Afterlife, located in Watson's Chinatown—
For those in the circuit, being able to enter Afterlife meant you had a certain reputation within the community.
This upscale nightclub was a symbol of Night City's "night market" and a sanctuary in the eyes of edgerunners.
They said they were having "breakfast," but by the time they arrived in Chinatown, it was already afternoon.
Because most mercenaries operate at night, Afterlife was closed during the day, but it wasn't impossible to enter Afterlife before 6 PM, except for V, of course.
Otherwise, tell me why, when you adjust the in-game time to 6 PM and enter Afterlife immediately, there are so many people inside?
Parking the car by the roadside, Maine was the first to open the door and get out, with Dorio quickly following him.
Rebecca, who was sitting in the back with Roel, took a deep breath before reaching out to open the car door.
Walking towards the entrance of Afterlife, there were already quite a few people outside. Maine seemed to recognize a few of them and greeted them as he passed.
Subsequently, the group arrived at the cool stairwell.
"Don't worry, Roel, the Tyger Claws wouldn't dare cause trouble here. You don't need to wear your hat," Maine said, patting Roel's back with his large hand, seeing him still wearing his hat.
"I'm not worried about being recognized by the Tyger Claws; I'm just used to wearing a hat," Roel said, shaking his head.
This was indeed one of his habits. Since the second year he arrived in Night City, Kolina would give him some jobs, and Roel developed the habit of wearing a hat while working around that time.
Gradually, Roel became dependent on this small habit.
Whenever he went out, he would always wear an inconspicuous hat.
Then, Maine greeted the bodyguard at the entrance. The bodyguard's gaze fell on Roel, and he narrowed his eyes.
Roel was also looking at him. This one... an old acquaintance. He was always the one standing guard at the gate in the game.
"And who are you?"
"He's with me, Emerick. It's okay for him to come in with me, right?" Maine interjected.
Emerick was silent for a moment, then said, "Alright, but be careful, Maine. You've only just become famous."
"I know the rules here very well," Maine chuckled.
Then, the large door behind Emerick opened, and he stepped aside.
"Let's go, Roel! I'll show you the world!" Maine said loudly, putting his arm around Roel's shoulder.
Entering Afterlife, there were hardly any people in Afterlife Bar before nightfall. Roel looked towards the bar counter and saw not the transgender Claire, but a man.
He was tidying up bottles and cleaning barware, seemingly preparing for the evening's business.
Roel's gaze swept across the entire Afterlife.
This was much larger than what he saw in the game, and the sensory experience from direct perception was completely different. The main difference was the atmosphere.
Afterlife, formerly a morgue, naturally carried a chill and a faint, unpleasant smell of disinfectant.
"Over there are the booths and private rooms. We're not qualified for those right now; those places are for big shots to conduct business. As for us, over here, Roel, look here," Maine introduced Afterlife to Roel, as enthusiastic as an older brother.
It wasn't surprising; from last night until now, Maine had mentioned at least twenty times that he hoped Roel would join his crew.
And Roel went from initially refusing, to staying silent, and now to ignoring him. If it were a normal person, they would have stopped talking long ago, but Maine was clearly different.
Instead, he felt that his words were having an effect, and Roel was slowly being changed by him.
"Here!"
A sound like a duck's quack rang out. Roel looked over and saw Sasha sitting on the sofa, and very close to her, a guy with a pair of gorilla arms but as thin as a monkey.
This made him look extremely disproportionate, like two steel pillars clamped beside a bamboo pole.
"You jerk!"
Rebecca, beside Roel, saw him and immediately rushed out, leaping up with a flying jump and embracing him like an octopus. Then she opened her mouth, biting his head while raining punches down on him.
Amidst the "clang, clang" sounds, the tall, thin man with gorilla arms cried out, but his gorilla arms protected Rebecca on him, preventing her from falling.
Maine led Roel over to the small round table. Sasha raised her hand, her cat-like face turned towards Roel, and with a smiling lip, she reached out and greeted Roel.
She also knew that Roel was there to protect her.
"You jerk, you jerk! You said we'd go together, but you ran off to pick up girls! You jerk, how dare you abandon me!"
"Maine is safer than me! What do you mean I abandoned you! And we just got in! Emerick only arrived five minutes ago, okay?!"
"Shut your mouth! Just wait to die!" Rebecca was still on Pilar's head, wrestling with her own brother.
Maine looked at Roel helplessly, but beneath his lowered sunglasses, his eyes held a smile. He said to Roel:
"Roel, the whole crew is here. Let me introduce everyone again. My name is Maine, the leader of this crew, responsible for combat. This is Dorio, my woman, the second-in-command of this team, also responsible for combat.
Sasha, the crew's hacker, the most important person on the team. Don't let her cute appearance fool you; she's actually a powerful hacker.
That person over there is Pilar, our crew's technical backbone. He can handle gun repairs and cyberware maintenance. Most of the jobs we take go through his hands. He's a true Night City native, having grown up here since childhood.
Rebecca, you know her, his sister. She's responsible for support work in the crew, and also... combat power?"
Roel nodded, saying nothing about Maine's use of "our."
Maine didn't mind. He pulled Roel to sit down, then called out to Rebecca and Pilar, who were still bickering.
After everyone sat down, Maine spoke first: "Should we get that job done today?"
Sasha heard this, looked up, and said, "I don't care. If you hadn't insisted on finding me a bodyguard, I could have finished that job two days ago."
The little cat's tone was full of confidence.
"Maine is just worried something might happen to you. This is our first corporate gig. Once we finish this, we'll officially be on the Fixers' radar, and we won't have to worry about not getting big jobs anymore," Pilar said, chuckling as he leaned in.
Rebecca held a cocktail, taking a small sip. She elbowed her brother in the stomach, who was leaning close to Sasha, and said, "So what are we doing today? Are we going to drink in the bar until dawn again, like the past few days?"
Maine looked at Roel, then at Sasha, pulled out a cigar, lit it, and puffed on it, saying, "This job can't be delayed any longer; it has to be done today. Rebecca, you and Dorio wait here at Afterlife. The rest of us will go."
"Why?" Rebecca immediately protested.
"Because none of us can do stealth work. This job involves stealing data, so the fewer people who go, the better. Your size is quite suitable, but your personality..."
Maine didn't continue, instead saying, "So, only Sasha and Roel will be infiltrating Biotechnica. I'll be responsible for driving the getaway car. Pilar, you'll come with me, and you'll be in charge of blocking signals. As soon as Sasha gives the word, I'll pick them up."
"No problem," Pilar said.
And Roel just nodded.