Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 521: At War.

Dante left Red Hill in a better mood than expected, even though he had failed to achieve his main objective. The appearance of ten pseudo-Genome practically confirmed the rumors about Black Skull peddling Catalyst. He also got to see what happens to someone who took it without wasting his stash. It would have been even better if he had the chance to study the remaining nine, but that was just for too much.

'Look at me,' Dante smiled to himself. 'Thinking like a nerd.'

Back in his office, he dropped into his chair and allowed himself to relax. Doing so had become more and more difficult as time passed. Turns out his bionics weren't made with comfort in mind, so even if his soul had adapted, there was no telling if he will ever get to rest comfortably once he's a Prime Cyborg.

"We need to get our hands on Catalyst," Dante said. "Any ideas?"

Riot, still standing, stared at him for a moment then sighed, falling on the sofa.

"I thought we were looking for your friend."

"That is the current goal, yeah," Dante said. "Catalyst is more of a long term project."

In order to recreate the miracle drug, the minimum requirement was a larger sample size than the hundred he got from Caligo. If possible, he wanted to capture whoever was responsible for creating the drug, but that felt plain impossible, seeing how even Eidolon failed to stop its circulation.

"I will ask around once more, then," Riot said. "Don't hold your hopes up, though."

"I'll give you some Gold to work with," Dante opened his wallet an transferred 20k. "Tell your friend to find a dealer and see the prices. I don't want to hold my hopes up, but…"

"I doubt they're selling it on the streets," Riot said. "This is a bioweapon we're talking about."

"I don't thing the price will be in the five digits, either," Dante said. "Still, they're giving it out to foot soldiers. The quantity shouldn't be a problem, at the very least."

The very concept of Catalyst wasn't something on the level of a city gang. Just like with Caligo, Black Skull was likely being used to test out the drug and advertise, but the real client wasn't the masses, but large organizations and governments.

'Another biochem corp, maybe?' Dante though. 'Hard to believe Eidolon still has rivals…'

A knock drew his attention to the door. Carlos stood there, looking as nervous as usual.

"Um, boss?"

"You need something?" Riot replied only to realize he wasn't the one being addressed.

Carlos looked between him and Dante before hesitantly speaking up.

"About Black Skull. Are we… are we at war?"

Staring at him for a moment, Dante exchanged a look with Riot then looked back at his lieutenant.

"Yeah, you could say that."

Black Skull was a massive organization with hundreds of members, established businesses, and a solid grip on their territory. Dante's gang barely had fifty in total, and though they claimed Hollowgrid a their territory, they still don't have full control over it. Saying that the two were at war was like saying a nation with nukes was at war against an impoverished third world country.

"Tell our guys to be more careful in the next few days," Dante said. "And make sure they don't try anything stupid."

"U-understood,"

The lieutenant left looking more stressed out than before, and Dante slumped down in his chair.

"You really aren't good at this." Riot said.

"You got any wise advice?" Dante asked.

"Yeah, don't pick fights you can't hope to win."

"That's… that's gonna be difficult."

Dante was fighting a hopeless war, but it wasn't against Black Skull. If he wanted to, he could get rid of the gang completely in just a week of so. The problem wasn't the gang but his other enemies. What happened with the Daggers was already cutting it close, and making big moves risked pushing the hero's into taking action, even if the ones pulling their strings don't give the green light.

'The Daggers…'

Dante suddenly remembered something and opened his messenger app with a thought.

[

Dante: How are things on your end?

]

The reply came seconds later.

[

Henry: Could be better.

Hear about your little adventure in Red Hill.

Are you going after Black Skull already?

Dante: Kinda.

The Daggers are still at war with them, right?

I need you to distract them.

Henry: Easier said than done.

We don't exactly have the numbers, remember?

Dante: Make it work.

Henry: I will see what I can do.

]

When he thought about it, Dante felt a little shocked that only ten days had passed since the fight against Jaguar. The stress he had been through made it feel like months had passed, and from the looks of it, things weren't about to ease up any time soon.

'How many free androids do you have?'

[Four,] Volcan replied. [Though I would not call them free as they are delegated to guarding you.]

'Is that so?'

The Gear Cult androids were quite convenient. If he had about a hundred of those, he wouldn't have had to worry about starting a gang. Unfortunately, making one of those costs as much as it takes to go full cyborg with Titan Forge tech alone, so Dante gave up on having a robot army for the foreseeable future.

'The ones we left in Red Hill,' He thought aloud. 'Have them pick off Black Skull members without being noticed. Don't overdo it, though.'

[Do you want me to make it seem as if it was the doing of a solitary assailant?]

'That would be for the best,' Dante thought.

Black Skull was one of the most disgusting gangs in the city, so much so that the Daggers looked clean by comparison. When he joined forces with Rose the first time, he didn't really care that much about taking them down, but things have changed since. Now, Dante had enough reasons that he considered the matter personal. He was still apprehensive about making big moves, but something told him he wouldn't be able to hold back for long.