At noon, Li You drove to Little Chinatown in Watson District. He walked forward from the road along the river, and then turned into a small parking lot with an inconspicuous appearance on the side of the road. In addition to Yuzi and Aiji, the people in the car also had Sasha. At this moment, they all got out of the car, and together with Li You, they looked at the bar in the back with its light green sign and blue and red neon lights. “…The Afterlife.” Yes, this bar, which looks inconspicuous from the outside, is opened between the gaps between high-rise buildings. It is the largest mercenary distribution center in Night City. Most of the "big jobs" that will go down in history are here. Negotiated. For ordinary mercenaries, they are not even qualified to come here to discuss business. Even V in the game, after working hard for half a year after the prologue, had to accept the commission from Hei Fatty before he could step into this place. The same goes for Li You today. Although his name has caught the attention of some middlemen, in terms of street reputation, he is still not as good as those well-known mercenaries. Without Mann, he would not be able to enter the gate of the afterlife. He recalled what Mann said in the communication before: "...I don't know if you talked to her about anything, but the hacker recommended by Qi Wei contacted her today and said that she could consider our proposal." "I have asked about that T-BUG, but no, we don't have many candidates now. So Mr. Faraday decided to call everyone to meet in the next life and have a good talk. If we can reach an agreement, then we will finalize it directly .
"Just go with Sasha and meet in the next life. Just tell me or Mr. Faraday's name then. "That's it, see you in the next life!" Li You: "..." Looking at the hung up communication, he couldn't help but raise his forehead: Why do you people like to insert FLAG for yourself? Do you really want to highlight one person who is ready to die? The outer entrance to the afterlife is really inconspicuous, just a corridor entrance decorated with neon lights and signs. Enter the corridor and go down the stairs to the first floor. A narrow corridor stretches forward, with light green neon lights on the walls on both sides emitting a steady light. The complete signboard of "AFTERLIFE" hangs in front of you, and people of different shapes are standing in the passage chatting in twos and threes. Everything looks so ordinary. If you really don't know anything about Night City, it may be difficult to realize how special this place is in the next life. Sasha led the way, and at the same time turned back to introduce the situation of the next life to Li You and the others. "...You know, it is said that this place used to be a morgue, and later it became the largest mercenary gathering place in Night City." "This is also one of the great achievements of the queen in the next life, Rogge, in the past!" Li You didn't even bother to complain about the setting of the morgue. He just looked at the yearning on Sasha's face and said, "You seem to admire her very much?" Sasha replied: "Of course! Rogge turned from a mercenary to a middleman, ran the afterlife, and became a big boss in Night City. Most people can't even imagine how many obstacles there will be! Let alone her …” Seeing that she was getting more and more energetic as she spoke, Li You didn't mind, but still interrupted: "I understand, but Mann is still waiting for us, how about we go in first?" "Okay, let's talk about it next time." Sasha looked a little regretful. Li You smiled: "It's okay. I believe that you and we will be able to cooperate with Rogge in the near future." "Well... I hope so!" The group of people came to the door at the end of the corridor, which was the real entrance to the next life. A tall man with an obvious prosthetic device on his face and a black jacket stood guarding the door.
Emeric Bronson, Roger's man and loyal gatekeeper to the afterlife. Because of Yuzi's size, Li You and his group attracted everyone's attention when they came over. Emerick couldn't help but look up at him, and then looked at Li You and Sasha standing in front. Sasha greeted: "Emeric." Emerick nodded first: "I remember you, but who are these?" He was referring to Li You and the three of them. This conversation sounded familiar to Li You. After all, V had said similar things the first time he came here. Li You didn't bother to talk to him, so he just wanted to take out Mann and Faraday to let him open the door. But Sasha had already introduced him first: "This is Li You and his companions." In the game, if V introduces himself to Emerick, the strong man will say in a somewhat mocking tone: "Doesn't this name have a lot of background?" But at this time, what Li You didn't expect was that Emerick's expression changed, and he actually heard his name: "The guy who solved the cyberpsychosis on the street yesterday?" Sasha smiled: "Yes!" "Interesting, then I know. Are you here to see Mann and Faraday? Go in and take a seat first, and I will contact them." Emerick said, getting out of the way and the door behind him opened in front of everyone. When Li You followed Sasha into the bar, he was a little surprised: "He actually knows me?" Sasha smiled helplessly: "Hey! You still lack some common sense!" The interior furnishings of the bar are not very special. What comes into view after entering is the bar. There are booths around the bar, and private rooms for discussing important matters are at the back. Sasha led Li You and the others to the bar, pulled out a chair and sat down. Li You and Aiji also sat next to them. Only Yuzi chose to stand because the size was not suitable. A plump female bartender wearing a light blue work jacket and a red ponytail came over: "What can I get you?" But as she spoke, she also looked up at Yuzu, a little surprised. "Hey, Claire." Sasha greeted. "Hey, Sasha." The female bartender named Claire smiled, "Are you here to see Mann?" "Yeah, there's work to do." "Not bad, business is booming." Sasha glanced at Li You and others, thought for a while and said, "If you don't mind, how about a glass of 'Johnny Silverhand'?" Li You smiled slightly: "A wine named after the legend of Night City, right? I have no objection. Grapefruit, Edge?" Edge didn't object either. As for Grapefruit, he was not polite at all. He asked the bartender Claire: "Do you have coffee?" Claire thought it was quite interesting: "Generally, guests who come here don't order this... but we do. Wait a minute." She moved quickly and quickly mixed three glasses of "Johnny Silverhand" - old-fashioned tequila, beer and chili. It belongs to the legendary rock boy, the classic recipe of the next life. After serving the wine, Claire brought another cup of coffee. Grapefruit drank it directly, while Li You and the other two slowly tasted the famous wine of the next life in their hands. Li You thought: I can't drink it.
The bartender Claire didn't leave, but chatted with a few people here: "Are you Li You? The one who single-handedly killed a cyber psychopath who went crazy on the street? You were on the news." Li You immediately reacted. It seems that this is why Emeric also knows him. Come to think of it, a cyber psychopath went crazy on the street and killed at least a dozen NCPD and more passers-by. Unless those big companies have some revelations on the same day, this matter will be on the headlines of any station. And in the end, this cyber psychopath was suppressed by a mercenary, which is enough to make him famous. In other words, he played too many games, so he felt that a cyber psychopath didn't seem to be a big deal. But he still asked: "Who said I was alone?" "Well," Claire shrugged, "because the news report said that 'a brave mercenary' subdued the cyberpsychopath, so everyone said the same thing after digging out your name." Li You: "Oh, that." He shook his head: "Although I can do it myself, I didn't do it alone yesterday. I had excellent companions to help me." Claire smiled: "It sounds like you are being modest, but it's not at all. I like the way you talk. It's okay. Since you have the ability, it's only a matter of time before you do something bigger. Oh, Mr. Faraday's people are here." A man dressed in a shabby manner came to the bar: "Mann's people, right? Come with me, Mr. Faraday is calling you." Follow him to the box deep in the afterlife, where Mann and others, as well as "Mr. Faraday" himself, are waiting for them. But when Li You was about to step into the box, another bodyguard of Faraday stopped them. "Wait, Mr. Faraday said that insignificant people should not go in, he likes quiet." Li You and others stopped. "What do you mean?" Sasha frowned, "Who is an insignificant person?" The bodyguard was wearing a pink jacket and had a bright silver prosthetic on his face, which looked very unserious. Although he did not show much expression, Li You still saw a trace of disdain in his eyes. He said: "Except for the team leader and the network hacker, the others are unimportant people." "You...!" "Okay, Sasha." Li You held her back, "Don't conflict with the middleman in the next life. Yuzu, Edge, you wait outside for a while." Through this bodyguard, Li You has seen the situation inside. Except for him and Dolio, Rebecca and Pira are not in Mann's side. Qiwei and Lucy are there, and the only other one is Faraday. Obviously, Faraday's bodyguards discriminate equally, not only against them, but also against Mann's people. Li You has noticed that Mann's face is not very good either. But he didn't plan to get angry here. Now it was more important to talk about business, not to mention... What's more, these two bodyguards who looked down on others, including "Mr. Faraday" himself, had already been on Li You's death list. Why was he angry with the dead? If he wasn't interested in the "big job" proposed by Mann and wanted to see if he could make a name for himself, Li You would have sneaked into Faraday's lair in the dark and turned him and all his men into cyber meat humanoids. I know where your house is and which room you live in!
Aiji and Yuzu left, and Li You and Sasha went into the box and sat down. Mann greeted him: "Hey, Sasha, Li You." Qiwei and Lucy also looked over. Qiwei looked at him, while Lucy just looked away and smoked silently. "Okay, then everyone is here." Mr. Faraday, who was sitting in the main seat, spoke. Faraday is an old man with a sinister face, wearing a straight red suit and neatly combed silver hair. But the most eye-catching thing is the four artificial eyes on his face, one on the left and three on the right. The three artificial eyes on the right face are arranged vertically, emitting a lavender light. Li You said, how should I put it, forget about the animation, but seeing this look in real life is really a bit disgusting. "Mr. Faraday" naturally didn't know what Li You was complaining about him in his heart, and said with a cold face: "The key figures are all here, so let's talk about this mission in detail." "Hey, wait." Lucy exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "I haven't said I want to join yet." Mr. Faraday glanced at her and said bluntly: "Since you have entered this private room, you have no right to refuse. Otherwise, you will never be a mercenary in Night City again." "It doesn't matter." Lucy smoked a cigarette, and her face was full of indifference. "Heh." Faraday unexpectedly didn't say much to her, "Let's listen first." He waved his hand, and the bodyguard standing by the door picked up a tablet and clicked it. The projector on the table in the middle of the box lit up, and a dark red virtual image was outlined in front of everyone. Li You sat quite upright, but he was actually very calm in his heart, and he didn't care a bit. He said that he had done it alone in the game, and he really didn't think that the "big job" Faraday mentioned could shock him. ——Then he saw the projector on the table showing the image of Arasaka Tower. Li You: 6. He suddenly became curious. Did Faraday really want them to rush to Arasaka Tower? Was he tired of living? The security of Arasaka Tower was not comparable to that of the Biotechnology Building. With sufficient preparation, Sasha could sneak into the Biotechnology Building alone, and if she hadn't accidentally discovered the black material in the past and decided to expose it, it would not be a problem for her to get out safely. But Arasaka Tower...? That's another matter. Lucy and Qiwei, who were sitting on the other side, also narrowed their eyes, waiting to see what Faraday was up to. Fortunately, the image of Arasaka Tower on the table was enlarged and the focus was projected on a lower floor of Arasaka Tower. At this time, everyone else, including Mann, held their breath. But Li You looked at the familiar office and the floor number marked on the side, and finally couldn't help showing a strange look on his face. "Arasaka Tower 33rd floor, Counterintelligence Department." Mann on the side couldn't help but asked: "Mr. Faraday, the big job you said, you can't ask us to break into the headquarters of the Arasaka Counterintelligence Department, right?" Faraday sneered: "What if I said yes?" Mann's face sank: "If it is, then I'm sorry, we'll leave now. This is simply a suicide!"
Faraday looked around and looked at everyone's expressions. He found that only Li You and Lucy didn't change their expressions, so he nodded. "Humph, don't bark like a puppy afraid of being beaten. Fortunately, this mission doesn't require you to go to Arasaka Tower." Although he said it very impolitely, Li You still noticed that Sasha beside him and Mann and others on the other side all breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously. "…Heh, is this a show of strength for us? Or is it a skylight effect?" Li You looked at Faraday, speculating maliciously in his heart, "Mr. Lu Xun is indeed a timeless classic." Faraday waved his hand again, and the bodyguard beside him controlled the tablet. The image on the table changed again, and the image of a middle-aged man in a high-end suit and a serious expression appeared behind the desk. Faraday pointed in the air, and his image was enlarged, and his identity annotation also appeared on the side. "Arthur Jenkins, head of the counterintelligence department of the Arasaka Night City branch." Faraday took a sip of the wine glass at hand, and then continued, "Our target this time is him."