"If you still want to earn this money, stand here. If you don’t want to watch, get back in the car!"
The sheriff, panting heavily, turned away and left, leaving the officers quiet as chickens standing there.
All they could hear was the screams of the chaotic crowd in the distance and the crackling sound of the raging fire.
And a strange sound of synchronized footsteps.
The sound wasn’t loud but it carried weight, like metal clashing against the ground, and there were quite a few of them, gradually approaching the police.
The sheriff at the front line immediately received a warning from the helicopter above.
"Stephen, there’s a squad heading towards you. Be careful, they’re wearing heavy gear... and... and... it’s quite strange." New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on Nove1Fire.net
Sheriff Stephen didn’t get it right away. How much heavy gear could there be in this place? And why are you stuttering?
Then he saw that peculiar heavy squad.
Players wearing light and heavy exoskeletons emerged from the street corner in the firezone ahead, looking like demons walking out of the flames, highlighted by the distorted air fogged by high temperatures.
Players are a group with very strong personalities, which is directly reflected in the way their exoskeletons are decorated.
For example, Swordfish wearing a wiggling eel head cover.
Youzi Chef with a shield painted surrendering to the rain.
Sword Saint with welded exterior armor plates looking somewhat like a bigger head saber.
Someone’s shield even had dragon graphics, and panda head meme emojis saying ’eat poop’.
Not to mention their vehicles were each crazier than the last.
In terms of combat power, their abstract level left everyone’s eyes popping out.
[Players, dress like people during cutscenes, JPG]
Thus, Lin Miao and Lucy, being surrounded by this crowd, were not cheerful at all.
Being encircled by these people brought down all sense of respect.
However abstract they might be, the gear they carried wasn’t any less than the officers’, with Type 31 machine guns and small caliber grenade launchers on vehicle roofs.
Although fewer in number than big gangs, their firepower absolutely outmatched those thugs.
Stealing, robbing, buying—all manners utilized.
Not to mention the two-legged robots mingling among them; although plain-looking, there was an inexplicable sense of impressiveness about them.
Seeing this, Stephen felt uneasy and returned to the armored car, picking up a loudspeaker to question the players loudly.
"What do you guys intend to do? Rebel?"
The players didn’t speak, because the boss had spoken.
"No, no, no, Sheriff, you might have misunderstood."
Lin Miao said with a smile from the car.
"We are here just to assist you with firefighting."
He gestured for the players to throw the gathered firefighting tools into the empty space between the two sides.
"Come on, Sheriff, didn’t you say you were here to fight the fire? All the equipment is here, we won’t interfere."
Meanwhile, 54 helicopters above cooperatively lowered altitude, focusing their cameras on Lin Miao, as the upper command ordered alignment with Mr. Lin’s actions.
"Come, our dear NCPD officers say they want to extinguish the Watson District fire without our assistance, everyone move aside, don’t obstruct them."
The players, with knowing smiles, walked towards the sides, letting the middle path clear.
Seeing that Lin Miao didn’t seem to intend any harm, Stephen immediately questioned.
"...What do you mean?"
"What could it mean, Sheriff? We are law-abiding Night City model citizens, always fighting gang crimes and voluntarily assisting the police to put out fires."
Lin Miao also felt fortunate for pulling in military technology in time, and players themselves recognizing the potential for conflict, preparing their exoskeletons ahead, otherwise they could have been caught unprepared.
They paid for their equipment themselves, fought to death without reservations, growing stronger with each death—is there anywhere else on earth to find such soldiers?
Then, Lin Miao spoke to the cameras.
"Come on, Sheriff, the stuff is all here, and everyone is watching."
He even ignored the series of subsequent residential building explosions, continuing to press the NCPD.
"Sheriff, you wouldn’t dare fight the fire, just intending to take advantage of the firefighting front in Watson District for some gains, right?"
The players on both sides issued rounds of boos and mockery, making the officers hard to maintain composure.
Go ahead and fight, with that heavy gear on those guys and the numbers exaggerated, facing them head-on was truly not an advantageous situation.
Yet, something unexpected happened that neither Lin Miao nor the Sheriff anticipated.
A black officer emerged from the back, without orders, taking off his uniform, leaving his gun behind, tossing his police cap into the rubble, picked up a hose lying on the ground, and headed towards the previously exploded building without looking back.
With him in the lead, the officers became increasingly restless, more stepped out.
The second, a female officer.
More officers chose to put down weapons, although not removing their uniforms, they lowered their heads and picked up firefighting equipment to join the firefighting.
The tense atmosphere between both sides eased slightly due to their actions.
This unexpected scene made Lin Miao slightly surprised, and he silently remembered these people’s appearances.
With things at this stage, the Sheriff had no choice but to sit back in the car and contact superiors.
As for stopping those officers’ actions, he wasn’t dumb enough to do that—it was currently the only way to salvage some NCPD reputation.
Simultaneously, a squad of operatives from Huang Ban attacked the players’ camp, only for Huang Ban’s agents to be surprised.
Someone was already waiting on the side, the group with the highest combat power among the players.
Just while they aimed at the operative signal station with rocket launchers from the distant rooftop, a few slowly emerged from behind.
The Head: "Didn’t I say it? That’s how they act in movies, kill to silence. Understand, Huang Xudong, you’re the type meant to be a lackey."
Potato: "Crawl for me, you only guessed correctly by luck."
Brother Ni: "Let me guess, are you from the whole food factory, or Huang Ban, or Zeta Technology? I think these three are the most suspicious, could they be tied to those attacking us?"
Natural Curl: "I’m a pacifist, why not find a nightclub and chat, resolving conflict under the gentle service of ladies?"
Brother Dao came out from the stairs with a camera, "Everyone hold on before starting, let me get a good angle to shoot some pictures for the forum player’s daily headlines, pose, a cooler kind."