Lucy also has parents, not only does she have parents, but her family is very affluent.
Her father is a senior employee at Arasaka, and he had a distinguished career during the Fourth Corporate War. Her mother is a hacker from Poland, highly skilled, and after marrying Lucyâs father, she ended her freelance work to enjoy wealth and prosperityâ
Davidâs experience of having studied at Arasaka Academy seems to be the highest level of education within the team, but in front of Lucy, itâs nothing.
When Lucy was a child, she lived in a luxury villa in Warsaw!
But as she became interested in the net and began to engage in cyber activities, these situations changedâ
In the end, she was sent to the Arasaka Group by her father to breach the Black Wall, excavating old era data on the old net.
Then Lucy ran away, and before she reached Night City, her mother returned to her old line of work and started tracking her on the net...
Seeing this information, that fear of running away and being handed over to the corporation by family while still being pursued shrouded her once again.
"...David..." Lucyâs voice trembled, her emotions overflowed, and she could no longer control herself.
Seeing her like this, David was stunned.
She hung her head low: "Do you remember our... promise? We were so close... so close to going to the Moon together... please donât take this job."
David had never seen Lucy like this before.
She was really scared.
Betrayed by her father, hunted by her mother, she was the only one who survived and escaped from Hell, suspicion became the cornerstone of her survival, but once she had something...
The fear of losing it overshadowed everything else.
The situation here also caught the attention of other boasting companions; Man, Dolly, Rebecca, Pila, and Qi Wei all stopped boasting and looked over.
Man directly asked, "Whatâs going on?"
David didnât hide it: "Itâs a job from the Big Brother."
Qi Wei lit a cigarette: "I see, he wants us to court death, right? How much is he offering?"
"Itâs not about the money!" Lucy was very agitated, pointing outside, "Look at the troops outside, this isnât a joke!"
On the street, Arasakaâs drones could almost always be seen sweeping across the sky, and armored vehicles continually transporting robots and soldiers to Taiping State.
"It really isnât about the money..." David said slowly, "The Big Brotherâs offer is 1 million euro, but thereâs no advance payment, this job..."
"Damn," Man rubbed his chin, "This is indeed a tough call then."
Rebecca and Pila sat nearby, saying nothing; Rebecca watched Lucy and David, while Pila just looked at everyone.
Before Lucy could speak again, David firmly stated, "We have to do this job."
He looked at Lucy, sincerely holding her hand:
"Lucy, I know youâre scared, scared that our promise canât be fulfilled, scared that something so close to being ours might vanish.
Youâve met my mom..."
Lucy interrupted him: "Sheâs a very gentle mother; she would never want you to die!"
"But just 10 months ago, we got caught in a gang shootout on the road, and like an idiot, I sent my mom to the hospital and went to school, nearly letting the Scavenger dismember her.
If it hadnât been for the Big Brother, I would have lost her already, if it hadnât been for the Big Brother..."
David looked at the people presentâ
Honestly, many times the danger came from working for Lille.
But the people here werenât naive about the situation: even without Lille, would there be no other middlemen offering dangerous jobs?
Other middlemen might not offer such generous rewards, and they might even sell them out.
Working for Lille was dangerous, but each time the rewards were substantial, and Lille provided considerable help: new cars, weapons, prosthetics...
And letâs not forget, Manâs mental state is much more stable now.
Isnât this why they work?
David said, "Some say weâre sad people on the edges, running away from something, but I donât think so.
My first fight wasnât for money or to dodge something, it was to protect my momâ
The old bastard planned to sell my mom to the Scavenger, and I was an idiot at the time, should have shot him then and there, but instead, I just slapped him; if it hadnât been for the Big Brother, Iâd be dead by now.
The second fight, I started learning to use a gun properly, not for anything else, just..."
David paused, his eyes so clear that Lucy felt a bit ashamed.
"It was for you, I know you must be a girl with a story, but Iâm as foolish as a bimbo.
I want to learn how to use a gun, I want to protect you, and then weâll earn money together, chat together, talk about the future together, and go... to the Moon.
Until today, I will keep using my weapons for this goal and continue fightingâ
Walking on the edge isnât running away; itâs the only way I can protect you, the only way I can hold your hand and face the future in this city."
"But... but..."
Why are you going to sacrifice your life?
This sentence was left unsaid, as Lucy felt her throat choke up.
David paused for a moment, then pulled out a gun from his pocketâ
Made by Constitutional Arms, Freedom model.
The same type of gun was handed to him by others to protect his mom, and now this gun was helping him fight for a future.
The gun was pushed into Lucyâs hand, and David grasped both the gun and her hand:
"Youâre right, Big Brother is sending us to our deaths: he wants us to attack Arasaka Tower.
I canât understand why Big Brother is going to such lengths, why heâs decided to attack the Mayor, why heâs opposing the corporation...
Just like how I couldnât understand before why Big Brother saved me, saving someone as brainless as me, like any other fool in Night City, but I will definitely take this job.
This is my third fight, Lucy, and I hope you can place this gun back in my hand because I want to be as strong as Big Brother; if Big Brother canât do it, how can we?"
"But even if you donât put the gun in my hand, Iâll still..."
Before finishing her sentence, Lucy lowered her head, grabbing Davidâs hand along with the gun, and pushed them back to his chest.
"You really are a..."
A real fool.
"Alright then!" Man chuckled, hugging Dolly, "Letâs get started..."
Clickâ
A very, very light sound was heard, and if not for the specially enhanced hearing of a Transhuman, this sound would be like a whisper in the thunder, dissipating instantly with the wind.
But David just happened to have enhanced his hearing system!
Itâs the sound of a bomb sticking to the wall!
"Bomb!"
The world in Davidâs eyes instantly slowed downâ
The building they were hiding in, the walls began to shatter, as invisible air punched through them like a fist!
Boom!
Shock waves and shrapnel instantly filled the entire room!
Thanks to Davidâs warning, everyone didnât have to face this terrifying impact in confusion:
This immense force even blasted through the entire room!
Fortunately, David detected the attack in advance, enabling everyone to at least hide part of their bodies behind cover before the explosion hit.
But the force was really too strong, they only felt the sky and earth spinning, and then were thrown through the wall!
Thud.
An Arasaka Ninja jumped into the breach, gun in one hand, sword in the other, almost completely invisible under the cover of smoke and dust.
Yet the ground was full of rubble.
Thud.
Bang!
The gunshot almost synchronized with the sound of him stepping on the rubble, the samurai sword in the ninjaâs hand instantly deflected the bulletâ
But an utterly invisible Single Molecule Wire swept through the air, firmly entangling his unsuspecting samurai sword, halting his attempt to continue slashing away the bullets!
Bang!
A series of bullets were fired into the ninjaâs head, his corpse fell, and the Arasaka troops on the street stopped instantly!
Their colleague was killed!
"Man!"
David got up from Lucy, releasing her arm:
At the moment of the explosion, he had tackled Lucy and activated her Single Molecule Wire prosthetics, orchestrating this counterattack!
But the corporate forces on the street outside werenât that easy to handle!
Man pushed aside the cover pressed against him: at the instant of the explosion, he had rushed towards Rebecca and Pilaâ
"Everyoneâs fine! Dolly!"
Dolly ran towards the breach the moment she got up, and upon seeing it, her mood sank:
Their car parked outside was also blown up!
Mackinaw burned in raging flames, the sound of Arasaka drones came from above, they were trapped in this building!
An Emperor Ragnar from Arasaka changed direction, rushing towards the building entranceâ
Itâs over!
Just as this desperate thought formed, a strong and familiar voice sounded:
Boomâ
Itâs the Mackinaw Mammothâs engine roar!
"Screw you, Arasaka ahhhhh!"
A Mackinaw Mammoth fiercely crashed into Emperor Ragnarâs side, powerful torque directly slammed the corporate armored city vehicle against the corner of the wall, bending it out of shape!
But the driver didnât stop attackingâ
This wasnât an ordinary Mackinaw Mammoth; it was the Valentinoâs Mammoth, a Mammoth packed with weapons, the Mammoth Lille sent to Valentino for executing NCPD outsourcing tasks!
The heavy machine gun mounted on the pickup truck mercilessly fired at Emperor Ragnar at close range, bullets piercing through glass and armor, brutally turning the inside personnel into a pool of blood!
Whooshâ
Inside, a passenger popped his head, holding a rocket launcher, and fired a shot at the octant drone that had just flown in!
Boom!
The explosive scene was so intense, Dolly didnât even have time to speak, yet David saw it all at once!
And the driver inside...
He recognized him!
It was the guy who had slipped him a gun and told him to cuff the doctorâAcido!
"Tch, stupid corporate mutt..."
"Acido!" David jumped straight off the buildingâs outer wall, "Borrowing your car! Iâve got a mission, brother!"
Acido hesitated for a momentâ
"Get in! Iâll help you!"