"Damn it, the Tyger Claws are still chasing us!"
In the passenger seat of the cargo truck, the wind howled outside the window. Brother Finger huddled his stick-like body into a ball, trembling in the seat like a stick insect clutching itself.
"Fuck, I knew I should've just stayed there. The Tyger Claws would at most beat me up, but now running with you guys, I'm really dead. They'll definitely think I truly betrayed them!"
Unable to bear the panic in his heart, Brother Finger blurted out nonsense, accompanied by the incessant gunfire from behind, creating a chaotic din.
"You, shut up! I can't even see the road!"
But in response, Brother Finger's yelling was met with a scolding from Judy, who was nervously dodging oncoming vehicles in the driver's seat.
At the sound, Brother Finger finally shut his mouth but still clutched his body, trembling in the seat.
And Judy, Judy's situation was even more awkward.
She was sure she was never a law-abiding driver, but she had never experienced this level of dangerous driving in her life.
The vehicle sped along, Judy's foot pressed to the floor, not daring to relax for a moment, fearing that if she delayed even slightly, the Tyger Claws behind would catch up.
Everything outside became streaks of light, and the howling wind poured in through the window, messing up Judy's hair, but she couldn't care about that now.
Bullets from the Tyger Claws' vehicles behind them struck the road ahead, like an approaching death knell. Everything in front zoomed in rapidly, and Judy had to desperately twist the steering wheel back and forth, dodging the vehicles blocking their way.
If they were blocked for even a second, the Tyger Claws' vehicles, biting closely behind, would surround them.
Judy's adrenaline surged wildly, her pupils dilated to the extreme. She had never done anything so thrilling in her life.
Inside the truck, as the vehicle constantly swerved left and right, the rescued sex dolls rolled around like watermelons, occasionally letting out screams.
"Get down, girls!"
Kikyo, gripping the rear door, could only shout, not caring if anyone heard her, because bullets were constantly incoming, riddling the rear door with holes.
With such firepower, the Tyger Claws were definitely serious.
They had really stirred up a hornet's nest this time.
Conservatively estimated, there were over a dozen gang SUVs chasing them from behind.
If it weren't for the excessive traffic on the road, which inadvertently served as obstacles, they would have been caught long ago.
But the situation was still not optimistic. After all, this was still Tyger Claws territory. If they didn't break out of Westbrook District soon, they would eventually be caught by the arriving Tyger Claws.
"Judy! Drive onto the bridge, head to Watson Northside!"
Kikyo shouted into the comms channel, gripping her gun, ready to buy them some time.
There was no need to open the door anymore; the rear door was riddled like a sieve by stray bullets. Kikyo just grabbed a bullet hole and with the force of a hydraulic press, she tore a gap in the metal sheet, sticking her gun out.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Da da da da da da!!!"
Only when she looked behind did she realize how dire the situation was. Almost an entire street of gang-painted SUVs followed them, with many gunmen leaning out and firing at them.
There was no need to ask where the NCPD Officers were at this point; they would at least take half an hour to react and send people to clean up.
But for now, they could only rely on themselves.
And Kikyo began to return fire, pulling the trigger, suppressing the firing gunmen one by one.
Thanks to Night City's terrible public safety, almost all vehicles came standard with bulletproof chassis and tires. Otherwise, with so many stray bullets, their car would have been reduced to a pile of scrap metal long ago.
Even though the process was extremely difficult, so difficult that Kikyo thought things were serious enough to call for reinforcements, they barely managed to turn the corner.
Thanks to Judy, who unleashed all her potential under threat of death, practically turning the cargo truck into a race car, they crossed the river bridge without incident and entered Watson, finally escaping the Tyger Claws' territory.
After that, without stopping, Judy drove as Kikyo instructed, all the way into the Northside Industrial District. Only then did they finally shake off their pursuers.
They were safe, for now.
Feeling the silence of the deserted streets, Judy finally managed to let out a sigh of relief. Coming back to her senses, she realized her heart was beating so fast, thumping like a drum without stopping.
The Tyger Claws retreated because this Northside District was Maelstrom territory. This gang was not a small gang like Mox that only cared about its own small plot of land; the Maelstrom members were truly insane.
They were number one every year in the number of shootings caused across all of Night City.
Of course, this also depended on the climate; sometimes the Scavengers would take first place.
But no matter what, the Tyger Claws had no intention of provoking Maelstrom. So, after Judy and the others entered Maelstrom's Northside Industrial District territory, the Tyger Claws cursed bitterly but no longer pursued them.
And at this moment, Judy was grateful that she had survived.
"We did it, incredible, we shook them off!"
Judy's breathing was ragged, leaving her breathless and even a little hypoxic, as her hands and feet began to feel numb and stiff.
"Don't stop, keep driving, let's go back to 'Honeycomb'!"
In the back of the truck, Kikyo also breathed a sigh of relief. She had emptied all her magazines; if they hadn't successfully escaped, she would have had to go out and fight the enemies hand-to-hand.
The few sex dolls were also terrified. They covered their mouths, not daring to speak, huddled together, trembling like squirrels. Kikyo even saw that some had scraped shoulders and wrists, but they also didn't dare to speak, only trembled.
They were truly terrified.
First, they were forcibly awakened from a dazed, anesthetized state, and then immediately faced a life-or-death barrage of gunfire. Kikyo only had to imagine it to know the difficulties these girls faced.
"Remember, Judy, take the road around Arasaka Waterfront. The Tyger Claws don't dare to go near there."
Kikyo fully utilized the gangs' characteristic of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, taking routes through the territories of other forces they dared not provoke. Without prior communication, they wouldn't dare to act recklessly.
Finally, they were safe.
Berry even had Mitsuhide go to pick them up, just in case of an accident.
But fortunately, perhaps the Tyger Claws ultimately didn't dare to cause trouble near Maelstrom and Arasaka Corporation's industrial park, so they were safe.
When they entered the "Honeycomb" building, everyone was extremely tired.
Judy had almost failed to notice Brother Finger, who was huddled under the seat next to her.
"It's over, my career, my money, it's all over..."
Brother Finger, who was being dragged into the building, was still muttering to himself, looking as if the sky had fallen, which was truly annoying.
"You should have known this would happen when you were doing those dirty jobs for the Tyger Claws."
Kikyo no longer wanted to waste words with him; she just threw him onto a chair and let him digest it himself.
"Kikyo, what's going on?"
The former Motorcycle Gang building, now the Honeycomb, had not yet opened for business, but the Honeycomb Mercenaries were all stationed inside.
When they saw Kikyo, their boss's confidante, enter in a hurry, bringing a large group of people, those who were previously chatting immediately stood up nervously.
"Go guard all the entrances, snipers to the rooftop, be vigilant, don't let anyone in!"
Kikyo only had time to give a single instruction before busying herself with Judy, pulling and dragging the exhausted sex dolls inside one by one.
"Yes!"
Seeing Kikyo's serious expression, the Honeycomb Mercenaries did not dare to be negligent. Being ex-military, they strictly followed orders and had no desire to ask why.
They grabbed the guns nearby, extinguished their cigarette butts, and went to set up positions.
Accompanying the building's alert, all windows were lowered with bulletproof steel plates, metal doors were tightly shut, leaving only a few angled firing ports open, each guarded by someone.
Even on the rooftop, several snipers were on alert.
In less than half a minute, the entire building had entered a state of full alert, red lights flashed in the corridors, and combat personnel rushed to their positions.
The work Berry did here was not just a renovation; she rebuilt the building's defense system and recruited enough people, turning it into a concrete bunker in the blink of an eye.
Unless tanks were used for continuous bombardment, or a direct ground-to-surface missile strike, this was the most formidable fortress.
Perhaps for others, this level of defense might seem overly cautious, but Berry knew she would need it eventually, like now.
Everyone was brought to the third floor, which was the top floor and where Berry was located.
Her main body was already waiting for them in the eighty-square-meter office.
"Berry, I'm so sorry..."
As soon as she entered the door and saw Berry in the room, Judy, whose hair was wet with sweat and clung to her face, said apologetically.
Needless to say, she clearly knew how much trouble her well-intentioned actions had caused; they had obviously stumbled upon some secret of the Tyger Claws, far from simply rescuing a few sex dolls.
"No need to say more, I already know the situation."
Afterward, the sex dolls were also brought into the office and seated in the chairs prepared for them.
For a moment, the only sounds in the office were the hurried gasps of everyone, and the frowning Berry.
Although her small face was adorable when she frowned, everyone knew she was serious now.
She was silently organizing her thoughts, trying to sort out everything that had happened and the risks ahead.
Did this mean she had stepped into some dangerous secret?
sex dolls imprisoned in a basement, strange drugs, and the fierce pursuit by the Tyger Claws... what did all this mean?
Perhaps, it was a gang war to the death.
War, at the thought of this word, Berry's brows furrowed even deeper.
This was something the newly formed Hive could not bear right now.
Berry and the others remained silent until a Mercenary outside the door began to report.
"BOSS, everyone is in position, the scouts haven't detected any enemies yet."
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