Great, we're doomed now!

"Yeah, you're as energetic as ever! Being young is great!"

"Hiss!"

Ye Shou spoke in such an old-fashioned manner that Carmilla found it amusing and couldn't help but laugh.

David then "noticed" that today's commotion was unusual—

"Teacher...who are these two? What are your plans for returning to Night City this time?"

Having more manpower around means that you need help to achieve a certain goal, which is a very reasonable assumption, especially considering Ye Shou's image in David's mind: he pursues efficiency and has very little personal desire, so this is naturally for "official business".

if not?

It couldn't possibly be that he was traveling around with his harem, could it?

My teacher, David Martinez, was not that shallow!

“Oh, Lucy, you’ve met them before. These two are Carmilla and Ruri… I’ll introduce them to you in more detail later. As for my return this time… heh, I really did come with a plan.”

"really!"

David became excited for the first time in a long time, and without asking what the plan was, he said, "Count me in, I also want to lend you a hand."

"Okay, thank you very much. Now, let's do it together—"

Ye Shou smiled slightly at the cybernetic boy:

"Destroy this world!"

Chapter 468: Why Not Fly Around the Earth a Few Times? (5K)

Next Life Bar.

The former "Mann Squad" occupied the largest space against the wall, and everyone looked at David when he stood up.

“This meal is on me today,” he said, slamming his hand on the table. “It’s a treat for our long-awaited reunion—come on, one, two!”

"cheers!"

The bright yellow liquid sloshed violently in the glass, and both men and women drank it down in one gulp, even those who were small in stature.

After the first round, David stepped aside, making way for the people following behind him:

A young man with a mohawk was chewing gum, his cheeks puffing out as he grinned at the crowd, revealing a row of silver braces. A girl standing next to him, who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen, stood with her hands in her hoodie pockets, her eyes lazily scanning the room without saying a word.

“This is Qiqi, this is Galen,” David patted them on the shoulder one by one, “Now work with me.”

"You've really made something of yourself, David!"

Mann lifted his face from the sofa, the light casting a glossy sheen on his dark skin. He gave the two men a careful look and then nodded without saying anything polite.

However, in this atmosphere, everyone quickly became friends.

David poured himself a glass, tilted his head back and gulped down half a mouthful. The spiciness burned from his throat all the way to his chest. He turned his head and found that the big black guy had moved next to him at some point.

Mann didn't look at him, his gaze fixed on the laughing and joking crowd across the table. He twirled the glass in his hand twice, the ice cubes clinking together.

His appearance was practically telling everyone, "If you have any questions, come and ask me!" David grinned, feeling a sense of familiarity with Mann, who hadn't changed much since.

In the early stages of learning various survival skills from Ye Shou, he served as Ye Shou's "disciple," doing many trivial tasks for him and also having a relatively close relationship with Mann.

As time went on, wave after wave of wanderers wanting to escape Night City smuggled themselves out through David & Mann. Although Ye Shou accepted them all, he slowed down the "talent introduction" after reaching a certain limit, and David and Mann met less often.

David never saw the veteran mercenary again until Mann and his team left, and Ye Shou's appearances also decreased significantly... He once thought that he would eventually lose all contact with everyone and made the corresponding preparations.

But this time, not only did Ye Shou return, but he also brought back Mann's squad, which truly surprised and delighted David.

The happy days are back!

After all, no matter how much he grows up, David is still essentially a teenager. His father and brothers have a huge influence on him. Even if he has the ability to survive independently, he still feels more at ease having such people around him.

This comfort and relaxation was something his mother, Gloria, could not provide.

David put down his glass, wiped his mouth with his thumb, and deliberately lowered his voice, tilting his head to the side:

"Boss Mann."

"Ok?"

"What the teacher meant by 'destroying the world'," he paused, as if to confirm he hadn't misremembered, "wasn't it something like a case of teenage angst?"

"That's a problem..."

Mann raised his glass to his eyes, looking through the amber liquid at the blurry, distorted figures.

"I do not know either!"

"..."

"But I know one thing."

"what?"

Mann took a sip, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, then put the cup down.

Turning her head, her calm eyes lingered on David's face for a moment.

“That person has never been wrong. You’ve been with him for just as long as I have, you know that.”

"No need to overthink it, just give the order and we'll do it."

David nodded without saying a word; he knew Mann was right. From the first day he met Ye Shou, that man had never made a pointless decision. The big black guy wasn't blindly trusting; he simply understood this fact more clearly than most people.

“It would be troublesome to guess on your own.” David shook his head. “Don’t let my youthful appearance fool you, I’m an old hand at this. Even if I can’t see through most people’s thoughts, I can roughly figure them out… because what the people in this city crave is nothing more than profit, and what they least want to lose is also profit. Once you understand this, you can find reasonable answers to many seemingly strange things.”

Mann nodded in agreement.

"But there are also people who can't see through it at all."

David said slowly, "For example, my teacher. I can't understand his thoughts at all, because he's not driven by personal desires... Never mind, there's no point in guessing."

“Hmm, you’ve definitely grown up.” Mann gave David a satisfied look. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

"Hmm?" David looked up here.

“Don’t think that only our team came back this time.” Mann put his cup back on the table. “We’re just the first batch. More people will be coming back from ‘over there’.”

He said, slowly and deliberately, "More than you can imagine."

there?

David glanced around instinctively. The old and new members of the team were arguing about something, but the music drowned out most of their voices. All he could see were their gesturing.

Even he didn't know exactly where "over there" was, because Ye Shou's confidentiality rules were very strict. In this cyberpunk world, no information is absolutely safe—people just bypass interrogation and directly invade the brain.

Therefore, Ye Shou, who did not have enough power at the beginning, acted with extreme caution. Although he used concepts such as "a beautiful new life" to lure the wanderers to smuggle themselves across, he did not expose the key information of "another world". Even David did the same.

He only learned from the occasional people who came back on business that Ye Shou was not only not lying, but was also being conservative. If it weren't for the mission, the wanderers would rather not have the travel allowance than return to Night City.

Now, instead of people going back, it's not just one or two, but batches of people heading back to this rotten place... The only one who could make them do this is Ye Shou, right?

He looked away, his heart skipping a beat.

This could not be an ordinary operation.

"Is he going to challenge the big corporations?" David licked his lips. "Even the Arasaka Group? Could it be that the teacher wants to become a legend in Night City..."

Mann paused for a moment, then laughed.

It wasn't a polite, shallow laugh; it was a loud thud squeezed from deep within his chest, followed by a boisterous laugh as if he could no longer hold it in. The sound was rough and loud, drawing the attention of everyone at the table.

"Hahahaha!"

He laughed and slammed his hand on the table, making the empty cup clatter and roll around. He even exaggeratedly squeezed out a few tears from the corner of his eye.

—It was only then that David noticed that Mann was not equipped with a mechanical eye.

In reality, upon closer inspection, most of the returning team members were using "external equipment," resulting in a significantly lower rate of cybernetic modification.

The leader grabbed Mann's arm and asked him what he was laughing at. Mann repeated what David had just said, and the leader, without any hesitation, joined in, slapping her thigh and laughing so hard she was doubled over. Members like Rebecca also joined in the fun.

What's so funny?

David's face flushed slightly, and his fists clenched and unclenched involuntarily. Just as he was about to explode, Mann raised his palm and pressed it against him.

“I wasn’t laughing at you, that’s not what I meant.” Mann wiped his eyes. “It’s really not very polite… but we really don’t know what expression to make except laugh.”

Was there anything strange about what I said?

"Hmm... this is a difference in understanding."

Mann stopped smiling, but a slight curve remained at the corner of his mouth.

“David,” he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, “you’ve been in this city since you were born. Night City is all you know, so you think that challenging the Arasaka Tower and standing at the top of the city is the most amazing thing, the greatest asset to be considered a legend… I’m not mocking you, but for those of us who have been out there, this idea is far too conservative for Lord Kuze.”

"Hmm?" David's Adam's apple bobbed.

"The reason it's laughable is simply because you don't know just how much power that man has."

Mann leaned back in his chair and tapped his temple with his fingers: "How could something as simple as Arasaka Tower be something that would make him bring people back from 'over there'? It's not worth it at all."

It's not worth his time, not worth risking so many lives, not worth him taking seriously.

David was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and asked, somewhat puzzled and annoyed, "Then what exactly is 'worth it' for him?"

Mann didn't answer. He picked up his glass and looked at David through the rim: This young man was clearly a bit unconvinced... but it was understandable.

After all, Ye Shou did not show much power in front of David. Apart from teaching him personally, his influence in actual affairs was only at the level of a mafia godfather, and not even the kind of violent group that occupied territory.

This isn't actually a mistake. Ye Shou started out much the same way, using money and intelligence to build connections, and using charm and a beautiful vision to attract talent and build his own underground force.

However, he never intended to seriously manage the businesses here. He only treated Night City as a "talent market," so he would siphon resources from here at every opportunity, keeping the scale of his influence here within a relatively small range.

David's understanding is correct—he's just out of touch with the latest developments.

The pace of development far exceeded David's expectations, and even Mann and others' understanding was still lagging behind the latest progress.

"Who knows?" the big, dark-skinned man said casually, completely unconcerned. "Anyway, whatever it is, it'll definitely exceed our expectations—another round! Today's the happiest day!"

-

A thin layer of rust had formed on the iron railings of the balcony, leaving a few light brown marks when brushed against my sleeve.

Carmilla ignored them, her gaze passing over the dense array of signs and antennas on the rooftops, landing on the towering corporate headquarters buildings further away.

The glass curtain wall reflected the neon lights, turning the entire night sky an unnatural purplish-red. A cloying, burnt smell perpetually hung in the air, mixed with the sour stench of cheap additives and vomit from the streets, never dissipating from morning till night.

...That's disgusting!