The Creators: From Night City

"This is Kurt Hansen. If you can hear me, you've come to the right place. NCPD, gang fights, no such thing as Dogtown. Pay your taxes, only idiots pay their fucking taxes..."

Following Colonel Hansen's all-around broadcast, the car finally passed the most difficult section and entered a smooth road, and V was able to increase the speed.

Chapter 177 The Worried Club

Although Dog Town is well-known on the road, its actual area is not very large. Thrace 388 Jefferson ran at full speed for less than ten minutes before they arrived at their destination.

V, dressed in a black suit and dressed like a typical bodyguard, parked the car and quickly opened the door for the boss in the back seat.

Before coming out, Chief Steward Gloria specifically instructed that this meeting concerns the reputation of [Anti-Entropy], and every aspect must be paid attention to.

The quality of your character must be established from the very beginning.

Hands, the middleman who calls the shots in Dogtown and sells all kinds of goodies to the upper echelons of Night City, is considered one of the few "legitimate businessmen" among the middlemen.

Jiang Bing was wearing a high-end blood-red suit, his hair was combed as if it had just been licked by a cat, his leather shoes were polished to a shine, and for the first time he wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, which brought his elegance and nobility to the peak.

"The most powerful middleman in Taiping Prefecture is hiding here?"

The bodyguard uniform could not subdue Vincent's unruly temper. He took out a suitcase from the trunk and looked at the pyramid-shaped, graffiti-covered, and somewhat dilapidated building, feeling a little disappointed.

“The meat is in the buns, not in the folds.”

Jiang Bing pushed up his glasses which had slipped down and walked into the building first.

“Welcome to the Worry Club, where you can enjoy everything that you can’t enjoy in Night City.”

A waitress with her breasts exposed, legs exposed, and a skirt so short that it showed her underwear, was immediately attracted by the sight of Jiang Bing, a man of extraordinary temperament, and quickly came forward to greet him.

"A Texas Hold'em tournament is underway in the club, with dozens of experts competing for millions in stakes. If you're interested, sir, I can take you there to experience it for yourself."

Looking at the female "stacker", Jiang Bing politely refused. The other party wanted to step forward and try again, but was stopped by the bodyguard V who quickly got into the role.

Although it is hard to say who will protect whom if a fight really breaks out, the V-shaped face in the straight suit now has the professional and cold temperament of a high-end security guard.

After passing through the chaotic dance hall, the two came to the bar.

Whether it's a club, a small roadside bar, or a run-down hotel in the Badlands, there will always be a bartender behind the bar.

He can be the shop owner, the bartender hired at a high price, the new waiter, the murderous executioner, the boss's underage daughter, or even a robot, but he cannot be absent.

The bartender is like the center of a store, a collector of all kinds of information, a guide for novices, and a close friend of veterans. He is magical, silent, and seems to know everything and understand everything.

The bartender at the Club with a Heavy Heart is a rare yellow-skinned person with short black hair. She is busy at the concave bar.

"Give me a drink."

Jiang Bing sat on a high stool, and Vincent stood silently behind him, like a not-so-cold killer.

The bartender turned around and exclaimed in amazement when he saw Jiang Bing, who was dressed like a beast in human clothing.

"Wow, it's rare to see 'our own people' here."

A whiskey glass was placed in front of Jiang Bing, and brown liquor was poured into it.

"Everyone calls me Aiko, what do you call me handsome?"

"Sabul"

Jiang Bing picked up the wine glass and took a sip. The low-quality wine made him frown slightly.

"I'm looking for Mr. Hands."

The bartender looked at Jiang Bing, who looked like a decent man, with a sincere smile on his face and a gleam of light in his eyes.

"Mr. Hands has already instructed you to take the elevator on the left and go directly up to the fourth floor. Mr. Hands is waiting for you."

Jiang Bing didn't have a computer, so Vincent paid for the drink. There were no invoices for daily expenses, so Vincent could only keep it in mind so that he could get it reimbursed when he got back.

The two of them got on the elevator one after the other, and Vincent stared at the camera vigilantly.

"Don't look at it, it's a special model with deep scanning."

Jiang Bing glanced at the camera and answered Vincent's question.

"After all, if you're in this line of work, you have to be careful."

The Club looks shabby on the outside, but its interior really lives up to Jiang Bing's words that "the meat is in the bun, not in the folds". The corridor alone is decorated very luxuriously, with thick carpets that make people who step on it feel that it is a good product at the first moment.

The fourth floor is a spacious hall. The huge ceiling seems to merge the fifth and fourth floors together, making it look very spacious.

The hall was bustling with people, but most of them were well-dressed, wealthy or noble people, accompanied by their good-looking social partners who were also well-dressed.

Dozens of oval tables are arranged in an orderly manner in the hall, which is also where many guests gather.

Simply put, it's a casino.

What is going on is probably what the receptionist at the door called the "Texas Hold'em Tournament".

A security guard walked down a long metal ladder on the side and came straight to the two men.

"Mr. Sabul, Mr. Hands has been waiting for you for a long time. Please come this way."

He led the way and led Jiang Bing into a private room on a high platform.

The decoration inside the private room is extremely luxurious. In addition to the exquisite carpet, there is a retro flower pot in the corner with gorgeous flowers blooming in it.

A figure in a burgundy suit turned around from the large French window facing the hall and warmly invited Jiang Bing to sit on the sofa.

"I hope you will forgive me for not welcoming you in person."

Hands is a middle-aged man with a neat and thick beard. His every gesture and every word and behavior reveal an air of being highly knowledgeable and in control of everything.

At first glance, he is a person who has been in a high position for a long time. His temperament is as obvious as Dakota Smith, who has also lived in a bad place for a long time and has the temperament of a wanderer in her bones.

However, although his words were sincere, there was little expression on his face. In Jiang Bing's eyes, his whole face exuded a strong sense of disharmony.

Jiang Bing was not surprised at all because he had known for a long time that the other person's face was fake.

The other party's previous identity was a senior executive of Peizhuo Petrochemical. Because of an accident, he was pushed out as a scapegoat and had no choice but to run away. In order to avoid being hunted down, he underwent a complete makeover, including facial reconstruction and more advanced genetic disguise.

"Good evening, Mr. Hands, thank you for your help earlier."

Jiang Bingyi sat on the soft sofa, waved his hand, and asked Vincent to bring the suitcase up.

"This is a small gift for you, as a token of my gratitude."

The box was taken over by the bodyguard in the other party's private room, and after confirming that there was no problem, it was placed in front of Hanz.

"Mr. Sabul is doing me a favor by coming here. Bringing something is really very polite of you."

He opened the box, revealing its dark contents.

This is a bottle of wine, one of the few good ones Jiang Bing has.

Chapter 178 Mr. Hands

The black bottle has no other decoration except for a line of white lacquer characters, but the production year indicated by the white lacquer characters makes the other party's eyes light up.

'1982'

This is a bottle of Madeira produced in 1982, an alcoholic fortified wine.

Unlike ordinary wine, it is not easy to deteriorate due to its high alcohol content and will gradually become more mellow over time.

Even in the world of Tomb Raider, it is considered rare. If it weren't for Countess Lara Croft's path, most people would have no suitable way to buy this kind of collectible.

Therefore, when such a bottle of nearly a hundred-year-old wine (in 2076) was placed in front of Hanz, who called himself an upper-class person, he was extremely delighted.

It also deepened the other party's speculation about Jiang Bing's extraordinary background.

It’s not just any family that can casually take out such an antique bottle, which requires inheritance and historical background more than money.

This is also one of the reasons why Jiang Bing chose this bottle of wine.

"This is Madeira wine!"

"I once thought it had been lost in the Atlantic Ocean along with Madeira Island. Mr. Sable is really very well-informed."

The elk appeared on the left, and the man in the middle, who had been staring intently, suddenly showed an expression of surprise.

Madeira Island, located in the Atlantic Ocean about 360 miles from the Moroccan coast, has long been turned into a lifeless desert island in this world, and authentic Madeira wine has long been discontinued and extinct.

"This is too valuable. I'm afraid it's worth ten times its volume of gold."

These words made Vincent, who had been carrying the suitcase all the way, shudder subconsciously. He didn't expect that the bottle that Jiang Bing dug out from under the stove would be so valuable.

Of course, although what Hands said was true, it still had some water in it. This thing was one of those items that was priceless and out of market. It was only worth the price if it met a rich and free sucker, a face-conscious upper-class person, or a collector or wine connoisseur who liked it.

In the hands of someone like Vincent who always thinks about going to the cafeteria to get some wheat juice, it is at most a bottle of delicious grape juice.

For this kind of item, most of its value lies in the history and culture it contains, and the remaining half is face and vanity. The taste of the wine itself accounts for a very small proportion.

Fortunately, Mr. Hands happens to be one of these people.

“No matter how good the wine is, it’s meant to be drunk.”

Jiang Bing said this sincerely.

"No matter how much it is worth, it cannot compare to the kindness of Mr. Hands in helping me."

Jiang Bing spoke with a mouthful of nice words that met society's expectations.

Nice words can be spoken differently depending on who says them. If they come out of Vincent's mouth, they sound completely different from those coming out of Jiang Bing's mouth, who just gave him a seven-figure gift.

"It's just a small favor. I really want to make friends with Mr. Sabul."

"After all, there's a saying." Hands quickly reverted to his pure political self and said politely, "When you're out and about, more friends mean more opportunities (in Chinese)."

The other party has obviously begun to test the background behind Jiang Bing.

"Mr. Hands speaks good Chinese, better than most people I've met."

Jiang Bing replied in the same way.

But he only touched upon it briefly and switched back to English: "Mr. Hands has a good business."

"It's just a small business to support my family."

Jiang Bing stood up and looked through the French window at the bustling gambling scene below. "This is no small business."

Hands also stood up and stood beside Jiang Bing. The two of them looked like twin brothers in their matching red suits. "I can only be considered to be scraping a little soup from the fingers of the big shots. It can't compare to the daily wealth of [Anti-Entropy]."

"After all, it's not easy to earn money on your knees when you are in a lower position than others. But you, Mr. Sabul, can earn money by standing." Not a single word Hanz said was redundant.

"That's true. Standing here makes you stand out, Mr. Hands. After all, the first bird to stick its head out gets shot."

"However, if you are interested, we can make a fortune together." Jiang Bing extended an olive branch to the other party.

"Like Roger."

Although Hands never goes out, he knows everything that happens in Night City.

"of course."

Looking at the luxurious jewelry in the other party's hand, Jiang Bing gave his own conditions to this businessman who was more of a "middleman" than a "middleman".

"Or more, better, and richer goods."

Hanz, who originally thought that he could simply expand the types of business under his control, immediately became interested after hearing what he said.

"Although I don't know how you managed to transport so many things through the heavily guarded border checkpoint, I'm really interested."

"So, what do you have?"

The ball was kicked to Jiang Bing's feet, and it was time for him to use his best powerful shot.

"what do you want?"

Hands did not ask what he wanted like Dakota Smith, but instead gave Jiang Bing a deep look.

"Sabul, you know, although Dogtown is a cancerous sore for Night City, it is a 'promised land' promised by God to the upper class of Night City."

Hands rubbed his hands together and glanced down at the casino where many celebrities frequented.

"Politicians, wealthy individuals, corporate executives, media influencers, arms dealers, smuggling lords, and gang leaders all frequent this place, hoping to buy anything that's 'suitable' for them."

“Like that table.”

Hands stretched out his hand and motioned Jiang Bing to look down.

"Hazira, the director of Night City's news department, and next to him is the Night City sales director of Schwa Motors. They all come here for fun because Dogtown can provide them with what they can't in Night City."

"Even if it's illegal." Jiang Bing added.