My cyberpsychosis is a task prompt

Chapter 196 196: The Betrayer

The Carlomont truck was parked in front of the West End tenement building.

This place is far away from Danny Street, in a remote area, without basic patrol management and public security facilities, and even the elevator shaft is empty.

"What are your plans now?"

John parked the car and waited for Winna to finish her last puff of her cigarette.

She seemed to have regained her pride and courage.

"I have no chance of getting a job in a tipsy bikini. I'll first ask my acquaintances among the stowaways if there's any suitable work. Um, I mentioned to you that there are a few middlemen who specialize in introducing jobs to people who are new to Eden City."

"I'll say hello to my friends in the Black Gold Gang. Hey, Wen Na, listen, I was the one who killed the man. If anyone wants revenge, just blame me."

"Thank you, John."

Winna responded with a smile, left the passenger seat, removed the knot of her tie, and disappeared down the cement steps covered in fluorescent graffiti and filth.

She didn't ask John for more help.

Chavez's could really use the cash register as a water bar, and Gerry has recently been contacting wineries and bootleggers with the right price.

John didn't bring it up.

He doesn't have much time left, so there's no need to give people hope.

【Contact-Gilad [Voice Call]】

John drove the truck back to the vicinity of Danny Street and tried to contact Gilad to see if things could be settled.

The call was not connected and went to voicemail.

"Hmm, that's weird."

He came to the familiar Borago Club again, passing through the spacious steps and bizarre holographic projections.

There is much less traffic in the mall.

John rode the escalator, his smelly hood raised to hide his face in the shadows.

Thugs from the Black Gold Gang armed with guns can be seen everywhere.

Their team has become larger and better-equipped, and more combat cyborgs can be seen with the naked eye.

The skin color within the Black Gold Gang is not uniform.

Bone Chip is a good example. As the war became more intense, the screening mechanism for new blood became more relaxed, and many street kids in the West Side got the opportunity to enter gangs.

【Shop - Tipsy Bikini】

A familiar sign is hung in the most conspicuous position at the corner of the upper floors of the shopping mall.

There were several muscular Black Gold Gang bodyguards standing at the door. Just seeing their stringy necks made people feel that their veins were filled with illegal drugs and coolant.

John scanned their gear.

He was wearing a black suit and laser sunglasses, paired with heavy combat arms, and a kinetic shotgun produced by Ronsaw on his waist.

The atmosphere in the bar has changed drastically.

The music coming from inside was quite harsh, the laser lights were on full blast, and slightly cold smoke was flowing out through the gaps in the door panels. The scent of industrial aromatherapy and mysterious drugs could be smelled from a long distance away.

John lost the desire to go in and explore.

He turned and walked towards the [Bandage Boxing Gym] directly opposite.

Gangster boxing matches are the most popular commercial events in the West End, and fight betting can even be seen in the streets and alleys of the city.

America's World News (ALW) has bought the broadcasting rights for many events, hoping to run them as international programs. It has chartered several hovercraft routes to broadcast them in a loop over the city of Eden.

Business at the boxing gym is better than before.

"John!?"

Gino passed by the door carrying a whole frame of towels. When he saw John come in, he greeted him with a smile.

She was wearing a white vest and had her hair tied up, revealing the network access port near her neck and the tattoo near her collarbone. She was probably doing odd jobs for her brother Macao and occasionally giving guidance to boxing beginners.

"I wanted to look for Gilliad, but he didn't answer my call, so I dropped by the boxing gym to see if there was anyone I knew."

John hurriedly poured the towel into the dryer, but when he turned around he found Gino had a strange expression on his face.

"Why? Do you know where he is?"

"Giliad has been having a rough time lately, um... I'll take you there."

[Bolago Club-Underground Boxing Promotion Zone]

The roar of the audience almost blew the roof off the house.

John followed Gino directly to the underground arena, passed through the internal passage as a cooperative boxing gym, and saw the familiar wire cage.

The audience kept throwing things down.

The Black Gold Gang security guards rushed up to the isolation fence holding electric shock guns.

The ventilation system whistled and rolled up smoke, and countless laser lights pressed against the walls illuminated some of the fluorescent graffiti and golden decorations.

"Damn it, are they all crazy?"

John has been here more than once.

"The odds of this bet are high, right? The audience is going crazy to this extent..."

He smelled it carefully and found that there seemed to be something strange mixed in the smoke.

The security guard on the scene was wearing a breathing mask, which seemed to confirm his guess. There was a light in the gas filter glass tube, and his roar was like a voice changer.

All of the above are manifestations of further commercialization.

Gino handed over the small ventilator.

John put the thing to his lips and took a few deep puffs. He felt a slight numbness at the root of his tongue, and the side effects of the hallucinogenic drug disappeared instantly.

Gino motioned for John to look toward the ring.

The electrified barbed wire was replaced with a laser net with clearer vision.

This thing is a large electric heating tube.

If a boxer gets close to it accidentally, his skin will be peeled off and blood will be shed. It looks more powerful than electric shock and is quite popular among bloodthirsty audiences.

Gilad was standing on the ring at this time, beating up a boxer.

He was stronger than the last time John had seen him. He was shirtless, with large golden tattoos covering his back muscles, and the heat dissipation seams on his body were decorated with flowing lines.

"...Fuck, this is Gilad?"

John felt unfamiliar with the man in front of him.

He looked at least twenty centimeters taller, his muscles were like inflated, and his entire throat to chest were covered in soft black metal.

"Uh-huh, now it's time to call Mr. Gilad."

Gino folded his arms and introduced in a calm tone.

"He is now the general manager of Yiju Leasing Company. He is responsible for the rent in the West District and the checkpoints on Danny Street..."

John felt as if he was in another world as he listened to his friend's recent situation.

Gilad had been blowing off steam in the ring all week.

He was equipped with a super prosthetic body and took drugs when he went into the ring, resulting in no boxer successfully advancing to the next round for a week in a row.

"Will the Black Gold Gang's management allow it?"

"At first they were not happy about it, but then... they found that the ratings were increasing instead of decreasing, so they added something to his medicine and encouraged Gilead to continue fighting, without considering him or other boxers at all."

"Are all boxers fools?"

John also knows the rules of the ring match.

A boxer can simply change venues and still advance if he accumulates enough points.

"The management used Gilliad as a gimmick, setting up bounty points and additional material rewards for him. Whoever beats him will get a season ticket and directly participate in the most profitable venue of the year..."

The thing that the streets are most lacking is desperadoes.

No one wants to miss the opportunity to make a comeback.

"It's time to end this, John."

The breathing mask blocked Gino's face, and only her frown could be seen.

"He has killed several boxers in the past two days. The organizers even want to provide more cruel weapons and open up restrictions on prosthetics. Phew~ He is almost becoming a slaughter tool for corporate dogs."

John looked back toward the ring.

The game is over.

Gilad was out of control, and the beaten boxer didn't even have a chance to surrender. If it continued for a few more minutes, the body collection team would be able to prepare to clean the boxing ring and deploy the waterproof bag.

Gino carried a medical bag with him.

She pulled out a breathing mask of the same model, flipped open the filter, took out the green antidote inside, and then handed it to John in a portable syringe.

"You have to give him a shot."

Gino staggered a few steps after saying this.

She blinked and found that her palms were empty. There was only the wall of the backstage corridor in front of her. She turned sideways and saw John's back as he climbed over the railing.

Sian Westin is really fast.

"... Really efficient." Gino always felt that John was in a weird state, weak and impatient.

The audience was high from the hallucinogenic smoke that enveloped the venue.

Some people began to gather together and confront the security guards, or were provoked by the electric batons and planned to use force.

There are also some gamblers who have lost money waiting for an opportunity to join in and vent their dissatisfaction.

Smashing things and swearing could no longer satisfy the audience, and soon bloodshed occurred in the stands. This was followed by a chain reaction, with the war spreading to every corner of the venue.

Everyone lost focus on the ring match.

It was at this point that John leapt over the hurdle.

The electronic biometric detector emits a red light and the alarm sounds to alert security guards that someone outside the venue has illegally entered.

Sian Westin runs at high speed.

John's coat expanded in the air, and through the gaps one could see the metal spine glowing faintly, while his prosthetic eyes left a trail in the smoke, slowly converging to the center of the ring.

"WTF!?"

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boom--

Gilad threw a punch reflexively.

John was forced to raise his hand to block, and he felt like he was volleyed by a leather-wrapped hammer, and he rolled directly to the edge of the stage.

“…Shit!”

The potion bounced several times and was caught by John when it was about to fly out.

Zi la la.

The fluttering edges of the coat were burned by the high-temperature guardrail.

John adjusted his center of gravity and looked at Gilad with lingering fear:
He had stopped punching, his neck was twitching slightly, his pupils were one larger than the other, his breathing was heavy, and all he breathed out was mist, making the area around his mouth wet.

"Ahem, puff—"

The fallen fist spat out blood.

He could no longer open his eyes, and with trembling hands, he added more scratches on the floor that was already covered with red lines, trying to get help from outside the field.

The referee and security were unable to respond to him.

It was quiet in the high-rise glass room.

The audience engaged in armed brawls in their seats.

The coaching team was knocked unconscious in the corridor by the boxing match agent because of uneven distribution of the spoils.

……

The spotlights on the ceiling were blazing hot.

All kinds of extreme emotions rose in the smoke around the ring.

There were no women in the boxer's memories before his death.

He once again had that same old dream, occupying a corner in the boxing advertisements above the city, saving money for training, and replacing his combat prosthesis in an underground clinic without anesthesia...

Bang.

The sound of flesh and blood hitting each other could be heard.

John kicked Gilad with his knee.

This knee strike was enough to make a normal person lose his ability to fight, but his neck had obviously been specially modified, so he just staggered back a few steps and got some skin burned by the high-temperature fence.

Gilad gritted his teeth and cried out in pain, then suddenly lowered his head.

He saw a syringe stuck in his chest, with only a small amount of green medicine hanging on the glass wall of the cabin.

"What... is going on... huh..."

The medication is taking effect quickly.

Gilade regained a little consciousness, but fell into pain. The loss of drug paralysis caused his nerve synapses to become excited, and the severe pain from all parts of his body almost made him faint.

Boom, boom, boom!

He fell to his knees and hammered the ring.

A large number of Black Gold Gang security guards gathered around.

They didn't know John's purpose and didn't dare to approach Gilead.

John turned and looked up. Beyond the ring there was a piece of one-way glass - inside was the VIP room for the boxing match.

Bones had once received him there.

There must be some sinister old bastard standing behind the glass, driving the chaos and violence, driving the gamblers crazy and the audience excited, while the boxers and out-of-control lunatics were consumed by rage and ultimately buried in the ring of capital.

"...John, is that you?"

Before Gilad collapsed, he finally spoke his first human words.

[Eden City-West District Old Loading and Unloading Dock]

The night wind is a little chilly.

John drove Gilad away from the underground boxing ring.

As soon as he left the truck seat, he hugged the iron railing and vomited violently.

"Dude, you vomit more than a mixer truck, what the hell, what the hell is that smell..."

Gino raised his hand to cover his mouth.

The stuff sounded like fermented protein paste and spoiled alcohol, mixed with a slight sour smell peculiar to chemical products.

Gino untied the towel from his arm and threw it to him.

John got a bag of pure water from the vending machine.

"Phew~ Thanks, brothers. I owe you."

Gilad had recovered his sanity.

He put a towel on his face and found that it still had body temperature, so he poured ice water through the fabric and wiped it briefly.

John also took a sip of water before asking.

"When was the last time you were sober?"

"..."

Gilad was covered with a towel.

John didn't ask any further questions, but just advised.

"There's no need to ruin yourself. Life is still precious. It would be a shame to die in the boxing ring after taking too much, don't you think?"

Gino listened, frowned, and gave John a strange look.

Gilad smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"No one has seen you since the Borago incident. To be honest, I also suspected that you were dead. It's great to see you."

"I just got back and it feels like I've been away for a long time."

John leaned on the railing and looked at the red signal light of the factory in the distance.

Gilad nodded in agreement.

The West District has become a situation where two "bosses" are jointly governed.

Mr. Vito has returned to the public eye, and the prestige and connections he has accumulated over the years still play an important role.

He reached an agreement with Precision Heavy Industries to be responsible for the regulation of various industries in the West District, and he never missed any important occasions.

Of course, this is obvious.

The "weapons" he secretly purchased remained a secret, like a sword hanging over the heads of the Japanese.

The deeper you hide it, the more fearful people will be.

Bone slag still presides over gang warfare.

After the Borago incident, he quickly retaliated, severely damaging multiple industries of the Owl Town Gang, and even crossed the border to carry out robbery, almost cutting off the supply of contraband at Sakura Cross Street.

The Black Gold Gang regained its face.

His prestige grew during the war.

John heard the problem and asked directly.

"Which boss are you following now?"

"..."

Gilade took a deep breath, stretched out his arms, closed his eyes, and pressed his body against the swaying iron chain.

Mr. Vito's return to the streets made the scene somewhat awkward.

Those who were loyal to him and survived the liquidation finally saw the light of day, and most of them received compensation, including wealth and limited edition prosthetics.

Gilead belongs to another category.

They continue to stay in the positions assigned by the company, play a greater role and enjoy the rights and status they have already obtained.

(End of this chapter)