Cyberpunk: I didn't cheat.

Carmela, sitting to the side, paused for a moment. She had been thinking about what Carlo's last words were, and now she understood.

Carlo was too weak then, too weak to emphasize the words "I love you".

Carmela struggled to her feet and stuffed another handful of painkillers into her mouth.

"Vito, can I go back to Night City with you?"

Vito glanced at Carmela, who was in very poor condition, after looking past the automatic machine gun turrets in the camp.

"Take a rest first, I'll let you know when we set off."

As a sliver of light rose on the horizon, Vito left his hound at the camp and drove his squad, Merrimack, back to Night City.

"I've told Valerie and the others about your situation. You guys keep this camp safe, and I'll go back and get some local specialties."

"Don't worry, I'm right here!"

Vincent patted his chest, saying that he was now incredibly strong, and even if God himself were to descend upon him, he would still be able to put up a fight with his prosthetic body.

"Be careful, I've heard that Snakebang has anti-armor missiles."

"Huh? What do they need missiles for?"

"Of course we're going to beat you up, not me! You've been so powerful lately, the Snake Gang has sent a special convoy of demon dogs to beat you up."

"Oh my god, does that mean I'm going to become famous?"

"To become famous, to be known throughout the world, you guys hold my hand for now, I'll try to find a way to get out of Dog Town."

Vito called Carmela and sped off towards Night City. He didn't bother with any detours; he just drove straight onto the main roads, wanting to get to Night City as quickly as possible.

He called out to Lindell as he drove.

Beep~

The call was answered instantly after just one ring.

"Vito! Where have you been? You're one of the Ghost Hounds now, you can't just wander off like that. The Colonel's been looking for you everywhere!"

“Vito can go wherever he wants. I’m not Hansen’s canary. Prepare a batch of weapons for me, just pull them directly from the Ghost Hound’s arsenal. I need a battalion’s worth of firepower.”

Lindel, sitting opposite him, frowned and tugged at his hair in frustration. Vito was up to his old tricks again.

"Can't you just shut up for a second? How am I supposed to allocate equipment for an entire battalion? Do you think I, the Ghost Hound, have the final say?"

"I, a lieutenant colonel, don't even have that much weight? Then I'm not going back to Dogtown. You guys have fun on your own."

"Damn it! You come back first, I need to consult with the colonel."

"Hurry up, or I'll promote you when we get back!"

After ending the call, Vito called Joe again.

"DTPD headquarters, if you have something to say, say it quickly. If not, go somewhere cool and stay there. What's wrong with you calling me at this hour?"

The man opposite, Big Joe, was still half asleep, clearly having been woken up by Vito.

"If anything happens, send out thirty-two young men, disguise them, and send them to Taiping Prefecture in batches to stand by. They should carry light weapons and not attract attention."

Vito makes a long story short.

"understood."

Seeing that Vito wasn't making harassing phone calls to tease him, Joe immediately got up to get down to business.

Merrimak sped across the wasteland, passing by many wanderers' vehicles along the way.

The Free Men's Camp will announce its coordinates the day after tomorrow, calling on homeless wanderers to come to the Free Men's Camp for survival and to avoid persecution by the Snake Gang.

Once Night City's reinforcements arrive, the Freemen's camp will immediately take over the northeastern stronghold. Vito will use Dog Town's arms trade to purchase a batch of weapons and bring them from the northeastern route to replenish the camp's strength.

Revealing the coordinates will definitely invite an attack from the Serpent Clan. Vito must be fast enough to at least withstand the first wave of attacks from the Serpent Clan!

Chapter 316 River

As the two approached the Night City border checkpoint, Carmela's complexion became slightly flushed.

"Don't push yourself so hard; health is the foundation of everything."

Carmela lit two cigarettes and gave one to Vito.

“My life is worthless. I just want to stop Max. That was Carlo’s last wish.”

"There might be a problem with Joaquin. He previously broke away from the Snake Gang. Carlo wanted to persuade Joaquin, but Max wouldn't allow it. Our goods were lost in the north, and Max didn't care."

Vito guessed that Joaquin was a pawn that Max had secretly put in, but that didn't matter anymore; Joaquin was now minced meat.

"We'll be meeting Max in person soon. Have you thought about what you're going to say to him?"

“I have nothing to say to him!” Carmela bit down hard on her cigarette. “He doesn’t care about Snakebang at all; he only cares about himself. We ended up like this because we believed his lies!”

"His claim of helping the homeless get everything back?"

"No, it's about making life better for my family."

Upon arriving at the border checkpoint, Merrimack stopped in the scanning area to be scanned. Normally, he could leave immediately after the scan, but this time, an NCPD sheriff came to check the people in the car.

"Roll down the window, I need to check if there are any wanted criminals!"

Carmela drew her pistol.

"It's this guy. He was the one who came to inspect last time, and we were immediately targeted by the Snake Gang!"

Vito held Carmela's gun down.

"No need for guns."

Vito lowered the car window to cooperate. When the NCPD sheriff saw Carmela, his expression changed slightly. He was overjoyed, thinking that he could get another sum of money from Snake Gang.

Vito called out to the officer in a low voice.

"Officer, thank you for your help last time. I brought you a thank-you gift from my boss, Dega."

After saying that, Vito handed over a chip. The sheriff initially thought it was a money chip and was secretly pleased, praising the Snake Gang for being so shrewd.

Upon receiving the chip, his expression changed when he realized it wasn't a money chip.

"What is this thing?"

Vito patiently explained.

"This is the latest money chip, officer. You can insert it and take a look."

The sheriff was skeptical, but he inserted the chip into the computer, and nothing happened.

"You little brat, you think you can fool me?"

"You think I'm kidding me? You idiot! Didn't your family tell you not to stick chips in your hands from strangers? Give the chip back right now and let me through, or I'll roast your brains!"

"You fucking... ah!"

Just as the sheriff was about to draw his gun, he felt a sharp pain in his brain, a symptom of synaptic melting.

"One warning is not enough. Next time it won't be so simple. Stop yelling and get out of here."

The sheriff knew he had met his match; the chip he had just touched probably contained a virus.

With his manhood in Vito's hands, the sheriff had no choice but to greet his colleagues who rushed over after hearing the commotion, obediently hand over the chip, and let Vito and his men pass.

Watching Merrimack walk away, the sheriff prepared to call the front desk directly.

"You bastard, you dare to scheme against me? Die!"

Beep~

"Calling the front desk, a criminal suspect has been spotted passing through the border checkpoint. Calling the front desk!"

"What are you calling your mother? I knew you weren't satisfied yet."

It serves them right that the virus had already taken control of the sheriff's communications.

The sheriff was engulfed in flames, screaming and rolling on the ground in an attempt to extinguish the fire.

"The prosthetic is overheating! Warning! Warning! There are hackers around!"

Chaos erupted inside the checkpoint. The checkpoint staff frantically grabbed fire extinguishers, but it was too late; the sheriff was burned to a crisp.

"Border control is a significant problem. I need to contact Stins and see if the old man has any ideas on how to seize this batch of weapons!"

Snake Bang bribed the border control, and Vito's weapons were quickly brought to the forefront. Little by little, time was of the essence on this evil land.

“I’ve heard of a place that’s a secret smuggling route used by the Sixth Street Gang and Night Wanderers to smuggle drugs. My family members said it’s in a mine near the solar power station.”

"Sounds great! Is it big enough?"

"I don't know. These old mine shafts are prone to collapse. We've never been there before."

Vito kept this information to himself, and soon Merrimack arrived at the Great Empire Mall in the Pacific State.

Vito guessed that Carmela might have come to Night City to take care of something, so he left the car with Carmela.

"I'll contact you after I'm done, and then we can leave the city together."

"Thank you."

After thanking her, Carmela drove away, intending to take Carlo's ashes with her.

As soon as they entered the Great Empire Mall, the big guys from the Animal Gang swarmed up to greet Vito, all flexing their muscles, hoping Vito would recruit them to his cause and make money.

A platoon of DTPD guys were already in position, led by Richard, and they were waiting for Vito.

Big Joe dressed them in unmarked combat uniforms, making them look similar to mercenaries from the afterlife.

As soon as Vito arrived, they lined up immediately to wait for his inspection.

Vito didn't waste any words. He gave Richard the location of the camp and told them to drive ordinary cars with some food and leave the city in batches.

Lindel sent a message to Vito informing him that Colonel Hansen had agreed to transfer the equipment, but the colonel required Vito to go to the gymnasium office to see the colonel immediately after entering Dogtown.

Hansen didn't mention going to Sapphire Blue this time, which suggests he definitely has something important to discuss.

Vito had Lindel personally deliver the equipment to the Imperial Marketplace. The de-regulation of the Pacific State, which Lucius Lane had established before his death, turned the area into a paradise for Vito's antics.

The Ghost Dogs' truck drove straight out of Dog Town, as if afraid others wouldn't know that their activity range had expanded to Taiping Prefecture.

At the Dogtown Stadium, Hansen is watching the chase robots hunt down the small fish that have sneaked in.

Military technology spies infiltrated Dogtown, attempting to steal some secret data. Little did they know, their every move was being monitored by flat-headed robots.

The spy, huddled in a corner trembling with fear, watched helplessly as the flat-headed robot walked past him not far away.

Actually, the crew cut had already discovered him; it was just a game of cat and mouse that the crew cut was playing.

With Hansen's order, the crew-cut man stopped delaying and used his robotic arm to control the spy, then inserted a thick data cable into the hacker interface at the back of his head.

After a spasm, the spy's data was forcibly accessed and transmitted within seconds, causing the spy's brain to overheat and die.

Seeing this scene that looked like a soul had been extracted, the hackers of the Ghost Hound swallowed hard, feeling a phantom pain in the interface at the back of their heads.

Hansen was very satisfied with the crew cut's performance; the lark proved that she was the hacker Hansen was looking for.

Lark's first act of loyalty was to help Hansen dig a hole in the wall. A stray AI had been inserted into the flat-headed man's body, which raised the combat power of the original hunting robot to a new level.

"Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel Vito has arrived."

"Bring him in, throw a criminal at the hunting robot, and let Vito see how powerful this robot is now."