The Creators: From Night City

Page 379

He's so eager to improve!

However, there are too many aspects of 'progress' that require money to lubricate them.

"I need to add another layer of insurance," he decided in his heart.

"Minister!" In front of the black hovercar reserved for Arasaka executives, two burly guards with superhuman cybernetic abilities and stern, unsmiling faces bowed respectfully to their boss.

"Go to safe house number 3," Tojo Shun ordered, following his usual practice.

He leaned comfortably against the high-end simulated leather chair and pulled up the contact information he had found out beforehand.

The airship slowly took off from Arasaka Tower along the planned route, and he took the opportunity to make this encrypted phone call.

The call was answered quickly.

Because the call used special encryption, both parties could only hear each other's voices.

"Who is this?" The person speaking on the other end was a middle-aged woman, and loud background music could be faintly heard.

"Rogge, the Queen of the Middlemen of Night City?"

"It's me. Who are you? Who gave you this number?"

"You don't need to worry about that. I have someone I need you to help me with."

"Oh, so you're a masked man. I've done plenty of shady things. Don't worry, I won't leak your information."

Roger was used to such cover-ups and mocked with utter disdain.

Tojo Shun ignored the other party's words and directly stated his purpose.

"I've heard that in Night City, there's no one you can't find?"

“Of course, this is what I do for a living. Tell me, did your mistress get lost or your illegitimate child get kidnapped?” Roger responded quite skillfully, showing that he had dealt with similar cases many times.

"Jinguji Mia, I need you to find her. Send your best mercenaries and use all your resources. Find her alive or dead."

"NZ from Jinguji, the fashion queen who just attended the Yoru charity gala yesterday, what's your relationship with her?"

"You don't need to know that."

Tojo Shun held a wine glass in his other hand, swirling the fine red wine inside, admiring the night view outside the window, when he was surprised to find that, in this early spring season, the Night City was experiencing an unprecedented snowfall.

Keep in mind that this is the West Coast, a place with a spring-like climate all year round, and it hasn't seen snow for many years.

"Alright, that's what we do for a living. But let me make this clear beforehand: commissions like yours that involve hiding your identity will be the most expensive."

The response on the other end of the phone brought him back to his senses.

“Money is not a problem.” Tojo Shun said without the slightest hesitation.

Chapter 780 Intercepting Halfway

“Then there’s no problem. I can check for you. Wait ten minutes.” Roger hung up the phone without hesitation.

In the Queen of Middlemen's booth at the Rebirth Bar, after hanging up the phone, Roger humbly apologized to Jiang Bing sitting opposite him, saying, "Mr. Sabur, you know, there's no fixed time in this line of work."

Meanwhile, Boss Jiang connected to the network from the void, checked the time, and confirmed that Tojo Shun's hovercar would arrive at his loyal Safe House No. 3 in 7 minutes. He then gently shook his head at Roger.

You should know that Raven is right here in the house waiting. Given her skills, it would be a serious dereliction of duty for her to let Tojo Shun survive for more than 8 minutes.

"Don't waste your efforts on this deal."

Roger's hand, which was reaching for the cherry on the table, froze.

"Mr. Sabur...?"

How could someone who can hold the position of Queen of the Middlemen in Night City be a fool?

"This matter is related to [Reverse Entropy]...?"

"He won't be able to answer your call in less than ten minutes, so don't waste your energy."

“Of course, we must listen to Mr. Sabur.” Roger waved his hand and dismissed the men who came forward to obey.

Organic cherries are big and sweet, and these all-natural delicacies always taste better than those grown in greenhouses.

I don't know if the concept of 'spiritual energy of heaven and earth' really exists.

“Mr. Sabur, let’s continue our previous conversation.” Roger chewed the plump cherry until it was juicy.

"I've accepted the job of sending orders to the Edge Walkers below to search for any remaining members of the Vortex Gang. You don't need to pay a deposit in advance; [Anti-Entropy]'s credit is sufficient."

"Business is business."

As soon as Jiang Bing finished speaking, the 100 million euro deposit was immediately transferred into Rogge's account.

"If that's not enough, contact Gloria and make sure the orders are distributed throughout the city. I want the Vortex Gang to be completely eradicated from Night City."

"Alright, we'll do it for money, you can absolutely trust us."

Rogge was quite satisfied with this kind of mission, which was lucrative, easy, and put him on the side of the advantage. Beating a drowning dog was better than rushing into the cleaners' lair and risking being shot to save them, or risking having his brains roasted to steal data from the data fortresses of various companies and institutions on the internet.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while and discussing Roger's increasingly important organic business, Jiang Bing got up to say goodbye and walked out of Laisheng alone.

The entrance to the afterlife remains the same: lowlifes and fringe newcomers gather here, all for a kind of 'pilgrimage'.

A snowflake fell from the sky, and the residents of Night City, who only had acid rain to enjoy all day, shouted and yelled, like southerners who had hardly ever seen snow.

Jiang Bing watched the snowflakes fall onto the dirty cement ground, his brows furrowing tightly.

I need to hurry and see Ciri.

………………

There are huge differences between people, and there are also huge differences between buildings.

The 11 Skyscraper looks dilapidated from the outside, but if you go inside, you'll be surprised to find it's even more dilapidated.

The Rosendiman Building, which stands not far away, is a completely different style.

The special glass used to reflect light and block sunlight on the building's facade was wiped spotless by cleaning drones, making the entire building resemble a giant crystal pillar, exuding a futuristic and sci-fi style.

Inside the building, the windows were bright and clean, and the floor was so shiny that you could see your reflection in it.

The snowflakes fell heavily, growing larger and larger.

Camille Laurent stood up from the soft sofa, her curvaceous and well-endowed figure still visible even in her expensive pajamas.

"What's wrong, Ciri?"

“They’re here.” The lion cub in Sintra stood in front of an open window, looking at the snowflakes falling outside, his brow furrowed with worry.

Who's here?

Wild Hunt

"I thought those were all your imagination, just something you said to amuse me."

“The Wild Hunt is real,” Ciri corrected her bedmate’s misconception.

"So they really will ride in a flying boat made of dead people's fingernails and travel through the sky?"

"No, they are not demons, just a group of elves."

Ciri walked to the corner of the living room, where a slightly worn leather armor set and several leather pouches were displayed on a shelf.

Of course, the most eye-catching thing is a longsword, a cold weapon, placed to the side.

Camille Laurent finally panicked as he watched the other person put on all these things.

"You're not kidding, you're really leaving?"

"Of course, otherwise the frost would devour the world, and the earth would be covered by snowflakes, leaving only white."

“The world will be frozen, everything will be submerged, Camille Laurent, I have seen such a world, a world covered in white frost, I cannot bring disaster here.”

Ciri fastened the last buckle on her leather armor, taking one last, reluctant look at the warm house and the charming Camille Laurent.

Despite the other party's attempts to persuade her to stay, she hardened her heart and activated the power granted to her by the ancient blood within her.

A flash of emerald green light, like jade, and before Camille Laurent’s incredulous eyes, the mysterious bed partner she had picked up from the garbage heap in the alley disappeared in an even more mysterious way.

Time travel is not a pleasant thing.

Even though Ciri had used this ability a thousand times, she still couldn't get used to the feeling.

Compared to the sorceress's portal, time travel is like passing through countless portals simultaneously, with one's body and mind reflected in countless mirrors of different worlds, like a dazzling kaleidoscope.

In this state, Ciri briefly felt herself "expanding," and her "limbs" touched the surface of every world.

It's time for her to choose a new world.

Just as Ciri was skillfully 'savoring' the 'feelings' conveyed to her by countless people, trying to find the one that suited her best.

Suddenly, her wrist was grasped by a warm, large hand.

The sudden attack caught her off guard, and in her panic, she couldn't help but scream.

But an unparalleled force came from the direction of that giant hand and suddenly pulled her out of this brief dimensional ascension 'window'.

When he opened his eyes again, the 'Ancient Blood' was surprised to find himself in a garden.

She was standing on thick plant trunks, while her sides were bordered by countless vines, leaves, and unknown flowers.

"Why are you leaving in such a hurry?"

A familiar voice rang out, and Xili turned around abruptly, only to find that standing beside her was none other than Jiang Bing, whom she had met not long ago.

"It's you?!"

Ciri felt it was only natural to be surprised by anything that could pull her out of her 'Ancient Blood' activated state.

"Where is this place?"

"The void, beyond the planes, a forbidden zone for matter, an abyss for the soul."

Jiang Bing pointed out of the garden, indicating that the other party should look ahead.

Chapter 781 White Frost and the Wild Hunt

'Pitch black,' pure 'pitch black,' or rather, nothingness, since there is no color in the void. Darkness is merely a figment of Ciri's imagination as a 'human.'

However, in the endless void, a patch of snow-white suddenly appeared, like a tide, sweeping in from the end of Ciri's 'vision', like the surging tide of the Qiantang River, unstoppable and invincible, threatening to engulf the entire garden beneath her.

Having dealt with it countless times, the moment she saw the snow line, Ciri's bloodline returned to her with an all-too-familiar thrill.

"White Frost!"

Ciri feared the White Frost more than the Wild Hunt.

Or rather, the Wild Hunt's threat is less than one in a million compared to the White Frost.

White Frost is not a tool of the Wild Hunt; on the contrary, it is a calamity that haunts them, a catastrophe they have been trying to avoid.

They went to great lengths to regain the 'Ancient Blood' and open the 'Gate of Mysteries' in order to avoid the White Frost and stay as far away from it as possible.

Of course, this does not prevent them from using such unsuspecting natural disasters as a means of attack.

To use an analogy, if Wild Hunt is a skier, then Frost is the avalanche following behind him. Wherever the skis go, the snow in that area will loosen and trigger another avalanche.

When faced with a challenging world, the Wild Hunt cleverly exploits this phenomenon.

"Yes, 'White Catastrophe'."

A soft female voice echoed in Ciri's heart.

She turned around abruptly, only to find a giant horse standing behind her.

When she saw the sharp horn on the other's head, she suddenly realized that the other must be a legendary unicorn.

“My name is Aktalanti, Givelle (ancient word for swallow), and it is a pleasure to meet you here.”

But Ciri was too surprised to speak.

She just kept trying to look up, until she was about to fall backward, without being able to see the whole picture of the giant tree at her feet.

"What is this?!" Ciri stamped her feet in disbelief. She could never have imagined that the garden she thought she knew was just a tiny branch of a giant tree.

A tender branch spread out in front of Xili and bloomed into a flower within seconds.

"He is Heiml, and he is greeting you," Jiang Bing explained, acting as the translator.

Ciri gazed at the enormous unicorn queen, then at the towering 'Great Oak,' and after politely nodding to Aktalanti, finally turned her attention to Jiang Bing.