From Gotham to Night City, my infamy is known to all.

When the news anchor Gillian mentioned Arasaka Corporation, her entire tone changed.

She mastered the tricks of a certain British TV station that liked to use dark, grotesque filters—she would suddenly emphasize and lengthen the pronunciation of "Arakasa" so much that viewers who didn't understand English might think it was some kind of swear word.

When reporting ordinary news, Gillian's soft voice and gentle expression make her seem like a completely different person.

When she was broadcasting the news about Arasaka, she had a stern face and her tone was full of criticism and hostility. Her naked malice was impossible to hide.

Similar to her performance, the two sides on the big screen were also full of tension.

The leader of the company alliance on the left side of the dream was none other than Li Qixuan, who held the highest position. He stared solemnly at the executive from Arasaka opposite him and said in a deep voice:

"Kantau's power plant was bombed, and a joint convoy of military technology and biotechnology equipment mysteriously disappeared. Our three companies formed a joint investigation team and followed the clues all the way here. We found a lot of suspicious data and unknown cargo manifests in the border inspection station's terminal. Shouldn't your company give us an explanation?"

Opposite him was Valerie's boss, Jenkins, who looked quite handsome.

He brought fewer people than the three-company alliance, but his momentum was in no way weaker:

"We deeply regret what happened to your three companies. However, any unfounded accusations against Arasaka are intolerable. If you can provide evidence that the convoy passed through this area, whether it's eyewitness testimony or physical evidence, we are willing to cooperate with the investigation. But if you cannot provide such evidence—"

"Excuse me for interrupting, but we have found suspicious travel records. More than one convoy has been granted exemption from inspection at the border checkpoint. The most recent instance was this afternoon!"

Meredes stepped forward.

Unlike her arrogant and domineering demeanor not long ago, she appeared quite dignified and composed in front of the camera, looking quite professional.

She claimed to have obtained evidence and had uploaded it to headquarters, further escalating the tension in the room.

The soldiers on both sides stood in two rows, and the two leaders were not giving way to each other, giving the impression of shooting a poster for a war movie.

To make matters worse, both sides were wearing company uniforms...

Many people who have experienced the Fourth Corporate War and the Unification War will suffer from PTSD!

After only a few years of peace, are the Military Science Institute and Arasaka trying to reignite the war again?!

This time, both Comto and biotechnology have been dragged into it. If a real war breaks out, Night City will have to be rebuilt again!

On the big screen, the debate continues.

Leo discovered something interesting: the reporters from News 54 consistently sided with the alliance of the three companies.

When filming the spokespeople for the three alliances, they used close-up shots, which seemed fine at first glance. But when it came to filming Jenkins, they used wide shots, including the fully armed Arasaka soldiers behind him, creating a sense of menacing power and domineering presence.

Leo laughed. He had figured out how to use camera language; the reporter wasn't going to miss any opportunity to smear Arasaka.

A while later, a reporter from WNS News arrived on the scene and offered another perspective.

Sasha quickly adjusted the TV settings to make the two channels compete on the same screen.

The same sentence can be interpreted in two completely opposite ways, which greatly enhances the enjoyment of the news.

The living room was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.

There's a certain enjoyment in watching the media controlled by the two major parties in the old United States attack each other.

Ultimately, a fight was out of the question, and the two sides parted on bad terms amidst a tense and acrimonious farewell.

The alliance of the three companies stated that they have obtained "conclusive evidence" and will release it at an opportune time once the interpretation is complete.

Arakawa retorted, claiming they had no evidence whatsoever and that it was pure slander. While they acknowledged the possibility of misunderstanding, they asserted it was certainly not a malicious attack orchestrated by Arakawa Corporation.

The show came to an end, leaving everyone wanting more.

"To hijack a convoy and turn it into this scene is truly legendary..." V muttered, then got up and walked towards the kitchen. "It's almost six o'clock, let's get ready to make dinner. We've been in the sun all day, so let's have something refreshing tonight."

"I'm here to help!"

Sasha jumped up and followed.

Vera stood up and pulled Panan along. "Come help. Doing housework together is the most effective way to get to know each other."

"Great, I do know how to cook two good dishes."

The four ladies left the group, and the two men tidied up the table and set out the bowls and chopsticks.

After a sumptuous and slightly innovative dinner, everyone agreed on a meeting time for tomorrow and went home to get some rest.

Ding--

The elevator door slowly closed.

Looking at the rapidly declining numbers, Leo suddenly felt a chill.

Sure enough, before he could turn around, a shadow elongated by the lamplight fell upon him, making him appear so small…

Sneak attack!

His neck tightened as a supple yet strong arm made intimate contact with the skin of his neck.

But he didn't feel any romantic feelings—because it was a naked chokehold!

A familiar scent wafted over, and V buried her face in the back of his neck, whispering a devilish whisper: "Don't move..."

Her left hand was around Leo's neck, while her right hand reached down towards his waist.

Unfortunately, she wasn't touching the zipper of his suit trousers, but rather... the pistol on Leo's waist!

Snapped.

With a soft click, she pulled the Golden Premium Edition Yinglong Smart Submachine Gun from its holster and held it horizontally in front of Leo.

The flowing metal and platinum-engraved VVV logo on the gun body exude a captivating brilliance.

"Three Vs..."

V whispered in his ear, a dangerous aura coiling around his body with menacing force.

"Are you planning to try and argue your way out of it before you die, or are you going to skip this step and just die already?"

Leo was moved to tears. Is there really such a cruel option as skipping over life?

In a game, there would probably be a red-text option, and if you selected it, the world would spin, displaying a fatal system error message, and eventually, everything would stop...

This is an option we absolutely must not choose!

Leo didn't want to die young, so he chose to argue: "Darling, let me explain!"

V slightly relaxed the pressure on her left arm and said softly, "An explanation is just a cover-up, a cover-up is just telling a story, and telling a story means it actually happened..."

"No, no, no, you've misunderstood me!"

In the face of life and death, Leo's brain raced under the influence of his survival instinct, and he reworked the list of excuses he had been thinking about ever since he met Valerie.

"Before that meeting this afternoon, I didn't know Valerie at all! Even now, I don't know her full name!"

That's the absolute truth.

After all, knowing someone is not the same as knowing them.

Intuition tells me... Pass!

V's momentum faltered: Since Leo didn't know Valerie at all, the inscription he had engraved on the gun a long time ago was naturally unrelated to her.

"What do these three Vs represent?"

"I've already explained it. A single V engraved on my person would be mistaken for the Valentino gang's symbol. I'm going to start a company; having a gang label on me would be too low-class!"

Intuition tells me... Pass!

That's really what he thought.

V hesitated for a moment. Could it really be a misunderstanding?

No, that's not right!

Leo's attitude towards that bad woman was clearly problematic—after he took off his mask, there was an undisguised eagerness in his eyes when he looked at her, and his tone was much friendlier than when he spoke to other strangers. She was watching!

As she pondered, it was as if a sudden enlightenment had struck her; she had seen through everything!

There's nothing wrong with the gun or the "VVV" markings on it. The problem is Leo's attitude. Could he have fallen in love at first sight again, just like when he first met me?

With that thought in mind, she released her left arm, quickly spun Leo around, and pressed him against the safety door.

"Leo... answer me, have you fallen for that bad woman? Is that why you're being so nice to her?"

Another potentially disastrous question.

I must say, you guessed pretty accurately…

Chapter 327 Leo: "I'm innocent! I'm just a simple V-sexist!"

Leo chose to deny everything, between submitting to execution and Aba Aba.

"It's unfair, sir!"

“I admit I have a bit of a crush on her, but that’s because she looks exactly like you. When I see her, it’s like seeing another version of you, so my attitude is naturally different. Where I’m from, there’s a specific idiom to describe this kind of situation: ‘love me, love my dog.’ Have you heard of it?”

V… I’ve never heard of her before, but that doesn’t stop her from being jealous.

"What do you mean? Do you like my face, not me?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously for a moment.

Leo shook his head frantically.

This is utter slander!

He clearly likes the "V" that carries past memories and future hopes; strictly speaking, it should be called "V-sexuality." It would be too superficial to only mention appearance!

"Of course not, I love you! Not just your face, but everything about you. You're my favorite!"

Leo launched a double offensive consisting of cheesy pickup lines and loving hugs.

These words came from the bottom of his heart. Compared to the other two V-Zhentians, with whom he had not yet had much interaction, his favorite was Vivian, who had been by his side for a long time and with whom he had already confirmed their relationship!

Intuition tells me... Pass!

The crisis has been averted, and the tense atmosphere has subsided!

V-shaped eyebrows relax, switching back to the adorable wife mode.

She put the Yinglong submachine gun back into its holster and complained angrily:

"That's more like it! It's all that damned Night City's fault. It was already weird enough before, and now even clones are popping up. How many people here look just like me...?"

Leo couldn't answer that question either.

Logically, there should only be three Vs, but if we count men and women separately, there are six Vs. If we also include scrapped cases, there might be eight Vs!

Thinking about it this way, Night City really is the most dangerous place in the 2077 world—eight of the Ten Kings of Hell reside in this hellish place…

He hesitated before saying, "There should only be three, right? Just seeing the three of you makes me feel that fate is incredible."

“Fate…” V muttered, frowning. “It’s really strange. I’ll go ask Misty to take a look at me tomorrow. My recent experiences have been too surreal…”

First it was Leo, then Vera, and now Valerie. It feels like an invisible hand is deliberately disrupting her originally peaceful life.

While it's true that most of the news is good, it's still too strange...

V, who has always been an atheist, is starting to waver... Could there really be something supernatural in this world?

Leo dared not provoke her at this moment.

He gently pushed V's back, swaying her onto the sofa, and turned on the TV to play her favorite show, "Dead Man's Lottery," on its evening rerun.

Dogsty Stan also interrupted the broadcast with news about the recent "company conflict," and surprisingly, he didn't criticize Leo.

Come to think of it, four top-10 companies fighting each other, in the special context of 2077, can almost be regarded as "four countries" fighting. Leo and Wings of Liberty are completely insignificant in front of them and automatically enter stealth mode.

Stan only mentioned the large-scale search in the eastern suburbs when the topic came up—that a mysterious person whose name he couldn't reveal had also been implicated, and hoped that Stan wouldn't vent his anger on innocent people.

Leo laughed in anger and immediately blacklisted the green-haired guy, ready to teach him a small lesson whenever he had the chance!

With the comfort of her favorite TV shows and her two cats, V's mood brightened, and she smiled again.

With the crisis completely averted, Leo mentally made a victory sign.

At 7:30 p.m., the sky outside the window gradually darkened.

Pictures and short videos of the bonfire party were posted on the Wings of Freedom's public channel by Solling, Wusi, Luqi, and others.

Leo put his arm around V as they watched the lively evening party where the homeless sang and danced, experiencing a wildness and unbridled spirit completely different from city life.

"Escape the constraints of city life, away from the confusion and hustle and bustle of urban life, the lifestyle of the homeless can sometimes be quite enviable..."

V let out a sigh.

Leo nodded. The Starry Night ending was his personal favorite: leaving the haunted Night City with hope, love, and friends, and beginning a free journey. Although the future was uncertain, it was full of healing and warmth.