2077: V really knows how awesome he is

"But the Little Big Dipper Project is located in Taiping Prefecture, Night City. It would be too dangerous to go there at this time."

Miles said firmly, "Fortune favors the bold. We must obtain that roaming AI at all costs, even if it means going to war!"

madman!

Song Zhaomei cursed inwardly, but advised aloud, "That would have serious consequences. The new America would likely be besieged by the international community, just like what happened to Arasaka before."

Miles felt a chill run down her spine, finally regaining some of her composure. It wasn't that she was particularly patriotic; it was just that her ambitions and achievements were all tied to the "great cause of the unification of the new America," and unless it was a matter of life and death, she had to protect this core foundation.

"We finally got the authorization and password, are we just going to watch it all go by?" Miles said, his face full of resentment.

"How about..." Song Zhaomei stopped halfway through her sentence.

"Then tell me what it is!"

You're the one who told me to say this.

Song Zhaomei continued, "How about we reinstate Li De and have him do some research for us?"

Miles paused for a second, then his eyes lit up: "That's right, Solomon Reed is still in Dogville, I almost forgot. This is a great idea, Akemi, you really are my lucky charm!"

Chapter 66 is all a blessing

Miles blew the dog whistle, and an agent carrying a "Presidential Commemorative Coin" was dispatched to Night City, where he quickly made contact with Solomon Reed.

They agreed to meet at Tom's Restaurant, but when the new American agent arrived, he found the restaurant packed with NCPD members. There were so many people that even members of the famous Terrorist Mobile Unit had to squat at the entrance and eat hamburgers.

As he hesitated whether to go in, a deep voice rang in his ears.

"Don't panic, this is just a routine team building activity for the NCPD. Come on in, I've already reserved seats."

The agent turned around and saw a serious-looking Black man, none other than Solomon Reed.

They sat down, and Solomon Reed ordered a small Coke and a full-meat burger, while the agent, being rather reserved, subconsciously ordered a hand-drip coffee.

"If you'd like some coffee, head to the Civic Center. The affordable restaurants in Watson District are geared towards the general public and don't offer anything too fancy. How about you try our Benben Monkey? It's a collaboration with CEO V, and it's only available in Night City. It's not only delicious but also highly collectible."

The waitress smiled and recommended food in a tone even sweeter than a silly monkey. Previously, she always had the attitude of "eat if you want, leave if you don't," but ever since V ordered the vigorous promotion of the service industry and raised the minimum wage for service industry workers, she has changed her arrogance and can now greet even a beggar with a smile.

The agent had no choice but to order a can of Benben Monkey. Seeing his clumsy appearance, Solomon Reed asked, "Just started working?"

“No, I’ve been with the Joint Intelligence Agency for five years,” the agent retorted, then admitted sheepishly, “but this is my first time on a field mission.”

A discarded pawn.

This guy was used by Miles to test the waters.

Solomon Reed made a quick judgment, realizing once again that Miles had never changed this reality.

The agent took a sip of his "Benbenhou" drink to calm himself, then pulled a commemorative coin from his pocket and placed it on the table. With a serious expression, he said, "Mr. Solomon Reed, the new America needs you!"

Ah yes, yes, yes, that's the taste!

“I’ve been lurking in Night City for eight years, all for this day!” Solomon Reed calmly put away the commemorative coin. “What does the President want me to do?”

The agent stated his requirements.

"The alert level in Taiping Prefecture and the specific location where the Little Beidou project was sealed off? No problem." Solomon Reed readily agreed, then rubbed his fingers together and said, "But I need to bribe some people, which requires funding."

"How much?"

"123,700 yuan."

The agent asked curiously, "Why are there odd and even numbers?"

Solomon Reed looked enigmatic: "Because this is a number derived through precise calculation."

What kind of calculation? How can it be so precise? Is this a required course for secret agents? It's not taught in the employee handbook.

The agent was a little flustered, but he pretended to be calm: "The number is too large, I need to report to my superiors."

"Understood. This is my number and account. I'll take action as soon as the money arrives. You can also contact me online through this number; meeting in person is too dangerous."

The agent nodded in agreement.

After that, the two remained silent. The agent finished his Benben Monkey drink and left, while Solomon Reed slowly ate his all-meat burger when suddenly another person sat down opposite him.

It's River Ward.

Will he believe it?

"Don't worry, I'll take care of this newbie on his first field assignment." Solomon Reed said, stuffing a half-eaten all-meat burger into River Ward's hand, and said with a shy look, "I can't finish this."

River Ward took the hamburger, opened his mouth several times but didn't take a bite, which greatly displeased Solomon Reed.

"What, do you think I'm dirty?"

"Of course not, don't you think I haven't eaten enough of your saliva?" River Ward said with a wry smile, "The main problem is that with that face of yours, I just can't bring myself to eat you!"

Solomon Reed was immediately amused and burst into laughter, dropping his pretense.

As diamond-shaped spots of light appeared on his face, Solomon Reed instantly transformed into Alex.

“A synchronized panel of behavioral characteristics,” River Ward exclaimed. “It’s amazing no matter how many times you look at it!”

Alex blinked: "That's right, at night you can also transform into that old classmate you have a crush on..."

"Cough cough cough!" River Ward coughed repeatedly: "Let's get down to business! You just asked for such a large sum of money, do you think Miles will agree to it?"

“Normally Miles would never agree, but I have her manhood in my hands now, so she has no choice but to agree.” Alex said confidently, “For the Little Big Dipper Project, I’d even make this old hag sell her ass, let alone a few hundred thousand dollars.”

"I see. But what's the deal with this money? Wouldn't it be better to just agree to that agent's request?"

“A direct agreement would seem unrealistic; achievements obtained through some difficulties are more believable. Most importantly, President V personally told me to get my retirement pension back, so of course I can't let her down!”

没错，这笔钱算是亚历克斯的退休金。她在联情局干了12年外加3个月零7天，所以就是12万3千7百块。

V said that resigning is one thing, but what is due must be received.

When Alex heard this, he was so grateful that he almost cried. In Xu Ling's words, he was just short of saying on the spot, "After a life of wandering, I wish to become your godmother."

"President V is such a good person. Now that I've gotten my pension back, our children can receive the best education and become doctors or lawyers in the future!"

River Ward laughed too. He sat down next to Alex, put his arm around his girlfriend's waist, and said, "Actually, being a policeman is pretty good, or like you, being a secret agent. As long as you serve President V and Night City, you can't go wrong!"

The two stood shoulder to shoulder, head to head, dreaming about the future together, until Melissa Rory, a Mantis agent from the Terrorist Mobile Squad, came over looking annoyed and banged on the table: "Deputy Chief, can you two go back to your lovey-dovey displays? We really can't eat anymore, whether it's hamburgers or dog food!"

River Ward looked embarrassed and quickly told everyone to pack up.

Why would the NCPD hold a team-building event at Tom's Hotel? Of course, it was to protect his girlfriend. However, V also took this meeting very seriously, demanding high security and forbidding any mishaps, so it wasn't exactly an abuse of power.

The officers left one by one, but before leaving, they reminded Alex to be careful.

Not only because she is the deputy director's girlfriend, but also because she is fighting for Night City.

People who are strangers to each other unite and cooperate because of a shared belief; this is the power of V.

As Alex had predicted, Miles quickly transferred the money.

She lived up to expectations and sent over all the information V had given her.

This information was completely authentic and extremely detailed, including the alert situation in Taiping State and the location where the Little Beidou project was stored, making Miles even more determined to succeed.

Just as the president was about to issue a new order, the secret agent was suddenly arrested.

This is not surprising, after all, she is a novice. Logically speaking, Miles should send another person over, but she was in a hurry and directly contacted Solomon Reed, who was above her level.

This undoubtedly violates the code of conduct for secret agents. For an ordinary person, it would be a major operational error, at the very least amounting to treason. But Miles is different. She set this rule herself, and those who set the rules are always the ones who break them. So-called laws are neither just nor sacred; they are merely artificial moral norms fabricated for the purpose of domination.

The rule-makers naturally wouldn't punish themselves with the rules; Miles' behavior was illegal, but no one held him accountable.

She quickly contacted Solomon Reed, entrusting this top agent to single-handedly take down all the defenses of Pacific State, then single-handedly dig out the Little Beidou project buried more than 200 meters underground, and finally single-handedly carry the 3-ton research host back to New America.

Whether Alex was numb or not is unknown, but River Ward, who was listening in, was definitely numb.

But that's just how Miles is. As someone in a position of authority, all she has to do is give orders. She doesn't care whether they're reasonable or not. If she succeeds, it's because she's farsighted; if she fails, it's because her subordinates are stupid and incompetent.

This time, however, Alex didn't indulge her anymore, because it was Miles who was in a hurry. "Li De" could quit, but if Miles couldn't get the Little Big Dipper project, she would be finished.

"Impossible, Your Excellency. I cannot do what you are saying by myself."

"Useless! The country nurtured you, and you have failed its expectations!"

"I'm sorry, I was just making a reasonable assessment of the situation and making the most correct judgment."

"The nation doesn't need your judgment, the nation only needs you to complete the mission! Li De, the new America must obtain the Beidou project. The neural matrix installed in the mainframe is essential for the new America to become great again, and it's worth all of us giving our lives for!"

Damn, this is making Li De risk his life!

Alex rolled his eyes inwardly and continued in the manner of Solomon Reed, "In that case, this plan cannot afford to fail. I suggest you give me the access code to the mainframe so I can infiltrate it, retrieve the neural matrix, and return to New America. That way, the success rate will be much higher."

"Impossible!" Miles immediately refused. Although she kept saying that the Little North Star Project was for the sake of a new America, in reality, she was only doing it for herself. Having witnessed V's power, she wouldn't let any opportunity to become stronger slip away.

However, it is undeniable that taking a single neural matrix is ​​indeed simpler than taking a three-ton mainframe.

After careful consideration, Miles made up his mind.

"Li De, I'm going to Night City myself to retrieve the neural matrix. You make the arrangements!"

Alex smiled inwardly as the fish took the bait, but her voice was filled with tension and unease.

"No, V is very hostile towards you, and I strongly oppose your risky behavior!"

“Thank you for your concern, but all of this is for the new America.” Miles said righteously, “Reed, you are the best agent under my command. Help me think of a way to restrain V and prevent her from attacking me. It won’t take long, just a few days will be enough for me to get the neural matrix of the Little Beidou Project.”

Solomon Reed remained silent.

"Li De, this is an order!"

Miles's words forced the top agent to speak.

“V is a man of great loyalty, as evidenced by the previous plane crash. We can continue to use this incident to threaten him. The families of the Ghost Hounds have all been brought to Night City, but there are still Ghost Hounds' families in New America. As long as you control these people and use their lives as leverage, V will naturally not dare to act rashly.”

Miles' eyes lit up when he heard about the plan.

"Brilliant! Li De, you truly deserve to be our New America's best agent! Don't worry, I'll bring you back after this is over. The position of FIA Director is yours for the taking!"

I don't believe you for a second! The most likely scenario is that you killed Li De on his way back. I saw right through you, Rosalind Miles!

Alex inwardly scoffed, but outwardly declared that he was serving the country without expecting anything in return.

Finally, she thoughtfully added, "For your safety, it would be best to kill a few hostages first to strengthen the deterrent effect, lest V resort to desperate measures."

"I will think about it."

Miles remained noncommittal and hung up the call.

River Ward, who was listening in, immediately asked worriedly, "She's not really going to kill the hostage, is she?"

Alex said confidently, "Don't worry, Miles is an arrogant and paranoid person. If I hadn't told her, she might have killed the hostage. But since I told her, she definitely won't."

When it comes to playing politics, ten Alexs can't compare to one Miles, but when it comes to psychology, Miles isn't even worthy of shining Alex's shoes.

No one is perfect, and everyone has their own expertise. Therefore, only by uniting can humanity go further. However, there are always some people who do not understand this simple truth, thinking that they are born noble and want to treat others as slaves.

So those who refused to be slaves stood up.

Alex's psychological assessment of Miles was very accurate. The President quickly took control of the Ghost Hound family members without harming anyone. He even treated them well and elegantly issued a threat to V.

On the one hand, she wanted to prove that she was a leader with her own opinions and talent, and that she wouldn't blindly accept her subordinates' suggestions; on the other hand, she really didn't dare to offend V again.

Judging others by her own standards, Miles didn't care about ordinary people, so she assumed V wouldn't care about ordinary people either.

In her mind, V's benevolence was just a show, a way to package her glorious image as the tyrant of Night City. In reality, V was just like herself, like all the rulers of this world, a god living in the clouds, cold and ruthless.

So she was afraid that if she went too far, she might force V to tear off her disguise, and she would be the one who would suffer.

After being slapped in the face so many times, Miles finally learned his lesson, but unfortunately—it was too late!

After receiving the threat from the new US president, V started laughing, and then everyone in the conference room joined in.

“Everything is going according to plan,” V said. “Miles will be heading to Dogtown in three days aboard Space One. Colonel Hansen, that madman from the Vortex Gang is in your hands. I’ve already uploaded the [Cyber ​​Psychopath] puppet to him; you just need to enter the activation code. The Cyber ​​Psychopath shoots down the plane, and you take him out. No problem, right?”

"Of course, I've been waiting for this day for eight whole years!" Kurt Hansen grinned maliciously, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

“Sever Dogtown’s connection to the outside world. Lucy, this is your job. Make sure Dogtown becomes a closed space.”

"no problem."

"Xu Ling, deploy defenses in the direction of the cross-sea bridge. Not even a fly can fly out of Taiping Prefecture."

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

“Stock, return to Washington and personally lead the rescue of those hostages. Song Zhaomei has already sent the address.”