Cyberpunk: I didn't cheat.

In the old neighborhoods of southern Santo Domingo, littered with garbage and abandoned cars, Vito and Jack watched as the H06 skyscraper and spherical industrial gas tanks came together at a particular angle.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I dare say the person who had H06 repaired there definitely knows about this. What do you say, Vito?"

Vito sipped his cocoa, waiting for news from Qiwei.

This is Sixth Street Gang territory, but yesterday they delivered a shipment of goods "stolen" from a military technology truck. For the recipient, the value of this shipment lies not in whether it's a weapon or a cybernetic device, but in the device itself: a portable data terminal from military technology, containing encryption algorithms that could give several major companies in Night City a headache for a week.

Qiwei is already in position; she's probably in a nearby parking lot right now.

"Listen, I'll only say it once."

Qiwei's voice transmitted through an encrypted channel to Vito and Jack's minds. She was in a modified van two kilometers away, lying in the hacker chair inside the van.

Her eyes were vacant, the standard expression after "emotional blocking" was activated—no fear, no hesitation, only absolute calculation.

"The target is Warehouse 4 in Zone C, the office on the second floor. The Sixth Street Gang has sent a three-man squad to guard it this time, all heavily armed infantry. A frontal assault would only attract more trouble. But there's good news: their network firewall is an older version of military technology, and I have a backdoor."

"Understood. How do we get in?"

Jack's voice was low, but his massive frame, huddled behind the container, still seemed out of place. He held reason in his hand, the source of his sense of security.

"No need to go in." Qiwei's fingers flew across the keyboard. "Vito, look at your three o'clock position, that ventilation duct. Jack, you cover Vito, don't let your voice give away your position."

"Hey! Is my voice really that loud?"

Jack muttered to himself, but he obediently put aside his rationality and switched to a silenced pistol.

Vito didn't speak. He adjusted his breathing, glided along the ground like a black cheetah, and silently crossed the overgrown clearing.

"Take action," Qi Wei coldly ordered.

Vito sprang into action instantly, took a few running steps, leaped up, grabbed the edge of the ventilation duct with both hands, and silently flipped inside.

At the same time, Qiwei's intrusion also began.

Two Sixth Street gang guards were leaning against the wall smoking at the warehouse entrance when suddenly, the prosthetic eye interface in front of them flickered.

[System Warning: Coolant Leak.]

"Damn it, what the hell?" the guard on the left cursed, just about to raise his hand to check the status of his prosthetic body, when a piercing alarm suddenly exploded in his head.

[System Warning: Vision module overload.]

His vision instantly turned into a screen of static, followed by a violent ringing in his ears. He staggered backward, knocking over his companion.

"What's going on? A hacker?!"

Before they could react, all the lights in the warehouse suddenly went out, plunging them into deathly darkness.

"Jack, now." Qiwei's voice remained steady.

Jack burst out of the shadows, smashing through the side door like a heavy tank. While the guards were still frantically trying to fix the malfunctioning prosthetic eye, he fired rapidly, two capped armor-piercing bullets piercing the brains of the two men.

boom!boom!

The two burly men collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound.

"Two taken care of, Vito. The one inside is yours."

Jack spoke into the channel, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Done."

Vito's voice came from the second floor.

The next second, Vito landed, holding the silver data terminal in his hand.

He entered the room through the ventilation opening and lowered himself down using a rope gun.

He waited for the opportunity to strike a fatal blow.

The moment the guard turned to check the changes in the factory lights, Vito fired an armor-piercing round from a silenced Euro, killing him instantly by shooting it into his eye socket.

The whole process took less than ten seconds.

There was no noise, no alarms, not even a single unnecessary word.

Vito landed, tossed the data terminal to Jack, and then nodded slightly to the air—a gesture of respect to Qiwei.

"withdraw."

The three quickly evacuated along the pre-arranged route.

Jack drove Vito's Magician, with Vito sitting in the passenger seat using a personal connection to analyze data terminals, while Qiwei drove the van away from the scene.

The wheels crunched over the trash on the road.

Jack glanced at the dormant old industrial area behind him through the rearview mirror and couldn't help but whistle.

"Wow, this went so smoothly!"

He patted the steering wheel, an incredulous smile on his face.

"I thought they were going to wreak havoc again this time, blowing that warehouse to the sky. But what happened? They got the stuff without even a sound."

He turned to look at Vito.

"Bro, that rope incursion you just pulled was so cool! And Qiwei, your hacking skills are simply amazing, but I have a question."

Qiwei's voice rang out in the shared channel.

"explain!"

Jack then asked.

"Are all hacker girls this cold and aloof?"

Qi Wei's voice still sounded the same.

"Calmness is a standard for a hacker."

Qiwei didn't say much. She remained expressionless, a side effect of emotional blockage. She couldn't feel the joy of completing the mission, nor could she feel close to her teammates.

Jack added.

"This is our last deal together, how about we have a farewell dinner?"

"No need, I need to go back to Mann's squad."

Qiwei turned off her emotional blockade and replied.

Jack was somewhat surprised.

"So hasty? Not even a drink?"

"No need, let's wait for another opportunity."

After saying that, Qiwei left the channel.

In Night City, the relationship between mercenaries and hackers is essentially a transaction. Kivi, a girl with a difficult past, was picked up from the streets by Rebecca's Mann Squad, who treated her like family.

Jack remarked with emotion.

"She looks like a girl with a story. I've met those kinds of people; everything about them tells a story from the past."

Vito nodded in agreement.

Jack slowed down.

"Hey, Mano, don't let money get to you. As Misty said, sometimes it takes more courage to slow down than to rush forward."

Vito smiled.

"It's nothing, I've almost sorted out the money issue. It's just that I've seen too many messy things lately, which is making me a bit upset."

Jack also remarked with emotion.

"Yeah, but at least we haven't stooped to taking any disgusting job. I'll take you somewhere where we can relax."

"where?"

"Devil's Boxing Club, that's a place full of real enthusiasts. There's an old saying at Devil's Boxing Club: whoever beats you to a pulp, that's the person you should befriend."

"Okay, we also need to relax properly outside of work."