Chapter 24

Turning left and right through the streets and alleys of Night City, they drove for about ten minutes before stopping in a dirty parking lot.

There were several homeless people around, their smelly bedding stuffed into holes next to trash piles under eaves, rusted vehicles reduced to mere shells casually discarded on the roadside, and the motel's pink neon lights cast a eerie atmosphere, making the rainwater appear misty.

"Wait..." V stopped everyone from getting out of the car, taking a call and putting it on the channel.

"What's going on? The news is full of Arasaka." Evelyn Parker's voice came through.

"Saburo Arasaka was killed by his son, what else?" Jackie didn't have a good impression of this woman.

"Where are you now? Did you escape? How's the Relic?" Evelyn asked hurriedly.

But at this moment, Loki stopped V and said, "The Relic is in our hands. We're going to find Dexter now."

"No, don't go to him," Evelyn said, "I can't talk freely here... In any case, ditch him, and I'll give you half!"

Half was fifty percent, and with the price of the Relic, the extra one and a half percent was an astronomical figure.

"We'll consider it," Loki motioned for V to hang up the call.

"What's wrong, Lucky?" V didn't understand Loki's meaning.

"Getting rid of the middleman in Night City isn't a good idea," Jackie said.

"It's not for that reason," Loki shook his head, "Originally, stealing the Relic was supposed to be a stealthy operation. Before Yorinobu Arasaka and the entire Arasaka could react, the Relic would have already reached the customer."

"But now something bigger has happened - Saburo Arasaka is dead, and he was murdered," Loki looked at them and continued his analysis, "Would Yorinobu Arasaka say he strangled him himself? So it could only be pinned on us."

"So the Relic..." Jackie exclaimed in shock.

Loki leaned against the car seat, his face etched with fatigue.

"This is my last premonition... Dexter, he's going to sell us out."

"What are you talking about?" V said in disbelief.

"How is that possible?" Jackie couldn't believe it either.

"Bug, you're listening, right?" Loki closed his eyes and asked softly.

On the other end of the channel, there was no sound.

"..."

"You've known Dexter for many years, even before he went on the run two years ago, right?" Loki sorted out his incredibly messy thoughts, "Jackie, V, do you understand now why the three of us were the ones to go to Konpeki Plaza and steal the Relic?"

"Damn it! That bastard! He's been planning this from the beginning!" Jackie only now began to realize the possibility and couldn't help but curse.

That meant Dexter never intended to pay them from the start.

"Are you sure?" V clung to the last bit of hope and asked.

Loki replied with a look.

V let out a breath, pulled out his pistol from his pocket, and loaded it.

"Bug, you knew about this, didn't you?" Loki spoke slowly, with no joy or sorrow, "Middlemen always grab customers from all over, finding the cheapest fools to complete the job, then throwing the bodies into the trash..."

"Enough," T-Bug interrupted, "Dexter has talked to me about this, but actually, I've always been wary - he might want to dispose of me as well. Besides, why do you think I've been so dedicated from the beginning? As long as we have the Relic, we won't worry about finding a buyer."

"So what do you mean?" V asked.

"If Dexter plans to betray us, I won't make it easy for him," T-Bug said solemnly, "If not, then we'll part on good terms, and after getting the money, we'll see each other in the next life."

"I'm afraid your plans for buying a mansion will have to be postponed," Loki smiled bitterly, "I can't be sure about other things, but I'm very clear about this one."

"But everyone, the problem we face now is not the Relic, but Yorinobu Arasaka."

V and Jackie cast questioning glances, and even the silent listener Moer looked this way.

"No matter how precious, advanced, or unique the Relic is, it can be replicated in Arasaka's lab," Loki looked at the night scene outside the window, his thoughts flying beyond the hundreds of buildings, "A single Relic can be sold for one, several, or even more billion, because no other company has it. But what's difficult for Arasaka to create a chip they've already made? Money can solve everything, and Arasaka has assets worth hundreds of billions of euros."

"Yorinobu Arasaka's next challenge is not us, but the brutal struggle within the company," Loki shook his head, "We're all just ordinary people, we can't even imagine the capital struggle of such multinational financial giants. But as long as they let some of their power leak through their fingers, it could affect the lives of hundreds or thousands of civilians."

"Then let's kill them," V clenched his gun and spoke harshly.

"Resisting Arasaka, huh, I wouldn't have dared to think about it in the past," Jackie felt strange about what he was about to face, "These past few days have felt like living in a dream."

"I don't care," Moer was very calm, "Military technology, Arasaka, it's all the same to me."

"You guys really are..." T-Bug let out a helpless sigh, "Think about what to do now, Dexter is still waiting for you."

Loki got out of the car, cut the rope on the van with a knife, got into the mech, waved to the bored driver waiting nearby to leave first, then turned to the others and said.

"Crackling…"

With a rough tearing sound, the closed diamond-shaped iron door of the motel was ripped open by the mech with a single hand.

Standing at the door waiting for customers, 0, wearing denim shorts, saw Luo Qi and immediately changed his expression, fleeing swiftly.

Trouble was coming.

He didn't know how to read people's eyes to get information, but if someone came to a motel like this driving a mech that looked like a meat grinder, then most likely someone would meet a terrible end tonight.

Slowly stepping onto the second floor, passing through a neon-lit door filled with sexual innuendos, they came to room 204.

Luo Qi gave V a glance and then walked in the opposite direction. V nodded and knocked on the door.

"Bang bang bang…"

No one answered, as if it was an unoccupied room.

"Bang bang… let me in."

V knocked again, but the door suddenly opened. A burly man wearing sunglasses grabbed him and looked towards the stairs.

Nobody there.

"He's waiting." The man said as he stepped aside, guarding the door.

That was Dexter's henchman, a guy named Oleg Dakovich, whom V and Jackie had met once before when they went to the Afterlife.

Lifting the cheap plastic sequin curtain, Dexter was holding a television with one hand, while the news anchor on channel 54 was reporting information about Arasaka Saburo.

"Let's return to this week's shocking news—Arasaka Corporation President and CEO Arasaka Saburo's murder case."

"Reportedly, the head of this Japanese business giant was assassinated at a family gathering held in the Konpeki Plaza, a hotel under the company's control. Arasaka Saburo's son, Arasaka Yorinobu, believes his father was murdered by a rival company, but so far, Yorinobu has not produced sufficient evidence to support this claim."

"Market analysts suggest that the assassination of the CEO may be a smokescreen to divert attention from the various ongoing internal issues within the company. After a brief break, we will conduct an expert interview on Arasaka Corporation's strategy to overcome this crisis."

Bullshit, apart from the fact that Arasaka Saburo was indeed dead, everything else was nonsense.

Lies, conspiracy theories, clickbait… This was the so-called free media of Night City.

Only the objective facts were worth hearing, while interpretations from all sides were filled with thick intentions and a manipulative nature.

"WNS, Channel 54, even the underground network… Everyone is talking about you guys!" Dexter angrily waved his cigar, his tone harsh, "Where are the others? Still in the car?"

"You don't care about us at all, do you?" V looked at him coldly.

"Watch your words," Dexter raised his eyes, "Where's my chip?"

"Didn't get it," V said according to the pre-arranged script.

"Hmm… That's at least some good news," Dexter turned his back.

"Good news?" V was somewhat surprised.

Dexter puffed on his cigarette, pacing back and forth, his voice filled with anxiety: "Arasaka Saburo? Dead! Do you know how much trouble you guys have gotten me into!?"

"You guys killed the fucking emperor! The fucking god!" Dexter waved his arm, growling in anger, "No matter who it is, if they have the slightest connection to this matter, they're all gonna fucking die!!"

"This is the shitty job you arranged!" V couldn't help it anymore, "How the fuck did you prepare? Didn't you know Arasaka Saburo would be at Konpeki Plaza?"

How many times had they been on the brink of death, how many times had they been terrified? If it weren't for Luo Qi's arranged escape route, they would've been long dead.

They were running for their lives, and now they had to be threatened by this selfish and greedy fat man.

"I can't fucking see his personal schedule! Besides, who asked you guys to kill that old man!" Dexter was also furious.

"We didn't kill him!" V gritted his teeth.

"Bullshit! Tell that to the Arasaka ninjas chasing you!" Dexter threw away his cigarette, stomping it underfoot, frustrated.

After a moment of silence, Dexter glanced at V and looked around. His voice suddenly became calm.

"Alright, let's cool down. We need to talk strategy." His fat body sat on the sofa, "A new place, a new identity, but first…"

"Your face is a mess… Covered in blood. The bathroom is over there. Go wash up first."

V shuddered, feeling a chill run down his spine.

It was exactly what Lucky had said!

"Okay…"

He lowered his head and quietly went into the bathroom.

Looking at the dirty, disheveled reflection in the mirror, V closed his eyes, leaning on the sink with both hands, letting out a pained sigh.

He turned on the faucet, and although the water had a strange smell, it was clear enough.

He scooped up a handful of the cool water and splashed it on his determined face.

"V, how are you?"

It was Lucky.

"Just like you said…"

V lowered his eyes, and after one last look at himself in the mirror, he revealed a strange, insincere smile.

"Don't worry, even if the whole world betrays you, you still have us, your brothers."

Lucky's relaxed laughter came from the other end.

"Alright."