Sweat soaked through his clothes.
Transparent droplets sprayed out from the intense movement, blooming like brilliant flowers on the floor of the ring.
Roqi gripped Awakening tightly, lowering his stance and breathing evenly, his eyes never leaving Melissa's figure.
Swish, swish, swish, swish—!
Her footwork was on a completely different level compared to the rest of Max-TAC.
Melissa blurred across the relatively spacious ring, flashing in and out unpredictably, attacking at blinding speeds.
Unlike her usual brute force style, today she abandoned reckless charges and focused on sharp, nimble strikes.
This wasn't her natural forte, but it was an even worse matchup for Roqi.
She avoided head-on clashes, opting instead for clever, precise attacks, using minimal effort to dismantle greater strength.
Roqi's raw power and explosiveness were monstrous, and his mobility was decent, but his agility couldn't match Melissa's speed and finesse.
Once she realized this, she shifted her approach, pulling Roqi into her own rhythm.
Originally fighting evenly, Roqi quickly found himself forced onto the defensive, constantly trying to react, but falling behind step by step.
Where is she?!
Roqi tensed, gripping the katana tighter, slightly raising his wrists, his eyes scanning frantically.
Too fast!
The moment he heard the rush of air, he instinctively swung his blade to block the mantis blade flying at him.
To an outsider, it looked like the cool move of a master swordsman.
But Roqi knew—he was desperately improvising, reacting purely on instinct.
If he were even half a second slower, he would've lost his head.
He had expected it would be tough if it came to a real fight, but he hadn't expected Melissa to be this sharp—adapting her tactics to pinpoint his weaknesses.
One mistake and he would lose.
Roqi almost felt like he had traveled back to their previous encounters, when he was tense to the point of suffocation.
"OHHHHH—!"
Another of Melissa's attacks was deflected.
The Max-TAC members watching let out low exclamations.
The automatic doors of the facility kept opening as more operatives, drawn by the noise, arrived to watch.
Everyone was curious to see the rookie who dared to go against the "Deputy Commander of Max-TAC and Squad One Captain"—the infamous female T-Rex.
But expectations were quickly shattered.
Roqi was holding his ground.
Melissa was moving nimbly, not bulldozing as she usually did.
Was this really the same woman known for her overwhelming, unstoppable charge?
The discussion, gasps, and cheers around the ring grew louder.
What was supposed to be just a simple training session had turned into the most exciting event anyone had seen lately.
Melissa Rory—a near-instructor level combatant—rarely personally stepped into the training ring.
And even more rarely did anyone last this long against her.
Of course, it wasn't just Melissa that had caught everyone's attention.
It was Roqi—and his katana.
Max-TAC operatives had full freedom to choose their weapons, use the best cyberware, and act independently during operations.
If someone wanted to carry a rocket launcher down the street, it was fine—and it had happened more than once.
But a katana?
In an era of mantis blades, monomolecular wires, hand-mounted missile launchers, and ape arms, a plain sword was... absurd.
This was 2077, not feudal Japan.
Even Arasaka's ninja units now treated the katana more as a "tradition" than a necessity. Thermal mantis blades were preferred.
Under such circumstances, Roqi wielding a katana made him seem especially strange.
And yet, here he was—managing to hold his own against Melissa.
The crowd couldn't stop watching.
Just as the tension peaked, Sooji walked over to the ring and said something to Roqi.
He immediately made a time-out gesture, jumped off the ring, and took his PDA from her.
On the screen, only a single letter appeared:
V.
"Hey, V. What's up?"
Roqi nodded apologetically toward the still-glowering Melissa and slipped a Bluetooth earpiece into his right ear.
Back when Roqi and Sooji had first disappeared, V and Jackie had almost gone insane with worry. Only after Roqi made his deal with Max-TAC did they finally breathe easier.
Joining Max-TAC had shocked them both—but thankfully, unlike the NCPD's standard forces, Max-TAC operated independently, free from corporate control.
Had Roqi and Sooji become regular cops, things would have gotten very messy.
They had planned to finish training and work as freelance support for V and Jackie.
But V's next words shattered those plans.
"Lucky... we got screwed over!"
"Jackie... he's seriously injured."
What?!
Roqi's mind froze, then exploded with horror.
A chill surged up his spine, paralyzing him.
He nearly dropped the PDA.
Jackie...
Images flooded his mind:
The deadly Zeta-Quant defenses at Konpeki Plaza, the endless waves of Arasaka pursuers, Jackie bleeding out in the rain...
He thought he had changed fate.
But he forgot—
In Night City, death was never far away.
"Tell me he's alive!!!"
Roqi shouted, his pupils trembling violently.
"Jackie's badly hurt... Vic's working on him..."
V's voice was full of exhaustion and barely restrained grief.
The situation was bad—but at least not hopeless.
If Vic was working on him, there was still a chance.
"Tell me what happened!"
Roqi slapped himself to stay focused, staggered a few steps, and found a spot to sit down, gripping the PDA tightly.
Sooji's face showed clear concern too.
Even if she wasn't particularly close to V and Jackie, they were Roqi's brothers—and that made them important to her too.
Meanwhile, in Little China, Watson District—
V squatted on the steps outside a clinic, guilt and anger twisting his face.
The noise of Night City blurred into meaningless background static.
After confirming that Roqi and Sooji were safe, V and Jackie had decided to continue Father's commission.
Haywood's chaos had distracted everyone.
Despite La Muerte's experience, the Valentinos and Father's men weren't invincible.
Chaos spread.
The Slaughterhouse gang, Snake Nation, Scavengers—all got involved.
The NCPD—and Max-TAC—quickly crushed the worst of it.
But not before the city boiled.
The Slaughterhouse gang splintered, their remnants scattering into the shadows.
During the chaos, V and Jackie had secured crucial intel:
A communication link between Snake Nation and the Slaughterhouse gang, mentioning a transfer hub in Santo Domingo's Glen District.
Their plan was simple:
Scout, gather intel, and pull back.
Father didn't want a reckless assault, especially not against Revere Courier Services.
Revere Courier—RCS—was Night City's largest logistics company.
They transported everything—luxury cars, fast food shipments, Valentine's Day cookies—anything, anywhere.
And they defended it fiercely.
Pirates, nomads, thieves—they all targeted couriers.
RCS always fought back, hard.
They weren't just couriers. They handled physical transport for confidential data too—corporate secrets worth fortunes.
The Snake Nation, the Slaughterhouse gang, the Scavengers—and RCS.
Listening to V's somber explanation, a horrifying realization formed in Roqi's mind.
An international black-market trafficking network.
Kidnapping, smuggling, selling.
A system connecting Night City's underworld to global human trafficking.
Touching their operations meant touching corporate profits directly.
Blood money.
Like blood diamonds.
And if RCS wasn't as massive as Arasaka, their retaliation would be even more vicious.
"There's a mole among the Valentinos... and maybe even close to Father himself…"
V said bitterly.
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