85: Chapter 84 The Hound in the Cage

On the edge of Kabuki, that abandoned construction site was like a steel graveyard forgotten by time.

The rusted steel skeletal frames on the rooftops pierced the gray sky, and the shattered windows stared indifferently at the weed-choked open ground below like countless hollow eyes.

The air was filled with a dull scent of rust, dust, and aged machine oil, forming a stark contrast to the bustle of the main road in Kabuki not far away; it was so quiet here that one could only hear the wind wailing through the dilapidated factory buildings and the occasional crackle of electrical noise.

Beside a shaky, still-operating roadside stall not far from the entrance to the construction site, Lin Yi, V, and Jackie were sitting around a small, greasy table, slowly eating bland "Mexican" burritos made from synthetic soy protein and food coloring.

Their postures appeared relaxed, like three ordinary passersby just resting there, but the corners of their eyes remained locked on the only uneven, pothole-ridden road leading to the construction site.

"This stuff tastes like chewing on water-soaked cardboard," Jackie muttered, struggling to swallow a bite of the burrito before gulping down a large mouthful of cheap synthetic cola. "Once this is over, I've got to ask Padre if he can get his hands on some real meat, and maybe a few cold beers to properly make up for my stomach."

V nibbled on her portion, her golden eyes sweeping across the direction of the abandoned construction site, her tone carrying a hint of imperceptible tension: "That's assuming our 'guest' keeps the appointment on time."

Lin Yi didn't speak; he simply tapped his fingers against the table with a steady rhythm, as if calculating the time.

A small part of his consciousness remained connected to Cyberspace, monitoring the steadily moving light point representing Goro Takemura.

Suddenly, inside Jackie's left cybernetic eye, a faint, pre-set communication alert light flickered on with a rapid frequency.

He perked up, immediately putting down the unappetizing burrito to connect the call.

"Hello? ...Oh! Thanks, mano! I knew you were the most reliable for this!" Jackie's voice instantly filled with energy, a genuine smile blooming on his face as if he'd heard the best news imaginable. "Alright! No problem! Once I get this done and get back, I'll treat you to the best stuff, swiped from my brother's stash—we're not stopping until we're wasted! ...Eh, alright, alright, alright, it's a deal!"

The call disconnected, and the light in Jackie's cybernetic eye went out.

He let out a long sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, then turned toward V and Lin Yi, who were looking at him with questioning gazes. He nodded firmly, his face filled with the excitement of a hunter seeing prey step into a trap:

"It's settled! The stray dog caught the scent and is sprinting toward us at full speed! Let's go, folks, time to get to work! We've got to put on a proper show for our 'guest' who's come from afar!" He rubbed his hands together, eager to start; his complaints about the food had long been cast to the winds.

That was Jackie Welles. Regardless of how much hesitation or deliberation there was beforehand, once the arrow was on the string, he never faltered. That composure in the face of danger, born from the streets of Heywood, and his protagonist-like optimism and confidence always allowed him to enter battle in peak condition.

The three of them didn't delay any longer. They stood up with nimble movements and tossed their leftover fast-food containers and drink cans precisely into an overflowing trash can nearby, leaving no traces that might arouse suspicion.

They quickly and silently slipped into the abandoned construction site, like water droplets merging into the sea.

According to the pre-arranged deployment, Lin Yi climbed like a ghost to a corner on the second floor of the main factory building that offered a wide field of view and was easy to conceal.

Piles of discarded mechanical parts and damaged canvas provided him with perfect cover here.

He crouched down and took out a palm-sized black box with flickering ghostly blue indicator lights from his equipment bag—this was a full-band signal Lockdown device he had rushed to make.

He placed this treasure steadily behind a rusted iron frame and quickly slid his fingers across the touchpad to activate it.

"Hum—" A low-frequency buzzing sound, almost imperceptible to human hearing, instantly spread out from the black box, forming an invisible interference field that enveloped the entire abandoned construction site and a small area around it.

In an instant, all public network signals, civilian communication channels, and even some low-power military frequency bands within the area were forcefully suppressed and disrupted, then uniformly redirected to an information storage unit Lin Yi had temporarily set up.

This place had temporarily become an "information island" isolated from the outside world.

Meanwhile, the data stream in Lin Yi's eyes lit up again.

[Insight] activated, linking directly to the latent daemon previously implanted into Goro Takemura's system.

He did not choose to launch an attack immediately; instead, like the most skilled surgeon, he performed the final "pre-operative preparations." He engaged the daemon's "Weakening Field" function, quietly and slowly increasing its output power while maintaining it within a range that wouldn't immediately trigger the target's ICE alarms—just like boiling a frog in warm water.

He waited for a moment.

Once Goro Takemura's ICE protection level had been silently eroded by about two tiers by the daemon.

Lin Yi quickly and silently embedded a more complex [Cyberware Malfunction Plus] program, which had instantaneous overload and logic-locking effects, into the core of the daemon, like planting a remote-controlled bomb next to an enemy's heart, ready to detonate instantly at a single command.

After finishing all this, he packaged a set of forged NCPD database identity information and sent it to Jackie via the encrypted squad channel.

"Jackie, identity disguise synchronized. When he scans you, it will show you as an up-and-coming mercenary with a minor criminal record, named 'Karl Lagerfeld'."

"Huh? What kind of name is that?" Jackie complained in the channel, but he quickly confirmed receipt and loaded the information.

On the other side, V, like an agile feline, used the shadows of broken walls and abandoned shipping containers to move silently to the opposite side diagonal to Lin Yi's position, forming a pincer stance.

There was a relatively taller ancillary office building there; although equally dilapidated, a room on the top floor offered an excellent view, perfectly overlooking the entire core area of the construction site, especially the open ground where Jackie was about to meet Goro Takemura.

She carefully set up her specially selected "Nekomata" tech sniper rifle.

The streamlined gun body gleamed with a cold metallic luster in the dim light.

She lay prone, her cheek pressed against the cold stock, her right eye aligning with the high-precision sniper scope.

After Lin Yi's previous calibration and optimization, the charge-up overload time of this heavy hitter had been shortened by nearly half, while the power of the discharged plasma jet had almost doubled.

She gently stroked the gun body, as if caressing a lover's skin, and whispered to herself: "Baby, today I'm letting you have your first taste of blood; let's try to make that guy down there... a bit more open-minded." She adjusted her breathing, shifting her body into the optimal sniping posture, and then activated her Optical Camouflage.

After a slight distortion of light, her figure completely merged into the surrounding environment, as if she had never existed.

Everything was ready.

The abandoned construction site returned to dead silence, with only the wind remaining.

In Lin Yi's field of vision, the light point representing Goro Takemura had already entered the edge of the interference zone, and his movement speed had slowed down significantly, becoming more cautious.

He took a deep breath and issued a clear, calm command in the squad channel. His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable decisiveness:

"Units, take note: the target has entered the ambush zone. V, maintain Optical Camouflage, do not expose yourself under any circumstances, and act according to the situation on the ground."

"Received," V's cold, clear voice replied in the channel.

"Jackie," Lin Yi continued, "the 'protagonist' needs to get ready to enter the stage. Remember, draw his attention and buy me at least ten seconds."

"Don't worry, mano," Jackie's voice carried eager excitement. He cracked his neck with a soft click, straightened his signature leather jacket, and strode toward the center of the designated "stage." "Watch how I put on a good show for him!"

The trap for the dog-catching squad had been set, and the hunters were all in their positions.

Only waiting for that arrogant "hound" to step onto this deadly stage.