As night fell, Night City transformed again into a colorful world made of neon lights and flashing billboards. The road from the Life After bar to the company square was brightly lit, with cars continuously flowing along the streets.
The black-and-gold Deraman taxi moved along the road, blending into the night like a black panther, only revealing its low-key luxury when it passed through a small stretch illuminated by street lamps.
Lin Mo sat upright in the back seat, his expression serious, like a student about to face a crucial exam that would determine the future path of his life. Whether he would thrive or face hardships depended on tonight's actions.
"Hey, Lin Mo, you really dislike my car that much? Even though this one can't compare to your Stone Sword, it's not cheap on the market either. And you really had to pick that combat taxi?" Maine's voice suddenly came from the earpiece, breaking Lin Mo's train of thought as he was pondering if there were any missing details in tonight's mission.
Before they departed, Maine had already connected him to a secure channel so they could communicate at any time within range.
"No, I just think there might be unexpected issues tonight. The choice of a combat taxi is to prevent such things," Lin Mo replied calmly.
"Honestly, you're just not used to this edge-runner lifestyle. Us people from the streets, we don't use money to smooth things over like you. With your young master attitude, you've got to learn to change it. From my experience, tonight's mission is going to be smooth without any issues," Maine said earnestly.
From the current situation, the most risky part of the mission wasn't inside the building, but outside.
No one knew if BioTech would send someone to check on things in the meantime. If such a situation occurred, those stationed outside to keep watch would have to take on the task of blocking and intercepting.
As for the building itself, the security system wouldn't activate during the jammer's duration, so the risk inside wasn't as high.
So, in Maine's opinion, Lin Mo's excessive caution was unnecessary.
Lin Mo didn't immediately respond, understanding Maine's feelings.
Edge-runners came from all walks of life, a mix of people with varying skills. But as long as someone made a name for themselves, they could usually earn a decent commission.
At the Life After bar tonight, he'd gathered some basic intel.
For example, street thugs, gang members, and even regular mercenaries could sometimes get a contract through a middleman, as long as the timing was right.
Different middlemen held different kinds of work, but the contracts could generally be divided into several tiers.
The lowest-tier contracts usually paid a few hundred to a thousand eddies, which was a large portion of an average person's monthly salary.
Mid-tier contracts were worth several thousand eddies, enough for a few months of worry-free living.
As for contracts at the Life After bar, the commission was in the thousands, reserved for elites.
The highest-tier contracts, though, could be worth hundreds of thousands of eddies. One person couldn't handle those; they required a team to collaborate, often referred to as "big contracts" in the edge-runner community.
In Maine's eyes, Lin Mo's method of throwing money around for the job didn't look like something an edge-runner would do. It was hard for Maine to understand.
"The signal on this shitty channel is so bad, Lin Mo, can you hear me?" After a long pause, Maine cursed under his breath, his voice rising.
"I can hear you. As for tonight's mission, I'm clear on what needs to be done. Don't worry," Lin Mo replied.
No matter how much he explained, Maine, coming from a different background, would never fully understand his actions. Lin Mo could clearly see that. Even his older sister, with whom he had lived for eight years, didn't understand him. Now, Lin Mo didn't expect others to understand him either. He just needed to focus on his own work.
"Although this may sound a bit unethical, I have to let you know upfront, this is your personal action. I can't reimburse you for the cost of renting the combat taxi," Maine explained reluctantly.
"I understand. You don't have to worry about it. I just don't want any surprises tonight," Lin Mo responded.
Tonight, the commission for stealing data from the BioTech building would only be 60,000 eddies, a sum Lin Mo wasn't particularly interested in.
No, even the so-called "big contracts" didn't interest him.
What he needed to do was use money to smooth over obstacles, without pushing it too far to the point where people, like Maine, Rebecca, and Sasha, couldn't understand him but wouldn't grow distant from him either.
"By the way, when we get to the company square, we'll be waiting outside for Sasha. She'll handle things inside the building, and we need to set up the jammer outside to prevent anyone from entering the building. You didn't forget this plan, did you?" Maine continued, bringing up another topic.
"Do you really not need me to help Sasha inside?" Lin Mo asked, frowning.
"You're still not used to this kind of operation. Stay outside and wait. With the jammer active, the risk inside the building is no higher than outside. Sasha can handle it alone. If you go in, you'll just slow her down," Maine said.
"Who knows if that Four-Eyes guy can be trusted," Lin Mo muttered.
Maine laughed, saying with resignation, "I don't like him either, but I can't deny that he's the best middleman around here. If his intel were wrong, it wouldn't benefit him at all."
Lin Mo could only remain silent.
The simulator had provided a vague report, and he wasn't sure if the "trouble" would happen inside or outside the building.
He'd have to be flexible. Whether something happened with Maine or Sasha, he couldn't let anything go wrong.
He'd even packed a little gift in Sasha's equipment bag, just in case anything happened inside the building, it might help her last a little longer.
The two continued to exchange information while riding, and eventually arrived at the BioTech building at the company square.
...
The car was parked by the road, and Maine left first to find a good spot to wait.
Lin Mo parked the Deraman taxi in the most strategic escape spot, grabbed his backpack, and headed towards the nearby staircase at the roundabout, about 100 meters from the building's entrance.
The roundabout was surrounded by sidewalks and green belts. The "bridge road" leading to each building hung above the street, with cars rushing below.
Looking at the familiar environment, Lin Mo couldn't help but smile.
During the day, he often came here to attend school.
But now?
He might be about to make a big headline.
"Wait here. If anyone tries to enter the building, we'll stop them!" Maine called out from not far away as he crouched down, watching the BioTech building's entrance.
"Is the jammer activated? Where's Sasha? I don't see her," Lin Mo asked seriously, throwing his backpack onto the ground.
"The jammer isn't with me; Sasha has it. She also brought the hacker device bag with other gear inside," Maine said, pointing towards the building.
"She went in just now, knowing we were waiting here."
"How long has she been in?" Lin Mo tensed, instinctively reaching for the hilt of his katana.
"Just went in. Everything should be fine. You can talk to her on the channel," Maine casually said.
Lin Mo nodded, turned, and contacted Sasha through the channel, asking, "Sasha, everything good on your end? Is everything going smoothly?"
"All good," Sasha replied briefly.
Hearing the short response, Lin Mo felt relieved.
But he didn't ask more questions. Sasha was acting alone, dealing with potential unknown risks, so she couldn't afford to be distracted by teammate inquiries.
"Stay safe. Make sure to return before the jammer's time runs out," Lin Mo said.
It seemed like no surprises had happened yet. The simulator showed that the early stages of the mission were going smoothly. It seemed like things wouldn't take a turn until later.
Tick.
A droplet of water fell from the sky, landing on Lin Mo's hair. The air slowly filled with the damp smell of rain.
Lin Mo looked up, gazing at the dark sky. There were no stars to be seen, and the clouds had covered the sky. A distant thunderclap echoed, shaking the heavens and earth, as if the world was playing a symphony.
It was raining.
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