bullet. Some even ricocheted back toward the agents. 

The agents scrambled, caught off guard, but their own subdermal armor held up against the deflected shots. 

“Stay safe, Sasha,” Riku said, before charging the four agents in a blur. 

Shnk! 

The lead agent’s head flew off, his face still frozen in shock, unable to dodge in time. Blood sprayed as his head spun through the air, and Riku was already moving, slashing at the next agent. 

Bzzt! 

The second agent reacted, his movements speeding up—Kerenzikov cyberware. But it wasn’t enough. His Kerenzikov was low-grade, and his skills were no match for Riku’s. 

Shnk! 

The agent’s dodge was futile. Riku’s blade cut him down. 

Bzzt! 

Thanks to their comrades’ deaths buying them time, the remaining two agents activated their Sandevistans, retreating up the stairs to gain distance. 

“Not bad for corporate dogs. They’re loaded with gear,” Riku muttered, not slowing down. He bounded up the stairs, his blade aiming for the next agent’s throat. 

The two agents fired, their guns spitting fire at the rapidly closing Riku. 

But their shots were too late. Riku’s blade was already on them. 

Even with Sandevistans, their reflexes couldn’t keep up with his. Sandevistans varied in quality, and the gap in their physical abilities (taishitsu) was even harder to bridge. 

Shnk! 

Riku skewered both agents, pinning them to the wall. The thermal katana seared their throats, their flesh melting like wax. 

Sizzle! 

Suddenly, Riku’s vision flickered, then went black. Someone had hacked his optic. 

Behind the four agents was a hacker—a woman with glowing eyes, her face twisted in shock. She’d tried to hack Riku’s systems, but only his optic responded. His Sandevistan was like a ghost to her marionetto (puppet) programs—no reaction at all. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

The hacker fired her pistol at Riku. 

Shnk! 

Riku surged forward, his katana slicing through the air, lopping off her head mid-expression. 

He still had his third eye unaffected, plus a flesh-integrated optic he could deploy. Optic reboots were no big deal for him, unless he was standing in direct sunlight. 

Even then, his nose could pick up human scents like a bloodhound. Their aroma was impossible to miss. 

“Optic reboot complete.” 

His vision returned, but Riku kept his third eye open. In the world of Cyberpunk, more eyes meant less charisma—a running joke. Normally, he kept his third eye closed to avoid the sun’s glare. 

He wasted no time, ripping out the agents’ optics and chips, blood and all, and stuffing them into his pocket. Then he used the thermal katana to set their clothes ablaze. 

Crackle! 

Sasha stood there, dumbfounded. Riku’s combat prowess had skyrocketed since last time, and his decisiveness was on another level. 

[Ding! Experience +250.] 

[Ding! Experience full. Level up to Lv5. Current EXP: 119/500.] 

[Gained 1 Attribute Point.] 

[Gained 1 Skill Point.] 

The fight was over, and the experience rolled in. Riku had leveled up again. 

Each of the five agents gave him 50 EXP—less than the 200 from that black-clad shinobi before. Probably because, with his Sandevistan, these agents weren’t as much of a threat. That shinobi with a Nichirin Blade could’ve actually endangered him. 

Riku dumped the attribute point into Constitution (taishitsu), then upgraded [Oni-fication]. 

[Oni-fication Lv4: Transformed into an oni by the blood of the Oni King. Strength, Agility, Constitution +8, Charisma -9. Grants Blood Demon Art and Constitution Alteration State.] 

He could’ve upgraded [Water Breathing], but he wanted to train it himself first. Wasn’t there something called Jōchū (Constant Flux)? No need to burn skill points yet. 

Plus, [Oni-fication] reduced the charisma penalty every two levels, making it a better bang for his buck. 

Feeling his physical stats surge again, Riku basked in the thrill of growth. Then more mugi (wheat, a playful nod to enemies as “harvest”) came to him. 

The ambushers outside had stormed in. Riku had known they were coming—his optic on the first floor hadn’t been spotted, giving him a clear view of their approach. 

Bzzt! 

Sandevistan activated again, Riku’s form flickering as he moved. 

Caught off guard, the agents barely had time to fire, their guns spraying wildly. 

A shadow surged from Riku’s feet, morphing into a giant wolf that blocked their shots and pounced, sending the agents tumbling down the stairs. 

Shnk! 

Riku followed, his thermal katana slicing through them like a shinigami cutting bamboo. 

Chapter 98: Back for More 

“No more, seriously! My pockets can’t hold any more loot!”  

Riku grumbled as he yanked out gita (cybernetic) eyes and chips from the fallen enemies, then set their bodies ablaze with his old trick, like a shōnen hero cleaning up after a battle.  

He felt like a tiger waiting for humans to slide-tackle him—Mou konai de, hontō ni! (Stop coming, I’m stuffed!) The staircase was shrouded in smoke, wafting with a nostalgic yakiniku (grilled meat) aroma that made Riku’s mouth water. 

“Damn, that smells too good!”  

Riku grabbed Sasha and bolted before he started drooling all over the floor. Sure, those guys probably had more sweet gear, but time was tight, so he settled for snagging two guns, tossing one to Sasha. 

“How many of these yatsu (jerks) are there?!”  

Riku and Sasha sprinted through the apāto (apartment) building, hunting for an escape route while Biotech Company’s tokō (agents) kept pouring in like relentless akuma (demons) from a shōnen arc. The flames at the staircase didn’t slow them down—those tokō didn’t even glance at their fallen comrades, charging straight for Riku and Sasha. To them, a dead colleague was just one less rival. More glory for the survivor, as long as it wasn’t them biting the dust. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

Gunfire echoed through the apāto, a chaotic battle theme straight out of a mecha anime. Residents who hadn’t fled cowered in their rooms, praying they wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire. Lucky for most, it was daytime, so the building wasn’t packed. Unlucky for the few stuck at home, though—they were in for a rough day. 

Clang! Clang! Clang! 

Riku swung his netsu-bushidō (thermal katana), deflecting bullets with dan-han (bullet parry) moves, sending rounds ricocheting back to slow the tokō’s advance, like a samurai in a high-tech jidaigeki. 

Zzt! Zzt! 

Sasha’s eyes glowed like a hakkā (hacker) in full netto (net) mode, triggering a grenade on one of the tokō. The guy noticed something was up but had no time to react. 

BOOM! 

The hallway erupted, limbs and blood spraying like a gory anime explosion. The nearby tokō got caught in the blast, mangled like fodder villains. 

BOOM! 

Riku seized the moment, slamming through a door into a room, Sasha hot on his heels.  

“Now! Jump out the window!” he shouted. The tokō were in disarray, unable to relay info to their backup outside. Perfect chance to escape. 

The sniper out there had probably repositioned by now—nobody’s dumb enough to keep aiming at the front door when the targets aren’t using it, right? With so many rooms and windows in the apāto, no single sniper could cover them all, not unless they had kage bunshin no jutsu (shadow clone technique). They’d need signals from inside to track them, and right now, those signals were zero. 

Riku figured picking a random “lucky” room wouldn’t land them straight in a sniper’s crosshairs. Un ga ii, ne? (Good luck, right?) 

Voom! 

Riku scooped up Sasha, activated his Suanwisutan (Sandevistan), and leapt out the window in one fluid shōnen jump, landing smoothly on the ground.  

Both let out a sigh of relief. The enemy hadn’t posted a ton of snipers—probably didn’t expect them to be this tough. 

The tokō in the hallway shouted, but by the time they pushed through the blast zone, their targets were gone.  

Riku didn’t hesitate. The second they hit the ground, he sprinted with Sasha in tow. Drones had already spotted them—two rugged Zetatech Happun-gi (Octant) drones, like flying kōjō (fortresses), roared in, forming a deadly kajū (firepower) net. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

Bullets chased Riku’s steps, carving wild trails into the ground like an action anime chase scene. 

Zzt! Zzt! 

Sasha’s eyes flared again, hacking the drones. They wobbled in the air, their gunfire pausing, but someone was clearly piloting them, fighting her hakkingu (hacking) with all they had. 

Riku, still holding Sasha, launched himself toward the Happun-gi with a burst of speed. His netsu-bushidō flashed, slicing through the drones with precise zangetsu (slashing moon) strikes. 

Zzt! Zzt! 

BOOM! 

The drones exploded midair, and Riku landed with Sasha, booking it away from the wreckage. 

By now, the Biotech tokō were leaping out of windows, and the ones posted outside closed in like a pack of yōkai (monsters).  

Riku kept his Suanwisutan on overdrive, never slowing, his figure flickering like a ninja as he covered ground fast. His cells screamed in protest, and the Suanwisutan itself was practically begging for a break. Who uses it like this?! Give me a breather, man! 

But Riku’s insane recovery kept him going. The pain of overloading Suanwisutan only sharpened his focus, like a shōnen hero pushing past their limits. 

His netsu-bushidō cut through anyone in his way—hito o kiru, butsu o kiru (slay men, slay gods). Two tokō tried to block him, only to lose their heads in a flash. 

Under the stunned gazes of the remaining tokō, Riku and Sasha vanished from the apāto, their figures fading into the distance like kaze no tami (people of the wind). 

After sprinting a safe distance, Riku ducked into an alley and set Sasha down. Her legs wobbled—she was clearly not used to that kind of supīdo (speed), her insides churning like she’d just ridden a mecha rollercoaster. 

“Sorry, Devil. I dragged you into danger again,” Sasha said, her voice full of guilt now that they were safer. She’d been laser-focused on her hakkingu earlier, nerves on edge. 

“Don’t say that. When have I ever not jumped in myself?” Riku said with a grin, shaking his head. This was just another thrilling episōdo to him. 

“But using Suanwisutan like that… is your body okay? We should see a isha (doctor),” Sasha said, her face full of worry. As a veteran hakkā, she knew exactly what powered their escape.  

Suanwisutan’s toll on the body was no joke, even if she’d never used it herself. Nobody used it like Riku did—she’d never even heard of it. 

“No worries. You forgetting my kaifuku-ryoku (recovery ability)? This is nothing,” Riku said, reassuring her. Sasha had seen him take bullets; she knew how freakishly fast he healed. 

“Still…” Sasha wasn’t convinced. Bullet wounds and Suanwisutan overload damage weren’t the same thing. 

“You good to get back on your own?” Riku cut her off. He had to head back—his Seresu (car) was still there!  

That was secondary, though. The real reason? He’d left a nikutai-ka (flesh-ified) cybernetic eye on the first floor. He needed to check if he could grab it.  

Through the eye’s vision, he could tell it hadn’t been found, but it was a loose end. Better to retrieve it if possible. When he’d planted it, he was just thinking of setting up a me (eye) for intel, forgetting it wasn’t a temporary nise-me (fake eye) that’d vanish. This nikutai-ka eye wasn’t sprouting wings to fly back like a dorōn (drone). He had to go get it himself. 

“I’m fine, but what are you up to?” Sasha asked, hesitating. She could make it back alone, but what was Riku planning? 

“Just got some business. You head back,” Riku said, keeping it vague to avoid worrying her. With that, he fired up Suanwisutan and vanished. 

“…” Sasha opened her mouth, but he was already gone before she could say more. 

Going back wasn’t that risky. The Biotech tokō hadn’t lingered at the apāto. They’d spread out to hunt for them, assuming Riku and Sasha couldn’t have gotten far.  

After all, who could keep using Suanwisutan like that without collapsing? Most would be puking blood by now. To the tokō, finding Riku was like picking up free kōrō (merit) if he was down for the count. 

“Joke’s on you. I’m not like you yatsu,” Riku muttered with a smirk. He circled around, dodging the tokō, and slipped back into the apāto through a window, like a ninja on a stealth mission. 

Chapter 99: Cyberpsycho Attack Incident 

Riku dashed through the stairwell, confirming that Biotech’s agents were indeed after them. 

He noticed some tenants cracking their doors open, peeking out now that things had quieted down. Curiosity was getting the better of them. 

At the stairwell’s entrance, Riku picked up the optic he’d left behind. If he’d been any later, one of these tenants might’ve scavenged it like it was trash. 

“Since I’m here, might as well grab the car, right?” 

At the doorway, Riku eyed the Thorton Galena parked not far from the apartment building. 

A few Biotech agents, looking thoroughly annoyed, were stationed around the car, seemingly unaware of any immediate threat. 

The Galena hadn’t been driven off yet. It could be a trap, sure, but there was another possibility: the agents were so confident they’d catch Riku and Sasha that they hadn’t bothered with the car. 

“This might be my only shot to drive it out,” Riku decided quickly. If the agents couldn’t find him and Sasha, they’d definitely turn their attention to the car. 

He really wanted to take it. Not only was it shared with V and Jack, but it also had 15,000 eddies’ worth of gear he’d just bought. 

“Worth a try.” 

Riku made up his mind. He activated his Sandevistan and bolted toward the Galena parked by the roadside. 

Another reason he decided to act? The guards around the car. If this was a trap, they wouldn’t be standing there so blatantly—it’d be like waving a red flag at a tauren (bull). Plus, who in their right mind would circle back to steal a car in the middle of this chaos? Normal people would be long gone by now. 

“Damn it! Why’d we get stuck with this job?!” one of the three agents leaning against the Galena grumbled, clearly fed up with guard duty. 

“This guy’s a tough one—a saibo seishinbyō (cyberpsycho). Staying back might be the smart move,” another agent said, more optimistic. He’d seen the carnage in the apartment building—each body worse than the last. Avoiding the chase was probably a blessing. 

If that cyberpsycho went berserk and took them out in a last-ditch attack, wouldn’t that be a raw deal? 

“Tough? Please! With how he’s burning through that Sandevistan, he’s probably collapsed somewhere by now. You think he’s made of steel?” the third agent scoffed, boredom dripping from his voice. They were practically ready to pull up chairs and chill. 

But when Riku burst out of the apartment building, the three agents froze, dumbfounded. 

Shnk! 

In a single clash, two agents’ heads hit the ground, blood spraying everywhere. 

Riku was starting to love the decapitation style. He hadn’t met anyone yet who could reattach their head. 

Sure, these weren’t oni (demons), but stabbing the heart wasn’t always fatal for folks loaded with cyberware. Some of these guys had backup hearts. 

“Damn it! Cyberpsycho spotted! He’s back for the—” 

The last agent stumbled back in terror, firing his gun while trying to alert the others. 

Shnk! 

Before he could finish, the searing heat of Riku’s thermal katana (netsu-ken) sliced through his neck, silencing him for good. 

No hesitation. Riku dug out the optics, yanked the chips, set the bodies ablaze, and hopped into the Galena, starting the engine. 

Brrrm! 

The Galena’s engine roared to life. It was a beast, though its heavy armor kept it from launching like a sports car. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

Bullets pinged off the Galena’s armored body, deflected effortlessly. This car was built like a sensha (tank). 

From the rearview mirror, Riku saw more Biotech agents shooting at him. Clearly, those three weren’t the only ones guarding the area. 

“Backup’s pretty quick,” Riku muttered, yanking the wheel for a drifting U-turn. He floored it, barreling toward the agents. 

Brrrm! 

The Galena’s engine roared, struggling to pick up speed under its heavy armor. Once it got going, though, it could keep up with any sports car. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

The agents fired wildly at the windshield, but the bullets bounced off, leaving only faint marks on the reinforced glass. 

Wrapped head to toe in armor, the Galena could roll through a minefield unscathed. Its custom bulletproof windows could handle most gunfire. 

Driving a Galena wasn’t about caution. As the heaviest street-legal vehicle in Night City, it was responsible for a quarter of the city’s pedestrian collisions. Of course, that had a lot to do with the corporate middle-managers who drove it—they didn’t care about hitting someone. 

Thud! 

Two agents who couldn’t dodge in time were sent flying. Another dove to the side, tossing a grenade as he went. 

“Damn it!” Riku cursed, spotting the agent’s move. He slammed the gas pedal. 

Boom! 

The grenade exploded, lifting the Galena’s rear end. The car hadn’t fully escaped the blast radius, a downside of its sluggish acceleration. 

The Galena flipped forward in the air, landing hard on all four wheels. Riku kept his foot on the gas. 

Brrrm! 

The engine roared again, and the Galena, fresh off a front flip, didn’t even pause before speeding off. Its armored chassis—even the tires—was built to handle the car’s insane weight. 

“Hell yeah, Chevy Thorton Galena’s the way to go!” Riku hadn’t expected the car to be this tough. No wonder corporate dogs loved driving these—it was basically a tank on the streets. If Gloria Martinez had driven one, she could’ve taken a full magazine to the windshield and walked away without a scratch. 

Bang! 

Just as Riku was praising the Galena’s durability, the side window shattered, glass shards pelting him. 

Bzzt! 

He triggered his Sandevistan, ignoring the glass and narrowly dodging a bullet that screamed past him. 

Bang! 

The other side’s window shattered too—the bullet had pierced straight through both sides of the car. 

Riku’s peripheral vision caught the bullet slamming into a nearby building, blasting a hole in the wall. 

“Kyōfu no yōna chikara! (Terrifying power!)” Riku gasped, channeling a Demon Slayer elder’s dramatic flair. 

But the sniper who’d fired the shot was just as shocked. What kind of freak was driving this thing?! His hands were steady as steel—missing the shot was one thing, but the Galena didn’t even swerve. Normal people would at least flinch after dodging a bullet! 

The sniper lowered his rifle. The Galena took a sharp turn, vanishing from his sight. 

He’d missed his rushed shot, and his position was now compromised. The target had reacted instantly. 

“This arms race between armor and caliber is no joke,” Riku muttered, brushing off the glass shards. Good thing he’d caught the agents off guard with his bold move, or getting the car out would’ve been a nightmare. 

He could slip away easily on his own, but a car was a big target. If they couldn’t catch him, they’d definitely go for the vehicle. 

“Hope the gear’s not busted,” Riku said, starting to worry. The car and he were fine after that flip, but Pila’s scavenged equipment might not be so lucky. 

Sirens blared as NCPD patrol cars finally showed up. Riku perked up, listening, and quickly turned down a side street to avoid a head-on collision. 

With all hell breaking loose, Night City’s official forces had finally arrived—fashionably late, as usual. 

But Riku wasn’t counting on them for justice. Justice in Night City? That was whatever the corporations ordered. 

A few Cortex Overlords rolled up to the apartment building, and the NCPD officers—looking more like corporate lapdogs than cops—got out for a perfunctory inspection. 

They barely lingered before piling back into their cars, setting off to chase Riku’s Galena across the city. 

Biotech had reported a cyberpsycho slaughtering their employees, demanding NCPD’s cooperation in the manhunt. 

Of course, even though Biotech’s goons had struck first, Riku was the one branded a criminal. 

Look at the body count—how could he not be a criminal? If he wasn’t, who was? 

“Breaking news: Little Chinatown hit by a cyberpsycho attack. The suspect is currently fleeing in a Chevy Thorton Galena. If you have any information, please contact NCPD.” 

Riku, sitting in the car, heard the urgent broadcast on the radio. He figured Chevy owed him some ad revenue for this citywide spotlight. 

But this so-called “citywide manhunt” felt more like a show. As Riku drove to the Northside Industrial District, he didn’t see a single NCPD patrol car. 

Made sense. The NCPD weren’t idiots. One look at the carnage in that apartment building, and they knew this wasn’t someone to mess with. For their measly pay and shoddy gear, why risk their lives? Putting on a show was enough. Actually finding the cyberpsycho? Good luck with that. 

Chapter 100: MaxTac Assault 

Riku parked his car, originally planning to hightail it out of Night City to lay low until the heat from the NCPD (Night City Police Department) died down. 

But seeing the NCPD’s half-hearted response, it was all thunder and no rain. They didn’t seem too eager to chase him down on behalf of Biotechnica. 

“No need to skip town then,” Riku muttered to himself. 

He stepped out of the car and began checking it for any tracking devices, his eyes flicking to the pop-up notifications from his Kyokugen System (Extreme System). 

Ding! +550 EXP. 

Ding! EXP bar full. Level up to Lv6. Current EXP: 169/700. 

Gained 1 Attribute Point. 

“Huh? Just one attribute point?” Riku frowned, puzzled for a moment before it clicked. “Right, it’s two levels for a skill point, three for a skill optimization point.” 

If his math was right, hitting Lv7 would be a jackpot, like Lv1—grabbing one point each for attributes, skills, and optimization.  

“The EXP needed jumped by 200. What’s that about? Newbie phase over? Is Lv5 the start of a new stage?” Riku mused, drawing on his years of gaming experience to make sense of it. He wasn’t sure if earning EXP would get tougher from here. 

As he pondered, the shrill wail of NCPD sirens cut through the air. Riku whipped his head around, spotting a fleet of fukūsha (hovercars) closing in from the sky. 

“Damn it! I knew it!” Riku cursed under his breath.  

Among the NCPD markings, he spotted the telltale skull emblem—a dead giveaway for Bōkyō Kidōtai (MaxTac), Night City’s elite unit. These guys weren’t your average cops. MaxTac handled saibō seishinbyō (cyberpsycho) incidents and threats too big for regular NCPD grunts. 

“Figures!” Riku spat, realizing why he hadn’t seen any patrol cars. The NCPD had skipped straight to calling in MaxTac. 

His car must’ve been rigged with a tracking virus in its system. No physical trackers, just some sneaky hakkā (hacker) tech.  

“In this day and age, you’re screwed without some hakkā skills,” Riku grumbled. Without them, he was a sitting duck in situations like this. 

Whoosh! 

A salvo of rockets with long, glowing tails screamed toward him. Riku activated his Sandevistan, his body blurring into motion as he ditched the car. No time to worry about equipment now. 

BOOM! 

His Thorton took the brunt of the barrage, holding out briefly before exploding in a fiery blast. It wasn’t a heavy-armored tank, after all. 

MaxTac’s firepower was no joke. Unlike the underpaid NCPD regulars, these guys were kitted out with top-tier gitai (cyberware) and gear—Night City’s trump card for maintaining order. 

Riku dove into a nearby apartment building, his vision going dark as his gigan (cybernetic eyes) got hacked. The enemy was also trying to infiltrate his Sandevistan and neural chip, but his Majin (Demon Puppet) system, integrated with his bio-enhanced gitai, shut them down cold. Even a legendary hakkā like Bartmoss would’ve been stumped by Riku’s unique setup. 

“Trying to fry my brain? Keep dreaming!” Riku smirked. 

Inside the apartment, he opened the third eye on his forehead. It was evening, but the night hadn’t fully fallen yet. Fighting outside would be a disadvantage, so he’d stall here until yomaku (nightfall)—his prime hunting time. 

From the shadows, Riku watched as several MaxTac operatives disembarked from their hovercars. They were decked out in full combat gear, their faces hidden behind high-tech visors with insect-like secondary lenses glowing an eerie blue. 

MaxTac moved deliberately, unhurried, like they already had Riku in the bag. 

“Four of them,” Riku muttered, his forehead eye narrowing. His gigan were still offline despite his attempts to reboot them, so he relied entirely on his third eye now. 

From the second floor, Riku could sense the operatives entering the building. Their human scent was faint—too much gitai, too little flesh. The entire apartment was deathly silent. Residents, spotting the MaxTac hovercars outside, were probably praying to Kami-sama to survive the clash between a cyberpsycho and Night City’s deadliest squad. 

MaxTac reached the second floor. Riku didn’t run. He wanted to test their mettle. Besides, in this sunless building, they couldn’t kill him no matter how hard they tried. 

Voom! 

His Sandevistan kicked in, the world tinting like an anime filter. Riku launched himself at the lead MaxTac operative, his netsu-bushidō (thermal katana) flashing in a perfected Mizumen-zan (Water Surface Slash). 

Clang! 

The strike was blocked. The lead operative, a totsugeki-shu (assault specialist), wielded a Kenli dōryoku-ken (power sword). He didn’t budge an inch, his legs rooted to the ground. In raw strength, he was nearly Riku’s equal. 

“Tech this insane…” Riku marveled. This guy probably had more synthetic muscle than human flesh, explaining the faint human scent. MaxTac’s gitai were on another level. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

Gunfire erupted. Riku ducked back as the other MaxTac operatives opened fire without hesitation, clearly unbothered about friendly fire. Their confidence was unnerving, and their weapons packed a punch Riku’s subdermal armor might not withstand. 

The assault specialist, unfazed by the hail of bullets, charged Riku with his power sword. His subdermal armor was tough enough to shrug off his own team’s shots—talk about reckless confidence. 

Clang! 

Riku parried the sword, but the operative pressed the attack, swinging his blade with relentless force. Even with Sandevistan active, Riku was shocked by the guy’s speed. This wasn’t just skill—it was superior tech. MaxTac’s gear outclassed his by a mile. 

“Tech crushes all, huh?” Riku thought. In anime, you’d need years of training to master kenjutsu or mystical powers, but in Night City, tech was the ultimate shortcut. It didn’t matter who you were—plug in the right gitai, and you’d hit a baseline of terrifying strength. 

“How long can you keep this up?” the operative taunted, his voice raspy like a blade had torn through his throat. His exposed mouth curled into a manic grin, looking more like a saibō seishinbyō than Riku ever could. 

“Longer than you, buddy,” Riku shot back, deflecting another strike. “You wanna play endurance? I’ll outlast you any day.” 

If they were using the same gear, Riku would’ve ended this guy in seconds. But for now, he’d bide his time, trading blows and waiting for the perfect moment to turn the tables.