"Good morning, Night City!"
"Yesterday's body count lottery rounded out at a solid thirty!"
"Thanks to the never-ending gang wars..."
Click.
Jackie switched off the radio.
"Good morning, my fucking ass. What a load of bullshit. More than thirty people came after us yesterday alone, and I don't even know if three of them survived..."
"The lottery's a scam. Body count lottery, my ass. The only people who win are high-ranking NCPD cops. They've all got connections.
You know, people say they rig the numbers in the draw..."
V chimed in from the sidelines, though she looked pretty rough. She was covered in injuries, and her gun hand had been blasted into a bloody mess.
Now she looked like a Nomad, with her clothes all torn and ragged.
The three of them had finally found a long-abandoned house in the Badlands and rested there overnight. The good thing about the place was that it had a couch and a bed.
The bad thing was that it had nothing else but trash, which made them feel like trash themselves.
"You've got some nerve talking!" Jackie wanted to snap angrily, but he simply didn't have the energy.
"Why shouldn't I talk? Don't you think that was a blast?"
Jackie folded his arms across his chest and said sourly, "This was a smuggling job! We were supposed to get through safe and sound! Instead, Militech and Arasaka both showed up, along with a Basilisk!
Fuck, they don't even need that thing to deal with Cyberpsychosis!"
"Then you'll have to pay extra-we're all still alive, aren't we?"
V pushed herself up from the couch, in great spirits, and patted Jackie on the shoulder. "All right, brother. Honestly, we did use your customs paperwork, but look where we are now.
We pulled it off! Don't bother paying me, either. Since you've been so straight with us, I can't let you come away empty-handed."
As she finished speaking, blue light flashed in her Cyber-Eye, and Jackie immediately received a notification.
[Transfer: +5,000 Eddies]
Jackie froze. "Holy shit... that much?"
The transfer left Jackie dazed-he could have sworn he was the client.
He quickly caught on. "Wait a minute, so you guys..."
[Transfer: +5,000 Eddies]
V stood on tiptoe and threw an arm around Jackie. "Come on, brother. You've already pulled off a big score. It just hasn't sunk in yet. Once we move this shipment, we'll make another bundle. What more could you ask for?
Exciting life, exciting pay."
Jackie was speechless. The anger remedy called "Eddie Gold" worked far too well.
Besides, his own job didn't even pay that much.
Jackie sighed. "You know, V, you're actually not that much of an asshole."
"Aw, listen to you-we'll leave once Lier wakes up."
"This friend of yours looks pretty sickly," Jackie said bluntly. "Last night, neither of you was in any shape to see how the car came crashing in. If I hadn't still been awake, that car would've been totaled."
"Well, I'll let him explain that himself-but don't let his looks fool you. We couldn't have done it without him."
Lier was actually already awake. He just couldn't move, or even open his eyes.
In fact, ever since he'd installed that strange Sandevistan in Atlanta, his whole body had been in pain.
And whenever he used it, his body entered a state of excruciating pain and went rigid like a corpse.
Fortunately, he had his cheat. The kind of pain that should have driven someone mad barely affected him mentally-a strange sensation.
As he felt the stiffness recede, an intense tingling spread throughout Lier's body.
Listening to V and Jackie's conversation, he felt something was off-hadn't these two buddies' lines changed just a little?
If our roles were reversed, I'd show you what having money meant?
"Hah-"
With his body back to normal, he drew a long breath, then let it out.
"Finally awake-don't go dying before we even get to Night City." V's words sounded harsh, but it was clear she genuinely cared about Lier.
"I won't die-though I might any second now. Where are we?"
Jackie said, "An abandoned farm in the Badlands. V said to wait until you woke up before deciding what to do."
Rubbing between his brows, Lier asked, "Have you opened the cargo yet? I mean yours."
Both shook their heads, but after exchanging a glance with V, Jackie made up his mind-they might as well open it.
The owner surely wouldn't want his delivery opened, but at this point, who gave a fuck about the owner?
This smuggling job only paid 4,000 Eddies to begin with, or 5,000 including reimbursement for the bribes. Risk his life for that little?
Jackie wasn't stupid-he'd be better off finding a fixer and selling it himself.
As for Lier, he simply wondered whether the butterfly effect might have changed things so that the crate didn't actually contain an Iguana.
But... the crate did indeed contain an Iguana.
As Jackie touched the crate's switch, Arasaka's logo appeared on the cargo information strip.
"Holy shit, an extinct Iguana! Looks like he's from the Lesser Antilles, too! We're rich!"
"So..." V had another question. "Arasaka chased us for miles over one lousy lizard, and even went up against Militech?"
"This isn't some lousy lizard. He's an endangered animal..." Halfway through, Jackie also felt something was off. "But yeah, that still doesn't justify all this."
Lier kept rubbing his brow, trying to organize his thoughts.
If he couldn't figure this out, he feared he wouldn't be able to sleep.
"Based on what we know so far, my only guess is that Militech's attempt to rob us drew Arasaka's attention.
Maybe Arasaka's been watching Militech lately, waiting to see which smugglers they'd target so they could swoop in first?"
Jackie asked, "Why would they be watching Militech?"
"...My guess... is that it might have to do with Atlanta. Arasaka might think what happened in Atlanta was a very serious matter. After all, the official story is that Kang Tao attacked Militech.
Following that line of reasoning, they must really, really need dirt on Militech right now, or some other information along those lines.
But... that still raises more questions-why do they need that information so badly?"
Pressing between his brows, Lier suddenly remembered something-
In the coming year, 2077, Arasaka would be exposed in a scandal: they had installed an electromagnetic launch system on the moon.
But in this world, the European Space Agency was the only organization permitted to build and operate such a system.
Militech discovered it and reported it to the European Space Agency, prompting an intimidating investigation from Europe.
It was early 2076 now... Had Arasaka noticed something? Was that why they were so sensitive to every piece of news about Militech?
But... Militech's biggest scandal was actually its secret meddling with the Blackwall alongside the NUSA. What did that have to do with him?
This world held far too many conspiracies and lies. Being caught in the middle of them, Lier didn't find the mysteries any fewer just because he'd crossed over from another world. On the contrary, the butterfly effect might whip up a storm.
"On the surface, I think that explanation holds up well enough... but forget it. Guessing here won't get us anywhere.
For now, let's talk about how to move the stolen goods here-starting with the Iguana. Who are you planning to sell him to?"
Jackie shrugged. "The fixer I trust is Padre-oh, right, I guess you guys don't know him..."
"Who says we don't?" V suddenly said. "Jackie, here's the thing. I'm from Heywood, too. Padre and I go way back."
Jackie was dumbfounded.
He pointed at V, then at Lier.
"So... you're not even Nomads? You're from Night City?"
Lier spread his hands. "That's right. Okay, stop getting hung up on that. We'll sell the cargo to Padre, then, though we'll have to wait a while before moving the Smart Weapons.
Perfect timing, actually. With you two making the introduction, there's something I wanted to ask him."
So... from beginning to end, he was the only sucker kept in the dark?
Jackie looked at V's wicked grin and Lier's indifferent expression-
He suddenly felt that he'd actually been back in Night City ever since they were over by the Great Wall.
A pair of fucking swindlers.
Ah, Night City. Good morning, my fucking ass.
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