"He said that Helmann told Saburo that Yorinobu was plotting something sinister and wanted to take him as a witness or something," Jack explained.
"It seems he's out of luck now," Rokki laughed.
Running from Arasaka all over the world and having all his cyberware remotely disabled, Takemura Gorou could not singlehandedly deal with Helmann.
Besides, he had other more important things to deal with—proving his innocence, joining the opposition led by Hanako Arasaka, and rejoining the political struggle within the corporation.
Or, as he put it, he could not let Yorinobu Arasaka get away with his schemes.
"Can you leave your PDA behind? Is that possible?"
Rogue suddenly made this request. Rokki was initially surprised, but thinking of her relationship with Johnny, he forced a smile on his face, not daring to reveal a meaningful grin.
"It should be fine. Johnny's relic is plugged into the PDA."
Rokki barely managed to stop himself from revealing another secret.
That mysterious system, which Johnny himself still couldn't figure out even after being repaired by the system.
Anyway, the PDA was in Rogue's hands, as were the earbuds. If she insisted on taking them, Rokki couldn't do anything about it.
[By the way! Damn it! Johnny, hurry up and delete the study materials!!]
Rokki's expression collapsed in 0.1 seconds, and he frantically called Johnny in his mind.
[Now you remember me? You beg me, huh? Beg me and I'll delete it.]
Sure enough, seizing this great opportunity, Johnny started to "make waves" again, laughing smugly.
"I'm sorry, my payment chip is still in there, along with various contact information and applications," Rokki awkwardly explained to Rogue. "As you can see, I don't have implants."
"No problem." Rogue thought it was something serious, waved her hand carelessly, her eyes lighting up. "I'll have someone make a copy of everything in there."
A few minutes later, a mercenary brought a chip. Rogue pointed at Rokki, gesturing to hand it to him.
"This is your compensation, not included in the commission. Next time, I'll compensate you with a new PDA."
Rogue's indifferent gaze had turned into an extravagant, money-is-no-object demeanor in his eyes.
With things mostly sorted out, Rokki and his team just needed to wait for Rogue's news. Once they had enough information, they'd start preparing for action.
They needed to dig Helmann out and take him away before he disappeared without a trace under Kang Tao's control.
When Rokki stepped out of the Afterlife Club's door, he had never felt Night City's air so fresh.
Not having to worry about hiding from Arasaka was truly blissful.
The feeling of not having Johnny constantly chattering in his ear was also blissful.
Jack invited V out for a late-night snack, not sure if they'd go on to "harass" Misty later in the night. But seeing Mower inseparable from Rokki, he smiled meaningfully, hopped on his motorcycle, and sped off, disappearing around the corner, leaving only the roaring engine noise and slowly dissipating exhaust fumes.
Although V had once suggested Jack change his exhaust, it seemed that it had only gone from "deafening" to "rumbling."
He looked up at the sky, obscured to just a sliver—bright moon, few stars.
The air in Night City was just as terrible as ever, but it was only a psychological effect.
For once, they didn't have to settle for a subpar hotel or bribe the front desk for a better room. That night, they were able to choose a clean, tidy, and reasonably priced hotel, booking a double room to get a good night's sleep.
Tomorrow was finally something to look forward to.
After getting drunk, one doesn't know where the sky meets the water, as the boat is filled with dreams beneath the stars.
Luo Qi had a very poetic, yet somewhat strange dream.
Under the poetic moonlight, he felt tipsy, lying on a gently rocking flatboat, entering an area filled with stars, the moon, and flowers. Then, he heard the faint sound of a zither.
The melody was graceful and lingering, like a nostalgic yearning from ancient times.
The surface of the lake gradually stirred, and slanted rain fell on the crystal-clear water, creating ripples.
Among the countless petals and leaves, he found the source of the sound - an elegant pavilion.
Just when he was about to investigate, the music suddenly stopped, and Luo Qi's heartbeat did the same.
There were no lovable, self-pitying girls, only Johnny Silverhand holding an electric guitar.
Damn it!!!
Luo Qi's hair stood on end as he bolted up from the bed, his eyes wide open, scared out of his mind.
But the surroundings were not a pavilion, but the hotel they had stayed in the previous night.
Mo Er was startled and stood nearby, looking worriedly at him, patting him on the back.
"Did anything happen?!"
Luo Qi, still in shock, sat back down on the edge of the bed, looking bewildered as he wiped his hair and looked at Mo Er.
She shook her head, her hair still slightly damp, and handed him something.
It was a small, exquisite PDA, a product of Dongyue Electronics - the kind he couldn't afford.
"Rogue sent someone with this, and said Regina has something for you."
Mo Er gently sat next to him, grabbing the breakfast that was placed on the nightstand.
Luo Qi opened the PDA, which had several missed calls and unread messages.
All the data from the original device had been transferred, so all he had to do was familiarize himself with the operating system.
Among them were two calls and a message from Regina.
[Urgent Request
Sender: Regina Jones
Recipient: Lucky
Did you see this message? Please contact me immediately, and quickly.]
The message was sent at two in the morning, and it was now 11:40 AM, almost lunchtime.
On the first night of total relaxation and rest, Luo Qi slept like a log.
He licked his slightly dry lips, looked at the package held by Mo Er, and smelled the scent of porridge.
Compared to junk food, Luo Qi preferred rice for his first meal of the day. This preference, built over many years, couldn't be changed in just six months.
Before this, he had casually mentioned it once, and Mo Er had remembered.
He looked at Mo Er, who was quietly playing with her hair, as sunlight fell on her back, casting their shadows on the floor.
The sound of running water came from the sink, followed by the sound of a toothbrush brushing teeth, and then the sound of a handful of water splashing on his face to wash off the cleansing foam.
"Hey, Regina, it's Lucky."
He patted his damp face, dialed Regina's number, turned on the speakerphone, and threw it on the blanket.
"I know, you don't have to introduce yourself every time." Regina said irritably, and then her tone changed, becoming serious, "Although I don't know how you got in touch with Rogue, congratulations anyway. I have a job here, or rather, someone commissioned me to find someone to do this job, are you available?"
"Of course, how can I not have time for Boss Jones' job?" Luo Qi joked with a smile, "Let's hear the details."
"Old Captain, ever heard of him? He needs a tough guy to do something, an ordinary person won't do, I think you might be able to."
Regina got straight to the point.
"Old Captain? Miles?"
Luo Qi, holding a bowl of porridge in one hand and a spoon in the other, asked unclearly.
"Please, when will your face blindness, directionally challenged behavior, and always forgetting other people's names be cured..."
Regina complained, not minding Luo Qi's behavior of eating while chatting.
"Miles is the President of the New American Federation, and Old Captain is called Muammar Reyes."
"Uh..."
Luo Qi took a bite of the pancake held by Moer, chewing.
"In a sense, you're not wrong, there's 'Mai', 'Er', and 'Si'."
"Enough with the cold jokes, I'll send you his contact information, get in touch as soon as possible." Regina shook her head helplessly, then added, "Although Old Captain has many methods, he has a good reputation, and you can basically trust him."
"Alright, thanks. I'll pay back the commission I owe you soon."
The call ended.
Luo Qi tapped the message with the little finger of the hand holding the spoon and dialed the contact information Regina sent.
"Hello? What do you need me for?"
A thick male voice sounded in the room, somewhat low, the kind of tough older brother.
"I'm Lucky, I heard from Regina that you have a job?"
Finishing breakfast in no time, Luo Qi put the trash into a plastic bag while talking.
"Right, that's correct, I asked for you."
Old Captain's voice was quite distinctive, rough and full of personality.
"I've heard of you, Dexter was taken down by you, it seems Regina found me a tough character."
"You're too kind, it seems you know me well, I won't introduce myself then." Luo Qi picked up the PDA and pressed his elbow against his thigh.
"Good, I like confident people like you."
Old Captain spoke straightforwardly, not hiding anything.
"I'm in charge of the Santo Domingo territory. The commission is simple: Militech is preparing to ship some goods to Night City soon, someone is targeting it, but there are many security personnel escorting it, including tough special forces characters, so we need some 'insiders' to help."
He quickly described the situation in a few words and explained in detail.
"But be prepared, they pay with 20% of the value of the goods. However, given the scale of the operation, I estimate that there will be no shortage of valuable items. For the specifics, you can talk to them yourself."
Twenty percent?
Luo Qi listened to the busy tone on the phone but didn't rush to contact the employer.
Moer could hear the content of the conversation clearly on the side.
"This commission is from Militech, do you want to..."