Cyberpunk Patriarch

Arthur rubbed his chin thoughtfully before pulling a small chip from his pocket.

"I suggest you hurry up," the network monitor warned. "Rock could walk in from the side at any moment!"

Arthur smirked, then tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it around his face.

The network monitor sighed. "What you're doing is like the mayor of Night City going undercover—completely useless."

Arthur ignored the sarcasm. The Voodoo Boys' scanning system was linked directly to the NCPD's personal database. Covering his face was pointless. Even if he had no head, they could still identify him.

Arthur moved cautiously forward, using the dim lighting to scan for computer terminals. The Voodoo Boys relied on makeshift hardware, but that didn't mean they built their own tech.

Are you kidding? Do you know how much it costs to make a chip from scratch?

It required insane amounts of scientific research, funding, and infrastructure—none of which a gang like the Voodoo Boys possessed. Instead, they relied on custom software and localized modifications to existing tech.

"You don't get it," Arthur muttered. "As long as my actual face isn't captured, I can say whatever the hell I want later."

The network monitor chuckled. "You should be working in a megacorp, not living like a street merc."

Arthur finally reached a computer terminal. He gripped the chip tightly and exhaled.

"Good brother, don't screw me over," he muttered.

The network monitor responded with mock sincerity. "You call me brother—how could I betray you?"

Arthur did not find that reassuring.

He scanned the terminal, looking for a connection point, but there wasn't an extension cord in sight. He glanced toward the hole he had cut earlier—nearly 500 meters away.

There was no time to waste. He plugged in the chip, then sprinted toward the exit without looking back.

Red Alert

A split second later, the underground exploded with flashing red lights. A blaring alarm echoed through the tunnels, shrieking like a death knell.

Arthur's heart pounded. He had never felt a 500-meter run to be this far before.

He activated neural acceleration, forcing his reflexes into overdrive.

His mind raced even faster than his feet.

"Mad corporate dog! You call yourself my 'good brother'? This is the worst setup ever!"

But before he could reach the exit, the sharp crack of gunfire filled the tunnel.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Bullets slammed into the cave entrance, cutting off his escape route.

Arthur cursed and leaped back, immediately activating his optical camouflage. His body shimmered and faded into the darkness.

But this was only a temporary fix. Someone was bound to bring out an infrared scanner soon. There was a high chance they already had one.

He typed furiously into the chat window:

"You're a goddamn genius. I don't see you taking out enemies yet. Where's my backup?"

The network monitor sounded busy. "Bad news. The system you hacked? It's a decoy. Their actual data fortress is somewhere else. Pull out the chip and try another location."

Arthur clenched his teeth. "Try another location? Are you blind? There are more people down here than cockroaches in Little China! I need backup, now!"

The network monitor barely looked up from his work. "We've already extracted most of the valuable data. No physical goods, but we got some high-value intel. If you fight your way out, you'll get everything I promised."

The chat avatar of the network monitor grinned smugly.

"But if you don't make it out… well, I can at least collect your ashes. So, good luck!"

Arthur: "...Blanch! Corporate dogs really have no conscience!"

He sighed and cracked his knuckles. There was no more sneaking around—time to clean up this mess.

He stretched his limbs, crossed his fingers, and flexed his hands. The mantis blades shot out from his arms, glowing with a deadly red hue.

Time to Cut Loose

Arthur knew the Voodoo Boys would eventually figure out his connection to Melissa. They would come for him sooner or later.

Might as well handle it now.

The feeling of being set up still pissed him off.

He made a mental note to repay the network monitor for this mess once he got out. Maybe a few dozen punches to the face would do.

His mantis blade pulsed with crimson light, illuminating the underground hideout.

With a single leap, Arthur descended from above, his mantis blade piercing the skull of an unsuspecting Voodoo Boy.

The man's body crumpled instantly.

Arthur sighed. "So young… should've stayed in bed."

His optical camo would hold for a little longer—but he had to move fast.

The network monitor had distracted the Voodoo Boys' hackers, buying him time. They were too occupied in cyberspace to notice him immediately.

Arthur didn't waste a second.

With accelerated reflexes, time around him seemed to slow.

He yanked his mantis blade free, then extended it into a full-length sword.

Before his first victim even hit the ground, Arthur's blade sliced through two more enemies in a blink.

He retracted his left blade, but his right blade extended further, sweeping outward in a lethal arc.

Two more gang members collapsed in pieces.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Arthur prepared to strike again, but the Voodoo Boys weren't amateurs.

Several of them had neural acceleration implants of their own.

They snapped out of their shock, activating their enhanced reflexes and raising their guns.

A hail of bullets tore through the air, ricocheting off metal walls, shattering glass, and destroying computer terminals. Sparks flashed everywhere as equipment was shredded.

Arthur grinned.

He could already imagine hackers screaming in cyberspace as their equipment was destroyed mid-fight.

Sure enough, he spotted one of them.

The netrunner convulsed, his cyberdeck short-circuiting. White smoke poured from his head as he collapsed in a twitching heap.

Arthur smirked. "Guess that's what they call permanent AFK."

The data cables connected to the charred hacker's spine continued sparking.

This was what "never logging off" truly meant.

A true, qualified hacker.

"IDIOT! STOP SHOOTING! GET HIM!"

Someone in the Voodoo Boys finally realized that bullets were only making things worse.

Arthur vanished into the shadows once more, preparing for round two.

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