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

He values ​​his reputation highly, and having a radio host who dares to say anything speak well of him helps him build prestige among the grassroots.

Since the other party is "one of our own," accepting the interview becomes something that is more beneficial than harmful.

For the next fifteen minutes, Leo, with the help of Pure White, accepted a street interview with Asha.

It has to be said that politicians have a reason to dislike her—this girl is too daring in her questions. Some of her questions even made Leo sweat. She is both bold and cunning.

After struggling through the ordeal, he quickly took a breath to calm himself down.

Asha was very satisfied with the interview results and believed that the program would be very popular after it aired.

She then made another request: "Mr. L, things are not very peaceful in the eastern suburbs lately, and we can't go back to the city for the time being. Could we stay in Shijishan? We promise not to disturb the workers' work."

"Why can't we go back? Has the NCPD blocked the roads?" This was Leo's focus.

"Ugh, the Night City government has designated us as an illegal radio station with a high priority for arrest and has issued an arrest warrant for us. The NCPD is currently guarding Red Peak Pass, so if we go back, we'll just be walking into a trap."

"Okay, I'll add you to the whitelist. You can find a place to set up camp in town yourselves. My patrol team and some workers will stay here, so there's no need to worry about security."

"Thanks, then I won't bother you any longer. I think the people behind me seem to be getting impatient."

Asha waved goodbye to them, then suddenly winked mischievously at V.

"That delivery prodigy has really made something of himself, becoming a renowned top mercenary. How about a special interview? You refused last time, you can't refuse again this time, can you?"

V's pretty face darkened, and she waved her hands like she was shooing away flies: "No, no, go away, go away!"

"Tch~ This is the attitude you get when you see someone you know. Looks like I need to compile your dark history so I can sell my memoirs when you become famous!"

"Go, go, go!"

Asha smiled and waved, then returned to the pink news van with her assistant and sped off into town.

V watched them leave, feeling a sense of relief.

"What dark history?"

Leo's voice suddenly came from beside my ear.

V was speechless: "Nothing much, just a few jobs I took from them, doing some lowly paparazzi work, nothing special."

"Paparazzi? Did they go rummage through the trash cans, or were they taking photos secretly?" Leo pressed.

V hardened her fist, but with so many people around, she couldn't lash out.

"I said it's nothing, and that's it! Anyway, let's get down to business! Asha and the others are based on the edge of Dogtown, and they just wander around Taipingzhou all day. You'll see how annoying that guy is later..."

Leo imagined being interviewed by her every few days and suddenly realized that V was right. Journalism is a rather annoying profession in itself, but if you add a personality that is bursting with a sense of justice and passionate about criticizing social injustice, the annoyingness level will be doubled.

I should probably avoid her from now on...

No sooner had Asha left than the next guest opened the car door and walked towards them.

Dressed in a suit and tie, with a refined demeanor, he couldn't hide the arrogance unique to corporate professionals.

"Disgusting corporate dogs, no matter how much perfume they spray in the morning, by noon they just smell like dead people."

V was very resistant to the company people, but he couldn't leave Leo there alone, so he could only find an opportunity to complain.

Leo was amused by her and gently comforted her, "Just bear with it a little longer, their good days are almost over."

V glanced at him, obediently shut his mouth, and acted as a cold-faced bodyguard.

With this troublemaker around, Night City will never have peace. Those stupid corporate dogs actually dared to come seeking cooperation; they're digging their own graves…

Chapter 296 Mysterious Hacker

dusk is approaching,

Leo finally finished receiving the company representatives who ostensibly came to support the construction but were actually there to "reap the benefits."

V scoffed at these people—they didn't care when the eastern suburbs were a mess, but now that things are a little better, they jump out to grab territory. It's disgusting, utterly disgusting.

Leo deeply agrees.

After completing his task, he quickly found a place to sit for a while and drank an ice-cold Coke to relieve the soreness in his throat.

"In any case, with these businesses moving in, Shijishan has a foundation to attract passersby and homeless people. We can also make some money by collecting rent and earning the price difference, so it can be considered a win-win situation."

"In this remote and impoverished place, you wouldn't be able to recoup your initial investment even with smuggling in a short period of time..."

“It doesn’t matter.” Leo put down the empty bottle and let out a satisfied sigh. “Ha~ Don’t forget, this place is actually a recruitment base. The wanderers who come from outside Night City will undergo the first round of screening here. Only those with good character are qualified to serve in Taiping Continent, so as not to damage my reputation.”

Now that everything is on track, he can let go a little and, while resting, take the opportunity to assess the character of his subordinates.

As we all know, people are most likely to reveal their true nature when they are carried away by success.

Now that the carrots have been fed enough, all we need to do is wait for that blind fool to jump out, and then we can bring down the big stick he's hiding behind him and give him a bloody beating.

Only by combining kindness and severity can one establish authority in the shortest possible time.

After resting for a while, Leo went for a walk around the town.

Old Vi and Hatch's clinic reopened, and the second shipment brought three hundred sets of cybernetic suits, enough to arm three hundred new recruits.

Vera and Panan also found an abandoned auto repair shop. As long as they bought all the repair equipment and found a few auto mechanics from the family, the shop could be put back into operation.

The power plant and gas station are undergoing emergency repairs and are expected to be fully operational within two days.

He didn't need to worry about the company's shops; the construction teams sent by the company were all professionals, and their efficiency was much higher than that of the homeless.

Besides, they don't listen to Leo, an "outsider."

"Looks like there's nothing more for us to do here. Let's pack up and get ready to go home."

Leo called to his friends, and they prepared to return to the city.

Old Wei, who was teaching students, waved without turning his head, indicating that he would stay in the town today.

Panan also planned to stay and help, since he had nothing to do back at the camp anyway.

Just as everyone was getting into the car and preparing to leave, a phone call kept Leo behind.

The caller was Mann.

Good evening, L. Is now a convenient time to talk?

“Mann? Speak, what is it?”

“I just wanted to ask, well, uh…” Mann stammered, “Well, there’s a special target on the purge order, right? It’s about cyberpsychosis.”

Leo's eyes flickered; he probably guessed what the man wanted to ask. They'd likely discovered the cyberpsychotics and wanted to confirm the bounty before taking action.

"That's right, special target—cyber psychopath, triple bounty for capture alive. Have you found one?"

"Uh...maybe, but this person's identity is a bit special. I wonder if we can get three times the bounty."

"How special? Could they be one of our own?" Leo became interested.

Mann awkwardly adjusted his glasses and shook his head slightly: "No, that's not it. This guy has a higher bounty. His name is Bard..."

"what?"

Leo was stunned.

"Bard? Bard, the leader of the Nightwalkers?"

"Correct."

"I spoke to him on the phone just yesterday, how could he go crazy overnight?"

"I heard that the Nightwalkers have broken out in internal strife. Some people think that holding out is a dead end and plan to hike over the mountains behind the abandoned factory to escape from Night City. But Bard disagrees. Later, it seems that other factions tried to kidnap Bard and sue for peace with you, which resulted in a fierce battle."

I only heard this from someone else; I can't confirm if it's true. Also, what about the bounty...?

Internal conflicts and rebellion drove the Night Wanderer leader mad?

Leo thought...it made sense, after all, the person who could establish such an organization must not be in a good mental state.

"Okay, I understand. It's simple. I'll abide by the rules I set. If he really does have cyberbullying, whoever captures him alive can receive a 150 million euro bounty."

But I must warn you, there are two or three hundred enemies inside the abandoned factory. Your small squad is simply going to their deaths.

Rebecca is still in Mann's team, and Leo doesn't want his little cutie to go and die.

Mann nodded vigorously, his face serious. "Don't worry, I wouldn't take on a mission that's impossible. In fact, someone has assembled several elite teams and provided an internal map of the abandoned factory and a plan of action, intending to organize a decapitation strike. I can't go into details, but... are you still in the eastern suburbs?"

"Still."

"Alright, we're about to begin the operation. If all goes well, we should have results within half an hour. We'll contact you then."

Mann hung up the phone after he finished speaking.

Recalling his tone and expression just now, Leo felt as if he had been coerced, always seeming to want to say something but holding back.

Without time to think, he asked Chunbai, "Chunbai, Rebecca is on your protection list too, right? What happened?"

[A pretty impressive guy approached several elite mercenary teams operating in the eastern suburbs, using his superior hacking skills to blackmail them into joining him on a mission.]

Needless to say, the mission was clearly to capture Bard alive.

[Umm, that's interesting. He had Mann call you to confirm the bounty before even formulating a specific action plan. This guy seems confident he can turn Bard into a cyberbully; he's asking for half the bounty right off the bat.]

Turning people into cyber-psychopaths!?

Leo remembered something.

Is it that cyberpsychotic hacker plugin from the game?

It's not certain yet, but his plan seems pretty sound. He's obviously also hacked into the abandoned factory's surveillance system, knows the Night Wanderers are in chaos, and intends to take advantage of the confusion.

I did a simple simulation, and his plan has a high success rate. You just wait here while I go set things up and see if we can steal his plugin!

After finishing her sentence, Chunbai went off to get busy, leaving Leo scratching his head alone.

"What's wrong?" V asked, looking at him curiously.

"It's nothing, just a minor unexpected event. Everyone, prepare for battle, better safe than sorry."

He briefly explained the situation, which piqued everyone's curiosity.

"A mysterious hacker... took control of several mercenary squads with a single move, forcing them to carry out missions together. They even have the ability to turn people into cyberpsychotics..."

Sasha's eyes widened, her face filled with longing.

"That's so cool! He's a role model for us all!"

As a hacker who has one foot in the expert realm, Sasha knows very well what it means for the other party to be able to do these things—at least a level 4 hacker, maybe even a level 5!

It's unclear whether they were hackers from a large company or internet monitoring agencies...

Chapter 297 The Demise of the Night Wanderer

Due to an unforeseen event, everyone's itinerary was forced to be changed.

The combatants adjusted their weapons, and Vera was ready for a high-speed chase, but it was all in vain.

The mysterious hacker's plan was meticulous, and with the Night Wanderers in the midst of their internal strife, the mercenary team successfully infiltrated the escape route, reached the core area, and captured all the Night Wanderers' leaders who were arguing.

Leo saw a scene of carnage and gore in the video transmitted back by Pure White.

The "coup" plot, which was originally in progress, suddenly turned into a one-sided massacre.

Apart from Bard and another minor leader who was also infected with S.A.S ...

The two remaining leaders hid in a secret room, and the rest of the scene is not shown.

However, seven or eight minutes later, he received a text message from Mann asking for his location.

With his friends around, Leo readily sent over the coordinates.

About fifteen minutes later, he met the mercenaries who were carrying out the mission.

Besides Mann's squad, there was a familiar Sixth Street gang squad, as well as two mercenary squads with very different styles.

Four teams, totaling nearly twenty people.

Several of them were injured, but judging from their spirited expressions, their injuries were not serious.

After the super-sized Mann got out of the car, he turned around and opened the rear door of the Mackinac MTL1. Dorio, who was also quite big, carried the seriously injured and unconscious Bard out of the car.

The Night Wanderer boss, who was still taunting Leo yesterday, was now ashen-faced, his eyes tightly closed, and his eyelids and cheeks twitching uncontrollably, as if he was still suffering great pain while unconscious.

His bulletproof vest was tattered, and blood seeped from multiple wounds, staining his clothes a mottled dark red. In particular, a long wound on his abdomen, with the flesh turned inside out, was a horrifying sight.

With each step Dorio took, the eyelids of the mercenaries around her twitched, fearing that Bard would die on the spot and prevent them from receiving their full bounty.

In the end, this "demon" successfully lay at Leo's feet, like a dying wild dog.