Jackie no longer dared to put his hand out of the car window:
"Chica, it's all up to you!"
Jingxuan occasionally turned the steering wheel, like Qin Wang circling the pillar:
"Don't mention it, V, this car's price is truly touching, and its handling is really something else. It makes me want to buy one too."
They had driven all the way from Li Scenic Area to Pacifica, and half of the pursuing NCPD were gone.
Jackie: "The Quadra Type-66 640TS is good, right? 666 horsepower, so of course, it's very 666. If you dare to drive towards the Dogtown gate, I'll call you Sister Jingxuan!"
Jingxuan had been speeding all the way and was already overly excited:
"Alright! Come on! Whoever doesn't dare to go is a grandson!"
The roads in Pacifica were not only dirty but also full of roadblocks. One wrong move and it was a collision, forcing many NCPD police cars to stop.
The MAX-TAC aerial vehicle above them was still blaring its siren, but at this point, Jingxuan and Jackie weren't too scared anymore.
They had figured out the other party's intention: they wouldn't actually make a move.
They needed V's chip, intact.
At the spot, Jingxuan pulled the handbrake, drifted, raising a large cloud of dust, and slid to the Dogtown gate...
On the ground and walls, countless Wraiths soldiers aimed their guns at the Quadra Sports car.
The car stopped, and Jingxuan and Jackie, though inside, instinctively raised their hands.
Jackie's forehead was covered in sweat:
"Holy crap, I admit I'm a grandson, you're amazing, Sister Jingxuan..."
Doggo laughed wildly in the back seat: "Hahahahahahaha! You're amazing, my Xuan'er! What do we do now?"
Not far from the orange Quadra, a cluster of NCPD police cars also screeched to a halt, piled together.
The MAX-TAC aerial vehicle just hovered, not getting any closer.
The situation was truly tense, feeling like the NCPD would start fighting the Wraiths in the combat zone any second.
Everyone was afraid to make a move.
The highest-ranking NCPD officer on the scene received a call on his rearend-mounted phone. After a series of "Okay, okay," the NCPD police cars, including the MAX-TAC, turned around and left.
Jingxuan's phone also rang. It was V. She answered:
"How are things, Jingxuan? Are you two alright?"
Jingxuan gave an awkward laugh: "Hehe, we're fine, and the chip's fine, it's just that your car is trashed from me scratching it, and there are quite a few bullet holes..."
"Thank goodness, I've already contacted Night Corp. The NCPD won't bother you anymore."
Jackie also joined the call channel:
"How did you do that? It sounds so unbelievable! Are you a relative of the Arasaka family?"
V: "Simply put, I got some information about a secret deal between the person who targeted us, Susan Abernathy, and Night Corp. I used this to threaten Night Corp's people and made them recall the pursuit of you. Now, drive to Arasaka Tower as fast as you can. Don't worry, the NCPD won't ticket you for speeding, at least not for now."
This time, Jingxuan gave a bitter smile:
"Uh, I wish, but we hid in a rather unexpected place to escape the NCPD's pursuit..."
V: "Where did you hide?"
Jingxuan: "Uh, hehe... Dogtown..."
V: "Ah? What do we do now? I need that chip urgently!"
Jingxuan: "This isn't gang territory, and I don't know what to do either. Jackie's out of the car, so we can only see what he does."
Jackie raised his hands high, slowly walked up with a grin, a wad of eurodollars in his pocket.
Most of the Wraiths had already lowered their guns; after all, the large group of NCPD had left, and the situation was no longer that tense.
Jackie used his years of street-smart experience, chattered for a bit, slipped some money, turned around, looking smug, and returned to the passenger seat next to Jingxuan.
"It's fine, V, Jackie handled it. We're on our way now."
"Good, good, good! Thank goodness!"
V, at Arasaka Tower, ended the call, her heart in turmoil.
Jenkins had actually kept such explosive information. Had she just made a deal with a Night Corp executive, only to break it directly?
They had agreed to secrecy, and the other party didn't want their future ruined by the leak.
V promised Night Corp to keep it a secret. Not only would they be safe, but she would also receive a huge hush money payment from Night Corp.
But V was now torn about another way of handling it.
Disregard ethics, wait for Jingxuan to deliver the chip, take full control of the situation.
Then, still report the dirt to Arasaka.
That way, Susan Abernathy would be completely finished. As for how Arasaka and Night Corp would handle the aftermath, what did that have to do with her?
Abernathy had already put a knife to her throat; could she let her go?
Even if Night Corp gave her enough money, what good would it do?
No matter how much money, she needed to be alive to spend it.
Thinking of Jenkins' hesitant look before revealing the dirt, perhaps Abernathy also had dirt on Jenkins.
V suddenly understood many things. It must be like this; both of them were old foxes. Both sides had dirt on the other but didn't dare to expose each other, so they both resorted to more aggressive elimination tactics.
For example, Jenkins, who clearly had evidence that could put Abernathy to death, asked V to find someone to kill Abernathy.
Why take the risk of doing such a thing?
Because the other party also held his weakness.
V felt a wave of nausea at this thought.
Once she dealt with Abernathy, Jenkins would immediately use a middleman assassin to eliminate her, just as Jackie had said.
"Today he can have you deal with others, tomorrow he can have others deal with you."
That's right, Jenkins had personally promoted her. The young V quickly rose to the position of Deputy Head of Arasaka's Counter-Intelligence Department.
The entire Arasaka knew V was Jenkins' loyal dog.
But did Jenkins truly consider her one of his own?
Clearly not.
Instead of exposing herself to the nuclear blast, it would be better to save herself and rise through the ranks at the same time.
Instead of letting the corporate dogs betray me, I will betray the corporate dogs.
Moreover, Jenkins and Abernathy were utterly hateful and deserved to die.
This golden opportunity truly couldn't be missed. Perhaps this was the only chance in her life!
As V thought, she became more and more resolute. She waited for Jingxuan on the first floor of Arasaka Tower. It wasn't until Jingxuan's call came that V snapped out of her swirling thoughts.
V strode out of the building and saw Jingxuan and Jackie, their faces covered in dust and grime. She reached out, took the chip, and made up her mind.
She was determined to climb this tower, no matter what, to reach the top.
Looking at their two dirty faces grinning at her, she made her decision. No matter how she fared in the future, these two friends, Jingxuan and Jackie... she, V, would never betray them.
She didn't have time to chat with her two good friends right now. She hugged them both tightly, one by one, then turned and looked up at the top of Arasaka Tower, lost in thought for a moment, before walking back with determined steps.
She got into the elevator, heading directly to Michiko's office.
"Damn it! Who cares! If I'm going to do it, I'm going big. It's either success or death!"
V muttered loudly to herself in the elevator, slapping her cheeks hard with both palms.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Go big or go home, and kick Jenkins and Abernathy into hell together!