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

[Understood, will be carried out immediately.]

By the way, did you organize my computer data? Did you include any information about Cyberpunk: The Edgewalker?

[Yes, I'll send it to you right away. Please allow me to remind you again that the real world you are facing is far more complex than a ten-episode TV series, so please don't rely too much on a one-sided 'plot'.]

I know, I will be careful.

While waiting for the results, Leo closed his eyes and watched a clip of Sasha from Cyberpunk: The Edge Walker.

This tragic girl was the first victim of Mann's squad. She died in the biotechnology company building while searching for the truth behind her mother's death.

Compared to Qiwei and Lucy, this Russian girl, whose name clearly indicates her Soviet nationality, left a much better impression on Leo.

After a while, Pure White sent a number and informed her that Sasha was currently working alone.

Leo perked up and opened his eyes.

It seems that Mann's team is still in its early stages, and he has plenty of time to get involved in the "Fringe Walker" storyline.

Having organized his thoughts, he gestured with his chin toward V: "I'll put it on speakerphone and show you what a middleman can do."

"Sure, let me broaden my horizons."

V pulled a bar stool with wheels from the bar counter and sat down next to him.

Leo took a few deep breaths, composed himself, and dialed Sasha's number.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

The phone rang a few times before being successfully connected.

Sasha's image appeared in the upper left corner of my field of vision; she was a cartoon-style cat-eared girl.

Strangely, after the call was connected, there was no sound on the other end; only faint breathing could be heard if you listened carefully.

[Father, she was attempting reverse tracking, but I've intercepted it.]

Leo nodded slightly: "That's cautious enough, but it's normal for a solo hacker to be a little wary."

Since the other party is not speaking, it's his turn to take the initiative.

“Sasha Yakovlevova, it’s nice to meet you. You can call me L, a newcomer and middleman.”

After a few seconds of silence, a response came in a cartoonish, anime-style synthesized voice:

"How did you get this number? I don't recall having a middleman like you in Night City."

"A middleman, after all, needs some special intelligence channels. And I've only been here a short time, so it's understandable that you haven't heard of me."

"Hmm... never mind, it's not important. You found me because you have work to do?"

"I guess so. I'm new here and I'm planning to build an elite team. I happen to be short of a hacker."

"Ha, yet another one trying to recruit me. I had no idea I was so popular."

Leo wasn't sure if this was the truth or an excuse, but considering the current timeline, Sasha was indeed about to join Mann's Edgewalker squad.

While he was thinking, Sasha quickly said, "I'm willing to take on any work, but I'd rather not recruit people. I don't trust a middleman I've never even heard of."

Leo frowned as he saw V beside him wearing a mocking face that said, "I knew you couldn't do it."

"Don't rush to refuse. Wasn't it Mann who contacted you before?"

"Huh!?" Her voice rose noticeably, clearly surprised. "How...how did you know?"

"How can you act as a middleman if you know nothing?"

Leo deflected the difficult question with a counter-question, then activated his high-speed divine speech:

"Mann, a former underground boxer, later joined the New United States Special Operations Forces. After serving for two years, he retired and came to Night City, hoping to break free from the control of New United States."

"Hmm... he's a skilled worker, and he has some conscience too. I might collaborate with him in the future."

"However, let's talk about our business first—joining Mann's Edge Walker squad would at best mean you'd just sneak in and become an elite mercenary. But joining me would be different. I not only have money, but I also plan to start a company, and you can get a full-time job that everyone envies."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

Sasha wasn't particularly interested in the proposal; she was just wondering how the other party knew that Mann had invited her to join.

The two sides had only been in contact for a few days, and she was still investigating intelligence and weighing the pros and cons, when a mysterious middleman revealed everything.

Could it be that someone in Mann's team leaked information?

Otherwise, how could outsiders have known about their private meetings and conversations...?

Then there's this guy who calls himself L. His hackers are quite skilled, practically watertight. Several of my attempts to hack into them were easily thwarted, leaving me completely unable to find any trace of them.

She thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Don't you have some skilled hackers on your end? Why are you contacting me?"

"I'm very busy. Do you expect me to accompany the team on missions every day?"

"..."

Sasha fell silent again.

Leo, fearing the other party would hang up, immediately played his trump card:

"Join my team, and you'll get a base salary of 3 per month, plus bonuses for missions. Isn't that much better than joining the Edge Walker team?"

If that's still not enough, then I'll give you some information about—the cause of your mother, Galina Valieva's, death.

"What... Clang—"

From that side came the sound of a chair falling over, its wheels spinning freely, followed by a sweet cry of pain.

"Who are you?! What do you know?!"

Her voice became excited.

"Miss Sasha, your voice changer is malfunctioning a little," Leo said kindly, confident of victory.

"Stop talking nonsense! What do you even know?!"

The more agitated and frantic she became, the happier Leo was: "I know a lot of things, like the life-saving drug Securicine that you personally gave her. That drug..."

He suddenly stopped talking at this point.

Sasha took the bait: "What's wrong with that medicine?! Tell me!"

Leo changed the subject: "I have something to do tomorrow, so I might not be able to see you. How about this, I know you're also in Night City, let's meet and talk the day after tomorrow. I'll let you know the specific time and place later. That's all. Bye."

Click.

The call ended, completely silencing the anxious voice on the other end.

[Can Pure White erase our numbers so she can't call back?]

No problem, I already encrypted your phone number, just in case.

【Great, let's do it this way. Leave her out for a couple of days to put some pressure on her.】

He had just finished communicating with Pure White when he heard V's question: "The person on the other end sounds like a young girl. You deliberately only say half of what you mean. Isn't that bullying her?"

Leo smiled slightly: "If I don't put some pressure on her, why would she be willing to join a team formed by strangers?"

V didn't know what to say, and his gaze unconsciously turned to the screen, which showed a list of fewer than ten hackers—Sasha Yakovlevva was undoubtedly among them.

"How do you know about her past? You even know the cause of her mother's death and the medicine she delivered at the end?"

And that Mann, I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before.

Logically, these should be secrets known only to the parties involved, so how did you find out?

Countless question marks appeared above V's head, and for the first time, he felt somewhat unable to understand the Leo in front of him.

I initially thought he was just a rich and capricious tycoon, but now he's showing a mysterious side...

Anonymous Soldier: Chapter Forty-Three - The Joy of the Tuntun Rat

"A middleman always needs some special information channels."

Leo resorted to his old trick, refusing to explain the issue.

V's curiosity was piqued, and she pressed on, "Tell me, what's wrong with that medicine? Is there something wrong with it?"

"Use your invincible intuition, isn't the answer obvious?"

Leo closed the hacker list and opened his browser.

“Safeguard is a problematic drug with severe side effects. She used it as a lifeline, but it worsened her mother’s condition and led to her death.”

"Damn, it suddenly got so dark..."

V suddenly tossed her head, and her good mood vanished instantly.

But this is Night City, where there are no fairy tales, only shitty ghost stories...

After a while, she leaned on the table and watched Leo look up information.

"Are you sure you can convince her to join us with just this intelligence? She doesn't sound very old. Is her hacking skill any good?"

Leo turned and glanced at her. "The intelligence is just a starting point. The real data is in the biotechnology building. If she wants to know the truth, she'll have to cooperate with us. As for her technology, she used to work at [Dangerous Girls]."

"Dangerous girl... Oh, I remember now, that anime detective agency, it's said to be full of beautiful girls and have super high-quality equipment."

"Yes."

Leo shrugged and found the video he wanted.

“Look at this V, we’re going here tomorrow.”

V looked over—

Those magnificent skyscrapers, the hovercars shuttling back and forth, and the brightly lit, exceptionally glamorous circular plaza together form the core landmark of Night City, a prime location with unparalleled television screen time—

Company Plaza!

"We...are we going here?" V's voice was a little unsteady.

"To be precise, it's going to Arasaka Academy."

Leo paused the video, and the screen focused on a black building with the Arasaka logo, exuding a high-tech feel.

"Arasaka Academy..."

What appeared in V's eyes was not admiration or longing, but confusion.

"This place doesn't feel right for someone like me who lives on the streets."

"Don't even mention it, I feel awkward just looking at you. But I'm going there to learn the art of refining, and also to get a more formal identity. Even if I don't like it, I can only put up with it, sigh..."

Leo deliberately let out a smug sigh, successfully relieving V's discomfort.

“Pretentious…”

She stood up with a look of disgust and walked towards her room.

Why did it run away?

Leo asked, puzzled, "Where are you going?"

"Pick a suitable outfit; I can't let the office geezers look down on me," V said without turning his head.

Okay, Leo understands. It's women's desire for beauty that's stirring up their emotions.

After waiting for a while, V came out wearing new clothes.

Leo had only glanced at her casually at first, but his expression changed immediately, and he stared intently at her.

"What's wrong? This is my favorite outfit."

V looked down and didn't see anything wrong with it.

Leo nodded blankly, "No, I just feel...it suits you very well."

Look carefully -

V's overall outfit is predominantly black.

He wore a tight-fitting black sleeveless shirt on top, with a high-tech jacket on the outside. The jacket had complex mechanical devices on the shoulders, and the patterns on the inside could even glow.

She wore black tight leather pants on her lower body, with some protective gear on her knees and legs.

Add to that the dark red multi-functional belt around the waist, and the cyberpunk style is off the charts, making it incredibly cool.

More importantly—this seems to be the outfit V wore in the official lore.