Please call me Cyber ​​Demon King

"Maybe you're right. If I were pretending, I wouldn't need to ask you now."

Ke Ling tilted her head, chuckled, and tapped the table, reminding the bartender to stop interrupting, okay?!

"Forehead"

Pepi was a little embarrassed. He realized that after all that fuss, he still hadn't told them what time it was.

"It's currently at 207."

"Hey Pepi, pour me a drink, the spiciest one!"

Pepi had just opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a brisk voice halfway through his sentence.

A woman sat down next to Ke Ling, her posture very domineering and arrogant, clearly someone from the streets.

"V?! Didn't you go to Atlanta?"

Pepi's attention was immediately drawn to the woman, and he completely forgot what he was about to say.

""

Ke Ling's forehead veins were practically bulging out; I'm fucking impressed!

Is it really that hard to find out the time, no matter which world you're in?! Last time you were turned into a ghost, what price will you have to pay this time?!

However, although he was a little speechless, Ke Ling did not react, because he had picked up on the key words from Pei Pi's words.

V?! Atlanta?! This woman is V?! The protagonist of a cyberpunk game?!

Ke Ling looked to the side, at the woman called "V".

The woman wore a jacket covered in various graffiti, which looked gaudy. She had short red hair, all of which was swept to one side of her head, with the other side almost completely exposing her scalp—a popular single-sided shaved hairstyle on the street.

Her face has distinct features, and she looks very dashing and heroic. She exudes a neutral beauty that makes men stare and women swoon.

Is it V, the street girl? V in the game has three backgrounds: street, corporate, and homeless. Street V's hometown is Haywood, and she is also good friends with Peppy.

"Ha, yes, I'm leaving in the next couple of days, but before I go, shouldn't I come and say goodbye to my friends?"

Upon hearing Pepi's question, V smiled and punched Pepi in the chest.

"Don't fucking die before I get back, otherwise even if I receive your obituary, I won't come back specifically for your farewell ceremony."

V came specifically to say goodbye to her friends. She was preparing to leave her hometown of Night City to try her luck in Atlanta and wouldn't be back for a while.

From Night City, an independent city on the West Coast, to Atlanta, a major city in the eastern part of the new America, no one can predict the outcome of this journey.

“I should be saying that, V. Don’t fucking die in Atlanta, I’m not going to come and collect your body.”

Street greetings are always so simple and unpretentious. V and Peppy laughed and exchanged fist bumps, then downed a drink together.

"Who is this? Introduce me? Bro, you look pretty handsome with this surgery."

V put down her glass and looked at Ke Ling. She noticed that Ke Ling was looking at her, but she was already used to other people's gazes.

"This is Ke Ling, from the Animal Gang, a ruthless guy."

Before Ke Ling could answer, Pei Pi spoke up for him, and inexplicably added a bit of drama.

"I can tell, he's pretty ruthless."

V nodded, looking quite agreeable, and even gave Ke Ling a thumbs up.

She noticed this guy the moment she walked in; he was just too eye-catching.

As a native of Haywood, she didn't participate in the "Valentino gang" activities, but she was no stranger to them.

"You've gotten a lot of beatings, haven't you, buddy?"

V is also straightforward and says what he thinks. He is sincere and has been hanging out on the streets since he was young. He didn't receive much education.

"Wait, I have to clarify something. Although I do look a lot like the Animal Gang, I have never actually joined them."

Ke Ling spoke up, first explaining the misunderstanding. He said that you could think of him as someone like the Animal Gang, but he wasn't actually a member of the Animal Gang, which was very important.

If they keep using the name of the Animal Gang, they'll be targeted by the Animal Gang sooner or later.

"Understand, just as not every Haywood man joined the Valentino gang."

V agreed with Ke Ling's words. She pointed to the Valentino Gang logo on the wall and then to herself.

Wolf Bar is one of the Valentino gang's strongholds and is protected by them. The bar is filled with Valentino gang symbols, including a gold V amidst red roses.

Ke Ling could tell that V didn't resemble Jack Wells and Peppy; she didn't have a prominent Chicano cultural style.

"My name is V, nice to meet you, my friend with horns on your head."

V smiled and opened his fist at Ke Ling. These guys who grew up on the streets of Haywood seemed to be exceptionally talkative.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, V. You can just call me Ke Ling."

Ke Ling extended his fist and bumped it with the other man, thus getting to know this street hustler from Haywood.

Please read my new book! It's really important! Thank you so much, dear readers!!

Chapter 17 As expected of you, you have such a big heart!

After confirming that the person in front of him was indeed Street V, Ke Ling roughly estimated the time.

"By the way, it's October 2074 now. This terrible year is finally almost over."

At this moment, Pepi finally realized what was happening and told Ke Ling the time.

Ke Ling nodded, but her eyes were practically rolling to the sky. She answered just in time!

However, the time was about the same as he had guessed, just a little later than he had expected.

According to Ke Ling's calculations, there should still be some time left until 75, at least six months.

Street V spent two years in Atlanta before returning, and then spent another six months with Jack Wells before entering the main storyline.

The main storyline takes place in January 2077. Going back "two and a half years" is when Street V went to Atlanta to become a trainee.

So it seems that StreetV's two-year timeframe wasn't accurate to the last day; at least StreetV is only just about to set off for Atlanta.

Why go to Atlanta?

Ke Ling was a little curious. He remembered that V didn't seem to be doing very well in Atlanta and eventually slunk back to Night City.

"Of course, I'll go out and look for opportunities, and take advantage of my youth to explore the world."

V answered readily, a smile on his face, seemingly unafraid to make a living in an unfamiliar city.

She was a typical Heywood street girl, and like all street kids, she dreamed of becoming a legend.

These people believe that it's better to live life to the fullest than to live a miserable life, just like Johnny Silverhand.

Of course, the first thing they wanted was to live a life as famous and wealthy as Johnny Silverhand, and for that reason, they were always thinking about pulling off a big heist.

These are restless people, born out of their environment. There is no such thing as a middle class in this society; you either make a name for yourself or remain an unknown nobody.

"Atlanta was strictly controlled by the new America. My impression of it was that there was a landfill covering more than 40 square kilometers, full of toxic and biological waste."

Ke Ling described his impression of Atlanta. He only remembered that the news in the game said that the Atlanta landfill was on fire and had been burning for two weeks.

That's perfectly normal. Atlanta is only about 350 square kilometers, and a single landfill takes up one-ninth of the city. It wouldn't even take two months to burn it all, let alone two weeks.

"Ah? Really?"

Hearing Ke Ling's words, V touched her nose awkwardly; she really had never heard of it.

"You know absolutely nothing about Atlanta?"

Now it was Ke Ling's turn to be surprised. Good heavens, they were about to leave for Atlanta, and they didn't know anything about the area?!

All I can say is, as expected of the famous V, she has a really big heart!

"You really don't understand at all?"

Peppy was also confused. He thought V was going to Atlanta to make some kind of money, otherwise why would he go so far?

If you're just looking to try your luck in another city, there are plenty of great places to visit around Night City, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and even Sacramento, the capital of Northern California.

Which of these cities isn't better than Atlanta? The key is that they're not that far away. From Night City to Atlanta, it would take you across the entire United States.

“Don’t look at me like that. As you know, we’re from the Pacific region, and Atlanta is in the Rust Belt. We have very few ways to understand the situation there.”

Feeling annoyed by the strange looks from Ke Ling and Pepi, V retorted that with internet censorship so severe, it was perfectly normal for her not to know about the situation in Atlanta.

The Pacific Rim and Rust Belt regions mentioned by V are network partitions. The Pacific Rim region encompasses most of the west coast of North America and the Pacific Basin, while the Rust Belt region mainly includes the central and eastern parts of the United States.

Each network partition is ruled and regulated by companies and governments. Even within a large region, there are different smaller regions, each with its own ruler.

Between these zones, there is usually a strict information blockade, and people have very little access to information. Their knowledge of the outside world comes entirely from the news media controlled by the rulers.

The increasing fragmentation of the internet, to the extent it is now, is all thanks to "internet communist" Lucky Bartmos.

He was unhappy that the company used the network to control and monitor all of humanity, so he blew the network to smithereens.

Undeniably, his initial intentions were good, but his actions were extremely irresponsible.

The internet is like a mirror, reflecting our thoughts, dreams, and lives.

The company is watching this mirror, controlling everything about us.

Lucky Bartmore smashed the mirror to pieces, thinking that would be enough, that this would stop the company from monitoring everything people did.

However, even if the mirror is broken, you can still see your reflection in every shard. One mirror is broken, but thousands more are created.

Now, every company, government, and gang has its own network, operating without any constraints, ruling with an iron fist, and isolating it from other areas.

"What you said makes sense, but after learning a little more about it, are you still planning to go?"

Ke Ling thought it made perfect sense; no wonder V, with his abilities, hadn't made a name for himself in Atlanta.

For an outsider, completely clueless, to arrive in a completely unfamiliar place and not be completely devoured, and to return alive to Night City, is already quite an achievement.

"We'll see. Someone told me there are a lot of opportunities in Atlanta. Damn it, I have to go ask him."

V looked annoyed. She scratched her head and swore.

Although Ke Ling didn't provide much information, the fact that a city with a full one-ninth of its area was a landfill of various toxic and biological wastes didn't sound like a good place at all.

"Think about it. Maybe once you leave Night City, you'll find that no matter how bad this city is, it's the one that's best for you, because your memories and life are in this city."