The convoy continued its advance, encountering increasingly fierce resistance.
Arasaka deployed more armed AVs and ground troops, attempting to establish defensive lines on the main thoroughfares leading to the city center.
However, in the face of absolute firepower and technological superiority, these defenses were like paper.
Sasha and Kiwi didn't even leave their vehicles.
When encountering enemy drone swarms or troops attempting to lock onto them using electronic warfare, the two merely closed their eyes slightly, and an invisible, powerful electronic warfare domain instantly expanded from their center.
Enemy drones within the range fell like puppets with their strings cut, trailing black smoke; security personnel's optical implants instantly turned to static, communication channels filled with ear-splitting noise, and the smell of overloaded implants began to permeate the air.
The tone of the news media also began to change: "...My goodness! Viewers, what are we seeing? These armed individuals... they possess digital warfare capabilities beyond our comprehension!
Arasaka's security systems are useless before them! Are they... are they really just ordinary street mercs? This is more like a... military operation!"
Maine blew the entire second floor of a building, which was being used as a sniper nest, with a single shot, and calmly said over the comms: "Don't get distracted. Let the media say what they want. Falco, turn left at the next intersection, avoid the heavily fortified areas on the main road."
"Understood." Falco's voice remained steady. The vehicle executed a nearly perfect drift under his control, shaking off the pursuing enemies' suppressive fire.
The closer they got to the municipal center, the wider the streets became, but the density and intensity of the combat increased exponentially.
The massive silhouette of Arasaka Tower was now in sight, like a dark cloud pressing down on the city.
Arasaka's North America Branch had clearly gone all out, piling almost all available armed forces onto this final defensive line.
The streets were cut off by metal barricades and temporary fortifications, high vantage points were covered by snipers, heavy armored vehicles blocked key intersections, and armed AVs hovered at low altitude, attempting to annihilate this small squad with a crossfire net.
However, all of this seemed futile and fragile in the face of Maine's crew's absolute firepower.
Rebecca's Bolter became the preferred choice for breaking through defenses.
She stood on the roof of the vehicle, her heavy Bolter propped on her reinforced shoulder armor. Facing a sturdy street barricade and the dense security personnel behind it, she simply grinned excitedly and pulled the trigger.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The bolter rounds were like invitations from death. Each impact was accompanied by towering flames and scattering metal, concrete, and human remains.
The so-called sturdy cover was like paper before the bolter, tearing apart and leveling both people and objects.
An Arasaka armored vehicle attempted to ram their vehicle from the flank.
Maine didn't even move his feet. He raised his left arm, and the blue light of the precision plasma cannon converged. After a brief charge, a blinding plasma orb shot out silently.
The orb hit the armored vehicle's engine hood. There was no explosion, only a dull hum, as if space itself was being torn apart.
The front half of the armored vehicle was instantly vaporized by the high temperature, leaving a massive, molten gap with glowing red edges. The rear half, due to inertia, tumbled forward, disintegrated, and burst into a raging inferno.
Dorio's fighting style was even more direct and violent.
When enemies stubbornly resisted from within buildings, she would charge out like a cannonball, her reinforced body and protective armor shrugging off scattered small-caliber bullets.
Once close, she didn't even need to punch; a mere shoulder charge or a powerful side impact, with her built-in vibrator fully activated, would cause an entire load-bearing wall to crack and collapse with a low rumble, burying the enemies inside or exposing them to subsequent firepower.
Heavily armored soldiers attempting to stop her in close quarters would be picked up by her with one hand, armor and all, and hurled at their companions.
Morris' figure was elusive on the battlefield.
Her Sandevistan System turned her into an uncatchable blur in the eyes of ordinary people.
She specifically targeted high-value targets like those carrying rocket launchers and heavy machine guns.
The trajectory of her Sonic Blade was almost invisible, leaving only a faint hum in the air and precisely severed throats, spines, or weapons.
Wherever she passed, enemy heavy firepoints would fall silent one after another, leaving only bewildered, fallen corpses.
Pilar's flamethrower was responsible for battlefield purification and area denial.
When enemies attempted to pour out of narrow alleys or underground passages, or stubbornly resisted from complex terrain, viscous, luminous blue promethium flames would sweep through like a tide from hell.
The flames not only consumed lives but also ignited everything, creating large burning zones that effectively cut off enemy reinforcements and retreat routes, forcing enemies hiding behind cover out into the open, or directly incinerating them.
News media reports had completely changed their tune, shifting from initial shock to a kind of near-collapse panic: "...They're not human! They're monsters! Arasaka's defenses are like castles built of sand before them!
That woman's gun... one shot can destroy half a block! The blue light shot from that man's arm... can vaporize an armored vehicle!
And that shadow, too fast to see... My God, what exactly are we reporting? This isn't combat, this is... annihilation!"
Over the comms, Rebecca laughed heartily while changing a drum magazine: "HA! Ya hear that? They say we're Monsters! Capital M!"
Maine's voice remained calm, coming through his mask: "Ignore the noise! Falco, the main road ahead is blocked, find a way through."
"On it." Falco responded. The vehicle under his control abruptly swerved into a side road, shaking off the dense frontal fire, and at the same time, he precisely called out the next threat: "Right side building, third floor, two sniper teams. Morris."
"Cleared." Almost simultaneously with his words, Morris's calm voice echoed over the comms.
They cut through the core of Night City like a red-hot knife through butter, carving a path of destruction directly to Arasaka Tower.
The live news cameras frantically chased this one-sided slaughter, the commentary now tinged with panic and disbelief: "...They've broken through! They've broken through the final line of defense! They are heading straight for Arasaka Tower! This isn't a challenge... this is destruction!
These... these aren't ordinary cyberpsychos, they are walking natural disasters! Night City is witnessing history! A... dark history written by thugs!"
"'Walking natural disasters'! That's a strong title! They should name a hurricane after me!" Rebecca shouted excitedly amidst the deafening gunfire.
Maine paid no attention. His gaze was fixed on the increasingly close Arasaka Tower. He pressed his comms button: "Everyone, final equipment check! We're almost there."