Cyberpunk: I didn't cheat.

A few days ago, in the old town of Night City.

Faraday's black sedan stood quietly at the alley entrance, its lights off, completely blending into the deep night.

Faraday recalled his previous meeting with David in the afterlife, where David had taken over Mann's position and was doing a good job.

Faraday gave David a mission involving military technology, but on the condition that he must persuade Lucy to return to hacking. Faraday's real purpose was to obtain the data hidden in Tanaka. David agreed, and Faraday could see that he needed money and power.

Faraday, the middleman, originally worked for military technology, but military technology became increasingly stingy and demanding.

In his distress, Arasaka even attacked him, and he was almost captured.

So when he met with the people from Arasaka, he quickly accepted their terms because they offered a lot of money.

Arasaka's condition is to erase all people, things, and traces related to "Giant Cybertron," including all those who know about it.

In Tanaka's files, there's a story about a hacker named Arasaka who was burned to death in a hacker chair after his files were deliberately damaged in an attempt to repair them.

Arakawa believed this was definitely related to the Tanaka incident, so he gave Faraday this ultimate order.

My thoughts were pulled back.

It doesn't matter, it's almost irrelevant to me now; turning these people into cold, hard euros is the most important thing.

Faraday got out of the car and went to Qiwei's house. He wanted to have a good talk with this acquaintance.

Half an hour later, Faraday got back into his car.

Unexpectedly, there was an additional benefit: he had heard about the feud between Arasaka and the square-headed guy, and Arasaka would definitely be happy to acquire this information.

After Faraday left, Qiwei sat back down in the ice bathtub.

David did a good job, but he was still quite concerned about Lucy's refusal to rejoin the team. The kid had confessed to him recently that he had become stronger, but he couldn't keep Lucy with him.

The emotional barrier worked; Qiwei lit a cigarette, inserted it into her mask, and slowly closed her eyes.

Mann's squad treated her like family, but without Mann, what would Mann's squad be?

In Night City, everyone betrays, and everyone is betrayed by others.

As for Vito, he was a good man, but to her, he was just a good man.

……

At this very moment, at the Romeno Apartments.

"Hey, Mano, what are you daydreaming about! Romano has called you several times already!"

Jack roused Vito from his thoughts.

"Oh? Sorry, I'm messaging a bug."

Vito's explanation.

"Message the bug? Aren't the cybersecurity personnel here Romano's own people?"

Jack was somewhat puzzled.

"Regarding another mission, by the way, Romeno, why did you call me?"

Vito quickly changed the subject, saying that Qiwei had worked well with them before, and there was no need to tell Jack about such things.

"It's alright, you guys sit down first. I need to go over and discuss the competition video with the team. Would you like something to drink? Cissimito?"

"No need, this is fine. I'm going to the restroom."

Vito went to the bathroom and faced the mirror.

beep~ beep~

"Hey kid, don't you know there are time zones?"

"How can you sleep at your age? Don't you suffer from insomnia all night?"

"You have no idea how tired I am. Digging for those things is no joke. Tell me, what happened?"

"Find me a safe house, preferably one that only you know about, so that if I get betrayed, I can come directly to you."

"Are you about to take action?"

“Someone has betrayed me. The longer I delay, the more dangerous it becomes for the people I know. You should leave the Romano matter to someone else. Also, I need an advance on some money.”

"You're about to die, how are you going to pay back the money you borrowed in advance?"

"Even if you die, I won't die!"

"So confident? You little brat, I think you're getting a bit arrogant."

"Don't you dare to take a gamble?"

"Alright, alright, considering our friendship, how much do you want?"

"One hundred million."

"No! At most three million!"

"Then three million."

"Damn it! You little brat, you've got to wait here! I'll arrange a safe house for you in Dogtown. Ever heard of Sapphire Blue? I've never been this attentive to you, not even to my own son."

"Thank you, Thomasin."

"No need to thank me. Just make sure Romano stays away before you become a human bomb, so you don't blow up the future of the Mussol family."

Chapter 117

Nightfall bathed the city, and tonight, even the stench seemed to have lessened.

The Wild Wolf Bar is noisy and chaotic yet safe and familiar, a haven where mercenaries can temporarily let down their guard.

Jack gulped down his beer, while Vincent raised his glass to him, and the two chatted about the recent mess of requests and the endless troubles in Night City.

It's been a long time since I've had such a peaceful moment. Night City is a place of constant fighting, scheming, and betrayal. Only at the Wild Wolf Bar can I temporarily forget all of this.

Vincent looked up at the two enormous wolf heads hanging from the ceiling.

“Jack, I mean, why are those two heads so creepy? I don’t mean creepy, but the kind that makes me feel a sense of crisis.”

Jack said in a low voice.

"It was Vito's idea; he's the one who installed the heavy machine guns under those two heads."

"Holy crap!"

At that moment, Pepi at the bar shouted enthusiastically.

"Hey, Vito, long time no see!"

Vito, who hadn't been here in a long time, slowly walked into the bar.

"Long time no see, Peppy! You look radiant!"

"Aha, thanks to you guys, I can now support my family just from the handling fees."

Jack and Vincent turned around, and Jack told Vito to come and sit down quickly, opening a bottle of beer for him.

“Mano, you haven’t been to Wild Wolf in ages. V and I have been talking about you every day.”

Vito felt a sense of relief seeing that Jack and Vincent had become good friends again.

Just then, two new guests entered the Wolf Pack. They were dressed in sharp suits and looked somewhat out of place among the mercenaries around them.

Valerie and Anne, who are about to travel to Europe, are stepping into the Wolf Bar for the first time.

Jack greeted him warmly.

"Hi, uh, Valerie! Anne!"

Valerie walked to the bar.

"Jack, don't you always call me V?"

"You're also called V?"

Vincent was somewhat curious.

"also?"

"My name is Vincent, but my friends call me V."

Valerie sized up Vincent, who was also named V, while Vincent observed Valerie in return.

Vito watched this historic meeting, sipped his beer, and considered whether to take a picture.

Jack scratched his head.

“I never thought there was anything wrong with it before. I even said it quite smoothly. V, uh, Vincent, let me introduce you. This is Valerie, Valerie, and this is Vincent. Both Vs are my friends.”

Valerie chuckled softly. She was somewhat curious about Vincent because she had a strange feeling that Vincent possessed a quality that was very similar to her own.

Vincent felt the same way; he didn't really like wearing suits, but he didn't feel that same aversion towards Valerie.

At this moment, Vito spoke up.

"It's rare for us all to get together, let's go to the private room on the second floor, I'll get the drinks!"

After saying that, Vito braced himself with his hands and jumped over the bar.

"Hey, Vito, watch out! Walk on the side plank! Mrs. Wells recently got some good wine for those mercenaries who get big orders, don't break it!"

"Haha, Peppy, are you tipping off my two drunkard lads?"

Mrs. Wells walked over to the bar and saw Vito; her smile deepened.

"You haven't been here in a long time, Vito. I heard the girl was injured?"

"Liying was shot, and Gloria had surgery; she's much better now."

Mrs. Wells sighed softly.

"Give my regards to my girl, Jack. Bring up all the good wine to entertain your friends. I haven't met these two new friends yet."

Valerie realized that the person in front of her was Jack's mother.

"Hello, Mrs. Wells, I'm Valerie, and this is Anne."

Mrs. Wells smiled and nodded.

“Jack is good at making friends. You guys take your time drinking. I won’t bother the young people. Jack, I’ll allow you to empty the bar, but you have to stay sober enough to let Vito go home, understand?”

Jack saluted.

"Roger that!"

The group chatted and laughed as they went up to the second floor. On the way, several mercenaries greeted Vito, who was a prominent figure in the Wild Wolves.

After everyone had been drinking for a while, Vito took a sip of strong liquor and spoke calmly.

"I've been too tired lately, there's been too much going on in Night City, I plan to take a break for a while. I might... have to leave this city temporarily."

Jack's smile vanished instantly, his eyes filled with disappointment and sadness. He was a brother who had been with him day and night, sharing life and death. Even though Night City was used to gatherings and separations, he was still reluctant to part with his brother.

"Mano, don't keep everything bottled up inside. If something's wrong, just say it out loud, and we'll solve it together."

Vito shook his head.

"It's nothing, I'm just too tired and want to rest for a while. I'll be back in a bit."

Jack clinked his cup against Vito's.

“You always say that Liying has to shoulder everything herself, but aren’t you the same? Just say you’re a couple, and if anything happens, just let me know, and Jack Wells will definitely help you right away.”

"Thanks, Jack."

Vincent silently raised his glass, his eyes filled with regret. As a fellow mercenary, he knew all too well what leaving meant: the future was unknown, and there was no hope of ever meeting again.

He also wanted to get to know Vito better. He felt at home in Wild Wolves, and perhaps one day in the future, he would join Vito's team.

Valerie watched Vito quietly, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes. She thought that Vito had finally heeded her advice, temporarily avoiding the limelight, staying away from the Arasaka Vortex, and protecting himself.

Anne asked.

Where are you going?