511: Chapter 511 Protecting Our VIP Clients, The Sword of Heavenly Punishment

Chapter 511: Protect Our VIP Customer, Sword of Heaven's Wrath

Beneath the iconic archway of Naihe Bridge.

Fang Cheng stood on the steps, gazing at the bizarre and surreal city before him.

Neon lights flickered, and mist swirled around.

He reached into his pocket and felt the black card, his lips curling up slightly.

"First arrogant, then deferential; showing uncalled-for friendliness means they're up to no good."

Although he enjoyed VIP treatment, Fang Cheng did not let his guard down because of it.

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A cutthroat interest group like Naihe Bridge would never treat a newcomer so well for no reason.

The only explanation was that the strength and value he had demonstrated made them think there was a profit to be made.

Or... they simply wanted to use him to deal with certain factions.

Fang Cheng warned himself inwardly.

He had waited so many days before coming to collect his bounty just to keep a low profile for a while.

After all, who knew if those lunatics from "Utopia" would send people to camp out at Naihe Bridge, waiting for him to walk right into their trap?

Now that the heat had died down a bit, and with his strength recently skyrocketing, he had more confidence, which was why he dared to show his face so openly.

"Still, now that I have the money, it's about time I found a place to settle down in the city."

Fang Cheng's thoughts whirred as he quickly calculated his next plan of action.

"With a place to live, it will be much more convenient to come to Naihe Bridge for business in the future, without needing to log in from the middle of nowhere."

"More importantly, according to Yuan Datou, this place is like an online game. Logging in and out randomly in the open not only poses a security risk, but there's also a high chance of losing the virtual items obtained here."

"With a house, at least I'll have a place to store the credit card I just got..."

Gazing at this alien, labyrinthine city before him that seemed forever shrouded in night, Fang Cheng quickly made a decision.

The reason he hadn't accepted the luxury apartment recommended by Manager Wang earlier was simply an instinctive precaution.

Living on someone else's turf, with his every move under their nose, would always make it hard to feel at ease.

He preferred to find a sufficiently quiet place on his own.

He didn't lack money; he just wanted peace of mind.

Fang Cheng pulled up his collar, stepped into the bustling crowd, and walked toward the street ahead.

Less than a few seconds after he left.

In an inconspicuous corner outside the gates of Naihe Bridge, several figures slowly emerged.

Their faces were shrouded in black mist, and their gaze was cold as knives, staring intently in the direction where Fang Cheng had disappeared.

It seemed they had been waiting here for a long time.

...

The streets of Night City were always noisy and chaotic.

In mid-air, a massive holographic projection was looping an advertisement for some kind of hallucinogen.

Colorful lights and shadows projected onto the wet pavement below, shattered by the footsteps of pedestrians.

Hovercars with exaggerated designs roared overhead, their tail flames drawing long streaks of light.

Like a country bumpkin tourist who had just arrived in the city, Fang Cheng strolled leisurely through the bustling commercial district, looking around here and there.

One moment he would stop at the entrance of "Meng Po's Teahouse" to study its cyber-style electronic signboard.

The next, he would run over to a roadside stall, curiously sizing up those bizarre Soul accessories.

If not for the faint golden light emanating from his body, which showed his impressive strength.

His unsophisticated appearance made him look like a fat little sheep that had wandered into a pack of wolves, just waiting to be ripped off by the locals.

Three shadows, almost blending into the night, stared intently at Fang Cheng's back.

They followed behind, their tracking movements extremely professional, maintaining a perfect tactical distance from one another.

Whenever Fang Cheng stopped, they would blend naturally into the surrounding environment.

Either pretending to look at street signs or ducking into shops, they monitored him using visual blind spots.

Especially when the massive "Thousand-Mile Eye" in the sky slowly rotated, its eerie green beam of light sweeping across the block.

The three of them instantly pressed themselves against the base of the walls, perfectly evading detection by utilizing the shadows of the buildings.

"Tsk, this is the guy who killed Xuanzhen? He doesn't look like an expert."

Twenty meters away, in a dark corner, a dark shadow sneered softly.

"Don't underestimate him, this is a big fish."

The other leading shadow lowered his voice, warning his companions:

"The higher-ups said this guy has an extraordinary background and must have a major faction backing him."

"We'll strike once he reaches a less crowded area. Remember, be quick, try to take him alive, and don't let him log off and escape."

"Understood."

The two beside him nodded, a cruel, cold light flashing in their eyes.

Each of them held a pitch-black metal sphere tightly in their hands, with faint electric arcs dancing on the surface.

It seemed to be some kind of special item specifically designed to lock down space or disrupt mental links.

Under their deliberate tracking and patient waiting, Fang Cheng seemed entirely unaware of the danger, continuing to stroll unhurriedly.

Before he knew it, after crossing several bustling main streets, the surrounding lights gradually grew dim.

This was the outskirts of Night City, surrounded by low, dilapidated buildings, with pedestrians rarely seen.

Walking further ahead led to the boundary of pure darkness shrouded in thick mist.

Even the glow of the neon lights could not reach this place.

Only the eerie green beam occasionally cast by the giant eye overhead swept across the ground, flickering and painting the surroundings with a bizarre hue.

Fang Cheng paused, looking up and around as if he were lost.

Then, he turned into a secluded, deep alleyway.

"Good opportunity!"

Seeing the target take the initiative to enter a monitoring blind spot, the leading shadow rejoiced and made a hand gesture.

The three immediately pounced from the shadows like hunting leopards, silently flanking the alley Fang Cheng had entered in a triangular formation.

However, just as they were about to launch a thunderous strike.

The leading shadow suddenly halted his steps and raised his hand in a "stop" tactical gesture.

"Something's not right!"

He keenly sensed something unusual and whipped his head around to look behind him.

At the entrance of the alley behind them, four more figures had appeared at some point.

These four were also dressed in black, acting stealthily, and were clearly after Fang Cheng as well.

But they hadn't expected someone to crash their party, and they were now staring at the three of them in utter confusion.

In the narrow alley, the air instantly froze.

The two groups stared at each other, the atmosphere awkward to the extreme.

"Who are you?"

The leading shadow demanded in a low voice, his dagger already sliding into his palm.

It was not a physical weapon, but a blade condensed from pure killing intent, gleaming with an eerie blue light.

"We should be asking you that, shouldn't we?"

Among the latter group, a burly man frowned and swept his gaze over the three of them.

Suddenly, as if recognizing something, he asked in surprise:

"Are you from 'Black Shark'? What are you mad dogs doing here?"

Having his identity exposed, the leading shadow's face darkened, and killing intent flared in his eyes.

Since they were exposed, they had to silence them!

"Do it! Kill them all!"

He growled through gritted teeth and was the first to strike.

"Damn it, as if we're afraid of you! Brothers, get them!"

The two sides instantly clashed.

The leading shadow moved like lightning. The eerie blue blade condensed from killing intent sliced through the air with a piercing shriek, aiming straight for the burly man's throat.

Not to be outdone, the burly man let out a low growl.

His originally translucent spiritual body suddenly expanded, and a layer of ash-white armor as thick as rock surfaced on his body, forcefully withstanding the strike.

Seeing this, the others also quickly took action.

For a moment, fierce winds howled within the narrow alley.

Sparks from clashing energy constantly erupted in the air, and the dull thuds of colliding fists and feet echoed one after another.

These three "Black Shark" members were indeed exceptionally fierce. Every move they made was a lethal technique targeting spiritual body weaknesses, and their coordination was incredibly seamless.

Although outnumbered, they managed to suppress the four latecomers with their ruthless methods, forcing them back step by step into perilous situations.

"They're too tough! Call for backup!"

Seeing that they were about to lose their footing, the burly man blew a sharp whistle.

"Fweee—"

This whistle sounded exceptionally piercing in the quiet outskirts of Night City.

Almost at the same time, the massive "Thousand-Mile Eye" in the clouds overhead, which had been slowly patrolling, suddenly ground to a halt as if triggered by some mechanism.

Buzz!

A thick, eerie green beam of light, like the Sword of Heaven's Wrath, instantly descended from the sky, precisely enveloping the two brawling groups.

"Warning! Illegal brawling detected! Stop resisting immediately!"

An indescribable, terrifying pressure suddenly descended along with the beam of light.

It felt as if their Souls were instantly frozen, and even their thoughts became sluggish.

The four latecomers were instantly frozen in place, as if under a body-binding spell, their faces filled with terror.

Meanwhile, the three "Black Shark" members were clearly more experienced.

The moment they were locked onto by the beam of light, instead of surrendering, they tried to forcibly sever their mental links and log off to escape.

"Damn it! We're locked on! We can't log off!"

"What do we do, Boss?"

The two dark figures shrieked in panic.

"Let's risk it!"

A flash of madness crossed the leading shadow's eyes. He bit the tip of his tongue hard, using the sharp pain to stimulate his mind and forcibly break free from the pressure's restraint.

"Retreat!"

He roared, slamming the metal sphere he had been holding tightly onto the ground.

Boom!

The metal sphere instantly exploded, bursting with a blinding, intense light.

Countless violent blue electric arcs spread frantically in all directions like a spiderweb, actually forcing open a vacuum zone within the eerie green beam of light.

That was a contraband item specifically used to disrupt rule-based locking—the "Magnetic Storm Mine."

Stimulated by the electric arcs, the minds of the other two Black Shark members jolted, and they instantly regained control of their spiritual bodies.

Without the slightest hesitation, they also pulled out identical spheres and threw them around.

In an instant, electric arcs flew everywhere, and light and shadow intertwined.

Taking advantage of this chaotic energy storm, the three Black Shark members forced their way out of the beam's range and scrambled into the depths of the darkness.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished.

The remaining four people were not so lucky.

Before they could recover from the blinding light, several streaks of light descended from the sky.

They were several Night City patrol enforcers dressed in black uniforms and holding laser weapons.

"Nobody move! Hands on your heads!"

The enforcer barked sharply, the muzzle of his gun glowing with a dangerous red light as he pointed it at everyone present.

The burly man was quite cooperative now. He quickly raised his hands, then pulled a token engraved with an Equinox Flower pattern from his chest.

"Don't misunderstand! Don't misunderstand! We're on the same side! We're from the Security Department of Naihe Bridge!"

He pointed in the direction of the escapees and explained with a dejected face:

"We received a report saying that several 'Black Shark' assassins were tailing our VIP customer, so we chased them all the way here to protect our customer's safety. We didn't expect to run right into these bastards committing a crime..."

Looking at the token, the leading enforcer's expression softened slightly, and he put away his weapon, though his tone remained serious:

"So you're from Naihe Bridge. But rules are rules. Since you fought, you still have to come with us to the City God Department to make a statement."

"Understood, understood, we will definitely cooperate."

The burly man bowed and scraped, saying with a placating smile:

"But as you can see, this is a bit of a big deal. I need to first touch base with my company's leadership and report the situation. It's just protocol, you know. Could you give us a little slack?"

The enforcer nodded noncommittally.

As if granted a grand pardon, the burly man pulled out his communicator while calling out to his subordinates, obediently following the enforcers away.

As everyone departed, the alley that had just witnessed a fierce battle fell back into a dead silence.

A moment later.

In a dark corner piled with clutter, the air rippled slightly, and a faint golden figure slowly emerged.

Fang Cheng stood with his arms crossed, looking at the empty alley entrance, a colorful array of expressions passing over his face.

Originally, he had planned to lure these flies here to wipe them out all at once and stretch his muscles in the process.

Instead, before he could even make a move, these two groups had started fighting like dogs, and in the end, they even attracted the "city management."

"What a mess..."

Fang Cheng shook his head helplessly and muttered a complaint:

"Are stalkers these days really this bad at their jobs?"

However, this farce wasn't entirely without its gains.

Judging from the conversation and clash between the two groups just now.

The latter group was clearly sent by Naihe Bridge to secretly tail him and feel him out.

As for the group that struck first, they were nine times out of ten the lackeys of "Utopia."

They probably wanted to seek revenge on him, or try to pry some key information out of his mouth.

"It seems these waters are even muddier than I imagined..."

Fang Cheng pondered for a moment.

He looked up at the massive eyeball overhead, which had resumed its patrol, a trace of wariness flashing in his eyes.

The deterrent power of that green beam of light was indeed terrifying.

This not only represented some powerful Restriction but also meant that the top-tier factions of Night City possessed absolute power capable of crushing ordinary S-class or even stronger individuals.

Before he was confident in opposing this rule-level power, it was better to keep a low profile in this fantastical and dangerous city.

Fang Cheng stopped lingering, turned to quickly traverse the alley, and walked back onto the brightly lit streets of the commercial district.

His figure quickly blended into the bustling crowd, merging with the flickering neon lights as if he had never appeared.

...

On the top floor of Naihe Bridge, inside the monitoring room.

After listening to his assistant's report, a cold smile played on Shen Shuhuan's lips:

"Heh, who would have thought that the renowned top assassin organization, 'Black Shark,' has actually become an peripheral force of 'Utopia,' willingly acting as their dog."

The assistant stood to the side and added in a low voice:

"Lately, 'Black Shark' has indeed been quite restless, making frequent small moves and repeatedly taking on assassination missions targeting specific individuals."

"Looking at it now, they are highly likely clearing obstacles on behalf of 'Utopia.'"

The Black Shark Organization was considered an old rival of Naihe Bridge.

Although they couldn't match the deep-rooted Naihe Bridge in terms of overall power, they excelled in ruthless methods and disregard for rules, making them favored by some special clients.

Not only in Night City, they also had considerable influence in reality, and the two sides frequently clashed over business matters.

"It seems 'Utopia' is indeed secretly planning something extraordinary. Their manpower is stretched to the absolute limit; they didn't even directly dispatch core members to deal with the enemy who ruined their plans, but instead outsourced it to 'Black Shark.'"

Shen Shuhuan tapped his fingers gently on the desk, a sharp light flashing in his eyes:

"In that case, we should also give them some trouble."

"Pass down my order to use this illegal brawling incident to cooperate with the City God Department to put pressure on Black Shark. It would be best to cut a portion of their share in the black market, so these guys won't always fight us for channel resources."

"Yes, Young Master."

The assistant accepted the order and then asked:

"As for that Little Mr. Bai..."

"There's no need to send anyone to keep an eye on him for now, lest we arouse his resentment."

Shen Shuhuan looked at the signal source that had already disappeared from the screen and said indifferently:

"Just notify me immediately the next time he comes to Naihe Bridge."