The villain knight doesn't want to be a hero

Those who can resist the threat of force may not be able to resist the temptation of money.

Will Lin Qiao betray her?

Frankly speaking, she didn't know, but Lucy hoped not, and hoped that she could trust the other person.

After all, her strength is self-evident if her opponent can destroy an entire Luan Dao Gui team, and without a prosthetic body in her body, her hacking ability will not work at all.

This means that if the other party wants to do something, she can't resist at all.

Lin Qiao could have completely deceived her into trusting her, and then used her to receive the reward from Arasaka...but the other party chose the "worst" approach.

The method of exposing her true face is more like helping her optimize the details of her lies to ensure that she can better deal with it next time someone else discovers something unusual...

It is precisely because of this that we need to stay away.

In this way, if someone from Arasaka comes to visit him one day, at least he won't be in trouble.

For herself and for the other party, leaving may be the best choice...at least in her opinion.

"....Sorry, I can't go to Night City with you."

Maybe I was simply not suitable to travel with others from the beginning.

There was some self-deprecation in my heart.

"That's it."

He maintained a calm tone from beginning to end, making it difficult for Lucy to hear his true inner emotions.

Then, like magic, a large chip card appeared in Lin Qiao's hand - this can be regarded as the bank card of this era.

"Since you have already decided, I won't stop you... This was found from the Luan Dao Club camp. It contains [-] euros. This is my apology."

"...You should need this money more than me to go to Night City, right?"

"Believe me, it's much easier for me to make money than it is for you."

"....Thanks....."

He reached out to take it hesitantly, but the next second, Lin Qiao took the chip back.

"But before I give it to you, can you listen to me for a little longer?"

"...Hmm...Also, driving too fast..."

He nodded and did not refuse.

The outline of the town appeared on the horizon, and Lucy signaled Lin Qiao to slow down slightly.

"Okay, let me think about it, where to start..."

Lin Qiao pinched her chin, thought for a moment, and said, "To be honest, it's actually a little inconvenient for me to go to Night City alone."

"There is no prosthesis in the whole body, but when it comes to electronic accounts, there is not even a chip interface, so it is really not easy to do things."

Therefore, when he learned that Lucy was also going to Night City, Lin Qiao was secretly relieved.

After all, having a highly skilled hacker by your side really helps a lot.

....Of course, he also understands the other party's current choice.

Under the premise of being hunted by a super company like Arasaka, it is somewhat too extreme to put your wealth and life on a person you have only known for two days...

"Also, I lied about something before... When we first met, do you remember when you shot me?"

Lucy glanced over, as if asking him, why did he mention this matter again?

Lin Qiao smiled: "Actually, your marksmanship is pretty good... at least within twenty centimeters. That shot hit my left eye very accurately."

He raised a finger and tapped the corner of his eye.

But Lucy noticed that his left eye was still intact, and there wasn't even a dark circle on it from staying up late.

If you can do this without a prosthetic body like subcutaneous armor, you are either lying or there is something wrong with it.

Although some curiosity arose, I no longer cared much about the specific reasons.

"...Now that things have happened, it's useless to mention these things anymore, right?"

"Hey, you're too cold, aren't you? It's rare for me to take the initiative to tell you... Don't kids of your age like you to punch me and I'll hit you back, and then use the same means to retaliate? ?"

Lin Qiao used an exaggerated tone of "I've already done this" and poked Lucy's face, causing the latter to remind him to concentrate on driving.

——Exchanging secrets for secrets, you think it’s not a loss for you, right?

This is probably what I want to express.

"Well, that's what I said, but from the look of you, you don't seem to accept it."

"Are you... trying to save me?"

"Obviously, after all, a genius cyber hacker girl like you is not easy to deal with... Plus, I think there is a slight compatibility."

Frankly speaking, Lucy now is somewhat similar to him who just traveled through time.

Looking around, I can't find anyone trustworthy, and I have to worry about my own life.

There is a feeling of seeing one's past self.

But the difference is that she can continue to become stronger and eventually change her fate against the will of heaven, but she is always a mortal with a mortal body.

"....Why....?"

"Didn't I just say it? Well, if I have to say it, it's also because I personally prefer white hair..."

"That's not the case! Don't you know Arasaka is chasing after me!?"

All the suppressed emotions were instantly ignited, and Lucy couldn't help shouting.

That's Arasaka!

The world's number one super company has power all over the world... no, even the space beyond the earth has become the scope covered by its tentacles.

Standing next to her was, in a sense, equivalent to being an enemy of Arasaka.

Even if what he faced was not Arasaka's full pursuit, just the tip of the iceberg revealed was scary enough.

It’s okay if I didn’t know before, but now I have guessed the connection between her and Arasaka. Are you losing your mind by making this choice?

"That's really scary."

Lin Qiao smiled and patted her head: "Unfortunately, I stopped feeling fear a long time ago, so this kind of thing doesn't scare me."

Not to mention fear, there are no emotions at all, and there is only cold reason in my mind... and the remaining humanity.

"How about making a promise anyway?"

"Agreement?"

"Yes, exchanging secrets for a big battle won't work, so in order to retain Ms. Hacker, I can only use plan B."

Lin Qiao pretended to be troubled and continued.

"Since everyone has their own secrets, then no one should ask each other, and don't tell each other about themselves. Just treat all our abnormalities as normal... But when we encounter difficulties, we still have to ask others People ask for help.”

"In this process, as an adult, I will suffer a little loss and help you completely get rid of Arasaka's pursuit. If everything goes well, I will leave you a small amount of pocket money in a few years so that you can have enough food and clothing in the future."

"How do you see this?"

The car drove into the town, stopped slowly, and with a sound, the locked door opened.

Lin Qiao clenched her right hand and raised it in the air. When Lucy looked away, she found that his face had that unhurried and gentle expression from beginning to end.

Should he leave like this, or should he believe in the man in front of him who was talking in his sleep no matter what.

The crossroads of life have been placed in front of Lucy...

"As for you, you don't have to worry about me. There's no need to provoke Arasaka for this...I don't have the value for you to do this, right?"

There was some trembling in the words, as if he was longing for something, but also as if he wanted to stay away from something.

"You can't say that. The result is nothing more than a loss and a win, plus a tie...Oh!"

Lin Qiao looked like he was belatedly thinking about it, and said in surprise: "Look, the probability of not losing is already two-thirds, and it's not as bad as you said, isn't it? ?”

"That's nonsense! That's sophistry!"

It seemed that the dazzling sunlight behind Lin Qiao made the corners of her eyes uncomfortable, and she unconsciously turned her head to the side.

Some kind of crystal liquid was secreted, but it was quickly wiped away by the girl as if it was an illusion.

"So what's Ms. Hacker's answer?"

"Stop talking nonsense! Drive!"

Ten fingers clenched into pink fists and fist bumped with Lin Qiao.

The choice is clear.

"Then let's have fun burning Arasaka Tower to ashes together, Aibou (partner)~"

He said in a very happy tone.

"But I forgot to mention it before. If it doesn't go well, I will lose all my money and be finished."

"It's too late to say this!"

"Yes Yes Yes."

The car's engine was restarted before the town's sheriff arrived to question him.

Target, Night City.

Chapter 297 The Simple Folkways of Night City

The world of Night City is not very peaceful.

It may be a bit too much to describe it as "gold and jade on the outside, but bad on the inside"... After all, even on the surface, this place looks like it has all the five poisons.

Although due to various reasons, there are basically few peaceful places in this world, Night City is definitely a unique and earth-shattering kind of chaos.

As mentioned before, the northern half of California, where this city is located, supports the independent Free State, while the southern half supports the new United States. For this reason, the two sides dislike each other and deliberately built a wall to separate each other.

And the City of Night is right on the edge of this wall.

To put it more bluntly, this is a buffer zone established on the border when war breaks out.

There are more than a dozen companies responsible for selling arms.

No one should think that these death merchants, who are afraid of chaos in the world and want everyone to have a gift package of self-produced weapons, are here to do their part for the safety of citizens, as the advertisement says, right?

Come on, who wants to believe such nonsense? Lin Qiao can laugh at him for two and a half years.

Among all the companies, Arasaka and Military Technology are naturally included, these are mortal enemies who are eager to eat their flesh.

Rather, these two are heavyweights.

Then, under the propaganda of capital spending a lot of money, various religions, criminals, wanted criminals from other countries, or simply people attracted by the fraudulent name of Dream City also flocked here.

Anyway, Night City doesn’t care about that much.

In this case, the only thing that can be guaranteed about its internal security is that there is no guarantee at all.

Also, never count on the police.

Since Night City's police force, NCPD, was contracted by private parties, only a few of them still have some sense of responsibility in doing things. Others are either busy posting tickets on the streets, or they simply work with local gangs.

If you really encounter trouble, you should first think about whether the guy in your hand is tough enough, or check the account balance to see if you can hire a middleman to hire a more reliable mercenary.

Even if you are simply asked to appear in court to identify a certain gang member, it is best to refuse... After all, witness protection is also expensive.

In short, the security of Night City is almost nothing.

Regarding this point, Lin Qiao has now experienced Night City's friendly greetings personally.

"I'm really convinced by you bunch of kidney cutters."

Lin Qiao rubbed her temples.

As the innkeeper knelt down and begged for mercy with a trembling sound, he stepped on the other person's head.

Outside the hotel, dark clouds obscured the night sky.

But due to serious pollution, it is no longer possible to see the stars here, and even the moon is obscured by clouds.

This is Santo Domingo, one of the oldest districts in Night City.