155: Mercenary commission mission

"Fang Yun, I've sorted through the commissions I have on hand, and there are three that are quite tricky."

"Among the other mercenaries I can contact, no one can guarantee completion of these tasks."

"So I've decided to give these three tasks to you."

"You can check the task intel in the attachment and take whichever one you feel confident about."

"OK."

Fang Yun opened the attachment, and the intelligence information for the three tasks appeared.

---[Task Brief Loading]---

Client: Anonymous (Encryption Level: Scarlet)

Middleman: Muammar Reyes (Credit Rating: Four Stars)

--

Commission 1: The Electronic Ghost in Blood Alley

Location: Watson District, Little Chinatown Underground Black Market (Coordinate Lock: Abandoned "Neon Carp" Cyberware Clinic)

Intel Summary:

The target is a Cyber Hacker named "Ling Bu", a former "Voodoo Boys" member, who now makes a living selling black Superdreams and hijacking random people's brain interfaces.

This lunatic recently hacked into the private network of a mid-level Arasaka executive and stole some "data streams that shouldn't be seen". Now the corporate dog he's threatening wants to eliminate this hidden danger.

Note, this guy has installed an "Consciousness Upload" virus on himself. After killing him, the brain interface's data upload program will automatically trigger.

The employer wants to eliminate the threat, not have the stolen data uploaded to the network and "circulate widely".

So, you need to both cleanly eliminate "Ling Bu" and prevent the stolen data from being uploaded.

Friendly Reminder:

"Ling Bu" has hired, or rather borrowed, the "Vortex Gang" from near the clinic as his security force. The Vortex Gang's lunatics don't care if you're a mercenary on a mission; they will tear apart any intruders.

Reward: 15,000 Eurodollars (plus a set of Militech-grade "Synapse Burnout" Hacker plugins).

--

Commission 2: Death Squad's New Toy

Location: Heywood, Wellsprings (Coordinate Lock: The alley two streets north of the "Afterlife" bar)

Intel Summary:

The target is a "Six Street Gang" defector, calling himself the Death Squad, who stole a prototype "nightingale" stealth drone (the kind with self-destruct) from Militech.

The problem is, these thugs have no idea how to operate it. After messing around, the drone is now stuck in the old power grid in Wellsprings and could overload and flatten two blocks at any moment.

Militech has already dispatched a "Cleaner" team to recover the equipment, but the Death Squad clearly won't easily hand over what they stole.

They've hired the Animals as a human firewall. Want to defuse the bomb? You'll have to deal with both the corporate team and the drug-fueled muscle freaks simultaneously.

Friendly Reminder:

The drone, which is already in a chaotic state, will attack indiscriminately with sonic weapons. Remember to protect your cochlear filters.

Reward: 12,000 Eurodollars (if the drone doesn't explode) / 5,000 Eurodollars, plus an internal Militech wanted poster (you know, someone has to take the blame if the drone explodes).

---

Commission 3: Cyber Mad Flower's Revenge

Location: Japan Street, Kabuki (Coordinate Lock: East side of "Twisted Street", near the All Foods plant's abandoned cyberware clinic)

Intel Summary:

The target is a former "Tiger Claws" Cyber Hacker, codenamed "Mad Flower", who was abandoned during an internal purge and is now on the run with a bunch of the gang's confidential data.

To protect herself, and also to retaliate against the "Tiger Claws" hunting her, she somehow acquired a violent killing machine produced by Arasaka Corporation - an old "Mantis Blade Prototype · Test Type" (with a neurotoxin coating).

Whether it's because this thing is old and in disrepair, or because Mad Flower's hacking methods caused its system to malfunction, in any case, it now intends to slaughter all living things in the clinic, including Mad Flower herself.

Mad Flower used her hacking skills to confine the Mantis Blade's activity range to the outer layer of the clinic, while she herself is hidden inside the clinic's interior.

A crack squad sent by the "Tiger Claws" has already been sliced into sashimi by the rampaging Mantis Blade Prototype.

The enraged "Tiger Claws" have decided to send more forces, but the high-level executive who actually killed Mad Flower doesn't have more people available at the moment.

Due to the powerful combat capability of that killing machine, the heads of the various small factions are bickering with each other, and no one is willing to send their subordinates to their deaths for nothing.

Even worse, "Mad Flower" has also hired a bunch of "Vortex Gang" lunatics looking for a thrill to be her bodyguards.

Ultimately, the high-level executive of the "Tiger Claws" decided to pay to solve this problem himself, which is how this commission came about.

Friendly Reminder:

That Mantis Blade Prototype has thermal tracking capabilities, and engaging it in the dark environment of the abandoned clinic is very dangerous. Strong electromagnetic pulses can temporarily disable this function, remember to bring EMP grenades.

Neurotoxin will slowly spread through the air. If you don't have a gas mask, you might start hallucinating after 15 minutes (like feeling like you've turned into a banana).

"Mad Flower" herself is a skilled Hacker. She will try to overload your optical implants or weapon systems. Hopefully you have a Hacker teammate.

Reward: 30,000 Eurodollars, a "Tiger Claw" katana, the friendship of the Tiger Claws (you can take that as a joke)

Additional Reward 1: Successfully recover the Mantis Blade Prototype (I'm quite interested in this thing): 6,000 Eurodollars

Additional Reward 2: If you capture Mad Flower alive and hand her over to the Tiger Claws high-level executive, he will pay you an additional 5,000 Eurodollars (but Mad Flower will likely commit suicide beforehand).

--

A piece of advice: Night City is dangerous and charming, mercenary, act within your capabilities.

---[Transmission Terminated]---

After reading the task brief, Fang Yun thought for a moment, then opened the communication interface and sent a message to Old Captain:

"I accept all three of these commissions."

Old Captain replied almost instantly:

"Wow, wow, wow."

"That really surprises me, Fang Yun. I didn't expect you to choose to take on all three commissions."

"It seems you're quite confident in your strength."

"Of course."

Old Captain was silent for two seconds:

"To be honest, I don't really like putting all my eggs in one basket, but right now you're the most suitable person."

"So, can I trust your strength, Fang Yun?"

"Of course!"

"..."

"Good! Then I'll give all three of these commissions to you."

"I hope you don't disappoint me. I look forward to your good news."

"Don't worry. I'll go prepare for departure now. Talk to you later."

"Talk to you later."

Hanging up the communication, Fang Yun turned to look at Vavinia.

She had already gotten dressed and was tidying up the bed.

"Old Captain just sent me a message. There are new commissions."

Vavinia gently smoothed the mattress, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and smiled at Fang Yun:

"It seems it's time to start a new day."