However, the primary concern at the moment wasn't dealing with the cyber network world that loomed and threatened the entire world in its setting, but rather V and Jack.
When holding a keyboard and mouse, Luoqi could only sit in front of the screen with a smile tinged with a hint of frustration.
But now, he genuinely existed in this world, sitting at a street food stall, ordering a plate of fried rice and steak. Nearby, several NCPD officers were reconstructing the scene for a cybercrazy victim, and in the distance, NCPD-affiliated hackers were conducting street investigations.
Breathing in the strange mixture of smells in the air, a sliver of sunlight fell on Luoqi's slightly lifted face, shining through the gaps between the tall buildings.
The sunlight belonged to the respectable people who reached for the sky, while ordinary people like him, V, and Jack were only meant to enjoy the mud on the ground.
Even in death, they were destined to die in the dirt, rotting in piles of garbage on the roadside.
He gently bit his lip and then released it.
Luoqi longed for home, the home he could never return to, the home so far away it didn't belong to this world.
From the moment he arrived in this world, he had never stopped missing it.
But now, he finally had a new family - V and Jack.
Sometimes Luoqi had to admit that although Jack looked like a tough guy, he was actually a very sensitive and understanding person. Sometimes his words were clearer than anyone else's.
In this cold city, there was indeed a place like home, where everyone was like brothers and sisters.
Although this home was small, with only three people, it was filled with warmth like a three-winter embrace.
I'm Just a Passing Kamen Rider
"Hey, Jack, has V sorted it out yet?"
Luoqi stood on the stairs, his left hand in his pocket and his right hand holding a PDA.
Since V had gone to see Victor for a cyborg modification - if his memory served him correctly, it should be an optical eye from a crossroads master and a ballistic coordination processor in his palm - it was best not to disturb the process involving biological modification.
"Oh, Lucky." Jack snapped out of his daydream, seemingly lost in a comfortable haze, "V went to see Dexter, he said he wanted to talk face-to-face."
"Uh, I see, alright." Luoqi hung up the phone.
Looking back, there didn't seem to be any other important matters to discuss with V, and it was too late now anyway.
That fat black guy named Dexter would use a "nameless pawn or a rising star" approach to provoke before discussing serious matters. That pretentious attitude was incredibly annoying, not unlike some so-called "experts" and "successful people." They were exactly the same.
And this jerk even smoked in the car. Damn it.
Cough, cough, must stay civilized.
"Bang bang bang —!"
"Crackle...!!!"
"...PONG!!"
Before he could take a few more steps, Luoqi, who had planned to clear his mind and think about what preparations to make next, was startled by the gunfire that erupted in front of him.
Bloody hell!
He quickly executed a tactical maneuver (convincingly) and hid behind a low wall, peeking out with both eyes to observe.
"Ping!"
A crisp gunshot rang out, not far above Luoqi's head, about 20 centimeters.
It was a stray bullet that had hit a fence, splashing out beautiful, yet fleeting sparks.
Bloody hell!!
Luoqi hurriedly ducked his head, and then he heard the police officers shouting.
"Drop your weapons! Surrender immed—"
"PONG!!!"
A grenade sent the rest of the officer's words back in an explosion.
A large amount of shattered concrete debris and dust fell on Luoqi's head.
Luoqi: Bloody hell!!!
This was too much to bear; even his uncles and aunts couldn't stand it!
Luoqi pulled out his submachine gun, propped it up on a concrete block, and aimed the barrel at the rear ends of the gang members who were firing.
"Ratatatatatatat—!!!"
The rapid firing sound formed a continuous line, bullets flying out of the gun barrel, sweeping down the gang members hiding behind cover, just like cutting rice.
No one expected enemies to come from behind. For a moment, these guys who only cared about their front were caught off guard, their defenses shattered.
Luoqi held the submachine gun, keeping his body steady, and took out a new magazine with his left hand, knocked off the old one, and slammed it in.
The Dala Institute of Technology's DS1 Pulse — Pink Beast Heart Custom Edition, featuring a more delicate pink paint job and more brutal performance.
Dala's designers were not afraid to be the first to innovate, and for that, they had to be admired. This gun looked like someone had taken apart a standard machine gun and then had a blindfolded kindergartner put it back together.
But the Pulse was smaller than most similar weapons, making it more concealable. Unfortunately, originality always came at a price: this gun had a unique design but an astonishingly powerful recoil, making it notoriously difficult to control. However, its very, very low price more than compensated for its flaws, and the DS1 Pulse was a common weapon in slums.
This was one of the few weapons Luoqi could afford the customization price for — more brutal firing rate, more ferocious power, more stable trajectory, and a more comfortable human-machine interaction experience, which cost him about ten times the price of a mass-produced version.
2.25 seconds, 40 bullets, with a recoil powerful enough to knock someone with little strength to the ground.
"Ratatat—! Ratatatatat—!"
Circling around a pillar blocking his line of sight, Luoqi quickly aimed at a guy squatting in the corner, fired a burst of bullets, then immediately locked onto a second surprised enemy turning his head, and pulled the trigger with a single shot.
Clearing the area.
Luoqi dropped his weapon and gestured to the police across the street, who then lowered their guns.
"Who are you!?" A stern voice came from the portable speaker.
"Uh, well, just a passing Kamen Rider. No need to be polite, executing justice is my belief."
Luoqi waved his hand, put the safety on, and put away his gun, taking the opportunity to stretch his shoulder, which was aching from the recoil.
He then kicked one of the groaning gang members on the ground with his foot.
"The Tiger Claw Gang? What are they doing here? Isn't Watson District Vortex Gang's territory?"
Looking up, graffiti was everywhere, as well as overturned barbecue grills and tables and chairs. It was the kind of shabby alley where thugs and the poor often hung out. In such places, you could find addictive little pills, women who would clap for you at home (or in the alley) for a fee, black market prosthetics and weapons stripped from corpses or soon-to-be corpses, and so on.
Such places were common in Night City, and the NCPD's firefight with the Tiger Claw Gang was solely because they had discovered criminal activity rather than any other reason.
Since there was no value in staying here, Luoqi decided not to linger.
His mind was a bit messy right now.
Usually, after such gunfights and the thrill of life and death, his mind would become clearer. But now, he seemed to be caught in a difficult cycle.
Dexter was looking for V to discuss two things: first, to retrieve the military prototype spider robot codenamed "Little Flathead" from the Vortex Gang, whose leadership had changed; and second, to meet with the client who commissioned the task to discuss details — both steps were preparations for that mission.
As for the mission itself, it wasn't difficult.
It was just a matter of stealing the experimental chip called Relic, which was said to grant eternal life and had been created after countless hours of effort, from the heavily guarded suite in the highest building of the Arasaka Seaside in Night City, the Konpeki Plaza, home to the crown prince of the Arasaka Empire, one of the corporations that monopolized the country's political and economic lifeblood.
That was all, not too difficult, worst case scenario he would just die...
Damn it! I don't want to die, waaagh!
"I can't panic, I can't panic..."
Luoqi pinched his chin, pacing back and forth on the spot and hopping from side to side.
"Stay calm, composed, cool, and steady. Panicking now means losing."
"Let's start by sorting out the logic."
"First, we need to go to Konpeki Plaza..."
Aaaargh!
This is killing me!
Luoqi suddenly freaked out, grabbing his head and shouting.
He then noticed that the NCPD officer next to him, who had just had a slightly grateful expression, changed to a cautious one, seemingly ready to press the emergency button and call the anti-terrorism unit at any moment.
"Heh..." Luoqi immediately returned to a normal posture, "Sorry, I have some troubles on my mind and need to think calmly."
"I wish you success in your work, a happy life, good health, and see you later."
Luoqi finished his last sentence in the tone of a swimming expert and disappeared at the speed of light at the street corner.
Walking on the bustling streets, occasionally waiting for traffic lights, he lowered his head and pondered his way out.
"First, we need to go to Konpeki Plaza..."
"Getting in won't be a problem; the only issue is escaping when..."
Huh?
What!?
"Damn, why the hell do I have to go there at that exact moment to die!" Luoqi suddenly stood in the middle of the road, his eyes shining, and struck his palm with his fist.
If they followed the plot, the three of them would experience the following events:
Disguise → Infiltrate → Hack → Obtain access → Enter the suite → Steal Relic → Witness Riesz killing his father Saburo → Alarm → Escape → Jackie gets shot → Relic container leaks → Jackie uses Relic → Escape → Jackie dies from his wounds → Game Over → My mood is like the drizzling rain outside the window → Close the game → Open Steam → Help → Steam Support → I want a refund.
Get lost! Na, na, na!
What bad intentions could the Polish donkey have? At most, they'd just write Jackie's death.
Luoqi suddenly had the urge to book a flight to Europe and blow up CDPR's headquarters.
So now, he had to do his best to settle the Relic matter before Arasaka Riesz went crazy, and then the three of them would hide their achievements and names.
As for those who ask, "Why not infiltrate after Saburo's death?" Drag them out and use the autocannon on a Trauma Team floating armored vehicle to execute them for half an hour — a fully alerted Konpeki Plaza with increased military force would require a Gundam to fight.
If it weren't for Delamain driving V and Jackie quickly in the plot, the entire building would soon be filled with Arasaka troops, comparable to an anti-terrorism unit.
At that point, only "Wind Spirit Moon Shadow" could save them.