"...Is it worth it? Damn it, what the hell can I do?"
Hearing Kikyo's words, Judy irritably grabbed her hair and said angrily.
"I was damn born with this personality, I deserve it! Damn it, what the hell is wrong with this world? What the hell is wrong with this city? Is bullying the weak really that damn interesting?"
Judy vented completely, like hatred erupting from the bottom of her heart after a lashing. Afterward, she was breathing heavily, and judging by her fiery eyes, she still had a belly full of grievances that she couldn't express.
She was so furious that she didn't even know how to vent with words.
"Enough, I'm truly sick of it. I really want to leave this damn city soon."
After a long time, Judy, whose breathing had barely calmed down, shook her head helplessly and painfully.
She was tired of so much futility, tired of repeatedly pulling idiots out of one hole only to watch them fall into another.
If it was going to be like this every single time, what was the point of everything she did?
It's nothing but a joke.
Judy closed her eyes and shook her head, not wanting to think about it anymore.
Just as Judy was about to evolve from a 'divine' state to her ultimate form—a 'troublemaker'—Kikyo, who had been quietly waiting for Judy to calm down, felt it was time to intervene.
"Judy, it's okay, I'll figure something out."
Looking at Judy, who was hugging herself, agitated, yet seemingly bound by chains with no escape, Kikyo's eyes were filled with pity for a lost kitten.
Ah, how pathetic.
A lost child walking on an impossible path, only to end up covered in wounds.
Let her guide her, lead her onto the right path.
At this moment, Kikyo felt an inexplicable sense of responsibility.
"It's okay, Judy, everything will be fine, I'll figure something out."
Gently holding the helpless Judy in her arms, Kikyo lowered her head and softly comforted her in Judy's ear.
"A way? What way? Are we going to search Kabuki street by street, asking everyone?"
Judy shook her head, and after speaking, she laughed self-deprecatingly.
Disappearing in Night City means you're presumed dead.
The disappearance of a few low-level sex dolls? NCPD Officers, the Night City Council—none of them give a damn. They'll just give you a form to fill out, and then you go home and wait.
Maybe ten days or half a month later, you might find the organs and skins of the missing people, not yet discarded, in some cleaned-out Scavengers' den.
And for Judy to go search Kabuki herself, that would be tantamount to walking straight to her death.
In Tyger Claws territory, Moxes are already marked for death. By then, she too might disappear without a trace, just like the sex dolls she's trying to find.
Besides, even if Judy risked her life to go there, she's not a detective. Trying to find a few low-level sex dolls in the chaotic Kabuki would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, and that's putting it lightly.
Maybe Judy would eventually find a way, but right now, she just felt tired.
However, Kikyo had not given up.
At this moment, her mind was racing, trying to come up with a solution.
Kabuki is in Westbrook District, a bustling and prosperous street, also mixed with various illegal vendors, cheap sex dolls, and Illegal Braindance dealers. Every year, dozens of tourists disappear here without a trace.
And this is Tyger Claws territory. The Tyger Claws control all businesses, big and small, clean and dirty. They have a hand in almost everything, because on the streets of Night City, it's not the Night City Council who makes the rules.
And because they don't often operate there, Berry and her group don't actually know much about the situation there. After all, unlike those suicidal tourists, they generally don't go looking for trouble and increase their risk of losing a kidney.
The only person they were relatively familiar with there was the Fixer in that area, the harsh old woman Wakako.
Logically, Fixers accept all commissions.
If Kikyo and her friends wanted to find someone, going to a Fixer should be the safest choice, but... there's always a 'but'.
But as long as it involves local gangs.
Fixers in every area make a living there, and their relationship with local gangs is intricately linked. In fact, many times both sides work for each other, and a Fixer might even be considered half a member of the local gang.
After all, that's their territory. If a Fixer can't get along with the local gang, what kind of local business would he do? It would be good enough if he wasn't targeted and attacked.
So, when things involved the Tyger Claws, Kikyo didn't plan to go to Wakako.
After all, she couldn't be sure whether Wakako, who was like an old fox, would help them or simply sell them out when she heard they were looking for trouble with the Tyger Claws.
And based on her understanding of Wakako, the latter was highly probable.
Therefore, Kikyo ruled out going to Wakako.
Without Wakako, they were now completely in the dark.
They really didn't know anyone in Kabuki.
However, Berry thought desperately, recalling everything about Kabuki from her past and present lives.
And then, the image of a scrawny, lecherous old man suddenly appeared in her mind.
Ah, she seemed to have a lead.
Kikyo felt she had grasped the key.
The lecherous image became clearer and clearer, almost ready to burst forth, finally revealing a complete face. Right, he was the infamous Brother Finger.
Brother Finger, this was a character from Evelyn's side quest in the game, but unfortunately, in reality, Berry and her friends rescued Evelyn without going through Brother Finger, so much so that Berry almost forgot about this guy.
Right, how could she not look for this greasy, thin old man when it came to sex dolls? This guy is a Cyberware Doctor specializing in sex dolls, and he's very famous in the Kabuki area.
Brother Finger, of course, isn't his surname. It's his nickname. No one cares what his original name was anymore, because he's thriving in Kabuki under the moniker Brother Finger, so naturally, no one cares what he was originally called.
In addition to illegal Gambling, Illegal Braindance films, and illegal drug dealing, cheap sex doll services are also a pillar industry there.
However, unlike the Clouds sex doll clubs, which cater to customers with some money or a little money, Kabuki mainly targets the low-end market. The clientele includes Gangers, vagrants, and some hard-working laborers. The prices, naturally, are not as expensive.
But the service environment is harsh, for both parties involved.
Here, you can't expect safety regulations or regular physical examinations. sex dolls working here have to endure the most brutal physical exploitation, selling their bodies for a few euros an hour to customers who are also at the bottom.
Therefore, various unspeakable diseases and cyberware wear and tear become commonplace. sex dolls' demand for Cyberware Doctors is dozens of times that of normal people.
But the cruel reality is that the money they earn from selling their bodies can't support them to see a legitimate Cyberware Doctor. Even the cheapest legitimate cyberware from a reputable company would be unaffordable even if they saved half a year's earnings.
So, at this time, quack doctors came into the sights of these poor people, and Brother Finger was the optimal choice for these sex dolls who couldn't afford a legitimate doctor.
Of course, Brother Finger's popularity, besides his slick tongue, also stemmed from his excellent skills.
When sex dolls' various troubles came to him, he could always dig out some unknown, dusty, unregulated cyberware from the bottom of a box, and after some tinkering, they could miraculously function for a while longer.
Of course, Brother Finger also had bad habits. Besides constantly demanding companionship from sex dolls to offset medical fees, this guy also often secretly removed good cyberware from sex dolls and replaced them with unregulated products.
This guy's behavior was utterly unscrupulous.
It's like taking your computer in for cleaning, only to come home and find your 3060 machine whirring loudly just playing Solitaire. You open it up and see that your Kingston RAM has been replaced with cheap, unknown RAM.
And this Brother Finger is doing exactly this kind of morally reprehensible stuff, yet he's thriving in Kabuki. He's simply a model for unscrupulous quack doctors.
But, putting everything else aside.
In Kabuki, if it's about sex dolls, you can't go wrong with this guy. After all, he's the most successful Cyberware Doctor in Kabuki; almost all the sex dolls in Kabuki have been treated by him.
For anything related to sex dolls, he's the one to go to.
Kikyo nodded in deep agreement, thinking that to find those missing girls, perhaps a visit to Brother Finger was necessary.
After she told Judy her thoughts, Judy, who had been at a loss, now heard Kikyo's well-articulated ideas and immediately nodded in agreement.
"Alright, we're going to Kabuki now. Don't worry, Judy, we can do this."
Kikyo, embracing Judy, patted Judy's head, indicating that she, as the older sister, would handle everything.
Hmm, this height difference is comfortable.
Berry was very satisfied with Kikyo's impressive height. Before, she always had to look up at others, but now not only do others have to look up at her, but embracing someone also feels just right.
Ah, life is truly getting better.
What? You say embracing another woman is cheating on V?
Go on, what does Berry's relationship with Kikyo have to do with V? V's girlfriend is Berry, not Kikyo.
Besides, among girls, isn't hugging and cuddling quite normal?
Could anything else happen between two girls?
Hmm, I'm really good at convincing people. Although I don't have any persuasion perks, Berry felt she must have a talent for it, as she was almost convinced herself.
Finally, it was Judy, one of the two, who noticed something was off.
Recovering from her despair, she suddenly realized how strange the situation was. When did she and Kikyo get so close?
"Uh, Kikyo, can you let go? I feel much better."
Judy tried to struggle free but found they were tangled like tree roots, difficult to separate. Of course, the main reason was that Kikyo's two large hands were holding on too tightly.
Feeling the warmth around her waist, Judy realized how intimate their actions were.
She had been too caught up in her emotions earlier to notice when they had gotten into this situation.
Blushing, Judy couldn't help but look up and speak to Kikyo.
Kikyo seemed oblivious; Judy had tried to pull away, but this girl's hands were still clamped tight, as if afraid she would run off.
Helplessly, Judy had to soften her tone.
And looking up made her even more embarrassed.
Although Judy wouldn't consider herself very tall, at just over 1.7 meters, she wasn't short. But Kikyo, who was probably around 1.75 meters, was a head taller than her, forcing Judy to look up to speak to her at such an intimate distance.
"Alright."
Hearing Judy speak, Kikyo reacted and immediately let go, and the now-free Judy almost lost her balance.
Damn, this girl.
The atmosphere had been somewhat romantic, but this move left Judy speechless.
As for Kikyo, she wasn't thinking anything. It was just a hug. Since Judy's emotions were back to normal, it meant the comfort had worked, and that was enough.
Next, they would go find the legendary Brother Finger.
However, before that... as the two walked to Kikyo's motorcycle, Kikyo unzipped and quickly took off her red and black motorcycle jacket.
"Here, put this jacket on."
Kikyo didn't say much, just handed the jacket to Judy for her to wear.
After taking off her jacket, Kikyo was seen wearing a black high-neck turtleneck sweater underneath.
Rolling up her sleeves, revealing Kikyo's porcelain-white forearms like lotus roots, and tidying her sleeves, Kikyo also smoothed her waterfall-like black long hair, shook her head, and countless strands flowed in the air before settling back into that beautiful black hair.
Watching this scene, Judy held the jacket in her hands, somewhat dazed.
"Judy, hurry up and put on the jacket, we need to go."
Kikyo was about to get on the motorcycle but saw Judy still holding the jacket, stunned (lèng) there, and couldn't help but scold her.
"Oh, okay."
Called out, Judy suddenly came back to her senses as if taking a breath, quickly and clumsily putting on the jacket Kikyo had given her, even though she didn't know why Kikyo wanted her to wear her jacket.
"...You have some Moxes gang tattoos, so wear my jacket to cover them up. You know Kabuki is Tyger Claws territory."
Seeing Judy quickly put on the jacket, Kikyo thought she knew the purpose of wearing it, so she casually mentioned it without elaborating.
"Ah, oh... I see."
Judy, who had already put on the jacket and even zipped it all the way up, nodded belatedly.
Hmm... looking at this somewhat dazed Judy, Kikyo's eyes showed suspicion.
Hmm, why does Judy seem, well, a bit silly?
Under Kikyo's gaze, Judy nervously averted her eyes.
Could she really say that the moment Kikyo tidied her hair had struck her heart?
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