Cyberpunk: Nirvana of Shoko Toyokawa

Xiangzi said.

Miao Meng let out a loud "Tsk~" from behind.

"But the name needs to be changed."

Xiangzi swiped away the message interface. She said to Hailing:

"Hachiman is no longer useful. Will-O-Wisp youths don't use IDs that look like proper last names. You need a code name."

"That's true. What should it be changed to?" Hai Ling asked.

"Xiangzi, Haizi is not okay?"

Miao Meng immediately perked up.

"That's so easy to say... I'll just call you Meow Mengqin!"

"This way, only Miss Toyokawa will be caught among us, Meow Yumeko," Hailing said.

"I'm Meow Dream Kiss! Kiss!"

"Are you the only one who is close to me?"

"Let's keep the code name consistent with my [Oblivionis]." Xiangzi raised his chin, which was supported by his hands, and said.

"Ms. Hachiman, your name is Timoris."

"Meow Dream, your name is Amoris."

"I know a cyborg doctor who can change citizens' ID information. Just give me a personal ID account and I'll have him change it remotely for you. It will be done quickly."

"Eh...I want to change too?"

Miao Meng frowned one eyebrow.

"Amoris... Can't I just call her Meow Meng? I think Meow Meng is a good name~"

"That's basically your real name, right? For security reasons, it's better to change it." Xiangzi said, "Also, our IDs need to be in the same style. Otherwise, it's easy to be suspected during negotiations."

"Alright alright."

Miao Meng accepted it, while Hai Ling had no objection from the beginning.

"The ID problem has been solved, but the facial features are still a problem."

Xiangzi continued.

"Compared to the Will-O'-Will youth who are keen on modifying their faces - partly because they often bump their heads and faces - we have too few facial prostheses. After pretending to be a Will-O'-Will youth, we will be very conspicuous."

"Okay." Miao Meng spread her hands. "I just changed my ID, and now I want to change my face, right? It's just to gather some information, but this is too much of a cost!"

"wrong."

Xiangzi glanced at Miao Meng. Seeing the latter's smiling face, she realized that the other party was joking and held her eyebrows helplessly.

"…We need to cover our faces."

Xiangzi said.

"Face shields, masks... basically that's all. I'll go find some before I leave."

"Ah, that's a bit nostalgic. Were you wearing something like that when I first saw you?"

"more or less."

"Oh, I miss that time so much—"

Xiangzi didn't think Miao Meng really missed that time. But she saw Hailing raised her hand.

"Can I use the face armor?"

Hai Ling gestured on her face and said.

"Tungsten steel face armor, knitted with mixed yarn, the kind that covers the lower half of the face."

"There's a slot inside for a pneumatic inhaler, which can increase blood oxygen levels and restore strength for a short period of time. I wear it sometimes."

Xiangzi thought about it.

"Okay." She said.

"Then I have no other questions."

Hailing stood up from the sofa, looked at Xiangzi and Miaomeng, and asked:

"As for the rest, let's go to the scene and see it first?"

"it is good."

Xiangzi nodded and said:

"We'll leave tomorrow."

Hai Ling's hands, which were tidying up her coat, suddenly stopped.

“…I won’t leave tomorrow.”

Hai Ling said.

From the moment Hailing came in, a hint of surprise flashed across Xiangzi's face, even though he had always been at ease in negotiations.

"you--"

You didn't mention that you had other plans.

Xiangzi wanted to ask this question, but he couldn't.

Because, before Xiangzi could say this, Hailing leaned forward -

She reached out and lifted Xiangzi's chin.

"—"

Xiangzi's words were blocked in his throat by Hailing's sudden action.

Hai Ling moved very close.

Almost cheek to cheek.

She stared into Xiangzi's eyes.

"Wow. How bold~"

Miao Meng's voice came from the side.

"..."

Hai Ling was silent. In her eyes, a circle of blue-green cold light lit up and then went out after a moment.

"Heart rate is 122 beats per minute. Lactate, blood ammonia, and cortisol levels are too high. Blood sugar concentration is too low. The root mean square amplitude of the surface electromyographic signal of the main muscle groups is significantly higher than the normal value. The jerk index line is rising..."

Hai Ling said calmly.

"Severe fatigue. It has reached a very dangerous level. Residual sedatives were detected in the veins."

"..."

"The completion of the mission is the top priority. However, this does not mean that I will watch my companions die."

Hailing took her hand away from Xiangzi's chin and straightened her back.

"We'll set off again in three days."

Hai Ling said this and turned to leave.

"——Ms. Hachiman!"

Xiangzi shouted quickly.

"Do not worry."

Hai Ling stopped and said.

"The money has been received. I will wait for you."

……

The sun is shining brightly beside a neat, deserted suburban road.

On the huge blue iron road sign above my head, with rusted edges, it reads [→Industrial Area 70km][→Agricultural Area 87km].

In the upper left corner of the road sign, there is a sentence like [Welcome to the City of Joy...].

The back is not clear because someone has sprayed the word "Afterglow" in red paint.

The sound waves of the radio station floated in the dry air.

"Good morning, City of Joy! Yesterday - yesterday, guess what? BCPD hit a big snag! They actually went to collect taxes in the parking lot of SPACE! Cyber ​​God, that used to be the place where the legendary middlemen built poetry ships! You know it, and I know it, but only those idiots in the BCPD who have had protein powder in their heads don't know! Hey, don't tell me, in the blink of an eye, all the bars in SPACE were closed -"

Squeak.

Miao Meng reached out from the side of the big red Kusanagi CT-3X motorcycle and turned off the radio.

Today, she wore a black mask with a hollow pattern that covered the upper part of her face.

"This motorcycle is good in every way. It's fast and cheap to rent." Miao Meng said with a smile, "It's a pity that the owner of the motorcycle shop is so ignorant that he insists on adding a music amplifier to every motorcycle. When I listen to the radio, it's like someone cursing in my ear! Xiangzi, I really should do the same as you and cut the wires of the stereo when I go out!"

"The boss is used to it."

Behind Miao Meng, Xiangzi, who was also wearing a black hollow pattern mask that covered the upper and right side of his face, leaned on another black [Kusanagi CT-3X] motorcycle, looking at the flowing clouds in the sky.

"Those who rent motorcycles outside the Afterglow territory are all wandering Will-O-Wisp youths. The standard configuration those guys want is a big amplifier."

"Ha! You're right! After taking a look around the boss's shop, I don't think he makes money from regular auto repairs... It's more like he makes money from car insurance! Just like you!"

"What do you mean just like me?"

"You look like you're living off personal injury insurance, you don't care about your life! At first I said Haizi was new here and didn't understand you, so you definitely wouldn't stay still - who would have thought that you actually stayed still for three days! This is the longest rest time you've ever had since I met you!"

"Ms. Hachiman makes reasonable suggestions. Besides, I will take breaks, too."

Xiangzi played with his hair, looked into the distance and said.

"Okay, okay~ You're not a android, I get it~ So, why hasn't that girl come yet? Doesn't she always arrive early? Could she have forgotten the time we agreed on?"

Miao Meng had just finished speaking.

Buzz. Buzz.

From the distant highway, the sound of an engine roared.

Chapter 44: Leather Jacket with Motorcycle

A cool silver and black ARCH Nazaré heavy motorcycle came from the other end of the road.

The engine roared, and the synthetic rubber tread kicked up dust on the asphalt road. In the blink of an eye, [ARCH Nazaré] arrived in front of Xiangzi and Miaomeng.

Slow down, brake, drift, and swerve. All in one go.

The heavy motorcycle stopped in front of the two men.

Yawata Kailing, wearing a black leather cycling suit, pushed the ground with her feet.

The lower half of her face was covered by a pure black tungsten steel face armor, and she wore windproof sunglasses on the upper face.

"Wow."

Miao Meng looked at the powerful visitors and raised her eyebrows.

"Where did you rent it? It's so fancy?"

"This is mine."

Hai Ling raised her windproof sunglasses and said.

……

Three motorcycles were speeding along the road.

In the wilderness, the only sound you can hear is the roar of engines.

…but it’s not really “quiet”.

On the way to the destination, Miao Meng kept asking Hai Ling, "Is this motorcycle expensive?" "Hundreds of thousands? Millions?" "Where did you buy it?" "Do mercenaries make so much money?" In Yi's eyes, blue-green message boxes kept popping up in the brain-computer communication channel that was connected to only three people.