"Lieutenant Norris, you should’ve joined the Six Street Gang sooner, we’re all U.S. soldiers..."

James Norris, with the rank of Lieutenant, could completely outclass their boss in a real fight.

However, some people excel in combat, others in ruling powers; James belonged to the former, while the Staff Sergeant boss of the Six Street Gang was the latter.

As a soldier from New America, this guy killed countless people, only retiring after the Unification War ended. It was said that he used to be with Taiping State.

No one knew why such an ordinary-looking guy hadn’t made a name for himself before the Taiping State incident.

Nolan Frelkz was in charge of bringing him in, a mid-tier boss of the Six Street Gang; these days, they’re always busy dealing with their archenemies, the Valentinos.

While speaking, there was a hint of fear in his heart—this big fellow was a pure cyber monster.

He had brought this guy to the prosthetics doctor more than once, and he had seen what this fellow was equipped with.

Bones, muscles, internal organs, skin, eyes... nearly all parts were fitted with military-grade combat prosthetics.

James was almost two meters tall, with blond hair, wearing an old tactical jacket and carrying an authentic Arasaka rifle on his back, evidently battle-hardened.

His silent and taciturn manner made him even more frightening, making people fear he could snap at any moment.

Suddenly, James stopped, and those coldly practical tactical eyes glanced at a car by the roadside.

Nolan also looked over and immediately noticed that the car was occupied by a new recruit from their gang—but the car, it looked like a Wanderer’s.

He frowned and gestured to his two men to check it out.

...

Acido was on the phone with his mom in the car.

"Mom—I’ll be back in a bit, the gang’s a bit tied up, you know how it is."

"...Okay, okay, I got it, just be careful, I heard from a friend that the illness can heal on its own, but you have to rest, avoid the sun—not just water, even looking at it!

Don’t ask, it’s what the doctor said, if you want to die, go sunbathe; there’s a lounge chair on the balcony."

A barrage of rapid-fire chatter came through the phone, thankfully Acido had anticipated it and muted the call.

After 5 seconds he said:

"If you’re thirsty, have some glucose, I left it on the table."

Ding-dong—

"Uh... Mom, the boss is calling me, gotta go."

"What’s up? Ready to..."

Acido hadn’t finished speaking when Lille’s urgent tone broke through, "Start the car, quick! Prepare to get out of here!"

Bang bang!

The car window was knocked on, and Acido saw an old soldier from the Six Street Gang standing right beside the car—

"Hey! Which squad are you from? Open up!"

Acido felt a chill all over.

He didn’t recognize James, but he saw the person in the distance—Nolan Frelkz!

The real big boss of the gang! The one who wore suits and owned an entire high-rise apartment in the bustling city center!

He was wearing the full uniform of the Six Street Gang, which meant this was official business. Little brothers on patrol might lose focus, but Nolan wouldn’t!

"Drive! Acido, can you hear me?"

Lille’s voice snapped Acido back to reality...

"I..."

Hearing the hesitation in Acido’s voice, Lille immediately shifted his approach, speaking very fast:

"Acido—listen, run, run as fast as you can, go home, and then take your mom to the Scenic Area, find Valentino’s Father.

Otherwise, you and your mom are dead, got it? Start the car now, floor it, run for your life!"

Acido’s mind went blank, but his feet suddenly found strength—

Run for your life!

Boom!

The car started at the last second, the wheels spinning as if they were about to take flight, and behind them, there was a massive explosion!

It was James! Those monster-like eyes instantly noticed Acido’s rapidly rising hormone levels and he promptly raised his arm to shoot a projectile from it!

The force of the explosion propelled the rickety car forward, and almost simultaneously, bullets rained from the clinic!

"Damn, those Valentino bastards!"

Nolan shouted as he took cover behind the car, but just the first round of gunfire took down several of his men!

James simply redirected his gaze, his tactical compound eyes scanning the clinic, seemingly unfazed in the midst of the bullet storm, seeking enemies through the smoke and debris...

V yelled loudly, "Shit, this guy is wearing military-grade heavy armor! Lille, burn through his systems!"

"He’s got military-grade ICE—damn it, watch out, he’s got Si Anweisitan!"

The three took cover behind the clinic’s walls, focusing solely on shooting, but in the next instant, they saw the mountainous figure of James appear before them—

V’s Krensky also kicked into action at that moment!

Memories buried deep in his mind awoke, and V suddenly thought of the time in Atlanta when he faced Notte head-on. These two were on the same level!

Zing!

V swung his arm, and the Mantis Blade surged out from his left forearm!

However, James’s right hand also sprung out similar Prosthetics, and their blades clashed, sending sparks flying – an outcome that Jack and Lille witnessed!

The Mantis Blades in their left and right hands met in midair, as they both raised their pistols—

But Jack, he hadn’t lied; his draw was indeed swift!

The weapon in his hand had at some point switched to the Sadara, the gun’s energy accumulating within!

Steel spikes flew from the ammunition, propelled by electromagnetic rails. V saw through James’s attempted dodges, his Mantis Blade plunging down with a click, locking onto the enemy’s weapon!

His pistol fired, and at this point, James had no choice but to shoot as well!

Bang!

The sharp sound of the weapons colliding, the crisp mid-pitched ring of the authentic rifle, and the heavy explosive sound of the Sadara erupted in that instant!

Nolan only saw James dive into the hail of bullets, then the clinic’s door collapsed!

The Six Street Gang members were stunned. There was a brief lapse in firepower, and only then did they see the situation on the ground.

The clinic’s doors and windows had been shot to pieces, the door frame sliced open by some sharp blade, teetering on the brink of collapse, and a black hole gaped in the wall.

James stood at the clinic’s entrance, methodically reloading his ammunition.

The powerful Sadara had only managed to deform and dent James’s chest armor—whether it was one shot away from being pierced, or two, or even three was uncertain.

In any case, it wasn’t the shot that Jack had landed—although a single shot from the Sadara was enough to turn an ordinary person’s chest into a mist of blood.

"I’m going to..." Nolan swallowed hard.

Yes, he was a high-ranking member of the Six Street Gang, but he was management.

That meant he wouldn’t turn himself into a killing machine with a full body of military-grade Prosthetics like James did.

He could easily blast a few broke thugs or low-level gang members, but this level of combat was better left to the professionals.

His gaze shifted to James, silently branding him: killing machine.

Whoosh—

But soon, he had no time to ponder this as the distinct sound of vehicles approached from the roadside, sounding like a convoy on the move!

Were the Valentinos coming?

Dozens of Columbus Freight and G240 trucks suddenly swarmed in from all directions, mixed with the screams of drivers and pedestrians...

What was happening?

From the rubble of the clinic, the Lille trio burst out, making a run for their prepped car amidst the chaotic flow of vehicles—

James’s tactical compound eyes flickered with a lethal red light; he spotted the opposing Hacker—

The Hacker clutched a Dian Type Submachine Gun that appeared to be a modified version, with minor differences compared to the one in his database.

It didn’t matter—its power was insufficient to penetrate his Subdermal Armor.

An unmanned G240 at full throttle rammed towards them!

The next second, James vanished from his spot, leaving behind a massive dent where he had struck the roof of the car!

James, like a ghost, kept stepping on the roofs of the cars advancing toward the trio, one hand wielding the rifle, the other now fully split open to reveal a cannon-like Prosthetics, aimed at their target vehicle.

Thinking of escaping?

Boom!