Gearbound: Cyberpunk 2077

Machine gun fire roared wildly, tearing through anyone rushing down the stairs to help. The unfortunate backup fell dead right there on the steps, riddled with bullet holes. Their bodies tumbled down to the landing below.

A Tyger Claws member hiding behind cover peeked out and opened fire, but Leo, standing beside Jackie, blocked the incoming bullets.

Bang—

Leo gripped his blade in his right hand, sweeping it in a whirlwind of steel. His left hand held a tech revolver, which let out a thunderous roar.

The Tyger Claws member's forehead exploded on impact, sending the body flying a few meters.

With Jackie providing covering fire, Leo, V, and Lucy broke into the workshop. Once inside, the three of them split up to clear the Tyger Claws from two different directions.

Leo had no trouble on his side. The workshop was cluttered with obstacles, and in such close quarters, a blade worked better than a gun. Anyone from the Tyger Claws who crossed his path fell in a single exchange.

Meanwhile, V and Lucy moved together, flawlessly using the Mozambique Drill: two quick shots to the body followed by a rapid shot to the head—essentially a Double Tap plus a Headshot. The first two shots were meant to strike quickly and accurately, aiming for the torso since it was easier than going straight for the head. Those rounds also left the target momentarily unable to fight back, giving the shooter a chance to line up the next shot. The third bullet finished the job by obliterating the brain, ensuring the enemy stayed down for good.

…

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! Where the hell did these people even come from?"

The officer in charge of this hideout, Ogata Michiko, was cowering inside a makeshift tin shack, too afraid to step out. She watched helplessly as her subordinates were cut down like blades of grass.

Neither Jackie, carrying a heavy machine gun outside, nor the three who had stormed into the workshop could be stopped. One by one, her men were slaughtered.

A gang member beside her was shaking in terror.

"Michiko… What should we do?"

"How am I supposed to know?!"

Ogata Michiko lashed out without thinking, but yelling wouldn't solve anything. Despite her frustration, she wasn't a complete fool—she had become an officer for a reason. Hearing the unrelenting gunfire downstairs, she forced herself to calm down.

"Call Jotaro Shobo. Tell him to send reinforcements immediately."

"Got it, I'll—"

Before the underling could finish, a high-caliber round tore through the metal wall, striking him and flinging him back against the opposite wall. When he collapsed to the floor, he was already dead, blood spilling from a massive wound that quickly drenched the ground.

Soon after, the barrage of gunfire below came to an abrupt end.

Ogata Michiko peeked out warily and saw Leo climbing the stairs, blade in hand. A Tyger Claws member lay there, barely alive. He trembled, raising his weapon in a final, desperate attempt to shoot.

But Leo moved faster. He kicked the man's hand aside, then ended his life with one swift slash.

When Leo entered the office, Ogata Michiko hurriedly threw down her gun, raised both hands, and sank to her knees.

"Wait… please wait, don't kill me. I have money. Lots of it. Enough to make you happy."

She trembled as she looked Leo over. His outfit didn't resemble anything from the NCPD or a corporate agent, so she came to a single conclusion: Leo was a mercenary, someone who worked for cash.

"You're only here because someone hired you, right? If you let me live, I'll give you all the money I have. Since you've seen what we produce here, you know I can pay, and I'll pay more than whatever your employer promised."

She took a breath. "What do you say? Think it over."

Leo paused for a moment, then slowly smiled.

Ogata Michiko mistook that for a hopeful sign, and her tense expression eased.

However, Leo's next words were a death sentence.

"Listen. The corpse is talking."

Michiko blinked, confusion flickering in her eyes. Then, she noticed something strange.

A warm trickle ran down her neck.

She reached up instinctively, fingers brushing against wetness—then pulling away, slick with blood. Her blood.

Her breath hitched. When had he—?

A thin, precise line ran across her throat, so clean that for a moment, it was as if her body hadn't even processed what had happened. No pain. No choking. Just the slow, horrifying realization that the cut was already there.

Her lips parted, but no sound came.

Leo raised Murasame—and with a swift flick of his wrist, he snapped the blade to the side, sending a sharp arc of blood splattering onto the floor. The crimson droplets trailed in the air for a brief moment before vanishing into the mess beneath him, leaving the blade clean and gleaming once more.

A heartbeat later, blood erupted from Michiko's throat, and her head slipped from her shoulders, hitting the floor with a dull, wet thud. Her wide, unblinking eyes stared up at nothing as the rest of her body swayed, then collapsed into the spreading pool of crimson.

In just a few minutes, the Tyger Claws had been utterly wiped out from this drug lab.

......

..

.

While Leo and the others were raiding one of the hidden labs, the remaining two were simultaneously taken down by the Mox and NCPD.

Mayor Rhyne's reaction was exactly as Leo had predicted. Just one busted lab wasn't enough for him to risk covering it up—solid votes and political achievements were far more enticing. If they had only hijacked the truck carrying Glitter shipments, Jotaro Shobo might have patched the loss with his own funds. But a major blow to the entire Tyger Claws Glitter operation was impossible to conceal.

Besides, Mayor Rhyne wanted to boost his image. Surrounded by heavy security, he arrived personally at one of the Tyger Claw's hidden labs. In front of cameras from News 54 and WNS, he delivered a speech about justice and the fight against crime, using the flaming remains of the busted lab as a dramatic backdrop.

The publicity was enormous.

Because of this, the Tyger Claws higher-ups deemed Jotaro Shobo incompetent. They stripped him of his officer status and replaced him with someone else.

Regina's informant saw Jotaro Shobo for the last time outside his casino called Phoenix in Kabuki's Elton Street. The informant staked out the area and confirmed that once Jotaro Shobo went inside, he never came out again.

Attacking various Tyger Claws outposts, hacking their subnet to learn about Glitter transport routes and production sites, then delivering a crushing blow to their entire Glitter operation—Leo had planned all these moves to ruin Jotaro Shobo's standing.

Only after Jotaro Shobo lost the trust of his bosses—falling from his lofty perch—would he become vulnerable. That was the best time to go after him.

Still, Leo decided not to send the Mox in guns blazing. He wanted to scope out the casino first to see exactly what was going on inside.

…

Kabuki earned its name back when a Japanese medical corporation controlled this part of Watson. It used to be their pride and joy, located near a major medical center and flourishing because of it. Eventually, Arasaka either crushed or absorbed most competing corporations. Others fled to the far side of the bay, leaving Kabuki in a state of poverty (much like the rest of the Pacifica region).

But if there was one thing Night City never lacked, it was people. Kabuki quickly filled up again, transforming into a haven for black-market trade. By day, it looked like a cramped warren of narrow alleys full of discount shops, bootleg cosmetics, and cheap junk stores. Neon signs and paper lanterns glowed over the cramped stalls and storefronts.

By night, though, Kabuki showed its true face: a bustling center of Night City's black market. Implants, organs, combat stims, cyberware components, steroids, synthetic viruses, and braindance recordings…if you knew the right place and the right people, you could get anything.

Rumor had it some ripperdocs operated hidden clinics in basements or back rooms, claiming their wares came from labs in Chiba City or Scandinavia. Anyone tempted to buy such "exotic" items had to be cautious—some black-market merchants acquired their stock from Scavs. These ghoulish criminals were the scum of the earth, hunting naive tourists and dragging them off to be dissected so their implants and organs could be sold to unscrupulous ripperdocs.

…

Leo and his three companions stepped out of the Delamain taxi and headed deeper into a narrow alley. The cramped, winding lane was lined with messy storefronts, street vendors, and food carts, creating a stark contrast to the rest of the city.

Unlike Night City's trademark "steel jungle," Kabuki's buildings were hastily constructed and low-rise, leaving the sky open above. Sunlight streamed through gaps in solar panels, illuminating the dusty streets. Garbage drifted along like tumbleweeds, swirling in the breeze. East Asian influences blended with a gritty Wild West flair in a way only Night City could produce.

…

Walking further in, they spotted several Scavs squatting in the alley. Scavs were effectively body-snatchers who didn't bother waiting for their victims to actually die. Their specialty was acquiring high-grade implants by any means necessary.

If you happened to be sporting a piece of cyberware so expensive it could buy a mansion in North Oak, you were asking for trouble. Whenever you walked a dark, rainy street, you had to make sure you were worth saving so Trauma Team might come for you. Otherwise, you risked running into some filthy Scav with a heavy Eastern European accent and a beat-up bag full of black-market gear.

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