Chapter 391 - 363 Post-Event Gathering (Part Two)

"So, had you planned to escape to some beautiful, remote paradise and enjoy some alone time without anyone else?"

"Pfft!"

At another table, Lucy spat out her drink!

With a knack for hitting the nail on the head, Lille calmly sipped his Dumb Monkey as he continued, "That’s how all you youngsters are these days.

Where do you want to go? Europe? The Moon? Or Africa? It must be the Moon, definitely the Moon."

Lille pretended to analyze their micro-expressions, putting on a whole performance based on their reactions. David scratched his head embarrassingly while Lucy buried her head in her chest.

Only Jack and V still looked puzzled.

So Lille went on, "Everyone has thought about finding a place to hide when they were younger, like when they get hit..."

V immediately responded,

"I’d figure out how to get a disposable gun. It’s not expensive, or hack a vending machine with a big shot, pay him after the people are taken care of."

"...like when nagged by mom..."

"Pretend to listen, then figure out a way to blow things up later," Jack naturally said. "Once you’ve made money, there aren’t so many problems."

Lille looked at V and then at Jack, "Like all you think about are sports cars and motorcycles."

"That’s really something," Jack and V said in unison. "But we’ve already got those."

"Yeah!" Lille nodded, "Yes, you do, so next time there’s a job you guys just stay home, since you’ve got no dreams left!"

"We still have them," V thought for a moment and then looked at David, "So are you two planning on honeymooning on the Moon?

There’s nothing to keep secret here; it sounds quite romantic, not like me, always dreaming of buying sports cars and living in big houses, pretty banal."

Jack didn’t speak anymore, but he was visibly interested in the topic, ears perked up and listening closely.

At this point, Lucy at the other table had finally overcome the embarrassment of having her small dreams exposed and lifted her head.

Hand shaking her can, eyes fixated on the drink inside, as if it contained a ticket to the Moon.

While maintaining this pose, she asked quietly, "Has anyone here been to the Moon?"

Lucy’s question was quite pointed.

Everyone simultaneously turned to look at Lille—as mercenaries, they admitted none of them had been, so presumably, neither had the others.

They were all streetwise, knowing well their own limits.

But Lille was different; he always seemed like he might actually have been there.

Interestingly, Lille had indeed been there, though not in this world, and the outcome was hard to say was good.

Thus, he pondered for a moment what to say, combining his knowledge of this world:

"The Moon... no atmosphere, blinding sunlight; no sound, the only thing you can hear is what’s in your earphones; no gravity, every jump feels like breaking free.

People like to fantasize about the scenery there, it’s not unfounded—the stars in space, I can tell you, are clearer and more dazzling than anywhere on Earth, with many stars unseen from Earth appearing.

The Milky Way like a bright river, crossing the night sky— Night City can’t see these.

However, the night is different."

The night?

David and Lucy both were stunned.

They had seen the Super Dream about the Moon, but it only showed the daytime.

The lunar night is cold, terrifying, and boring; naturally, no one would record such a Super Dream for commercial purposes as it wouldn’t be effective marketing.

Lille continued, "At night, temperatures drop to minus 170 degrees Celsius or even lower, and there are hardly any spacesuits that can withstand such temperatures.

There’s no air, so it’s not just dark but also silent, silent to the point of causing panic, silent to the point of being unbearable.

And this icy hell lasts for 14 Earth days—the length of a lunar night."

Lille’s tone made everyone quiet down too.

If he said such nights are unbearable, then just how terrible could they be?

How do Moon people get through the night?

Lucy immediately spoke up, "But I know companies have colonies there."

"Right, there are colonies, but as you said, those are company properties, and secondly, the colonies are located beneath the lunar surface.

"Imagine you had to stay inside and work for 14 days straight,"

Corporate property meant life up there wasn’t as dreamy as one might think—instead, within a confined space with limited resources, the situation could be even worse than on the surface.

Lille shrugged his shoulders, "That’s enough talk. Bursting someone’s bubble is quite mean."

Thinking about it, Lille felt that shattering the dreams of young men and women made him seem rather cold-hearted.

So, he added, "But anyway, I actually do want to go to the Moon."

"Yeah, right," V rested his elbow on Lille’s shoulder, looking unimpressed, "I thought you had actually been. Have you, or haven’t you?"

"Ha, just assume I haven’t," Lille replied.

Lucy became even more silent, and seeing this, David started to sweat and hurriedly added, "Uh... but it’s definitely still a nice place..."

"Of course, it’s a nice place," said Lille. "You think I added that just to make you feel better? I really do want to go."

Of course, his reason for wanting to go was different, but that was not suitable to delve into here.

He feared that discussing it might make Lucy even more frantic.

Lucy, however, clung to that like a lifeline, counter-questioning, "Even though it’s just a corporate colony up there?"

"The Moon is big, very big," Lille said slowly. "If I were to make a metaphor—

Night City might seem like a giant dung pit, but in reality, this pit can accommodate all types of dung. There’s always a pit stop prepared for you.

The Moon... is a lot better. It’s a regular-sized pit, just that a few lumps of dung have been tossed in by some graceless folks."

"What a fucking vulgar metaphor," V blurted out.

"Pfft."

Lucy, on the other hand, burst out laughing. Somehow, this dung pit analogy seemed to lighten her mood.

"A free dung pit? That’s so like something you guys would come up with. So, are we also considered dung?"

But it was indeed very graphic.

The more Lucy thought about it, the funnier she found it, and then she picked up a can and drank furiously, struck by some chord.

It was precisely because this chord was struck that she became more sociable, grabbing the booze, laughing, drinking, and joining the drinking legion.

Seeing her like this, David became anxious and started to follow.

Lille firmly held him back, "One last thing, congratulations on passing the interview. I plan to give you a franchise identity from Burger King.

"I’ll send you a few pieces of equipment later, remember to check them—then, keep chasing your dreams," Lille said.

Having said this, Lille patted David on the shoulder and gently pushed him towards Lucy.

The young man was pushed away feeling light as a feather and soon joined the drinking legion.

The drinking legion congregated, and someone brought a speaker, rapidly heating up the atmosphere at the scene.

Lille also finished his drink, jumped off the chair,

"Alright, that wraps up things here. Keep going if you want to, but I need to go back and summarize what happened today," he said.

With that, he saw Jack looking down and writing something. Lille leaned over to look.

Jack was holding an electronic mini notebook, with a title blazed across it:

"Mercenary Operations Manual."

"Before you decide to become a mercenary, I need you to think seriously about why you’re choosing this path,"

"And once you start pondering, you’ll inevitably encounter a variety of issues. These issues might make you hesitate before pulling the trigger, and then..."

"Your head’s blown off."

"Here, a big shot has summarized a simple and memorable rule for you, also the first rule of this book:"

"Remember, the world is a giant dung pit. Don’t fret over which dung stinks the most or stinks more, just be yourself, and strive to be the most ambitious piece of dung."

What a vulgar manual.

Lille paid his respects solemnly.

...

On the street, a somewhat portly man heard the analogy and laughed as well.

Coarse though it was, he also acknowledged the expression.