Lin Miao frowned at the location Lucy sent. Her words were cryptic and puzzling, leaving him clueless about her intentions.
Watson District, a place Lin Miao had never been to yet. Why would Lucy choose there to meet him?
Lin Miao wasn’t arrogant enough to think that meeting someone a few times could leave them infatuated. Surely, this woman had some secrets she was hiding from him.
"Got it, I’ll head over right away."
But when it came to the idea of someone trying to kidnap him, Lin Miao didn’t think it was likely either.
From start to finish, the other party hadn’t tried to pry into his background, nor attempted any hacking on him. Just yesterday, she’d even brought her companion out to the Adcardo camp.
Lin Miao touched his chin and glanced at the box of grenades and other weaponry behind him.
Better bring it all; it’s wise to be cautious.
Although non-system items couldn’t be stored in the backpack, it never hurts to bring more.
As he was about to drive out of the gate, Brother Dao, who was on the watchtower, saw the BOSS approaching, quickly climbed down from the machine gun, and stood at attention.
Seeing him like that made Lin Miao chuckle, so he stuck his head out of the car window and, in a tone very familiar to working people, said,
"Keep it up, young man. I’ve always noticed your work attitude. Do a good job, and you’ll have a share in our Future Office’s growth."
Although Brother Dao wasn’t exactly young, it was the first time he’d been spoken to in the game, and he felt a bit odd about it.
But.... NPCs wouldn’t try to PUA players, would they? Maybe this was a sign of increased NPC affection?
Thinking this, Brother Dao straightened his back and mimicked a television character, saying,
"Rest assured, BOSS, I’ll complete the mission!"
As for why the BOSS was leaving before the scheduled time.
Haven’t you worked in a private company?
Flexible work hours, get it?
The Watson District is located in the northern part of Night City, an old industrial area, under the Vortex Gang’s influence.
If Santo Domingo is the worst industrial zone, then the Kabuki District is the poorest and most crowded place in all of Night City.
Narrow, winding alleys filled with general stores, subpar cosmetic shops, and cheap second-hand shops, all adorned with Chinese lanterns and flickering neon signs.
Nightclubs, bars, and casinos of all sizes lurk in every corner; one might even spot the infamous Huang Ban Sleep Facility occasionally.
Coffin rooms, 1.5M*1.5M*2M in size, stacked like a beehive, 10 euro a day, with the only electronic appliance being the ceiling light, which has a 50% chance of a blackout — pay extra if you don’t want that.
For 1000 euros, the person in charge of Huang Ban here can wipe your information from the internet so thoroughly that even the Military Science operations director won’t find you. If you express intentions against Military Science, Huang Ban can even offer some degree of assistance.
Therefore, hackers, lone mercenaries, street urchins betraying gangs, unlicensed body augmentation doctors... In short, people from all walks of life like to live here.
Interestingly, even though it’s a Japanese-style Kabuki District, it’s predominantly inhabited by Chinese people, and even the Phoenix Club sign Lucy sent was in bright red neon Chinese characters,
"I’m here, where are you?"
Standing on the street, Lin Miao looked up.
The other party was in a side building in the Phoenix sign alley.
Following Lucy’s directions, Lin Miao carried his long bag up the fire escape. The buildings here were interconnected, with iron bars welded on windows as walkways, interconnected by knocked-down partition walls, clothes hanging on scaffolding, the light dim, and the environment damp.
In the small space were mah-jong parlors, little restaurants, shops, and even red-light areas, all smoky and chaotic.
It was all a tangled mess, like a maze, where someone with a poor sense of direction wouldn’t dream of finding their way out without a guide.
Lin Miao really struggled to climb to the third floor and find the person he was looking for on the balcony.
He leaned against the balcony, took a deep breath of the fresh, plastic-smelling air, and asked the person beside him,
"So, why did you suddenly think of meeting me here?"
But Lucy didn’t answer, still leaning on the balcony, smoking now and then, the acrid smell and ignorant attitude slightly annoyed Lin Miao.
He raised an eyebrow, reached out, and snatched the cigarette from her mouth. After glancing at it, he flicked it down the building.
Lucy, having the cigarette taken from her, was suddenly stunned.
Before she even spoke, a roar came from below.
"Where did that bastard come from, tossing a cigarette butt — the whole family be damned, don’t let me find you! If I do, I’ll slash you!"
Lin Miao peeked down and saw a person’s head seemingly on fire, hair still smoking.
Could it really be such a coincidence?
In slight panic, he hurriedly pulled the still-trying-not-to-laugh Lucy toward the upper floors.
They didn’t stop until they reached the rooftop terrace.
After pulling her hand from Lin Miao’s grasp, Lucy asked with a half-smile, "You’re the one who flicked the cigarette butt. If anyone’s to be hit, it’s you. Why drag me along?"
"You’re the one who was smoking. If you’d spoken earlier, it wouldn’t have been an issue."
"Didn’t it occur to you that maybe I was concentrating on trying to breach someone else’s firewall at the time?"
"Of course, I was lying."
Lucy laughed at Lin Miao’s slightly embarrassed expression. "You didn’t actually believe it, did you?"
Lin Miao rolled his eyes, not in the mood for her banter. "Can you tell me now why you called me here?"
Instead of replying, Lucy stretched out her hand toward Lin Miao.
Lin Miao smirked, pulled out a chocolate bar from his pocket, and handed it over. Lucy, satisfied, walked over to the edge of the roof and signaled Lin Miao to come along.
"Do you see the big flat on the third floor across the street?"
There were no guardrails on the Kabuki District rooftops. Lin Miao followed Lucy’s gaze; it was the third floor of the Phoenix Club across the way. Through the half-opened windows, you could see a messy big bed and pink ambiance lights inside, with patrols in the hallway.
The tattoos on their bare arms indicated it was the Tiger Claws’ territory.
"I see it, what’s about it?"
"An employee of Huang Ban made a deal with Zhengfa Chengtailang of the Tiger Claws. The transaction involves a batch of military training data chips."