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"This is quite the makeover for us, isn't it? Now we can even use Delamain for travel."
On the road to Watson District, Jax and his group rented two cars. Since they didn't have their own vehicles at the moment, they had to rely on Delamain for transportation.
Two cars, of course, weren't enough to fit everyone, so Dorio and the others were still waiting.
Currently, the two cars held Jax, Maine, Sasha, Lucy, Gloria, David, Jackie, and Anna. The rest, like Kiwi, Dorio, Pilar, and Rebecca, were left behind.
Rebecca, surprisingly, didn't make a fuss about being left behind. She just stomped her feet sullenly beside Dorio.
As for the reason, it was, of course, because Rebecca also understood that now was not the time to throw a tantrum.
After they went ahead, they weren't going to meet Jax and the others at Lizzies Bar. Instead, they were going to rent an apartment in Watson District and find a place to live.
During the month Jax was away from Night City, his apartment had already been repossessed by Night Corp because he hadn't paid rent for a month.
In Night City, you can owe water bills, electricity bills, appliance bills, and internet bills, but you absolutely cannot owe rent!
Because of this, finding a new apartment to live in was very important for everyone.
"Instead of talking about old Del, I have a question," Jackie said.
"Go ahead, what's the question?" Maine asked with a chuckle.
Jackie said, "Jax, what's up with that weapon of yours? Back at the 6th Street Gang's place, your weapon... it changed from a blade to a gun, right? Damn, how did it do that?"
Jackie asked with a curious expression.
He was genuinely very curious!
A black curved blade suddenly turning into a pistol, and then being able to fire?
Damn, Jackie had never seen such a weapon in his life. No, let alone seen it, he hadn't even heard of it, alright?
As soon as Jackie asked, Sasha and Lucy, who were sitting beside Jax, both looked at Jax with curiosity.
In Jax's car, the back seat was still the same; he was surrounded by the two netrunners from the team.
Jackie was sitting in the front, while Maine was in the other car, sharing it with Gloria, David, and Anna.
Hearing this, Maine also said, "Jax, that weapon of yours... if I'm not mistaken, it's a gunblade Pilar made for you, right?"
"Pilar doesn't have that kind of craftsmanship, and Viktor certainly doesn't either. So, how exactly did you get that weapon?"
Jax immediately hesitated. It wasn't that he wanted to hide it from Maine and the others; they had faced life and death together, trusting each other immensely. But... how should he explain it?
It really wasn't easy to explain to Maine and the others...
Should he say he was a transmigrator? That he had a golden finger?
Damn, it would be weird if they didn't think he was crazy.
"This weapon..."
"What's there to be confused about? Shoko already said it at the time, didn't she? This is a product made using knowledge from the Old Net.
And I remember seeing something online about a special technology called nanotechnology, which can use miniature robots for structural reorganization." Sasha immediately said.
Just by glancing at Jax's expression, Sasha, who often treated Jax like a rocking horse, could tell his current dilemma, so she quickly spoke up to help him out.
Beside her, Lucy pondered for two seconds and then said, "I've had experience in the Old Net, and such technology does exist."
Hmm... it does exist, but Lucy remembered from the fragmented knowledge she had, that so-called nanotechnology was used to repair the human body with particles, not used like Jax's weapon...:
But obviously, Lucy wouldn't say this out loud.
"So, what I'm asking is, how did he get it?" Maine grumbled.
Alright, nanotechnology, it sounds very high-tech, but was that what Maine wanted to know?
He wanted to know how Jax inexplicably possessed such technology!
Many people said Adam Smasher also had a gravity device on him. Maine didn't know the principle of that thing, but he knew who gave Adam Smasher that thing: Arasaka.
But what about Jax?
He didn't have a corporate background, so where did he get such high technology?
Oh, no, he did have one now. Isn't Arasaka Michiko the crew's background now?
But then another problem arose: that weapon appeared first; they met Arasaka Michiko later!
"Ask, ask, what the hell are you asking about?!" Sasha suddenly hissed.
"Instead of dwelling on this question, you might as well wonder why a pistol can have self-awareness, swear, and argue.
And why a pistol doesn't need bullets but can consume euros from your pocket to act as bullets!" Sasha shouted.
Maine: "..."
"Damn!" It was Jackie. He turned to Sasha and asked seriously, "Yeah, why is that?"
"?"
Sasha gave Jackie a questioning look.
"You're asking me?"
At once, Maine and Jackie really started discussing why a pistol could use euros as bullets...
Could a pistol even have a special interface net connection? Even if it did, where would the bullets come from?
That completely defied logic!
It was afternoon. Lizzies Bar usually opened at 6 PM, but in the afternoon, there were already many people at Lizzies.
The Moxes sisters would arrive early at Lizzies to help out and solicit work, as many Moxes members' main profession was still being sex workers.
But unlike sex workers who stood on the streets, because they were organized, the Moxes members didn't need to dress provocatively and stand on the streets to attract customers.
They only needed to accept outsourced jobs from the foreman and then go to work.
However, when Jax arrived at Lizzies, he found that there were far fewer people there. Lizzies front door was ajar, and several women were standing outside.
"I gave Susie Q a heads-up beforehand."
Anna reached out and patted Jax's shoulder, winking playfully at him: "Go on, Susie Q and Kolina really missed you. Oh right, and Wheeler."
Jax pursed his lips and looked up at the women standing in front.
Susie Q, Kolina, Wheeler, and... Judy.
Walking forward, Jax reached Susie Q's front.
Susie Q stared intently at Jax, then suddenly raised her hand, as if to slap him on the head.
Jax didn't dodge, just quietly looked at Susie Q, but that hand, adorned with pink spikes, branded with black iron, and with light blue fingertips, merely rested on Jax's head.
Rubbing Jax's head vigorously, Susie Q said in a calm tone, "Have you eaten?"
Jax paused for a moment, then shook his head.
"Let's go. When Anna called, I already had food prepared," Susie Q said softly, withdrawing her hand.
Kolina, on the side, smiled at Jax.
Wheeler stepped forward, grabbed Jax's arm, and led him towards Lizzies.
"Come on, everyone, come in," Kolina said, looking at Maine and the others.
In the underground space of Lizzies, Maine and the others were being hosted by Kolina, enjoying a lavish spread of food and drinks. After a few bites, Jax was led by Susie Q to her office.
Sitting in the boss's chair, Susie Q clasped her hands over her stomach, looked at Jax, and said, "Tell me."
"Tell you what?" Jax wiped food crumbs from the corner of his mouth and looked up at Susie Q.
Susie Q gave a cold laugh and continued, "Of course, tell me about all the big troubles you've stirred up."
"Killing an Arasaka executive in front of the entire Night City. At first, there was an interference device covering your face, but the 54 reporters were so close, their anti-interference devices worked. Why didn't you just kill the person and run away quickly, instead of saying all that inexplicable stuff?"
Jax, what exactly is in your head? Yes, it made you famous, you pulled a big stunt.
Everyone in Night City knows there's a lunatic among the edgerunners, daring to kill a corporate executive in front of the media, and even threatening to oppose the corporation and never surrender. Why did you do...:" Susie Q said, then suddenly stopped.
She pushed her hair back from her forehead, sighed, and said, "Is it because of the Moxes?"
Jax nodded and said, "But this trouble was indeed caused by me. That corporate dog I killed had designs on me. He somehow found out about my connection with the Moxes, so he used the Moxes to force me out."
"Since I caused this, of course, I have to solve it."
"Your way of solving it... my heart really can't take it," Susie Q said, pointing to her chest. She continued, "I'm already very old, I can't take it, understand?"
Jax smiled.
"What about now? A few days after you disappeared, the news stopped reporting on you, and Tanaka's death was defined as an internal corporate dispute, saying you were hired by another Arasaka executive to kill him.
Damn it, it was as if a hand deliberately covered up what you did. So, has everything been resolved?"
"More or less," Jax chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I met a big shot, and she stepped in to negotiate with the corporation, helping me resolve these troubles. The NCPD won't pursue me, and Arasaka won't openly target me anymore."
Susie Q laughed at his words, a hint of sarcasm in her eyes. "That's right, only the legitimate powers can suppress the legitimate powers. Sometimes, I really think these legitimate powers are even more fucked up than the underworld. The privileges of the big shots are beyond our imagination."
Susie Q looked at Jax and asked again, "So, what do you plan to do next?"
"Deal with the Tyger Claws." Jax took a deep breath. He looked at Susie Q and said, "I've tolerated them for too long. I'm going to drive all of them out of Night City."
"Is that an order from the big shot behind you?"
"More or less. Anyway, my actions will become much more high-profile from now on. And I'm very strong now, Susie Q, you don't have to worry about my safety. Plus, the people in my crew are all very capable; they'll do this with me." Jax smiled at Susie Q.
Currently, among Maine's crew, after Shoko's training, even Kiwi, who was relatively weaker, had made significant progress. Among the combat personnel, Dorio's growth was average, but Rebecca had truly become a monster... To put it this way, according to the tabletop game's setting, a person's empathy determines how many cybernetics they can install. For example, in the anime, the official once stated that David's uniqueness was due to his strong empathy. Gloria's care and love, although not giving David a great life in Night City, ensured he never suffered. Therefore, David's heart was kind and pure.
And Rebecca was even more special; her empathy was comparable to, if not greater than, David's.
She was the kind of person who would accidentally get caught in a gang shootout because of a small animal, and she would also let an opponent go during a mission if she felt pity for them.
Rebecca's father's assessment of her was very apt—she would one day die because of her kindness.
Therefore, Rebecca's "empathy" allowed her to install and adapt to many cybernetics.
Damn it... If this continues, won't Rebecca become Night City's new 'Letter Sister'? Like... the famous R!
However, Rebecca also had a small problem at the moment: she had replaced too many cybernetics at once back at Americas Jaguar Fortress.
It wasn't that she would lose control, but Rebecca's accuracy with firearms was significantly lower now.
But Rebecca obviously didn't care; as she put it, "Let the bullets fly!" Fast rate of fire, high damage... Screw it, if I miss, I miss. It's good enough if I don't hurt myself!
Rebecca's style was all about doing whatever she wanted...
"What do you plan to do?"
"First, I need to reorganize, then I have to go see Rogue. I have some things to talk about with Rogue, and after taking down the Tyger Claws, how to divide their territory is a very important matter. The Moxes can't take it all, can they?" Jax pondered and said.
After taking down the Tyger Claws, Jax would, of course, give their territory to the Moxes. What else?
Give it to the Animals and the Maelstrom?
Susie Q's mouth twitched as she listened.
Jax and his crew were only a few people, but they were already thinking about reorganizing territory after taking down a large gang of thousands?
"What about the people you brought? Gloria and that kid named David, are they staying here?" Susie Q asked Jax.
Because of Jax, Susie Q had learned about the Martinez mother and son, and thus, she knew that neither of them were combatants.
"Yes, I hope you can look after Gloria and David for a while. They can't go back to Santo Domingo right now; they killed quite a few 6th Street Gang members and took down a 6th Street Gang Captain on the way here," Jax voluntarily explained.
This couldn't be hidden; it wouldn't even wait until tomorrow, tonight, the news would be all over the streets.
Gunner was a big boss after all. With him dead, the 6th Street Gang would be in chaos. The Valentinos in Heywood and the Tyger Claws in Japantown would know immediately, and the news of Jax's return would spread throughout the city overnight.
"Shit!" Susie Q cursed, but then she said, "Forget it, I really can't control you now. Do whatever you want."
Susie Q rubbed her hair, saying, "The Moxes can't offer you much help, but Anna and Wheeler should be able to assist you. If you need anything, just say the word. Oh, and our radio station in Dogtown can also be useful."
Jax smiled and nodded.
"I understand."
Susie Q waved her hand. "Alright, get out. Let me digest this by myself."
Jax stood up, looked at Susie Q, hesitated for a moment, then walked over, leaned down, and gently hugged Susie Q.
Susie Q, who was looking down, stiffened, clearly surprised for a moment. Then, she looked up and said grumpily, "Get lost!"
But her hand gently patted Jax's back twice.
Jax laughed heartily, stood up, turned around, pushed open the door, and walked out.
Walking towards the room where Maine and the others were, Jax began to think about what he needed to do next.
When he first arrived in this world, Jax truly had only one thought: to protect the Moxes.
Because Jax truly, truly couldn't like this world, a world where people were worse than dogs, and the lower class was as lowly as weeds.
Jax lived out of place; he couldn't stand anything that happened in Night City.
But everyone thought it was natural, normal.
Therefore, Jax couldn't change them, but he also couldn't change himself.
His only connection to this world at that time was the Moxes.
At that time, Jax was content with his lot, only wanting to stay with the Moxes. What the outside world became...
It had nothing to do with him, because he didn't have the ability to do anything to change the status quo.
But now it was different.
Getting to know Maine, Jackie, Sasha, Lucy, Rebecca, after stepping into the life of an edgerunner, it seemed... everything began to change.
The people he wanted to protect grew more numerous, and the people he confided in grew more numerous.
His own heart gradually revived and burned from a pile of dead ashes.
Protection now was, in the end, just a defensive posture, always falling into passivity. Only by gaining control, like V in the game becoming the King of the City, could he truly stand above the rules.
Those who couldn't control the rules didn't even have the right to speak...:
Clenching his fists, Jax smiled.
Susie Q thought she had provoked the Tyger Claws and the 6th Street Gang...:
But in reality, what Jax wanted now... was this city.
He wanted Night City.
The deal with Arasaka Michiko, the agreed two-year period, was merely a fuse. From the moment Jax killed Tanaka with a heart aflame, he could no longer live a peaceful life.
Unless he took everyone to the Badlands now and established a new nomad family... No, that probably wouldn't work either.
Because Panam Palmer and Saul's storyline in the game had already clearly shown that even in the desolate, godforsaken Badlands, the corporations' long reach was everywhere.
Biotechnica, Stormtech, and even Zetatech, weren't they all squeezing the nomads' living space?
In this world where farming in your own backyard was a crime, don't even think about having a stable place to call your own.
Shaking his head, Jax reached out and patted his cheek.
He was thinking too far ahead all at once.
He had just returned, and Maine's crew didn't even have a territory. Speaking of which, it was a bit funny.
Maine had once said he wanted to open an office in Santo Domingo, but it still hadn't materialized.
But... perhaps opening it in Watson District wouldn't be bad either?
You couldn't be a mercenary your whole life, and Jax... also didn't intend to be a mercenary his whole life.
So, let's start by changing Night City.
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