Cyberpunk: I didn't cheat.

As Vito listened to the songs on Na Han FM, the burden in his heart seemed to lessen considerably.

"Is there anything else? You two tireless gentlemen."

"Holy crap, bug, when did you get in?"

“I joined through Vito’s channel, intending to warn you where there were people with guns, but I didn’t expect you to start a random shooting spree as soon as you walked in.”

"So you heard everything we said?"

"most."

"Does that include when I say you have a sour face?"

"uh-huh."

"Damn it, Vito, why haven't you said a word?!"

"Hahaha, Jack, you got what you deserved."

Everyone had been on edge these past few days, but after this playful commotion, everyone felt much more relaxed.

“Let’s talk about money. Stings only symbolically accepted two thousand yen, but I squeezed a lot out of Jotaro Seiho. Let’s just split it.”

Vito transferred the money to the two men.

"Thank you, boss. It looks like I can retire and go to Tahiti by the end of the year."

T-bug whistled as he looked at the substantial transfer amount.

"What are you going to Tahiti for? To grow mangoes?"

Vito adjusted the radio volume and then asked T-bug.

“Retirement means that hackers might one day find themselves unable to get out of a chair, their brains roasted, or like last time, being ambushed offline by a group of thugs, unable to even unplug their internet cables.”

Vito nodded.

"Indeed, we make a living in this line of work, so retiring early is a good thing."

Jack sighed as well.

“I’ve almost saved enough money to renovate the Wolf’s Den. After you talked to my mom about it last time, she immediately let go of her resentment towards Misty. You don’t know, a few days ago my mom stewed a huge pot of meat and sent it to Misty’s shop. She didn’t know Misty was a vegetarian. In the end, Vito and I ate all that meat.”

T-bug rarely cracks jokes.

"Then you'd better buy a car, otherwise your wife and mother-in-law will be on the same side of the road, and you'll have to ask Vito for lodging."

Everyone burst into laughter again.

Vito proposed.

"Bug, how about we have a drink at Liz Bar tonight to celebrate?"

T-bug hesitated for a moment, then said.

"Sure, but I can't stay long. You know, I'm the kind of old-fashioned hacker who likes to lock himself in his room."

Jack said excitedly.

"Wuhu, this is our first time meeting in person. I need to go find some Ashde books and get Bug to sign them for me!"

"Hahahaha, go to hell with you."

Vito brought the missing person's video and news of Jotaro Seiho's death to everyone at the Liz Bar.

Susanna took over the outside task and went to the office. Judy, Rita Wheeler, and Liz's bodyguard all went with her to watch the videos of the deceased. Liying also wanted to go, as she had a good relationship with one of the missing girls.

Vito took her hand and gently shook his head.

Liying's eyes were filled with tears, and she nodded gently.

Vito led Li Ying to the private room, where Jack had already taken several bottles of wine and was seated.

"Hey, goodness, I thought Vitoboy was eliminated in the last round, no mentor turned around for him!"

Vito laughed and cursed.

"Jack, you've seen too many antique shows!"

Jack is a witty and humorous optimist, and being with him can wash away a lot of sadness.

The three of them drank and chatted, and then T-bug also entered the private room. She was dressed as a hacker, and she didn't look like she was there to drink, but rather to work.

With Jack there, the atmosphere was very harmonious. After more than an hour, T-bug said goodbye and left. It was clear that she was trying her best to adapt to this kind of offline meeting.

After drinking for a while, Jack received a call from Mrs. Wells and hurried home.

Vito and Liying were left alone in the private room.

"Keep telling me, continue what we didn't finish last time."

Vito added a piece of ice to his gin.

"Emmm, let me start from my past. I was born in a small town south of Night City. It used to be a place where avocados were grown. Growing these things required pumping out a lot of water, but later the groundwater dried up, and the surrounding area became barren."

I grew up there. My dad ran a car repair shop, and my mom helped him out. That's how we lived. Life was so bland it was almost unbearable.

Later, when I got a little older, my dad taught me to drive. I was probably twelve years old then. One time, I drove to the vicinity of Night City, where you could see the skylights of Night City. After that, I became obsessed with driving to see the neon lights of Night City whenever I had time.

Later, the war of unification came, and no one cared about that desolate wasteland anymore. More and more people in the town moved to the city, including my friends.

I dreamed that one day my family could move to Night City. Once, after I came back from watching the lights of Night City, I met a homeless person on the way. The person casually said that I go to Night City every day, just like a city girl.

I felt inexplicably embarrassed, and from that day on, whenever I went to Night City, I would take a long detour so that no one would see me. It was during that time that I started driving faster and faster.

A few years later, I mastered my dad's cooking skills and wanted to go to Night City. My dad absolutely refused, so I secretly drove there. It seemed like my dad knew I was going to sneak away; he had packed a lot of things in the car.

After saying this, Li Ying's voice trembled slightly. Vito poured her a glass of wine, and Li Ying moved closer to Vito, nuzzling her head against his shoulder.

“If you’re upset, we can stop talking about these things.”

"It's okay. Later, I drove to Night City. When I got to the border checkpoint, they impounded my car and said I either had to drive this beat-up junk or walk into the city."

I grabbed a few bottles of water from the car and drove for four hours. When I arrived in Night City, I discovered that no one was willing to give a little girl from the Badlands a job repairing cars.

Back then, I was running around the streets delivering things to people who couldn't deliver in person. Once, someone's car broke down on the side of the road, and I took a look at it for her and fixed the cross chain. She said I was quite skillful. That person was Susanna.

She asked me if I wanted to consider working for Morgan.

I really took that to heart. At the time, I felt like I couldn't run anymore. Every time I delivered a package, I felt like there was a ghost behind me, and I was doomed if I slowed down.

Later I went to Mox, where I repaired cars with bullet holes every day.

Watching familiar faces drive away, only to return with bloodstained cars in the end.

Chapter 62 Respectfully

Vito hugged Liying; this seemingly optimistic and cheerful girl was actually just using this method to deal with fate.

Li Ying continued.

"Joining Mox will truly protect you, but only if you join Mox. Many people have a harder time than those in the Badlands."

Later, I lived in a daze, my days were chaotic and confused. One day, I saw people having a street race, and in that instant I suddenly thought of my car and the car races I participated in in town.

I suddenly have a strong urge to drive, to go back and put my hands on the steering wheel, but as you probably know, I don't have the money to buy a car, not even a used one.

I found a scrapped Nissan Tingwei in the junkyard. I wanted to find some parts and piece it together to make a decent car. I saved up and worked hard for more than half a year, and finally managed to put together a car that could run. I was so excited that I almost jumped for joy.

After that, I drove this car to a street race. The people's jeers made me not even dare to roll down the window. I tried to escape in this broken car, but it stalled in the middle of the road. Fortunately, it didn't have the heart to let me suffer any more ridicule, so I drove back home.

Like a little girl throwing a tantrum, I didn't touch the car for a whole week, but then I couldn't forget that feeling, and so I sat in the driver's seat again.

Liying paused for a moment, then downed the entire glass of wine in one gulp. Her eyes were slightly red, as if she were drunk or crying.

“The day we met, I watched your car creak and groan as it drove away, and I thought to myself, if only this car would break down, then I could talk to you again.”

After hearing Vito's words, Li Ying smiled.

"Haha, my old car breaks down all the time, but that night it actually made it all the way to my house."

She nuzzled her head against Vito's shoulder again.

"Later, on the day we met, I was already impressed by you. In the boxing ring, everyone cheered for you, and you were calm and composed, as if everything was under your control."

My sisters and I asked you about you, and they said you were Heywood's most popular mercenary. I don't know why, but that day I suddenly mustered up the courage to talk to you. You told me to bet on winning within six rounds, and I don't know why, but I went and placed the bet. Actually, it was my last five hundred dollars, which I had saved to pay my rent.

Although I'm no longer running around delivering goods on the streets, the ghost behind me keeps chasing me. If I lose, I'll drive that old ThunderVehicle away from Night City. I'm tired, really tired.

Li Ying's hand touched Vito's face.

“But in the end you won. Everything was under your control. To be honest, I never thought you would come to Liz to find me, Vito.”

Vito pressed Li Ying's cold hand against his face.

"Actually, we are all on the fringes of Night City. I am not as strong as others think. There are many things I can't tell my friends because it makes me feel weak."

"It's alright, you can tell me. I've heard that you mercenaries leave behind cocktail recipes at the Next Life Nightclub. Vito, do you have your own recipe?"

Vito smiled.

“There used to be a gimmicky recipe, but I didn’t keep it for the afterlife.”

Liying was puzzled.

"Why?"

Vito explained.

"Because it doesn't taste good, leaving it for the afterlife would be too much of a torment for those drinkers. I now have a new recipe."

"what?"

"Gin on the ice, topped with a slice of lemon."

Do you like gin?

"Gin is distilled to suppress incurable grief."

Both of them were being assimilated by Night City, and in this resistance and pain, the suspension bridge effect they created brought them together.

Two lonely souls nestled together at this moment. Vito, tormented by the environment of flesh and blood, walked on the edge of death, gazing into the abyss. Finally, he was able to clear a pure land in his heart to store the beautiful.

This spot will hold Vito back from charging towards the mechanical monster.

……

The next day, Vito received two messages, one from Evelyn and the other from Romeno.

Evelyn still wanted to bypass the middleman and have Vito do something for her that she was unwilling to reveal a single word about until now.

Unfortunately, Vito hated the feeling of incomplete information; in his view, Evelyn Parker was all talk and no action.

These kinds of people are everywhere in Night City, but very few of them make it big; at least Vito has never heard of one.

On the other side was his old friend, media personality Romeno.

The renowned reporter discovered the company's secret and couldn't wait to dig up more dirt.

Please reply when you see the message.

Vito called Romeno directly.

"Hey, Romeno, did you get your Pulitzer Prize yet?"

Romeno ignored Vito's teasing and quickly sent Vito an attachment.

“Vito, biotechnology is definitely sinister. The Ghost Gang sent people to help them kill and capture. This is no longer just about driving away the homeless and planting synthetic wheat. They must have some unspeakable secret!”

"Of course it's something that can't be revealed. Do you think biotechnology would hold a press conference to announce it?"

“Let’s meet. You book the place, Vito. This is important; it’s big news!”

"Let's go with the wolf, Mr. Big News."

The two met at Wild Wolves. It was early morning and there weren't many people at Wild Wolves. Peppy was directing the workers to move the arcade equipment out of Wild Wolves. According to Jack, they had to clear out these old relics to make room for the new renovation.

Vito greeted Pepi, then flipped the bar over with one hand, expertly grabbed two glasses, and opened a bottle of tequila.

The cup was pushed in front of Romeno.

"So, what kind of work do we have this time?"