Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Doesn’t Want to Become a Night City Legend

Chapter 318 Warrior Band
What standards must be met to be able to go to the Crystal Palace?
That's a good question. Of course, 'going' and 'staying' are different. Just like Lucy's dream is to go to the moon, a round-trip ticket would cost a mercenary almost a lifetime's worth of effort, but she wouldn't even dare to dream of settling down there.

Arakawa Yoriyuki once told Lu Mingfei that the Crystal Palace was the place where the truly wealthy resided, and Yoriyuki had never been there—of course, it wasn't that he couldn't go, after all, he was the eldest son of the Arakawa family.

But even he didn't seem to be able to stay there for long.

In short, to visit the Crystal Palace, one must be at least a world-famous 'star' or an entrepreneur. Only those at the very top, those with a class difference from other groups, would recognize each other as accomplices and kindred spirits when engaging in those unethical 'criminal pleasures' at the Crystal Palace.

As the king of Night City, Lu Mingfei himself seems to be qualified to enter the Crystal Palace, but even if someone like him were allowed in, he would probably be under constant surveillance.

Because of Lu Mingfei's actions, it's estimated that only Hanako Arasaka, who is currently under Relic's control, is qualified to go to Night City—but her deep relationship with Lu Mingfei will also attract attention.

After all, the messy things that Arasaka and Lu Mingfei did are already known to everyone in the world.

So, is there any world-class superstar that Lu Mingfei knows and can ask for help from, but the outside world is unaware of his relationship with Lu Mingfei?

Some brothers, yes.

"So, you came looking for me?"

Inside a bar in the Heywood area, people held their breath, only glancing out of the corner of their eyes to catch a glimpse of the conversation between a few people in the deepest room.

The person sitting inside is the middleman of the biggest name in this bar.

Jack Wilson

The third member of the legendary mercenary team L and V, after destroying the Arasaka Tower, fulfilled his dream and chose to resign from his mercenary job to start working as a middleman.

It's not uncommon for mercenaries to become middlemen. First of all, being a middleman is a high-risk profession, so you need to have a way to survive, either through money or by yourself.

Jack was like a chick in front of Lu Mingfei and his group, but he was an elite among normal mercenaries.

Secondly, a middleman needs to be skillful, knowledgeable, have a good mindset, and have a wide network of connections.

Jack had long been praised for his ability to build good relationships with people, and the Heywood gang was his backer. Even though he left the gang, they didn't hold a grudge against him, and most of the leaders even cared about the kid.

He was loyal and righteous, and with his convincing sincerity, he could keep his mercenaries completely obedient without even having to resort to tricks.

And when it comes to insight and mindset, what could be more insightful than a man who has conquered the Arasaka Tower?

Finally, connections.

Being able to know the middleman of the City King is a great achievement, needless to say. Many mercenaries even come here hoping to be noticed by Jack and assigned to a mission with Lu Mingfei and V once or twice.

Of course, in the end, this group of people only worked with V at most, and were shocked and even discouraged by V's outstanding professional skills, which made the rumors more and more exaggerated.

In short, Jack is doing very well now, and seeing this, V and Lu Mingfei are relieved.

"We formed our team right here." Jack chuckled as he opened the bottle for the two of them. It had been a while since they last met, and he looked a bit smaller. Having removed some of his combat prosthetics, he now looked quite respectable in a suit, but his憨厚 (honest and simple) smile remained unchanged.

“I really miss those days—even though it hasn’t actually been that long,” Lu Mingfei replied with a smile.

“In the beginning, Jack and I really went through a lot to keep up with your pace,” V added from the side.

The three chatted about the past, and the harmonious atmosphere made those around them eager to eavesdrop, but they were kept away by the bodyguards.

And coincidentally, the three of them also got down to business.

Lu Mingfei certainly wasn't there to ask Jack to go to the Crystal Palace; he wasn't qualified. But Jack knew people. Remember the reason for the Arasaka Tower incident?

It was because Jack was forced to install Relic due to serious injuries under the control of Arasaka Yorinobu that Johnny Silverhand's consciousness was implanted into his brain. In order to save Jack and Silverhand's lives, Lu Mingfei, who was unwilling to take the lead, was forced to ascend the throne.

Lu Mingfei asked this question back then—

Why a silver hand?

While Silver Hand possesses personal charm, aside from that, he's utterly incompetent in both intellect and combat ability. Even Lu Mingfei, a fan, has to admit that this guy is an incredibly awful jerk.

Looking back, it seems that apart from acting as a go-between and connecting with Ultraman, it was meaningless. Perhaps that was also Lai Xuan's hint.

After the Arasaka Tower incident, Silver Hand did not revive. Instead, he used his separated consciousness to inhabit other people's bodies, completed his performance, and then left Night City.

After living in the same body as Jack for a period of time, his personality was also affected, so he began to travel around and reflect on his past.

What I'm going to talk about this time is another person, or rather a group of people, whom Johnny Silverhand contacted.

The Samurai Band Left Behind by Johnny Silverhand

That's right.

After Silver Hand's death, the Samurai Band disbanded, but guitarist Kerry Orodien went on to showcase his musical talent and become a world-class star.

Following the recent explosion at Arasaka Tower, he wrote a new song inspired by Johnny's resurrection and a burst of inspiration, which became a worldwide sensation.

V and Jack met this guy because they wanted to take care of Johnny's little moods.

Within their knowledge, this was the only friend they could trust who would help them complete their mission.

Thinking about it this way, did Arasaka Yorinobu even foresee this?
Lu Mingfei shook his head with a wry smile, thinking it probably wouldn't come to that.

As the group chatted, Kerry entered the bar through the back door.

Of course, they disguised themselves, and the area around the bar was under tight control to prevent intelligence leaks.

Kerry first greeted V and Jack in a friendly manner, and then sat down.

"What do I need to do?"

Kerry is a man of principle, grateful for kindness, and he won't refuse to help when needed.

"You don't need to know what we're going to do, nor do you need to help us in any way. Just treat it as if you're going to have fun, and consider it as a friend's request to go to Crystal Palace."

"We'll take care of the rest."

Kerry hesitated for a while, but gritted his teeth and agreed. After all, he was a man, no matter what.

There are no cowards in Night City.

All the cowards are dead.

(End of this chapter)