Players Invade Cyberpunk

NCPD cruisers with flashing lights swarmed in, surrounding the battlefield so tightly that there were over a dozen of them at first glance. Dozens of officers spilled out of the vehicles.

The players felt a jolt in their hearts. Damn, cops! And so many of them.

Shui Yue thought it wise to seek advice from the veteran players: "Seems like we've triggered a wanted status. What do we do? Fight them?"

If the veterans didn't care, neither did he.

Egyptian Beauty: "I suggest you'd better drop that idea. The United States police outnumber us, and fighting them in the city brings no good. We're surrounded now and can't escape."

"Should we surrender?" The boss said, "Damn it, this is frustrating."

Brother Ni: "I think what Beauty said makes sense. It's also a chance to test these cops and the wanted system. If it's a sure-death situation, we can just go all out next time. But if we can lower the wanted level, then we'll see."

Wildman, Potato, Bighead: "Agreed."

The players unanimously passed the resolution.

Though the idea of being shot by police on the street was humiliating, they had to face it eventually. After all, this whole thing started because of the other party. What did it have to do with them anyway?

Wildman said, "I'll go test it out first."

He was the first to drop his gun, raise his hands, step out from cover, and shout

"This has nothing to do with us. It's this Tiger Claw gang disrupting the peace, kidnapping civilians. We're just acting out of justice. We've captured these Tiger Claw guys alive and are preparing to escort them to the police station."

Huh?

What they said left the NCPD officers bewildered.

They were initially quite tense since gang members often weren't easy to deal with. NCPD's intervention in such fierce gang conflicts could easily lead to an exchange of fire.

The usual approach is to have both sides confront each other, then the gang leaders negotiate and hand over a few scapegoats to spend a couple of days detained. They pay bail, follow the procedure, and that's it. Normally, resistance isn't surrendered.

It's common for police casualties, so NCPD recruitment standards are rather loose. Plus, this is a border area where they don't really want to be, but public duty dictates they must put up appearances.

And this group in front...

Acting out of justice?

Are you kidding me?

Does such a thing exist in Night City?

The police fundamentally didn't believe what Wildman said.

Thus, when Wildman stepped out from cover and approached the police line, they didn't lower their guns but kept scanning him cautiously with their cybernetic eyes.

This scan startled them even more.

[Name: Li Yeren]

[Age: 24]

.....

Everything else seemed normal. An unemployed drifter basically translates to mercenary, but the bottom line stunned the officers

Zero criminal record

This is NCPD's police department files, simultaneously linked to police records across Northern and Southern California.

In other words, at least in the California region, Wildman has never committed any crime, not even theft or brawling, which in Night City could be seen as a rare find.

That's simply impossible.

The officers suspected their cybernetic eye might be malfunctioning or someone had tampered with their records.

Seeing Wildman approach, they immediately swarmed him, pinning him to the ground, fearing he might have combat augmentations ready to spring into action.

However, Wildman allowed the police to apprehend him without significant resistance, further deepening their confusion.

The other players, noticing Wildman wasn't shot dead immediately, followed suit

"Get over here! Behave yourself! Carry your own boss! If he's dead, it's on you."

The officers looked as players drove the crowd of Tiger Claw underlings towards them, their shock beyond words.

"????"

Though the players hadn't put down their weapons, they kept their muzzles pointed down, showing no aggression.

Brother Ni then said seriously

"Report to the officers, these criminals were abducting women on the street. Our group couldn't stand it and stepped in to stop them, resulting in these people retaliating! They injured two civilians, and we've already contacted ERO to send the injured for urgent rescue."

The short account had been briefed to him by Brother Dao before they arrived.

The officers looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

The captured Sazaki was indeed a familiar face to NCPD.

The leading inspector, Hayden Carson, recognized him at once.

It's no secret that the Tiger Claw gang kidnaps, smuggles, and traffics people. They often take people to become sex dolls for others to play with, and once worn out, they're taken away to film Black Mewtwo movies. Once dead, their augmentations are removed, and the remainder discarded.

They even provide customized services for Night City's special clientele.

It's a rather mature black industry chain with various tastes catering to all ages.

The police are used to it since the gang is a local Night City force, deeply rooted and intricately connected. If they really fought, they wouldn't be opponents without the Anti-Terrorism Squad's help.

They can't manage it, nor do they dare try, not to mention NCPD has its own dirty laundry.

They just didn't expect someone to dare confront the Tiger Claw gang on the street, not only fighting but taking down Sazaki himself.

"You guys..."

Hayden Carson looked at Sazaki, eyes closed and fate uncertain, and the Tiger Claw members nearby. He glanced at the enigmatic yet highly capable bunch before him, knowing that mishandling this affair could spell trouble.

After a moment of silence, he said