2077: V really knows how awesome he is

The bartender's handsome face flushed red: "I...can't afford it."

V pointed to the bottle and said with a smile, "Now you have a chance to drink."

The male bartender looked at the bottle in his hand, then at V, who nodded again, finally emboldening him to take a glass and pour himself a shallow sip.

Thank you sincerely, and I wish you good health!

The male bartender raised his glass in a V-sign from afar, then brought the rim of the glass to his lips, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

"How does it taste?" V asked.

The male bartender put down his glass, a glint of tears in his eyes.

"Delicious! I've never tasted such fine wine in my life. It's like... it's like I've become a human again!"

"What, do you think you weren't human before?"

The male bartender gave a wry smile: "Whether I'm human or not is not for me to decide."

V nodded: "That's a good answer."

The male bartender distributed the drinks to everyone, including the receptionist, cleaning staff, building security guards, and other service personnel.

There wasn't much wine; everyone only got a little.

But this did not prevent everyone from being sincerely grateful, perhaps because it was the first time someone had treated them, these lower-ranking employees, to drinks, or perhaps it was the first time someone had treated them like human beings again.

“Um…” the male bartender said to V, “To express our gratitude, we would like to buy you a drink as well.”

V chuckled: "Come on, with your meager salaries, you think you can afford to spend money at the Azure Mansion?"

“If everyone works together…” the male bartender said, then his voice trailed off again: “As long as you don’t order anything too expensive.”

V scoffed: "What's the point of pretending to be rich when you can't even pay your rent next month? You'll be sleeping on the streets."

The male bartender shuddered, but still stubbornly said, "This is just a small token of our appreciation."

"Fine, you can't reason with a damn fool, so I'll order." V wasn't a soft-hearted person, never had been. "Give me the drink menu!"

The male bartender nervously handed over the drink menu. V glanced at it and uttered three words.

"Huh? You mean... what do you want?"

"Silly monkey."

"Not ordering drinks?"

"No."

"To help us save money?"

"Haha, don't flatter yourself." V laughed loudly, glancing at the empty chair next to him: "It's just because the idiot who could drink with me is already dead."

The male bartender poured V a full glass of "Silly Monkey," a cheap street drink, but he poured it with the solemnity of someone pouring divine wine brewed by Dionysus himself.

The greatness of Divine Wine lies not in the wine itself, but in the divine spirit.

Just like how the male bartender doesn't value the silly monkey, but rather the person who wants to drink it.

Alcohol is just alcohol; what gives it value is always people.

"May I ask why you're offering us drinks?" the male bartender asked.

V replied, "I had a dream in which I killed many people in the Azure Building."

"That was just a dream."

"Maybe." V smiled and downed the silly monkey drink in one gulp.

After leaving the Gambi Building, V got back into the Delaman Taxi.

"Choose Delaman, and leave your troubles at the door. Welcome back, Ms. V. Please enter your destination."

"You choose, Lao De. You can also show me around the city. Damn, that silly monkey is still as cloyingly sweet as ever. I really want to find something to cleanse my throat."

"Understood. Your destination has been selected based on your needs. We will be heading to: Wild Wolf Bar."

Chapter 2 Parallel World

"Holy crap, Old De, how did you end up with a wolf?"

V belatedly complained, but since we're already here, and it's 2076 now, Jack should still be alive, right?

A flutter ran through V's heart, and he felt a strange mix of trepidation and longing for home.

But when she had adjusted her mindset and was ready to face her "deceased" good friend, she found that the Wild Wolf Bar was closed and not open for business.

This was unprecedented in V's memory, since even when Jack's funeral was held, the Wild Wolf Bar remained open as usual.

Was something more important than Jack's funeral?

Slightly disappointed, V rolled down his window and asked the two thugs standing by the entrance of the Wild Wolf Bar, "Why is the Wild Wolf Bar closed?"

"Who the hell are you? You think you can just answer my questions? Fuck you, you stupid company dog!"

The thugs answered very politely—yes, politely. "The Rebel Company" is an ironclad rule that all gangs in Night City must abide by. These two thugs were clearly from the Valentino gang; the fact that they didn't immediately pull out a gun and shoot him showed a remarkably high level of civility.

V wasn't angry, remained silent, and simply transferred 250 euros in a normal manner.

"Rebel against the company" is indeed an ironclad rule, but in the face of the corruption of money, no ironclad rule can withstand the test.

Besides, this ironclad rule is nothing but a propaganda slogan, used to build rapport with the lower-class idiots and trick more people into working for the gang. In reality, which gang in Night City dares to say they have no connection to the company? The Tiger Claws are backed by Arasaka, the Sixth Streets by military technology, the Animals by cyber surveillance, and the Vortex gang of lunatics can work for any company and steal from any company. Even the Cleaners, those kidney-donating gang, have shady ties to biotechnology. Those seemingly high-ranking, upright, and rebellious bosses who defy the company and its authority in the eyes of the underlings are actually just the company's lapdogs, outwardly righteous but inwardly groveling!

Under this facade, the so-called "resistance company" is nothing but a pretty bubble. Those below may not understand it, but they can sense it, so their slogans are loud and clear, but in reality, they are useless and will burst as soon as they are poked.

"The son of the Wild Wolf Bar owner was shot. His whole family has gone to see the prosthetic doctor in Santiago. With no one to run the bar, Wild Wolf has to close down."

See? I told you it was just for show. The thug who got the money immediately changed his attitude. He not only answered the question, but even showed respect in his expression.

If you starve to death, you can't talk about ideals and ambitions, right?

"Clinic address".

"Meiquan District, Pumping Station."

"Old De."

"Received, en route to the San Diego prosthetic clinic."

The vehicle slowly started moving, but the two thugs began arguing.

"How dare you grovel before a company dog?"

"Of course she paid, 250 yuan!"

"You idiot, kill her, steal her money chip, and all that money will be ours!"

"Yeah, that's right!"

The two thugs exchanged a glance, one drew a gold-plated Lexington kinetic pistol, and the other drew a Laica revolver painted with the Father and Savior, and began to unleash their firepower on the rear of the Delaman taxi.

"Kill all the company dogs!"

"Fuck the company! Fuck the system!"

Bullets clattered against the car, scattering sparks; the crisp sound was like raindrops falling on the ground, somewhat pleasant to hear.

Haha, now that I'm full, my ideals and ambitions have been rekindled.

"Ms. V, the vehicle has been detected to be under attack. Do you wish to activate combat mode?"

"No need, I like the sound."

The hail of bullets is the romance of Night City. V poured himself a glass of tequila from the car's liquor cabinet and listened quietly to the sound of bullets colliding amidst the gunfire, as if he were enjoying the best symphony.

"So, rebelling for the sake of rebelling is useless. People need to know that if they rebel, they'll get wine, meat, and women. Only then will the rebellion be real. Johnny, do you understand?"

After saying that, there was no response.

V then remembered that the washed-up rock star wasn't here.

"Damn it, what does it matter to me whether they resist or not? Why should I care?"

As always, Delaman was steady and fast, getting V to the "San Diego Prosthetics Clinic" in the Heywood Springs district in less than ten minutes.

V entered the prosthetic clinic, a razor blade between his fingers.

This isn't a weapon for self-defense, but rather a way for her to immediately cut her skin and call for help from the trauma team if attacked.

She's a platinum member; even if she loses a single hair, the trauma team will arrive in an instant, armed with a shotgun and a sniper rifle.

In a state where he's practically a weakling, this is one of the few ways V can save his life.

Of course, being attacked is the worst-case scenario. In reality, even the most insane members of the Vortex Gang rarely make a move in front of the cyborg doctor. After all, they are all street thugs, and who knows when they might be carried in. Offending the cyborg doctor would be too stupid.

As expected, the clinic was very quiet. Apart from the regular beeping of the medical equipment, there was a burly man lying on a medical bed with tubes inserted all over his body.

It's Jack! Jack Wells, the man who stormed out of the Azure Tower with V and then died in a taxi!

Jack, you're the real big shot.

Recalling everything from the past, V's eyes welled up with tears, probably from the oil leaking out.

She clicked her tongue twice and said with a laugh, "Jack, you're all bloodied and battered, you must have been really badly beaten up."

Jack was deathly pale, but he hadn't lost consciousness yet. He looked at V with a blank expression and managed to say, "Damn it, who the hell are you?"

V was stunned, then pointed to her face: "You don't recognize me?"

"I...don't know...the company dog."

"How could that be!" V exclaimed. "We've been friends for years, you even saved my life, have you forgotten all that?"

"Hey girl," Jack said weakly, "I've been shot... I'm probably going to die... but I wasn't shot in the head, I was shot in the stomach... How about I get down and let you lie on this medical bed?"

Jack doesn't recognize me?

What the hell is going on?

V was completely stunned. She took a few steps forward, wanting to ask again, when a man spoke from the shadows.

“Hey, you’d better be polite to my patient.” The man was burly, even bigger than Jack. But he didn’t have many implants, making him seem out of place in Night City.

V could see that Jack was badly injured and was indeed close to death. She could only suppress her doubts and turn to talk to the man in front of her.

"Your patient? You're Santiago?"

The man nodded: "That's right, I'm Santiago, and this is my clinic."

"A cyborg doctor who doesn't have prosthetics?"

Santiago shrugged fearlessly: "One day the Black Wall will be breached, and then all those with prosthetic bodies will die, except me."

"AI killing people doesn't just involve brain damage; you might get killed by your coffee machine too."

Santiago scoffed, "Impossible. I don't drink coffee, and I don't even have a coffee machine at home."

V wasn't in the mood for teasing this guy and asked directly, "Why aren't you treating Jack?"

“Because of money,” Santiago said, leaning against the wall. “This little guy’s liver was ruptured and he needs an artificial liver. You know how expensive those things are. Mrs. Wells has already gone to raise the money. I’m waiting to see if Death comes back first, or his mother.”

"That's it?" V scoffed. "How much? I'll pay."

Santiago was taken aback: "That's no small amount."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he received 5 euros transferred from V.

"enough?"

“That’s enough, that’s enough.” Santiago changed his attitude completely, even bringing over a stool and saying with a smile, “There’s even a lot more than that.”

"If there's any left, just fix it up, upgrade his prosthetic body, and get him some nutrients or something." V waved his hand casually.

Santiago agreed and put on his gloves, ready to get to work.

Jack looked at V with a complicated expression: "Who exactly are you?"

V asked again, "You really don't recognize me?"

Jack shook his head.

A fleeting look of disappointment crossed V's face: "Sorry, I mistook you for someone else."

Jack asked pitifully, "So, will you still pay for me?"