2077: V really knows how awesome he is

She smiled and hummed a lullaby softly.

"I sigh at the spring flowers and autumn moon, never forgetting our parting..."

Earlier today, a corner of the city.

"Hold!"

Johnny was thrown out of the bar by several burly men.

"Get the hell out of here! How dare you say Night City is doomed to lose? If it weren't for your age, I would have beaten you to death!"

"Come on, if you dare! Everyone knows the result; you're just too afraid to admit it!"

Johnny was still yelling when he saw the burly men pick up bricks from the ground. He quickly jumped into his Porsche 911 and drove off.

He doesn't have many prosthetic bodies now, nor does he have his own silver hand; a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle.

After wiping the bruise from the corner of his mouth, Johnny decided to go to Genting Highlands for some fresh air.

V gave him a lot of money, and he casually ordered more than twenty sex dolls. However, less than fifteen minutes later, he was beaten up and kicked out again.

"Night City will win! President V has created countless miracles, and this time will be no different!"

"Get lost, you idiot old man! I'd rather have a beggar on the street have my way with me for free than make money off your filthy crap!"

"Get out of here, Genting Highlands doesn't welcome you!"

"Fuck you!" Qiangnu shouted. "They're just a bunch of prostitutes, what are they pretending to be so high and mighty for!"

"We are chickens, but we sell meat, not conscience!"

A bottle was thrown and smashed hard on Johnny's head, cracking his skull open with a loud thud.

Half an hour later, Johnny sat down at the bar of the next life.

“Give me a Johnny Silverhand!” Johnny Silverhand shouted.

Bartender Claire walked over and placed a whole bottle of old-fashioned tequila in front of him.

"What, are you having a clearance sale? I only ordered one drink!" Johnny was as foul-mouthed as ever.

Claire didn't mind: "It's not wrong to say it's closed, my boss has already opened it up for free for all living beings, anyone who is thirsty can come in and take what they need."

Johnny scoffed, "Would that stingy little girl Roger be that generous?"

“This is the first time I’ve heard someone call Roger ‘little girl,’ but it doesn’t seem wrong for someone your age,” Claire laughed. “There’s going to be a war soon, and if we lose, everyone will lose everything. What’s a mere bar?”

"You can still escape."

"Where to run to? This world is full of cesspools, only Night City is paradise."

“Night City is paradise? That’s even more ridiculous than me calling Roger ‘little girl.’” Johnny sarcastically remarked, “You’re fucking obsessed with Sparkle.”

“Indeed, Night City used to be a cesspool, but President V has turned it into paradise. I know it’s not perfect yet, it still has many flaws, but it’s improved, and it has the potential to become even better.”

"Another idiot who wants to protect Night City. I really don't know what kind of spell V has cast on you guys."

"President V didn't try to flatter us; she just showed us things one by one. Schools were built, hospitals were built, the environment was getting better and better, salaries were getting higher and higher, and we didn't have to worry about being shot on the street or robbed by thugs at night. For us ordinary folks, isn't this paradise?"

"So you guys didn't even need V to say anything, you just volunteered to be her cannon fodder? Wake up, Night City can't win, its chances of winning are lower than the odds of getting a leopard!"

"But we want to take a gamble because this is our only chance to sit at the table."

"But the stakes are your lives!"

"Haha, betting our worthless lives on a bright future, it's fucking a steal!" Claire waved her hand: "You keep drinking, I'm going to report to the reserve team. Luckily, my husband died a long time ago, so being all alone will be the best bargaining chip!"

Johnny... I have some respect for him.

But he always believed that Night City could not win.

This world is already terminally ill; no matter how hard ordinary people try, they cannot defeat a company. That's why he dropped a nuclear bomb in 2023, choosing to perish together with the company.

The results of it.

Fifty years have passed, and Arasaka Tower is still standing there.

A sense of helplessness washed over him, and Johnny grabbed the bottle and took a big gulp, only to choke and tear up.

This body belongs to Saburo Arasaka; it's too young.

Johnny wondered why God had brought him back to life, why He had given him another chance. Was it so that he could experience despair once again?

If that's the case, then God is truly a bastard as always.

Johnny caught sight of a yellow figure out of the corner of his eye and suddenly felt like seeing an old friend.

He was a man of action; he immediately grabbed the bottle and stood up. Instead of going to Roger, he walked to the wall and picked up the electric guitar.

With a flourish of his fingers, he plucked the strings, and a booming sound burst forth from the bass speaker. With just a casual pluck, Roger turned his head in surprise.

"Hey!" Johnny struck what he thought was a cool pose.

As a result, Roger pulled out a pistol from his pocket, pressed it against Roger's forehead, and asked viciously, "Tell me, who the hell are you?!"

Chapter 49 System

In Roger's office, Johnny removed his mask of restraint.

The Queen of Night City's middlemen was so startled she nearly fell off her chair: "Holy crap! Saburo Arasaka?!?"

“What bullshit Arakazaburo, Roger? You don’t even recognize me anymore?” Johnny said, scratching his crotch.

Seeing the familiar movements, long-buried memories began to surface, and Roger exclaimed in disbelief, "What the hell?! You fucking...Johnny?!"

"Haha, I love seeing you like this, you crazy woman. It makes me hard down there."

Roger was initially touched, but then his expression turned to disgust.

"Don't spout this bullshit at me with Arasaka Saburo's face. I'm going to have nightmares every night. What's going on? Wasn't Arasaka Saburo dead? How did you, you dead ghost, end up in another dead ghost's body?"

"It's all because of that guy named V!" Johnny said, looking annoyed.

“V?” Roger was taken aback, then showed interest: “Tell me more about it.”

Johnny then told him everything he knew.

Including Relic chips, Soul Killers, and so on.

"They actually put me into the body of the person I hate most! Do you know how I felt when I woke up and looked in the mirror? I vomited like crazy on the spot! If I hadn't been searching for a weapon, I would have shot myself in the head! Tell me, isn't this V incredibly wicked..."

"President V did a brilliant job!" Roger's eyes lit up as he listened.

Johnny: "Huh?"

"You've taken over Saburo Arasaka's body, so you're the highest-ranking executive officer of the Arasaka Corporation. The father can't be dead, so the son can't take over. Yoriyuki Arasaka's current status is completely illegitimate; he has no right to command the Arasaka army! President V probably anticipated this situation, which is why he inserted you into Saburo Arasaka's head. Damn, I rarely admire anyone, but President V's meticulous planning truly impresses me!"

Johnny's mouth twisted in anger: "No way, how come you've become like those female fans, learning to strategize on your own? That V is a complete newbie, she didn't even think of all this. She herself said that I'm not part of her plan, so wake up!"

"You weren't part of her plan?" Roger was taken aback. "Did President V really not foresee this?"

Johnny said smugly, "Of course not, I already said she's a newbie, if you ask me, we should..."

"We should hold a press conference immediately!" Roger said without hesitation. "President V has too many things to do, it's normal that she can't attend to everything. In that case, I'll make up for it for her. Johnny, come with me right now, to News Channel 54, and in the name of Saburo Arasaka, dismiss Yoriyuki Arasaka and send him back to Tokyo!"

Roger grabbed Johnny's hand and started to walk out, but the rock kid shoved him away.

"I do not!"

"What?" Roger didn't understand at first.

“I’m saying, I’m not going to hold any press conferences, and I certainly won’t use Saburo Arasaka’s identity!” Johnny pointed to his face and said, “That guy is the person I hate the most. He’s the one who killed Ultraman! If you asked me to impersonate him, I’d rather impersonate a pile of dog shit! I was Johnny Silverhand, I am Johnny Silverhand, and I will be Johnny Silverhand in the future. I am a unique superstar who stands above everyone else, and nobody can replace me!”

Roger frowned slightly and advised kindly, "Johnny, no one wants to replace you; this is a tactic."

Johnny scoffed, "But I don't like this plan. Rogue, no one can force me. Arasaka can't do it, and neither can you!"

"Johnny, stop fucking messing around!" Roger snapped. "This is for Night City!"

"Night City is none of my business, I'd rather this cesspool be destroyed!"

Night City used to be a cesspool, but it isn't anymore!

"Yeah, yeah, all thanks to President V! -- I've heard this bullshit countless times, I'm sick of it. Roger, wake up, that V is just a corporate dog, she's fighting with another corporate dog, we should be clapping and cheering! Come with me, let's go to other cities and come back after the war is over."

Johnny pulled Roger's hand and tried to walk out, but the middleman queen shoved him away.

"I do not!"

"What?" Johnny didn't understand at first.

“I said I won’t leave,” Roger said earnestly. “V is different, and I believe in her. So I will stay until the very last moment. I want to see the outcome of this battle with my own eyes, and see who the times will choose!”

“You’re insane!” Johnny exclaimed incredulously. “You actually believe a corporate dog? You weren’t like this before.”

“I have indeed changed, because half a century has passed, and I am no longer the person you remember.” Roger raised his hand to touch “Johnny”’s face, but ultimately gave up because he couldn’t accept Saburo Arasaka’s face: “Johnny, your soul was written into a chip, and your memories are stuck in that time. You live in 2023, while I live in 2077.”

“But some things will never change!” Johnny shouted: “Willpower, character, faith, and pursuit!”

“No, everything changes, especially people.” Roger calmly dropped a bombshell: “In the end, I was the only one left alive in the Atlantis squad. Do you know why? Because I had already sold myself to Arasaka.”

"Holy shit!" Johnny was utterly shocked. He took two steps back. "You...you mean, you've been working with Arasaka for the past 50 years?"

"That's right, otherwise why do you think I could become the Queen of Middlemen, or why I could own the Next Life Bar?"

"You son of a bitch!" Johnny grabbed Roger by the collar and hissed, "You're working with the guy who killed me and locked me in the Soul Prison? Why!"

"To survive. To survive for me, for my son, for Old Snake's son, and for all the men and women who follow me and call me 'boss'!"

“You’ve sold your soul just to survive!” Johnny shouted angrily.

Roger shouted back, "Isn't that enough?!"

The two stared at each other and fell silent.

The office communicator rang: "Boss, just as you guessed, the biotech company was tricked by New America. Our people got hold of Miles's call records to the president's office."

"Understood. Everything will proceed as planned. I will contact intermediaries in other districts and mobilize all my connections to cooperate with you."

"Alright, just you wait and see."

Communication ends.

Johnny asked, "What are you going to do?"

Roger didn't hide anything: "You know about the big battle between Biotech and Comto last night, right? After that commotion, Biotech was completely kicked out of the game and is no longer able to participate in the battle for Night City. Putting ourselves in their shoes, since they can't get Night City, the best outcome is to prevent others from getting it either. So I've united all the middlemen in Night City, big and small, to use our connections to try our best to facilitate an alliance between Biotech and President V."

Johnny shouted angrily, "You still want to work for Arasaka?"

"I work for President V."

"V is Arasaka!"

"V is different!"

“Rogge!” Johnny shouted in exasperation.

The middleman queen broke free of her grip and turned to walk towards her desk: "Go on, Johnny. If you're not willing to help, then don't bother me!"

Come again?

Johnny was furious and reached out to grab Roger's shoulder. Roger turned around, but the kinetic pistol named "Pride" was pressed against Johnny's forehead.

"I said, get lost if you're not going to help!" Roger said, holding his beloved gun with a cold look in his eyes.

Johnny felt a pang of pain in his heart: "I bet you don't have a bullet in your gun!"

"boom!"

A bullet whizzed past my ear, drawing a streak of blood.

Roger said coldly, "You're wrong, Johnny."

The rock star walked out, stopping at the door to ask, "Who is the father of your child?"

"None of your business."

Johnny left, like a stray dog.

Roger had actually sided with Arasaka. His emotions made him unwilling to believe it, but his reason told him that it was all true.

He looked up at the street, where everyone was rushing by.

Mercenaries gathered in small groups to head to the reserve assembly point. The NCPD and the Public Security Guard broadcast the locations of various underground shelters over and over again. Shops removed their doors and counters and distributed supplies to those in need for free. Even gang members were actively building fortifications in the streets and alleys, preparing to fight to the end.