Chapter 92: The Outbreak of War

"I'll head out first. You guys hold down the fort here. I'm gonna handle the inner city mess. In three days, I don't wanna see any Cross Society punks on Green Street!"

"Mr. Martin, don't worry, we got this."

Leaving the Elephant Tavern, "Mad Dog" Hogg led a bunch of Steam Gang members, making sure Martin got to his fancy steam car safe and sound.

As the convoy rolled out, Hogg let out a big sigh of relief.

It was his first time rolling with someone as big as Martin, and man, the pressure was real. Back in the tavern, Hogg was sweating bullets, scared some Cross Society hothead might lose it or accidentally pop off a shot.

Even though Martin had his bodyguards, and he probably wouldn't get killed, Hogg knew he'd be in deep trouble if Martin even got spooked.

Plus, if a fight broke out, they'd be toast on Cross Society turf.

But now that Martin was gone, Hogg felt like he nailed it.

Feeling pumped, Hogg shouted to his crew, "Let's roll, boys."

The roar of hundreds of motorcycles blasted their ears as they tore away from Green Street.

Before long, Hogg was back at the Steam Gang's base in the Wellington District of East City.

This place was packed with mechanical mod shops and parts stores.

Illegal limb mods were also a big moneymaker for the Steam Gang.

Hogg strolled into a heavy metal-style tavern and met up with the boss, "Butcher" Banner, in a private room upstairs.

"Boss, job's done."

"No trouble from the Cross Society?"

"Not yet. Looks like they're gonna have to eat this one."

"Good job."

Banner was in a great mood, laughing as he pulled Jennifer into his arms.

Seeing him all happy, Jennifer asked, "Why'd Mr. Martin come down here himself for such a small thing?"

"Small thing? This ain't small."

Banner shook his head with a grin, looking all pleased as he explained, "If we lock down Green Street, the whole outer city's gonna change. The Cross Society's gonna take a big hit."

Jennifer asked again, "But won't the Cross Society's backer just sit back and do nothing?"

Banner replied, "That Ruth's got a lot of pull in the inner city. If the Reyes family hadn't split, we wouldn't stand a chance. But now, Ruth's in a tough spot and probably won't risk everything for some outer city turf."

Jennifer seemed to catch on, "So, someone's gunning for the Cross Society's backer?"

Banner neither confirmed nor denied it, just laughed, "Who knows? We can't be stressing about inner city drama. Let's just lock down Green Street."

"Oh."

Jennifer didn't push it. She thought for a moment and said softly, "But during the meeting, I felt like Mr. Martin was giving me some weird looks."

Banner chuckled, "Ha, men, who can resist you?"

Jennifer shot him a playful look, "What if the young master really fancies me?"

Banner shrugged, "Then we'll send you over."

Jennifer playfully punched his chest, and Banner laughed heartily, his big hands roaming over her curves.

But surprises have a way of crashing the party.

Just as Banner was feeling good, ready to stretch his legs, urgent footsteps echoed outside the door.

Being a high-level pro, his senses were sharp. Hearing the footsteps, Banner's face tightened.

In a flash, there was a knock on the door, and Banner barked, "Come in!"

The door swung open, and a captain with a panicked look stood there, speaking rapidly, "Boss, something terrible's happened!"

His words instantly killed the vibe in the room.

Banner had a bad feeling, his eyes turning icy, "What happened?"

"Just now, the Reyes family's convoy got ambushed by some mysterious folks on Sycamore Street in South City. The whole convoy got wiped out, and Mr. Martin's dead!"

"What!"

Banner's face went pale, and he shot up from his seat.

In an instant, the room was filled with the suffocating pressure of a high-level pro, making it hard for everyone to breathe.

He asked urgently, "Is the news confirmed?"

"Confirmed. A badly injured driver at the scene said one of the attackers could turn into a red giant."

"Red Demon Gollon?"

Hearing this, Banner's eyes flickered, and he cursed, "Damn it!"

He knew exactly how much trouble Martin's death would bring to the Steam Gang. Not only would their hard-won alliance fall apart, but the fallout would be a nightmare!

Banner immediately ordered, "Gather the men, take down the Cross Society's stronghold on Green Street, and notify the leaders to gear up for a gang war!"

"Yes, Boss!"

The captain, knowing the urgency, rushed out to carry out the orders.

The sudden bad news left everyone in the room looking grim, and the atmosphere turned ice-cold.

Just moments ago, they were celebrating the big win for the Steam Gang, and now the bombshell dropped that inner city's young master Martin was dead.

Everyone was stunned by the news.

Banner slumped on the sofa, his face dark and brooding.

Beside him, "Mad Dog" Hogg looked like he'd seen a ghost. Not long ago, he had personally seen Mr. Martin off, and now he was hearing about his death. He knew he couldn't dodge the blame.

But Hogg kept his cool and raised a question, "Boss, could it be that it wasn't Gollon, but someone else who awakened the 'Red Demon' ability pretending to be him?"

It was obvious to everyone that the convoy had deliberately left a survivor who recognized an attacker with the 'Red Demon' ability. It all seemed fishy.

"Boss, I feel there's something off here. It looks like someone set a trap to provoke a fight between our two gangs..."

Hogg thought he had found a clue and continued to analyze, "After all, no matter how pissed the Cross Society is, if they have any brains, they wouldn't dare to really ambush Mr. Martin. If we hit Green Street now and it's a misunderstanding..."

"Heh, you think I don't get it?"

Banner cut him off with a cold laugh, "Whether the attacker was Gollon or not, the Cross Society has to take the fall!"

Banner sneered and added, "And we, the Steam Gang, won't have it easy either!"

It was clear that Banner was beyond furious, "Now, whether or not the Cross Society attacked the convoy, someone has to pay for that young master's death. Do you really think the big shots in the inner city will wait for us to slowly investigate the truth and find the real culprit? If no one dies today, no one can answer for this!"

Hogg immediately realized the situation was even more serious than he had thought.

After venting his anger, Banner gradually calmed down.

He thought of something, his expression turning very grim, almost self-mockingly muttering to himself, "I thought the big shots in the inner city were targeting the Cross Society. Now it seems we've been played too."

Who the culprit was didn't matter at all!

What mattered was that the Steam Gang and the Cross Society, the two major gangs, had to fight to give an explanation!

This fight would surely result in mutual destruction.

The mastermind wanted to see this outcome!

At this moment, Banner suddenly thought of something, his eyes turning cold, and he asked, "Hogg, who else knew about the Reyes family's convoy route besides you?"

Hogg's face instantly turned ghostly pale.

He immediately realized that Banner's question implied that there might be a rat within the Steam Gang itself.

After the Steam Gang's loud exit, the Cross Society members didn't leave Green Street.

Everyone knew that something big was bound to go down within three days, and the members were all bracing for a fight.

Members from other districts canceled their breaks, each packing heat and ammo, gathering in various taverns.

In a rundown building on Green Street, Kai led his fifty-odd men to squat in the building.

A bonfire burned in a metal barrel, and the armory's guns and ammo were handed out, including mechanical arms, cannons, grenades, and heavy machine guns—standard gear for a brawl.

Veterans set up rifles on tripods by the fire, chatting and playing cards. For them, a fight was just another Tuesday.

Newbies, who hadn't seen this kind of action, clutched their guns, shaking like leaves.

The rundown building had five floors, and from the top, you could see most of Green Street.

Kai and Roy stood by the edge, looking at the brightly lit street below.

A cool breeze blew into their collars, bringing a slight chill.

Kai had been in a funk since leaving the tavern. Now, looking at the bustling street, he sighed, "If we lose Green Street this time, I really won't have the face to see Boss Smokey and the others."

It was his first time as a captain, and Green Street was his first turf.

If he lost it, Kai felt like he'd lost his pride.

Seeing Kai's expression, Roy didn't have the heart to say that this was beyond what a captain could handle, and even President Chuck couldn't fix it.

He could only advise, "Captain, I feel something big is gonna go down. Be careful."

Hearing this, Kai got even more fired up, "Hmph, if those Steam Gang punks dare to come, I'll take 'em out!"

Roy had anticipated a possible armed conflict but didn't expect it to come so quickly and directly.

Kai was also a jinx.

Just as he finished speaking, a sudden explosion rocked Green Street.

Someone immediately shouted a warning, "It's bad! The Steam Gang is attacking!"

Roy looked closely and saw the Steam Gang's convoy rolling in from the distant street, a dark mass of troop carriers, motorcycles, armored vehicles, modified heavy trucks, and even tanks. Scattered, there were probably hundreds or thousands of them!

Seeing this formation, Kai let out a strange cry, "Damn, how many people did the Steam Gang bring?"

Roy looked at the Steam Gang's convoy, not too surprised. A fight was inevitable.

If it were before he had fused with the Eight-Armed Spider Spear, such a large-scale armed conflict would indeed be dangerous. But now, even if he couldn't win, he could still protect himself.

In fact, looking at those well-modified war vehicles, Roy silently thought, "Looks like I can score a lot of mechanical knowledge again."