2077: V really knows how awesome he is

Santiago was sweating profusely: "For us homeless people, this is practically a living devil!"

He was right in some ways.

Even the elderly Johnny couldn't hold back any longer and complained to V, "You should say something to her too!"

V nodded and said to Vera, "Are you stupid? Drive onto the sidewalk, it's wider there!"

Everyone: "..."

So after running over municipal facilities such as streetlights and billboards, Vera then ran over municipal garbage from the Vortex Gang, the Cleaners, and the Tiger Claw Gang, leaving passengers trembling with fear.

But just as Xia Ji was opening up, Vera suddenly exclaimed "Eh!" and said excitedly, "Isn't this near the afterlife? Let's go, we just closed a big deal, let's go grab a drink first!"

The next life?

Rogge and Santiago exchanged a glance, both filled with confusion.

A moment later, Vera opened her mouth in surprise in front of a morgue.

"how so?!"

"What's wrong?" Roger asked.

"Isn't this a bar?" Vera asked, pointing to the morgue door.

"What bar? This place has always been a morgue."

"So what the older generation said was true! The previous life in the afterlife really is a morgue!" Vera suddenly realized. "I thought those old folks were just saying that to scare me."

"What exactly is the afterlife?" Roger asked again.

"It's a bar."

"A bar?" Roger couldn't help but laugh. "What kind of good person would turn a morgue into a bar, and with such a stupid name like 'Next Life'? What idiot came up with that?"

V, Vera, and "Arasaka Saburo" all looked at Rogge.

Roger looked at himself strangely: "What's wrong? Is there something odd about me?"

“No, it’s nothing.” V kept smiling.

“No, what is it?” Vera cried, “My craving for alcohol has been triggered, I’ll die if I don’t have a drink!”

"You should have said so earlier if you wanted to drink," Roger said readily. "I know a good place."

The group got back into the car, Roger gave directions, and Vera sped off. Ten minutes later, they stopped in front of an old building.

“Alans?” Vera read the sign aloud.

“It’s Atlantis,” Roger said casually. “I had a fight with Arasaka’s agents a couple of days ago, and a few of the colorful signs were damaged.”

Vera: "..."

Roger led the group inside, and sure enough, it was a mess, with bullet holes and shell casings everywhere, and tables and chairs in disarray, as if a small war had just taken place.

The group righted the tables and chairs, and Roger took out a bottle of fine wine from a hidden compartment in the bar.

"Luckily, this thing is still alive."

Vera glanced at it and immediately smiled.

"The tequila of the Hundred Gods of Wine, what a coincidence."

"How so?" Roger asked curiously.

Vera pointed at V: "She's such a pretentious woman, she only drinks tequila from Bacchus."

“Ha, that’s quite a coincidence.” Roger asked as he poured drinks for everyone, “Are you sisters?”

Vera nodded: "That's right."

"You must be my younger sister, right?"

"how do you know?"

"Your sister seems more mature than you."

"Tch, she's just pretending. When she goes crazy, she's way more ruthless than me."

How ruthless?

"For example, one person could take down an entire carrier battle group, or a single person could break through rain clouds and bring sunlight back to the earth."

Roger was taken aback: "You should play fewer games in your spare time; that stuff is bad for your brain. Who hires you and your sister?"

Although the question was unexpected, Vera was not fooled. Instead, she smiled and asked back as if she hadn't heard, "By the way, what qualifications are needed to enter Atlantis?"

"No, you don't need any qualifications to enter Atlantis. Nobody cares if you're qualified. But if you want to leave, you'll have to rely on your own abilities." As he spoke, Roger had already poured drinks for everyone. "Come on, everyone, let's raise a glass to health!"

Chapter 165 Intubation

Everyone shared a drink.

The 2013 vintage wine had a human touch, which made V talk more.

What are your plans next?

"Let's lay low for a while," Roger said casually. "After taking down Arasaka's lab, Saburo Arasaka won't let it go."

Now that things have progressed to this point, it's obvious to everyone that the "Arakasa Saburo" in front of them isn't the real person.

“Let’s go to the wanderer’s camp in Adcado,” Santiago said with a grin. “I’ve reserved a bed for you there, it’s free.”

Roger rolled his eyes: "You want to get fucked for free, huh?"

"What does it matter? It's not like we haven't done it before."

Mercenaries who live on the edge always speak so bluntly, but Johnny was a little uncomfortable, as were all three Johnnies, after all, Roger was his ex-girlfriend.

Vera actually found Santiago quite agreeable, feeling a sense of familiarity reminiscent of chatting and joking with his buddies back in Valentino. So he offered Santiago a cigarette and said, "Awesome!"

Santiago was quite proud. He lit a cigarette, took a puff, and looked at the brand on the butt with a hint of surprise: "I've never seen this brand before. It tastes good. Where is it from?"

Of course it's Night City, but Night City in 2167. The best formula is calculated by AI, and the robotic arm precisely controls all the ingredients down to the microgram level. One pack costs only 2 PP points, and it contains no tar or nicotine, so you can enjoy a healthy and worry-free smoking experience!

Of course, Santiago couldn't be told any of this, not because he had any reservations, but mainly because it would be too troublesome to explain, and Vera was too lazy.

Fortunately, Santiago, a man who has traveled far and wide, is quite straightforward and immediately understood: "Will the origin of this cigarette reveal your identity? Fine, then I won't ask. No matter where you're from or why you're here, you've helped me a great deal today. In the future, if you ever need any help, just ask someone to pass a message to Adcardo: rain or shine, we wanderers will repay any kindness!"

Seeing how generous the man was, Vera was about to say thank you when old Johnny, with a disdainful look on his face, said, "What a load of bull! What good is the promise of a short-lived bastard!"

"Watch your mouth, you bastard! Who are you calling short-lived?!" Roger was furious. Mercenaries care about this the most.

“I didn’t fucking say anything wrong!” Old Johnny looked at Santiago: “This guy will die at the hands of the Chaotic Blade Society in a few years.”

Roger angrily reached for her gun, but Santiago stopped her.

Despite being the person involved, Santiago wasn't angry at all: "Never mind, Roger."

"Forget it? He's cursing you to die!"

"Perhaps it's not a curse."

Roger was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

“Tai Chi is a closely guarded secret of the Chinese people. Since this gentleman is proficient in this art, he must also be Chinese. And China is a magical country, with extraordinary people who can predict the future and fortune since ancient times. His statement that I will die at the hands of the Chaotic Blade Society is probably not a curse, but fortune-telling.” Santiago, after a serious analysis at an all-time high school level, confidently asked the elderly Johnny, “Am I right, sir?”

Sorry, that's completely wrong!

V and Vera were holding back their laughter more painfully than the Relic malfunction, and old Johnny's face was also indescribable.

"It's not fortune telling. I don't understand that stuff at all. Don't make wild guesses!"

But the more Johnny denied it, the more convinced Santiago became of his conjecture.

"That's it! That's it!" Santiago said with even more confidence. "That's how it's portrayed on TV. The self-proclaimed masters in China aren't really masters. Only those who keep saying they're not masters are the real masters!"

You should watch less TV dramas, you son of a bitch!

Old Johnny rolled his eyes in exasperation.

Although Santiago's words were difficult to pronounce, their meaning was simple and clear, and Rogge and the others understood them.

"Can you really predict people's fates?" Roger asked curiously.

Old Johnny retorted irritably, "Of course not!"

Santiago immediately told Rogge, "The Chinese are reserved. When they say no, they mean yes. Just ask whatever you want."

Old Johnny was speechless for a moment, but Roger actually believed it.

She asked, "What about me? What will my future hold?"

If someone else had asked, the elderly Johnny would have been too lazy to answer, but since Roger asked, he had no choice but to reply.

After all, he owed this woman far too much.

"You will become the Queen of the Middlemen in Night City, and you will have a son."

Roger was stunned, not because she had become the Queen of Middlemen, but because she could actually have a child.

"Damn it, whose child am I carrying?"

Old Johnny looked at Santiago.

Santiago was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed: "Mine? Haha, I have a son, I have a son!"

Then he was kicked over by Roger.

Then the future middleman queen angrily warned, "If you don't wear a condom again, I'll shoot you dead!"

Everyone was both amused and exasperated, but the commotion did lighten the mood.

Ultraman also asked, "Could you also tell me what I will become in the future?"

Johnny would have been too lazy to answer if someone else had asked, but since Ultraman asked, he had no choice but to reply.

After all, he owed this woman far too much... Wait a minute, I think I said that before.

But never mind those details. Old Johnny thought for a moment and said, "Your Soul Killer program will be a great success, and you will inherit Bartelmos's legacy, achieve even greater things than Bartelmos, and become the true God of the Internet."

“I’m carrying on Barthemos’s legacy? He’s not dead.”

"He will die soon."

"How did you die?"

"He forgot to pay his electricity bill, and the power went out so badly he died."

"...Alright, everyone dies, I understand. But inheriting Barthes's legacy is a bit too much. I managed the network in the Pacific region with him, and I admit he was a very talented hacker, but his views were too pessimistic. He actually thought that humans would be replaced by AI. You know, humans are the creators, and AI is just a child of humans. We have enough means to control these little guys. He's just worrying unnecessarily."

V and Vera are both complicated stories. It's unexpected that the future god of cyberspace is still a staunch human supremacist.

The elderly Johnny didn't bother to explain further: "Believe it or not, it's up to you."

"Hmph, I see you're speechless now." Stupid Johnny couldn't stand Old Johnny's arrogance. In his eyes, he was the most awesome person in the world, and no one could be more awesome than him. Now that he saw Old Johnny "get his comeuppance," he immediately followed up with his snake stick, asking in a cheeky manner, "Give me a reading too, Master."

If it were someone else asking, Johnny would definitely be too lazy to answer, but when the old Johnny asked, he had no choice but to reply.

After all, Johnny was such a fool in the past, and his future self needs to teach his past self a lesson.

Old Johnny grinned crookedly and recounted all the shady things Johnny Silverhand had done.

From the nuclear explosion that caused hundreds of thousands of casualties in the Abandoned Tower, to being shattered in two by Adam Hammer, and then being made into Relic chips.

He thought that the idiot Johnny would be deeply shocked and have a sudden change of heart, but instead, the idiot Johnny was smug and laughed wildly.

"Hahaha, I actually nuked Arasaka Tower! I'm so awesome!"

Rogge and Santiago also wore expressions of admiration.

This was completely different from what the older Johnny had imagined. Seeing his past self stubbornly clinging to his delusions, he immediately bluntly stated, "What are you laughing at? You could have dropped a nuclear bomb on Arasaka and it wouldn't have even caused a scratch. The company's tyranny would still be rampant, while the people of Night City would suffer terribly. Countless people died because of this explosion. They were all innocent. Do you even understand that?!"

"Of course I understand!"

"I know you still don't repent!" old Johnny shouted.

"Why should we repent!" Johnny, the idiot, shouted even louder. "I've witnessed the corporations taking away farmers' land and water, and I've witnessed Night City become a machine, fueled by people's broken spirits, shattered dreams, and the people's hard-earned money! For so long, the corporations have controlled people's livelihoods and taken everything away, but I'm declaring war on them. Not because capitalism is a thorn in my side, nor because I miss the America of the past, but simply because this is a war of the people against a runaway social system, a war against oppression and exploitation! We must stop them, defeat them, and tear them apart at all costs. If they need to kill, I will kill; if they need to use nuclear weapons, I will use them; if one nuclear explosion isn't enough, I'll use a second one!"

"To defeat the company, we must be prepared for utter destruction! People will die, many, many people will die, but what war doesn't involve death! The people of Night City can die, and so can I, because the nuclear bombing of Arasaka Tower is just the first step in this great revolution. I firmly believe that as long as I set an example, countless people will follow suit and complete the work I have not yet finished!"

Atlantis was completely silent.

Johnny is indeed an idiot now, but he is also an idiot with ideals who is willing to sacrifice for them.

"Dong dong."