Chapter 105: Chapter 100 If There Were No Gold in the World

"Strictly speaking, the corporate agent who caused trouble for the Lille trio this time didn’t have superior combat abilities compared to V and Jack."

"But he did his best—laying in wait to ambush the target and framing the trio, planting landmines and rigged motorcycles to prevent pursuit, just those two moves created a situation that would be fatal to any ordinary mercenary."

"The problem was, Lille wasn’t just exceptionally cautious, he also showed the ruthless street smarts to make decisions quickly, and his two enforcers didn’t let him down, arresting the agent right on the street."

"And even in death, the agent still had a backup plan."

"The chip hadn’t been destroyed on the spot—because the data within had been altered."

"Project name: Nightingale Plan."

"Person in charge: Emilia Morton."

"Possible cause of the incident: Emilia Morton violated protocols during an experiment by releasing γ-rabies into the outskirts of Night City, with the aim of depleting near-expiry vaccines and α-neural relaxants stockpiled in Night City’s drug warehouses."

"[Image][Image][Image]"

"[Communication Records]"

"[Data Corrupted]"

"Emilia Morton?"

Lille stroked his chin, wondering why he remembered that Joanne Koch had been the main cause of the incident?

The name Emilia Morton sounded very familiar, maybe another biotechnology employee who got assassinated in the game.

The chip was definitely tampered with—otherwise, it made no sense that there wasn’t a single mention of Joanne Koch."

"This evidence and clue were diverting all attention from Koch, which wasn’t good, because Lille couldn’t use this to threaten her."

"He had to find a way to contact Emilia Morton to understand the real situation."

With that thought, he made another call to Murphy."

"Contact: Murphy."

Drip, drupe—"

Murphy: "Buddy, how’s Kuno that bitch? I heard on the news there was a terrorist attack at the City Hall today, you guys weren’t affected, were you?"

Lille: "We were far away, no worries. Kuno’s dead, didn’t the news cover it?"

Murphy: "Man, that’s great news! I owe you a drink next time we meet."

Murphy: "The news didn’t mention this, probably NCPD is conducting an investigation, eh—wait, why would they investigate if you guys took care of Kuno that bitch?"

Murphy: "Is she really dead?"

Lille: "Really dead, check out the photo, [Image]."

Murphy: "Damn, that’s brutal."

Lille: "No choice, she was biting back, refusing to confess, even tried to call the cops, so we had to take action."

Lille: "How are things on your end?"

Murphy: "Here’s the deal, I’ve been here since this morning waiting for Mendoza, that media journalist, right at the City Center subway station."

Murphy: "But suddenly today he said he made another appointment with someone from Biotechnology, suggested we meet together, so the time was pushed back and we’ve been waiting. He just messaged saying he’s on his way now."

Lille: "Who? Emilia Morton?"

Murphy: "Holy shit, you’re psychic! How did you know Mendoza’s meeting was with her? They say she just got fired yesterday!"

Trouble was brewing.

Manuel Mendoza planned to meet to corroborate evidence.

As it happened, Emilia Morton was fired and reached out to Manuel Mendoza.

Now the informant and the media were gathering together—these media folks had a subtle distortion in their social cognition.

On one hand, they believed that the upper echelons must have some dark side that couldn’t be exposed.

On the other hand, they believed that while the top was dark, they still had to play by the rules."

"For example, with the upcoming meeting, they chose the City Center subway station, crowded with people, thinking they could meet and run away, nothing could possibly happen, right?"

"So, they looked down on the crude layers of Night City and suspected the higher levels, thinking the top layers were sinister, and the lower levels brutal."

However, the truth was both the upper and lower levels lacked neither sinister nor brutal figures."

Murders happened every day on the streets of Night City, so how could the corporations that scared murderers into retreating be stopped by these trifles?"

"Whether Morton did it intentionally or not, the current situation was very dangerous."

Lille pinched his eyebrows, "You said you’re at the subway station now?"

Murphy: "We’re at the subway now, has something happened?"

Lille cursed internally—he was one step behind.

Lille: "Indeed something has happened, is Man by your side? Let him join in."

Man: "Hey, Burger King, what’s up?"

Lille: "Yesterday, Biotechnology sent out agents for a cleanup, and Emilia Morton might have been taken out too..."

Man: "No worries, we’re protecting her, nothing will go wrong at the meeting. Besides, it’s at City Hall metro station. How are they going to make a move?"

Lille: "Is this your first time dealing with corporations? There was a time when gangs occupied City Hall, and the NCPD couldn’t manage it. They brought in the corporations."

Lille: "The corporations started to enforce a curfew, anyone who didn’t comply was shot indiscriminately, and since then, they’ve secured absolute control over Night City."

Lille: "Do you think your face is bigger than that of the Vortex Gang or Valentino Gang?"

Lille: "Grab your weapons, protect all witnesses. If you want to finish this job and avenge your teammates, listen to me."

Man: "You... how do you know? Wait, Faraday is calling me..."

Lille: "If you still want to keep your current teammates alive, do as I say, don’t pick up — from now on, you only talk to me."

Man: "What are you talking about..."

Lille hung up the phone and let out a long sigh.

After a busy day yesterday, he’d managed to catch some sleep while waiting for the car to be repaired.

Now there was more work to do, and it was a race against time.

V approached Lille with arms folded: "What’s wrong? You look really tired."

"I am very tired. We have to get back to City Hall Square. There’s a good chance we’ll be facing the corporation’s regular forces this time."

Jack and V looked at each other.

V hesitated and then asked, "This job... Lille, don’t blame me for asking, but I just want to know what we’re doing all this for? There’s no money coming in."

Lille was silent for a moment before saying, "I’ve been planning a heist on the Biotechnology’s tech equipment. That stuff could keep me from dying too soon.

This job might not be worth much money, it’s just to find a way to save my own life."

V and Jack exchanged glances, then smiled.

It’s not for money?

If it’s not for money, then what’s the problem?

"You could have said so earlier," V slumped down next to Lille and wrapped an arm around him, "You don’t think we’d throw you out, do you?

Besides, you still owe me 760,000. You’ve got to pay that off before you die, right?"

Jack said with a smile, "V’s right — I mean the first part. We’re not that educated, but if you think that tech can help, we’ve got to get it for you no matter what."

Lille smiled too.

Each member of this squad was lured in by him — with the promise of making a lot of money.

But deep down, they weren’t the kind of bastards who were seduced by money.

Otherwise, they would have become corporate dogs a long time ago.

Lille patted himself off and stood up, saying solemnly, "Listen, I have a feeling that what we’re about to do is going to cause a serious chain reaction.

The danger level is incomparable to our previous missions; one wrong move could cost us our lives."

V clicked his tongue: "More dangerous than that time in Atlanta?"

Lille nodded: "Maybe even more trouble than that. But on the bright side, you’re not the same person you were in Atlanta, and Jack is no longer the nervous rookie he was in his smuggling days."

Jack scratched his head: "Was I really that chicken back then?"

V and Lille gave him a look that said it all without words.

Lille continued, "But in any case, if we get over this hurdle, a wider world lies ahead of us — we’ll have more enemies, more danger, but — the future will be brighter. So, as usual..."

Lille held out his hand.

"Everyone in?"

V and Jack placed their hands on top.

"Of course."

Lille felt suddenly moved.

Just on his word, they were ready to join him again in the danger-filled City Hall, to face an army of corporate soldiers much larger than themselves, to earn the ire of the Super Corporations that terrorized Night City.

Fundamentally, money wasn’t what they were after.

The core of punk isn’t failure, but the courage to rebel —

When the world, with its heavy curtain, comes howling in, crushing everything you know under a blanket of overwhelming force, when just a small wave can bury all your hopes,

can you still stand tall and roar in the face of destruction?

"Jack, V, do you know, if not for Gold...

We would have been heroes long ago."