Lucy lives in a hotel next to the skyscraper H8 on Japan Street, Westbrook. The price of the top-floor suite is quite high, at least more expensive than Lin Miao’s room.
Just... the color scheme is a bit ambiguous.
Before entering the building, Lin Miao saw large and small pink hearts hanging on the hotel’s decorations, a glaring 18+ sign, transparent rooms on the building’s exterior with sexual dolls dancing lewdly in public, and a row of sexual dolls lined up on the street. He almost thought he had gone to the wrong place.
No one followed him along the way, nor did anyone linger their gaze too long on him, but the sexual dolls’ eyes seemed like they wanted to devour him, making him uncomfortable, because the sexual dolls didn’t distinguish between genders. Muscled men wore pink tank tops and long white socks... shivering.
Lucy should have informed the front desk, as Lin Miao entered without any questioning and took the elevator all the way to the top floor.
The hallway and elevator were filled with strong cheap perfume and the scent of hormones, forcing Lin Miao to hold his breath and quickly search for his target.
703... 703... found it.
Lin Miao stood by the door, pressed the electronic lock on the right side, and said
As soon as he said this, a warning box popped up in his view, simultaneously marking a tiny camera above the door frame.
’Unauthorized scan detected, block it?’
The Dragon Eye’s functionality is really comprehensive...
They had just met the night before; he had no intention of exposing his secrets.
If she didn’t open the door, he could simply find someone else. He didn’t need this hacker.
The mechanical gate slid open to the right, but no one was at the door; only Lucy’s voice could be heard from inside.
Lin Miao stood at the door, scanned inside briefly, confirmed there was only one person in the room, and then walked in.
Lucy came out of the bathroom wrapped in a white towel, still wet all over. Water droplets from her undried silver hair dripped down, flowing from a head to the collarbone, exposing smooth shoulder and neck skin, white tender calves, and footprints on the floor. She walked over to the fridge, took out two bottles of cola, tossed one to Lin Miao, opened one for herself, and took a big gulp.
The cold soda flowed down her throat, contrasting sensation with the body recently drenched in hot water, and sending a stimulation to her tongue, making her feel like her soul had soared.
"Oh wow... indeed, cola must be drunk after exercise or a shower to feel refreshing!"
Lin Miao opened his and tried a sip; he hadn’t tried the stuff for days.
Turns out it was Coca-Cola!
But out of courtesy, he didn’t pour the soda down the drain.
Focusing back on Lucy, she noticed Lin Miao was watching her from the sofa.
Lucy showed no sign of girlish shyness but openly asked,
"Do you like what you see?"
"It’s alright, at least in Night City, you’re the first worth looking at this way."
Lin Miao nodded without averting his gaze.
He wasn’t any kind of pure-hearted rookie; the night before his journey, he was drinking with clients at the nightclub, surrounded by girls.
Putting the toilet water back on the table, Lin Miao crossed his fingers on his lap.
"But we should talk business first, Lucy, what do you think? Will you help me out?"
Tsk... boring businessman.
Lucy realized when discussing business, this guy completely lost the thrill and neuroticism from speeding through the streets and dodging bullets with her last night. He only had cold dealings and transactions.
Which was the real him?
Moreover, it seemed guy’s firewall was upgraded; scanning him through the camera returned no internal results, but since no outsiders were tailing him, she let him into the room.
Lucy didn’t change her clothes, directly sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, her ten jade-like toes still wet, white and slender calves stacked together. Her knees were covered by the towel, but the hidden areas always invoke curiosity and adventure for explorers.
"Just so you know, I don’t take dangerous jobs, nor those related to Huang Ban. Before acting, I need to know the task details. If I discover any errors or deliberate omissions, I may choose to abandon the mission and retreat anytime."
She had quite a few demands, but Lin Miao could understand, given how many mercenaries are tricked by middlemen withholding information.
But not taking Huang Ban-related tasks?
Lin Miao immediately understood that there might be some unresolved issues between her and the Japanese company.
"Alright, so I’ll lay it all out now. The mission target is Night Wanderer, those guys smuggling in Evil Land. This mission only involves Peizhuo Petrochemical, nothing to do with Huang Ban. It’s scheduled for this Saturday."
"They steal from Peizhuo Petrochemical, I steal from them, got it?"
"Heh, like the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
Feeling relieved knowing the task wasn’t linked with Huang Ban, Lucy asked,
"I know Night Wanderer, they have hundreds of people outside Night City. How many for this operation?"
"I have a dozen under me, plus I’ll contact a bounty hunter squad, and... the Adcardo."
"Adcardo... that Wanderer tribe?"
Lucy was somewhat shocked, don’t let their seeming insignificance in Evil Land fool you, they were once a super-sized tribe with millions, and their leader famously legendary for storming Huang Ban Tower with Silverhand to save people—Santiago. They have their own plantations and military factories, and the ones outside Night City are just a small tribe.