Chapter 83

The roar of floating cars always hovered above Night City, never ceasing for a single hour of the 24-hour day.

Like waves crashing against a coastline, invisible sound surges endlessly, violently splashing its corpse into every corner of Night City.

The government regarded this phenomenon as one of Night City's symbols of prosperity and took pride in it.

But for ordinary citizens who couldn't afford housing with soundproofing, it was merely another annoying noise.

"The thirty-first floating car just flew by…" Lucy stared out the window at the steel beast flashing past, vanishing into the rain, silently counting in her mind.

Only when one pays special attention to time does every minute and second feel excruciatingly slow.

If one settles down to do something, time flows swiftly instead—perhaps in the blink of an eye, the long wait is already over.

A refreshing aroma playfully slipped into her nose, slid down her throat into her stomach, then bounced mischievously a few times, making her intestines gurgle with hunger.

"Lucy! Stop zoning out! Dinner's ready!" Hita ran over and pulled the dazed Lucy back to the dining table.

Lucy had been staring out the window for a long time under the pretense of getting air. Hita called her several times without response, so she had to physically drag her back to her seat.

"Hehe, look at my carefully simmered Winter Melon Soup!" Gloria's red hair had already been tied up while cooking; she carefully placed the large pot on the table, wearing a rare confident smile.

Although Gloria could never afford winter melon in daily life, she had mentally prepared this dish countless times. Now that she had the chance to show off, the result naturally matched her long effort.

After all, the employee meals provided by the Company were utterly inedible—those Protein Blocks and Vegetable Paste tasted like paraffin wax, and were even blander than water, requiring Virtual Food stored in the mind just to swallow them.

In comparison, tonight's dinner seemed especially abundant and delicious.

"With more people, Hot Pot is more satisfying." Yahweh carried the Hot Pot and slowly set it in the center of the round table.

He had spent half the day preparing the broth base, ensuring that the various kinds of Synthetic Meat would taste nearly like real meat once boiled.

This was also why heavily flavored foods were especially popular on Night City's snack streets.

Excessive spiciness, sourness, saltiness, and other flavors could mask the hidden industrial odor of Synthetic Food, tricking the brain into believing it was eating real food, not cheap industrial products.

It was a compromise born of poverty, a widespread and surprisingly effective form of self-deception.

"Yay! Tonight we can eat our fill!"

Hita bounced excitedly in her seat, her slender fingers pressed together like a fan, sweeping the fragrant air toward her face and greedily inhaling it deep into her belly.

She always behaved this way—she didn't deliberately pursue material pleasures; she could sit elegantly in a high-end restaurant savoring pure organic food, or like now, sprawl lazily over the table, drooling over cheap Synthetic Meat.

Perhaps this was one reason she was so beloved.

Lucy thought, glancing at Yahweh, who was busy dipping meat slices into the Hot Pot, and unconsciously rubbed Hita's upturned silver hair, a soft smile tugging at her lips.

"Wow… this is truly a rare delicacy." Gloria couldn't stop swallowing saliva, her eyes fixed on the meat slices appearing and disappearing in the boiling Hot Pot, her sleeves rolled up high with no regard for appearances.

"Let me serve everyone a bowl of Winter Melon Soup first—after eating the spice, it'll soothe your palate." David sighed, watching his mother unable to move from the sight of food, rolled up his sleeves, and volunteered to serve.

"Oh! I forgot to bring the chopsticks and bowls!" Hita remembered at David's suggestion, realizing she'd neglected to distribute utensils.

"It's fine, I'll get them." Lucy smiled lightly, shaking her head and pressing Hita back into her seat.

After all, as a guest, it was only right to do something in return for the host.

Lucy simply disliked socializing—she didn't lack manners.

"It really feels like a family." Hita looked around at the bustling people in her home, a warm feeling surging straight into her heart.

Memories of sitting around the table with her father and mother, happily eating meals, still lingered vividly—but as if covered by a thin film, they were no longer within reach.

Fortunately, she had met many people, made many friends.

Like a wound on her soul gradually healing, leaving only faint traces.

"Hita?"

That familiar voice pulled her from her daydreaming.

"The Hot Pot's ready. You can eat now."

Hita looked at Yahweh's gentle smile, caught the kind glances of everyone else, and unconsciously smiled back, just as happily.

"Dinner's ready!"

Everyone exchanged smiles, responding to Hita's adorable announcement with the clinking of chopsticks.

"By the way, Gloria, I forgot to ask why you got promoted and raised." Hita tapped her own head, only remembering this now as the Hot Pot was nearly empty.

"Oh… it's a long story…" Gloria patted her belly, let out a soft burp, then began recounting.

"It was just a few days ago… the 18th, I think…" Gloria recalled the details as she spoke, "My Medical Squad received an order to rush to Downtown to clear the scene…"

Only her strong mental resilience allowed her to recall that gruesome scene after eating—anyone else would've thrown up immediately.

"Scattered everywhere were mechanical debris and human tissue…"

"Those two Kangtao Robots had been sliced clean in half—completely destroyed…"

"Wasn't the news saying another Robot was still missing?" Lucy had finished eating, put down her chopsticks, and was listening with interest.

"More accurately, we only found parts of its body… It was only after clearing the scene and realizing several fragments couldn't be reassembled that we suspected a third party might be involved…"

"Parts of its body?"

"Yeah… for some reason, part of its head seemed missing…"

"Were important components stolen?"

"No, according to the later report, nothing valuable was missing—at least, that's what the White Coats claimed…" Gloria scratched her head, "It was just a small slot missing from the back of the head? Probably not anything important…"

"So basically, you got rewarded for 'cleaning up and submitting important items'…" Gloria sighed, lightly tapping David on the head, "At least now we can feed ourselves…"