The journey was smooth, except for two gang fights, a police-gang shootout, a road closure by NCPD, and a blind fugitive who wanted to hijack the car, there were no accidents. However, if it were the same as in the past, Li You would definitely have to complain, such as I love this tune of Night City or something. But today, he just kept a straight face and drove the car without saying a word. When the fugitive came to smash the car window, Li You just grabbed his hair and knocked him unconscious on the car window frame, then pushed him away and continued driving without saying anything. As for why… Sasha carefully poked his head out from the back seat of the car and said to Li You tentatively: "That… Brother Li You, I really didn't mean it, don't take it to heart." Li You expressionless: "It's okay, just call me uncle, it's normal for a 14 or 15-year-old girl to call me that." Sasha dissatisfied: "I'm almost 16!" "No... I mean, I don't really think you're old-fashioned and boring, I'm talking about the joke 'Fasten your seat belts'." "After all, Hino Hidetoshi, the comedian, is really liked by my uncles... So I just said my first reaction subconsciously just now!"
Li You: "..." He gritted his teeth: "Okay, you said it well!" The little girl is really a chat talent, Mann is really lucky! ? Sasha realized it later: "Ah, no, I didn't mean that to be the truth..." Aiji pulled Sasha: "Don't pay attention to him, he's just having a daily attack, he'll be fine in a while." Sasha seemed to understand: "...Really?" Li You ignored them and concentrated on driving. When passing by the company square, Sasha lowered her body cautiously, but fortunately no one came to the door. After driving across the bridge connecting Westbrook and Haywood, Li You parked the car in an empty alley near the apartment, and then Aiji helped Sasha get out of the car. "Let's go, this is the fifth floor." Li You stood at the door and looked at the apartment. But in fact, there was nothing to see. The room in the apartment building that Sasha rented can also be rented by the protagonist V in the game. The price is the cheapest among all the available rental houses, and the room is naturally the narrowest. That aside, this apartment is actually a lower corner of a skyscraper. The upper part of the building is a commercial area, and the lower part, separated by an overpass, is a cheap apartment that no one cares about. The upper and lower floors are isolated from each other and have never been connected, just like the classes in Night City. Walking through the entrance of the apartment building, which is completely covered by the shadow of the overpass, you will see the small and dirty lobby on the first floor. The shabby counter is on the right, but it is empty at this time. The garbage, empty bottles, and dirty plastic bowls on the ground were just casually swept to the corner and not taken care of. Li You even saw a few cockroaches crawling in and out as soon as he came in. "Ugh..." Edge couldn't stand it, but fortunately he didn't show it. He just complained to Li You in the mental link. On the bench next to the vending machine on the left side of the entrance, there was a fat man wearing a vest and trousers, with tattoos all over his arms. He was holding a small plastic bowl and eating some kind of noodle dish that exuded a strange smell. Seeing Sasha coming in, his eyes lit up, he put the plastic bowl on the bench, wiped his mouth casually with his hand, and then came up to talk with a shameless face: "Hey, little Sasha, you're back! Did you go out smoothly?"
Sasha frowned slightly and reluctantly responded: "It's okay, and don't call me that, I told you." The man rubbed his hands and smiled awkwardly: "Okay, you have the final say. I wonder if you are free this time to deal with my old Super Dream host for me? Help me!" Sasha took another step back, avoiding his face, and said: "It really doesn't work this time. You can see that I have other guests. Next time, Loginov." The man called Loginov looked at Edge next to Sasha and Li You who fell behind, looked at them, and then immediately changed his expression. "Hey, you two!" He tried to raise his eyebrows and tried to look fierce, but the fat on his face made his efforts go to waste. "Who are you? Do you understand first come first served? I made an appointment with little Sasha first! Wait in line!" He said this to Edge, because Li You was still standing by the gate looking at the scenery. Aiji was also stunned. She didn't expect to encounter such a thing. She hesitated for a moment and said, "... From what you two said just now, I think you don't have a formal appointment, so there is no reason to give it to you." Unexpectedly, after hearing what she said, Loginov's expression became even more fierce. He came up and tried to make a move, trying to push Edge out of the hall. He stretched out his hand and cursed, "Don't talk so much nonsense! I said I went first, so I went first!" Aiji's face changed. Looking at his hand pushing towards his chest, a dangerous look appeared in his eyes at that time. Sasha also noticed something was wrong and stretched out his hand to stop him, but it was too late because of his leg injury. However, the next moment, a hand wearing a dark leather glove strangled his wrist. Loginov was fat and his arm was at least twice as thick as that man's, but he was held by him and couldn't move. He was shocked and angry for a moment: "Who the hell are you..." Before he finished speaking, Li You had already grabbed his old vest with his backhand, and with a casual pull, he threw him back to the bench just now, and sat directly on the bowl of noodles he had not finished. "Ah--!" The collision was not light, and Loginov screamed and fell from the bench to the ground. He wanted to get up, but Li You reached out and grabbed his hair, pulling it up, and he cried for mercy in pain: "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it's wrong, it's wrong, I'm sorry! Let me go!" Li You ignored him, but looked at Edge and said: "The first lesson of the Night City Survival Guide, don't be too gentle in your behavior, otherwise others will think you are weak and want to ride on your head." "I mentioned it before, but this time I experienced it myself. Remember it?" Edge nodded with a gloomy face. Sasha said, "Brother Li You is right, Edge, your answer just now was...too friendly. People here won't reason with you." "I understand." Edge stepped forward, pulled Loginov's hair, and asked Sasha, "How do we deal with this guy?" Sasha looked at Loginov, who was crying in pain, and shook his head: "After all, he is a neighbor. As long as he doesn't bother me again in the future, just teach him a lesson and be done with it, okay?" Aiji looked at Loginov: "Do you understand?" Loginov nodded in pain and dared not say anything else. "Then get out." Edge kicked hard, and Loginov's huge body slid out of the door close to the ground, and almost hit a passerby, causing that person to scold him. "Okay, let's go." Li You looked calm, which made Sasha look at him more. He was so skilled in handling problems. Isn't this Li You's first time in Night City? With such doubts, Sasha took the two into the elevator. The elevator panel automatically recognized Sasha's identity information, and the words "fifth floor" lit up on the control panel.
Li You's expression changed: Sasha lives in the house that V can rent in the game? Following Sasha all the way to the door, it was indeed V's optional apartment. But it's not surprising. After all, in the original world line, Sasha should have been offline at this time. After more than a year, it is normal for the apartment to be rented to someone else again. This apartment in the game is small but complete. The area is smaller than V's initial apartment, and the north-south orientation is directly connected. Only the bedroom is separated by a half wall. The whole is narrow like a spliced container. However, even so, if V wants to rent this apartment, it will cost 30,000 euros (should be a year's rent), so there are still some slightly higher-end furnishings in the apartment, such as Japanese incense and other decorations directly opposite the entrance. As for now, in this apartment that still belongs to Sasha, there are no such things. There is a closet against the wall when you enter the door. There are a few old clothes hanging in it, and there seems to be a pile of dirty clothes that have not been washed yet. "Shua La-" Sasha closed the closet door, her face slightly red, and said to the two: "Well... you sit down first. I will clean up and send a message to my teammates to report that I am safe, and then I will come to deal with your business." Li You smiled and nodded, and sat down on the small sofa by the door with Edge. There were still empty bowls on the small coffee table next to the sofa, but it seemed that Sasha didn't notice this. She was busy sorting out her personal belongings and stuffing them all into the cabinet in the bedroom, as if she was going to burst the small storage cabinet. Li You took a quick look at the furnishings in the apartment. Although there were some garbage that was not cleaned up in time and daily necessities piled up randomly, it was still very tidy overall. In fact, in the game, there is a commissioned task in this apartment building, which is to find a stolen goods dealer who lives on the second floor, just below this room. And that apartment... in short, it's like a garbage dump, with cockroaches crawling all over the floor, and Johnny Silverhand couldn't stand it. So in comparison, Sasha's apartment is already quite clean. There was a call from the bedroom, and Sasha seemed to be reporting safety to her companions. Li You and Aggie only waited for a short while, and she came back and said, "Everything is ready! Brother Li You, come with me." Li You and Aggie followed her to the bedroom side, and the small room against the wall that would be used as a storage room when V rented the apartment seemed to be where she placed her hacker supplies. A hacker recliner, several large screens with various numbers rolling, and basic monitoring and medical systems were also included. Although it is definitely not as good as those hackers from big companies, Sasha's equipment is already very professional on the street. After all, even Qi Wei and Lucy, two hackers in the early stage of the Edgewalker animation, used primitive ice baths - although Lucy personally mentioned that she was more used to it. Sasha said: "If it's just an identity account, it's really not a big problem and it won't take too much time. But you have to wait for me, I need to enter some basic data of yours." Li You nodded: "No problem." Sasha immediately started her series of equipment, took out a spare information mask from the cabinet and put it on, connected the computer with a data cable, and then lay on the hacker chair. In the world view of Cyberpunk 2077, the concept of "network" is very different from what we know today. In the early years, before the Fourth Corporate War, the network of the cyberpunk world still covered the whole world, which was no different from the real world. However, the subtle difference is that there is a technology, or an invention, called cyber modem in this world, which allows people to browse the network in three-dimensional space, which is much faster and more effective than traditional access methods. In this context, the excitement of cyberspace far exceeds that of Li Youlai's world, and many "hackers" were born, who swam in the ocean of the network. However, later in the war, a legendary hacker named Lachi Batmos used his virus program to blow up the global network, causing the network to fall apart and become pieces of fragments, and the "first network" disappeared. After the demise of the first network, although there were network monitors trying to rebuild the global network, Batmos's virus was too powerful, and many network areas were too seriously infected to be repaired. Not to mention that in the fragmented cyberspace, there are still a large number of rebellious artificial intelligences wandering around and hunting, which are a fatal threat to hackers and even all people connected to the Internet. The numerous obstacles eventually led the network monitoring to abandon the plan to rebuild the global network and build a "black wall" to separate the available network from the area controlled by the out-of-control AI and block the exploration of the other side of the wall by both sides. Therefore, by the 2070s, the controllable network of mankind was only a fragmented space composed of multiple scattered local hubs, and the era when the network connected the world was gone forever.
Today, although the first network is gone, the past technology is still there, and the public can still access the network-but basically only at the metropolitan level. Such networks are usually not interconnected and can only be accessed by logging in through contact devices. So under this premise, modern hackers have different ways to connect to the network, such as the more common personal connection, which is used by many professionals in addition to hackers, and then the more professional personal interface and information mask. The personal interface is located behind the brain and directly connects to the hacker's cerebral cortex to improve performance and data transmission rate. This method is called "deep access" and some people call it "deep diving". However, deep access also puts incredible pressure on the hacker's body. If there is no external cooling, the overloaded nervous system will quickly emit high temperatures and burn the hacker into charcoal - so cooling equipment is needed. Primary ice baths, freezers, or modified air conditioners are the lowest cost options. And a more advanced one is the supporting facilities of the black customer service and hacker chair used by Sasha. Sasha was lying in front of Li You. Li You could see that there was a constant flashing of light on her information mask, which was a sign that she was performing calculations and hacking activities. "Beep beep beep -" Just thinking about it, Li You's phone rang. It was Sasha calling. Her consciousness was immersed in the cyberspace, so she chose online communication instead of speaking. "Brother Li You, I'm already in the secondary database of the City Hall. Their ICE that protects this area is not that good." "Next, I need to enter your information and conduct a detailed scan on you. Just do what I say." Li You knew that the full name of ICE, which Sasha was talking about, was Intrusion Counteracting Electronic Elements. In short, it can be simply understood as the most advanced firewall in the cyberpunk worldview. Going through ICE is naturally risky. If it leads to a counterattack, the consequences may be very serious. Fortunately, Night City's management of residents' household registration data is very casual, so entering here seems easy for Sasha. Li You followed Sasha's instructions and cooperated with her to complete the scan. The process took less than a minute. Then, Sasha hung up the communication and quickly withdrew from cyberspace. She sat up and took off her eyepiece, with beads of sweat on her forehead. "Huh~ It's done now, great." She fanned the air with her hands and let out a breath. Li You smiled: "Thank you for your hard work." Sasha waved her hand: "Just like what I said, this little thing is too easy, not hard at all. Anyway, now Brother Li You is an official resident of Night City! Then it's just right..." She paused, then looked at Li You and Edge, and smiled: "Welcome to Night City!" Li You and Edge smiled at each other. "Thank you very much." "Oh, I said no." Sasha also smiled and said, "You saved my life, this little thing is not enough to thank you!" "If there is anything big that needs my help in the future, as long as you come to me, I will never refuse! Remember!" As she said, she actually stretched out her hand to Li You. Li You was a little surprised. In Night City, even this simple courtesy is very rare. He thought about it, did not refuse, and stretched out his hand and shook hands with Sasha. "I remember." After Li You let go of her hand, Sasha excitedly shook hands with Edge again, and then said to the two of them happily: "Then I'll go take a shower first, you guys sit down, I'll take you to find something to eat later!" She took out a set of casual clothes from the closet, hugged a towel and went into the bathroom, and soon there was a sound of water inside. Li You took out his smartphone and looked at his personal identity authentication information, which marked a series of information such as his name, affiliated organization, whether he had a criminal record, etc., including a personal account that was also registered.
This is his electronic ID card in Night City. Li You put away his phone with satisfaction, sat down on the sofa, and said to Aiji who was following him: "Our mission in this world is more troublesome, and we need me to become a true legend of this night city. But to be honest, I’m still not sure what a ‘real’ legend is.” "So let's not talk about those far away, our next arrangement is-" "Go to the pier first and order French fries... No, it's cash." Aiji automatically filtered out his old jokes: "In short, it's just about working hard from scratch, right." "Exactly." But just as the two were talking, the apartment door suddenly "clacked" and someone opened it from the outside. Then, a little lolita with blue-green twin tails and seemingly wearing only an ill-fitting black jacket walked in carefree. "Hey! Little Sasha, let me see you..." She then saw Li You and Ai Ji sitting on the sofa, and was stunned on the spot. "——Who are you!?" … When Sasha heard the noise and rushed out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, what he saw was Rebecca being pinned down on the sofa by Aggie. The pose looks very familiar. Rebecca gritted her teeth and shouted: "Let me go, bastard! What did you do to Sasha!?" "Rebecca——!" Sasha shouted, and then she attracted her attention. "...Eh?" ...a moment later. Rebecca sat cross-legged on the sofa very informally, next to Aggie. Li You sat on the other side of Ai Ji, while Sasha, who had already changed clothes, could only drag a stool and sit down opposite Rebecca. "It turned out to be a misunderstanding, I should have told you earlier~" Rebecca stretched carelessly, not caring that this action exposed her thighs and abdomen. "It turns out you were the ones who saved our little Sasha, thank you so much!" Rebecca said seriously, but then she laughed again, "I thought someone from biotechnology was chasing me just now, I'm so sorry~ " Li You looked at her calmly. Rebecca is a very popular character in the Edgewalker animated series. Friends who have watched the animation will probably remember her. She is a legal lolita in Night City. In addition to her iconic twin ponytails and ill-fitting jacket, her red and green prosthetic eyes and pink tattoos on her neck and abdomen also reflect her personality. And her character is just as unpredictable as she showed just now. However, if you can get to know her deeply, you will know that she is actually a gentle child who cares about her companions - well, according to the setting, Rebecca is almost 20 years old, so she is not considered a child at all. Although at this time, she was acting coquettishly to Sasha without any look of an elder: "...Is there no Little Coke? Is there no more? Then give me a bottle of beer——"
Sasha couldn't help but say: "Rebecca! Li You and the others are still here!" Rebecca was a little strange: "Huh? What does it matter? You brought them to your home, which means they are reliable, right?" "Although this is the case, but..." "That's no problem!" Rebecca laughed, "Since they are your friends, then they are also my friends! Right, Li... Ming?" "...It's Li You." Li You corrected with a twitch in his mouth. "Ah, yes, Li You. I remember it." Rebecca nodded exaggeratedly, "Well, Sasha, and Li You, it's almost time now, do you want to go have breakfast together? I I know a good store!” Li You glanced at Sasha this time and saw that she didn't seem to object, so he agreed: "Okay. But what's very embarrassing is that we just came to Night City and we don't have much money..." "It's a small thing!" Rebecca patted her small chest, "I invited you to eat this meal! Just treat it as a celebration of our acquaintance and an apology to you!" Li You and Aiji looked at each other with strange expressions. Are you sure you want us to eat open?