svetikya Chapter 65
Chapter 65
Chapter 65 Taipingzhou.
Virtual goldfish in gold and blue hovered in the municipal center composed of major companies. Ali walked in the”circle” corridor around the company building outside the academy, looking down at his phone. His Arasaka school uniform sparkled in the sun, attracting many passers-by to look at him.
No matter how poor a person is, he can afford to study at Arasaka Academy. In Night City, he is definitely a”middle class” or above.
It’s a pity that such a handsome and tall young talent, like those old monks with pedantic ideas, has not implanted any prosthesis, and is holding a piece of electronic waste that has been eliminated for decades.
”
But Ali didn’t care about the strange looks from the people around him. He leaned on the railing of the”circle” corridor and checked the message Lucy sent him on his phone.
“”Apprentice, the subway has been very strict these days and I haven’t had any income for a long time. If you have any commissioned work, please contact me and we can work together. If not, you can also come to me. I found a good job here and I may be able to make some money. You know, I came from outside Night City. I haven’t had any work for a few days and I am indeed short of money now.”
Looking at the message sent by Lucy, Ali could imagine her looking at the street by the window of the rental house, smoking a cigarette, her eyes flickering, and revealing a helpless face.
“Master, I really haven’t received any work yet. Those middlemen have no vision and think that I can’t get the job done without implants. I’ve been depressed for a few days.”
“Well, since you have work to do there that can make money, why don’t I go find you now?”
It seems that he has been hanging out with Jack Wells for a long time, and now Ali can lie without blinking an eye. He quickly edited the good news and sent it over.
“Well, come over then. I’ll send you the address.”
“The pay for this job should be high. We need to save a little bit, accumulate some money little by little. I have planned it all out. You have a good talent, and I plan to pay for a few implants for you out of my own pocket.”
Night City is located in a slum street somewhere in [Taiping Province]. It is a place similar to a village in the city, with alleys and ditches everywhere, and people like the walking dead gather here.
If you stand here and look up, you can only see endlessly high buildings, endless iron windows, and narrow surroundings, just like a frog at the bottom of a well, looking at the dots of sky cut out by the floors.
However, in this place, in a dim, messy, and narrow room, a beautiful and clean girl who was out of place here lowered her eyes. Lucy was just as Ali thought. Standing by the window, smoking a cheap cigarette.
A puff of smoke came out of her red lips, and her eyes were full of confusion in the smoke. Even though it was a bright day, the sunlight that spread all over the earth could not penetrate into the girl’s home and her depressed heart.
That kind and selfless light has become a luxury in her current environment. Only the light bulb with a damaged resistor in the room is still flickering a weak light.
The breeze blew across the girl’s cheek, lifting some of her hair, but the wind could not blow the dirty curtains beside her window, because the curtains have become greasy and hard.
“Apprentice, I plan to invest in you. When I was with you that day, I felt that you were a pretty reliable person, so I want to cooperate with you. Because I have some unspeakable reasons that prevent me from appearing in the public eye.”
“This job is also a test for you. If you pass it, you will be responsible for showing up and taking jobs, and I will concentrate on assisting you. We can definitely become bigger and stronger if we work together.”
“By then you can make a lot of money and buy a car and a house in Night City, and I can go somewhere, go to that beautiful place.……”
“”Okay, Master. No problem, Master.”
Lucy’s eyes sparkled. She looked at the dialog box message sent by Ali, and the confusion in her eyes became even worse. This made her look at the moon landing poster pasted under the faint light of the light bulb in the room.
“You can’t trust anyone in Night City. The only one you can trust is yourself.”
“But Qiwei, I can’t do it by myself. I tried. I really tried.”
“I have been running and hiding for many years. Even though I came to this night city, I still have nothing. If I want to break through, I can only try to trust others.”
“Ali… please don’t lie to me, okay?”
People in Night City are of all kinds, and everyone has their own colorful stories, but the city itself is the tombstone of humanity. Once upon a time, Night City rose from the ground and was even honored as the best city in the world.
Unfortunately, the rapid development of technology can never and has never solved the real problems. On the contrary, they have brought more new problems.
Ali changed into a”street boy” outfit. He strolled to the location sent by Lucy, walked through the streets of Night City, and entered the subway station of Night City.
Standing in the moving subway, Ali stood by the window of the car, facing the sun and looking at this flourishing”Night City”. Although it hides too many regrets, this also embellishes the city and makes its beauty unforgettable. Night City
, this”city of dreams”, everyone wants to stand out, to make money, to live, to become a legend. Strange characters, people are insignificant, people are endless, people shed their heads and blood!
But what’s the use? The design of this city has determined everything and has formed an iron rule. The vertical design from bottom to top is not just a perfect proof of the distinction of social classes here.
The days of the lower class people are basically living on the streets.
They can only look up at the skyscrapers, and they can only look up at the countless people in the heights.
Night City has its own rules.
The lower class will never be happy, so fight for your life to climb up, unwilling boys.
Bump your head and bleed, until you become insane, the blood in your nose, the paste in your brain, the tears in your pupils are all tangled into a ball, and then your body will lie in the stinky ditch.
Maybe only then will you understand a truth, death is terrible, but what is more terrible is that you are dead, but those who are in The”flying” figures in the sky, those metal monsters that enslave people, those vampires, they can live forever!
Ali exhaled, looking at the dazzling array of ads in the city, from the screens of big buildings to the roads people walk on, the dazzling ads are creating dreams, selling products, and promoting ideal empowerment.
The dreams of the entire city are continued by ads.
In the ads, there are always lucky people who are favored by fate, who win the lottery, or who suddenly have multiple millionaire fathers.
In short, they are all promoting”getting rich quickly”, making people”restless”, making people”floating”, making people feel that their suffering at this time is just”bad luck”, giving people at the bottom of life more hope, and praying for the”good luck” that will come at some point.
In short, ads and propaganda will make you feel that life is not so sad, but you don’t know that these real The reality, those unattainable fame and luxury, are only within people’s reach in dreams.
The class differences in Night City can be seen everywhere in daily life. Those who are not so lucky have a worse life. There are always some kind-hearted charities that will provide relief to the poor so that everyone can use high technology.
Even if the computer model is a little older, it can still run. Fortunately, those companies are good at advertising. With the crazy screen-swiping advertising, everyone can always make their fantasy dreams come true and get some”fast-paced” fun to numb their hearts that don’t want to face reality.
In short, if you are a person with a weak will, you will soon be assimilated by Night City. You will stay here until you are drained of any usable value. Finally, when you are dying, you will think that it is your”bad luck” and die with remorse and regret.
“Ding Dong~ Knight Company reminds you that the next stop is [Taipingzhou]. The subway has arrived at [Taipingzhou]. Please get off the train in order.”
According to the address provided by Lucy, Ali got off the train silently. As soon as he got off the train, he found that many pairs of evil eyes were staring at him.
Ali, who is familiar with”Night City” and”Cyberpunk 2077″, knows very well that this [Taipingzhou] is the poorest and most dangerous place in Night City except for [Badland]!
This is what the threat level assessment released by NCPD said. The Night City Police Department set the current threat level of Taipingzhou as:”Disaster”!
Due to the lack of municipal management, Taipingzhou has been occupied by gangs, especially the Voodoo Gang. The clothing and body modifications of this gang are to some extent close to voodoo in style, so the locals in Night City gave them the name”Voodoo Gang”, although they themselves do not agree.
In addition, the”Scavenger” gang is also active in the local area quite frequently, which also means that people who enter”Taipingzhou” will come out Many of them will have their vital organs or expensive implants removed!
That is to say, there are two active gangs here, one is the”Voodoo Gang”, and the other is the famous sewer rats in Night City, the”Scavengers” who like to strip prosthesis from the dead.
Before you step into Taiping Island, please close your eyes and imagine this picture: boutiques suitable for all ages, temporary prosthetic clinics blooming everywhere, and groups of happy tourists wandering on the streets, spending their hard-earned euros and enjoying the best time of their lives.
Now open your eyes, what will you see? I tell you, you will see extreme poverty! You will see crumbling infrastructure! You will also see rampant gang violence!
Nothing else, my friend! What are you still fantasizing about? What do you really want to see? This is a slum, a breeding ground for criminals, and a cemetery for the weak!
“The”scavengers” will strip you naked, the”voodoo gang” will melt your brain, and the environment here will pollute your”soul”. Either you stay and become one with this place, or run and leave as soon as possible!
“How could Lucy live in a place like this?”
“The environment here is much worse than in the game.”
After leaving the subway station, Ali encountered several waves of street thugs who wanted to”beg” for some benefits from him. Of course, Ali also used the”Malorian Overture” in his hand to give them some bullets.
Looking at the bodies with their heads shot out and blood spurting out at his feet, Ali had long been accustomed to it. He was a little distressed now. He had no choice but to accept it now.
……
Since Ali rescued Sasha, it really had a great impact on Lucy. She lost the protection of the Mann team in the original plot, and there was no”family”-like Mann team to repair her panicked heart.
The subway was armed, and she could no longer step into it to commit crimes. Lucy lost her source of”stealing”, and she dared not show her face.
Without an identity and no one to protect her, she could only hide in the chaotic Taiping State and live in fear. Ali’s action of destroying the plot and saving Sasha represented the butterfly wings of fate. Lucy’s life became a mess, and everything became completely different.
This made Ali feel a little guilty, but it didn’t matter. Everything was still in time. Now Ali came here, he would soon find the girl and bring her a full sense of security!
Then Ali took out his cell phone, holding a gun in one hand and opening the navigation with the other hand to continue on his way. However, a guy like him who looks clean, wears clean clothes, and has no implants will soon be targeted again.
In short, Ali can foresee that he will be in trouble along the way, but these are all within Ali’s acceptance range.
For those street thugs who want to”ask” for some benefits from him, he does not need to activate additional prosthetic skills. [Epic Gunner] is activated, and then one person and one gun are enough to roam around here.
According to the route navigation in the phone, Ali soon found Lucy’s location. In a dilapidated building, Ali saw Lucy again, but now she is much more haggard than the last time they met.
“Hmm~ I didn’t expect you to be so amazing that you could come here alone. Is it just luck? Or do you really have this ability?”
……
“I was lucky, I only met two or three blind men along the way, and I was strong, I coaxed those blind men to sleep.”
Lucy looked at the”Mallorian Overture” in Ali’s hand, and the scarlet stain on the surface of his shoes. She could figure out that Ali was not lying. Thinking of Ali’s agility in the subway station,
Lucy suddenly felt that she couldn’t see through the man in front of her. You know, this is [Taiping Prefecture], a place where NCPD dare not enter.
Ali, a guy without any implants, could actually walk all the way here. This surprised Lucy a little. Maybe Ali might be much stronger than she thought.
But the stronger Ali is, the more secure she will be in what she is going to do next, because the money-making idea Lucy got this time is actually related to the”Voodoo Gang”!
“This is the case. My master, I recently received a small job to help others in the”Voodoo Gang” conduct a network detection. This is about the”Deep Web”.””
“Of course, you don’t understand since you’re not a hacker. Anyway, I’ll be lying in bed with my helmet on and lose my ability to protect myself. I’ll need you to protect me and guard against the”Voodoo Gang” doing something bad.”
“No problem, I guarantee they won’t hurt you at all.”
“Even though I don’t have any implants, my shooting skills are still very accurate.”
After saying this, Ali raised his”Malorian Overture””，【Epic Gunner] was activated instantly, and in an instant his perception of guns was raised to an unparalleled level.
Soon Ali found a demonstration target, and fired three shots at a can of beverage that was discarded by someone at random fifty meters away.
“”Bang, bang, bang!”
The first shot directly sent the can of drink flying, the second shot made the plastic can in the air spin wildly, and the third shot directly blew up the poor empty shell of the can of drink spinning in the air, and the unfinished liquid inside burst out instantly!
You have to know that this was a distance of fifty meters, and the one used was the”Maloryan Overture” revolver known for its”high power” and”high recoil”, and the one shot was a soft object like a plastic can! It would have been fine if all three shots hit the target, but he also did a lot of fancy moves. After Ali showed off this set of smooth and high-end marksmanship, he put the pistol back into the gun bag on his waist. His movements were done in one go.
This outrageous marksmanship made Lucy’s eyes light up slightly. Her eyes were full of disbelief, and her pale red lips opened slightly, obviously shocked by Ali’s performance.
“How about it? Master Lucy, can you give me some comments on my marksmanship?”
“Too…too amazing. I didn’t expect you to have this skill. I have to admit that you are the best marksman I have ever seen.”
“It’s just a pity……”
Lucy sighed softly:”Unfortunately, the rooms where hackers”dive” are usually not very big, and the space is narrow, so it’s hard to use your shooting skills. Besides, that’s their territory, and there are many guards and hackers.”
“Although I asked you to come just”just in case” for an extra layer of insurance, if they really want to take the opportunity to harm me, I don’t know if you can protect us, Ali. After all, you are the only person I know and am willing to trust. You are the only one left.……”
“Anyway, my disciple, please think about it carefully! I can only tell you that your life may be in danger, but I will split the money I earn with you 50-50.”
“Would you like to go with me to the unknown place of”Voodoo Gang”?”