Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 701, Section 115: A Mischievous Idea

"World peace? Saving the president?"

Upon hearing these exaggerated, almost absurd lines, Oliver's first thought was—was he still watching those old-fashioned Mewtwo movies? Those clichéd plots of superheroes saving the world single-handedly or secret agents turning the tide.

Although he wasn't very interested in this type of subject matter, he would occasionally watch one or two for entertainment.

After all, who doesn't enjoy the exhilarating feeling of punching the villain, crushing the conspiracy, and carrying the whole team on their own?

Of course, what's even more appealing is the ending—when the hero returns in triumph, a hot beauty will always throw herself into his arms, ending the story with passionate kisses and ambiguous promises, and then unlocking subsequent paid content.

However, he immediately filtered out those erotic fantasies and focused all his attention on the familiar first half.

According to the usual pattern, the next thing should be the mission briefing, right? Then they will find that the so-called "rescue personnel" are all useless bastards who are dragging their feet, and in the end they can only rely on their own squad to fight their way out.

And once everything is over, a superior who has never shown up will leisurely send a "Well done" message, as if their life-or-death struggle and bloody battles were just a trivial part of the process.
"Damn, this is so relatable."

Oliver quipped that he was only half-convinced by the hacker's claim that he was close to the president and needed them to save him.

They believed it because, given their squad's status in Night City, they were indeed qualified to take on this level of work.

Looking across the entire city, there really isn't another team that can handle this kind of job. It's perfectly reasonable for the other party to come to them.

To say you completely believe it? That would be absurd.

Who knows if some bored hacker is playing a trick on them on the other side of the screen? If that's the case, Oliver has already vowed to himself—once he finds this bastard, he'll make him experience firsthand what "America's Gunfighting" is all about, and make him regret ever being born.

Oliver was not the only one with doubts; the rest of the team looked suspicious as well.

To use Carl's classic analogy, this is as absurd as receiving a text message on Thursday claiming to be Qin Shi Huang, asking you to swipe 50 times at him, and promising to make you a general if you succeed.

Although Oliver and his friends never understood why it had to be a Thursday, or why Qin Shihuang wanted V50, they understood Carl's meaning perfectly—anyone who would say such nonsense is either a liar or an idiot, with a credibility of less than 1%.

The hacker, who called himself Lark, clearly sensed Oliver and the others' suspicions. Through Johnny's communication channel, he let out a heavy sigh: "I understand your doubts. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't easily believe such a fantasy either."

Her voice suddenly became urgent: "But the fact is, the president's 'Sky One' aircraft system is collapsing. Someone has tampered with it—not just a regular hacking intrusion, but physical damage. Even as the president's personal hacker, I cannot repair those burned-out servers."

The communication signal fluctuated briefly, and her voice trailed off: "We are gliding towards Night City. We expect to make an emergency landing in Dogtown soon. The president originally planned to secretly arrive in Night City to lay the groundwork before the formal negotiations, but we didn't expect this."

After a burst of ear-piercing electromagnetic interference, her voice suddenly rose: "My life or death is irrelevant, but if something happens to the president in Dogtown, in this lawless place—the whole world will assume it was Arasaka! You know how sensitive the situation is right now: after Saburo Arasaka's assassination, peace was only barely maintained thanks to the president and Nobuyuki Sei's private mediation."

Her tone suddenly became unusually weary: "If the president dies, those warmongers in the new American Congress will immediately pass a special authorization bill. Military technology has already amassed ten mechanized divisions on the border. At that point, it won't be a simple corporate conflict, but a total war! A new corporate war, and the whole world will be turned into scorched earth!"

After a brief silence, her voice suddenly hardened: "I know this way of asking for help is offensive, but in the entire Night City, only you—the sole legendary team—have the ability to complete this impossible task within 24 hours, before formal negotiations begin. The reward? As long as the president is safe, you can name your price. As long as the president is safe!" "Sounds like a commission."

Jack stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression appearing on his rugged face.

His deep voice held a hint of amusement: "If it's a legitimate client, then such an offense in an emergency isn't entirely incomprehensible, but—" He grinned, revealing a full set of white teeth, "it depends on whether Johnny is willing to forgive him."

"Ha! The new US president is in danger? A global crisis? A corporate war?" Oliver spread his hands dramatically, his tone full of sarcasm. "This plot is fucking grand. Are you putting us mercenaries on the spot? Entrusting the task of saving the world to the outlaws of Night City, how creative."

He clicked his tongue and added regretfully, "It's a pity Carl isn't here, otherwise he could definitely have come up with some classic and insightful comments."

V remained silent for a moment, his sharp gaze seemingly able to penetrate the communication signal and look directly at the other party.

He calmly said, "If it's a formal commission, we can consider accepting it, but on the condition that—" Her voice suddenly turned cold, "you have to immediately relinquish all control. We need to hear Johnny's opinion first."

"I understand, Johnny Silverhand. I'm very sorry." Sensing V and the others' slight agreement, the hacker's voice held a mixture of surprise and apology. "The situation is urgent. I've temporarily taken over your communication channel. I hope you can—"

"Forgive your mother's head! You fucking hacker bastard!"

As soon as communication was restored, Johnny's holographic projection jumped up in a fit of rage.

He viciously raised his middle finger, his metal arm reflecting a cold light: "Who the hell gave you the guts to hack my system? Believe me or not, I'll run the network cable over and shove your crappy terminal up your ass?"

Despite his outburst, Johnny's agitated projection paced a few steps before suddenly stopping, a dangerous smile creeping across his face: "However..."

He drew out his words, his fingers unconsciously stroking his chin, his eyes behind his sunglasses revealing no emotion, "If it were really as you say, that you could give this new American deserter a chance to meet our esteemed President, and incidentally 'save' her priceless life?"

He deliberately added an unsettlingly sarcastic tone to the word 'save,' and as he turned away, the holographic image left a faint afterimage in the air.

When he met V's gaze, he raised his eyebrows dramatically: "Well, this job isn't entirely out of the question."

Everyone present clearly caught the familiar, dangerous excitement in Johnny's tone.

T-BUG rolled his eyes without batting an eye, while Jack couldn't help but grin—whenever Johnny spoke in such a deliberately affected tone, it meant he had already devised a plan that would definitely cause a lot of trouble.

V sighed softly, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the hilt of his knife. He could already foresee what was going to happen next, and even Oliver subconsciously pursed his lips.

Johnny is definitely up to something—that's the consensus among everyone who knows him.

And now, the idea has probably already taken shape in his rebellious mind.

(End of this chapter)