Cyberpunk: I didn't cheat.

T-bug nodded slightly. Vito had given her a new life. Of all the people she had worked with, only Vito and Jack made her feel like they were family.

As the two were about to leave cyberspace, T-bug suddenly called out to Vito.

“I asked the people here, and they said that no one in Tahiti grows mangoes anymore, and even the lemons, which are the most famous fruit here, are not grown much anymore.”

Vito was taken aback, not expecting that his earlier teasing of T-bug had led her to mistakenly believe that she was interested in Tahiti mangoes.

He waved his hand.

"It's okay. I heard the sea in Tahiti is very blue. Just take a couple of pictures and send them to me. I'm off now."

After saying that, Vito logged off.

Vito got off the hacker chair and stretched.

This internet running experience opened the door to a new world for Vito. His previous understanding of the internet was limited to the search bar, but now he truly appreciates the charm of cyberspace.

T-bug's secrets are very useful, and Vito can't wait to create two viruses to try them out.

Who should we use as a test subject?

He first sent a whole email to Big Joe.

The email contained a prize-winning message from a fake IP address. Once the link was clicked, Joe could see Vitor giving the middle finger.

Five minutes later, Da Qiao sent a message.

[We told you to embrace technology sooner, and you end up doing this kind of cyberterrorism?]

[This is a warning from Vivi. Come find me when you're healed; I need to discuss something with you.]

[I reckon this is definitely not a good thing. Never mind, could you make me one of those guns?]

[It can be done, and it's definitely more worthwhile than what you'd buy at the stadium.]

[That's great! By the way, could you give me a discount?]

[I won't charge you a penny less, but I can help with your neighbor's matter. I can take him to Dr. Victor's Clinic in Watson District for a prosthetic surgery. Victor sent you here. Put it on my tab; you can pay the surgery fee slowly.]

[Thanks, Vito. When we meet, I'll treat you to avocado pizza and lasagna. I know a place that makes really good stuff.]

After ending the chat, Vito created a simple but untraceable virus and launched it directly at the Night City branch of Biotech's network firewall.

Vito loves biotechnology, and he always gives them a share of the good stuff first.

After finishing all this, it was already late at night. Vito would lose track of time when he was doing research.

Stepping out of the hacker room, Vito saw that the projector TV was on, showing the news.

"In his speech today, new councilor Romeno Musso declared war on the people's growing poverty and unbalanced lives, saying that politicians in Night City have an obligation to take responsibility for the people's lives..."

The sound pierced the silence in the basement room. Li Ying wasn't watching TV. Vito had assumed she had gone to sleep, but when he went to the bedroom, he still couldn't find her.

Vito called out to her while searching for her in the other rooms.

No one answered the phone, but Vito found Li Ying in front of the hidden emergency exit. Her eyes were gleaming, and she was banging on the emergency exit in a daze.

Vito quickly stepped forward and inserted a prosthetic volume chip into Liying.

In her hallucination, Li Ying was running, fleeing Night City, with the Night City monsters chasing her getting closer and closer. Every breath she took felt like an ice knife slicing through her throat.

A blood-red countdown appeared before her eyes.

She ran toward the only light, and just as she was about to reach it, Cha's voice rang out behind her.

"Help me, Liying, help me!"

When Liying heard that she would no longer care about the countdown in the future, she wanted to save Xiaocha.

Li Ying turned around, only to find that it wasn't Xiao Cha at all. All the severed limbs and decaying corpses formed a huge monster that devoured Li Ying in an instant.

When she opened her eyes, Liying was still breathing heavily, as if she had indeed been submerged in flesh and blood.

She found herself lying in bed, and Vito was conducting a detailed interview with her via personal connection.

“Vito, I had a nightmare.”

Li Ying's voice betrayed her unease.

Vito gently comforted Li Ying, while he waited for the details.

Finally, the countdown reached zero, and the event concluded.

Vito frowned, his face more serious than ever before.

Everything was normal according to the detailed examination. Li Ying was in good health. Vito even paid special attention to the nerve-related parts, but there was still no abnormality.

But the shimmering eyes that Vito just saw are symptoms of cyberbullying.

Li Ying didn't have many prosthetics, but she still had cybernetic psychosis.

He asked Liying about the content of her nightmares and when she started having them.

Finally, it was determined that it was definitely related to the behavioral chip. At that time, the behavioral chip had been combined with the prosthetic capacity chip several times, which should have eliminated some of the side effects.

But Vito didn't know the exact extent to which it had been eliminated.

He then inserted a prosthetic volume chip into Liying.

He walked up to the temperature control chamber. Behavioral chips always need to be tested by people. If you just follow your ideals, you will never know whether what you make is useful.

Vito picked up the chip; whether to study it or to find out what was wrong with Liying, he had to try it himself.

To have a backup plan, he placed the prosthetic capacity chip in the most convenient position for him.

The chip was inserted into the computer, and several prompts appeared in front of his eyes.

[Hunter Level +20]

[Lone Wolf Level +20]

[Prosthetic capacity +17]

[An unknown error has occurred. Pre-installing the program. Please eject the chip.]

What's going on?

Chapter 145 Untrust Us

Vito could feel that some of his combat abilities had improved, which was probably due to the behavioral chip. His prosthetic body capacity had also increased, but his body was completely normal.

He ran a self-test, and the data was all normal. He ran it twice more and compared the data three times. The data was slightly different, which showed that the self-test was real and not fake data generated by the virus.

Vito returned to his bedroom, where Liying seemed still reeling from the nightmare.

Her beautiful face was marked with several scars, as if composed of confusion and fear. Vito sat down beside her and gently hugged her.

"If you don't want to stay in Night City, you can go to the moon and wait for me. Gloria and the others are there too. I'll come to the moon to find you after I've sorted things out here."

Liying shook her head, then hugged Vito tightly, her confusion and fear turning into determination.

"Rather than running away, I want to help you in Night City. I can face these things."

Vito hugged her tighter, both wanting to pull each other into their own bodies.

"You don't need to sacrifice yourself for me. It's too tiring. I want you to relax and be happier."

Li Ying kissed Vito's earlobe.

“Being with you makes me feel most relaxed and happiest, Vito. I’m not sacrificing myself. 0.5 and 0.5 together make 1. You and I are each other’s half.”

The two were so engrossed in the pleasure with their lover that they eventually fell into a deep sleep.

The feeling of peace dispelled all nightmares, and neither Liying nor Vito had any unusual dreams to disturb the beauty of the moment.

As dawn broke, Vito embraced Li Ying and opened his eyes.

Suddenly, he saw a figure standing by the bed.

Vito quickly raised his right hand and fired his hidden sword.

剁！

The hidden blade pierced through the shadow and embedded itself in the wall.

Vito finally recognized the figure and was stunned, speechless with emotion.

"What's up?"

Liying was also awakened by the commotion, and she saw Vito staring blankly at the wall.

"So, did I create a mod? Or is there a bug in the program? Or are these just my nightmares?"

Vito muttered to himself. Li Ying thought something was wrong with Vito, so she quickly went to get the prosthetic volume chip.

Just as she was about to insert the chip into Vito's computer, Vito's hand stopped her.

"I'm fine. The next batch of materials hasn't arrived yet. Let's keep the chips just in case."

Liying hesitated for a moment, but in the end she listened to Vito.

"Okay, I'll go prepare breakfast. What would you like to eat?"

"Make what you like to eat, because I like what you like to eat too."

Vito got dressed and went to the dressing room.

Just as he thought, that thing was in his head.

"So, everyone else has Keanu Reeves, and I have Dutch van der Linde?"

The figure, dressed in a sophisticated bespoke suit with two revolvers at his waist, was none other than Dutch Van der Linde from Red Dead Redemption.

Vito felt that he was being punished for always using Dutch jokes.

"Good morning, young man. You're such a Sleeping Beauty. I thought you'd sleep until the Pinkerton detective crawled into your bed."

Dutch looks to be in good spirits. Judging from his confidence and the blackness of his hair, he should be Dutch from the time of The Outlaws 2, which is also the time of Idea King.

"Don't worry, old America collapsed years ago, and Pinkerton, which you're talking about, is long gone."

Dutch looked around, seemingly filled with curiosity about this new world.

"I like it here, it's chaotic, exciting, and the strong rule."

Vito pursed his lips, it seemed that Dutch had already gained a general understanding of this world through his own mind.

“Vito, I have a plan. We can become the kings of this city!”

Dutch's passionate voice came through.

Vito interrupted Dutch, "That old man's started planning again."

"I also have a plan. I'll give you fifteen dollars and twenty-five cents. Can you get out of my head?"

Dutch paused for a moment, then took out a cigar and lit it.

“Vito, I will leave eventually, but don’t you want to do something big while we have enough time together? Once we have enough…”

"No, I don't want to go to Tahiti, and besides, they don't grow mangoes there anymore. Don't talk nonsense."

Dutch's face turned pale, and in a fit of anger, he drew his revolver and fired a burst of shots at Vito. As the smoke cleared, Vito's grinning face mocked Dutch.

"Missed it, what a pity, old Dutch. All you can do is try to grab a spot at the station."

Afterward, Vito discovered that he seemed to be able to temporarily send Dutch to another place with his mind. He tried it, and old Dutch disappeared from his sight.

Night City is about to have another madman.

After breakfast, Vito continued to surf the internet to improve his hacking skills, and also told Thomasino that he needed to double the amount of materials he required.

Thomasino readily accepted Vito's new request. This time, instead of making Vito do dirty work in exchange, he sent him an invitation to a party—the Kurt Hansenbosch New Year's Eve party.

The year 2077 is almost here. I wonder if the people and things that Vito once knew will still appear as promised.

2076 12 Month 31 Day.

Vito attended Kurt Hansen's Gemstone Party alone, but only to meet Hansen; he didn't really intend to spend the night there.

Hansen invited many celebrities, and Vito saw many familiar faces, including the mayor of Night City and the director of the NCPD, who often speak on television.

The main anchor of Channel 54 News and a well-known reporter from WNS TV engaged in a war of words, exchanging barbs and insults. They also have a high rate of television appearances.