"Hey, hey?" Dex kept calling out, but there was no response.
In the background, he vaguely heard gunfire and the sound of a vehicle crash.
He realized the man he'd sent had already been killed. A suspicion formed in his mind, though for now it was only a guess.
"Interesting," Dex muttered, slowly exhaling a puff of cigar smoke. A smile crept across his face.
His interest in this V grew even stronger. Whether or not he was as legendary as Vik had hinted, Dex definitely wanted to meet him.
And he had a feeling it wouldn't be long.
★★★
"V, thanks for earlier!" Jack said as the wail of police sirens faded into the distance and he eased up on the gas.
"Come on, don't mention it—you've saved my life before too," Lin Yu replied with a relaxed smile.
Technically, Jack hadn't saved him personally, but he had saved the original V he had replaced.
And between brothers, some debts didn't need to be tallied.
They took a detour, thinking about scavenging some loot back at the warehouse, but after spotting cops from a distance, they decided it wasn't worth the risk and headed straight for Viktor's clinic.
"Good lads—you really did bring the goods back!" Viktor said, clapping Jack on the shoulder, though his words were clearly meant for Lin Yu.
"V, can I officially call you a Night City legend now?" Viktor added with a rare smile, reaching out his hand.
The two shook hands firmly, sealing their friendship.
As for payment, Jack refused any reward, and Lin Yu followed suit even more firmly.
Seeing how determined they were, Viktor promised to settle the debt with future cyberware upgrades.
The moment that came up, Viktor's mind jumped back to the mysteries hidden in Lin Yu's body.
"V, lie down and let me study you properly!" Viktor said, pointing mischievously at the surgical bed, a strange grin on his face.
Lin Yu grabbed Jack and bolted.
He had zero interest in becoming a lab rat—and he knew exactly what was going on with his own body.
With the mission completed, the only things left to do were hit the bars, roam the streets, or wait at home for the next job.
That was the life of a merc.
But Lin Yu wasn't your typical mercenary. He had much bigger plans.
After dropping Jack off at Lizzie's Bar, Lin Yu set off to hunt down hidden treasures.
The most valuable target right now was the legendary sports car "Excalibur." In the game, you had to complete the "Highwayman" quest to unlock it.
But in the real world? If a shiny, dazzling supercar like that was just lying around, could anyone really resist?
No matter what, Lin Yu decided to go check it out first.
Navigating the streets with ease, he quickly found the cave where it was hidden.
Inside was a container—and inside that container, a brand-new black Excalibur waited.
Without hesitation, Lin Yu drove it straight home. The second-hand car followed behind automatically on autopilot.
Compared to the noble elegance of the "Lady of the Lake," the Excalibur radiated pure, savage energy.
Its fire-breathing engine and rugged aerodynamic design pushed performance to the absolute limit.
The driving experience was worlds apart from that battered old junker.
This—this was what a true vehicle of the future should feel like!
And Lin Yu quickly realized something else—the cars here were way faster than in the game world.
Take the Excalibur, for example—if he really pushed it, Lin Yu estimated it could easily break 1000 km/h.
On the way back, Lin Yu fully indulged in the pure thrill of speed and power.
Compared to autopilot, he much preferred the feeling of personally controlling every aspect of the ride.
"Holy shit, V! Did you strike it rich? Where'd you get this beauty? Let me take it for a spin!" Jack called out as he stumbled out of the bar, the sight of the car instantly sobering him up.
After a lot of pleading and pestering, he managed to convince Lin Yu to lend him the car for his date with Misty.
Lin Yu could only shake his head helplessly, hopping back into the old beater and driving himself home.
The next few days passed without any new gigs. Aside from meeting some of Jack's friends, Lin Yu took the chance to roam around the city, checking out familiar spots.
But for some reason, he didn't find much of value.
Maybe someone had beaten him to the good stuff—or maybe some events simply hadn't happened yet.
This was a living, breathing world. You couldn't just expect valuables to sit out on the street, waiting for you to pick them up.
The street rats were hungrier—and fiercer—than anyone.
Still, this unpredictability made the world feel more real. It also meant that the fate of people like Jack could be changed.
A few days later, just as Lin Yu woke up, Jack called.
Jack was chattering excitedly on the line, saying he'd landed a major job—a fixer named Wakako Okada had reached out.
All he told Lin Yu was to hurry over.
Lin Yu paused. So it was *this* mission.
Based on the timeline, it seemed to have been moved up quite a bit. Maybe it was because of his arrival here.
After some quick preparations, the two followed the given route and arrived at an underground parking lot.
"The girl we're supposed to rescue is probably in that building. Those bastards are likely holed up too. So what's the plan—going in guns blazing or following T-Bug's strategy?" Jack asked before getting out.
Maybe last time's events had left an impression on him, because unlike in the original story, he wasn't trying to tell Lin Yu what to do.
"We're here to save someone. Let's stick to T-Bug's plan," Lin Yu said after thinking it over.
"Got it. Oh, almost forgot—T-Bug sent you a welcome gift. Said she was too rushed last time to prepare anything."
Jack held out a tiny chip with both hands and explained.
"It's a training shard. She made some custom tweaks based on your profile. Spend a little time in VR, and you'll be able to sharpen your skills."
"Tell her thanks for me. But for now, let's focus on the job!" Lin Yu said, taking the chip.
Then, the two of them made their way toward the building.