Chapter 31: Chapter 31
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Watson, Little China.
After finishing the meal with Gloria at the Yujin Restaurant, Tang Yu returned directly to his upscale apartment.
Even though Gloria had repeatedly asked him to visit her home, seeing that David was still depressed, Tang Yu directly refused.
Although Gloria agreed to become his intermediary, she would need to go through the baptism of one more mission to officially announce her debut in Night City, and he was still considering this matter.
In fact, Tang Yu thought about directly dealing with the problem David faced at the academy, but doing so would certainly attract the attention of certain people in Arasaka, which would only worsen David's situation at the academy.
Tang Yu believed that even if Gloria was strapped for cash, she could choose to borrow money to compensate Arasaka Academy's expenses, thus preserving young David's sensitive pride. As for the issues between David and Katsuo, children's matters should be solved by the children themselves.
Back at home, the smart housekeeper had already started working.
He smoothed out the suit jacket Gloria gave him before putting it in the wardrobe, then grabbed his pajamas and went into the bathroom.
Shhh...
The shower rained down on him from head to foot, steaming hot.
Five minutes later, Tang Yu, feeling refreshed in his pajamas, went to the living room and heard the smart housekeeper announce there was a work message.
He picked up the portable communicator from the table and put it on his left eye to check—it was from Carter Smith, about the results of the deciphered deal.
"The transaction location is set in the abandoned steel mill of Watson's old industrial area, at nine-thirty tonight."
Tang Yu didn't care whether the message from Carter was true or false; he simply replied.
"Tomorrow, I'll take you to report to Mr. Jenkins, this is your achievement and should be made known and acknowledged by the higher-ups."
Carter, who was just about to finish work, felt immensely relieved upon receiving Tang Yu's message, thinking to himself that the so-called reporting to Jenkins was actually out of fear of being held responsible. If he reported the time too late and something went wrong, all the blame would fall on him.
"I knew you'd play this trick, claiming credit when things go well, but pushing the blame onto me when there's fear of responsibility. Yet, this trap is dug specifically for you."
He had already made arrangements with the liaison of the Special Operations Division—if they couldn't take down Maelstrom gang's deal within half an hour, then the Counter-Intelligence Department would step in.
With the capabilities of the Special Operations Division agents, it would take them no more than five minutes to handle that group of disorganized cyberpunks, and if worse came to worst, they could simply outbid them.
Carter: "Received, thank you, Director."
Without waiting for Carter's reply, Tang Yu had already taken off the portable communicator and had his smart assistant block Carter Smith.
"Jumping into Abernathy's inferno twice, truly hard-headed."
From the beginning, he didn't care about the information Carter deceived him with because the real protagonist of this setup wasn't him—it was Militech. What he had to do now was to extricate himself from this affair.
As for whether he could get the cybernetic running data Tanaka wanted, he didn't care. Ultimately, he wouldn't be the one reprimanded at the upper-level meetings, and now he already had full assurance.
Tang Yu watched the news on TV, thinking that although he wasn't the main character in this drama, as the main director, he should still watch the show unfold.
"It's time to call Jackie."
"And let's not forget the King of Hell of Night City from years ago."
"V."
V was the nickname Tang Yu gave to the girl V, though initially, she was a bit peeved about it. Nonetheless, V eventually resigned to it, allowing only him to use the nickname exclusively.
However, as Tang Yu carefully reminisced about his interactions with V, he suddenly realized that at this point in time, V might not have returned to Night City yet.
She indeed grew up in Heywood and was that kind of girl with a hundred percent street vibe, always liking to dress up oddly and exquisitely, exhibiting a sort of post-90s neo-smart cyberpunk combination style.
Despite her already overwhelming beauty, she preferred to dress up like a living King of Hell—a sight that even ghosts would worry about, spouting authentic Heywood-style curses. V left Night City a year ago for the distant sprawls of Atlanta. No one knows what she was up to there—maybe looking for family, maybe settling debts.
Tang Yu asked his smart home system to make a direct call to Jackie Welles.
Soon enough, the call connected.
Jackie's familiar broad-faced smile appeared on the holo-projector, prompting a sense of nostalgia in Maine at the sight of an old friend.
Jackie: "Hey, hermano, why the long silence? Finally decided to hit up Lizzie's?"
Tang Yu: "It's been too long. The last time I tried to call, you didn't pick up. I left you quite a few messages."
Jackie: "Oh, hermano, I had no idea you were trying to reach me and I missed it. Anyway, my bad, Lo siento!"
Tang Yu: "No need to apologize. Ran into some trouble recently. Let's get the gang back together and stick it to Arasaka's smug face."
Jackie: "Which of your neurons finally fired to bring on this epiphany? Arasaka's nothing but a snake pit. You're spot on coming to me when there's trouble. Heywood doesn't back down from corpo dogs—and oops, no offense, bro."
Tang Yu: "I mentioned this before, someone inside Arasaka wants me dead. But not only am I going to live, I'm gonna hit back twice as hard."
Jackie: "Then we gotta give that smug face a nice surprise. When and where? I'll round up the crew and get the hardware ready."
Tang Yu: "Let's meet up first thing tomorrow, I'll fill you in on the job and location then. Also, could you look for a friend for me, see if she's back in town?"
Jackie: "Who?"
Tang Yu: "Her name's V, full-on streetkid energy. You might not remember her, but she used to hang at your bar, The Afterlife, grabbing drinks and gigs."
Jackie: "The Afterlife has someone worth you asking about?"
Tang Yu: "Remember your bar-hopping days? Did you ever skip a day at The Afterlife? Give Mrs. Welles a visit sometime!"
Jackie: "Hermano, people really do change. You'd get along with my mom now since you both enjoy lecturing me. Alright, I'll find V for you. It's not that I want to hang up, but Misty's waiting to give me some spiritual revelation."
Tang Yu replied, somewhat resigned: "If V's not around, let's just meet up at old Vik's tomorrow morning. I'll bring a case of beer to cheer him up."
Jackie: "No hay problema."
They ended the call there.
Seeing Jackie brought back a flood of memories for Tang Yu, thinking back to their time together in their past lives. At The Afterlife bar, they clinked glasses.
"To Night City!"
"To The Afterlife!"
"To Jackie Welles!"
"To Tang Yu!"
Delamain took him by surprise.
"Goodbye, brother…"
Jackie's aspiration to be a legend of Night City ended right before Tang Yu's eyes, leaving an indelible mark on his memory.
He felt as though he had been pushed through life by an invisible hand. Was it Saburo Arasaka's digital ghost? An AI deity lurking beyond the Blackwall? Blue-eyed invaders with schemes of conquest?
Or was it just that damn fate?
Once, Tang Yu thought that leaving the city might be the best choice.
But he simply couldn't leave behind every friend, every encounter, every story within this city.
Nor could he quell the unrest in his heart.
Tang Yu took a deep breath, feeling the need to head out for a run to clear his mind.
He changed into a fresh set of athletic wear, slipped on his running earphones, and opened the door to leave.
Just as he stepped over the threshold, he felt he forgot something, so he went back inside to grab an item, then headed out again.
He reassured himself feeling the gun in his hand before starting his journey.
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