The Creators: From Night City

Because this dinner is defined as a cultural exchange party, the overall style is not serious, so it is a 6-person jazz band consisting of piano + bass + drums + saxophone + violin + trombone.

At this moment, the band was playing a brisk minuet with ecstasy, acting as a lubricant for the awkward gaps between guests' greetings and striving to create a relaxed atmosphere.

Zero Sound's prosthetic eye shrank and deformed slightly, apparently performing a long-distance image scan, but after looking for a long time, it still couldn't see anything fishy from the band.

If the assassins sent by Militech could be spotted so easily, they wouldn't be qualified to fight Arasaka for so many years.

So Lingyin continued to work on replenishing the drinks at the venue. While Jiang Bing was distributing the materials needed for cocktails, his behavior seemed no different from that of a normal service staff.

After all, she is a professional at disguise and infiltration.

Soon, amid the noise of the crowd, the band changed its playing style from cheerful tunes to a solemn and dignified welcome overture.

Surrounded by the crowd, Lucius Lane led Arasaka Yoshinobu into the room.

Chapter 422: Two Shots Surprise

As one of the most powerful people in the world, Arasaka Yorinobu is not tall, even ordinary. He has a strong physique, which is in sharp contrast to the fat mayor leading the way in front of him. He wears black legless glasses, and except for the tiny prosthetic seams on his neck, there are no other signs of prosthetic modification on his body.

The blue and white striped shirt and the high-end custom-made suit make his image stand out. Especially with the blessing of power, he looks even more dazzling.

But he still couldn't hide the attraction of the bodyguard behind him to everyone's attention.

Adam Hammer.

As Arasaka Yorinobu's personal bodyguard, he must be present at such occasions.

This cyborg monster, whose prosthetic transformation rate is as high as 96%, has no humanity at all, just like the little original flesh and blood he has left. He has always been responsible for helping Arasaka do some shameful things. He is a legendary figure with a great notoriety in the entire Night City, a legendary figure who can make a child stop crying.

He looked like a complete robot, with high-strength hybrid armor, cables, drive shafts, electronic fiber bundles, torque joints and a flesh-colored artificial face making up his tall, heavy and hideous killing machine body.

He only had to stand there, without saying anything, and the oppressive force unique to a war machine would come upon him.

The arrival of the finale guest, Arasaka Yorinobu, marked the official start of the dinner.

The gorgeously dressed female concierge announced the start of the dinner in a sweet voice, and the guests took their seats according to the seating chart, guided by the staff.

Where to sit, how to sit, and who to sit with are all very serious issues. The position here basically represents your status in the cesspool of Night City.

The further forward your seat is, the higher your status is in the artificial ecosystem of society.

Therefore, everyone's position is arranged after careful consideration by the organizer.

As a VIP, Arasaka Yorinobu was naturally guided by the staff to the main table, and to the most conspicuous position.

Next comes the opening ceremony. The organizer needs to make a brief speech to explain the purpose of the dinner, and the guest of honor also needs to express his gratitude in response.

Don't think it's troublesome. As the saying goes, national affairs are about war and sacrifice. Complicated, rigid and extravagant rituals are an important way to form class barriers and elevate one's status.

Poor people don’t have the money or the energy to do these cheap things.

Only after the host and the guest of honor have finished speaking can we start the dining process, but there are many things to pay attention to when dining.

The entire banquet should follow the order of appetizer → main course → dessert, and each step should be separated by 20-30 minutes to facilitate communication among everyone.

In this environment, forget about eating your fill.

Fortunately, those who come here are not just here to eat.

After eating, there must be a cultural exchange session, singing and dancing. The organizers and guests of honor will raise their glasses and give speeches, emphasizing the long live cooperation and friendship, showing their presence, promoting political ideas, etc., and finding materials for the media before closing and leaving.

However, Jiang Bing guessed that the people attending the banquet would not be able to eat this time. During the welcome speech, the mayor and the guest of honor, Arasaka Yoshinobu, would definitely speak on the same stage, promoting nonsense such as "military and civilians are one family" and jointly building a "West Coast Co-Prosperity Sphere". This was also a good opportunity for assassination.

Lucius Lane soon took the stage to speak.

"Dear Mr. Yorinobu Arasaka, distinguished government officials, business representatives, diplomatic envoys, ladies and gentlemen:

Tonight, we stand at the junction of a new chapter - in this hall dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Night City's unwavering independence, and welcome Mr. Arasaka Yorinobu.

Everyone knows that Night City's independence is inseparable from the strong support of the Arasaka Group. Under the repeated pressure from the New America led by military technology, it was the Arasaka Group that took action and avoided an unjust war started by the New America.

Time flies. During my tenure, Night City and Arasaka..."

Jiang Bing was bored listening to the mayor's nonsense. He was stirring a glass of "Water Cut" cocktail with a bar spoon, but unexpectedly saw a blue-eyed man in a suit among the crowd of guests. Although he was wearing a pair of brown sunglasses and sitting in the corner of the banquet, his figure and behavior were not concealed at all, and Jiang Bing picked him out from the crowd at a glance.

The other party had obviously noticed Jiang Bing, waved his hand slightly as a greeting, and continued to stare at the mayor on the podium, as if waiting to admire the other party's impending death.

During the mayor's speech, the band naturally had to be disturbed, and the musicians who were resting could not leave their work positions. They could only tidy up their instruments, kill time, and wait for the next instructions.

The trombonist fiddled with his instrument calmly, but intentionally or unintentionally pointed the bell at the mayor who was speaking impassionedly.

"I believe that only by choosing to be open, upholding a free business environment, and actively collaborating with companies like Arasaka, can Night City prosper and flourish like the rising sun."

Lucius was a little breathless after the passionate speech. He turned sideways and was about to introduce Arasaka Yorinobu, who was keeping a social smile on the side, to everyone. But just as he stepped forward, the bright lights in the hall dimmed at the same time.

Accompanied by the crowd's surprised noise, two gunshots and a faint explosion suddenly rang out in the darkness, and the crowd was immediately in an uproar.

Fortunately, the panic atmosphere had not yet spread, and the backup routes and power systems were quickly put online to turn the lights back on.

The trombonist threw down his special trombone, which had run out of bullets, and turned into a streak of light. He rushed out of the banquet hall in an instant and fled frantically towards the outside.

Apparently, he turned on Sian Westin.

Adam Hammer just watched the other person walk away indifferently, staying by Arasaka Yorinobu's side without leaving.

Amidst the uproar of the crowd, a guest screamed.

Lucius Lane, the current mayor of Night City, was lying on the ground, his head and chest blown into pieces by special explosive bullets. He was already dead.

Arasaka's agents rushed forward and surrounded Arasaka Yorinobu in a circle. Adam Hammer silently protected Arasaka Yorinobu, with his prosthetic body at full power, and was on alert. He even carried Arasaka Yorinobu to a special safe house in the back to prevent the assassin's accomplices from being among the guests and taking the opportunity to assassinate again.

At the same time, the sound of fierce gunfire was heard outside the door. The assassin accomplices responsible for the response had already engaged in a firefight with the Arasaka agents and NCPD.

The guests in the banquet hall were also in an uproar. Arasaka Yorinobu cherished his life, and so did the other rich and noble upper-class people.

Chapter 423 Frankfurt Incident

At the same time, some people ran out, some asked for help from the NCPD, some squatted down, and some contacted their security personnel to evacuate. In addition, there was a crowd surrounding the mayor's body, and the media personnel who were like flies to the smell of blood. The NCPD tried hard to maintain order. The entire banquet hall was in chaos.

In the midst of the hurried crowd, Mr. Blue Eyes sat calmly on the Diaoyutai, looking quite at ease. He even looked back at Jiang Bing and was in the mood to raise the wine glass in his hand and signal him from afar across the hurried crowd.

He was undoubtedly celebrating Lucius's death.

Fury happened to see this unusual scene and subconsciously looked in the direction where the other party was raising his glass, but he only saw an empty bar.

The bartender in the burgundy vest had long since disappeared.

As a government building, Independence Hall naturally has a safe room with high protection standards.

Arasaka Yorinobu sat on the sofa in the house. His face did not show any shock from his brush with death, but was full of thoughts instead.

He was thinking, thinking about the meaning behind this matter.

Is this a show of force from military technology?

Did Lucius just happen to meet the enemy he provoked?

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, making his thoughts chaotic.

But there was a personal issue he needed to clarify beforehand.

"Adam, you should be able to save the other person, right?"

As the captain of the security team of Arasaka Tower, Adam Hammer has done countless cruel things.

He must have a prosthetic body like Sian Westin. With the "time stop" function turned on, Adam Hammer will definitely have a chance to protect the mayor before the bullets hit him.

"My duty is only to protect you." The hammer's voice was hoarse, low and harsh, like a piece of cold metal.

"Also," Chongchui's cold tone suddenly changed slightly, "there's a terrifying enemy hiding in the venue. I'm not sure what his purpose is. Protecting your safety is the most important thing."

"fear?"

The existence that Adam Hammer called terrifying successfully attracted the interest of Arasaka Yoshinobu.

"How scary is it?"

There were only two of them in the safe house. Heavy Hammer didn't answer, but just stepped on the luxurious carpet with his mechanical feet and turned his standing direction from the door to Arasaka Yorinobu.

He stretched out his right arm, and Lai Xuan only then realized that the other person seemed to have been holding something in his palm.

The metal palm opened, and the thing lying in the palm of the hammer was actually a spoon that had been pinched and bent.

"spoon?"

"This thing would have been stuck in your body if I hadn't stopped it." The words of the heavy hammer made Arasaka Yoshinobu look full of confusion.

"Just a spoon?"

"Its instantaneous speed has exceeded that of an ordinary bullet." Adam Hammer gave the data he had just obtained.

"Interesting," the former gangster 'Steel Dragon' folded his arms and asked, "What kind of weapon did the assassin use? An electromagnetic catapult or a small crossbow?"

Adam "Hand" Hammer's voice became dry.

"This thing was thrown out by someone?!"

The safe house fell into a brief silence.

...............

Because the ocean is filled with a large number of automatic war machines, wealthy people choose to travel by plane or airship.

People without money can only choose to travel by car, and while fighting the harsh environment of nature, they must pray that they don’t encounter any thugs who block the road and rob people.

United Orbital has not only made achievements in aerospace, but also has a thriving air passenger business.

"Dear passengers, this is the captain of Orbital Airlines flight OA-2071.

We are about to depart along our scheduled cruise route, our destination being [Night City], and we are expected to arrive in 2 hours and 21 minutes."

A slight humming sound of magnetic field charging was heard, and Valerie knew that this was a sign that the electromagnetic engine had been preheated.

"The cabin's stabilization system has been activated, and the gravity balance device is operating smoothly. Please ensure your seatbelt buckle is securely fastened and illuminated blue. Please adjust the holographic windows to a comfortable light level. Please stow your belongings in the dedicated storage compartment."

Following the soft female voice's prompt, Valerie shook her lavender hair that was shaved on one side, and cast her pretty but tired face against the window. Finally, she took a few more glances at Frankfurt, Germany, where she had stayed for a long time. There was no joy of going home in her eyes, but only a headache about the busy work that was coming up.

Her brief moment of relaxation was interrupted by a phone call from her superior, Arthur Jenkins, the head of the counterintelligence department.

"V, have you set off yet?"

"I'm already on the plane and will be landing in about 3 hours."

"Excellent," Jenkins said calmly.

"Never mind what happened in Frankfurt, but the people from Militech are running around in ESA, saying all sorts of bad things about us."

"That doesn't matter anymore, at least not now, V."

"Lord Lai Xuan was assassinated in Night City. That bitch who's always been arguing with me has finally gotten her comeuppance. I really need you here, and now's the perfect time to kick her out of her position as director."

"I read the news. Wasn't this assassination aimed at Mayor Lucius? Although Abernathy is responsible, it's not enough to nail her to death, right?" As the second-in-command of the counterintelligence organization, Valerie's political sensitivity is definitely up to the mark.

"You don't know V. There are many things that are impossible to report in the news."

Valerie was not surprised at what her boss said. After all, her work involved corporate espionage, internal purges, assassinations, and intelligence manipulation. She knew clearly what the nature of the media was like.

"Understood. I'll head to Arasaka Tower as soon as I land."

"Well, now's a golden opportunity. That bitch Abernathy is desperate now, and she's even thinking of putting the blame on me. I'm going to her hearing later to find out what's going on. When you come back, we'll work out how to completely crush her."

"Ok"

"That's it. I'm hanging up now. Enjoy your last leisure time on the plane. You'll be busy when you get back."

Valerie hung up the phone and rubbed her temples tiredly, while the real-time health monitoring program in her body sounded an alarm, indicating that her cortisol levels had been rising recently.

Long-term high pressure, non-stop work, and abuse of stimulants are her normal working environment, which are also the culprits that lead to long-term high cortisol levels.

"You look very mentally ill." A soft female voice suddenly sounded in her ears, and Valerie's alarm bells rang.

She turned her head to look at the person who spoke. She was an educated woman with a gentle expression, an ordinary face but a gentle temperament.

The other person seemed to see the alarm in her eyes and immediately explained, "Don't be nervous. I'm a doctor. Your face is showing the initial signs of 'sanguineous facies.' I just want to remind you to get enough rest. If you continue like this, the risk of sudden death will increase significantly."

"Thank you for your concern." As the old saying goes, don't hit a smiling person, but for the sake of caution, Valerie still habitually asked the other party some questions.

"My name is V, from Night City. What's your name?"

Chapter 424: The Arrogant Reception Room

"Just call me Florence."