"Even you, who works in counter-intelligence, still…"
Disappointment was written all over Ashley's face; after all, she only had her mother, with whom she relied on each other. When the incident first happened, she was on the verge of a complete breakdown, and even two months later, she still found it very difficult to accept.
V also felt helpless: "Your mother's matter is not simple. All information related to her has been encrypted, and there is a dedicated firewall. From my experience, she must have been involved with Arasaka's important resources. By the way, Ashley, has your mother given you anything recently?"
Dog Brother made a snap decision: "Ashley, don't say anything. Although this V has always been good to you, don't forget your mother's instructions! You told me all of this yourself."
Ashley's mouth barely opened before she stopped, looked into V's eyes, and paused: "No, my mother disappeared suddenly, without any warning."
V did not doubt Ashley, but gently hugged her with kindness, comforting her. Ashley signed a few names on the electronic file and left the Trauma Team's exclusive hospital. After having a meal with V, she bid her farewell.
"Dog Brother, there's no progress with V for now. It seems the only option is to find that fixer called Faraday. According to the few clues Mom left at home, she had a lot of dealings with this Faraday before, and Mom even bought things from him."
"That's right, fixers are all-knowing when it comes to information. Maybe he's the only breakthrough. I also really want to find your mother, Emma Johnson, after all, I'm just a data construct, and I also want to understand my origin, whose brain I was downloaded from."
As evening arrived, Ashley met with Faraday at a bar built on a bridge in the Charter Hill area. The result of their discussion was that Faraday provided a mercenary team to steal biochip information from an Arasaka facility for Ashley. Ashley wanted to act with this team.
After Faraday left, Dog Brother was furious: "You foolish girl, in the end, you paid the money but ended up working for others, and you still have to face huge risks. What a great deal."
"What does it matter? Otherwise, I alone would be even less likely to get past Arasaka's information protection. Dog Brother, adjust your mindset. We are isolated and helpless, with only a little money. Just think of it as hiring mercenaries with money; it's not a loss. If a crisis really occurs, don't you still have me, Dog Brother? At that time, I'll let you possess me, give you full control, and you have the ability to save me."
Dog Brother was torn between laughter and tears. He couldn't resist praise: "Damn, you're such a sweet talker! If you really have to put yourself in danger, you must buy some handy gear. Assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, you must have them all, and various grenades too. Small things like pistols are useless."
Ashley: "How do you know there'll be a shootout? This is a hacking operation, okay?"
Dog Brother was dismissive: "If the hacker team introduced by Four-Eyes is really awesome and can avoid combat, that's naturally the best. But we have to be prepared for the worst."
Ashley put her index finger on her lower lip, tilting her head slightly, looking innocent: "Dog Brother, I feel like you remember everything. Your combat proficiency is off the charts, and you're skilled with all kinds of weapons, so why can't you remember your own origin?"
Dog Brother shrugged: "You'll have to ask your mother, Emma Johnson. Maybe my original body was Morgan Blackhand."
Ashley made a face at him: "Dream on. Morgan Blackhand acts low-key. You're the type of brute who fights everyone on sight."
Dog Brother launched a barrage of coherent attacks on Ashley like a machine gun. It was like a turtle chanting sutras, impossible not to listen. Ashley couldn't argue with him and could only arrange to meet the mercenary team at Lizzie's Bar.
Ashley was very puzzled: "Dog Brother, there's one thing I don't understand. You're just a data construct, a chip plugged into my brain. Although you project a man's image and a man's voice in my visual system, in reality, you have no gender at all. Why do you still like women? Why do you specifically come to Lizzie's to look at beautiful women?"
Dog Brother observed all the women as closely as possible from Ashley's perspective, his expression one of enjoyment: "I really don't know about this. I must have been a man before."
Ashley: "Didn't you say you don't know your… um…
Dog Brother's lecherous eyes didn't stop, still very busy: "I can't explain this to you. For example, I have my own knowledge base, residual skills. Hmm, it's like I'm good at shooting and skilled in combat. Or, if you let me possess you, as long as there are good ingredients, I can immediately make a table full of delicious dishes for you. But I just don't know anything about my past, it's like it was deliberately deleted. Hmm, it must have been your mother who did it."
Ashley caught a key point: "Wait, Dog Brother, you said you can make a table full of good food?"
Dog Brother was dismissive: "What's wrong? What's wrong with being able to cook?"
Ashley: "Didn't you say you have a knowledge base? Cooking? Don't you know what kind of food people eat now? People in Night City, to put it bluntly, eat bugs."
Dog Brother suddenly stopped, no longer looking at the swaying girls in Lizzie's, his expression astonished: "That's right, the main meat now… is actually synthetic meat. Although it's called beef, pork, and chicken, it's all made from bugs…"
Ashley: "That's right, so you can make a table full of dishes? Don't you think that's strange? Who still cooks now? It's all packaged instant food. It's been decades since ordinary people could eat natural food. The environmental pollution wasn't that serious back then, so what era are you from?"
Dog Brother fell into deep thought, the image of him stroking his chin to himself: "You have a point. We've always taken it for granted that my backup time was two months ago. In fact, we can't ascertain my true
Ashley teased: "Dog Brother is actually an old fogey~"
She was about to continue complaining when an unknown number called her from the top left of her vision. She answered the phone, and a rough voice, which she seemed to have heard recently, spoke up:
"Hello, is this Miss J?"
"Yes, I am J. And you are?"
"I'm Maine. I took a job from Faraday to steal some information from an Arasaka data server. He said I could ask you for help."
"Uh, yes, yes, that's right."
Making calls now was actually direct brain-to-brain communication, absolutely private, but Dog Brother could hear the conversation, and being verbose was his true nature: "She pays for the mission herself and then has to personally get involved. Our Miss Ashley Johnson is truly beautiful and kind-hearted."
Ashley rolled her eyes at him and continued to communicate with Maine: "So, have you arrived? I'm already at Lizzie's."
Maine: "We just arrived at the entrance of Lizzie's."
Ashley waited in the Lizzie's lobby. A team of people pushed the door open and walked in. Ashley and Dog Brother were stunned, and so were the others. Although the dance floor was brightly lit and the music was noisy, Maine's large build was highly recognizable, and Lucy's stunning appearance also left a deep impression.
There were four other people beside them, all with distinct styles. Maine and Lucy also recognized Ashley, having met her at the hospital that afternoon. Ashley showed a sweet smile and made a gesture for everyone to follow her, leading them all to a private booth.
The booth was rather small, making it difficult to squeeze in seven people. On the coffee table in the middle, there was a virtual image of a woman dancing provocatively, constantly swaying. Ashley sensed their awkwardness and explained:
"Cyberpunks, no need to be nervous. I'm not from a corporation."
When Maine and Lucy were complaining at the hospital, Ashley had actually heard their whispers. Generally speaking, street people absolutely detest corporate dogs. Hearing Ashley explain that she wasn't from a corporation, Maine and Lucy's expressions relaxed slightly, while the other four looked bewildered.
Maine gave a hearty laugh and extended his hand to shake: "Haha, this is our second meeting today. Hello, Miss J."
Ashley only exuded elegance in her every gesture and smile when facing outsiders. Dog Brother naturally wanted to complain, but Ashley chose to ignore him.
Maine began to introduce his teammates: "This little loli with oversized cybernetic limbs and twin ponytails is Rebecca, our heavy weapons expert. That incredibly well-built woman who matches me so well is Dorio, an all-rounder. This is Lucy, our genius hacker, you've met her. And her, the one with the metal mask, is Kiwi, an experienced hacker. Uh, and there was another teammate, named Pilar, Rebecca's brother, who died last week, damn it, he just happened to run into a cyberpsycho…"
As Maine introduced them, everyone nodded in acknowledgment. Ashley expressed surprise, interrupting Maine: "There are really a lot of cyberpsychos in Night City. So, the one Pilar encountered must have been very strong, right?"
Rebecca's tone was harsh: "It's that idiot brother of mine who was too careless. I blew that cyberpsycho's head off in the end. My dead brother was too stupid, he died for no reason."
Dog Brother: "Ashley, don't you say it, I actually quite like these guys. Each of them has the potential to become a cyberpsycho, they're interesting, we can hang out."
Maine immediately cut to the chase: "That's enough introductions. This time, we're going to an Arasaka server base in the Valley area. It's heavily guarded. The fixer's requirement for me is to hack a designated small server. We need to find this target and try to avoid combat… even though corporate dogs are no match for us."
Ashley thought that Maine had quite a big mouth. Who didn't know that Arasaka was the hardest to deal with in the world, yet he said they were no match. Unless Maine was an idiot, perhaps this team's strength was indeed extraordinary?
Maine continued: "The fixer requested Miss J to join, saying you have experience cracking Arasaka firewalls."
Ashley: "Uh… hmm, yes, yes, a few times."
Lucy noticed Ashley's nervousness and was staring intently at the micro-expressions on her face. Ashley wanted to participate personally but didn't want the team to know that she was actually the employer. If something went wrong, these people could all be used as scapegoats.