Chapter 64: Chapter Sixty-Four: Escape (I)

It started to rain.

He stood in an alleyway littered with trash, head tilted back, gazing at the towering commercial skyscrapers in the distance.

Layers of holographic screens rolled day and night without rest, broadcasting commercial advertisements.

An endless torrent gushed forth from the clouds, draping the unyielding steel giants in a cloak of ink-black.

A woman dressed as a Japanese geisha hid within; the surging water blurred her face.

Only the pallid white paint on her face and the glaring scarlet on her lips were visible.

Dila hated this advertisement, which was deployed all over Night City.

At night, especially on a night of heavy rain, this appearance was far too terrifying.

Like a soul-snatching female ghost, walking openly in the mortal world.

It actually suited this city quite well.

This city of hell, this capital of sin.

Here in the human world, a gap had been torn open by evil spirits.

Listening closely, one could faintly hear the wailing of lost souls.

Here, it was too close to hell and too far from heaven.

Dila sighed; people always realize too late that they made the wrong choice from the very beginning.

One year ago, he drove the Red Huang Meteor, arrogant as a god, unrestrained and free; no sports car in Night City could catch his silhouette.

He thought he was fast enough, fast enough to surpass time and surpass fate.

Reality proved him wrong.

Reality is, after all, reality, not some fairy tale.

He did surpass space and time, getting Lao Ruifan to the hospital in time.

But all efforts were, in the end, futile.

Overnight, the largest taxi company in Night City, the one he belonged to, went bankrupt, or rather, was replaced.

A fellow named Delamain fired everyone.

From the drivers at the bottom to the company executives at the top, all were replaced single-handedly by this damned electronic Ghost.

How could an unemployed man like him afford the exorbitant medical fees at Night City Central Hospital?

Look, this is reality.

In fairy tales, the hero who can slay dragons need not worry about travel expenses.

He could transform his taxi into an supreme arrow, piercing through space and time, yet he could not pierce through this thin film of money.

Selling his vehicle at a low price, liquidating his assets, he gave everything, yet still lost Lao Ruifan in the end.

What defeated him was merely reality.

Dila wiped the dirty food residue from the corner of his mouth; the taste of rummaging for food in a trash can was never pleasant.

The sour stench seemed to seep down the esophagus and penetrate into the marrow.

Fortunately, he had gradually grown accustomed to it.

Dila thought, took a step, left the alley, and walked into the bustling streets.

Fortunately, the frenzied downpour masked the stench on his body, so that walking among the crowd, he could hold his back slightly straighter.

"Movie... now showing!... Starring!... Rating 9.0! A winter blockbuster not to be missed! Come with your partner, family, and friends... to the cinema!"

Dila kept his hands in his pockets, head held high, silently watching the new movie trailer playing on the large screen not far away.

Unknowingly, he slowly walked to Ye's Cinema in the center of Night City.

One year ago, he had taken Nia here to watch a movie together.

He had forgotten the specific plot of the movie; he only remembered her rosy profile, under the dim light of the screen, breathtakingly beautiful.

Like scooping a spoonful of flesh from the heart, then filling the gap with honey.

An unhealable pain, yet a sweetness that seeped into the depths of the heart.

"Let's go see this one; the introduction sounds quite interesting."

"... I'll listen to you."

Dila hid in the shadows of the lobby, silently watching the people coming and going; among them, a couple embracing each other was the most eye-catching.

The silver-haired girl hid in the arms of the tall man, sweetly acting spoiled.

Both man and woman were the type unforgettable at first sight.

The man wore his semi-long hair loose, free and elegant like a Greek statue; a pair of blue eyes focused all attention on the girl in his arms.

The girl had a head of silver hair and a pair of violet lakes shimmering with waves; even if Venus stood before her, she would have to lament her own imperfections.

Like a fairy tale.

Dila murmured a low sigh and gave up the idea of stealing from the queue of people.

One must always leave a little room for kindness for oneself.

Even if defeated by reality, he would inevitably still yearn for the beauty of fairy tales.

If he could still be considered human.

Lao Ruifan's death and his unemployment stripped away his invincible flesh and blood.

Nia's death in childbirth completely shattered his soul that had swept the world.

Alone, with nothing.

So he went completely mad.

He had not been this clear-headed for a long time, not like today.

Perhaps it was the effects of the medicine a man claiming to be from the Zhang Group had thrown to him a few days ago.

Dila left the cinema, walking down the street where lights flickered, rubbing the drug, brilliant as a star, in his palm.

This medicine could actually relieve the symptoms of Cyberpsycho.

And the price was to leap willingly into the bottomless abyss.

He was merely drinking poison to quench his thirst.

First the Biotech, then the Zhang Group.

These big Corpo always liked to fiddle with these sugar-coated poisons.

Dila shook his head and let out a bitter laugh.

The next moment, he collapsed by the roadside, his cheek kissing the rain and mud.

His entire body seemed covered in countless tiny insects, gently and cruelly gnawing at his flesh and blood bit by bit.

At the same time, the joints of his bones seemed to crack open, as if something wanted to climb out, leaving deep marks on his white bones with its sharp claws.

He tried to stand up, but only knelt on the ground, leaning against the wall, spitting out the food he had painstakingly gathered tonight, mixed with yellow stomach acid.

Countless sharp blades churning in his stomach made him wish for death.

He wanted to howl, but could not make a single sound.

One second, all his organs were like soaked in solid ice; the next, they seemed to be roasted over a blazing fire.

This was the price.

This life-saving medicine would make one addicted.

Dila deliberately controlled the timing of taking the medicine, but the intense withdrawal symptoms seemed determined to utterly crush the last dignity he had as a human.

Before, he could not choose to live with dignity.

Now, he could not even die with clarity.

Dila gritted his teeth, and finally, once again yielded to the pain, swallowing the medicine he had been clutching in his palm whole.

Thus, all pain vanished into thin air.

He seemed to return to a year ago.

Before all the tragedies had begun, time stood still, living eternally in the past.

Pity it was only a momentary illusion.

He leaned against the wall in a wretched state, slowly stood up, and brushed off the filth from his body.

Even with the rain pouring down, it could not cover the unique scent on him.

The hounds had already arrived.

Dila leaned against the wall and limped away, disappearing into the darkness.

A long sigh circled in the air, shattered beneath the violent downpour.