“Tick…tick…”
The young man in the suit avoided the unknown sewage dripping from the upper floor without changing his expression, stepped onto the circular staircase of the skyscraper, and came to a most ordinary smart metal door.
The neighbors around were still the same. The black couple next door leaned against the railing of the corridor, smoking cheap cigarettes and whispering about how much more money they needed to raise for their son's newly replaced prosthetic body.
On the bench in the corridor sat an irritable woman who was on the phone, and a punk boy who was leaning against the back of a chair and smoking drugs.
At the corner at the end, the kid next door who claimed to be self-taught was holding a tablet computer, trying to hack into the vending machine in front of him.
They've been salivating over the Rainbow Manticore sports drinks and Bengaluru high-fructose corn syrup in the vending machines.
But the young man in the suit knew that this little brat would definitely not succeed, because last month someone hacked into vending machines on a large scale, forcing the company behind it to strengthen the ICE of the vending machines.
That is the intrusion countermeasure unit, or more simply, the network firewall of the cyber world.
Nowadays, even many amateur hackers can't hack into vending machines, let alone the "self-taught" kid next door.
Suddenly, two NCPD police officers shouted from downstairs, along with the sound of fierce footsteps, exclamations from the crowd, and extremely anxious curses.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two gunshots rang out, causing the neighbors in the corridor downstairs to scream and run away.
But some young people hid behind cover, pulled out their pistols, and started a chaotic gunfight that is most common in Night City.
For a moment, bullets whizzed past, and screams and gunshots were heard continuously.
"Damn it, how come we can meet cops here too!"
Along with the sound of hurried footsteps, an exasperated voice came from the stairs behind him.
The young man in a suit who had just taken out the access card sighed, turned around helplessly and looked at the guy who was rushing up the stairs.
The man was wearing a cream-colored shirt and turquoise trousers. He held a black "Freedom" kinetic pistol in his right hand. With his left hand, he lifted the hem of his shirt and pulled out a blue and black grenade from his waist.
That ferocious and hideous face was full of an expression of exasperation and frustration.
The young man in the suit opened his artificial eye without hesitation.
The outline of the thug in front of him suddenly became highlighted, and his information was instantly presented in front of him.
【NCPD Database】
[Name: Troy Ryder]
[Identity: Tiger Claw Gang, Fraudster, Night City Wanted Criminal]
[Reward amount: 1200 Euro]
[Reward level: three stars]
[Rewarded crimes: assaulting a company representative, possession of military-grade drugs, murdering a company representative, sabotaging a company regional finance, multiple murders, defamation of a company representative.]
[Holding dangerous items: 'Liberty' brand kinetic pistol, electromagnetic pulse grenade]
It turns out he is a fraudster from the Tiger Claw Gang...
The young man in the suit looked suddenly enlightened.
The Tiger Claws is one of the largest criminal organizations in Night City. It is entrenched in Neon Street and is a traditional underworld organization similar to the Triads. Its business scope includes but is not limited to casinos, bars, clubs, fraud, selling Y, etc.
The fraudster in front of him should be an expert in cyber fraud.
But this time, the victim of the scam may have noticed something, so he called the police when he wasn't paying attention.
...Okay, the fraud has come to me!
Do you know whose chassis this is? !
The data stream disappeared from the young man in the suit's eyes, and he immediately pulled out a DB-2 Sadara Technology double-barreled shotgun from his briefcase without hesitation and pointed it at the ferocious-looking gangster in front of him.
Troy focused almost all his attention on the two NCPD officers downstairs and didn't notice the danger ahead at all.
Until the young man in the suit pulled the trigger, a large number of steel nails with electric light sprayed out, instantly shooting him into a sieve.
"thump……"
The bloody body fell to the ground at the stairs.
The two policemen who had just escaped from the chaotic gunfight and were about to chase up the stairs suddenly stopped.
The younger man swallowed, couldn't help but raise his pistol, and moved forward carefully.
At the door of the apartment opposite the stairs, a young man in a suit was holding an exaggerated double-barreled shotgun in one hand, with a kind smile on his face, and waved at him friendly.
"Good evening!"
The young police officer did not dare to slack off and subconsciously raised his pistol and pointed it at the young man in the suit.
“No…don’t move!”
The old policeman who came behind was so frightened when he saw this scene that he fainted.
When he came to his senses, he shouted: "Put down the gun!"
The young police officer looked at the young man in the suit nervously and shouted, "Did you hear me? Put down your gun... Ouch!"
The old policeman grabbed the barrel of his pistol, jammed his pinky finger into the trigger ring, and angrily slapped him on the head.
"I mean you, put the gun down!"
“Oh…ah?”
The young police officer's eyes widened, totally not understanding what was going on.
The old policeman was too lazy to explain to him. He turned to the young man in the suit and thanked him with a smile.
"Thanks, V!"
"You're welcome, police and citizens are friendly!"
The young man in the suit put away the double-barreled shotgun in his hand with a smile, raised his hand and waved to the old policeman, then turned around as if nothing had happened, took out the access card, swiped the card and walked into the apartment.
"laugh--"
The smart bulletproof metal door opens and closes.
Only when the young man in the suit disappeared completely did the old police officer breathe a sigh of relief. He finally squatted down and began to confiscate the dangerous weapons from the body.
"…Wow, an electromagnetic pulse grenade. Luckily he didn't use it, or else this would have been a big deal!"
“…”
The young police officer's eyes widened, still struggling with what had just happened.
Seeing the old policeman marveling at the grenade in his hand, he finally couldn't help but raise his hand and pointed at the iron door.
"That man just now...his gun..."
The old police officer glanced at him and said, "DB-2-Sadara, what, do you want it?"
As he spoke, the old police officer stood up and said leisurely, "If you want it, save up money and buy it yourself. Don't think of him."
The young police officer was furious: "No, I mean, he was holding a dangerous weapon!"
The old police officer said angrily: "Nonsense, I'm not blind, do I need you to remind me?"
"Hey, can you please find out who that guy is before you go out on a mission?"
"He is V, the top mercenary who has become famous in the past six months and frequents the Next Life Bar!"
"When he was a lone wolf, he eliminated five cyberpsychopaths by himself within two months. Now I heard that he has formed a team with people in the industry. His strength and influence will definitely be even greater!"
"……ah?"
The young police officer was stunned.
When he came to his senses, he couldn't help swallowing and asked in a low voice with a slightly fearful look in his eyes.
"How could such a person live here?"
"Who knows?"
The old policeman replied unhappily, but then he looked hesitant, as if he remembered something.
After hesitating for a while, the old police officer couldn't help but whispered, "I heard that he used to be a member of the Counterintelligence Department of Arasaka Corporation. He was promoted by the company half a year ago because he refused to be transferred out of Night City."
The young police officer asked blankly: "...So what?"
The old police officer couldn't help but pat his head and whispered, "Stupid! The good apartments are all in the company square in the municipal center. He is the loser in the internal competition of the company. There may be enemies over there. He definitely doesn't dare to live there!"
The young police officer still didn't understand: "But didn't you say he was a top mercenary?"
The old police officer sighed and said, "So what if he is a top mercenary? There are so many legends in Night City. Isn't the company..."
Halfway through his words, the old policeman stopped talking in time and gave the guy a slap on the face.
"Okay, kid, why do you worry so much for such a small salary?"
"Hurry up and bring this guy's body back. That way you can get some of the reward."
"According to V's habit, we handle the wanted criminals he kills, and split the profits 60% to 40% afterwards, 60% for him and 40% for us..."
When the young policeman heard that there was money to be made, his eyes suddenly lit up and all his previous doubts were thrown out of his mind.
The two NCPD officers began to work hard.
…
…
Inside the apartment, the young man called V had taken off his suit.
That naked body was covered with traces of prosthetic modifications.
But he didn't care at all. He even admired his current appearance in the full-length mirror, then made a cup of coffee, sat in front of the computer and read today's emails.
His name is Vincent, and he has been called Vincent in both his past and present lives.
But in this life, besides his full name Vincent, he has another nickname that is more well-known, that is the famous V!
That’s right, it’s V, the protagonist of the game “Cyberpunk 2077”, the one revered by players as a living legend, the living devil of Night City, the psychopath of Cybertron, the one who chopped his way from Arasaka Tower to the Underground Shrine without blinking an eye!
But unlike V who has a character growth system in the game, Vincent had nothing when he first traveled through.
He just became a member of the Arasaka Corporation's counterintelligence department, just like V who came from a company in the game.
When talking about Arasaka Corporation, we have to briefly describe the cyberpunk worldview.
At the end of the 20th century, nuclear conflicts triggered by economic crises led to the economic collapse of major countries around the world and left their lands devastated.
Some super companies that control a large amount of resources and intelligence took advantage of the situation and gradually gained the strength to compete with various governments.
Now it is the 21st century. Due to the impact of past nuclear conflicts, the influence of the US government has weakened dramatically. Giant corporations have gradually replaced the functions of the government and actively maintained order in order to gain profits.
But at the same time, they are increasingly dissatisfied with the constraints from the government.
Under such circumstances, something that affected the global situation happened - the 'Great Collapse of the Old United States'.
Inside the United States, there is a secret political group composed of the NSA, CIA, FBI and DEA. They plotted a coup, assassinated the president and vice president, and successfully seized power, announcing to the world the end of federal democracy.
After this, many states seceded from the Union and declared themselves free states.
In order to find water, work and a safe place to live in the political turmoil, a large number of refugees had to leave their homes and embark on a long journey, becoming the famous wanderers in cyberpunk.
Giant corporations have taken this opportunity to break free from the constraints of the government and begin to use the world's natural resources without restraint to make profits, and even brazenly launch so-called corporate wars in order to acquire and merge other companies.
Under such circumstances, the world situation is becoming increasingly chaotic.
The cyberpunk world has thus become a world controlled by major super corporations.
The Night City where the game takes place is the most dazzling and typical microcosm of this world.