Chapter 1131: Chapter 368: Where the Hell Am I? (Part 2)
The hotel manager stood to the side, trembling with fear. Three days ago, Lai Xuan arrived in Night City, ordering him not to disclose his stay here to anyone.
No one expected the sudden emergence of a disruptor, causing this kind of trouble.
"What about the surveillance? Have you found out who stole it?"
However, Lai Xuan was not angry about the loss of the chip; he simply regretted that he probably wouldn’t get to meet Johnny Silverhand.
"No... no..."
The hotel manager was sweating profusely.
"At that time, the entire network of Night City experienced severe fluctuations. Our hacker dared not enter the data fortress, resulting in the deletion of all surveillance footage."
Unexpectedly, Huang Ban Lai Xuan didn’t angrily reprimand but calmly said,
"I see... the surveillance was deleted. So, besides you, who knows that those mercenaries are targeting my residence?"
"No one knows, I haven’t disclosed Mr. Lai Xuan’s presence here to anyone..."
Bang!
The hotel manager’s eyes widened as a bullet hole in his forehead oozed blood, and he fell backward in disbelief.
"Drag him away. Also, ignore those mercenaries for now; they won’t dare to show their faces. Find and eliminate the middleman quietly; make sure no one finds out about the missing chip."
Huang Ban Lai Xuan put away his pistol and spoke coldly.
"Understood."
The Huang Ban guards who followed were not surprised by Lai Xuan’s actions; they were his true confidants, and they dragged the body into the elevator using their pockets.
Once again, Huang Ban Lai Xuan was left alone in the room. He looked at the empty refrigerator and muttered,
"Who... are you, really?"
The purpose of stealing the chip was to lure Old Bi to Night City. As long as he doesn’t know that the chip is missing, he will come looking for me.
Taking out this old figure far from Japan headquarters in Night City will give me ample space to control all of Huang Ban.
The problem is... the network surveillance, only they know about this.
This group of dishonorable dual players are indeed not trustworthy.
————
"Ugh... cough cough..."
Lucy, groggy, sat up from the hacker chair, and Qiwei hurried forward to support her weakened body, promptly unplugging the cable from the deep-dive interface at the back of her head.
Qiwei asked with a lingering fear,
"What on earth was that monster? Even the Black Wall couldn’t stop it."
It was the most terrifying cyber life form she had ever seen as a hacker for so many years.
It disregarded the Black Wall, able to directly pass through that firewall coveted by all companies.
Due to the immense data waves it caused, no one knew the true target of that mysterious AI’s attack, only that it retreated after a clash with the Black Wall’s attack program.
Qiwei didn’t know the attack program that engaged with that AI was Lucy right in front of her.
Ote... Cunningham...
Sweat soaked through Lucy’s white shirt, revealing her graceful and exquisite silhouette.
But rather than her own condition, she was more concerned about what she heard during her encounter with the enemy—the conversation between Lin Miao and the AI.
The legendary hacker... is still alive...
Not only able to suppress the self she had grown into, but also effortlessly conversing with Lin Miao...
Unwilling
Even if the opponent is a legendary hacker transformed into an AI, she remains unwilling
"Men are indeed unreliable, leaving you alone here."
Qiwei muttered about Lin Miao’s shortcomings, but did not forget to help Lucy change into dry clothes.
As a hacker, she knew too well the danger Lucy was in at that time; a slight mistake might have torn her consciousness apart amidst the overwhelming waves.
Yet Lin Miao was still in Night City, ignoring Lucy far off in Stone Ridge Mountain, possibly not even knowing what was happening here.
This made Qiwei angry on Lucy’s behalf.
"No."
Lucy, sitting cross-legged on the hacker chair, grabbed Qiwei’s hand and lightly shook her head.
"He’s working on something more important..."
"Is there anything more important than you? Back then, he used countless sweet words to win you over, right? Men sure are fickle, using you to achieve their dreams and tossing you aside once they’re done."
Even today, Qiwei’s prejudice against men hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
Lucy, who spent her days and nights with Lin Miao, naturally wouldn’t misunderstand, nor blame him, because no one knew the man in the office better than her.
After moving out of the single room in the skyscraper, he still didn’t have a room entirely of his own; he continued to stay at the company.
The thing he did most daily was tirelessly dealing with the wolves hunting Horizon Corporation.
Don’t be fooled into thinking everyone is on the same side aiming at the European Community, but the moment Lin Miao shows the slightest weakness, Military Technology, New America, Huang Ban, Kangtao... would immediately reveal their fangs and devour the company whole.
Not to mention those lurking AI ready to cause trouble at any moment.
And the person bearing all this responsibility lived a life devoid of luxury mansion, yacht, sports car... His material enjoyment was akin to an ascetic’s.
Compared with high-level executives in equivalent companies, even a regular employee enjoys life more than Lin Miao.
[The person cutting the cake should always eat last; otherwise, it’s unfair to others]
Is this really something a human could say?
With chocolate’s sweet remnants still in her mouth, Lucy smiled.
