Cyberpunk: I didn't cheat.

Vito arrived at the agreed-upon location, just as Joe was stuffing the last piece of pizza into his mouth.

"Have you been eating like this ever since I left?"

Big Joe took the terminal, glanced at it, and put it in his pocket.

"None of your business. It's rare to see others working. What's wrong with me eating a little? Let's go and collect your pay."

"Reward?"

Vito became interested. He wouldn't get a penny for doing this job, but the reward was probably a bullet that would come from behind him to eliminate him.

"Let's go then, I can't wait to count the money."

Big Joe led Vito to a building on the outskirts of Dogtown and then spoke to him.

"The reward is inside. Go up and get it yourself. I'll wait for you down here. When you come down, I'll treat you to fried crab horns."

After saying that, Da Qiao leaned against a scrapped truck and closed his eyes to rest.

Vito went up to the room number according to the location given by Joe and knocked on the door.

Whoosh!

The old door is open.

A man dressed as a street cleaner poked his head out.

"You're the person Da Qiao was talking about? Come in."

Vito entered the room, where a man was hurling insults.

“Are you all idiots?! How many times have I told you? Built-in prosthetics go in the refrigerator, external prosthetics go outside! Do you even know what a built-in prosthetic is?! If anyone puts their intestines outside or their legs in the refrigerator again, I’ll shove that stupid thing into the incinerator!”

"Hey, the goods that Joe mentioned have arrived."

The person who was hurling insults turned around.

"Then what the hell are you standing there for! Do you want me to take his stuff? You're a fucking idiot too."

"No, wait, I'm just telling you, is it really necessary to get so angry?"

The scavenger pointed a gun at Vito.

"You're really unlucky! Lie down there yourself, or I'll give you a quick death later, I won't let you suffer!"

Vito looked dejected, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.

He took something out and handed it to the cleaner.

"Please give this to my family for me!"

The scavenger subconsciously took what Vito handed him.

"What the hell? Holy crap! A detonator!"

Vito grabbed the cleaner by the shoulder, turning him towards the others in the room, and then delivered a powerful right kick to the cleaner's chest, sending him flying to his comrades.

Then, a bullet hit the detonator, and the explosion left the scavengers dizzy and with ringing ears.

Vito casually used euros to get rid of the cleaners, and then connected to their computers to mine euro accounts.

It's been a while since I did this, so let's wink today.

While browsing through the cleaner's computer, Vito came across an interesting email message.

[Joynias isn't paying back the money! Are you all out of your minds? Why did you lend him money in the first place?!]

[It's not my fault, is it? He lost thousands at the casino and got desperate. He pointed a gun at me and said he wanted to lend me the money. I thought he wanted to keep gambling, but then he just grabbed the money and left!]

[You got played! You lost a few thousand dollars, and you fucking lent him twenty thousand!]

[It's nothing. He just messaged me saying he's sending someone over, and that person has at least one genuine Asobi Giganaki Eye.]

After reading the message, Vito whistled as he walked out of the room filled with corpses.

Dogtown is fucking fun!

Vito went downstairs and saw Big Joe still resting with his eyes closed next to the junkyard.

"You're down? Let's go get some fried crab roe. I know all the best restaurants in Dogtown."

Vito pulled out the euro and looked at Joe with a sinister gaze.

"Don't you have anything to explain?"

Big Joe didn't care about Vito's act of drawing his gun.

"Hans wants to test your skills. I happen to owe those guys some money. I'll be happy with whatever the outcome is, but I know you can come down and have some fried crab tarts with me."

If you're unhappy about it, you can complain to your supplier, but this is a necessary step; I've been through it before.

Vito put away the euros.

"Okay, I accept that explanation."

Big Joe arrived in his car, a compact, round car that seemed quite out of place with his large physique.

"Get in the car. You've been walking all day and haven't eaten enough to burn off the energy. Oh, by the way, I just heard an explosion. Is it a complete mess inside?"

Vito got into the car.

"No, I just threw away a small toy I picked up from the market. The figure on it isn't broken enough to require me to put it back together myself."

"That's good."

Da Qiao didn't rush to start the car; instead, he made a phone call first.

"Hey, Bova, I have a batch of goods to buy back. I'll send you the location. Pay me tonight. Your people better hurry up, or we'll be too late."

After ending the phone call, Da Qiao started the Roller and drove towards the Great Empire Mall in Dog Town.

"So, you tricked those cleaners and then sold them off in a package deal?"

Da Qiao focused on driving.

"What do you mean I'm underhanded? Didn't you kill them? I'm just taking care of their funeral arrangements."

Vito has been in Night City for so long, and now he finally said something from the bottom of his heart.

"Okay, you're awesome!"

Da Qiao's character remains to be observed and evaluated, but his shrewdness in making money is quite high.

The fried crab roe at this shop, served with that stuff called "new yogurt," was quite delicious.

Watching Joe once again display that look of enjoying his food, Vito felt content just watching Joe eat.

"You really like to eat?"

Da Qiao swallowed all the food before speaking.

“Living things live by eating. I’m not the kind of person who just lives off protein bars. If you live like that, you might as well be dead.”

"Alright, that makes sense. You're quite interesting too, why are you thinking of working for Hans?"

Big Joe wiped his hands, then pulled his sunglasses down a bit and rolled his eyes at Vito.

"Vito, didn't your family tell you not to talk so much during meals?"

"Hmm, okay!"

When Vito left, he packed a few fried crab horn sets to take back for Li Ying and Xiao Cha to try. After refusing to squeeze into the small car with the big guy, Vito went back to the Gemstone Green Hotel by himself.

In the evening, Vito received a call from Mr. Henz.

"Hey Vito, what do your friends think of the snacks in Dogtown?"

"I've heard it's quite delicious, better than the ones in Night City. Is something wrong, Hans? Are you dissatisfied with the task I completed?"

“Of course I’m satisfied, Vito. You’re the kind of person all middlemen like—professional and efficient. This deal is done.”

I heard from Joynias that you were a little upset about me testing your skills? Please allow me to apologize, but it was your uncle's idea after all.

"My uncle?"

"Judging from your reaction, that old rascal Tommasino played another joke on me. Do you remember how preoccupied you were?"

"Of course, how could we forget about it after just one day?"

“My little office is upstairs over there. Let’s meet sometime and discuss the follow-up to today’s commission.”

Chapter 128 Bewitching

Tommasino returned to Night City. The old man seemed to have really gone to work this time, and he was so exhausted that even his top-notch prosthetic body couldn't help him recover.

At that moment, he was at the Hansen Party in Sapphire Blue, chatting and laughing with several men who looked like businessmen.

Vito changed into a purple suit to attend the party. Originally, Vito wasn't very interested in Dogtown's tyrant's party, but he couldn't resist Old Man Tom's constant nagging.

Finally, for the sake of the ten thousand euros, Vito accepted the commission to attend the party with Tommasino.

“We are making great progress. Zeta Technologies is definitely the company with the best future development. I have no doubt about that. Next year, Zeta’s focus will return to Night City. We will make a huge investment here. My friend, an investment you absolutely cannot imagine!”

Thomasino boasted about Zeta Technology, while Vito frowned as he looked at the glass of champagne adorned with gold dust placed in front of him.

Is this drinkable?

At that moment, a middle-aged man came over and greeted Thomasin.

"Long time no see, Mr. Musso."

Thomasino stood up and gave the newcomer a big hug.

"Long time no see, Doctor."

The businessmen exchanged glances, then rose to bid farewell to Thomasinho.

"Your Excellency, we will report the situation to the family. We wish you good health."

After saying that, the group left the booth.

The doctor sat down in the still-warm seat and asked the waiter for a glass of champagne.

Thomasino looked at the other person with a smile in his eyes.

"Dr. Thiago, I heard you and Wade had a little disagreement."

Thiago smiled and shook his finger.

"Ah, Mr. Musso, it seems you've also planted some accomplices in Dogtown."

"Of course, my continental friends are very concerned about Dogtown."

Thiago lowered his voice and leaned forward.

"To tell you the truth, Wade and I are doing great. It's just that a commercial spy stole some things from our base and ruined my partnership with the Rome club. But, we..."

Thomasino leaned back casually, looking rather uninterested.

"I hope your loss isn't too great, Vito. Don't disturb that poor glass of champagne. If you don't want it, have the puppies bring you something you like."

Seeing that Tommasino was not interested, Thiago resumed his sitting posture and chuckled.

"Young man, gold is good for your health."

Vito put down the cup and wiped the gold dust off his hands.

"Forget it, eating too much gold will kill you."

Seeing the veiled meaning in Vito's words, Tommasino pretended to be very interested and asked Thiago.

"Sorry, I was interrupted by little Vito. Doctor, would you mind telling me about your business again?"

"Of course, if Mr. Musso doesn't mind, you're welcome to come to our venue. Trust me, the future top sports events will all be held there!"

"That's a good suggestion. How about the day after tomorrow? I need to take little Vito to the casino to play cards today."

A glint of light flashed in Thiago's eyes.

"Of course, I'll have my men prepare the chips for you. I'll be going now. Have a good time, Mr. Musso."

After Thiago left, Tommasino asked.