Next Life Bar

Jackie's driving was decent, and he arrived at their destination steadily.

This was an ordinary apartment building where Lucy had used a fake identity to rent a temporary unit.

"Carry him to room 512."

Chen Nuo said as he got out of the car. Hearing this, Jackie picked up Takahashi Hayami in a princess carry with a look of disdain.

In room 512, Kiwi had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Chen Nuo and the others push the door open, she reached out to stub out her cigarette, stood up, and said,

"Take him straight to the bathroom."

"Oh."

Jackie had originally wanted to greet Kiwi—he always had such an outgoing personality, not to mention he was facing a sexy and beautiful female Netrunner—but seeing her say this, he could only suppress the thought for now.

The bathtub had already been filled with ice water in advance, and the relevant equipment was all set up. Under Kiwi's direction, Jackie plugged several data cables into Takahashi Hayami's neural interface.

"What else do you need me to do?"

Jackie's attitude was very proactive, but Kiwi simply pointed a finger and said to him,

"Get out, and remember to close the door."

"Oh."

Jackie's expression stiffened, and he could only walk out with his head slumped.

Only Lucy remained in the bathroom to assist Kiwi, responsible for monitoring the dive to ensure the connection could be disconnected in time if needed.

Kiwi took off her clothes and lay naked in the tub, letting the ice water submerge her body.

Lucy had originally intended to do this job herself, but Chen Nuo had refused; he would rather spend some money to have Kiwi do it.

It wasn't that he was worried Lucy couldn't find the courage to face the shadows of her past, but rather that there was no need to torture herself like this.

Deep diving was by no means a comfortable experience, especially when facing Arasaka Corporation's defense systems.

Chen Nuo didn't go in at all; he was already sitting on the sofa watching TV. Night City's midnight channels were quite exciting. Seeing Jackie sit down next to him, he handed over a bottle of soda.

"We just sit here?"

"What else?"

Chen Nuo countered, focusing on the TV program. Jackie took a sip of the drink, feeling that this money was a bit too easy to earn.

Takahashi Hayami was just a low-to-mid-level leader. Even for his Trauma Team membership, the company had only purchased a Gold tier for him. The ICE on his body naturally couldn't be some high-end corporate grade, so overcoming it wasn't difficult.

After just a bit of time, Kiwi entered his data hub and copied all the information Chen Nuo wanted.

"The stuff is here, I'm leaving."

Kiwi walked out of the bathroom dripping wet. She was very professional and asked nothing, simply tossing the copied data chip to Chen Nuo. As she spoke, she put on her clothes and headed for the door.

She was just here for a side job and didn't care about anything else.

"The money has been transferred to you. Want Jackie to give you a lift?"

"No need. Let's collaborate again if there's a chance."

Kiwi's tone was still cold, but her attitude was quite proactive. After all, Chen Nuo paid well, and the job wasn't hard.

"You got it."

Chen Nuo watched Kiwi leave, then took the portable computer Lucy handed him. He inserted the chip and flipped through the Arasaka Corporation personnel information, soon finding his father's sealed employee file.

Employee information that could be recorded and kept by Takahashi Hayami naturally couldn't be for very high-level corporate personnel.

Chen Nuo's father was just a supervisor in the Counter-Intelligence Department, at most a Middle Layer cadre.

However, this status and job were already something the general public of Night City had to look up to.

Unfortunately, let alone a mere supervisor, even Jenkins, who was in charge of the entire intelligence department, had easily died in the company's internal political struggles.

The corporation is a walled city; those inside want out, and those outside want in.

Without being in the thick of it, one can never truly empathize.

However, Chen Nuo didn't find any useful information in his father's sealed file. The record of his death was just a short sentence.

Accidental death in a car crash.

From the number of casualties in various departments, it wasn't hard to see that the Counter-Intelligence Department had always been at a disadvantage in its struggle with the Operations Department.

However, a recent transfer and recruitment report caught Chen Nuo's attention. The position to be filled was exactly the one left vacant by Chen Nuo's father.

Chen Nuo pulled up this person's identity information. Jackie, standing beside him, glimpsed the person in the photo and subconsciously blurted out his name.

"V?"

"You know him?"

Chen Nuo looked at the photo in the ID info and was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected the V of this world to be a man, especially since the V he had customized back then was a well-endowed girl with a surprise.

"V is a life-and-death friend of mine, but ever since V joined Arasaka and was sent on an assignment, our contact has become less frequent."

As Jackie spoke, he couldn't help but scratch his head. A commission mission had suddenly involved V, and for a moment, he didn't know if this was a good or bad thing.

Chen Nuo's eyes shifted; he felt he had found a breakthrough.

Trying to find the cause of his father's death from outside the company compared to looking from within were two entirely different levels of difficulty.

"Jackie, if you have time, can you introduce V to me?"

"This..."

Jackie hesitated a bit. He was somewhat worried about whether Chen Nuo would bring unpredictable trouble to V.

Both were friends, but there was still a bit of a difference between them.

"Don't worry, this is a good thing for all of us. My father died in this very position. The trouble V will face will only be greater. I need his help, and likewise, he needs us."

Chen Nuo explained the situation openly.

Jackie was smart and knew Chen Nuo was right, but he wouldn't make this decision for V.

"I'll contact V. If he agrees to meet you, we'll arrange a time to meet."

"No problem."

Chen Nuo nodded, not in a hurry. After all, the current V was still outside Night City and wouldn't be back to start the job for a while.

"What do we do with this guy inside?"

Jackie remembered Takahashi Hayami and asked.

"Put him back in his car, turn on the autopilot, and send him home."

"No need to silence him?"

"Silence him for what? He has no idea who did it. Besides, if he dares to speak out, the first person to be fired will be him."

Chen Nuo knew the survival conditions inside Arasaka Corporation all too well. Even though Takahashi Hayami was just a team leader, there was a pile of people underneath waiting to replace him. Overthrowing superiors was a traditional art within Arasaka.

If Takahashi Hayami spoke about tonight's events, wouldn't he be proactively handing a knife to others? It was better to pretend nothing happened so he could continue working.

Even if it caused some loss to the company later, that would just be the company's loss. Whether it could even be traced back to him was another matter.

"Got it."

Jackie did as he was told and sent Takahashi Hayami away.

At the same time, Lucy also completed the cleanup work, erasing all possible traces of information to ensure everything was foolproof.

After that, there was nothing else to do, so they each went home... having been busy all night, Chen Nuo and Lucy slept until noon the next day before getting up.

Today was another rainy day.

The drizzling rain washed over Night City, creating a unique cyber landscape with the interlacing neon lights.

However, hidden within this beautiful scene was hazardous pollution enough to be fatal.

The rain in Night City was only acid rain, and the fog was only toxic fog.

Chen Nuo ordered restaurant delivery, which arrived at the door before long. Just as he and Lucy were sitting at the dining table enjoying the city rain view, he received an invitation text message.

Opening it, he saw it was from the "Afterlife" club.

As the most famous Edgerunner bar in Night City, if you didn't have a bit of reputation, you couldn't even enter the Afterlife's doors.

It wasn't just an entertainment venue; it was a trading platform for items and information, and a major symbol of Night City. It represented the dark side of the city, a place where all Edgerunners sought a sense of belonging and fame.

It seemed the name BT had reached Rogue's ears.

"A job came in?"

Seeing the shimmer in Chen Nuo's Cybernetic Eye, Lucy asked casually.

"It's that Queen of the Afterlife inviting me to her morgue for a drink."

"Morgue?"

Lucy was stunned for a moment before she reacted. She chuckled, stabbed a piece of cut meat, and stuffed it into Chen Nuo's mouth, continuing,

"If the Queen's followers heard that, they'd have to come looking for trouble with you."

"I'm not wrong, isn't that just a morgue? The place is unlucky, and the name is unlucky too."

Chen Nuo didn't have any fan filters for Rogue's Afterlife Bar, nor did he need to seek any sense of belonging from a morgue.

To him, the identity of an Edgerunner was just a job; there was no cultural or spiritual identification with it.

Lucy was the same; she had already found where her heart belonged.

"Then you're not going?"

"Of course I'm going. Even if there's no job, I can go there to broaden my horizons. I heard the people there speak very nicely."

As Chen Nuo spoke, he opened his mouth to continue being fed by Lucy. As they ate lunch, they accidentally ended up in bed.

After quite a bit of tossing and turning, an exhausted Lucy gave up on the idea of going to the Afterlife with Chen Nuo and lay in bed to recover her energy. She didn't like socializing with strangers anyway.

The Afterlife Bar was located in Chinatown in the Watson District.

The acid rain was still falling outside. Chen Nuo still didn't choose to ride his motorcycle, but instead took the NCART, got off at the station closest to the Afterlife Bar, and walked there with an umbrella.

Many luxury cars were parked outside the bar.

It didn't just host Edgerunners; it also welcomed corporate employees and even gang members.

The bar security guarding the entrance saw Chen Nuo's unfamiliar face and stepped forward to block him.

"Do you know what place this is?"

"Afterlife Bar, I'm in the right place, aren't I?"

Chen Nuo closed his umbrella and shook off the rainwater, his expression as calm as if he were in front of an ordinary supermarket.

"This is the Afterlife, but whether you're in the right place isn't certain."

The security still blocked the door.

"I'm BT."

As Chen Nuo spoke, he showed Rogue's invitation text. After the security verified it, they finally moved aside.

"The Afterlife welcomes you, Mr. BT."

"Thanks."

Chen Nuo said as he crossed the threshold of the Afterlife.

The bar's interior decoration was dark and psychedelic. Flashing neon lights, noisy music, and crowded people formed its unique atmosphere, and there were even exotic dance performances.

Chen Nuo's fresh face attracted many people's attention, but no one chose to proactively approach him.

"What can I get you?"

Claire, the bartender, was the first to communicate with Chen Nuo.

"I'll have a Johnny Silverhand."

Since he was already at the Afterlife, how could he not try the legendary drink list here?

The Johnny Silverhand was a distinctive cocktail.

As for how it tasted, Chen Nuo could only say that he didn't like drinking much to begin with. Out of respect for the place, he could only down it in one go.

"I'll have a Coke, please."

"Alright."

Chen Nuo picked up the glass and gave his mouth a good rinse.

Later, if he got the chance, he'd have to have a talk with Johnny. What kind of drink was this? It tasted like absolute shit.

At that moment, noisy sounds came from the entrance.

Chen Nuo turned his head and saw two familiar figures.

"Make yourself clear, who are you calling a minor?!"

Rebecca jumped up and pulled out her gun. This dangerous move immediately caused tension among the security personnel, but just as the conflict was about to escalate, Sasha hacked the security's Cybernetic Eye.

Taking this opportunity, Sasha hurriedly dragged Rebecca into the bar.

The Afterlife Bar had another rule: if you could get past security by your own means, the place would also welcome you.

"I'm so pissed! If Sasha hadn't stopped me, I would've put a hole in that blind guy's forehead just now."

Rebecca was obviously speaking out of anger, which Sasha knew well.

"Alright, Maine is still waiting for us inside."

While speaking, Rebecca saw Chen Nuo sitting at the bar.

Her face, which had been puffed up with anger, instantly showed a surprised smile. She took three steps in two and sat down next to Chen Nuo, slapping his shoulder and saying,

"I should've seen you here long ago. Why did you only show up now, Pancake Vendor?"

"Tsk."

Chen Nuo pretended not to hear. He had to correct this nickname, otherwise, it would be too late once it spread.

Rebecca was calling him that on purpose; the more he acknowledged her, the more excited she got.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Rebecca grabbed Chen Nuo's shoulder and started shoving him.

Chen Nuo still ignored her, only greeting Sasha.

"Meeting again, Miss Kitty."

"Indeed."

Sasha replied with narrowed eyes.

"I'm angry!"

Seeing this, Rebecca plopped back into her seat, crossing her arms with her back to Chen Nuo to show her protest, but she didn't last long before surrendering.

"Fine, I won't call you the pancake guy anymore, okay?"

"Eh, isn't this Rebecca? What are you doing here?"

Chen Nuo showed a look of surprise, his voice sounding as natural as if it were real.

"Let's go have a few drinks together. My big brother has been talking about you lately. If I didn't know his sexual preferences, I would've thought he was interested in you."

Rebecca grabbed Chen Nuo's hand to take him toward the private booth.

Sasha didn't say much about this; instead, she felt Rebecca had done a rare smart thing.

Befriending an Edgerunner with Chen Nuo's strength was definitely a good thing. If they could pull him into Maine's crew, that would be even better.

There were many hidden corners and booths in the Afterlife Bar. Those without a bit of strength or status couldn't occupy a place here; most people could only sit at the bar in the main hall.

It was evident that Maine's crew had made a bit of a name for themselves in the Afterlife.