Cyberpunk: Cross-dimensional Science and Engineering

When a mud truck weighing dozens of tons sped past the streets of New York at over sixty kilometers per hour, the man in his thirties was already sitting in the crashed van.

He looked around in terror, seeing himself flattened like a paper doll.

It wasn't just a collision, it was a crushing.

The van he was sitting in deformed under the mud truck, the cargo box falling and sending him into a two-dimensional space.

One more reason for such severe consequences - the truck belonged to the United Construction Company. For them, time was money.

The Kingpin hadn't given them high wages; driving slow meant earning less. Arriving late resulted in deductions from their paychecks. They didn't even dare to run without overloading; it cost fuel money.

Lille manipulated the traffic lights to isolate the mud truck from the vehicles in front, making it the first in the traffic flow, and gave it green lights at the previous five intersections.

By the time it reached this intersection, it was significantly over the speed limit and couldn't possibly stop.

The driver's seat of the van narrowly escaped being sent to the two-dimensional space, with only a small part separated, still connected to some other structures.

Of course, this small part was also twisted and deformed.

As the vehicle approached, Lille heard the weak voice of the van driver echoing in the quiet air.

"Help me... please... help me..."

But he definitely couldn't be saved; Lille saw at a glance that the driver's lower body was fused with the vehicle, bloody and mangled.

Lille shook his head, "This is what you deserve, but you're really unlucky. This next half hour will definitely be the longest half hour of your life."

"Help... me..." Obviously, the driver couldn't hear anything or couldn't think clearly even if he did.

He only saw someone in front of him—anyone—please, help him.

"Help me... my... boss... there's a plan... I heard..."

The driver instinctively said a bunch of words, making Lille frown—

Was the Kingpin doing more than just attacking him?

But the surveillance hadn't sounded any alarms—there weren't any strangers.

"What do you mean? The surveillance showed nothing unusual."

Matt lay on a seat, gritting his teeth, pulling out the last fragment embedded in his body.

Luckily, the injuries brought by the Bullseye were mostly superficial.

He suddenly said, "I remember your surveillance primarily used facial recognition and recorded entries. Mr. Rigordo has a son."

Lille's face changed—

The surveillance records did indeed show that Ellicon Rigordo had visited!

The kid had waltzed into the apartment ten minutes ago!

"Damn it, I have to..."

Before Lille could finish his sentence, his body suddenly stiffened like it was paralyzed and fell over to one side!

"Lille?"

His consciousness hadn't faded, the pain hadn't made him pass out immediately, he heard Matt calling his name, but he couldn't say anything!

Images of Rigordo's apartment layout flashed through Lille's mind, and in a flash of genius, he found an electrical circuit—

Located beneath the heating system, there might be electrical appliances there—short-circuits could cause explosions!

He had to stop what was happening!

With his last bit of strength, Lille said to Matt, "Mr. Rigordo—go home—quickly go home..."

In his final moments, Lille sent one last message to the residents' association—

hoping someone would stand up.

...

Ellicon Rigordo.

Returning home, he noticed the apartment was a bit different.

This was where he grew up, yet he didn't like it here.

The immigrants were dirty, smelly, and poor. Every day, they worked like zombies, coming home only to smile like fools.

In his mind, immigrants' lives lacked passion, lacked brains.

Now, a big shot had given him an opportunity—to quietly "persuade" his father.

Of course, the key issue was the land.

No matter how good an offer the big shot made, Ellicon couldn't mask his inner turmoil. Sweat beaded on his forehead—he was both excited and scared.

Though he hadn't been home in ages, he feared someone would recognize him, so he entered through a hole on the side of the apartment building.

This hole had existed since he was little. Rigordo had only patched it with some Ironhide and covered it with a pile of junk bricks.

He used to sneak out from here when he was a kid.

The random, messy wires were gone, which made him both surprised and irrationally annoyed.

Still, he wouldn't get the location of his home wrong—he wondered if the old man had changed the locks.

He nervously inserted the key into the lock.

Click.

The door opened.

The room was very quiet—maybe the old man wasn't home?

Ellicon glanced around his home. It was still the same; the arrangement of things hadn't changed much.

A bit messy—but, honestly, after being in gangs for so long, he suddenly felt that home wasn't messy at all.

He walked slowly to the wall in the dining room—this was where the three of them used to sit and eat together.

Until...

Ellicon glanced toward the wall next to it, where a revolver was hanging—Rigordo had used this gun to kill someone.

That was also why he went to prison; Ellicon joined the gang when his father was imprisoned.

Snap—footsteps came from behind him, and Ellicon suddenly felt at a loss—that was his old man!

Rigordo looked shocked: "You little... get out!"

The shock only lasted a moment before turning into anger.

That "get out" ignited Ellicon's fury as well: "Old man, if I hadn't come back, wouldn't you have given my house to someone else?!"

"Your house?" Rigordo's eyes seemed to burn with rage, "I ain't dead yet!"

"You're about to be!" Ellicon mustered his courage, "What kind of crap has that brainless kid fed you? Just give the land to the United Construction Company, and you'll get the money, find a new place! Going against them is suicide!"

"You... you..." Rigordo was aggravated, searching for a long object, and unable to find one, he directly unbuckled the brass-headed belt from his waist.

Ellicon was also panicking.

He had envisioned a mysterious and badass entrance, like a professional hitman entering, negotiating terms, and threatening calmly.

But now it felt like he was back to his childhood?

Right—he was now a professional hitman!

The plan flashed through Ellicon's mind. He turned and reached for the revolver—he had to grab the only gun in the house, and then...

Click.

The chambering sound wasn't loud, but Rigordo stopped instantly. The anger on his face disappeared, replaced by a deathly silence.

"You're... pointing a gun at me?"

"I—I'm here, I'm here to help you! You understand!" Ellicon felt both panicked and calm.

He hadn't realized that these words were complete antonyms—calm was the state he wished to achieve, but his mind was actually chaotic.

On one hand, he had to do what the gang bosses wanted, but on the other hand... why did he feel like he should reason with this old man?

"Immigrants are garbage! Asking them for help is as good as hoping sewer rats can feast!

Sell the house! This way..."

"So you can please your new dad—your new master?" Rigordo's voice was cold with anger, "Is this how I taught you? Is this how your mother taught you? Be an outsider's dog, pointing a gun at family?"

"Shut up!" Ellicon almost screamed, "You have the nerve to mention my mother! If it wasn't for you fighting the gang, how would she have died! How would she have died!

You can use a gun, you're a tough guy, why didn't you use the gun behind me to protect her! You're just a coward who knows how to use a gun!"

Rigordo was stunned, sitting down in a chair.

After a moment of silence, he coldly glanced at his son—indifference and disappointment.

It deeply wounded Ellicon—even though his over-heated mind felt he was right.

"Yes, I didn't protect your mother, if you've got the guts, go ahead and shoot, but I absolutely won't give you the house.

You're right, I will give it to that kid, definitely not to you."

Ellicon paused, suddenly turning vicious: "So that gentleman was right, you want to give my house away to someone else, you want to give my house to someone else!

Do you know how much it's worth! You say you want to give it to an outsider!

But it doesn't matter, I'll kill you now, and they'll help me smooth things over, the house will still be mine..."

"Then do it! What are you waiting for!"

"I will, I will—"

"Then do it!"

BANG!

The gunshot was loud, but it didn't drown out the explosion—

Almost the moment Ellicon pulled the trigger, the desk lamp beside him suddenly exploded!