"She's very close to Yorinobu Arasaka, you could say they're quite intimate..." Shamura made a gesture, "She knows how to get close to him."
"So?"
"She must be involved in some plot; we need to find her and clarify it in person."
Luochi shook his head: "Evelyn... a mysterious woman. To say she's just an ordinary Clouds doll would be a joke. Unless she has sky-high ambitions and just enough ability, she couldn't possibly plan these things."
"And the relic..." Luochi glanced at the PDA, then at the solemn Shamura, without revealing the truth, "can't be traded anymore either."
"Initially, Evelyn asked me to kick Dexter out and offered me 50%." V held out one hand, swaying it from side to side, "She must have a buyer behind her."
"I don't think that's likely. She may have... flown far away already," Shamura disagreed, "I tried to find her but couldn't. I suspect she deliberately hid her whereabouts."
"This woman is very mysterious."
"Maybe there's a big company behind her. Today you steal from me, tomorrow I steal from you, actually, they're no different from the gangs." Jackie waved his hand.
Among the people present, including Shamura, who had investigated her, no one knew what kind of person Evelyn was.
Except for V, who had at least some contact.
"I don't know," V admitted his unfamiliarity, "But she knows a lot about the relic, and many, many other secret pieces of information."
"To be precise, she's very mysterious - the kind with corporate agents sneaking around behind her... You know what I mean."
However, Shamura felt insulted and slammed his hand on the table: "Do you think I'm also 'sneaky'?"
[Ah, save me... this awkward accent.]Luochi could almost imagine Johnny's expression, looking up at the sky.
"Yorinobu Arasaka is already sending people to silence us, and you still want to consider the company?" V expressed his dissatisfaction with Shamura.
In his view, the company was the embodiment of evil, with nothing good to discuss.
"Yorinobu Arasaka must pay for the crimes he committed." Shamura paused for a few seconds before finally speaking firmly.
V shook his head helplessly: "Humph, you want to uphold justice in Night City?"
"What I want is revenge. This is more feasible." Shamura tapped the table, "I have allies, and we plan to make Yorinobu face justice. Now we just need evidence."
[Oh my God...]
Johnny Silverhand practically spat out these words with his breath.
[Enough, if you can't stand it, just turn off the mic.]Luochi shook his head, [Go listen to your rock music.]
"What's in it for us?"
Interrupting Shamura's plan, Luochi held up one finger.
Now that V's life wasn't in danger due to the relic, there was no need to deal with Arasaka.
Although they couldn't earn a fortune once and for all, as long as they were alive, there were plenty of opportunities in Night City.
"If you take down Yorinobu Arasaka, your suspicions will be cleared, and Arasaka will no longer hunt you down," Shamura said, "And if you help Arasaka, they can give you a lot in return."
"Being a dog for Arasaka? No, thanks." V rejected the proposal.
Shamura seemed displeased with his response and stood up to leave.
"Wait, I'm interested."
?
Everyone else present cast surprised and puzzled glances, even the calm Old Vic wanted to hear what Luochi had in mind.
"Let me put it this way." Luochi sat down, "I need to find Anders Hellman and Evelyn Parker."
"How do you know him?" Shamura looked at him suspiciously.
"We did our homework on this deal - the relic was designed by Hellman; it's his work," V added.
Luochi looked into Shamura's eyes and said word by word, "I need to meet him."
Seeing Luochi's intentions, Shamura thought for a while and sat down again: "Anders Hellman has already betrayed Arasaka and escaped. I've been looking for him for many days. He suddenly - what's the word - oh right, he disappeared without a trace."
"You couldn't find him, and now you want us to help you turn things around. There's no such collaboration." V was not interested in the pie-in-the-sky offer from Shamura about the runaway, "As for Arasaka hunting us down, it's not the first time. If we have to fight their people again, we'll fight."
"It seems there's nothing more for us to discuss." Seeing that cooperation was unlikely, Shamura sighed.
"No, it's not us who need something now." Luochi smiled, "How many connections do you still have in Arasaka? You're still a fugitive on the run, with your cyberware remotely disabled. How do you plan to complete your revenge?"
"Planning, preparation... all of it takes time. As long as you help me, you'll definitely benefit." Shamura was confident in Arasaka.
Luochi stroked his chin: "How many direct members are left in Arasaka now? Yorinobu Arasaka, Hanako Arasaka..."
"And Michiko Arasaka, the granddaughter of Saburo," Shamura said, then shook his head, "She can't get involved in this matter; it's not her turn."
"So you're planning to help Hanako Arasaka defeat Yorinobu Arasaka, on what grounds?"
"We need evidence, a neutral venue, and a rational person to preside over the hearing. We'll also use... certain programmatic means to reveal the truth," Shamura shared his vision.
"A board meeting? Is that really useful in the face of guns?" Luochi was somewhat helpless with his naivety.
"I understand, but there's no other way now," Shamura frowned, "Help Hanako Arasaka, take down Yorinobu Arasaka, she'll definitely thank you. This is politics."
Luochi accepted the drink silently handed to him by Misty and nodded in gratitude - this good girl was thoughtful, preparing thirst-quenching drinks for everyone.
She really seemed more and more suitable for Jackie.
"This is a struggle of capitalistic nature, not politics, narrow-minded." Thinking of various related textbooks, Luochi felt a bit overwhelmed, "How do you make Hanako Arasaka trust you? Are you her man? I remember you were Saburo Arasaka's bodyguard."
"Miss Hanako and Lord Saburo are firmly united, not like that scoundrel Yorinobu Arasaka."
Shamura said through gritted teeth, politely nodding to Misty as well.
"Seems like someone's been busy," V didn't give this corporate dog any good face.
"As long as I can find information and prepare for the plan, I won't sit idly by," Shamura said calmly, "As for Evelyn Parker, she can't help you."
"You don't even know why we're looking for her yet, why do you say that?" Jackie questioned.
To be honest, he didn't understand why Luochi was looking for these two either.
"She's just a pawn for some people; the real big shots are not like that."
Shamura was very confident in this matter.
Having served as Saburo Arasaka's bodyguard for many years, what kind of influential people hadn't he seen?
Evelyn Parker was, at most, a slightly more formidable spy - and that was probably the highest level she could achieve.
Shamura believed in his own judgment.
"She's just a doll, and I've checked her records. They're not fake; she's a real doll," Shamura continued to share the information he had gathered, "I don't know what you want with her, but the people behind her are key. Maybe they have designs on Arasaka."
"For us, Evelyn is a secondary target. I just want to know what the people behind her want to do with the relic," Luochi confirmed Shamura's statement, "But now, we can't be impatient. Arasaka's pursuers are all over the world; we must act discreetly."
There were still some things he hadn't said.
But with Shamura present, he had to hold back some information.
"Dexter was the middleman; he wanted to kill us and pin the blame on us. He didn't follow the rules of the streets, so I tore him apart."
Luochi put the can on the table.
"Evelyn Parker is the client. No matter if the relic is good or bad, she just vanished..."
"I have to find her, or the people behind her, and get an explanation."
V agreed, "There's honor among thieves, haven't you heard that?"
"I've heard it, quite ironic," Shamura fearlessly met their gazes, "Honor is loyalty; a bunch of thieves are worthy of honor?"
"Yorinobu Arasaka would definitely agree with that," V sarcastically replied.
Wasn't the relic just stolen by this eighty-something-year-old brat (?) from his father's laboratory?
"So the profits and surplus value that corporations exploit from the people are willingly offered?" Luochi found his theory laughable, "Oh, I almost forgot, it's not stealing, it's outright robbery."
"Say whatever you want," Shamura didn't want to continue this topic.
The gap in values between the two sides was too great, making it difficult to discuss these essential issues in depth.
"This is Night City," Luochi didn't plan to argue with him, "There is no justice here, only interests. You and I just have different positions, that's all."
"Positions, huh...?"
In the end, Shamura left.
He left a phone number and said to contact him anytime if there was any progress.
Not long after Shamura left, Jackie went to the iron gate to make sure he had really left, then slipped back.
"Lucky, I have a question, why are we looking for that He...rman?"
Luochi looked around at everyone and put the PDA on the table, "Johnny?"
[...So stupid, you want them to look at me like a monkey?]Johnny rolled his eyes, [And who are these people? Can they be trusted?]
[I just met you less than an hour ago, and you trust me, right? Don't worry, they are all reliable family members.]Luochi said helplessly.
"Alright, seems like I need to change my approach."
Luochi cleared his throat and spread his hands towards the PDA.
"Ta-da! Here comes the... JOHNNY!"
After a moment of silence, the scene fell into a brief awkwardness.
"Damn... that was so stupid."
Johnny finally appeared on the PDA screen after being called upon.
His curly shoulder-length rock hairstyle, cool aviator sunglasses, sideburns, and stylish mustache, along with the deep sense of freedom and rebelliousness between his eyebrows and eyes.
"Your friend?" V asked, looking curiously at the rock star on the screen.
Old Vic's face changed a bit, then he smiled.
"What are you laughing at, Old Vic?" Luochi asked curiously.
"I was thinking, even in 2077, those who are remembered will still be remembered, and those who are forgotten, well, they may be forgotten overnight," Uncle Victor's face showed a look that Luochi couldn't quite understand.
"Ah, I get what you mean," Luochi nodded, "Some people are alive, but they're already dead. Some people are dead, but they're still alive."
"Nice words, who said that?" Jackie seemed to have taken a liking to these philosophical sentences.