Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 519: The Fun is Over.

"Oh, it's starting,"

A grin spread over Dante's face as more strange creatures appeared around them. The extent of the transformation varied. Some still looked mostly human, while others only looked humanoid. One appeared to be just a normal guy, but the way he floated in the air showed he was anything but.

'Hey, that shark guy looks pretty cool,' Dante said.

[That is an Ascended Genome,] Volcan replied. [He is not a shark, however.]

'Spare me the fish trivia and tell me his Level.'

[He is currently at Level 2, though it might increase to Level 3 or 4 in the appropriate terrain.]

'Huh, weaker than I thought,'

Dante watched as the others finished their transformations and went about inspecting themselves. One grew a yellow scale. Another grew feathers on his arms as they elongated. One straight out turned into a dog-like creature with spikes jutting out of its spine and joints.

Noticing something moving in the corner of his eye, Dante turned to find a gangster jumping several meters in the air using his kangaroo-like legs. In another corner, a different gangster hissed while ripping his clothes off, as if he couldn't bear keeping them on.

"This… doesn't look good," Riot took a step back.

"Yeah…" Dante stood up and put his knife away. "At this rate, I might have to get serious…"

"Red Rage Riot…" The floating guy said, Glaring at the big guy. His eyes then turned to Dante. "Cyberpunk…"

"Pffft!"

Dante's head snapped in Riot's direction, and the big guy turned away, holding a hand over his mouth.

"The hell are you laughing about?"

"N-nothing?"

Dante clicked his tongue. In his opinion, he should have been the one laughing. Red Rage Riot wasn't any less cringeworthy than anything else.

Being ignored didn't seem to be going well with the floating man. Rubble from the broken road and building began to gather around him, attracted by the same force keeping him in the air.

"How dare you…" He said between gritted teeth, the air around him trembling. "You'll pay… You will pay for-"

His words halted at the faint sound of something piercing his shoulder, causing his body to tilt. Another one pierced his hip, and a third one got his leg.

The sound of a distant gunshot reached the area just then, drawing everyone's attention to the source. More followed, and the bullets struck the mutants one by one. Except for the first, the bullets drew blood from one more. The others had hides and shells capable of blocking the shots, while two managed to evade them entirely.

"Damn…" Dante looked up, and his brows came together in a frown. "Guess the fun is over."

An aerial vehicle appeared above them at some point, and three people jumped out of it. One of them smashed directly into the road, sending a tremor through the surroundings. The second grabbed onto a nearby traffic light to slow his fall, while the third one floated down gently as if she weighed nothing.

The three wore similar red outfits that clung closely to their bodies, along with helmets that covered the upper half of their faces. Those helmets had a peculiar design, with horns growing on each side. Even without that straight-to-your-face clue, Dante already had a pretty good idea about their identity.

The three spent one second to take in the situation, then moved out. The heavy one went to deal with the land shark, while the acrobat ran toward the lizard and spiky dog, his movements reaching a speed that's difficult to follow with normal perception. The last one was immediately attacked by the naked man, but she seemed unperturbed, swatting him off the air with a wave of her hand.

The battle didn't last long, if one can even call it a battle. The costumed trio went around throwing electrifying cuffs on each of the mutants, robbing them of their mobility while paralyzing them with a not-so-small charge. Those left standing took a punch or kick to the face, and if that didn't work, a bullet found its way to their flesh.

"Tsk…"

Riot's mood took a dip. Dante spared him a glance, then returned his focus to the red trio who had gathered a short distance away, as if preparing to face them.

"Well, well, well," The acrobat stepped forward, a grin spreading over the uncovered half of his face. "If it isn't our old friend Riot. I thought we would never see you around these parts again."

"Same," the big guy replied. "I thought you would be gone now that the horned asshole kicked the bucket. Guess my luck isn't that good."

"Good?" The acrobat cackled. "Hilarious. When has your look ever been good?"

He barely spoke a few sentences, and Dante was already convinced that he hates the guy. Red Bolt is what they call him. The hulk behind him was Red Boulder, and the lady was Red Band. They had another member called Red Bullet, and along with Red Bull, the five of them made up the superhero team Crimson Watch.

Red Hill was Crimson Watch's district, so it wasn't that strange for them to show up. That said, having them show up now was bad in many ways. Not only did they ruin the fun by taking out all the pseudo-Genomes, they also robbed Dante of the chance to see what happens to those PGs once Catalyst's effects run out.

"You really didn't learn your lesson, did you?" Red Bolt said. "You should have left the city once you had the chance. Instead, you came back here. It's almost as if you are asking to be arrested."

"Now, what are you talking about?" Riot held up its arms and shrugged. "When did I ever do anything wrong? You never had anything on me back then, and you certainly don't have anything on me now."

"You sure about that? Beca-"

A hand fell on Red Bolt's mouth, holding it shut. That hand didn't belong to him, however. As he froze in place, not daring to move an inch, his eyes shifted, following the arm attached to the hand until they met its owner. Holding his gaze for a moment, Dante spoke, sounding a bit annoyed.

"You talk too much."