Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 64 Trap Request (Fifth Update)
Qiwei sat in the shadows in the corner of the warehouse, her dark red coat almost blending into the background.

Although he accepted Rebecca's invitation to come and discuss cooperation with Mann's team, trust is something even harder to obtain in Night City than top-tier cybernetic implants; it requires time and real combat experience to build up.

"Alright, stop standing there." Mann cleared his throat, his voice echoing in the empty warehouse.

He first looked at Rebecca: "You're the one who brought this person, introduce him?"

Rebecca tucked her pistol behind her hip and gestured with her chin toward Qiwei: "Qiwei, a well-regarded lone wolf hacker. I talked to her at the Ritz Bar, her skills should be pretty good."

She spoke crisply and directly, with her usual frankness.

Mann then turned his gaze to Qiwei and nodded: "I'm Mann, the team leader. We trust the people Rebecca recommended. You're welcome to give it a try."

Upon hearing this, Qiwei slightly raised her head and carefully examined the members of Mann's team.

Her voice came through the mask, steady and restrained: "Qiwei. Rebecca has already told me the basic situation. Let's cooperate as requested first and see if it's suitable."

Her attitude was clear—she was willing to work together, but a deeper relationship needed time to develop.

“That’s for the best.” Mann was satisfied with her answer. “We just need a hacker to fill the vacancy. Now that everyone’s here, sitting around isn’t going to solve anything.” He looked at everyone. “We need to get moving, take on some jobs, practice in real combat, and see how our new team works together.”

Pila chimed in from the side, "We should have done this a long time ago! I haven't even had a single job since my arm was upgraded."

Falco remained leaning against the car door, only slightly adjusting his sunglasses to indicate his agreement, and Dorio nodded in agreement as well.

“Then it’s settled.” Mann finally made the decision. “I’ll contact Faraday to see if they have any suitable work. Qiwei, you prepare the interface first; we might need you to provide remote support.”

Qi Wei nodded silently, her fingers already moving rapidly in the air as she began to debug the network interface.

Although lacking hacking equipment, connecting with Mann's team first is a basic skill for any hacker.

Mann was not surprised by Qiwei's attitude. He did not expect that one mission would turn Qiwei into a second Sasha, but as long as she was willing to work together, it was a good start.

He stopped wasting words and dialed a familiar number.

“Mann? What a rare guest.” Faraday’s smooth-talking tone immediately came from the other side. “I heard you guys have been doing very well lately, making some incredible connections. I thought you had long since looked down on my little business.”

Mann frowned, not in the mood for beating around the bush: "Stop talking nonsense, Faraday. I didn't come to you to flatter me. Do you have any suitable jobs? Something simple, like delivery or security, we need to get the new guy used to us."

"Oh? A newcomer?" Faraday's voice immediately revealed a hint of interest, like a shark smelling blood in the dark. "A newcomer that you, Mann, personally asked to mentor must be extraordinary. Coincidentally, I actually have a suitable one here."

He paused, as if retrieving information: "Go out of the city and deliver it to the abandoned 'Route 66 gas station' in the north, to a guy called 'Old Cat.' The cargo isn't big, just an encrypted data box; it's not heavy and doesn't take up much space."

As for the compensation, it'll be based on the market rate, how about that? The route is simple, the goal is clear, simple enough, right? Perfect for you guys to practice.”

Mann quickly ran through the sequence in his mind: leave the city, an abandoned gas station, and hand over the goods.

It sounds like there's nothing fishy going on, the risk is low, and it meets the requirements of the break-in process.

He glanced at his teammates, and none of them showed any sign of opposition.

“Okay.” Mann readily agreed. “Send over the specific coordinates, the handover code, and the identification features of ‘Old Cat’.”

"Alright! I knew you'd get things done quickly, Mann!" Faraday's voice was exceptionally enthusiastic. "The information will be sent to your terminal right away. Best of luck, Mann, I look forward to your good news."

After the communication was disconnected, Mann's terminal quickly received the mission information.

He glanced through it briefly, and the contents were indeed as Faraday had said, nothing special. "Alright, here's the job." Mann turned to the team. "Falco, check the vehicle, fill up the tank, make sure there are no problems on the road. Rebecca, Pira, check the equipment, bring all the standard weapons, just in case. Dorio, get ready."

Finally, he looked at Qiwei: "Qiwei, you can remotely access our tactical network. There are some of our team's hacker equipment here. You can use them for now. You'll be responsible for environmental scanning and data support on the way. Any questions?"

Qi Wei silently shook her head, her fingers already moving rapidly in the air, clearly having begun working.

Her focused expression made Rebecca slightly lower her scrutinizing gaze.

The team immediately sprang into action.

Falco crawled under the heavily modified Goodwood SUV and started knocking and banging on it, inspecting the chassis and drivetrain.

Rebecca and Pila opened the weapon case and began to inventory the rifles, pistols, and ammunition inside. Rebecca specifically checked her plasma pistol several times to make sure the energy capacitor was full.

Dorio walked to the side and began to do some simple stretching exercises, loosening his muscles and bones. His bronze skin revealed bulging muscles, full of power.

Everything seemed normal, just like before they carried out countless commissions in the past.

The warehouse echoed with the sounds of tools clattering, weapon parts being assembled, and engines undergoing low-pitched testing, filled with the restless anticipation of an impending operation.

However, they were unaware that on the other end of the communication, the middleman Faraday, after ending his call with Mann, wore an undisguised, greedy smile.

He almost impatiently dialed another heavily encrypted number, his voice hushed and fawning: "Military technology? Yes, it's me, Faraday. I have some news that you'll absolutely find very interesting... about Mann's gang."

They just received a job from me and are about to leave town for a gas station on Route 66 to the north... yes, that abandoned place. This is absolutely true intelligence..."

In his view, Mann's team was nothing more than a group of obsolete tools that might even get them into big trouble.

There's a good price now; only a fool wouldn't sell.

He didn't care at all what would happen to these tools after they were sold to military technology companies.

Many people disappear from Night City every day; a few more won't make a difference.

He simply didn't know, or rather, wasn't entirely concerned, about the depths of the waters behind his "intelligence."

After being devastated by the global "Black Wall Announcement," the biotechnology industry, like a mad dog whose tail has been stepped on, mobilized all its resources for internal investigations and bloody retaliation.

Anyone who has recently had a conflict with the company is put under intense scrutiny.

Mann's team, which had recently attacked the biotechnology convoy and humiliated it, was targeted almost immediately.

Not to mention, Sasha, a hacker on the team, had a direct personal grudge against that deadly painkiller scandal.

The company's internal threat assessment department connected several clues and, combined with the experience of the security system being easily paralyzed by some unknown force, came to a bold but not unfounded speculation: the Mann team may have top-notch hacking resources behind them, and may even have access to forbidden areas. The "black wall incident" that caused so much trouble for biotechnology was very likely directly related to them.

A hefty internal bounty was quickly approved. Whether for revenge or to seize the technology that might be controlling the Black Wall, biotechnology was determined to succeed.

Military technology companies, which had always been interested in the "non-standard" yet incredibly powerful weapons and technologies demonstrated by the Mann team, were naturally unwilling to let go of this golden opportunity to both test new equipment and obtain rare technology samples after receiving the shared intelligence and cooperation intentions from biotechnology companies.

Faraday's defection and betrayal provided the two companies with the perfect opportunity to set a precise trap.

(End of this chapter)