"Phew, we made it!"
Sitting in the car, Jackie still occasionally turned his head to look back, afraid of seeing several cars rushing out to catch him and drag him back.
It was only when the car had driven far away and he was sure they were safe that Jackie relaxed, slumping back into his seat.
"Thanks, V."
"Don't mention it."
Jackie acted as if nothing had happened, as if he wasn't the one whose butt had almost split in two ten minutes ago, but V felt a little guilty, after all, she was the one who found that broken ladder.
"By the way, didn't you say Berry needed help with something? I think I heard that."
At this moment, Jackie, now at ease, looked at V who was driving and brought up his question.
"Hmm, yes, that's right."
V nodded, and seeing that they had moved on to serious matters, she relayed the information she had gathered to Jackie one by one.
"'Motorcycle Gang'... Hmm, never heard of them."
After hearing V's words, Jackie scratched his head, thinking for a moment, and confirmed he had no recollection of this gang.
"So, what's the plan? Go straight in guns blazing, or try to negotiate first and then start the slaughter?"
However, Jackie was absolutely going to help with this.
Are you kidding? If something happened to Berry, he, as her brother, had to step in.
This wasn't even a choice.
Thus, Jackie immediately prepared to act and asked V if she wanted to start with words or with force.
Both were traditions in Night City.
Negotiate first, fight after the talks fail, or just start fighting immediately.
"Jackie, you certainly have a clear idea."
Hearing Jackie's blunt words, V sighed helplessly.
Although gang members in Night City usually acted like drug-addled idiots, fighting like baboons at the slightest disagreement, going straight for the kill right off the bat was too crazy.
"We can try negotiating first, see if they value their lives and are willing to obediently vacate the territory that doesn't belong to them. After that, if they don't cooperate, we'll handle it the old way."
Jackie nodded upon hearing this.
The old way, naturally, was the method of feeding people bullets.
Resolving conflicts in Night City this way had a hundred percent success rate, much more effective than going to court.
"So, shall we go scare them now?"
Jackie rubbed his hands together, indicating he was ready.
Being cooped up at home for two days was practically killing him; he couldn't wait to smash the nose bridges of a few blind fools to vent some frustration.
"No, we need to prepare before negotiating, especially since the talks might break down."
V, watching the road ahead, her blue eyes flashing with cold light, curved her lips into a cruel smile.
Making her Berry unhappy meant some guys were going to pay the price.
"That's right, V, that's the spirit."
Seeing V's 'spirited' demeanor, Jackie nodded approvingly.
After the last setback, they really needed a fight to lift their spirits, and also to announce to the streets that they, the most vibrant 'Solo' Mercenaries in Watson, were back.
V's beat-up car carried the two of them to the intersection of Watson's Chinatown and Arasaka Waterfront. This area was noticeably quieter compared to the main thoroughfare of Chinatown and Kabuki.
All around them were abandoned factories and dilapidated residential buildings, with only a few scattered pedestrians whose hurried expressions added a tense atmosphere to the street.
After turning two corners on the worn-out road, the target location appeared before them.
The "Royal Flush," an underground casino.
The name sounded classy, but the reality was stark: only a half-collapsed sign outside, half-extinguished and spitting sparks, along with crude graffiti on the filthy walls, indicated this was the target V and Jackie were looking for.
A few heavily tattooed thugs squatting outside, smoking, seemed to be the bouncers. It looked like they hadn't come to the wrong place.
This was a small, three-story detached building, separated from the surrounding residential buildings by a narrow alley. However, there was little difference between them; both had peeling, blackened walls, clearly showing their age.
"Hmm, another den of iniquity, a place where idiots line up to hand over their money." As a Night City native, Jackie naturally knew what kind of place this was. He squinted, observing for a while, searching for places where gang members might be hiding.
There were probably hundreds of underground casinos like this in Night City. Humans could never refuse this form of entertainment that could ruin them; the rush of dopamine caused by the flow of money was something some people simply couldn't resist.
Society had given these people a fitting name: Gamblers.
Gamblers were almost like those addicted to weed; once they caught this affliction, they could barely escape, destined to rot inside until they died.
When they lost money, they cried bitterly, slapping themselves as if trying to beat themselves to death, but as soon as they won a couple of bucks, they rushed back to the casino without a second thought.
Talking about this made Jackie angry.
Firstly, he grew up living in the city and was used to seeing these types; secondly, his own father, who loved to drink, also gambled, which made Jackie hate the activity even more.
"Should we just go straight in?"
Jackie squinted for a long time, making sure these third-rate gang members hadn't placed any lookouts, before confidently asking V.
"No, wait a minute."
Looking at the "Royal Flush" across the street, V was in no hurry to get out of the car. Her eyes flashed blue, and on the Hacker Panel in front of her, she was already remotely hacking the surveillance camera mounted on the corner of the second floor.
Honestly, this Net Access Port produced by Netwatch was the real deal. V had never felt such smooth access when hacking into an opponent's surveillance system.
The entire process was like prying open a virgin's... *cough* *cough*, that analogy isn't quite right. In short, it was incredibly smooth.
"I've hacked into their surveillance system. Now let's see what they're hiding."
V was actually an excellent Hacker, or at least she possessed the talent for it. V discovered this talent after arriving in Night City, as opportunities to deal with networks were quite rare among the Nomads.
V got the hang of hacking very quickly. The complex programs seemed eager to strip off and show themselves, and V could always quickly grasp their operational logic.
Even the highly skilled BUG once praised her talent in this area.
Of course, compared to Berry's near-inhuman talent in Technical Ability, V's skills were practically nothing.
However, it was completely sufficient for dealing with these third-rate gangs whose firewalls were as weak as rotten underwear.
"I've hacked into their monitoring system. Now, let me see what their deal is."
When V finished speaking, Jackie was so surprised that he turned his head in disbelief to look at V in the driver's seat.
What in the world was going on?
In less time than it took him to squint, V claimed she had broken into the opponent's surveillance system. Even diarrhea wasn't that smooth.
Jackie was genuinely shocked.
V also caught sight of Jackie's stunned expression.
"During the surgery, Berry and Viktor swapped out some of my hardware. How should I put it? I upgraded my arsenal."
With V's explanation, Jackie's confusion eased slightly, and he nodded in understanding.
"Hmm, having a rich sugar mama girlfriend is really great,"
Jackie said, sounding slightly envious.
Of course, at this moment, he might have forgotten that his own woman, Misty, was also someone who owned property in Night City.
The rent alone was enough for Misty to live comfortably. Otherwise, how could she live so lavishly relying on her fortune-telling stall, which barely brought in any windfalls?
And if you counted that, Jackie's mother also had a bar waiting for Jackie to inherit.
If you looked at it that way, Jackie was arguably a winner in life; he was practically 'sitting on a gold mine' in Night City.
Honestly, most people with those conditions would just slack off. Why bother coming out to do dangerous street work, risking their heads for a bloody living?
It could only be said that Jackie's dream of becoming a legendary figure in Night City was serious.
He truly envied those legendary Mercenaries who could shock all of Night City with a single explosive moment.
"Alright, stop joking around. Connect to my comms and let's see what's inside this illegal casino."
V ignored Jackie's teasing and simply told him to connect to the comms.
"Got it, coming right up."
Seeing that they were discussing serious business, Jackie immediately focused.
The two of them now viewed the entire casino's surveillance system together.
"Hmm, this casino has quite a few cameras installed."
V frowned, checking the dozen or so probes on the local network, wondering aloud: Did a building less than three stories high need this many sensors?
"Hey, this is a business where money rolls in like a hurricane. It's normal for the boss to be careful."
After hearing Jackie's explanation, V nodded, dropping the subject and simply checking the footage captured by each surveillance probe.
The scene inside the casino quickly appeared before them: noisy music, raucous laughter, and shouting. The interior of the casino was truly a different world from the desolate street outside; it was bustling with activity.
Under the bright lights, rows of slot machine screens rolled with dazzling colors. Individuals, some well-dressed, others in rags, were hunched over the colorful screens, the pale light reflecting on their faces. Their eyes were completely fixated on the screen, pupils dilated and bloodshot, looking much like people who had overdosed on chems.
Slot machines were minor; the real action was at the gambling tables, where stacks of colorful plastic chips piled up, and playing cards, dice, and wooden roulette wheels flew amidst the shouts and spittle.
It was a scene where the twisted greed of humanity was magnified to the extreme, making anyone who watched feel genuine disgust.
V forced herself not to look at the debauched crowd, focusing instead on the tattooed muscle scattered throughout the casino; this was the intelligence she needed to gather.
"Hey, V, that guy is cheating! Hehe, I saw him!"
However, someone seemed to be missing the point.
"Jackie!"
V gritted her teeth as she spoke.
"Oh, oh, yeah, I'm looking at it now,"
Hearing V's dissatisfied tone, Jackie immediately pretended to seriously examine the environment inside.
But, wouldn't you know it, that look actually revealed something significant.
"V, look, why would this casino have something like this?"
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!