Cyberpunk: I didn't cheat.

"Although I don't follow the Night Watch's rule of everyone finding a middleman first, for our first collaboration, I think it's still reliable to find a middleman. Do you want me to recommend a few?"

Evelyn didn't respond, but continued talking about her own things.

“This is very important, and I will pay extra. Now, let’s go to a private room to talk, shall we?”

Vito shook his head.

"Not tonight, I'm here to see a friend."

Vito then asked Matteo where Li Ying was.

Vito went upstairs and found Reynolds, where he also saw Susanna Quinn, the leader of the Mox gang, in a fit of rage.

"Ten have already gone missing! It's impossible that they all left without saying a word!"

Vito patted Liying on the shoulder.

Li Ying turned around and saw Vito, her eyes filled with surprise.

"Come on, I've come to have a drink with you!"

Liying spoke haltingly.

"You...you came here to see me?"

Vito was acting strangely.

"Yeah, we agreed to have drinks together. Let's go to a private room, I'll go order the drinks."

Liying was a little hesitant.

"I, I, I'll ask Susanna if she needs help looking after the car later."

Vito said he was alright, and he called out to Susanna Quinn.

"Hey, Susanna, Li Ying Wesley, let's go to a private room for a drink, you don't mind, do you?"

Susanna was furious. She looked at Vito and immediately said...

"No problem, she just needs to fix the gang's cars. And you wouldn't mind helping me investigate the disappearance of Miss Mox, would you? The reward is negotiable!"

Vito laughed.

"Thank you. I'll send a message to the team and tell them to start looking for clues immediately!"

Susanna was very satisfied, she said to a girl from the Mox.

"Send Vito and the others a bottle of good wine."

Inside the private room, both men were inexplicably reserved, until Vito broke the silence first.

Would you like some ice?

Li Ying nodded.

"Please add a little more, thank you."

Then the two fell into an awkward silence.

Vito touched Li Ying's glass to his lips, then brought the glass to his mouth.

"Vito, have you fallen in love with me?"

Vito nearly vomited when he heard that.

He paused for a moment, then said.

"I don't know either, because I don't know what happened today, I just ended up at Lizhi in a daze, and then I wanted to meet you."

"Hmm! Vito, what you're saying sounds like a line from an old movie!"

Liying smiled.

"Let's raise a glass to old movies. Life is not like a song; one day we may be greatly disappointed."

Vito raises a glass.

"Yes, one day we will be greatly disappointed."

Liying touched Vito's glass and then drank it all in one gulp.

The two chatted casually, occasionally clinking glasses. Li Ying's alcohol tolerance was worse than most people in Night City, and after a while, she couldn't hold on any longer.

"Vito, are you from Night City?"

"No, I should say I was forced to come to Night City. I originally thought Night City was pretty good, but after I actually came here, I found that it stinks and is incredibly dirty!"

"Yes, me too. Before coming here, I had a lot of unrealistic fantasies about this place."

"You're not from Night City?"

"No, I was born in a small town in the south, not far from Night City. You can see Night City's neon lights at night."

Li Ying's eyes were a little dazed, and Vito called out a glass of real water for her.

"And then? How did you end up in Night City?"

Liying seemed to be reminiscing about the past.

“My hometown used to be a place where avocados were grown. To grow those, you need to pump a lot of water. After the company war, the area was completely abandoned, and many people moved to the city, but my family was one of the ones who stayed.”

My dad owned a car repair shop, and our family was doing alright. Then came the war of unification, and nobody wanted to go to that wasteland anymore. One by one, my friends went to Night City, and I thought to myself, one day I'll go to Night City too."

Vito listened attentively, but Li Ying suddenly stopped.

“Tell me about yourself, Vito. I’ll tell you another part of my story next time.”

Vito thought for a moment and then spoke.

“My hometown is quite far from Night City, but many people know about Night City. We have a few mutual friends and a few common enemies in Night City. I stumbled into this place by accident. At first, I just wanted to avoid being ripped out by the Cleaners. Later, I met my current friends, and they helped me get to where I am today.”

"So good to play with!"

"Emmm, it wasn't that easy to get away with it. Let me tell you about the first unscrupulous doctor I encountered, and my first meal in Night City, which almost killed me..."

Chapter 53 Candy shell

The two talked for a long time, and finally exchanged contact information and made an appointment to meet again.

This was a rare moment of peace. Vito did not believe in God, but when he confided in Li Ying, it was as if he were confessing. He had many things weighing on his mind that he could not tell his partner.

A few days later, Vito unsurprisingly won the boxing championship. Unfortunately, Dorio lost his will to fight due to the death of his teammate and ultimately chose to withdraw.

Jack sent a message saying that Susanna's request was more complicated than they had imagined.

“Vito, I’ve made some progress. I’ve found the whereabouts of a few girls; they’ve been kidnapped by the Tiger Claw Gang.”

It's the Tiger Claw Gang again!

Vito's disgust for the Tiger Claws has now reached its peak.

"Has the Tiger Claw Gang asked for ransom?"

Jack sent an attachment.

"No, they were acting suspiciously. The Tiger Claw Gang probably took these girls to film 'Black Dream'. T-bug tracked their biosignals, but they lost signal in Tiger Claw Gang territory, in the Kabuki district."

Vito carefully read the contents of the attachment, then he created a shared channel and invited T-bug in as well.

"It's Black Dream again! Those Japanese perverts from Tiger Claw Gang never seem to get enough of this! But once they release it, they're definitely going to sell it. Now, Bug, go find an expert who can decrypt Black Dream's data. I'll go grab a few Tiger Claw members and interrogate them to see if there are any clues. Jack, go find out who's selling Black Dream's. Does anyone have anything to add?"

T-bug also looked at the attachment, she said.

"Those who unpack Mewtwo are inseparable from those who edit Mewtwo. They don't have a large circle in Night City, and we might be exposed."

Jack was puzzled and asked.

"Why can't we find some legitimate studios to make Mewtwo movies?"

T-bug is straightforward.

"No, they either don't understand the encryption program of Black Mewtwo, or they can't decipher the information we want. Experts who can do these things are highly sought after by Mewtwo Corporation, and no one is willing to wade into such muddy waters."

Vito thought of Apollonia, and of the man corroded by the acid, he said.

"Don't worry about whether the Tiger Claw Gang will find out we're looking for someone. If we get caught and filmed in sunglasses, we probably won't survive. What we need to do is find evidence and send those bastards to hell one by one!"

T-bug frowned; her cautious nature naturally made her reject such emotionally driven mission plans.

“But the Tiger Claw Gang is on guard, which will cause us a lot of trouble. The internet in the Kabuki district is not those shady, shoddy networks.”

Jack spoke.

"Let's find someone first. Let's not think that far ahead. If it really doesn't work, we'll come up with a new plan."

T-bug agreed, and she would also ask a few friends who used to go online together to help her find out.

"I'll also ask Susanna to recommend someone trustworthy and capable. After all, Ritz Bar is the place that does Super Dreams, so there must be someone to help with the cutting."

Vito ended the call after he finished speaking.

He drove to the Kabuki district, intending to first cause trouble for the Tiger Claw Gang.

He soon spotted his target at the entrance of an alley: several Tiger Claw gang thugs were harassing an old acquaintance of Vito's.

Vito pulled out two small knives, stepped forward, and roared.

"Makanoro, die?"

As the Tiger Claw gang members turned around in confusion, Vito flicked his hand, sending two throwing knives flying. Two gang members fell to the ground with knives stuck in their eyes.

The remaining men were horrified and drew their weapons to attack Vito.

Vito didn't draw his gun; instead, he responded to the thugs with his fists and feet.

A minute later, all the surviving thugs lay motionless on the ground.

"Officer Stings, it's been a long time. Have you been promoted? Why do you have such a splendid appearance when you go out? And you were made to look so pathetic by a few thugs."

This acquaintance was none other than Stings, who had previously come to Vito to arrange a relationship with his colleague.

Stins glanced at the thugs on the ground and sneered.

“These guys are just sent by Boot to annoy me. You did a good job last time, but unfortunately you weren’t of any help. In a few days, you’ll be calling me Inspector Stings.”

Vito wasn't interested in the internal strife within the NCPD, but he was interested in the NCPD's old ways.

"Still haven't dealt with your good colleague? Isn't he backed by the Tiger Claw Gang? Do me a favor, and I'll take care of the guy behind him too, how about that?"

Stings recently hooked up with Arasaka's people, proving his loyalty by acting as their dog. In a while, he'll be promoted to police inspector. As for selling his soul, Stings has already come to terms with it; many people want to be dogs but don't even have the chance.

“I’ve never liked dealing with mercenaries, so I probably can’t help you with this.”

Seeing Stins' attitude completely change from the last time, Vito understood what was going on.

"What's wrong? You've forgotten your old friends now that you have a new love? Which company dog ​​have you been eyeing?"

Stins's expression changed, and he gritted his teeth.

"You came here just to talk about asses? I'm an NCPD member, believe me or not, I'll arrest you and throw you in jail!"

Without wasting any words, Vito crouched down and swept Stings to the ground with a leg sweep, then pinned his hands behind his back, pressed his knee against Stings' neck, and said...

"NCPD is just a company now, what are you pretending to be, some kind of civil servant?"

Stings struggled but couldn't budge, his face flushed red as he shouted.

"I can't breathe, you fucking Vito, let me go! I was just kidding! Damn it!"

Vito released his grip and returned to his previous position.

"I was just kidding with you, don't pull out your gun, you know I'm faster than you."

Stings was furious and spoke through his heavy breathing.

"What do you want me to do? Are you going to kill me if I don't?"

Vito smiled and waved his hand.

"Of course not. At most, the new police superintendent will be hospitalized for a few months on paid leave. Just thinking about it is exciting."

Stings' anger subsided considerably. Knowing that Vito was capable of such a thing, he had no choice but to speak more politely.