"Hmm... I didn't expect you to be a minimalist, only having a neural interface and a prosthetic eye. How did you meet V?"
Old Wei asked while giving Lille a second full-body check.
"You might not believe this—I only met V yesterday when I almost got my kidneys harvested."
"Huh?" Old Wei was taken aback. "But she said she's going to do a big job with you?"
"Yeah—Old Wei, look at all the high-tech stuff on V, and this small base we have here. We're making some headway."
"This... seems a bit beyond Old Wei's understanding."
Just yesterday, Lille almost lost his kidneys, V happened to save him, and then the two decided to pull off a big job? And they already got all sorts of machines and put together this base?
Though it didn't look like much, overall it was fully functional. Private communication channels, prosthetic implantation equipment, a spacious apartment for both of them to live in.
"...Alright, I won't say much, but choosing to keep your prosthetics simple was the right call. I found several backdoors.
These backdoors might be hard for most people to find, but I have cleared them out for you and V.
If it were more complex prosthetics, I probably wouldn't have been able to do it—these backdoors are added directly by the cyber surveillance department as part of the official verification."
"Thanks, Old Wei. V said you're the best prosthetics doctor in Night City, and you really live up to the name."
Old Wei chuckled, "V said you're from Night City too, so how come I haven't seen you before?"
Lille smiled bitterly, "Well... I used to be a nobody. Now, to make a living, I have to unleash my potential."
"So after this job, what are your plans? Going back to Night City? Or staying in Atlanta?"
Lille thought for a moment, "I should go back to Night City. As for V, I think she's also likely to return.
Once we get the money, I need to find a top-tier prosthetic brain cortex implant, only this level of prosthetic can replace the necrotic grey matter and keep me from being paralyzed."
"Then you've got some serious earning ahead. In Night City, these prosthetics are in high demand."
Compared to Atlanta, the disparity between the haves and have-nots in Night City is more significant.
In Atlanta, such prosthetics are sold on store shelves, and they even have substantial sales, although they are civilian-grade.
Getting black market goods is as tough as it gets.
While in Night City, the proportion of gang members and street punks skyrockets. They don't like official merchandise, even if they install it, they prefer combat prosthetics close to military-grade.
Everywhere you go, you find black market goods of varying quality.
"Yeah, I have to throw all the money I earn this time into it... I haven't thought about what to do next."
Old Wei paused. So the money from this job was enough?
That must be a massive score.
Bam.
The door swung open, and V stood at the entrance. "Zhu Shen is here, what's the next step?"
Zhu Shen followed behind, his face still pale. The loss of his prosthetics and the system disorder caused by a virus made him increasingly uncomfortable, looking like he could barely stand.
"Damn it... can we get started? I can't stand this damn system virus anymore."
"Of course—just need to confirm the final details: how do we get into Kantao Company to grab Cai Pin's transport plan and location."
Lille opened the door, inviting Zhu Shen in for a detailed discussion.
The middleman and the client confirmed the mission details, while the grunts didn't need to know, they just had to follow orders.
The door closed, and V sat at the computer, opened a bottle of soda, and said, "Old Wei, this place is a pain, but I've finally got a foothold—
You know how much I'm getting from this job? Fifty percent!"
Old Wei chuckled, "And how much is that exactly? Looks like the kid from Haywood is finally going to get rich."
V thought for a moment, "Originally, it was a total of two million, but now half of it went to that association, and another twenty grand got spent... hmm, at least we can still split four hundred thousand, I think."
"That's quite a lot—planning to stay around there?"
"I think this kid is pretty good at generating business, maybe he'll become a famous middleman in Atlanta? I've been an old partner for a long time, so it's only fair to make some more money, right?
Hey, Old Wei, don't you think people in Atlanta would be disgusted by the surveillance backdoors in their prosthetics?
Do you think smuggling Night City's black market prosthetics would be profitable..."
Seeing V deep in thought, Old Wei shook his head with a smile. "I think business decisions should be left to the middlemen...
But speaking of middlemen, you do know what kind of people they usually are, don't you and Lille know each other for less than a day?"
V nodded, "I know what you mean—I'll handle it. If he cheats me, I'll just shoot him dead. He's just a scumbag..."
——————
"I'll reiterate one more time, I don't want the cyber surveillance or the APD knocking on my door."
Lille waved his hand. "I know, now wire me fifty grand as the task funds, and another fifty grand after the job is done. My people will get the job done—check the news."
Lille pointed to a nearby TV, broadcasting today's breaking news.
A group of Scavengers' base had a shootout, and when APD arrived, it was filled with Scavenger corpses—as if V was still hunting them down.
Creating such illusions was easy, Notte could make APD put in some extra hours with a little push.
In reality, they always had information on numerous Scavenger hideouts, keeping them untouched was for moments like this.
Zhu Shen raised an eyebrow, "Your people, huh? Looks like I have no choice but to pay."
Neither of them bothered about where the money came from or who would receive it.
Lille had already utilized Notte's network to obtain Zhu Shen's position: officially a supply chain specialist, but formerly the intelligence director for Kantao in Atlanta.
Someone like that would always have a backup plan, a secure account or two, especially for special tasks.
"I'm glad we've reached an agreement—I can secure an eight-hour action window, but you're most familiar with Kantao."
Zhu Shen nodded and took out a Separation Chip. "The chip contains the building data you need—backup data, install it."
Lille inserted the Separation Chip, and a 3D model of the building emerged in his mind.
[First contact with special technology: Separation Chip]
[Technology Points Gained: 10]
[Current Technology Points: 56]
"You're breaking into our warehouse at the logistics park. The company has a 300-acre area here for transshipping goods.
We don't have much business here, so the territory isn't large.
You can find the office building here, the tallest one, on the 7th floor. My office is there."
"How do we get in?"
"The security is divided into five zones, with shifts every 12 hours. Each shift covers one zone, and it takes five minutes to complete the shift for one zone, totaling twenty-five minutes to complete all five zones.
This is the shift sequence—follow this route, and you'll have a twenty-five-minute action window."
Lille rubbed his chin, "I like this straightforward social engineering hack—what's the likelihood of Cai Pin changing the security plan?"
"Zero, the shipment is internal confidential, so she doesn't have the authority to change the park's security temporarily."
Lille smiled with interest, "If you want to fool others, you must first fool your own people, right?"
Zhu Shen paused, "That's the idea."
"What next?"
"After entering the office, you'll need to find my computer—as the operations leader, she will have the authority to alter the office security.
But don't worry, you need to find the decorative cabinet on the right wall. I've installed a physical backdoor here, this is the key, it can override the security protocol with my configuration."
Zhu Shen reached towards his abdomen, his skin opened, revealing a small pocket space from which he took out a chip and placed it on the table.
Lille's eyes showed some surprise—this guy was really cautious.
"Once the security protocol is overridden, you must find... Project Name: Reality Distortion in the database.
You'll find Cai Pin's transport plan there—though I believe she wouldn't have made significant changes."
Lille's eyebrow twitched slightly, but he said nonchalantly, "It's still better to confirm."
"Exactly, once we have the plan, we intercept her on the road—the security force won't exceed a mechanized squad, for cover-up purposes.
We take them out, and then..."
"My friends will escort the convoy out of Atlanta, and in the next city, you can reconnect with the headquarters and swap in your own people."
Zhu Shen looked satisfied, "You have a knack for this kind of work; I would love to invite you to be my deputy."
"Thanks—but no thanks. Kantao's trauma team gold membership isn't going to solve my problem."
Zhu Shen spread his hands, "I can see you're not in good health, but I didn't expect it to be this serious—aside from the company, who else can solve your problem?"
"You're right, but for now, I need a Si Anweisitan prosthetic cortex. Maybe after the job, you could sell me one of your flagship models at a discount?"
"Of course." Zhu Shen agreed almost immediately, "Although our best Si Anweisitan Qian Ti-4 model still lags behind Military Technology's Apogee in performance, I'm confident the company will overcome that soon.
If you're willing to take some risk, I can get the new model for you as soon as it's out."
Lille smiled, "That's great, Mr. Zhu, I think meeting you is truly my good fortune."
They shook hands again, both smiling.