Cyberpunk: Nirvana of Shoko Toyokawa

“[You can play the piano, right?]”

"[Do you know Toyosu PIT? It's one of the many concert halls managed by Pastel*Palettes.]"

"【The renovation there will be finished soon and it is in the downtime period.】"

“[If you can get in there without being discovered by anyone and without causing any casualties, and play a song on the main stage.]”

"【I recognize your strength.】"

“…I said so.”

Qiansheng smiled and played with her slender fingers.

Beside him, Miao Meng moved.

But she could see what the occasion was, so she didn't say anything.

"Sorry. I saw that your attribute points were too low, so I tested you."

Qiansheng looked at Xiangzi and said.

"You did it perfectly."

"In just two weeks, we found a hacker with the lowest [Intelligence: 8] and [Technical Ability: 8], successfully cooperated with him without any funds, invaded the area through hacking, and perfectly planned the route of action..."

"The way to cover up the performance is to have Honeycomb's publicity truck cover the airwaves?"

"This is a brilliant idea. Even I have to admire it."

"As expected, he is the one that Sanjiao Chuhua risked everything on to introduce to me."

Qiansheng's wine-red eyes met Xiangzi's and narrowed slightly.

"..."

Xiangzi quietly looked into the eyes of this big man who held one-fifth of the City of Joy in his hands.

“I was shocked at first.”

"In the agency that Pastel*Palettes controls, there are actually people with mercenary-level qualities who can steal intelligence."

"Sanjiao Chuhua, she stole information about a top-secret mission that Pastel*Palettes was about to carry out."

"She is clearly an artist that the company strongly promotes, and she has a bright future ahead of her... After knowing this, won't we have no choice but to get rid of her? Does she still think she can get away with it unscathed?"

"Until she brought you here, I never understood why she wanted to ruin her own future."

“But after that negotiation, I understood.”

Thousand Saints smile.

"She did it for you."

"..."

Xiangzi stood gracefully.

"I've been in the City of Joy for a long time. I can count on one hand the number of people I've met who are worthy of others' trust."

"Toyama Kasumi, Minato Yukina, Mizukran, Genmaki Kokoro, Susumate Tomoe, Kurata Mashiro..."

"… Maruyama Aya."

Qiansheng's gaze slid across Xiangzi's face.

"Oblivionis."

"Will you be one of them?"

"..."

Xiangzi did not say "I don't deserve it" again, she just remained silent.

Qiansheng smiled.

"I hope you can treat the life entrusted to you with caution."

She straightened herself slightly and raised her voice.

"Sanjiao Chuhua approached me a few days ago and said he knew of loopholes in Pastel*Palettes' intelligence management and showed me a copy of our top-secret mission."

"She said she had no hostility and was willing to assist Pastel*Palettes in closing this loophole. But in exchange, she wanted us to consider one thing."

"That's you, Oblivionis."

"Sanjiao Chuhua wants us to entrust this top-secret mission to you, a little-known person."

"She promised us that you would definitely succeed. And then, you, who were brought here by her, also made the same promise."

"I tested you at the time. I said that if you could perform at the Toyosu PIT, I would recognize your ability."

"If that's not possible, you two can pick a date you like to disappear."

"You agreed."

"...Actually, during this time, I asked Honeycomb to transfer Triangle Chuhua to another filming location so that she could not support you secretly."

"But you didn't ask for her support at all."

"You did it all by yourself."

“So efficient, so precise, so impeccable.”

"In this case, I can't say anything more, right?"

Qiansheng put his hands on his knees, looked at Xiangzi and said.

"In this case, I will fulfill my promise."

"Oblivionis."

She called Xiangzi's name again.

"As the current person in charge of Pastel*Palettes, I now hand this task over to you."

she says.

"——This mission will pit you against the leader of the wealthy district, the Roselia band."

"—"

Miao Meng on the side made the loudest noise since entering the box.

Chapter 31 Why does it sound like you want to take me with you?

Miao Meng seemed to finally realize how dangerous the situation he was in was.

It’s a pity that now that it has come to this, I can’t run away even if I want to.

On the sofa, Bai Lu Qiansheng elegantly crossed his legs and began to explain the mission.

"Maruyama Aya, you two know each other, right?"

Xiangzi nodded.

"How much do you know?"

"【Crazy Self-Searcher】, Aya Maruyama. Lead singer and leader of the Pastel*Palettes band. Manages the entertainment industry and agency in the Kabuki district and the performance area..."

"go on."

"…She hasn't appeared in the public eye for almost a year. Everyone said she went to another city."

"Everyone?"

Qiansheng smiled.

“It’s the radio station.”

"..."

"The radio station is concerned about our relationship. I think it's mainly because they're afraid that Hinata will jump in through the window with her Bloody Maria and shoot everyone in the head."

"..."

"Oblivionis, tell me what you think."

"…I think she's dead."

"!"

"Haha, you are quite courageous."

Qiansheng chuckled.

"Yes, that's right, of course we know... She hasn't come out for such a long time, and no one dares to say it, but in their hearts they all think that she is dead."

“After all, everyone knows how we got started.”

"In 2012, Patmos, the god of hackers, bombed the old network. AI started a riot and began to attack humans through the global network. In order to protect themselves, humans created a super AI called [Black Wall] to separate a safe local area network from the Internet for human activities."

"But at the same time, a large amount of digital assets in various fields such as science and technology, communication, etc. have been divided behind the black wall."

"Once you climb over the black wall, the fragile human brain will be roasted into pieces by the hungry old-time AI behind the black wall in the blink of an eye."

"But if anyone can come back alive before being devoured by the old AI..."

"The legacy of the old times that she brought back from behind the black wall is enough to allow her to leap to the forefront of this era."

Qiansheng looked at Xiangzi and Miaomeng.

"Do you know why our leader, Aya Maruyama, is called the "Crazy Self-Searcher"?"

"..."

"Because she is the first and only hacker in Le City who dares to use the information behind the Black Wall to do business."

Compared to Xiangzi who just nodded slightly, Miao Meng, who is also a hacker, showed more obvious hesitation on his face.

"Cai is the most hardworking person I have ever met. She works harder and more desperately than anyone else. She has developed a method to steal resources behind the black wall, which greatly reduces the danger of passing through the black wall... although it is still very dangerous."

“But she’s willing to do it.”

"After crossing the black wall for the first time, Cai earned the first pot of gold to form a band. Later, Pastel*Palettes lost the battle for the territory of the [Old Five Group] and almost lost everything. It was Cai who crossed the black wall for the second time and brought back the key, lost channel blocking technology, turning the tide."

"After that, we owned the territory and settled down. Sai also stopped performing dangerous black wall hacks."

“Until last year.”

“Last year, construction on the new land was completed.”

It's new land reclaimed.

"The reclaimed land has breathed new life and new hope into the city. It has brought more guests and settlers, more jobs, and two new ruling bands."

"This has never happened in the past few years."

"Although there are two new competitors on this land, Morfonica is slightly weaker and acts in a rather conservative style. After losing the challenge to Roselia, RAS also became much more honest and began to act according to the old rules of the City of Music."

"In general, the emergence of the reclaimed new land is a good thing for us [the Old Five Bands]. It has greatly eased the pressure within the City of Music, reduced the burden on the Toyokawa family, and also reduced the burden on our five bands."

“Everyone is very happy.”

"Hello, Happy World!" The leader, the eldest lady of the Genjumaki family, is also very happy.

“So, she plans to sell the Michelle Park Phase 2 which is under construction and change it to the reclaimed land Phase 2 of the City of Joy.”

"What--!?"

Miao Meng no longer cared about etiquette. She blurted out.

"The site where Michelle Paradise has been under construction - the coastal wilderness at the easternmost part of the city, is it going to be made into the second phase of reclamation land!?"

I have never heard of this before!

Everyone thought that it must be Hello, Happy World!'s territory - after all, no one dared to compete for land with Xian Juanxin, the heir to the world-class Xian Juan family and the leader of Hello, Happy World!!

"Hello, Happy World! The purpose of developing Michelle Paradise Phase 2 is to expand their underground black market. For the above-ground part, the idea is to do whatever makes you happy."

The purpose of developing the second phase of the park is to expand the underground black market! ?

Another bombshell.

But this time, Miao Meng didn't dare to make a sound.