Gearbound: Cyberpunk 2077
Chapter 300

300 chapters whooo! Thank you all for sticking with!

Enjoy your chapter;)

---------------------

If not for him and his team swooping in from nowhere, neither she nor José would have been rescued.

If they hadn't been saved, Hector Salamanca and the Salamanca Cartel would have accomplished their revenge, she would have received her cut and straightened her exit.

But now all of that had fallen apart.

In truth, before she began feeding coordinates to the Salamanca Cartel, she hadn't fully grasped their methods. It wasn't until they'd been ambushed in Tijuana by cartel operatives that she truly realized how ruthlessly bloodthirsty these criminals were.

They didn't care whether she was still in the car or whether she lived.

They knew she was acting with Leo's team, yet they still sent a garbage truck to crash into them. If Leo hadn't guided the vehicle aside in time, the following pickup with its mounted Heavy Machine Gun would have mowed them all down inside the car.

Once reality dawned—that the cartel didn't value her life—Maria planned to sever ties and stop feeding them intel.

But that night, at a roadside motel outside the border, she was surprised to receive a personal call from Hector Salamanca.

He had warned her she must continue providing intel. If she complied, not only would she receive the agreed payment, but also a private gift from Hector, along with the cartel's gratitude and friendship.

But if she disappointed him, he would simply send a detailed email to Dante and José, exposing their dealings.

With her leverage locked in Hector's hand, Maria, as predicted, complied.

But she didn't hate Hector. Weaklings resent those weaker than themselves; Maria didn't dare resent Hector, so she turned all her bitterness toward Leo and his team, blaming them entirely.

Leo remained expressionless in the face of her enmity. He raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture.

"Since you've already been exposed, what's the point of holding anything back? Just say it all—your boyfriend deserves to die knowing why."

Whether due to Leo's tone or perhaps her own acceptance, Maria's face changed, and after a moment she hesitated and then spoke.

"I was born in Tijuana. Before José, one of my ex-boyfriends was a minor head within the Salamanca Cartel."

"From him I learned that after Hector lost his only son several years ago, he has been desperately searching for the person who killed him."

"José was kidnapped because I sent the cartel intel identifying him as the one who killed their heir."

José's eyes suddenly narrowed, and his voice trembled. "So the reason you wanted me to change our travel destination to Tijuana was to walk me into the cartel's territory—to be kidnapped?"

He had already been hesitant when Maria suggested Tijuana; he knew he was the one who had run down the cartel boss's son. Dante had warned him countless times that if it came out, their lives would be forfeit.

That's why for all those years he had only confided in Maria—because he believed she was tight-lipped, unlike the other flashy girls who only knew how to gossip.

He hadn't expected Maria to keep her mouth shut—but not unless she had prepared an exit strategy.

Her gaze swept over the four of them: "You already know everything. Now—can you listen to my suggestion?"

"Your suggestion?"

"The cartel doesn't care about me or his father—they want revenge on José, not you."

"So?"

"So," she continued, " If you spare me… I will convince Hector to spare you. Think about it. You PMCs are no different from mercenaries—you're in it for the money. Since it's about money, I'll give you half of what I get. Just half. How about that?"

Maria wasn't foolish—her background limited what she could achieve in life, but she wasn't simple. She had seen Leo's strength in earlier fights and knew she'd never beat them. Even though she'd captured José and was seemingly in control, she couldn't be sure of victory.

So she offered terms first.

In her mind, Hector's reach was absolute—even across Night City, Dante's wealth would mean nothing against Salamanca's wrath. She didn't care that half her sources were worth less than José and Dante's payout—if the cartel killed him, she would still negotiate their safety.

Maria felt she had shown sincerity.

But Leo's next words chilled her.

"You finished?"

Maria's pupils twitched—because Leo had spoken 'you' from in front of her, but the last word came from behind.

Instinctively, she swung her Mantis Blade toward the voice—but her right arm was seized and immobilized. A cold tactical combat knife appeared at her neck, pressing into her skin like a serpent's kiss.

Her eyes widened as a crimson line appeared at her neck and blood welled, quickly soaking her collar and chest. Her left arm, around José's neck, instinctively loosened as she pressed it to her throat.

Leo released her arm, and propelled José back several steps to avoid blood spatter.

Maria fell backward like a fish full‑flopped onto the deck, convulsing as blood pooled beneath her. Within seconds, she lay motionless, her eyes still fixed on José.

She was dead.

Leo's tactical goggles confirmed Maria's life had ended—but now, José rushed forward, collapsing beside her and sobbing.

Jackie watched, sighing. "Never thought she was the one feeding the Salamanca Cartel our location."

"Now do we head back to Night City?"

Leo shook his head. "As I said—we can't remove the Salamanca Cartel's hitmen, and expect our problems to end."

"Seriously return to Tijuana?" Jackie, V, and Lucy exchanged looks. "I thought that was just something to threaten Maria with."

V asked, "Leo, are you sure?"

"I've considered it. We don't need to destroy the Salamanca Cartel. Only Hector wants revenge. Once he's gone, the cartel's new leader won't keep hunting us."

Jackie stared. "Why? If Padre died, I'd hunt down whoever did it—even if they ran to the ends of the world."

He couldn't believe it—if the head died, the successor would naturally avenge them, right?

Unless the successor was a traitor.

It was V, not Jackie, who explained: "It's different, Jackie. Padre was good to you, but the Salamanca Cartel is driven by money and profit."

"Mr. González said the cartel's been losing support in recent years—people inside have grown disloyal. They wouldn't seek revenge just to honor Hector."

Leo nodded. "V's right. If we kill Hector, the new boss will conciliate, say a few words to calm people—but they won't sacrifice profits to pursue us. As long as they're not stupid."

"Count me in—if we're taking him out."

Just then, José's furious shout cut through the moment. Rushing forward, he said, "Mr. Leo, let me join you—I want to avenge Maria myself."

"That's out of the question," Leo shook his head firmly. Even under José's angry glare, Leo wouldn't budge. "You're the boss's son. You're part of this mission. You won't be endangering yourself."

José ground his teeth. "No one can stop me! Not even you!"

Leo responded calmly, "Actually, I can. You've been steady so far, so I have no complaints—but if you insist on reckless death—"

Before the words finished, Leo disappeared from José's vision—and José immediately felt a jolt at the nape of his neck, as if an electric current hit his neural jack.

Moments later, he realized his body was no longer under his control—he couldn't even speak or move a finger.

------------------------------

You can read 50 advanced chapters as well as 2 daily chapters on!

Patreon(.)com/IDKjust