Li Pan took the orange grocery shopping car GALENA G240 to Taiping District, looking out the window of the car and the flashing lights in the underground high-speed tunnel.

"You know the Taiping District, why it's called the Taiping District."

Orange glanced at him from the rearview mirror,

“…… Because it's planned on the edge of the Pacific Ocean? ”

"Hehe, when I heard that Magellan circumnavigated the world and crossed the ocean, and did not encounter a storm for three whole months, and successfully arrived at Lusong, the crew cheered that this is really a Pacific Ocean.

…… But now it seems that it may just be their luck. And most people don't have that kind of luck. ”

"The military academy still teaches you these ancient histories?"

Li Pan shook his head and forwarded the message sent by the pastor to Orange,

"Name, home address and social security number, please help me find it."

Orange nodded, "Your girlfriend?" ”

Li Pan, "Friends and family. ”

Orange, "I'll tell my colleagues to keep an eye on it, don't mind it too much, this kind of thing won't stop." ”

"Dog fights."

"Well, the old industrial area has been completely abandoned, Gao Tianyuan has been in business for so many years, there are too many remnants under it, and the price is too high, so it will definitely not be able to negotiate.

Since the Ye clan refused to compromise and agree to the other party's conditions, they simply started from scratch and rebuilt a new production base. This is not just a threat at the negotiating table. When the Taiping District was planned, it gave a lot of benefits to attract skilled workers and immigrants to settle down, and even I was moved.

But such a draw from the bottom of the kettle is equivalent to putting a noose around the neck, and the chaebols in the old capital area will not sit idly by, and tonight's riot of the red dog out of the cage is probably just a prelude to the war. ”

Li Pan listened to the orange's explanation and looked at the sea on the other side of the bridge silently.

Because of heavy pollution, the Pacific Ocean has long been divided by huge garbage continents and patches of red algae, and only the waters near the central area of the city, as well as those private resort islands, have been fenced up by chaebols with polymer membranes, using the technology of farstar colonies to shape an artificial ecosystem. So that the rich people at the top can still enjoy the sun and sand, blue sky and sea on this rotten planet.

But for other citizens, what they can enjoy is only in front of Li Pan's eyes at this time, as the orange G240 drove out of the high-speed tunnel in front of him, under the deep darkness, the blood-colored, emitting the smell of rotten garbage in front of him.

From a distance, it looks like a slum covering the horizon of the mud, yes, that is the Pacific Ocean, at the bottom is the viscous mud of waste water and fuel in the industrial area, and on top is all kinds of plastic waste, covering the entire coastal port area, and there is a huge garbage continent that cannot be seen at a glance.

It's not that the tax bureau doesn't impose pollution fines on factories, but companies have calculated that paying fines is more cost-effective than environmental rectification, and some companies directly hire gangs to 'steal' toxic waste and waste materials, as long as they don't get caught, and it's none of their business where the waste ends up.

What's more, what 0791 needs now is economic recovery and employment opportunities, so the police will not investigate very strictly, and to be honest, in a world where the gap between the rich and the poor is polarized, not so many people care about environmental pollution.

So far away, Li Pan saw the torch at the end of the garbage island, well, it was not a torch, it was a roaring oil refinery. A line of fire spread across the sky, billowing smoke obscuring the sky.

The war zone, the war in the Taiping area has been ignited.

At this time, the orange's pupils flashed, frowned, and passed the information from the NCHC to Li Pan.

"The situation is not good, my colleague told me that there is still sporadic fighting in the Taiping area, and the address where your friend lives is also divided into the war zone, and we can't go in and clean it up for the time being."

Li Pan nodded, "It doesn't matter, it's good to have a map, I'll go in and bring out their remains myself." ”

Orange persuaded, "Don't you really wait until daylight?" Once it is assigned to the war zone, the nearby security system and the Internet of Things are all offline, and the three-headed dog using heavy weapons to kill people inside is not recorded! You don't know, there are seventh-level soldiers in that unit! ”

Li Pan shrugged his shoulders and took off the name tag on his collar,

"That's just right, although I'm just going to collect a corpse, I don't mind killing two people."

couldn't persuade him, Orange had to sigh,

"Watch out for yourself."

When they came to the border, the NCPA group of useless things really closed the high-speed entrances and exits and shrunk into a ball at the checkpoint, and the NCHC rescue team could only set up a temporary camp in the high-speed service area first, and then go out to rescue people after being cleared.

Li Pan also got off the camp and was about to say goodbye to the orange and follow the map to bring back the corpse of the big bear's family. But the orange stopped him.

"Someone can go in with you. Have you heard of cyberpunk? ”

"The mercenaries?"

The famous cyberpunk, the free mercenary who rebels against the system, the company, and the authority, and the marginalized people who wander in the forbidden area of society.

Among these people are veterans who have survived corporate wars, elites who have failed to start businesses, tech bigwigs who have wandered the streets, and outlaw fanatics who wander the wilderness, all of whom are legends who defy authoritarianism and refuse to succumb to the corporate system.

Well, it's too much to blow, this group is basically independent mercenaries without affiliation, a small circle on the edge of the law, sometimes working alone, sometimes freely forming groups, taking on tasks from various forces in the middle, and dealing with all kinds of forces in the Night City.

Although the company does not like wild dogs, it throws some bones from time to time to feed these wild dogs, which is also a compromise method adopted to avoid direct conflicts between companies and companies, companies and security bureaus, intensifying contradictions, triggering new wars, and compromising with each other.

These mercenaries, known as cyberpunk, are at the forefront of corporate warfare and a buffer zone.

"I know some friends in the circle, 'ghouls', who go into the battlefield to pick up corpses, collect weapons and equipment, and can take you for a while, at least it will be safer if there are more people."

"Okay, thank you."

So under the introduction of Orange, Li Pan met Warren Stein.

It can be recognized at a glance that this is a veteran who crawled over in a sea of corpses and blood, a body of artificial muscle fibers and ceramic bulletproof armor, gorilla arms, high-explosive howitzers, and a real fourth-level mercenary.

The other party glanced at Li Pan, and also had the same kind of intuition, and nodded at the orange.

“…… Have you ever killed someone? Orange asked curiously, "It's the first time I've seen him be so polite to a newcomer." ”

"I'll give you a drink another day."

Li Pan smiled at her, said goodbye to Orange for the time being, and joined Warren Stein's team.

This ghoul team is a team of twenty people, who have temporarily assembled on the spot to collect corpses.

Although there is a high probability of being cleared by the heavy mecha of the three-headed dog, if you can find the fourth, fifth, or even seventh-level equipment and weapons, then the shotgun will be changed and you will win the jackpot at once.

So cyberpunks also have their own rules, and veterans are even more simply, not nonsense at all, and directly send the battle map over to get to the point.

"The rules are very simple, whoever sees it first belongs to whom, no robbery, and if you don't follow the rules, everyone will be on the spot, and no one owes anyone.

I'll take you all the way for the orange, the coordinates are near the No. 3 battlefield, just waiting for you for a quarter of an hour, and I won't wait for the expiration date. ”

Because Li Pan came in a hurry, he rented the other party's spare equipment on the spot, a bulletproof vest with a fourth-level military alloy insert plate, a fourth-level military helmet, a gas mask, an emergency hemostatic kit, a first-aid inhaler, an analgesic enhancer, and a multi-functional sapper shovel, a set of which cost a little 2000.

Well, rent, if you survive, you have to pay it back.

In addition, Wallenstein sold him a magazine of seven rounds, 150 rounds each, for a total of 3100, and the cash was reduced to 1200. However, Li Pan also came out of the military academy, so he naturally knew that these equipment were worth it.

Warren Stein explained.

"These are my self-made Level 5 armor-piercing implosion bombs, the three-headed dogs are wearing Level 5 SBS space combat uniforms, and there are shock-proof self-healing biological gel coats in them, only customized ammunition can cause effective damage, remember to at least make up one shot at the head."

Li Pan looked at him,

"No ammunition against Akainu?"

Warren Stein's face was expressionless,

"There's no need, Akainu has limited supplies and doesn't usually engage in firefights with us.

But most of those people are veterans of the border pest control unit, and they are basically cleared when they act. When you see us who are picking up corpses, you won't leave your hands behind.

If you see too much in there, don't spit it out in my gas mask. ”

Li Pan nodded slowly, knowing in his heart.

The Border Pest Control Force is probably the strongest infantry in the history of human civilization. After all, generally speaking, 'pest treatment' is fought by aliens.

Of course, it is not limited to extraterrestrial creatures, but also various extraterrestrial civilizations, non-human existences, out-of-control Resident Evil, misguided mutant civilizations, in short, all races that have the ability and potential to threaten the survival of human civilization are 'pests' and must be destroyed.

But don't think that these pest disposal units are really 'guardians of humanity' or 'partners of justice', because there are not a few parallel earths that are destroyed in their hands.

After all, the definition of 'pest' is decided by the public security council composed of corporate giants, and in the final analysis, it is still profit, so what can make the company make money is 'beneficial pest', and what may lead to economic losses is 'pest'.

Therefore, for the front-line soldiers such as three-headed dogs, all living creatures in the Taiping District are insects, and there is no distinction between superior and inferior levels of insects, and they are destroyed when they are found, which is the best way to deal with them.

So Li Pan put on his equipment and followed Warren Stein's team over the highway viaduct, avoiding minefields, batteries and drone warning nets, and entering the center of Taiping District.

According to the plan of the Yeshi Group, it is to be built as an industrial and residential complex new city, with various factories, apartment buildings and commercial complexes, full of streets and viaducts, like a jungle of steel, and the terrain is extremely complex.

From time to time, gunshots and explosions could be heard in the distance, echoing in the burning steel city, and it was clear that the battle had not stopped.

In order to avoid the unrestricted riot operation of the three-headed dog being sent by camera surveillance, causing a public relations disaster, after entering the Taiping District, Xingtian also showed that it was disconnected from the virtual network, and Li Pan could only rely on the offline map stored in the offline network to communicate with the subnet provided by the drone sentry of the Wallenstein team to confirm the surrounding situation.

Such a complex and non-electronic urban battlefield environment is one of the most feared by experienced veterans, and if a turret clicks through any window, it may directly wipe out your squad. And you can't put the reconnaissance drone too far too far, otherwise the signal is too strong to attract the attention of the three-headed dog, and it will be difficult to send a mobile squad from the sky to sanction it.

Therefore, although there were no troops from both sides in the vicinity, the group approached very cautiously, moving slowly between the various bunkers, first clearing mines and then carefully collecting wreckage and equipment, and it took a full hour to reach Battlefield 3.

"The sentinels are on alert, start collecting, and rest in place for twenty minutes when they're done."

Warren Stein ordered, and nodded at Li Pan.

So Li Pan left the team and went to the apartment rented by Da Xiong's girlfriend according to the social security account.

The molecular blade of the sapper shovel cut open the blast door, Li Pan entered through the fire escape, climbed up the sixth floor along the elevator hall, and found the target room.

The scene was very tragic, the armor-piercing sub-munition used in street fighting, the mother bomb warhead exploded after breaking into the apartment, the bullet warhead bloomed like a salute flower, and the blooming plasma fire burst from the central area, blasting the entire building into a honeycomb full of holes, and the residents in the building were smashed into pieces by the splashing plasma mass in an instant, and the human body exploded like an egg in a microwave oven under high pressure and high heat, splashing on the ceiling of the apartment where the mortgage had not been repaid, and the sebum and internal organs burned into a scorched slurry and stuck into a piece of tan. The shattered bones were blown up everywhere.

Li Pan collected the human tissue at the scene, compared and confirmed the room number, medical insurance dentist records, and confirmed the identity of the deceased, shoveled down the remains of the deceased with a sapper shovel and put them in the NCHC biological tissue containment tank given to him by Orange.

Due to the limited manpower of NCHC, usually in this case, when washing the floor, the sorted out corpse tissues are burned together into ashes, and if there is a need from the family, a little is packaged and sent to them for funeral use.

Although you can ask Orange for a favor, and when the battle is over, let her come and run. But Li Pan felt that he had an obligation to collect the body in person.

No one asked him to do that, he just wanted to see for himself.

Take a look at whether the family of the Great Bear is really dead.

Take a look at the vast majority of the ordinary residents of the Night City, the final ending.

Now that he's seen it with his own eyes, let's go back.

So Li Pan walked back with the tissue tank on his back, and when he returned to the meeting place, he saw Warren Stein smoking a cigarette and chatting with a soldier in black armor who looked like a robot from a distance.

The soldier was supported by an outer metal skeleton, and his whole body was draped in a heavy military alloy deck, like an ancient heavy knight, two heads taller than Warren Stein, and at this time only his chin was exposed, holding a cigar given by Wallenstein and chatting with him.

Behind the soldier, there is a huge robot more than five meters high, four-legged and four-armed, which looks like a fat spider with hands and feet from a distance, which is the famous spider-type multi-functional pan-terrain battlefield drone that Li Pan is most familiar with.

This is the most widely used equipment in the military, a real killer weapon, a full-featured weapon platform, which can be redressed according to the needs of various battlefield environments, and use various military weapon systems to provide fire support for front-line infantry.

As a reserve of specialized engineering troops trained by military academies, once Li Pan is conscripted into the army, his main task is to repair and maintain the spider aircraft group, which is the main force of the infantry army.

And this soldier and drone, on the black gold metal armor, the fluorescent three-headed dog spray paint, is even more clear and conspicuous under night vision imaging.

The moment Li Pan walked out of the ruins, the spider drone was aimed at the laser for the first time, and forced to access his chip system to read the data.

'Identification, citizenship, employees of the company, social security. ’

'Psychiatric identification, blue-blue-blue, deviation value 0, safety. ’

So the spider turned the pistol and turned to aim at the other cyberpunk mercenaries on the scene, and the prosthetic eye on the helmet of the three-headed dog soldier also turned around, glanced at Li Pan, took another puff of cigar, and continued to talk to Warren Stein.

"Seventy-three open, I'm seven, cash call me, now."

Warren Stein shook his head,

"The price you ask for is too high, there are so many of us, those prosthetics have to find someone to reorganize before they can sell on the black market, and they will give you forty percent at most."

The three-headed dog turned his prosthetic eyes and glared at him,

"Do you think I'm a company dog? Well! Are you bargaining with you? Well! There are a lot of suspects, do you want me to kill a few now? Well! ”

Li Pan walked towards them, walked all the way to the spider, looked at the missile launcher that the spider was empty, suddenly operated the sapper shovel, activated the molecular blade, and struck with all his strength, breaking through the armored chassis of the spider drone, and smashing into the core processor with one blow, hitting the core chip, and the spider crashed instantly.

The Three-Headed Dog Soldiers and Cyberpunks turned their heads to look at him, "Bang! "With a gunshot, Li Pan pulled out the 'black kite' and exploded the soldier's head.

Then he walked over, split the soldier's body with a shovel, dug out the heart, put it in the trouser pocket of the suit, and walked back with the containment tank on his back.

Warren Stein stood there the whole time, staring, splattered with brain tissue and plasma, and couldn't help but open his jaw and drop the cigar in his mouth to the ground.