In American comics, all your teammates are the main characters and bosses

Chapter 182: War in Progress

Unlike before, David has now become a completely different person.

At only sixteen years old, David's image in Night City was not outstanding, but it could be considered above average. However, due to his poor family background, David did not have the capital to buy himself a strong prosthetic body.

In Night City, getting stronger through exercise is the least cost-effective thing. After all, there is no such thing as horizontal training or fighting spirit in Cyberpunk 2077. Replacing a powerful prosthesis to enhance one's abilities is the mainstream of Night City.

It was under such circumstances that David, even though his strength had been enhanced, still looked like a slightly frail teenager. But now, he walked out of the portal wearing a thick black windbreaker.

David gave people the impression of a thick city wall. Just standing there, he made people feel heavy and unshakable.

A large number of artificial circuits connected to the brain, David's face was a little more resolute than before. Looking at Armstrong, David also showed a smile on his face and said:

"Mr. Armstrong, long time no see!"

"It's been a long time." Armstrong patted David's shoulder enthusiastically and said, "I know Ron's Helheim well. The speed of time inside is completely different from that outside. Although it's only been a month, you must have been in there for quite some time!"

"Well, if you calculate it all, it's about three months."

David said: "In addition to removing the effect of immunosuppressants, the other thing is to get familiar with this body."

"How does Foehn feel?" Hearing this, Armstrong nodded and asked, "This is the prosthesis used by one of the three most powerful cadres under my command. Both its strength and speed are top-notch. Especially its defensive performance. Even if it is hit head-on by a shell, it will not suffer any damage at all!"

"I can feel this powerful force!" David nodded excitedly, but then a hint of helplessness appeared on his face and he said, "But there is one thing that gives me a headache."

"Which point?"

"There is no network module." David said helplessly: "After I equipped this prosthesis, I can't connect to the Internet and communicate with others through the chip. Well, and I can't pay online. I can only use cash or credit cards. This is quite annoying."

"This is just a small matter. When you are strong enough and become the master of this city, you can trade anything you want." Armstrong said nonchalantly, "If it doesn't work, you can train a follower who is specifically used for online payments and communications."

"My world is not as developed as yours in terms of programming and hacking. If that's the case, then we should just give up the network interface and use it purely as a weapon. Even the best hackers can't hack into a stone! It's better to specialize in one thing than to master everything. Otherwise, what's the point of having a team?"

After hearing Armstrong's words, David nodded and said, "What should we do next?"

"How? Respond to them, of course!"

After hearing David's words, Armstrong smiled, then looked at the soldiers below who were ready to go, with undisguised wildness in his eyes.

"Let's go, for the new America!!"

“For a New America!”

After hearing Armstrong's words, the soldiers roared in unison. The five hundred reinforced soldiers seemed like one person, and as the warehouse gates rose, they advanced toward the city like an iron curtain.

The loud noise naturally failed to deceive the company intelligence personnel hiding outside the Six Street Gang's territory. After discovering the Six Street Gang's actions, the relevant information was immediately sent to the company's regional headquarters. With drones taking off, the company coalition forces, which had already made a lot of plans, did not engage in direct conflict with them at the first time.

It is true that under the coordination of Saburo Arasaka, the various companies have established superficial connections, but they are competitors after all, and everyone’s ultimate goal is not to kill Armstrong, but to obtain relevant information about nanotechnology from Armstrong.

In this case, if Armstrong nodded, the company coalition could be completely disintegrated in an instant, or even turned against each other to prevent competitors from snatching nanotechnology.

But unfortunately, Armstrong had no intention of negotiating. All he wanted to do was to completely destroy the order of this world and then build the world of his dreams, a truly free world!

Under Armstrong's ruthless will, those negotiation experts were shot dead by the desperadoes' soldiers as soon as they showed their heads. Realizing that Armstrong had no intention of negotiating at all, the company alliance did not intend to start a war immediately. In fact, they did not target Armstrong, but only pointed their guns at the desperadoes' enhanced soldiers.

First, they had to annihilate these enhanced soldiers, cut off all of Armstrong's delusions, and then gain an absolute advantage in the negotiations. But soon, they discovered that something was wrong.

With the hail of bullets, the metal storm shattered all obstacles on the street. The reinforced concrete bunkers were shattered and flew out in large quantities under the heavy machine gun fire. But even in such a cruel metal storm, the soldiers covered in black prosthetic armor did not show any sign of being damaged.

Ordinary small-caliber firearms would only leave a flash of friction at the moment of impact. Even the bullets from heavy machine guns would only reduce the speed of travel. Judging from the state, it was not even a superficial injury.

While our side is unable to cause effective damage, the enemy is like being open, and if they are exposed a little, they will be subjected to precise concentrated fire.

Tactics? There was no need for that. With such a huge gap in technology, the soldiers of the Desperadoes only needed to use the simplest method to push forward and achieve effective results.

Seeing this scene, the company's joint executives did not feel nervous, but their eyes lit up -

The combat capability of this troop has obviously attracted their attention. If the nanotechnology on Armstrong gives people the feeling that it is unique and difficult to copy, then the current Desperado troop, with this overwhelming standard equipment technology, even the Six Street Gang can produce a large number of them in a short period of time. Once it is in their hands, with their resources...

There is no need to rush to sell, because the giant companies have enough capital and time to master the technology. And then, with large-scale equipment and the army expanding hundreds or thousands of times, is there really any need to sell it?
Wouldn't it be better to just conquer the whole world?

Realizing that these technologies were about to become an opportunity to dominate the world, even as regional directors, everyone's breathing became extremely heavy at that moment.

Compared to the enhanced soldiers of the desperadoes, Armstrong seemed very casual this time, just standing on the armored vehicle behind in a suit and tie. His broad square face was full of smiles, and facing the gazes from all directions, Armstrong adjusted his tie without changing his expression. As the armored vehicle's tracks moved forward steadily, and the desperadoes who had been divided into countless combat teams, Armstrong coughed twice.

Ahem, Armstrong's voice spread across the battlefield through the loudspeaker. And through the live broadcast robot from the TV station, Armstrong's burly figure also came into everyone's eyes.

Through the chip, the entire Night City fell silent at this moment. The people and cars on the street stayed where they were, and remained indifferent to the changes of the traffic lights. Instinct told them that the next war would permanently change the entire Night City.

"You all should know me by now. Steven Armstrong!"

Bone Zhuang said in a loud voice: "I know very well that many of you regard me as a lunatic and a complete gang leader. But now, I can tell you very clearly that this is not the case. Because..."

"I have a dream!"

"what?"

After hearing Armstrong's words, people were slightly stunned, and some were confused by the unexpected words - why did this beginning sound strangely familiar? But the problem is that Armstrong is obviously white. Even if the nanomachine can turn black, it will only be black for a short time. What kind of dream can you have?
"I used to be obsessed with capital and votes." Armstrong said calmly, with a hint of sadness and emotion on his broad face: "Because all this is part of my lack of experience. Because all this is because I have a dream!"

Suddenly, Armstrong's voice became particularly intense and majestic.

"That is, one day, everyone in this country will be able to control their own destiny! I want a truly free country, not the one it is now! A country where there are only actions and no empty words! A country controlled by force, not committees!"

Armstrong opened his arms, veins popping out on his thick arms. He clenched his fists, his eyes flashing with a fervent fire. A sound came from his chest, as if his soul was roaring.

"A country where the laws are revised to apply to everyone! Without exception! A country where power and justice are returned to the hands of the people themselves!"

"A country where everyone can think and act freely for themselves!"

As the armored vehicle beneath his feet began to roar and spurt out blazing flames, just like Armstrong's anger and disdain -

“Fuck the incompetent lawyers and shitty bureaucrats!”

“Fuck the nonstop internet and celebrity trivia!”

"Fuck 'American Pride'! Fuck the media! Fuck them all!"

Growling, Armstrong opened his arms, as if he had already felt the gazes of everyone from behind the broadcast camera and from every corner of Night City.

"America is sick and corrupt. It is beyond repair - we must root it out. Cleanse the land. Destroy it!"

"And then a new America will be reborn, evolved and proud! The strong will prey on the weak, and the fittest will survive - free to do as they see fit!"

Armstrong's thick neck had turned red without anyone noticing. The blue veins that popped out one after another looked like the roots of an old tree. With words that were almost like a curse, rough and paranoid, Armstrong shouted loudly:
"I know! There are still many people who don't understand what I mean!"

"Let me explain this to you more bluntly! I will use the war as a business to get myself elected! I can also end this war like a business! This so-called war is just a farce, because the ending is already determined!"

"Listen up, people of Night City and beyond! In my new America, everyone will be free to kill or be killed for what they believe in! Not for money, not for oil! Not for what others say is 'right'. Anyone will be free to fight for themselves!"

"Natural selection, survival of the fittest!"

"Make America great again!!!"

Roaring, Armstrong's intense emotions spread to every corner of Night City. As the last word fell, even the battlefield where fierce fighting was taking place fell into a brief stagnation.

It is undeniable that Armstrong's philosophy is very much to the taste of the residents of Night City, a lawless city. Even the soldiers of the giant corporations did not know whether to evaluate Armstrong as a whimsical patriot or a pure madman.

But this calm did not last long. With several floating troop carriers flying in the distance, the real war equipment of the giant enterprise began to enter the battlefield.

Bang, bang, bang, one after another, airdrop pods fell from above, the pod doors opened, and one after another, power armors came into view. After quickly putting them on, big alloy guys over three meters tall began to rush into the battlefield.

Behind them, there was a rumble. One chariot after another smashed the wall and crushed the rock. Some even used the release technology to give people the feeling of passing through the complex urban areas and alleys like a giant spider. The heavy artillery was raised one after another, instantly locking onto the position where Armstrong was, and then a three or four meter long tongue of fire gushed out!

boom! !

As the flames exploded and the smoke cleared, people did not see Armstrong, but instead... a burly man in black.

Standing in front of Armstrong, David's heavy windbreaker was torn from his back, stretching out six neatly stacked shields in front of him.

Looking at David's back, Armstrong nodded with satisfaction, and then said:

"Kill them."

"Oh!"

(End of this chapter)