"They've taken down three already…"
Kurt Hansen stared intently at the battlefield. Watching Karl's squad dispatch three Militech operatives in heavy exosuits with such alarming efficiency sent waves of shock through his heart.
He had heard the rumors before—that even without Karl himself, the KK Squad was one of the most elite merc teams in the city. And now, seeing them in action, it was clear those rumors were no exaggeration.
Don't be fooled by how dismissive he'd sounded earlier, criticizing the New Americans and Militech's training methods in Los Angeles. Hansen was actually well aware of how effective those methods were in producing elite combatants.
He liked to boast that his way of training soldiers would outperform them—but that was mainly referring to large-scale warfare.
When it came to small-unit raids, the effectiveness of those LA-trained troops had been proven long ago. Back in the Corporate Wars, Arasaka's soldiers—trained using that very method—had gone toe-to-toe with Militech's freshly-developed ACPA units. That alone spoke volumes.
And yet, these chemically altered, brainwashed killing machines, fitted with Militech's riot-control exoskeletons, had just been torn apart like cheap scrap by Karl's squad. Karl himself hadn't even lifted a finger—his team had handled everything. That alone forced Hansen to reevaluate the capabilities of every member of Karl's team, not just the man himself.
If this squad had stormed into his base back during the Unification War, fully assembled and determined to take his head, there would have been very little that could stop them. The only real defense would've been extending recon ranges, preventing them from getting close—or using overwhelming firepower to flatten the area in open-field combat.
The more Hansen thought about how to counter a team like Karl's from a commander's perspective, the more he realized—there was no good answer.
Not here in the city.
Modern warfare, even during the height of the corporate conflicts, rarely involved large-scale bombardments of major cities. Why? Because every megacorp had assets in those urban zones. Leveling a city would inevitably damage your own bottom line.
That's why the standard approach was surgical deployment—urban suppression squads sent in to root out resistance. Just like when New America sent Hansen to Night City.
But that approach? It wouldn't work on Karl's team.
Eliminating them would require an operation so large it'd risk massive financial losses. Worse yet, if another corporation's property got caught in the crossfire, you'd be liable for damages—or even retaliation.
And that's assuming Karl's squad had no outside backing.
If a corp tried to take them out and one of its rivals found out, that rival might leak intel or even provide support to Karl's team. Then the whole operation collapses. And if Karl's crew survives and launches a revenge op with corporate backing? The damage multiplies.
Hansen glanced at Karl's team, still guarding him closely.
Now he understood why mercs like these were cultivated in Night City like maggots in a vat of synthetic meat—constantly growing, constantly being fed into the machine, and always crawling back out.
The city needed them—just like synthetic meat needed that special maggoty tang to give it flavor.
Oddly enough, Hansen didn't even dislike the taste. He'd spent half his life in military camps. To him, the best rations were those synthetic meat packs that crunched with a bit of soft cartilage. These days, manufacturers replaced the maggots with high-yield larval substitutes—and the taste just wasn't the same.
Men like these were valuable, in their own twisted way.
The last exosuit soldier didn't last much longer either. Surrounded by Karl's team and the Phantom Dogs rookies, he was taken out within moments.
"My people have found their position. We've got them surrounded," Hansen announced. "Your squad and the New Americans can withdraw. I'll take it from here."
"Fine by me," Karl said nonchalantly. "But as for the New Americans—you'll have to talk to Ms. Alex about that yourself."
Frankly, Karl hadn't even done much. The mission was wrapping up and he hadn't broken a sweat. Militech's little op? Disappointing.
He'd assumed that stealing riot gear from MaxTac meant Militech had some clever plan—layers of traps, contingencies, maybe even a coordinated ambush. Something to keep him on his toes.
But this?
Karl had expected at least a few ACPA troopers to crash the party. Or maybe some high-speed Sandevistan units to test him. But nope. The fight ended, and he'd barely moved. V and the others had done all the heavy lifting.
Not that Karl minded. He enjoyed slacking off. But damn—this was almost boring.
Seems like high status doesn't always mean high intelligence.
Whoever tried to assassinate Hansen had not only failed, but also tipped him off that there were leaks in his own ranks. Now, even if they tried again, Hansen would be on guard. That alone ruined their chances.
Unless…
Unless they changed their approach.
A strange thought crossed Karl's mind.
The people behind this had already taken a shot at destabilizing Rosalind Myers' presidency. If they wanted to survive the inevitable purge she would launch after this mess—what were their options?
Think boldly…
If they couldn't force her out through external pressure, maybe they'd resort to something simpler.
Something tried-and-true in old American politics.
If Rosalind Myers couldn't be forced to step down… then maybe they'd just remove her.
Assassination.
After all, even the President of New America is still made of flesh and blood.
-
-
-
🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless
📢 Chooms, Listen Up! 📢
Cyberpunk: The Relentless has 500+ chapters ahead available on Patreon! 💾🔥
Jack in deep and experience Night City's chrome, blood, and chaos far ahead of the public release.
🛑 Exclusive and early-access novels on Patreon include:
Game of Thrones: Secrets Beneath the Dreadfort
Cyberpunk: Lucy Adopted Me and I Got a System
My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew?
My Cyberpunk 2077 Simulator
The Rebirth of Harry Potter
Dragon King of Ice and Fire
Star Wars: Relics of the Past
R18: Reincarnated in Her World
🔗 www.patreon.com/c/MrMagnus👤 SrMagnus🐦 https://x.com/SrMagnusBook
⚠️ The novel with the most Power Stones always gets more chapters first!