Both of them had expected a fierce battle.
But until they entered Santo Domingo, nothing unexpected happened.
Jack rubbed his bun and laughed. "I didn't expect it to go this smoothly. I thought we'd get an exciting, thrilling chase."
"Save exciting and thrilling for braindances. In real life, it's better not to have either."
Su Xiao also breathed a sigh of relief.
This was his first time helping someone deliver goods.
He didn't know whether the border guards had asked McCoy and the others so many questions when they made deliveries.
Either way, the customs officer had given him a very bad feeling.
That was why he had kept his weapon in hand the entire journey.
Jack was tense too, and his foot never left the accelerator.
Fortunately, the whole trip had been peaceful.
Night City was divided into several districts.
Jack lived in Heywood.
Entering Night City from the south required passing through Pacifica or Santo Domingo before reaching Heywood.
Pacifica was closer in terms of distance.
But Jack would rather take the long way through Santo Domingo than use the shortcut.
"Why?"
"It's like a war zone over there. There are firefights every day, and people die every hour. Even the NCPD doesn't go there."
"Doesn't the mayor do anything about it? What about the army? Can't they help?"
"Night City doesn't have an army. As for the mayor, it's not like he's completely ignored the problem."
"How did he deal with it?"
"He cut Pacifica loose and declared that it was no longer part of Night City. That reduced the number of shootings and the murder rate by a great deal, and it earned him quite a few votes."
Su Xiao: "..."
He felt that he might never understand how Western politicians' minds worked.
"It won't take us much farther. We'll be there soon, so don't worry. Santo Domingo's security is much better than Pacifica's. Nothing will happen."
Jack had barely finished speaking.
A Godtler Sedan sped past the car carrying Su Xiao and Jack.
Then two black SUVs carrying muscular men chased after it.
The doors of the muscle cars were painted with the insignia of the Animal Gang.
"This is what you call good security?"
Jack looked a little embarrassed.
"Maybe they're heading somewhere to take part in a gang war. Don't worry, they won't start shooting on the overpass..."
This time, Jack didn't even finish speaking before a burst of gunfire brutally cut him off.
The Animal Gang members in the black SUVs didn't care that they were on a highway. They raised light machine guns and fired at the Godtler Sedan ahead.
Bullets flew everywhere, punching countless holes in the Godtler Sedan.
Yet the Godtler Sedan that had come under attack seemed completely unharmed.
Instead, just as the light machine gun's ammunition belt ran dry, a little girl with twin ponytails poked her upper body out of the sedan's roof.
She held a brightly colored kinetic shotgun.
She blew one of the black SUVs apart in a single blast.
The other black SUV hurried around to the side of the Godtler Sedan.
The Godtler Sedan whipped around in a vicious drift and pinned the black SUV against the guardrail of the overpass.
The guardrail and the SUV's body scraped against each other, throwing off fierce sparks.
Then an arm extended from the sedan's window.
The arm transformed, revealing a thick cannon barrel.
The next moment, a burst of flesh exploded from the black SUV's cab.
The driverless SUV spun out of control and rolled several times.
Countless fragments scattered across the road.
The scene was a complete mess.
Fortunately, aside from the two sides involved in the firefight, only Su Xiao and Jack were on the overpass.
As soon as the firefight erupted, Jack slammed on the brakes with practiced ease and reversed to a safe distance.
Only after the fight ended and the Godtler Sedan had driven away did Jack continue forward.
"Looks like the firefight's over." Jack kept staring in the direction the Godtler Sedan had gone. "The driver of that sedan had a Projectile Launch System built into his arm."
Su Xiao could tell that Jack seemed to want one.
"Is that thing expensive?"
"That depends on the model. The newest and most powerful model is obviously the most expensive, but the one that guy used looked like an older version—a Projectile Launch System that was already two generations out of date."
"There was an open firefight on the overpass. Doesn't the NCPD come?"
"This is Santo Domingo, not places with plenty of police like City Center, Charter Hill, or North Oak. In Night City, you can save on anything except weapons and cyberware. Those two things can keep you alive... You should see the look on your face. Relax, okay? You won't need to stay so tense in the future."
"Are you saying Night City's security will improve in the future?"
"I mean that you'll gradually get used to it."
Chapter Twelve: Cola with Ice? Are You Trying to Live a Healthy Life or Something?
Jack's home was in The Glen, Heywood. That was Night City's government district.
It belonged to City Hall.
The area was wealthy and clean, with very little crime.
Peaceful parks stood beside rows of elegant skyscrapers.
But this peaceful scene was limited to the northern section of The Glen, where City Hall was located.
Once you went south, things began to deteriorate.
The buildings along the streets were ugly and shabby, and the area was a breeding ground for crime and poverty.
The Valentino Gang and Sixth Street Gang often fought vicious battles over territory.
Jack drove the car in front of a garage.
"This is where I live. But let's get something to eat first, then take a shower. What do you think?"
Su Xiao naturally had no objections.
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 warn street punks with bad intentions, insufficient brain capacity, and excessive courage.
—"It takes ten minutes to call the police, but only a fraction of a second for me to put a bullet in you. I hope you'll think twice before doing anything stupid."
Just from those words alone, one could imagine what kind of person Mrs. Wells was.
Kind, but very forceful.
It was already very late, and even the bar had closed for the night.
Two people were cleaning up inside the bar.
"Peppy, you should head home first. I can finish the rest by myself."
"Sure. Good night, Mrs. Wells."
The bartender Peppy left through the front door.
Mrs. Wells saw Jack bringing a young man in through the back door.
She immediately stopped cleaning and frowned. "Jack, why are you getting home so late again?"
"It was for work. Work required it."
"That still doesn't mean you can stay out so late. Do you know how worried I was?"
"iVirgen santísimo, ma—oh my God, Mom—stop lecturing me. I'm fine, aren't I? I'm perfectly fine."
Seeing that his mother still had more to say, Jack hurriedly pushed Su Xiao forward.
"Come on, let me introduce you. This is Su. Su, this is my mother. You can call her Mrs. Wells."
"Good evening, Mrs. Wells."
How could Mrs. Wells fail to understand her son's little scheme?
She shot Jack a glare, then smiled and reached out to shake Su Xiao's hand.
"I can tell you two have been through a lot. Go take a shower first. I'll get you something to eat."
Su Xiao thanked her and went upstairs to the bathroom.
After showering, he came downstairs to find Jack and Mrs. Wells sitting around a table.
Several Mexican burritos had been laid out on the table.
"Su, you finally came out. Come and try my mom's cooking."
Su Xiao sat down at the table.
"Aren't you going to shower first?"
"No rush. I'll fill my stomach first."
Mrs. Wells stood up. "Would you like something to drink, Su?"
"Do you have cola? If not, water is fine."
"Mom, bring me a glass of ginger beer while you're at it."
"Look at him, then look at you. It's so late, and you're still drinking. Don't you care about your health?"
Jack grinned and didn't argue.
She said that, but Mrs. Wells still brought Jack his drink.
Although the drink in the glass was barely as tall as the lens of a severely nearsighted person's glasses.
"You two take your time eating. I'm going to bed."
"Good night, Mom."
"Good night, Mrs. Wells."
After eating and drinking their fill, Su Xiao returned to the garage with Jack after Jack had showered.
The garage had two rooms. The outer room was both a garage and a gym.
Several posters of beautiful women hung on the walls.
There was another room inside where Jack slept.
There was no bed, only a sofa.
Jack generously gave the sofa to Su Xiao and slept on the floor himself.
"Good morning, Night City!"
Before you continue