Jefferson stifled the pain and stared into Lilleâs eyes, "What else do you want me to see?"
"Come this way."
Lille opened the room where Brick and his group had been hanging out.
"Thereâs nothing else, here are the instigators of this internal strife, the bosses and seconds-in-command of the Vortex Gang, and a rebel, though that guy is already dead.
How to deal with them is up to youâ
As long as Watson North District remains like this, thereâll always be a boss of the Vortex Gang, I donât mind making a fortune out of it again...
But that doesnât quite fit with your ideals, so as a professional, I need to ask for your opinion."
Just as Jeffersonâs head had started feeling a bit better, it began to hurt again.
He instantly saw Jostar inside, a fledgling with a somewhat vacant expression, but the Eyes of Golden Flame prosthetics on his face left no doubt he was from the Vortex Gang.
In his scanner, Lille had uploaded all the information about the boyâ
[Name: Yoshida Hirokazu]
[Age: 16]
[Dropout record...]
A boy who had just dropped out, the same age when Jefferson had been preparing to leave Night City for college.
"Why did he join the Vortex Gang?"
"Haha! You wonât believe it!" Brick shouted from the wall, "This kid initially wanted to join the Tiger Claw Gang, but theyâve shrunk back into their shell!
But those pimping bastards, thereâs still some prospects in our Vortex Gang!"
Prospects? Turning into cyber-crazies?!
"...What about your family?" Jefferson walked into the room, slowly approaching Jostar.
"I know!" Brick continued, "His old man ran off as soon as he was born, his mom is a good womanâ
Really, though she is one of those, at least she raised him till he was 16!"
Jefferson frowned, looking at Brickâs detestable face, and seeing this, Lille immediately shut Brick up.
Jostar, with his slow nerves, recalled this scene.
He spoke slowly, "When I went to the brothel... I wanted to pick someone, and I ended up picking her..."
"Why did you drop out, why go to such a place?" Jefferson didnât understand.
Brothels are dirty and chaotic, filled with addictive drugs, gangs, even potential abduction by Scavengers!
Why couldnât he just finish his studies honestly?
"Oba... my ex-girlfriend despised me for being poor, having no money, I thought studying was useless, it was better to find a job early.
I had no suitable prosthetics, no one would hire me, but when I came home, she had run off with someone else!
Just because that bastardâs dad is a corporate dog!"
Jostarâs face became animatedâ
"I wanted to join the Tiger Claw Gang, I wanted to beat that bastard!" he said, his emotions flaring up before sinking again, "but the Tiger Claw Gang was gone..."
But there was another problem, his girlfriend was gone, yet he still had a home to return to, he ran out only after picking his mom in a brothel.
So...
"Why did you go to the brothel?"
Jostarâs expression once again became blank, he dumbly said, "I... I also wanted to buy someone to love me."
The room suddenly fell silent.
Jefferson didnât know what to say.
At this point, Carter on the wall spoke up, "What about your mom? At least she didnât leave you on the doorstep the moment you were born, only returning after decades to ask you for a smoke."
"Just then, a corporate dog picked my mom away, he had lots of money, he said it right in front of me that he was choosing her..."
"Damn..." Carter remarked, "Donât worry brother, once we get our prosthetics back on, weâll go out and vent your anger, though youâre kinda unlucky..."
Lille shut this guyâs mouth as well.
Suddenly, Jostar looked up and said cheerfully to the two big brothers on the wall, "Iâll do it myself, just get me some strong prosthetics when the time comes..."
The two Vortex Gang big brothers looked on with admiring eyesâor rather, with admiring changes in the light.
Jefferson watched the threeâs Eyes of Golden Flame flashing at the same frequency of red light, communicating in ways he couldnât understand, and he felt it all became even more absurd.
This was completely cyber madness!
But why did he feel... after close contact, they werenât as scary as he thought?
They even seemed a bit pitiful.
The headache suddenly worsened!
With quick reflexes, Lille supported him, "Thatâs all, I guess you probably want to tell this Vortex Gang newbie that love canât be forced with money.
But save your energy, we all know many things canât be forced, but everyone acts like theyâve lost their minds.
Settling the bill is simpler, donât you think?"
"I..." Jefferson gasped for air, the system began to malfunction rapidly...
But he clung tightly to Lilleâs arm, having something on his mind to say, yet he always couldnât express it!
The pain peaked at that moment, the more he wanted to speak, the stronger the sensation of touching a boundary becameâ
Finally, he thought about Lilleâs last words, settling the bill is simpler!
[Transfer: +3,083,000 Euros]
[Account balance: 3,084,123]
Bang.
Jefferson fainted.
[Lille: Damn... keep an eye on the people outside, our financier just passed out after paying the money.]
[V: What do you mean, are they scamming? Did these 3 million cost him his life?]
[Jack: Damn, these people really play tough...]
.....
"Break down the door!"
Bang!
The iron door was kicked open by a massive assault trooper!
The security team, bearing the SSI mark, immediately started their breach, pouring in like a surge of fish!
Reaver, in the police car, was startledâ
No way, did Burger King really dare to kidnap Perares?!
It wasnât just him; the other officers in the squad all tensed up, but before they could ask for instructions, the chiefâs directive arrived.
[Colridge: Just make a symbolic move.]
Boom!
The door frame shattered, and the next second, the SSI security that had just burst in were all catapulted out!
Jack, clad in a Linear Frame, slowly walked out, gripping a burly man by the neck, while the tactical squad outside aimed their guns...
Zoom!
The guns were all severed in an instant!
And as the sniper across the building was about to fire, his gun exploded in his hands from a bullet!
Lille, carrying Perares in both arms, walked out of the house. A piece of concrete conveniently fell from the shattered wall, and Jack, with one hand, deflected a huge rock and hurled the burly man out.
The SSI team was instantly in disarray, and NCPD officers uniformly exited their vehicles, reaching for their guns at their waists...
But then the dozen Mackinaw gun trucks parked nearby also swung their heavy machine guns!
The atmosphere became incredibly tense!
"Donât get excited, I also donât know why Congressman Perares suddenly passed out. The moment he entered, he complained of a headache, said it might be due to too much work pressure."
Lille scanned the SSI team on the ground, found the person in charge, and looking down, continued, "It seems you donât care much about Congressman Peraresâ health."
"We..."
Suddenly, Lille threw Jefferson over to a guy named Wallace who, caught off guard, immediately caught Jefferson.
SSIâs team was deeply connected to Jeffersonâs headache, but Lille couldnât possibly abduct someone right in front of NCPDâs faces.
After all, Jefferson still had a wife watching at the side, and forcing him to stay would mean a direct confrontation with the Terrorist Mobile Team.
Now wasnât the time, nor was there a suitable reason.
SSI dared not talk back any further, hurriedly helping their people retreat, urgently placed Jefferson back in their medical vehicle, and immediately left the scene.
Watching the floating car leave the scene, Lille thought to himself: Jefferson is truly a good person, but... incomplete.
I hope that after this, his mind would become increasingly... free and complete.
Given that he struggled to transfer money even before fainting, Lille was still very willing to give him a hand.
Reaver in the police car received orders from the chief, donned his police cap, and walked over.
"Quite a spectacle, looks like Congressman Perares passed out before he could even mention NCPD. How did you pull that off?
How could you even scare a Congressman of that stature into fainting?"
"Donât talk nonsense, itâs just too much work pressure." Lille handed over two Separation Chips, "The content is enough for you to settle matters.
The Vortex Gangâs criminal methods, involved cases, and personnel are all the cruelest and still unsolved ones.
Another chip has car license plates, locations, and I might take action against some companies, better keep your people away if they see it."
Reaver clicked his tongue: "You realize this is a threat to NCPD, right?"
"Yes," Lille nodded, "I am threatening NCPD, but if you comply, youâll find itâs a win-win."
"Arenât you afraid the chief will turn against you?"
"Donât worry." Lille shook his head, "He wonât turn against me, I guess he will even ask for my contact information."
"You might guess..."
[Chief Colridge: I need to confirm some details with the contractor, have him leave a contact.]
Reaver was incredibly surprisedâhis sentence was interrupted with a slap in the face!
"...Right."
"Itâs also in the second chip, let him check it himself."
Reaver looked at Lille, having many words and questions internally, but in front of so many colleagues...
Let it be.
He nodded, gave Lille a meaningful look, turned around to hand everything over to the chief, and then returned to his own car.
In the passenger seat, Old Han seemed to be dreaming until the car started, when he suddenly turned to Reaver:
"You canât miss this chance! ReaverâReaver... REAVER!!!"
The convoy slowly left the dilapidated house, following the road, gradually leaving the ravaged Watson North District.
And as they left, the sun gradually rose.
Sunlight landed on the damaged streets, on the derelict ruins, overshadowing the flames.
The terrified homeless came out of their hiding places, cautiously observing their surroundings, as residents in the buildings peered through windows, assessing the street.
The NCPD left, the Terrorist Mobile Team left, gunfire ceased, the battle paused.
The internal war of Vortex Gang was overâthey knew it.
But who would control the new order?
The question was soon answered as Mackinaw convoys bearing the Wandererâs mark made their way into the area, led by...
That same Armored Mackinaw.
Atop the vehicle, V and Jack excitedly counted the money they earned this time, pondering what they could afford, but after a while, V looked towards Lille, a sly expression in his eyes.
And Lille, with one hand out the window, felt the unique morning air and sunrise, belonging only to this industrial zone, this area that endured a night of gunfight.
The smell of gunpowder mixed with industrial exhaust, choking yet intoxicating.
Sunlight pierced through the ionized air, incredibly dazzling.
The arrival of Mackinaw cleared up one uncertainty in peopleâs minds but raised more questionsâ
Why did they appear at this moment?
What role had they played in this riot?
What about Vortex Gang?
And most importantlyâ
What kind of order would they bring?
The questions were numerous, but in time, they would all be revealed.
And now, it was time to welcome the dawn.
"This job is done."