Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 550: It Can Burn Anything.

The answer didn’t truly matter. One has to be a professional retard to not know what the organization they joined does, so being a member automatically means that you support what the organization does. Moreover, if you had climbed the ranks and accepted a leadership position, it just shows that you are an active participant in the crimes that have been committed.

The red glow enveloping Dante’s hand grew brighter, and the heat drastically increased. A muffled scream escaped the bastard, but that’s all he could do. He was going to die; that was a done deal. Whether he answered the questions or not, his life was never going to be spared.

"Alright, that’s enough."

The voice came from the entrance to the bar. Looking over his shoulder, Dante saw a man dressed in blue, his arms stretched out as he aimed a gun. A cop.

"... you being serious right now?"

Dante hadn’t removed his hand from the bastard’s face, and the screaming didn’t stop. He turned around to face the brave police officer, his bloodlust quietly seeping out, slowly crushing him under its weight.

"Y-you are under arrest f-for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace!" Even though he was shaking in his boots, the cop still didn’t lower his weapon. This was a display of stupidity more than it was a display of courage. "Let go of him and get on your knees!"

Staring at him for a moment, Dante then turned to his giant of a subordinate. Riot could only shake his head.

"Say," Oliver spoke, still smiling, somehow. "Aren’t you wearing the wrong suit?"

"W-what?" The cop asked. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"If you’re going to be a clown, at least wear a clown costume or something. I almost took you seriously for an instant."

Riot chuckled, and Dante couldn’t suppress a smile. His anger died out just like that, which left him a little annoyed.

"Officer, take a look around you," Riot said. "If you haven’t noticed, this isn’t the time nor the place for you to play the hero, so how about you scram before you’re forced into early retirement?"

The cop’s IQ seemed to be rising by the second, as shown by the fear quickly overtaking his face. Just as it seemed like he would buckle under it, a notification appeared on his OAM informing him that he had received 500 Gold.

"We all know you aren’t being paid enough to deal with this shit," Dante said. "So how about you continue pretending to be blind?"

Of course, the cops in Red Hill were corrupt. Cops were corrupt everywhere, and honest ones like Jonah had unicorn status. Dante was tempted to go after them, too, but decided to leave it for another time.

Though hesitant, the cop eventually tucked his tail between his legs and turned around to run. The bar’s doors had been torn earlier, so nothing should have been in his way. Despite that, he somehow ended up slamming into a wall and falling on his behind.

Looking up, the cop realized it wasn’t a wall he slammed into, though with how tall and wide it was, wall might still be the right word to describe the thing he slammed into. As he looked up at the vaguely humanoid monster, it raised its right hand and pointed a finger at him. That finger fell off, dangling from a thin chain. Behind it was a small cylinder, and in its dark depths, a spark flashed.

BLAM

A hole formed between the cop’s brows, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head the next second. As he fell down the next second, Dante and the others raised their guard. He wasn’t afraid of bullets, and neither was Riot. Oliver, on the other hand, had nothing that could protect him from being shot, so Dante had to think of something to keep him safe. It was then that he noticed the giant lowering his log-like arm, his finger snapping back into place.

The giant was large enough to make Riot look small, and his proportions told that he was more gorilla than human. With shoulders as wide as the bar’s double door entrance, a hunched back, and arms thicker than most people’s torsos dangling toward the floor, one wouldn’t be faulted for thinking he was a failed science experiment that fled the lab. The ruggedy full face mask didn’t help at all.

Dante continued to observe the abomination, watching as it lazily dragged itself to the side, uncovering half the entrance, which had been blocked by its massive frame. Someone emerged from the light seeping through the gap, and as soon as his gaze fell on him, Dante almost charged.

The man was tall by normal standards, wearing a trench coat that went below his knees. Dante could feel the bionics hiding underneath through his Absolute Awareness, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment. If there was one thing worth attention, then it would be the man’s bald head, which was entirely painted black. Tattooed would be the more accurate description, seeing as his skin wasn’t one solid color, but took on the horrific image of a charred skull.

"Well, would you look at that!" A smirk gradually pulled on the corner of Dante’s mouth. "And here I thought it would take a lot more to bait one of you."

He let go of the bastard’s face then channeled more energy into the Dragon Claw ability, causing the ethereal glow on his hand to brighten even more. His arm snapped like a whip, and the bastard’s head split into four slices, falling to the dirty floor with an audible squish like pieces of a rotten tomato.

"Dante Sokolov," The skull faced man spoke once Dante turned to face him. "Was killing my subordinate truly necessary?"

"He outlived his usefulness," Dante replied. "Make sure that’s not the case for you."

The skull face pursed his lips, which made it appear as if he were pressing his teeth together. Catching on to the sudden tension, the abomination standing behind him stirred, clasping its right arm and raising it like a cannon. Though still annoyed, the skull face held up a hand and stopped it.

"Newbies," he sighed, shaking his head. "They get their hands on some power, and suddenly they think they can rule the world." His gaze moved behind Dante. "Don’t you feel ashamed, Riot? Letting this pup lead you around?"

"Don’t talk as if I’m doing it out of my free will," Riot cranked his head back, laughing. "It was either this or death."

"You know him?" Dante asked.

"I know him, alright," Riot replied. "That’s one of the guys you have been looking for."

"They call me Harry," The skull face said. "I’m sure you can already guess what post I hold in Black Skull."

"Oh, you’re the guy who handles the muscle," Dante said. "Not the one we have been looking for, but I can make do."

With calm, confident steps, Dante walked up to the skull face, listening to Volcan’s evaluation at the same time. He kept Absolute Awareness active and set it so his perception would be enhanced to the max if his opponent made any sudden movements.

"So, what will it be?" He asked.

Skull Face raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren’t you supposed to make an offer before asking that?"

"An offer, huh? How about this?" Holding a hand up, Dante snapped his fingers. The metallic clang was followed by the scattering of sparks, and an instant later, a ball of bright red flames formed on top of his palm. "You will tell me everything I want to know, and I-" He glanced to his left and pointed at one of the gangsters scattered around. "Won’t do this to you."

The fireball shot out like a meteor, exploding upon contact. The guy it his was enveloped by the red flame in less than a second, and he sprang up right after, screaming at the top of his lungs, then rolling in a failed attempt to put out the fire.

"I mean, I’m still going to kill you." Taking his eyes off the burning man, he looked up at the skull face. "But you’ll at least get to go out on your terms."

In just a few seconds, the fire ate through the burning man. His voice died out, and his breath followed soon. He stopped rolling soon enough, and once the fire was gone, a human-shaped piece of charcoal was all that was left. The skull-faced man stared at it for a moment, then turned to Dante.

"Nice trick," He said. "It only burns organic matter, huh?"

"It’s fire. It can burn anything." Dante said. "Titan Forge tech included."

Level 4 Advanced Cyborg. According to Volcan, the skull-faced man had some of the best bionics money could buy, and seeing how worn out they were, it was clear he had been putting them to good use. In terms of stats alone, they were almost equal, but Dante wasn’t worried about his chances at winning a fight.

After a moment of silence, Harry spoke again.

"You said I’m not the one you were looking for, right?" He said. "Let’s make a deal."