Golden wheat fields were brushed by the warm summer breeze, undulating under the sunlight like a river of flowing gold sand. Lucy felt a slight prickling sensation at her fingertips as she joyfully brushed past the brilliant ears of wheat.
She wanted to run to her heart's content under this blue sky and within these fields, yet she couldn't bear to trample these precious crops. Even knowing this was just a phantom illusion, in her eyes, it was incomparably beautiful.
Facing the breeze that carried a hint of sweat, she took a deep breath of the natural scent, feeling as if she had become a part of this world, sensing an immense peace and ease.
There were no impatient horns, no blinding neon lights, no dazzling advertisement pushes, and no diverse, congested crowds. There was only the tranquil sound of the wind, and the faint fragrance of wheat ears being baked by the sunlight until their awns seemed ready to scorch.
Immersing herself in this allowed Lucy to forget the unpleasantness of reality and shed her usual cold, surly disguise, strolling through the fields like an ordinary girl—in this era, such ordinary crops were almost never seen, as most were genetically modified wheat used to produce "CHOOH2".
Ryu sat under a tree enjoying the shade, his gaze fixed in the distance, but also resting on Lucy, his expression thoughtful.
The scenery of the wheat field didn't come from nowhere; it required farmers to pay enough sweat to irrigate it to create this chessboard-like plain. The labor process was arduous, and the return rate was not high.
But if they could choose, probably eight out of ten residents of Night City would rather be a township farmer from the last century, staying in a remote place, than remain in that technologically advanced but literally man-eating cyber city!
Lucy was a prime example. The Moon wasn't exactly a wonderful place, but the simple fact of being "far away from the civilized world" was enough to make it her dream.
Having a dream is a good thing, but in Night City, this is often a precursor to destruction~
This city allows you to fall, to go mad, to turn dark, but it is exceptionally cruel to those with hope and dreams. Trying to escape it is incredibly difficult because you will always be pulled back by an invisible gravity, as if it's telling you, "Trash belongs in the dump!"
Lucy probably understood this in her heart as well, which is why she had been saving money but had never actually taken action.
So-called "dreams" give people the courage to live on just by shining there. Reaching out to touch them rashly, however, might lead to a fall like Icarus.
It's just that the ancient Greeks yearned for the sun, while Lucy longed for the Moon.
Therefore, rather than burning out in a blaze of glory, her death would surely be cold and quiet—Lucy occasionally thought this way.
Ryu's words were moving enough that a long-lost warmth and impulse surged in Lucy's heart, but reason told her it was just a beautiful lie.
There is no true pure land in this world, including the Moon. The so-called "place even further away" is impossible outside of fantasy!
Lucy woke up from the [Braindance] and found that Ryu had come out long ago. On the other end of the sofa, Sasha was also wearing a helmet, a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth, evidently fully immersed.
What the cat was experiencing now was the same natural scenery Lucy had just gone through, though Ryu had calibrated and optimized it afterward, making it easier for the patients' emotions to resonate with the user. Presumably, after she wakes up, she will also be in a trance for a good while, just like Lucy was initially.
"I don't get it, where exactly did you get this footage?"
Lucy interlaced her fingers and turned her palms outward, stretching lazily. Although her spine was modified with cyberware, she still felt a sense of mental fatigue.
For cyborgs, a very incredible point is that even though some parts have been replaced with machinery, fatigue, numbness, and pain that theoretically shouldn't exist still appear occasionally, even if the tactile nerves are blocked.
Some say this is the cyberware's calculation chip placing an extra burden on the brain, leading to hallucinations, and one needs to be careful of Cyberpsychosis symptoms.
But others say this is the part of the soul (ghost) that lost the flesh crying out and rejecting... some religious figures use this to attack cybernetic modification.
Lucy preferred to believe the latter, because this theory proved they were not walking corpses, nor mechanical puppets of capital.
"Take a guess?" Ryu opened a bottle of mineral water and handed it to Lucy.
The girl gulped down two mouthfuls, thoroughly moistening her parched throat, then leaned back comfortably on the sofa.
She toyed with the bottle opening in boredom, shaking it while pondering: "Did you hack into the brain of an Arasaka executive? Or maybe Militech's?"
No!
Before Ryu could speak, she denied this possibility herself.
Leaving aside the difficulty, if someone had the chance to hack a corporate executive's cyberbrain but only got a bunch of [Braindance] footage, then that person must be insane!
Furthermore, some things are probably not even enjoyed by Arasaka executives; those immaculately dressed high-ups surely wouldn't have sentiments like "it's so good to be alive."
"Could it be records from before the Corporate Wars? Only the end of the last century and the beginning of this century could have such footage."
Lucy had a flash of inspiration, feeling she had grasped a clue: "You've been collecting technological heritage from the previous era; did you find this footage along with it?"
Ryu maintained a gentle smile and slowly shook his head in denial.
"Then I really can't guess..." Lucy frowned in distress, glancing at him again inadvertently.
Speaking of which, in her view, Ryu also had an unrealistic dream: to collect the crystallized wisdom of humanity, preserving enough fire seeds and samples to prepare for the future—simply acting like Prometheus.
Lucy felt that in terms of difficulty, her dream of going to the Moon was nothing compared to Ryu's!
And this man was different from her; he dared to take action for his dream, rather than staying in place like she did.
"I shot it on location. It's not as complex as you think."
"Impossible!"
Lucy immediately retorted: "I don't know of anywhere on the current Earth where you can find such a vast natural ecology!"
"Of course not 'the current Earth,' I told you, didn't I? I will take you to see a place even further than the Moon."
"..."
Lucy's eyes widened slightly: "Are you serious? Isn't that just you..."
"I'm not joking." Ryu looked straight into her eyes. "I've always been serious."
"Does it really exist?" Lucy couldn't believe it.
"Whether it does or not, you'll know when you see it with your own eyes."
"Why..."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Reflected in Lucy's eyes were Ryu's regular and handsome features; his silver hair swayed slightly. Under the illumination of the lights, the girl's gaze was in a trance, as if she were still inside the Braindance and hadn't woken up.
"It's just a common daydream found everywhere, so why help me?"
"Because it is beautiful... your dream."
Ryu said gently: "I want to protect—"
Mmph!!!
Cool silver short hair brushed past his cheek as the girl kissed him emotionally, her left hand cupping the back of Ryu's head as if to prevent him from escaping.
The contact between lips was slightly rough, teeth accidentally bumping together. Heartbeats rose as if sprinting rapidly. Accompanying Lucy's lack of technique but abundance of passion, demanding endlessly as if praying for warmth, Ryu went with the flow and wrapped his arms around her waist.
The instant his fingertips touched the skin of her waist, Lucy suddenly separated from Ryu, though her hands still held the back of his head.
"Haa..."
Both were panting heavily to varying degrees. The shyness in Lucy's eyes lasted only a brief instant before quickly switching to a mode full of aggression.
This posture was too awkward, so she simply swung her leg over Ryu's legs and straddled him directly, facing him face-to-face.
She stared into Ryu's eyes and asked hesitantly: "Is this... your first kiss?"
Ryu shook his head.
"Hah..." Lucy twitched her mouth, but didn't mind, simply hooking the corner of her lips into a wicked smile. "Then I lost out."
"Actually—Mmph!"
Ryu was blocked again just as he opened his mouth. Lucy tossed about for a while longer; after all, it's hard for a novice to find the knack immediately, but the process of exploration is always winding and full of surprises. Finally, they separated to catch their breath.
"Now we're even!" she declared reservedly, like a victor.
...What should I do? Should I remind them? Or say nothing and just pretend to sleep? They won't do the deed right now, will they?!
—On the other side, the cat Sasha, who had already woken up, stared wide-eyed at this scene, a battle raging in her mind for a moment.
Finally, she stole a glance at the door... and decided to squint her eyes and pretend to sleep.
After all... a handsome man and a beautiful woman, it was quite a sight for sore eyes~
________________________________________
Get rewarded for helping with our community goals!
🎯 Reward for all: +1 bonus chapter at 50 Powerstones.
🚀 Tier Reward: Help us reach 20 members for +5 chapters on all stories!
👻 Join the crew by searching Ms. Medusa on (P). You know the spot! 😉