Starting from Night City

They both thought there would be a tough fight.

As a result, nothing unexpected happened until they entered Santo Domingo.

Jack patted his bun and laughed, "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. I thought there would be an exciting chase."

"Let's find excitement in a dive, not in reality," Su Xiao said.

Su Xiao also breathed a sigh of relief.

This was his first time delivering goods for someone.

He didn't know if customs officers would ask so many questions when McCoy and the others delivered goods.

Either way, he felt uneasy about the customs officer.

Therefore, he kept his weapon in hand the entire way.

Jack was also on edge, his foot never leaving the gas pedal.

Fortunately, the journey was calm and uneventful.

Night City is divided into several districts.

Jack lives in "Heywood."

To enter Heywood from the south, one must pass through "Pacifica" or "Santo Domingo."

In terms of distance, Pacifica is closer.

But Jack would rather take the long way around through Santo Domingo than take the shortcut.

"Why?"

"That place is like a war zone, with constant firefights every day. People die there every hour, and even the NCPD doesn't go there."

"Doesn't the mayor do anything? What about the army, can't they help?"

"There's no army in Night City. As for the mayor, he hasn't completely abandoned it."

"Then how does he manage it?"

"He declared Pacifica separate, announcing it no longer belonged to Night City. This significantly reduced shootings and murders, earning him a lot of votes."

Su Xiao: "..."

He felt he would never understand how the minds of Western politicians worked.

"It's not much further, we'll be there soon. Don't worry, Santo Domingo's public safety is much better than Pacifica's. Everything will be fine."

As soon as Jack finished speaking.

A Godtler Sedan sped past the car Su Xiao and Jack were in.

Immediately after, two black SUVs carrying muscular men closely followed.

The sides of the muscle cars were marked with the Animal Gang's insignia.

"This is what you call good public safety?"

Jack looked a bit embarrassed.

"Maybe they're going somewhere to start a gang war. Don't worry, they won't shoot on the overpass..."

This time, Jack didn't even finish his sentence before the intense gunfire rudely interrupted him.

The Animal Gang members in the black SUVs ignored the fact that they were on a highway and opened fire with light machine guns at the Godtler Sedan ahead.

Flying bullets riddled the Godtler Sedan with countless holes.

However, the attacked Godtler Sedan seemed unharmed.

Instead, as the light machine gun's ammunition ran out, a twin-tailed loli popped out from the roof of the sedan.

The loli held a colorful Kinetic Shotgun.

She directly blew up one of the black SUVs.

The other black SUV quickly maneuvered to the side of the Godtler Sedan.

The Godtler Sedan executed a sharp drift, pinning the black SUV against the overpass's guardrail.

Fierce sparks flew as the guardrail scraped against the body of the black SUV.

Then, an arm extended from the sedan's window.

The arm contorted, revealing a thick cannon barrel.

The next moment, the cockpit of the black SUV exploded in a shower of flesh and blood.

Without a driver, the SUV tumbled several times uncontrollably.

Countless fragments scattered across the ground.

A complete mess.

Fortunately, on this overpass, besides the participants of the shootout, there were only Su Xiao and Jack.

As the gunfight erupted, Jack expertly slammed on the brakes and reversed to a safe distance.

Jack only continued driving after the fight ended and the Godtler Sedan had driven away.

"Looks like the gunfight's over," Jack said, his eyes still fixed on the direction the Godtler Sedan had gone. "The driver of that sedan actually had a Projectile Launch System built into his arm."

Su Xiao saw that Jack seemed to really want it.

"Is that thing expensive?"

"It depends on the model. The newest, most powerful, and most advanced models are certainly the most expensive, but what that guy was using looked like a Projectile Launch System that was two versions behind."

"A blatant gunfight on the overpass, aren't the NCPD going to show up?"

"This is Santo Domingo, not places with heavy police presence like 'City Center,' 'Charter Hill,' or 'North Oak.' So in Night City, you can skimp on anything but weapons and cybernetics. Those two things can save your life... You should look at your expression, relax, okay? You won't need to be so tense from now on."

"Are you saying the security in Night City will get better in the future?"

"I mean, you'll just get used to it slowly."

Chapter 12 Coke with Ice? Are You Trying to Live a Healthy Lifestyle Here?

Jack's home was in the Glen district of Heywood, which was Night City's government district.

It belonged to the City Hall located there.

This place was wealthy, clean, and had little crime.

Tranquil parks stood adjacent to a row of elegant skyscrapers.

But this peaceful scene was limited to the northern section of the Glen, the location of City Hall.

If you went south, the situation started to get worse.

The buildings on the street were ugly and shabby, and they were a breeding ground for crime and poverty.

The Valentino Gang and the Sixth Street Gang often fought fiercely to gain territory.

Jack drove the car to a garage.

"This is where I live, but let's grab something to eat and take a shower first, what do you think?"

Su Xiao had no objections, of course.

The Wolf Bar, not far from the garage, was run by Jack's mother, Mrs. Wells.

On the back door, a prominent warning was written in Spanish, English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, specifically to deter street thugs with ill intentions and more guts than brains.

-- "It takes ten minutes to call the police, but I can give you a bullet in 0.1 seconds. I hope you'll think before you do anything irrational."

Just this one warning was enough to imagine Mrs. Wells's personality.

Good, very assertive.

It was already very late, and even the bar had closed.

Inside the bar, two people were cleaning up.

"Peppy, you should head back. I can finish the rest by myself."

"Alright, goodnight, Mrs. Wells."

Peppy the bartender left through the front door.

Mrs. Wells saw Jack and a young man enter through the back door.

She immediately stopped cleaning, frowning, "Jack, why are you back so late again?"

"Work requires it, work requires it."

"You still can't stay out this late. Do you know how worried I get?"

"iVirgen santísimo, ma(My goodness, Mom), stop lecturing me. I'm fine, aren't I? Perfectly fine."

Seeing that his mother still had more to say, Jack quickly pushed Su Xiao forward.

"Here, let me introduce you. This is Su. Su, this is my mother, you can call her Mrs. Wells."

"Good evening, Mrs. Wells."

Mrs. Wells couldn't help but understand her son's little intentions.

She glared at Jack, then broke into a smile and extended her hand to shake Su Xiao's.

"I can tell you've been through a lot. Go take a shower first, and I'll get you something to eat."

Su Xiao thanked her and headed to the bathroom upstairs.

After showering and coming down, Jack and Mrs. Wells were sitting around a table.

There were also several Mexican burritos on the table.

"Su, you're finally out. Come try my mom's cooking."

Su Xiao walked over to the table and sat down.

"Aren't you going to take a shower first?"

"No rush, let's fill our stomachs first."

Mrs. Wells stood up, "Would you like something to drink, Su?"

"Do you have Coke? If not, water is fine too."

"Mom, grab me a ginger ale while you're at it."

"Look at him, then look at you. Drinking this late, are you trying to ruin your health?"

Jack chuckled, not arguing back.

Despite her words, Mrs. Wells still brought Jack his drink.

Although the alcohol in the glass was about as high as a prescription for severe nearsightedness.

"Alright, you two eat slowly. I'm going to bed."

"Bye, Mom."

"Goodnight, Mrs. Wells."

After eating and drinking their fill, and once Jack finished showering, Su Xiao and Jack returned to the garage together.

The garage had two rooms. The outer room served as both the garage and a gym.

Several posters of beautiful women were also hung on the wall.

Inside was another room, where Jack slept.

There was no bed, only a sofa.

Jack generously offered the sofa to Su Xiao, opting to sleep on the floor himself.

"Good morning, Night City!"