CYBERPUNK: Travel to 2075

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..Cyberpsychosis..

When Karl thought the man staggering toward the NCPD officer might be a cyberpsychopath, the man had already raised his head.

He was a middle-aged man with scars etched across his face, likely in his forties. His prosthetic eyes rolled erratically, exposing broken mechanical structures at the edges of his eye sockets. A strange yellow light flickered repeatedly, reminiscent of a traffic light's warning.

An NCPD officer noticed the strange man's approach. He raised his Lexington and prepared to warn him to back away from the scene. Before the officer could react, however, the man vanished.

Karl's pupils contracted as time seemed to slow down. He could see the man leaving a trail of afterimages, moving through nearly frozen time, and rushing toward the officer. Karl tried to move, but his body lagged behind his thoughts.

He could see everything, but his body simply couldn't keep up.

Is this... Sianwestan?

Not everyone could track movements made with Sandevistan, but Karl could. The NCPD officer, however, only saw a blur before the man disappeared. Then pain exploded in his chest.

Instinctively, the officer looked down and saw a blade shaped like a mantis claw piercing his chest. The sharp weapon had torn through ribs and flesh, revealing pieces of an organ faintly pulsing—his heart.

The thought barely registered before the blade was pulled out. The officer collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Mantis Blades!

Karl, the only witness to the entire event, immediately identified the weapon.

Mantis Blades: Concealed arm blades with lethal precision, ideal for lone operatives and bodyguards.

The cyberpsycho had used Sianwistan to outmaneuver the officer, then the Mantis Blades to deliver a precise and fatal strike. His skill was undeniable.

Karl recalled the news from the day before—the grisly reports of dismembered bodies. He was 80% sure this man was the cyberpsychopath missing from Kabuki.

"Be careful!"

As Karl analyzed the situation, the NCPD officers raised their guns and aimed at the man with glowing yellow eyes, who stood motionless after killing the officer.

There was no hesitation. The Lexington pistols roared, unleashing a torrent of bullets. However, the man's subdermal armor absorbed the onslaught, barely causing him to flinch.

A mechanical voice confirmed the man's identity:

"The criminal has been identified: Patrick Bell. Case: Cyberpsychosis."

"Damn! It's the madman from yesterday!" one officer shouted, his voice trembling.

Patrick's eyes glowed brighter as if reinvigorated. Then his body began to twitch unnaturally, like a malfunctioning machine.

He activated sianwistan again. To everyone else, he became a blur of motion. To Karl, the streaks of movement painted a clear, deadly path. At the end of it lay another fallen NCPD officer.

"Cyberpsychosis!"

Panic erupted. Onlookers screamed and fled. The NCPD spokesperson, who moments earlier had been broadcasting the officers' bravery, abandoned their post and scrambled into a news van. Food vendors overturned tables, sprinting with terrified customers toward the towering safety of nearby skyscrapers.

Amid the chaos, Karl calmly set down the sushi he was holding.

That sushi wasn't just his breakfast—it was for Oliver and Jack too. There was no way he'd let it go to waste.

While the crowd surged away in fear, Karl stretched his arms and walked against the current toward the cyberpsychopath and the struggling NCPD officers.

Normal people would run when faced with a cyberpsycho. But Karl wasn't normal.

He'd been waiting for an opportunity like this—to test his abilities against a real opponent. And perhaps, to make some money.

I wonder how much this bounty is worth. Could it be 10,000 eurodollars?

It was shaping up to be a good morning: breakfast and a payday.

Even cyberpsychos had limits. After using sianwistan twice, Patrick began to show signs of strain. Realizing the threat the officers posed, he turned his focus on them, advancing relentlessly despite their gunfire. Their bullets deflected off his armor as he closed in.

Meanwhile, Karl observed from a distance, thinking: I really need to save up for a better gun.

The officers, facing inevitable doom, noticed someone sprinting toward the chaos. At first, they feared it was another cyberpsychopath. But as the figure came closer, they saw it was a young man running toward Patrick.

"Leave this guy to me!" Karl shouted. "And don't shoot me by accident—I'm not wearing subdermal armor!"

The officers exchanged uncertain looks. This kid was either suicidal or crazy.

To them, it seemed he was about to get torn apart.

"Careful!" one older officer yelled, stepping out from cover. He didn't know why this kid wanted to throw his life away, but he couldn't just stand by and watch.

Though the officer was corrupt—taking bribes, extorting vendors, and running protection rackets—he was still a cop. And he wouldn't let a child die.

"Don't worry," Karl said calmly, without stopping.

In his hand, a monowire unfurled, glinting menacingly as he approached Patrick.

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