2077: V really knows how awesome he is

Panan asked curiously, "Does the Voodoo Gang have connections with the government?"

"No."

"Then how come they have coolant?"

"Because they are more powerful than government hackers, and they use better coolants."

Now Panan understood.

So which one should we do first?

"The Voodoo Gang".

"The Voodoo Gang never associates with outsiders. Do you have connections with those black guys?"

"No."

"You didn't choose the hardest one first?"

"It's the most difficult, but also the easiest. The Voodoo Gang's hacking skills are terrifying, but conversely, if they didn't have hacking skills, they would just be a bunch of ordinary stupid old blacks."

"You said it yourself, 'if.' The Voodoo Gang isn't an animal gang; they won't waste their hacking skills to fight you in close combat."

"That's not up to them."

"How to say?"

“Last night, after I finished collecting the guns, I also collected another little gadget.” Vincent said, taking out something that looked like a remote control, about the size of a bar of soap, with only an antenna and a single red button on it.

"What is this?" Panan asked curiously.

"Network jammer, just press the button and the network signal will be cut off immediately for 3 minutes."

"Holy crap, you can even conjure up this kind of weapon?" Panan was increasingly amazed by Vincent's technical skills. "With this kind of ability, why are you still hanging around on the streets? Wouldn't it be better to find a job at a big company?"

"And then let them exploit the fruits of my labor, making a fortune by squeezing my talents? I'd rather spend my whole life doing nothing, living off scavenging from garbage dumps. I don't like lose-lose situations, but a lose-lose situation is better than them winning alone."

"It's got that pseudo-scientist, pretentious vibe about it," Panan said with a smile. "But I've got your back, buddy!"

Vincent smiled and asked, "Shall we go?"

"Let's go." Panan picked up the network jammer. "Hopefully the Voodoo Gang will obediently hand over the coolant, otherwise..."

Vincent continued, "Let's kill those black bastards!"

As it turns out, a black person is a black person, and there's no going back.

The Voodoo Gang didn't even bother to listen to Vincent and Panan's purpose; they simply told them to get lost. Vincent tried to negotiate further, but those idiot black Voodoo Gang members just opened fire.

Remember how Meredith Stock, who used to be in charge of military technology, always let people finish what they were saying? Turns out, the Voodoo Gang is even more domineering than his mother's company.

Alright then, Vincent immediately activated Plan B, hoping that the Voodoo Gang, which was even more domineering than the company, was also more capable.

Vincent pressed the red button on the network jammer, instantly cutting off the entire network in Taiping State. The Voodoo Gang was thrown into chaos, and Vincent and Panan went on a rampage, killing their way from the Taiping State floating bridge dock all the way to the Batti Hotel without batting an eye.

While they worked together seamlessly, the ease with which they went was still beyond their expectations. Finally, they found the Voodoo Gang's headquarters beneath a chapel. The place had been converted from an intercontinental maglev subway tunnel. As soon as Vincent and Panan entered, they were greeted by various high-tech network devices and the corpses of Voodoo Gang members scattered everywhere.

"No wonder the resistance outside was so weak; they've all died here." Panan examined the corpse on the hacker chair: "Ding, your order of medium-rare grilled pig brains."

Vincent glanced at them: "They seem to be fighting some kind of large-scale cyber intrusion. Because I cut off the network, they died instantly."

"A large-scale cyber intrusion? What is that? A roving AI?" Panan usually quite enjoys these kinds of urban legends.

“Maybe. There are rumors that the Voodoo Gang has been trying to drill a hole in the Black Wall, but whether this is a wandering AI or not, only the dead will know.” Vincent shook his head: “Let’s stop worrying about this. Let’s get the coolant and go.”

The two men pumped the coolant from a top-of-the-line hacker chair into a plastic bottle. They should have used a special container, as conventional containers would cause contamination, reduce the number of times the coolant could be reused, and shorten its lifespan. However, Vincent didn't have the necessary container, and since he was building a disposable sniper rifle, there was no need to reuse the coolant. So they simply used a plastic bottle.

After finishing all this, the two prepared to leave, but the door suddenly closed.

Panan was startled: "What's going on?"

Vincent glanced at the time: "Damn, three minutes have passed. It might be Voodoo Gang reinforcements. Find cover."

"Don't be nervous, it's not the Voodoo Gang." A female voice suddenly rang out from the base's loudspeakers. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Ott."

"Ultraman?!" Vincent and Panan were both taken aback. "The god of hackers?!"

Ott's voice was tinged with emotion: "Every time I hear that nickname, I feel so embarrassed I want to dig my toes into the ground."

Panan asked cautiously, "Are you here to avenge the Voodoo Gang?"

"Why do you say that?"

"You're the god of hackers, shouldn't you bless those hackers in the Voodoo Gang?"

"Heh," Ott chuckled. "Humans worship so many gods, yet none of them seem to protect humanity. The poor are still bullied and oppressed by companies. Since even those true gods don't protect their followers, why should I, the god of hackers, protect hackers?"

Panan thought about it and agreed.

Vincent suddenly asked, "Weren't you the one the Voodoo Gang was fighting against just now?"

“That’s right.” Ott didn’t hide anything and explained the whole story: “The Voodoo Gang has always hacked into the cybernetic bodies of the wealthy to extort money. A few days ago, they targeted the president of Qilu Si, hacked into his cybernetic heart, and demanded that Qilu Si pay them a ransom of 200 million euros, or they would make the president ‘fall asleep and never wake up again’.”

Vincent scoffed, "That's the kind of thing those black bastards would do. I bet the Crossroads hired you, the god of hackers, to try and regain control of the prosthetic heart?"

“That’s exactly right. I was about to succeed when the network in Taiping Prefecture suddenly went down, ruining everything.” Otto asked, “Was it you guys who did it?”

Vincent took a half-step forward without changing his expression, shielding Panan behind him: "Yes, what do you want?"

"It's very simple. You ruined my plans, so you have to make amends."

"What if I refuse?"

"Then you're probably going to be harassed day and night by a hacker god."

Vincent frowned. This threat was quite terrifying, and he had no choice but to compromise: "Tell me, how do you want us to compensate you?"

“It’s so comfortable talking to smart people. Don’t worry, I’m not an unreasonable person either. This was an unintentional mistake on your part, so I won’t pursue it too much. The internet outage has locked the control of the prosthetic heart. All you have to do is manually remove the control chip and then send it to President Qilu Si for me.”

Vincent and Panan exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with joy. They needed the high-speed aiming equipment from the Crossroads, and Otto's request undoubtedly helped them connect with the Crossroads.

To avoid any suspicion of fraud, Vincent specifically asked, "It's such a simple matter of manually retrieving the access chip offline. Why don't you do it yourself? Why do you need us to get involved?"

“It’s simple, for the sake of prestige.” Otto said matter-of-factly, “If a hacker god like me had to handle commissions offline, my prestige would be completely gone, which would greatly affect my future rates. I won’t do business that’s losing money.”

Vincent: "..."

Panan: "..."

Do they have such a strong sense of image?

However, it was thanks to her idol image that she got the opportunity to get in touch with Kijiro Tsukasa.

This is probably what they mean by fortune and misfortune being interdependent.

"Okay, I will help you retrieve the access chip and hand it over to President Qilu Division."

"Thank you. I've already sent you both photos. To the outside world, you'll be known as my underlings."

Vincent frowned: "That's not in our agreement."

"I'll give you 3000 euros after it's done."

"Don't worry, boss lady, we homeless deliverymen will deliver your goods without fail!"

And so, Vincent and Panan found the device containing the access chip, opened it manually, retrieved the prosthetic heart chip, and drove to deliver it to President Kijiro.

the other side.

Ott hung up the phone and said to V across the table, "All done, everything was done as you said."

"Thanks," V said with a smile. "The hot pot is ready, let's eat!"

"Oh!!!"

V, Vera, Otto, and Johnny were enjoying a steaming hot pot meal together.

Chapter 202 Vincent's Training Plan (Part 5)

With Otto's "introduction," Vincent and Panan met the president of the Night City branch of the Crossroads.

The other person was European, of French descent, around 50 years old, with a serious expression, but quite easy to talk to.

“Ms. Ott called me; I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. My name is Bernard DuPont. Welcome, both of you.” Inside the president’s office, after a few polite exchanges, the president got straight to the point: “Where’s the access chip?”

“Here it is,” Vincent said directly, handing over the goods.

Bernard DuPont took the chip, scanned it to confirm there were no viruses, and then inserted it into his neural slot. His eyes lit up with blue light, flashed a few times, and then he pulled out the chip, his expression softening considerably.

"What would you two like to drink?" Bernard Dupont asked with a smile.

Panan shrugged: "It's a good thing you successfully regained access to the prosthetic heart, otherwise we might not even be able to get a glass of water."

“It was my poor hospitality, but you should understand that it’s difficult for a person to do things perfectly when they can’t even control whether their heart is beating or not.” Bernard Dupont said, taking a bottle of wine and three glasses from the wine cabinet: “To express my apology, try this, the Tequila of the Hundred Gods, my treasure.”

“Just give me a glass of water, I don’t drink alcohol,” Vincent said.

Bernard Dupont paused slightly: "Was my rudeness just now what offended you? If so, I sincerely apologize. I really hope to maintain a good relationship with Ms. Otto."

“No, you’re overthinking it.” Vincent shook his head. “I’m a deliveryman, and I never drink alcohol because of my job.”

Bernard DuPont was taken aback again: "A wanderer?"

"Correct."

“A homeless person who doesn’t drink? It’s strange, but his professional ethics are admirable.” Bernard DuPont took another bottle of real water from the liquor cabinet: “Give me your phone number. I prefer a driver who doesn’t drink and drive to a drunk driver.”

"Thank you for your consideration."

Vincent sent his phone number, and the three of them raised their glasses to celebrate the completion of the deal.

"I will transfer the money to Ms. Otto's account, at the price we agreed on beforehand." Bernard Dupont put down his wine glass and began to dismiss the guests. After all, he was only able to meet Vincent and Panan because of Otto's sake. A few polite words were already the limit, and there was really nothing to discuss after the handover was completed.

Vincent was not surprised by Bernard DuPont's attitude and went straight to the point: "Mr. DuPont, I would like to purchase one of your products."

"The Crossroads has several stores in Night City, selling various optical equipment and advanced prosthetic eyes. You are welcome to go and purchase them yourself." Bernard DuPont meant that selling things was not his responsibility, and Vincent could simply go to the store directly.

"No, I mean..."

"Oh, I understand. I'll call the sales department and ask them to give you a 2% discount."

Seeing that the topic was getting further and further off track, Vincent simply stated his purpose directly: "What I want is the 1080K high-speed scope produced by the Qilusi."

"A high-speed sight?" Bernard DuPont was taken aback. "That's military grade; the law prohibits its sale to ordinary citizens and organizations."

“I know, but the law is the law, and enforcement is enforcement.”

Bernard DuPont hesitated for a moment before asking, "Is this what Ms. Otto wanted?"

"What if that's the case?"

"To hell with the law, how much does Ms. Ultra want?"

"What if I wanted it personally?"

"I'm sorry, but the law is sacred and inviolable, and everyone must strictly abide by it, including me!"

Panan complained, "You're being so hypocritical."

“This is Night City, young lady.” Bernard Dupont chuckled. “Rulers make laws not to restrict themselves, but to restrict the ruled. So, throughout history, there have always been two sets of rules in this world: one for the rulers and one for the ruled. Double standards are normal.”

Vincent said, "We can offer a high price."

Bernard DuPont glanced at Vincent and said, "Sorry, I don't see any ability in you to offer a high price."

"Judging people by their appearance is not a good thing."

"Judging by appearances is wrong, but the reason this behavior has persisted to this day is because it's right 99% of the time," Bernard DuPont said sincerely. "I don't know what you need the high-speed scope for, but since it's military-grade, it's naturally most suitable for military use. Considering your status as wanderers, I have reason to suspect that you're planning an attack, a robbery, or even an assassination. This is quite common in Night City, so I won't ramble on about violating the law. But for Ms. Otto's sake, I still have to advise you to cherish your current life. Don't think about doing anything famous. A peaceful and stable life is the state that ordinary people should pursue the most."

It can only be said that anyone who can become a CEO must have some skills. Even Vincent had to admit that Bernard DuPont was right: "I agree with you."

"Very good, it seems we've reached an agreement." The CEO smiled. "Can you leave my office now? I have a meeting in a bit."

“I’m sorry, no.” Vincent pulled out his technical pistol and placed it on the table: “I’m determined to get the high-speed scope.”

Bernard DuPont glanced at the pistol: "Are you threatening me?"

“No, I just wanted to tell you that we’re not just drivers, we’re also good fighters,” Vincent said. “Name your price, we’ll do any dirty work. The Crossroads monopolizes the optical equipment field, I’m sure there are a lot of competitors.”

Bernard DuPont frowned slightly: "Business matters have business solutions; there's no need for violence."

"Fighting and killing are beneath us, but they are the most efficient methods. After all, solving problems is difficult, but taking down a person only requires one bullet."

What if I say I don't need it?

"Then the Crossroads will become our target. We'll raid each shop one by one until we get the high-speed scope."