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"Where do you want to go?"

Accompanied by a hoarse, metallic, and dull, realistic sound, the roof reverberated, and the walls shattered with a deafening roar, the blasted concrete flying like shrapnel into the room, the corridor, and the roof.

"Oh shit!" Inside the building, a dozen or so FBI agents, dressed like street thugs but fully armed, stared at the blood-soaked steel cyborg that emerged from behind a gap in the wall. For a moment, their eyebrows practically flew off their chests.

That legendary meat grinder of the battlefield—Adam Hammer!

Tap tap! Thump thump thump—

In an instant, hacker attacks, shotgun shells, large-caliber live ammunition, anti-material electromagnetic tungsten-tipped bullets, smart-controlled bullets, and miniature rockets flew wildly, swarming towards the massive iron lump that was hurtling towards them.

The bullet bounced off Adam Hammer's heavy exoskeleton, comparable to that of a main battle tank, only chipping off a bit of paint with iron filings.

"Weak!" At the same time, Adam Hammer pressed the switch on the portable black box, and with a hissing sound of depressurization and exhaust, it charged forward like a steamroller, smashing and twisting the two portable machine gun turrets that had just been activated. With one shoulder, he shoved the one holding the electromagnetic sniper rifle into the wall.

Bang!

Blood, flesh, and limbs flew everywhere, making the building seem to shake. Cracks spread radially across the walls, and countless messy debris crumbled down. This gorilla-style shoulder strike was fierce and brutal. The [subcutaneous armor] and [titanium skeleton] were almost no different from ordinary flesh and blood in the face of the pure violence of immense force.

"Withdraw!" An FBI agent, his eyes blazing with fury, ordered a retreat while simultaneously pressing the detonator switch in his hand.

boom--

The timed high-explosive bombs and EMP (electromagnetic pulse) bombs that had been planted in the building beforehand were detonated.

In the instant the orange-red flames lit up, swish swish swish!

One by one, the 'street kids' sped along.

In the eyes of the [Seanwestan] user, the world seemed to slow down at this moment. All of his potential—reaction time, senses, and physical coordination—was being utilized to their fullest potential by this advanced, actively operating system-type prosthetic. He and his companions sped outwards like interlaced phantoms, but—

Someone is faster.

Bang bang bang bang...

Just like the overlapping and elongated video frame interpolation view displayed in the background of editing software, the terrifying figure of the steel cyborg has caught up, and is faster! More powerful! More persistent!

"【Seanwistan】. Is this rudimentary implant your last resort? You call this standoff a second meat grinder against the separatist forces in the western states. But baby, you are the meat, and I am the meat grinder."

Holding a heavy metal hammer that writhed around some kind of steel block and emitted an ominous blood mist, Adam Hammer spoke with great patience, as if he had won the lottery.

Then, his patience wore off.

With a piercing roar that ripped through the air, Adam Hammer swung his meat grinder, upon which lay layers of chainsaws that spun at high speed like wriggling teeth. Sizzle—!

The immense force nearly shattered the hard titanium frame with the heavy hammer, followed by the sound of a chainsaw tearing apart genuine leather, real meat, bionic leather, artificial muscles, cables, and electronic components.

The unlucky person who gets hit bursts open like a rotten watermelon, or explodes like a fruit with its skin torn open.

"Hahaha... Come on, come on! Baby, let's wrestle!"

Amidst the careless, crude, and coldly vicious laughter, one cybernetic body after another was mercilessly torn to pieces.

As the last 'street kid' jumped out of the window to escape, only to be smashed to pieces by a heavy hammer in front of a holographic billboard between the high-rise buildings, the fierce heat from the explosion finally engulfed the entire building. Boom!

Thick smoke and flames shot into the sky, and the windows of the surrounding buildings shattered.

Thump! The heavy object landed, and pink, wet entrails and blood splattered on the walls and Adam Hammer's exoskeleton.

He paced slowly, his right hand holding a long hammer that hummed and writhed after being used in killing, resembling the flowing blood vessels of a living creature.

Burning debris floated in the air, and blood, implant fragments, and blackened bits of flesh were everywhere.

"This is a really nice new product... the bio-component Kook 'Dojima'."

Adam Hammer looked at the blood-red metal mace in his hand.

He swiped away the bits of flesh tangled on the massive hammerhead, examined the slightly cracked and missing teeth of the chainsaw, and weighed it in his hand. "Concealed and portable, but a bit light; the chainsaw's strength is far from sufficient..."

His crimson eyes gleamed with the light of data streams.

[Presenter: Adam Hammer]

[Reporting to: Vera Adelheid Russell]

[Report Content: In-game data for "Quink" and personal improvement needs]

Although he was a notorious battlefield meat grinder and cyber executioner, he still had to write the briefing.

"Have they left?" After clearing out the group of NUSA agents who had carried out the assassination mission in the building, Adam Hammer gazed at the high-rise building across the street.

High-precision telescopic tactical optical prosthetic eye with pupil magnification and focusing.

He could see clearly that the "street thugs" were taking turns to retreat in twos and threes with extremely skillful tactical maneuvers. They retreated decisively and quickly, and were even being picked up by special vehicles. By the time he arrived, they would have already escaped. He could pursue and kill them, but he was on a security mission, not an annihilation mission.

Adam Hammer turned around and looked toward his target.

The recruitment office set up by Ghosthound in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

On stage, Kurt Hansen, who emerged from behind the cybernetic tyrant, remained calm. Facing his supporters and sympathizers who were clearly startled by the sudden explosion, he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Look, sometimes life is just that strange. After we broke up, she fell madly in love with me. She wanted to love me to death every single moment."

As Hansen made his sarcastic remark, the cybernetic tyrants standing on either side of him deactivated their magnetic field.

The bullets fell one after another onto the lectern, which was roughly constructed of steel plates, making a clanging sound.

Among the crowd below the stage, plainclothes agents from Arasaka, whose identities had been compromised, and guards from the Ghost Hound were carrying out several bloodied and mangled corpses.

These were assassins intent on taking down Hansen at close range. But Arasaka's security personnel were clearly the most professional in this area; they were number one in the world in security, a fact that even military technology had to acknowledge.

Among them, several figures in plainclothes Arasaka carrying silver boxes that transformed into samurai swords and metal umbrellas were particularly eye-catching.

Hansen couldn't help but glance out of the corner of his eye at Arasaka, the suitcase carrier, who stood beside the cybernetic tyrant, constantly on guard.

Just now, when the gunshot rang out, Adam Hammer moved and, facing a second assassination attempt, he was the first to react, using the metal umbrella-like object that unfolded from the box to shield himself from close-range shots from below the stage.

Kuink.

Hansen silently recited this in his heart.

Was this also designed and manufactured by her? No wonder she is the first director of the "Stairway to the Sun Project" valued by Emperor Saburo Arasaka.

Such talent...

Hansen was once again determined to continue his long-term partnership with Vera.

Therefore, he must deliver an even more perfect answer.

He raised his head and looked towards the hundreds of meters away from the podium.

That's where the new U.S. federal law enforcement agency is located in Santa Fe.

However, it seems that a fire broke out earlier due to the riots, and several sections of the fourth and fifth floors of the building have collapsed.

Outside the wall, rows of cratered bullet holes and charred remains from Molotov cocktails can still be seen.

On the ground, fresh bloodstains from the conflict had not yet been completely cleaned up.

The sirens wailed, and rows of ambulances were parked nearby. People were constantly carrying bodies out of the building and putting them into body bags.

Lazarus mercenaries and federal law enforcement officers are locked in a face-to-face, gun-to-gun standoff with the Ghosthound mercenaries, while the city police and SWAT teams controlled by the local party are standing by, their stance clearly biased towards the Ghosthounds.

At first, Lazarus did indeed hold a firm advantage in the city.

Unfortunately, Hansen arrived.

Because he arrived, the Arasaka Security Service he had ordered—Adam Hammer and the Cyber ​​Tyrant Force—came with him. The situation instantly reversed; faced with the intimidation of Adam Hammer and the presence of the Cyber ​​Tyrant Force, Lazarus halted his riot offensive.

Thinking of this, Hansen's eyes flashed with data.

Behind the podium, a large holographic projection screen magnified his image in sync with the broadcast, allowing his speech to be transmitted beyond visual range.

“Hey, Lazarus’s friend. I suppose I don’t need to introduce myself. Kurt Hansen. Like most of you, a veteran of NUSA, except not retired, but rather abandoned by the esteemed Ms. Rosalind Miles.”

"Look around you. Has Miles sent any decent support? No, you've been abandoned, just like I was six years ago. Pathetic, pathetic, lamentable..."

...

"Look at him, that traitor is spouting nonsense again. He just opens his mouth and talks a good game. Isn't he just Arasaka's dog now? Or is it his skillful tongue that's making that little bitch Vera Adelheid feel good?"

As Hansen's speech was projected onto the screen, a Lazarus mercenary officer looked disdainful and muttered something under his breath.

"They're incredibly arrogant, recruiting right in front of us. Are we just going to stand there and do nothing?"

"Otherwise? You want to fight Adam Hammer? Alright, shut up."

Another Lazarus officer crossed his arms, a complex expression on his face.

"The reason we are in such a passive position now is that, in the end, the officials in Washington do owe Hansen an explanation for the unification war six years ago."

He knew Hansen, or more precisely, he knew Colonel Hansen from six years ago.

Just as they are nominally employed by the Santa Fe City Hall with funding, while the Ghost Hound mercenary group is employed by the local party, although everyone knows who the two sides are behind the scenes, and the two sides are almost fighting each other to the death in the riots, the two sides have not completely torn off their masks yet.

This is politics, the art of blatantly lying.

Even so, the development of the situation made Lazarus and the FIA ​​insiders extremely uneasy.

The speed at which the Netherhound has developed is too fast.

Having broken free from the shackles of Dogtown, the gangs were laundered and established a company in Night City. Backed by the humanitarian aid from Aragaka and Su Petrochemical, and with Kurt Hansen's own influence, Ghosthound was able to continuously absorb veterans from the last war on the West Coast who opposed Washington and Miles. Moreover, with complete military equipment, they only needed a period of adjustment before they could be deployed to lead the front lines.

Lazarus's advantages are not obvious.

"The FBI has failed again. Arakawa has placed a huge bet on him, even sending Adam Hammer."

"Fuck! What are the officials in Washington waiting for? If local parties organize another mob to storm the base, will the firearms license be opened...bullshit!"

No sooner said than done, whoosh—

Here we go again. A piercing clamor arose from behind the ghostly hound mercenaries who were confronting them.

After resting, Santa Fe citizens, holding banners that read "Stop Miles" and "Independence and Sovereignty," surged forward again in dense rows.

This made the Lazarus officer's expression even more serious.

The opposition has grown larger, and the citizens who support Washington are simply no match for them.

Is Arasaka focusing his attention on New Mexico and Arizona?

He couldn't be sure.

After much deliberation, considering the urgency of his life and his mission to defend Santa Fe City, he ultimately decided to prioritize these tasks.

"Request assistance from headquarters in Washington."