Peter observed the figure before him with great interest. When he first came to fight the Savage King, he had assumed his opponent would be a formidable man. However, upon digging into the details, he discovered that the infamous leader of the Animal Gang, known for raw power and sheer brutality, was actually a woman.
That revelation was surprising. While the female combatants in Black Fist, like Rhinoceros, were visibly women despite their strength, the Savage King was different. She was built like a tank, her voice deep and rough, completely disguising her true identity. It was clear that she had gone to extreme lengths to transform herself into a fearsome force, making her the undisputed ruler of the Animal Gang.
But this was nothing new in Night City. People adapted in whatever way necessary to survive. Peter had encountered similar figures before, such as the Angel of Genting, another example of someone who had reshaped themselves to dominate the brutal world they lived in.
"Ahhh! If you've made it this far, you might actually be worthy of fighting me!" The Savage King roared before charging at Peter with reckless abandon.
She swung the massive sledgehammer in her hands with a force that could pulverize concrete. Her speed was shocking for someone of her size.
Peter, however, didn't flinch. Instead, he clenched his fist and met the descending hammer head-on, throwing a punch straight at it.
"Madness!" the Savage King bellowed at his foolishness. Even Adam Hammer, a legend in brute strength, wouldn't dare take on a blow like that directly.
If Peter could read her thoughts, he would've laughed. The truth was, people always overestimated the likes of Adam Hammer. In death, legends were spoken of with awe, but in reality, there was always someone stronger waiting to take their place.
Boom!
A deafening impact resonated through the battlefield. But instead of Peter being crushed, something entirely unexpected happened.
At the last second, he dodged slightly to the side, allowing the force of the hammer to miss its mark. The Savage King, thrown off balance by the unexpected maneuver, barely managed to stabilize herself.
Peter didn't let the opportunity slip by. In an instant, he moved like lightning, appearing beside his opponent. With a powerful whip-like motion, he unleashed a kick.
The sheer velocity of the strike created a sonic boom.
Boom!
The impact landed squarely at her lower spine. If not for the sheer toughness of her body, she would've been sliced in half. Instead, her lumbar region caved in, and her body was sent flying like a ragdoll.
She landed hard, motionless. No blood poured from the wound—not because she was unharmed, but because her organs had been obliterated into mist upon impact. The fight was over before it even began.
Without sparing the fallen Savage King another glance, Peter continued toward the movie theater, where the network surveillance system was housed.
Once inside, he wasted no time searching. Before long, he found the projection room where the network monitor operated.
As soon as Peter stepped in, the nervous man at the keyboard lifted his hands in surrender, a forced grin on his face. "Hey, don't be nervous. I didn't do anything. Everything is perfectly safe here."
Peter remained silent, his indifferent expression unchanging. The man gulped before speaking again. "Look, we can talk this through. You see, we're with the official system. We're much more reliable than those Voodoo Gang scumbags."
Peter studied the man, unimpressed. This so-called master of the digital world, who controlled information and systems with ease, was nothing but a cowering wreck in reality. He reminded Peter of the keyboard warriors from his past life—powerful online but helpless in the real world.
"What's your price?" Peter finally asked, curiosity piqued by what the monitor might say.
The monitor's eyes lit up, mistaking Peter's interest for agreement. "I can save your life."
Peter smirked. "Oh? Are you talking about the virus they planted in my brain?" He tapped his temple. "That so-called 'deadly code'? That's just junk data to me. I wiped it out long ago."
The network monitor's face paled. "That's... That's impossible."
Peter shrugged. "I'm not an idiot. The Voodoo Gang sent me here to free Bridget and Subnet Poseidon, who you trapped in ICE. But you know what?" He leaned in closer, his voice eerily calm. "I did it because I want to crush them with my own hands."
Before the monitor could react, darkness overtook his vision, and he slumped over, unconscious.
"Where are you? Where's the network monitor?" Placid's voice came through the communicator, urgent and demanding.
Peter responded nonchalantly. "Network monitoring? Oh, he passed out. I knocked him out the moment I walked in. He tried to say something, but I wasn't interested."
A tense silence followed. Placid was clearly worried. If the network monitor had revealed too much, things could spiral out of control for the Voodoo Gang.
"Insert the chip I gave you into the network monitoring slot," Placid ordered.
Peter complied. "Alright, it's in. Now what?"
Placid chuckled darkly. "Now? Now you can die."
As soon as he finished speaking, he tapped rapidly on his computer. The next moment, Peter watched as the network monitor's body convulsed before his head burst into flames. The system had been rigged to self-destruct upon insertion of the chip.
The communication cut off.
Peter scoffed. "A bunch of brainless dogs, incapable of change."
"It's their bad luck that they pissed off a killing machine like you," a voice spoke beside him. Johnny materialized, observing the charred remains of the network monitor.
Peter smirked. "I wiped their precious data before I put the chip in. This is just the beginning. They'll pay for their arrogance."
Meanwhile, in an abandoned subway station, surrounded by rows of servers and hacking chairs, Placid watched anxiously as Bridget collapsed from her chair, groaning in pain.
"Placid! What the hell did you do?!" she shouted. "That chip doesn't contain the puppet data we need!"
Placid's face twisted in shock. "That's impossible! That chip had the virus and the golem data for our war against network surveillance."
Bridget's eyes burned with rage. "We lost the last battle because we lacked that data! This was our one chance to take control of the network! Do you understand what you've done?!"
Before Placid could respond, a voice came through his communicator. "Placid! That kid is back!"
Placid froze. "What?! That's impossible! He should be dead!"
But deep down, he already knew the truth.
Peter wasn't someone who could be killed so easily.