Good evening

Time flew by, and nearly a month had passed since the CCG's failed operation against Aogiri Tree.

Chen Nuo had long since returned to Ward 20 with Mado Akira and the others.

The responsibility for the failure of this operation certainly wouldn't fall on their heads. In fact, to distract the public, the CCG had pushed Chen Nuo to the forefront, publicizing him heavily as a hero.

The effect of doing this was indeed very good.

With Chen Nuo's outward appeal, combined with a slightly flamboyant promotional style, the public was largely distracted from the CCG's heavy casualties.

It was just that Chen Nuo himself was a bit unhappy about it.

Dammit, those guys in the CCG PR department Photoshopped his pictures to be way too feminine. I'm clearly so tough and powerful!

To reclaim their prestige and reverse the previous loss, the CCG had been very active lately, trying to find the Aogiri Tree that had vanished from District 11.

However, let alone finding Aogiri Tree, after that day, there weren't many Ghouls left in District 11 at all.

This left the CCG with a frustrating sense of having nowhere to vent their strength, and they could only shift their attention to other districts.

As a result, it wasn't just the Ghouls who were unlucky; the Investigators in every district also began a long period of overtime.

Chen Nuo, who had been reduced to a CCG propaganda tool, was comparatively much more relaxed.

"What's this?"

Mado Akira looked at the pile of expensive-looking bags appearing on her desk and looked up to ask.

"Freebies from the advertising agency."

"Why give them to me?"

"Look at yourself right now."

Chen Nuo picked up a small mirror from the desk and aimed it at Mado Akira's face.

Working overtime for several days in a row had already made this exquisite and lovely face look a bit haggard, and dark circles had appeared. She really needed to take care of herself with some skincare products.

Mado Akira might not care about her own skin condition, but Chen Nuo couldn't allow that.

After all, since that day they used the shampoo at Mado Akira's house, the two had already let their respective scents seep into each other's bodies.

"..."

After understanding Chen Nuo's intention, Mado couldn't help but roll her eyes beautifully, but her body was very honest as she put the skincare products into her drawer.

Chen Nuo didn't understand these brands, but Mado Akira knew them all too well.

They were expensive luxury items that she wouldn't even splurge on with her own salary.

She really didn't know how these brands had found Chen Nuo to do advertisements.

Well, this guy's skin was indeed good enough to make people scream, but it didn't make sense no matter how she thought about it.

Chen Nuo was clearly just an Investigator.

Mado Akira still underestimated the spending power of those who value looks.

Since Chen Nuo became the face of the CCG, his value in terms of publicity and attracting funds had already far exceeded that of a First Class Investigator.

Chen Nuo hadn't expected things to develop this way either.

It felt quite novel.

"You've come back at just the right time."

Mado Akira switched back to work mode in an instant; it was still working hours.

This focused attitude wasn't just reflected in her work; thinking about it left a bit of an aftertaste.

I must prepare a new uniform tonight.

This time, I'll let Mado Akira play herself, as an Investigator.

Hehe.

"Nuo!"

Mado Akira raised her hand and tapped Chen Nuo, finally bringing his focus back.

"Did you find something again?"

Chen Nuo straightened his expression and asked.

"From the intelligence I've gathered during this time, I now suspect that not long ago, during the period when Rize vanished, a force reorganized the Ghouls of Ward 20..."

As Mado Akira spoke her conclusion, she took out the relevant evidence she had gathered to prove it.

Although these clues were relatively fragmented and none could directly prove Mado Akira's judgment, when they were pieced together, they naturally became convincing.

Mado Akira indeed had quite an outstanding talent for intelligence analysis.

Listening to her explanation, Chen Nuo couldn't help but nod, saying in agreement.

"What you're saying makes a lot of sense."

"Not only that, I suspect this organization behind the scenes, or rather the person behind the scenes, even has deep connections with Aogiri Tree."

"Where did you get that conclusion from?"

"A woman's intuition."

"..."

Chen Nuo secretly clicked his tongue; your woman's intuition is indeed a bit too accurate.

This is going to be difficult. If Mado Akira keeps investigating like this, will she eventually find her way to him? That would be awkward.

"So what do you plan to do next?"

Chen Nuo asked.

"I've already submitted the relevant clues and intelligence. The higher-ups are telling me to wait for news."

Mado Akira shook her head; she could feel that the upper management didn't take her seriously.

This was normal. After all, much of the content in her report was too subjective, making it hard for the CCG high-ranking officials to take any major action based on it.

Moreover, there was currently the urgent trouble of Aogiri Tree to deal with.

"So, what's your idea?"

Looking at the anticipation in Mado Akira's eyes, Chen Nuo could already guess what she was thinking.

"Even though the higher-ups haven't given me any support, they've agreed to let me investigate in Ward 20. I hope you'll join me."

Mado Akira's voice was sincere.

If there was one person she was willing to rely on and trust, it was Chen Nuo.

I knew it.

Investigating myself... this is a bit too boring.

But looking into Mado Akira's moving eyes, Chen Nuo really couldn't say no.

"The 15D I just bought arrived."

Mado Akira added a sentence, which became the last straw that broke Chen Nuo's mental defense.

"How many did you buy? A single pack isn't enough for one night."

Chen Nuo raised the most concerning question.

To provide a bit of trivia, the 'D' number for stockings refers to the thickness; the smaller the number, the thinner they are.

These were definitely consumable items.

Mado Akira didn't speak, just quietly looked at Chen Nuo.

"Alright, alright, count me in."

"Mm, I bought a whole box, in every color."

As the words fell, the corners of their mouths rose in a synchronized curve.

It turns out the one who was really craving it was you... Kiwi's recent days hadn't been easy.

Since completing the operation to steal the 'Kong' cybernetic implant with Chen Nuo and the others, she had taken the money she'd saved over the years and left Night City alone, preparing for a change of lifestyle.

It was a considerable fortune. If distributed properly, it was definitely enough for Kiwi to live out the rest of her life in peace.

And that's exactly what she did.

She bought a piece of land in a rural village far from Night City.

Planning to live the self-sufficient pastoral life of her dreams.

Everything had been going very smoothly at first; the corn seeds Kiwi had planted were already starting to sprout.

However, life is like that. Just when you think things can stay stable, it suddenly gives you a blow, followed by a leap that stomps you back into the mud.

A gang of bandits broke into Kiwi's home under the cover of night.

Even though the leader was wearing a holographic mask, Kiwi could still recognize him at a glance.

It was the village chief who had sold her the land and house in the first place.

During this time, the mayor and his group had also figured out Kiwi's background, and they only chose to act once they were certain of success.

Kiwi couldn't understand. She had clearly been careful enough, even taking out a loan to pay for the land and doing her best to disguise herself. Why couldn't even a small village like this accommodate her?

Fortunately, even though Kiwi chose to escape from Night City, the survival methods Night City had taught her were already etched into her bones.

Relying solely on the traps set up in the house, she had already made these thugs pay a heavy price.

But in the end, Kiwi could only flee from the town.

Her Netrunner skills weren't enough to handle over a dozen thugs.

Especially since the number of cyberware these thugs had was pitifully limited.

So after wandering around in a big circle, Kiwi eventually chose to return to Night City.

The hometown that had shaped her into what she was today.

"What a shitty world."

Kiwi stood under the platform, sheltering from the city's acid rain. The smell in the air was far more pungent than the rural fields, but for some reason, it felt strangely reassuring.

Can I really not escape this place after all?

With a cigarette in her mouth, the reflection of the city's colorful neon lights in her eyes appeared increasingly lost.

A frivolous voice from the side interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey babe, you open for business?"

This was a standard piece of Night City bottom-tier trash, with all sorts of miscellaneous cyberware exposed. It felt like you'd catch a virus just by looking at him once; drugs and implants had ravaged him until only a shell remained.

"Get lost."

Kiwi didn't even give him a second look, muttering to herself.

Night City is really getting more and more degenerate.

In the past, they'd at least give a price first. Nowadays, the city trash just thinks about getting it for free.

"Don't be like that. I just got a second-hand Big Steel Cannon installed. I guarantee you'll love it."

The man said as he vulgarly groped his crotch.

As everyone knows, in Night City.

One is one, but two is definitely not two.

Kiwi's eyelids lifted slightly, and her Cybernetic Eye flickered briefly as they landed on the man, easily uncovering all his information.

Then she saw sparks and electricity fly from the man's lower body.

"Your junk is about to blow."

Kiwi gave a flat reminder.

"What?!"

The man also noticed the terrifying situation, but before he could take any effective action, an explosion rang out.

"Aaaagh—!!"

The man's wail echoed throughout the street.

Anyone with a shred of empathy would feel pity upon hearing this emotional cry of misery.

You see, although the Big Steel Cannon was just a cybernetic implant, it was connected to the user's nerves. Otherwise, there would be no pleasure feedback, and it would truly become a pure piston motion.

And most of the time, people who equipped a Big Steel Cannon would turn the sensory feedback up to the maximum.

Clearly, this city trash had done the same.

The intense pain had long since exceeded the mental threshold he could bear, and being poor, it was even more impossible for him to add any insurance to his nervous system.

The result was predictable.

After that one scream, the man lay straight on the ground, with only enough strength left to twitch, looking extremely miserable.

However, in Night City, if you randomly grabbed ten people, it would be hard to scrape together half a heart of sympathy.

Upon hearing the man's scream, most people in the surrounding area immediately started recording and taking photos, uploading them to various platforms.

For a moment, the internet was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Even in Night City, such a 'dick-blowing' event didn't happen every day.

At most, once a week.

Watching this scene, Kiwi's mood suddenly improved a lot.

Sure enough, the world's happiness is conserved.

Actually, this didn't have much to do with Kiwi. She just gave a little push, at most accelerating the outcome.

The main problem was this Big Steel Cannon; its seller had performed a large number of illegal and dangerous modifications on it.

Such a distinct modification style was more like a technical signature.

It was hard not to suspect that this was intentionally meant to kill the user so that the Big Steel Cannon could flow back to the seller's hands more quickly.

Night City truly has many talents.

Even this kind of circular economic model has been developed.

Soon, the Scavengers hiding in the city's shadows emerged like carrion-eating cockroaches and rats to drag the man's body away.

In less than ten minutes, this city would decompose this still-warm corpse into a pile of biological parts.

Kiwi watched this scene without her eyes moving an inch, murmuring.

"What a huge rain."

These words sounded more like she was finding an excuse for herself.

When she left Night City, Kiwi hadn't told anyone, wanting to disappear from their world alone. But who would have thought that after leaving for such a short time, she would have to come running back with her tail between her legs.

After leaving Night City, she discovered that everywhere outside was also Night City.

No, it was even worse than Night City.

As a dignified senior cyber Netrunner of Night City, she still had some pride.

So... with such a big rain, it shouldn't be too much to make a phone call and ask for a temporary place to stay, right?

Cyber Netrunners do have pride, but only a little bit.

After setting her psychological expectations, Kiwi finally dialed a certain someone's number through her neural link.

However, after waiting for a moment, a sweet female voice responded.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is out of the service area..."

"...Fuck!!"

Kiwi grabbed her hair and cursed, seriously suspecting that Chen Nuo had blocked her.

That guy is definitely capable of doing something like that.

However, when she dialed Lucy's number and got the same response, she knew. This dog couple was ninety percent likely off on a romantic trip to the Moon.

"This is a bit of a headache."

Kiwi was a bit frustrated. Maine and the others were still lying low outside. Other than them, there wasn't a single person left in all of Night City she could trust.

More importantly, most of her assets were stored under her previous disguised identity.

To fight her way out of the town, that identity had been put on the wanted list, and the assets under its name were naturally all frozen.

You could say that Kiwi had now returned to square one.

Just as Kiwi was thinking about how to spend the night, a luxury rayfield caliburn car stopped in front of her.

Under her confused gaze, the window slowly rolled down, and Delamain's highly recognizable voice came from the empty driver's seat.

"Good evening, Miss Kiwi. Welcome back."

"..."

"Miss Kiwi, are you crying? Please forgive me for not having hands to offer you a tissue right now."

"Shut up, my Cybernetic Eye had that function removed long ago. It's just this damn acid rain!!"