From Gotham to Night City, my infamy is known to all.

The pure white trumpet has officially launched, shouldering the mission of leading the Wings of Freedom to soar high!

The first military conference concluded successfully, and all that remains is for the regulations and systems to be implemented before the selection of junior and middle-ranking non-commissioned officers begins.

Before the meeting adjourned, Leo told them about the recent arrangements:

"This afternoon, you will organize the new recruits to familiarize themselves with the use of intelligent weapons and select qualified pilots. Tomorrow afternoon, Wings of Freedom will launch its first official operation to eliminate the criminals entrenched around Stone Ridge Mountain."

At the same time, we hope you will continue to increase your publicity efforts and invite all the homeless families in the eastern suburbs to come—the more the better!

"clear--!"

Chapter 282 The war is about to begin

The meeting is now adjourned.

Several leaders filed out to announce the benefits of the Wings of Liberty to their people.

Only the three members of the Immortal Squad remained in the conference room.

Pure White had already secretly hijacked the Bright family's electronic devices, so Leo talked to his friends without any hesitation:

"The carrot and stick approach is a timeless incentive policy. Now, with enough benefits dangling in front of them, these people will naturally be motivated to go through fire and water for us."

Jack completely agreed with him.

Pursuing profit is the code of conduct for gang members. Those young people who join gangs to show off or pursue individuality are just playing around and will leave once the enthusiasm wears off.

V disagreed: "Loyalty built on self-interest will eventually collapse when the self-interest disappears. Even if these vagrants are of better character than city dwellers, they will still be corrupted by various means."

Putting aside everything else, the fact that news of our arrival reached Kota's ears so quickly naturally meant it would have reached the intelligence departments of major corporations as well.

Leo understood what she meant—there were bad people among the crowd.

This is obvious.

Given the practices of large corporations, it's only natural to plant spies among the Wings of Liberty members.

There might even be people from Kangtao among them.

However, given the current situation, catching the traitor is an important but not urgent matter.

To put it bluntly, these thugs from the Chaotic Knife Society on the eastern outskirts of the country are not even as good as street cleaners in the eyes of big companies.

Cleaners, at least, can produce some high-quality organs, relieving the worries of the wealthy.

What can the Chaotic Blade Society do?

They rob people on highways, attack travelers, and engage in all sorts of petty theft. Most importantly, they don't pay any taxes!

The car was stolen, the guns and ammunition were handmade, and there was no rented accommodation, so it couldn't generate any value!

It's precisely because these people are fast and don't dare to mess with the company's fleet that the company doesn't bother with them.

There is now a gang willing to eliminate the Chaotic Knife Society for free. On this point, the company will simply stand by and watch, without taking any action.

Once things stabilize in the eastern suburbs, they might even try to get a share of the profits.

Leo shared his analysis with V, and she agreed with it.

"Loyalty cannot be cultivated in a day or two. First, let them make a good living by cleaning up the Chaotic Knife Society, and then deepen the relationship through repeated exchanges of benefits."

Finally, allocate them a house to completely tie them down. Before long, they'll be completely bound to our cause, spontaneously protecting our interests.

These homeless people have endured all kinds of hardships, but have never enjoyed any happiness.

This is what Leo is most satisfied with.

While it might work to bribe the locals of Night City with the same amount of money, it certainly wouldn't elicit the same jubilation and gratitude from the homeless.

After chatting for a few more minutes, he returned outdoors with two bodyguards and wandered around the camp, grinding reputation.

At noon, they were warmly received by the Bright family and enjoyed truly authentic bohemian-style cuisine.

It doesn't taste bad, but don't expect anything from the ingredients; it's a hodgepodge of various synthetic foods.

After lunch, everyone split into three groups and got busy.

Needless to say, the prosthetic doctors have also started using the Bright family's mobile clinic, which can perform five surgeries at the same time.

With proper staffing, fifteen surgeries can be performed in one hour.

Vera and Panan are primarily responsible for selecting suitable drivers.

With Leo as a major financial backer, Wings of Liberty has no shortage of vehicles, but it lacks good drivers who can reliably navigate the Badlands.

In this respect, the young men of Haywood were far inferior to the homeless. They could drive well in the city, but once they entered the roadless wilderness, they were all doomed.

Leo found himself a good job—distributing smart guns and ammunition to new members who had completed their modification surgery.

When he personally handed them the brand-new A-22B Super Pistol, he was delighted to see the fervor and adoration these young men felt for him in their eyes.

Sure enough, compared to the locals of Night City who are all traitors, the honest and simple-minded homeless are easier to win over!

After distributing the guns and their replacement barrels and ammunition, he discovered the troublesome side of the homeless.

They were terrified of poverty, and resource management became second nature to them, ingrained in their very being.

Many people are reluctant to fire their guns because they are unwilling to use these expensive smart munitions.

Left with no other option, Leo formed a task force to let them experience the power of smart firearms firsthand.

Regardless of their previous marksmanship, once these people are equipped with smart connection prosthetics, they become sharpshooters with perfect accuracy when using smart weapons.

As long as you aim at the general direction and set the target, the bullet can even curve around obstacles and hit the target that a straight trajectory cannot reach!

"Amazing!"

More than one young person has expressed this sentiment.

With this weapon, wouldn't they just need to hide behind cover, stick their guns out, and pull the trigger?

Leo told them with certainty that this was indeed the case.

If smart weapons and ammunition weren't so expensive, traditional kinetic weapons would have been obsolete long ago, and even technological weapons would only have the minor advantage of being powerful after being charged.

By the way, V doesn't really agree with this statement!

"Technological weapons are guns controlled by humans. Smart weapons are the opposite; the guns control the people. If you install smart connectivity on drones and robots, what role do humans play anymore..."

Leo actually agrees with this statement, but interestingly, the big companies in the 2077 world are trying their best to avoid producing such fully automated robots.

Because the hacking skills of roving AI far surpass those of human hackers, the production of these fully automated machines might end up being nothing more than toys for AI to use against humans...

In just one afternoon, more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition were used up.

Four hundred thousand euros vanished without a trace, faster than burning money.

As night fell, the cybernetic modification surgeries were all completed, and the 207 people who joined the Wings of Freedom today were all transformed into combat-ready recruits.

After giving a brief speech, Leo told them to rest early, as the army would set off after lunch the next day to reclaim the eastern suburbs from the criminals.

The young people cheered loudly, completely disregarding the potential risks.

If it weren't for the leaders' forbidding it, some people would be attacking the Chaotic Blade Society's camp right now and taking their bounty.

After a while of commotion, Leo finally found an opportunity to slip away, leading his team members toward the temporary parking lot.

The leaders came to see him off and assured him that they would manage their respective tribes well.

Leo offered them a few words of encouragement before getting into the car.

With the "Weller" in front and the Type 66 "Traveler" behind, they quietly left the bustling camp of wanderers.

As they passed the camp of the night ghosts on their only route, they slowed down and observed for a while. They found that although the people in the camp seemed nervous, there was no sign that they were packing their valuables and running away.

I don't know if it's because they're carefree or if they have other plans.

Leo was brainstorming when V suddenly nudged him from behind.

"Don't overthink it. If you ask me, those night ghosts didn't take your purge order seriously. After all, who would waste so much money to kill them? Besides, you were in such a hurry, recruiting soldiers one day and starting the war the next, as if you had a blood feud with them. That doesn't make any sense..."

Leo was taken aback, realizing that it was indeed true.

Aside from someone like him who doesn't value money and has ulterior motives, probably no one else would do something so inexplicable.

Sasha, who had been cooped up in the car all day, was fully recharged and excitedly joined the discussion: "Speaking of which, why the rush? If we had kept them for a couple more days, we might have been able to pin the attack on the floating convoy on them!"

Leo sighed and flicked Sasha's smooth forehead: "Say it again, what team?"

Sasha, the third division commander, rubbed his forehead, looking puzzled: "...A floating convoy?"

"To be precise, it's an air convoy escorted by a military technology fleet," Leo added. "Do you think those outlaws deserve to be blamed? You should think carefully about our plan."

"Hmm...it seems that's really true."

Sasha scratched his head awkwardly.

In the plan proposed by Chunbai, it was repeatedly emphasized that the operation time, from launching the EMP attack to withdrawing after success, should ideally be compressed to within ten minutes.

Sasha herself couldn't figure out how Leo's "mysterious ally" would handle the aftermath in order to remove the equipment and erase all traces before the company's reinforcements arrived.

But judging from his confident demeanor, he was clearly confident in the outcome of his actions.

Leo laughed and said, "Think about it, within ten minutes, the floating convoy was attacked, and then everyone and everything vanished without a trace. Such a feat is beyond the capabilities of the Chaotic Blade Society and the Night Wanderer. They're not even worthy of taking the blame for us!"

"I'm in a hurry to act because I want to create chaos in the eastern suburbs, disrupt the company's arrangements, and also get the civilians to stay away to avoid any unforeseen events."

He wants to avoid tragedies like those involving Scorpion and Mitch in the game.

This operation involves a large company, so it's best to complete the task discreetly and without implicating anyone.

When the brilliant minds of the company's think tank collide, they will definitely target the big companies with suspicion, especially Arasaka Corporation!

Leo rubbed his forehead smugly: "Don't forget, the border checkpoint south of Night City is managed by Military Technology, while the two border checkpoints to the north and east—leading to the Free State—are in Arasaka's hands. If they can't find any clues in the eastern suburbs, they'll naturally suspect that someone smuggled the vehicles out of Night City by land."

And the only people who can pass through the Arasaka border checkpoint silently are from Arasaka.

Araka has no choice but to take the blame!

After all, this is a materialistic world that values ​​science!

Sasha and Vera were a little confused, racking their brains trying to figure out how Leo's ally could do this.

Only V knows what he'll do—cram the entire transport team, vehicles and all, into the warp, leaving no one who investigates in the dark.

This isn't science at all, it's damn magic!

Chapter 283 Barthes' Gift - RABIDS

Back at their apartment in the canyon area, the team remained in place.

This was all because Sasha kept jumping around, wanting to know what treasures the hacker team had found in Bartmore's old equipment.

Her persistent questioning also piqued the strong curiosity of others.

That's the god of hackers, a legend among legends!

Even the smallest gossip found on his device is excellent fodder for conversation!

This is where Chunbai's true abilities come into play—as long as she has enough computing power, she can have countless alternate accounts, acting as a prosthetic doctor, a revolutionary army leader, and simultaneously hacking the equipment.

She spoke directly in the team chat—

"Pure White: The hacking work is 50% complete. Some devices are malfunctioning, and we're working on emergency repairs. So far, we've hacked his portable network access module and one of his frequently used computers, getting quite a few good things~"

Sasha: What is it? What is it!? Tell me quickly!

"Pure White: I found an automatic counterattack program in his network access pod. Don't let its age fool you; this program is incredibly powerful. I estimate it can take down 99% of hackers, and only well-prepared Level 5 hackers can barely withstand it. If you were to crack it on your own, your head would be burning with envy by now."

Sasha: Ah... well, he's Barthemos after all, it's normal for him to be a bit stronger...

Panan: Wait, what are you talking about? Bartmos? That super hacker Bartmos?

"Sasha: Not a super hacker, but a hacker god! Ah, anyway, this is a conversation between hackers, so don't interrupt!"

"Panam: Okay, okay..."

"Pure White: Aside from that, it's just some logs, emails, chat logs and the like. I looked through it, and there's nothing juicy. It's more like a celebrity biography."

Sasha: Send it to me! With this, I'll be a master of Barthes Studies!

Pure White: Okay, I'll encrypt it and send it to you later.

"Pure White: What I found on the computer is heavyweight. I found part of the prototype code for the RABIDS virus. Its full name is Bartmos Wanderer, and its effects are quite magical—it can almost paralyze all network systems, liberate and corrupt AI, and also has a super strong ability to self-replicate and spread."

"Pure White: In addition, there are various exceptionally powerful lethal programs developed by Bartmores himself. Even now, these programs still maintain considerable power. I see many traces of the magic puppet in them and am studying them in depth."

Sasha: A new magic puppet!? I want one too! Rabids is out of the question, releasing that thing might blow up Night City's network.