Taiping State.
Voodoo Gang, the local kingpins, a bunch of guys who love messing with the net.
The hacker in the access pod started shaking violently, and the link was severed as the lights flickered.
Whoosh!
From the freezer on the table, a Black woman suddenly emerged from the ice water, creating a spray of mist.
Next to her was a Black man with a gloomy look in his eyes. Seeing their boss exit the deep dive, he handed over her clothes:
"So, did you find anything useful?"
"The data barrier is very solid, but he canât move either. Besides that, I found some interesting things. It looks like Cyber Intelligence is looking for reinforcements.
Besides that brainless Animal Gang, theyâve also called for backup."
"Still brainless?"
"No." Brigitte rose from the freezer, ice water dripping from her hacker suit. She took the offered clothes and walked to another room.
"This time itâs a hacker, likely a newbie. Send someone to find him, Watson North District, Super Skyscraper H11."
"Weâre short on manpower and need to beware of the Animal Gang. Weâll have to find a middleman."
Brigitte paused and thought for a moment before saying, "Donât go to Hans. That old fat guy is coming back. Give him a chance, pave the way for later, we might need him."
"Alright."
...
"So you burned down your place."
V and Lille were neighbors, so she too ended up with a power outage.
The five-thousand-euro compensation to the property management was no big deal; the key issue was that the access pod was burned, along with a bunch of equipment.
Lille nodded honestly, "Thereâs no other way. Cyberspace is full of dangers and surprises..."
"Youâre just talking nonsense."
The two squatted in the pitch-black room, with only the neon lights from the skyscrapers outside providing a bit of illumination that seeped through the window, casting light on the wall where they sat.
The atmosphere was a bit quiet. V looked out the window, then glanced sideways at Lille.
"Guess I canât watch TV now, might as well sleep..."
Saying this, she got up and walked towards Lilleâs bed, plopping down.
Lilleâs bed was quite tidy, without even a sign it had been slept in.
"...Your bed is pretty clean."
"I usually sleep on the sofa, read some books and documents, and lie down on the sofa when Iâm tired."
"Nice." V leaned back on the bed, stretching out like a starfish, "Iâm sleeping here tonight. Feels like my bed isnât as good as this one, let me try."
She raised her head slightly to peek at Lilleâ
"Then sleep."
Lille dragged the access pod from the dark living room, fiddling with it constantly.
"...What are you doing?"
"Seeing if there are any usable parts. After all, itâs Cyber Intelligence gear, worth studying."
V jumped off the bed and smacked Lille on the head, "Study my ass, study!"
Lille rubbed his head, "Thatâs what happens when youâre poor. And this job needs to start in Cyberspace. Whatâs wrong with studying quickly? You sleep, I wonât disturb you."
"Youâre really a..."
[Caller: Blais]
[Blais: Still alive?]
[Blais: Good, listen. The Voodoo Gang just attacked my data barrier again. I have to stay here.]
[Blais: I found a colleague for you at NCPD, a cop dealing with the Tiger Claw Gang, sent him over.]
[Blais: You donât need me to spell things out. Investigate Cloud Peakâs cyber illegal activities, report any clues to me immediately.]
[Blais: Remember, stay legal.]
[Character File: Reaver Ward]
[Affiliation: NCPD]
[Position: Level 2 Detective]
Lille snapped back to reality, gazing out the window, "Work starts tomorrow. Weâre auxiliary police outsourced this time."
V squinted at Lille for a while, then lay back down.
"Youâre such an idiot. Iâm going to sleep."
"Then sleep."
V rolled her eyes, lying on the bed like a starfish. She couldnât remember when she fell asleep, only recalling the clanking of parts, like white noise.
Lille disassembled the network access pod beside her, analyzing and recording the parts by the windowâs lightâ
In the darkness, Lille heard V start to snore softly, and the clanking sounds grew quieter.
...
The next day, Reaver Ward sat upright.
He wanted to find a hacker to help him investigate the Tiger Claw Gangâs illegal flesh trade.
But the police hackers were swamped with work, and no one cared about some flesh trade on Japan Streetâif people want to buy and sell, why intervene?
As for the street hackers... who would work for an NCPD cop?
Especially to investigate the Tiger Claw Gang?
So, his situation was lack of funds, no support, and a bad reputation, with a strong target to investigate.
But Reaver was a straight-shooter. Despite the abundance of problems over solutions in Night City policing, he brought a positive attitude to work every day.
Finally... he actually found a hacker.
Old Han brought out a plate of fried chicken from the store: "Iâll bet you five bucks that the hacker is just messing with you. Which street mercenary would take a direct NCPD job from the net?
If you really want to get things done, find a middleman."
Reaver shook his head, "I donât trust middlemen. Why should the police go through middlemen for our own bounty network? What kind of nonsense is that?"
Old Han was used to Reaverâs idealism and started munching on fried chicken, "But thatâs the rule in Night City. You get it, youâre just as stubborn as a mule.
I just hope this time isnât like last time, I almost died. Look at my wounds..."
"Alright, alright, donât show me." Reaver said helplessly, "I wonât investigate Lizard Man again!"
"Hmph, at least youâve got some sense." Old Han continued munching, one hand on Reaverâs shoulder, "But I think itâs not about sense. Itâs just you know you wonât get reassigned to Mexico..."
Reaver suddenly said, "Theyâre here."
Old Han was stunned, a chicken piece stuck at his mouth, "Uh... someone actually took a job from the NCPD website? Are they suicidal?"
Such official job sites were merely for show. It wasnât just the mistrust from street mercenaries; middlemen also interfered.
Middlemen took a "broker fee," which most understood, but some didnât.
Sometimes, desperate guys would take direct jobs from the official websiteâand those jobs would be sabotaged by middlemen with connections.
Cut them out, and theyâd make sure you couldnât get the job done.
Gradually, it became unwritten law.
Which fool broke this rule?
Bang.
Just as he thought this, Old Han saw a big guy bump into the doorframeâthe restaurantâs frame actually broke!
"Dammit... why is this doorway so low?" The big guyâJack, rubbed his head, "Boss, whatâs with this door?"
"Uh... come in, sorry, it was hit by some Mackinaw-driving bastards the other day." The owner grew more furious as he spoke, "Dammit, those idiots. Canât drive, donât buy such big cars!"
"Oh."
Jack kept silent, trailing behind Lille and V and whispering, "Wasnât us, right?"
Lille shook his head, "What are you asking? We didnât crash into a roadside diner."
V scanned the diner and locked onto the client in one glance: "I see the clientâI can smell cop from two miles away."
So the three of them sat opposite Reaver and Old Hanâ
Two rigid cops sitting there.
Lille said, "Nice to meet you, we are the professional team youâre looking for."
The two remained silent. Lille frowned: whatâs going on?
This should be his first encounter with Reaverâand their public image should be very vague at best.
Not to mention, at the border wall, Mercedes did release some clear footage.
Were they recognized?
Looking at the two cops againâLille confirmed, theyâre definitely watching Jack.
Jack also felt puzzled, grabbing some chicken from the tray, "Mind if I eat some of this?"
As Jack started munching, Old Hanâs grip on Reaverâs shoulder tightened, his gaze became increasingly terrified...
Then, they both blurted out:
"Wasteland Chef!"