2077: V really knows how awesome he is

"Yes, and I also wish President V good health forever, that she lives to be a hundred years old, and that all her enemies die in an instant!"

The siblings both laughed and drank the wine in one gulp.

"By the way, when are you going to find me a sister-in-law?" The older sister asked with a smile as she put down her wine glass.

River Ward coughed abruptly, his dark face turning bright red: "My main focus right now is on my work..."

"Of course you have to work, but you also have to take care of your family. You're not getting any younger. You can replace your 'big gun,' but you'll have to produce your own 'bullets.' When you get older and your energy declines, you won't be able to have children even if you want to. Then we'll see if you regret it!"

"Cough cough cough!" River Ward coughed even more violently. He was a good man who longed for family, for a wife and children. He finally nodded and agreed: "Okay, I will keep an eye out. I will bring the right one back when I find one, and you can help me choose one."

"That's right. But the most important thing is that you like it. My opinion doesn't matter. I'll treat you to my best dishes. Whether it works out or not, I'll always support you!"

"Thank you, sister."

River Ward had the best dinner of his life, and then he was sent to the newly built prison.

Of course, he did not commit any crimes; rather, he infiltrated the organization as an undercover agent.

The task is to approach prisoners named "Solomon Reed" and "Alex," gain their trust, and assess their potential as tainted witnesses.

The person being accused is the new US President Rosalind Myers!

When River Ward heard about this mission, he felt it was absolutely outrageous. Not to mention that he was just a lowly detective in the NCPD, even the entire NCPD was not qualified to challenge the new president of the United States.

This mission couldn't possibly have been ordered by the director, and indeed it couldn't have. A man named Carter appeared in the director's office; he was the head of the counterintelligence department of Arasaka 2077—a very important figure!

Carter didn't force him; he simply explained the mission objectives and details, leaving it up to River Ward to decide whether to accept it.

River Ward knew he was definitely involved in a major event, and after hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Mr. Carter, is this beneficial to Night City?"

"of course."

"How do you prove that?"

"This is President V's order."

"Then I'll do it."

And so, River Ward was sent to a prison in Badlands.

The prison is located in the Sonora Desert, far from any road and in the middle of nowhere. Even if someone were to escape, they would first have to cross the desert to get out of there. Before they could do that, Zeta Technologies' Octagon drones would find them first and end this pointless farce with pure firepower used to suppress large-scale protests.

After a bumpy ride, the prison van entered the prison.

As soon as River Ward got out of the car, he smelled the stench of rotting chemical products, and he guessed that he would probably need a new lung after this mission.

Turning to look at the source of the stench, the prison was right next to a landfill, or rather, the prison itself was built on the landfill. The prisoners' main job was to clean up the garbage mountains in preparation for future rehabilitation plans.

As expected, President V did not give up on Badlands. I knew that she, with her foresight, would not allow this malignant tumor, Badlands, to wreak havoc on Night City!

River Ward was only happy for a second before a prison guard kicked him in the butt.

"Don't fucking look around, you'll be rummaging through the trash later. Now move forward, or I'll shove the gun up your ass!"

River Ward complied, understanding the guards' poor attitude. To keep a group of thugs in check, you have to be worse than them. The future NCPD director, when he first joined the force, also wanted to treat everyone kindly, hoping to win their trust with sincerity, but reality quickly taught him a lesson.

After verifying his identity and confirming his incarceration, he was injected with a prison program through a personal connection, all his combat cybernetic devices were shut down, and then he was stripped naked, disinfected, and cleaned. Finally, he was taken to his cell with brand-new prison clothes and personal belongings.

"There are new people here, don't make things too big, I'll have trouble explaining it to them, understand?"

"Yes, yes, don't worry, it's just a welcoming ceremony, and I certainly won't make things difficult for you."

The prison guard nodded and left. River Ward put his things down in front of his bed, and as soon as he bent down, someone groped his butt.

He turned around, and the burly cell boss, with a lewd grin, said, "Your muscles are quite firm, your sphincter must be tight too."

River Ward had anticipated this and calmly replied, "Sorry, I'm not into that."

"Hey, you're pretty picky, aren't you?" The cell boss snorted. "I used to be in the Tiger Claw Gang. What's your background?"

“NCPD”.

"Damn, cops, what brings you in here?"

"corruption."

“Hey, I’m not fucking surprised at all.” The cell boss waved his hand, and a bunch of people stepped forward and surrounded River Ward: “Sorry, officer, we’ll have to loosen your skin, it’s the rule.”

River Ward glanced at the group of menacing thugs, then peeked through the gap at Reed doing push-ups in the corner and Alexander fast asleep on the bed, before finally obediently crouching down with his hands on his head.

"Okay, good girl, I'm fucking liking you more and more. Come on, brothers, let's get the discipline!"

The thugs grinned and stepped forward, punching and kicking River Ward.

Ten minutes later, everyone stopped.

River Ward stood up, clutching his stomach, and struggled to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"So, buddy, are you convinced or not?" the cell boss asked smugly.

The future NCPD director gave a wry smile: "We've already fought, what's the point of asking these questions?"

"Okay, good that you know the rules. Dude, don't take it to heart. Anyone can come in and be treated the same. We can't break the rules here. I respect you as a man. No other performances, please!"

The next morning, River Ward, bruised and battered, was sifting through the garbage dump.

Because his combat prosthetics were all disabled, he was having some difficulty.

But most people are happy to do this job, for a simple reason: there is a salary.

Prisoners receive only one-third of their wages; the other two-thirds are used to repair the damage they caused or to compensate those they harmed.

Aside from essential supplies, there's not much to do in prison, except maybe buy a few packs of cigarettes from the guards. So even a third of that income adds up to a considerable sum over time, and most importantly, it's stable. They don't have to fight or be attacked; they can support themselves simply by scavenging. This comfortable life has instilled a high level of enthusiasm for work in some prisoners.

The most obvious example is Alex.

Unlike Li De's quiet and low-key demeanor, Alex was loud and boisterous, mainly reflected in her almost fanatical work attitude. Let's put it this way: she's been here for fourteen weeks, and every week she's ranked first in work points. While others were picking up trash, she was picking up trash; while others were resting, she was still picking up trash. She was completely like someone who would work herself to death as long as she didn't die.

At first, some people tried to cause trouble for Alex, but she single-handedly took down seven burly men. After all, she was an FBI agent; even with her combat prosthetics disabled, her fighting skills were far beyond what ordinary thugs could pull off.

Alex broke all seven men's legs and warned all the prisoners, "Anyone who dares to disturb me while I'm collecting trash will suffer the same fate," leaving the entire prison stunned.

No, you went to such lengths just because of this? Just how much do you love this job?!

The answer is that I fucking love it.

Others are prisoners, but Alex isn't. She gets a full salary, not much less than what she earns running a bar, and without as many problems.

In prison, Alex ate and slept, then worked, then ate again, then slept again, and worked again. This cycle continued for fourteen weeks. With the bonus for being the top performer in terms of work points, his earnings were even higher than the bar's profits during the same period. At first, Alex was thinking about how to escape, but now he genuinely wanted to spend the rest of his life in prison.

River Ward spotted Alex scurrying around the garbage heap; judging from his mental state, he didn't seem like someone who'd been to prison. In contrast, Li De wandered around leisurely, occasionally picking up a small electronic component from the trash, as relaxed as a retired official.

Two strange guys.

This is the future NCPD director's first impression of the mission objective.

After a day's work, the prisoners return to their cells, where a food delivery robot brings them dinner: orange-flavored protein bars and two synthetic meatballs.

The orange flavor comes from added vitamins, which are important for prisoners who work in toxic environments for long periods of time, while the synthetic meatballs are to replenish the protein lost due to physical labor.

River Ward was very satisfied; the food he ate when he first joined the police station wasn't even this good.

He was just about to eat a meatball when someone snatched it away.

Looking up, I saw the cell boss.

This time, River Ward glanced at Solomon Reed doing push-ups in the corner and Alex fast asleep in bed, and couldn't hold back any longer: "Meatball is mine."

Chapter 58 Prison Turmoil (Part 2)

"The meatballs are mine."

The cell boss laughed: "You've just come in, and your stomach is full of oily food. I'm afraid you'll get an upset stomach. You'll have to tough it out for a few meals. You'll have to get used to it gradually, understand?"

River Ward laughed, "It's okay, I'm not afraid of getting diarrhea. I've eaten worse food outside. Please have mercy and give me back the meatballs."

"That won't do. As the cell chief, I'm responsible for your health. If you get sick, wouldn't that be causing trouble for Night City and for our CEO V?"

Upon hearing the other party mention V, River Ward's expression turned cold: "I just don't understand, how can you eat other people's food and still be so self-righteous?"

"Why? Because of this!" The cell boss shook his fist, which was as big as a clay pot.

"I understand now. You mean whoever has the stronger fist can take food from others."

"That's right, that's fucking true. Dude, take note!"

"Alright, I've learned it. You don't need to eat anymore. Let's have a fistfight, and whoever loses goes hungry."

"Hey, I fucking misjudged him yesterday!" The cell boss put down his food tray and walked up to River Ward. "Kid, I didn't expect you to be someone who'd fight to the death. Okay, let's get this straight, if you see blood later, tell the guards you did it yourself, understand?"

River Ward shrugged: "I'm fine, it's up to you now."

"Baka yarou!" the cell boss roared and charged forward, but River Ward kicked him in the chest first, sending the boss flying backward and crashing into the makeshift bed.

Before the other man could catch his breath, River Ward grabbed the cell boss's head and slammed it against the ground. The henchmen who were about to help tried to intervene, but as the thuds of the impact continued, one slam, two slams, three slams, blood splattering everywhere, the henchmen stopped, then turned back.

Those who submit to force will naturally submit to even stronger force.

After bowing his head, River Ward stomped on the cell boss's hand, breaking his arm, before stopping amidst the opponent's cries of pain.

He straightened his prison uniform, glanced at the other prisoners, and calmly said, "Anyone who's not happy, come at me!"

The prisoners glanced at their cell leader, who was curled up on the ground, twitching occasionally, and quickly waved their hands and backed away.

River Ward didn't press the matter further. He looked at the cell boss on the ground and said, "Listen up, I'm going to set some rules for you too. For the next three days, you're not allowed to speak or eat. If you break this rule, I'll unscrew your big cannon and hand it over as scrap!"

After saying that, he looked at everyone and said, "Let's eat!"

The prisoners nodded hurriedly, and one clever one even took River Ward's plate, not only taking back the original meatballs but also putting his own two meatballs in as a "tribute".

River Ward frowned and tossed the two meatballs back to him.

"From today onwards, everyone in this cell will eat their own food. Nobody is allowed to steal from anyone else, understand?"

"Understood!" the prisoners replied hastily, most of them showing expressions of gratitude.

River Ward unknowingly gained a boost in reputation, but when he looked at Reed and Alex, he found that the one doing push-ups was still doing push-ups, and the one sleeping was still sleeping, which gave him a headache.

After thinking it over for a moment, he had an idea.

He finished his meal in a few bites and called over a prison guard: "Report, someone is injured!"

The prison guard was stunned when he saw the blood-soaked cell floor: "Damn, who did this?"

“Me!” River Ward raised his hand.

"You've got guts, kid. You want to establish your authority and start your own power base, huh? Fine, I'll grant your wish. Take him away!"

River Ward was handcuffed and taken out of his cell.

Some of the prisoners were a little worried.

"Is everything going to be okay?"

"What could possibly happen? It'll just be electronic confinement. Hitting someone will result in a maximum of a week's imprisonment, the usual rule."

“Okay, then when River comes back, he will be our new boss.”

"Damn it, why?"

"You said that, according to the rules, whoever can take down the current boss and withstand electronic solitary confinement without backing down, is the new cell boss, and the whole prison has to acknowledge him!"

"Tch, it's not certain whether he can make it. He might wet his pants and be carried back in a minute."

"We'll see!"

River Ward was indeed taken to solitary confinement, where he was fitted with a special Hyperdream headband. Time inside was specially calibrated; one minute outside was equivalent to one day inside—what the prisoners had just referred to as "electronic confinement." This method punished the prisoners without disrupting their work the next day, making it one of the seven uniquely Night City-style forms of punishment.

But before the "execution" could take place, the warden's approval was required. The prison guard delivered the report to the warden's office, and when the warden saw the reason, he slammed his fist on the table in anger.

“He actually broke his fellow inmate’s arm! This River Ward is too ruthless. Bring him to me, I want to teach him a lesson myself!”

So the Mewtwo headband that he had already put on was taken off again, and River Ward was sent to the warden's office.

On the way, a prison guard said gloatingly, "You're finished. The warden is notoriously ruthless. He has a secret room in his office with all kinds of torture instruments. No one has been able to get through it yet. You should admit defeat when you should. There's nothing shameful about it."

River Ward felt a warmth in his heart: "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I placed a bet that you won't last an hour. If I win, I'll give you three cigarettes."

River Ward: ...You fucking gave me back my emotion!

And so he was taken to the warden's office.