Judy, wearing her cool editing gloves, helped V with the dream debugging on the side, "Editing mode is ready; you can look around."
V fell silent for a moment, seemingly observing the environment of the recorded dream, "Kidney harvesting – definitely, no one else has this unique taste."
Street cleaners?
Roqi's face turned grim.
Although the kidney harvesters' evil reputation was well-known, he hadn't expected that Evelyn would be taken by them to film a dark dream, which seemed out of character for the "butchers" who dealt with blood and flesh all day.
Unless... they were filming this type of dark dream.
Evelyn's chances of escaping unscathed were certainly zero, but now, her chances of survival didn't seem very high either.
"A pizza slice, recently purchased." V found something on a nearby cabinet, but his tone wasn't too excited, "Cheap pizza, one euro per slice. Hmm... with anchovy and tuna flavors, as well as olives."
"The radio is turned up loud, perhaps to mask the screams." He continued searching for information left in the background noise, "There are screams, seeping through the vents, like the sound of a pig being slaughtered. It's definitely kidney harvesting."
"Phew..."
Judy took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
"She's thrown onto a recliner, tries to escape, but is punched..."
"Enough." Judy interrupted, then forcibly looked out the window, "We don't need these details... never mind, let's be thorough, no information can be left out."
"On the rack, there's a work uniform with the power company's logo..."
V continued to explore the dream world.
"There's also a regular box with Deckel, Rogers, and Tanaka's logos."
Laymen might not understand the meaning behind these names, but those present were not among them.
In short, they were cheap cardboard boxes with a few sealed bags inside, lacking even proper certification - small workshop products.
Usable, but just barely.
Especially energy storage products, their safety was almost like carrying a time bomb that could send you flying at any moment.
"Two people, a man and a woman, no obvious markings. Huh, didn't expect them to record dark dreams besides chopping meat and harvesting organs." V snorted, "A synthetic coffee smell, tsk, garbage, and it's cold."
"A 'one euro per slice' logo, same brand as the pizza."
"The coffee is cold... feels like it's been sitting for days, but the pizza is still fresh."
"So?" Judy was curious about V's focus, her thoughts a bit chaotic.
"It means someone regularly buys 'one euro per slice' stuff, and I bet it's not for the taste or freshness." V analyzed, "Their pizza tastes like foam plastic, who would go out of their way to buy it?"
Roqi chimed in on the channel, his eyes lighting up at the words.
"So, it's because it's close?"
"Right, what we're looking for is a power plant with a 'one euro per slice' store nearby."
V agreed.
"The power company has a large area in Charter Hill..." Judy connected to the internet, looking up the map of Night City, "Found it, it should be the old power plant of Charter Hill's power company."
"For now, that's all the information we have; we probably can't dig up anything else."
V exited the dream amidst a dazzling white light.
The radio was broadcasting historical news, talking about the fourth corporate war in the 2020s when military technology and Arasaka used biochemical weapons in the megacity of Busan, South Korea, resulting in the death of the entire city's population.
"We need to get there as soon as possible," V said, removing the dream-diving headband. "Let's go now."
Judy nodded and started the car.
As rock music played on the radio, the Night City receded under the night sky.
The car was quiet, with no one talking, mainly because there was no mood for it.
The red nightscape lights outside the window flowed into the car like liquid.
"I still can't help but think... the dream-diving sample we saw, the one with the Skull Moth..."
After a while, V rubbed his fingers, unable to contain himself.
"If it's all real, then..."
"Stop it," Judy interrupted V's worry, holding the steering wheel and giving him a glance. "Only a complete idiot would misuse her in that kind of subject."
The news on the radio continued.
Death in Busan, South Korea, rampaging artificial intelligence.
Not only did people die, but the city and even the internet died.
Only a group of AI, like lost souls, wreaked havoc.
Military technology and Arasaka's people shifted the blame, and NUSA President Miles remained silent.
Who would care about a country with no money to talk anyway?
"Evelyn is a girl with extraordinary talent in that area and has also installed a sex doll implant. I mean, she's not the kind of person you can easily find on the streets," Judy said while driving, talking about her understanding of Evelyn.
Her speculation was indeed well-founded. Although they were all sex dolls, Evelyn was much more expensive than the ones found in Twist Street.
But would a broken, expensive toy still be cherished?
Judy's car drove steadily along the coastal road on the west side of Japan Street.
However, her inner turmoil did not match her outward appearance of calm.
Across the river stood the magnificent buildings of Corporate Plaza, towering into the sky, like mountains rising from the ground.
In the distance, you could occasionally see the blinking lights of aircraft carrying cargo.
Night City at night was so cruelly beautiful.
Passing through the scenic area of Heywood, they proceeded along the river valley of Santo Domingo.
First, there were the reinforced concrete overpasses from decades ago, next to the new buildings of Petrochem, where even the air on the streets had a dull gray haze.
When would they finally get rid of the river valley? The residents here liked to joke like that.
For many people, this place was an endless construction site, where old buildings were demolished overnight to make way for new ones in the morning.
Currently, there was a power plant, a fully automated factory, a logistics center, and a massive landfill in the river valley.
Although it was not as chaotic as the Pacifica, investments often went awry here. As they drove by, they could see many unfinished buildings, many of which were gang hideouts. So, Arasaka and Petrochem had to use corporate armies to cautiously protect their assets.
High walls, electric fences, barbed wire, cameras, fixed gun turrets...
In short, this place was like a factory war zone.
On the dimly lit streets, some street thugs were chatting with each other, and the night was indeed quiet, except for the noise of industrial equipment.
"We're finally here."
Judy parked the car, breaking the silence.
"Are we going in?"
V pointed to himself and then to the others in the car.
"Y'all find a way in. I'll stay behind, scanning the subnet – see if I can find the blueprint of this factory area." Judy nodded, "I'll catch up with you when I find something. For now, let's stay in touch through the phone."
Soon, all five people in the car had joined the call.
And an excited Johnny.
[Roar roar roar, night exploration of the mysterious factory, a high-stakes rescue mission. How 'bout some bombs to celebrate?]Johnny started acting up again, [Just charge in, wipe them out completely. That's how they do it in the action movies.]
[Enough already. I'll strap the PDA to a remote-control car, and you can go in.]
Rogue and Maelstrom got out of the car, followed by a struggling Jackie.
[I'll miss you this time next year.]
"Alright, enough talk. Let's get in."
V closed the car door and took out his weapon.
The four stood outside the Electric Corporation's factory area, as the midnight wind blew through the streets, a bit chilly.
The huge "ELECTRIC CORPORATION" on the wall was blindingly bright, as if afraid that people wouldn't know.
"Barbed wire fence, coil mesh, heavy security... Por favor (please), isn't this like openly telling people there's something here?"
Jackie surveyed for a moment and chuckled.
"Cameras, V."
Rogue patted V's shoulder, pointing to a camera barely visible through the gaps in the iron fence, with two... cleaners below.
He nodded, squatting on an abandoned iron car, making "creaking" noises, stepping on some rust.
"Eleven cameras, four cleaners at the entrance alone. Quite the setup."
V shook his head, continuing to infiltrate.
As the blue light in his eyes flickered, one by one, the cameras were hacked.
"It's all people inside, I've turned off all the cameras for now. Be careful."
V unlocked a side door, and Rogue, Maelstrom, and Jackie followed him in quietly.
"Did you bring everything in?" A faint female voice mixed with the wind drifted over.
"More or less."
"What do you mean, 'more or less'!?" The voice raised a few notches, "Grab the box and get moving."
"I'm on break, don't yell." Another voice sounded very disinterested and lazy.
"Enough, stop slacking. Get that thing off the street."
"If you're in such a hurry, you go get it!"
"Seems like nobody's taught you manners, huh?" The assertive voice was unhappy, "I've been unloading cyberware for five years, let me tell you, there's no break here."
"I've been here four days, haven't done a thing, just moving boxes all day. I'm not doing this anymore!"
It seemed like quite a show was about to unfold.