Great, we're doomed now!

Lucy turned to the side, one hand on her hip, looking like a model at a fashion show under the red and blue lights, her silver hair swaying as her face revealed a rare gentleness.

"I'm so happy today... You won!"

"Ugh?"

Ye Shou took off his 3D glasses, and before he could even ask her what he had won, Lucy had already opened the door and walked out.

"What an impatient person. At least give my regards to Sasha."

The boy pursed his lips and refocused on his work.

Judging from Lucy's various actions, this Mewtwo is indeed a good thing, and it will definitely touch the hearts of most people. If Ye Shou has ambition, he might be able to open up the market with this and make a fortune.

However, Ye Shou is not short of money. Moreover, Night City is a wicked and decadent place. For some people who want to escape reality, the allure of Mewtwo is no less than that of illegal drugs. What if a group of "cyber addicts" are raised?

Ye Shou didn't consider himself a person of high moral character, but he also strongly disliked this kind of thing.

That being said, Mewtwo is still very useful!

With such outstanding results, it can be kept as a card in hand. Once it comes in a situation where it can be used, it will be an unexpected and powerful weapon!

Thinking more deeply, if this technology matures, it could be used to select specific scenarios and emotions to give users psychological cues.

If NERvGear were widely promoted in the main world, to the point that everyone had one, wouldn't Ye Shou be able to influence the emotions and mental state of all mankind by implanting [Mewtwo]?

To put it extremely, it's brainwashing...

Of course, Ye Shou is not such an ambitious person. Many of his current cards are prepared to deal with future disasters, including this one.

Imagine if, when the nautilus surfaced from the deep sea, all of humanity's emotions were stirred, everyone yearning for the light, courageous and fearless, united as one, and the giant snail, upon opening its eyes, saw Ultraman Tiga, his entire body gleaming with golden light—

Just thinking about it is so exciting!

Although the pyramids haven't been found yet, and maybe even the "Land of Tiga" hasn't appeared yet, in extreme cases, Ultraman might not even appear in the end... In short, do your best and leave the rest to fate. It's always good to be prepared!

When I get back, I'll start a company called "Mewtwo," and the symbol will be something everyone likes—a blue sky that evokes feelings of freedom and hope.

Let's call it "Blue Dream Group"!

……

Stepping out of the clinic and onto the line where sunlight and shadow met, Lucy was somewhat dazed. Instead of leaving immediately, she took two steps back, leaned against the wall, and pulled out a cigarette from her pocket.

As soon as the fire was lit, Lucy's gaze sharpened as she watched the slowly burning tobacco. Suddenly, she threw the cigarette away and stomped it out.

"We lost..."

When she left, there was a half-pack of women's cigarettes at the feet of the homeless man by the roadside.

Chapter 40: The True Value of the "Unlucky Physique"

Chaos is the underlying tone of the city at night, but during the day, the city, especially in the bustling areas, looks orderly, clean, and comfortable. Beautiful artworks and light projections are everywhere, and futuristic motorcycles and cars speed along the highways, while trains, like silver dragons, hang under bridges and pass by quickly and smoothly.

Well-dressed people hurry by, while unrestrained eccentrics dance and parkour in the streets. People from different professions have their own preferences for cybernetic bodies, showcasing their unique characteristics and vitality in this passionate city.

—It's like two different worlds compared to the ordinary residential areas.

Ye Shou had lived in Night City for quite some time, but he still felt like a tourist. He didn't like taking enclosed transportation and would usually walk to the destination unless the distance was really far. Otherwise, he would choose the intercity train with its open view.

In Night City, there is a type of person who is particularly easy to identify: the company's "employees." This is not just a status; in the post-corporate war era, it is a social class, a step above the middle class in the conventional sense.

They appear highly motivated and serious, walk with a strong sense of rhythm, and have a clear purpose in everything they do. They are more confident and composed than ordinary people.

On the other side of the same street might lie a slum filled with graffiti and littered with beer bottles and syringes. The people there don't share a unified spirit; some are more arrogant than their "employees," while others seem to have sunk to the dust, not wanting to be noticed by anyone.

Gang members are inconspicuous here because they are not a cancer in Night City. Rather, they are the city's excretory system, releasing the chaotic and disorderly gray and black businesses through relatively fixed channels.

Every time Ye Shou strolls through this city, so starkly contrasting yet seamlessly integrated, he can't help but think of a certain country—

India!

Interestingly, Ye Shou was once taken to India by his father.

This was certainly not because his father was tired of living a comfortable life and wanted to make things more difficult for him; rather, it was because Junpei Kuze believed that this was very meaningful for Yoshou's growth.

Unlike Ye Shou, who was the undisputed number one among his peers, Chunping was not the absolute leader in his generation. Although he was a direct descendant, there were quite a few cousins ​​who could compete with him.

He went through a series of struggles to finally gain control of the family... and then Ye Shou grew up and began to show his talent.

When he was young, Chunping was very hardworking. He couldn't wait to make a name for himself after graduating from university. He traveled to many countries for research and exploration, and India was one of the stops that left the deepest impression on him.

He wasn't just a backpacker who briefly visited Mumbai and New Delhi; he once made the difficult decision to travel to rural areas of Uttar Pradesh and several wealthy southern states to conduct research, which gave him a profound understanding of the country.

No one knows what he saw in India or what kind of ideological struggle he went through, but after returning from India, Junpei completely lost his innocence and transformed from a college student into a capitalist overnight.

The barbarity and horror of this country are masked by its comical appearance; it is a massive, unparalleled open-air laboratory, the ultimate state of societal deterioration.

—Junpei's evaluation was not condescending, but completely objective.

He took Ye Shou to India, partly to teach his outstanding son what "reverence" meant, and Ye Shou indeed "benefited greatly."

He saw Night City as a sci-fi version of Mumbai...

Slums stand side-by-side with skyscrapers? Gangs roam freely? Pharmaceutical companies use people for drug trials? Capitalists disregard human life? Politicians and businessmen collude with each other?

What a novel thing!

This is why he remained calm after arriving in Night City, and never broke down or turned to the dark side because of witnessing any ugliness in human nature—the real world is no different, and there's nothing to be surprised about.

At the same time, he didn't think about changing anything:

Even if you blow up Arasaka Tower, a new one will still appear. Without the power of one person to suppress the entire world, this society that has been completely alienated cannot be changed.

People with a strong sense of morality may think that "with great power comes great responsibility," but Ye Shou is clearly not one of them.

"Hmph~ Hmph~~"

After getting off the tram and leisurely strolling around for a while, Ye Shou arrived at a "transfer station" along the coast of Del Coronado Bay.

This is a wasteland with a wide view, surrounded by high walls, barbed wire, and sentries. Inside, shipping containers are neatly arranged, as orderly as houses.

This place is like an underground port, frequented by gangsters, mercenaries, corporations, and other people of dubious origin. They sometimes receive "large items" that are difficult to find on the market. If a transaction cannot be completed immediately, for example, if data needs to be cleared or codes changed, the items will be stored here, and the other party will come to retrieve them with the container number and password.

For example, motorcycles, robots, prosthetic bodies, parts for walking armored vehicles, and certain medium to large-sized devices...

A mid-level manager at the medical center rented several small shipping containers here specifically to store prosthetic bodies that had already been "laundered".

Gloria would always put the prosthetic body Ye Shou ordered here, and he would come to pick it up every now and then to complete the transaction.

This procedure is safer than trading privately, but it requires paying that leader a certain commission... Even though this is also his business, he still has to be so calculating.

As a customer, Ye Shou easily passed the robot check at the entrance. Once inside, a quick glance revealed several people hurrying between the containers. There was also a group of people wearing distinctive leather jackets, who looked like gang members, moving things out of the containers—in Night City, even gangsters have to work hard to survive.

Pretending not to see each other in such a place is a virtue, so Ye Shou walked straight toward his destination without looking to the side.

Perhaps because Night City has been quite lively these past few days, there are many people eager to get cheaper prosthetic bodies. When Ye Shou walked to the container door, he happened to run into a girl who was hurrying out of the small container next door—she should also be a customer of the medical center.

He was going to ignore it and go straight in to find his own safe, but unexpectedly the other person called out instinctively, "Doctor?"

"Ok?"

Ye Shou was surprised. Upon closer inspection, he saw a beautiful girl with a bob haircut, a tall and shapely figure, and lively eyes like a wildcat.

I was thinking about it yesterday, but I didn't expect to meet you today—Ye Shou also smiled.

"Long time no see, Sasha! You look great!"

"Dr. Ye Shou..."

The girl who was called Sasha was initially quite happy, but she quickly realized something, her expression changed abruptly, and she walked straight past Ye Shou.

"Sorry, just pretend you don't know me."

Ye Shou did not try to stop her, but looked at Sasha's back with a slightly strange expression, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He had a premonition:

My "unlucky constitution" is about to prove its worth once again!

Sure enough, not long after, the sentry robots at the transfer point suddenly became restless.

Chapter 41: Beautiful Girl Dolls Delivered to Your Door

Sasha Yakovleva is a member of the Cyberpunk team and a friend of Mann, Rebecca, and others. She is living a pretty good life.

She's a mercenary specializing in intelligence gathering, commonly known as a "cyber hacker." From corporations to gangs, as long as the employer can afford it, she can infiltrate and steal data. She's never failed a case since her debut, making her a top-tier hacker and the technical expert of the cyberpunk team.

Lucy is similar to her in terms of positioning, but her technical skills are even better. She is hailed by someone as a "native genius" and is the kind of person who has a special touch for cyberspace.

However, Lucy is a bit tired of "stealth intrusion" and doesn't take on many of these missions. Instead, she prefers to roam freely on the streets and earn some extra money.

So Sasha and Lucy not only didn't compete with each other, but their relationship was also quite harmonious, and they often spent time together when they weren't on missions.

The Cyber ​​Squad members are all quite capable, and there are no drug addicts or perverts among them. Although they have different personalities and the mercenaries can't be called good people, they are excellent companions, which is already considered a very good "home" in Night City.

She naturally recognized Kuze Ye Shou as well. After all, clients with long-term cooperation, stable transactions, and high pay are hard to find, not only in Night City but even in the real world...

Ye Shou can now trade with the Cyberpunk team without even needing a middleman—this step wouldn't be skipped unless both parties felt the other was trustworthy.

Of course, not every client is as reliable as Ye Shou. For example, Sasha's task this time:

A hapless guy was discovered by a guard robot while infiltrating a corporate building. He tried to leave with the data chip but accidentally lost his footing and fell from the 30s floor, dying instantly.

The stolen chips were recovered by the company, while the body was handed over to the police and eventually ended up in a medical center where it was "recycled".

This would normally be a very common occurrence, happening almost every day in Night City. But this unlucky guy was a hacker who liked to keep a backup plan. Hidden in one of his prosthetic bodies was an inconspicuous chip that looked like the end processor of the prosthetic body. But in reality, after being decoded by a special program, it was a data backup that could be read and was used to record information that he considered valuable.

The client somehow found out about this—possibly through the unfortunate man's middleman—and, being very interested in the data the unfortunate man ultimately stole, issued a new task:

Find the hidden chip inside the prosthetic body and decrypt the data!

Judging from the mission requirements alone, it was quite difficult, but the key was how to retrieve the prosthetic body. The danger was not very high. Out of respect for the mission reward, Sasha accepted the task without hesitation.

Of course, she wasn't a lone wolf. In every operation, at least two members of the cyberpunk team would be assigned to provide necessary support and cover during retreats.

Following the clues, she discovered the medical center's gray market activities, and then found the shipping and purchasing records in the database, which led her to this place.

Everything went smoothly from the start. She completed the identity verification, passed the access control, and successfully located the container at the medical center. There were no problems until she opened the safe with the corresponding number.

Logically, all she needed to do was hack into the prosthetic body's hidden chip, crack the firewall and encryption methods, download a copy, and then turn around and leave as if nothing had happened, all without anyone noticing.

But as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat!

Perhaps it's a common trait among cyber hackers; they always seem to crave things they shouldn't see, either getting their brains fried by aggressive firewalls or being hunted down for some secret. In this line of work, if you're not honest and upright, you're particularly prone to a short lifespan.