Chapter 529 - 500: Conversations in the Afterlife

Night City, the streets empty.

But the competition spread across five major districts, with five gangs joining the fight, and miraculously stopping in their own territories.

The number of spectators for the competition might account for more than half of the entire city, with millions watching three mercenaries sweep through the city, while five gangs methodically became part of the competition.

At this moment, the Mackinaw Pika—that is, if one were to judge solely on appearance, no one would think it was still a Mackinaw.

But the graffiti on the legendary Mackinaw’s body still had the word "Mackinaw" painted in big letters.

After Lille got out of the car, his main consciousness arrived in New York.

The empty streets of Night City instantly turned into the crowded Time Square, where the news broadcast that the election results were about to be announced, the new President would be revealed shortly—

"Recently, the African Union recognized the legitimacy of Somalia’s newly established Government, which is not the transitional government that had been in place for over a decade."

"The new Government stated that they launched an attack on the Truman aircraft carrier that illegally entered the African coastal waters, leading to the sinking of the carrier."

"US Defense officials denied this, claiming that the aircraft carrier was undergoing repairs at a military base."

"This incident has influenced the voting intentions of a large number of voters, and according to predictions, the number of valid votes could reach an all-time high."

"According to previous nominal survey results, 53.6% of Americans believe they need a strong President, while 44.9% of Americans think that as the world’s most powerful economy, we should focus on the increasingly fierce global conflicts,

and attempt to use peaceful means to resolve them, including the current conflicts on the African Continent with the African Union."

As of 18:00, the gap between presidential candidates Barnes and Rodriguez is only 2.2 percentage points (50.2% vs 48%).

Both candidates have very similar vote counts in several swing states, public opinion is in a tug-of-war, and the election result may become clear in the next few hours.

If the vote counting ends up in the Federal Supreme Court, it may take even longer..."

The division of public opinion is quite serious, which is actually the trend of elections in recent years, with the economy sliding, unemployment rates soaring, and the wealth gap widening, people’s thoughts are also diverging.

As the stronghold controlled by the Atlas Group, the political atmosphere in New York is thicker than ever before, with a large number of young people and workers protesting in the streets, an atmosphere that seems much better than those swing states.

They are more in a mood to celebrate—Stark Industries has announced the relocation of its headquarters from New York to Houston, the hateful war merchant driven away, and this is what they are celebrating.

Lille suddenly felt sentimental: Night City had become the underground Emperor, while over at Marvel...

People were also choosing their leader.

Lille shifted the blanket on his body, right now he was at home watching TV. Many people could go to sleep after voting and then wake up to see the results, but he could not.

And... actually, the events in Night City hadn’t concluded yet.

The underground Emperor still needed a coronation ceremony.

"Lille—" his mom brought over a pot of hot tea and placed it on the table, "staying up late tonight?"

Lille nodded, "Just watching what the American people want."

"You speak like an old fox," Maya chuckled, sitting next to Lille, "Why do you seem a bit tired?"

Lille shrugged his shoulders.

Indeed, he was a bit tired, but not from staying up late, it was from fighting.

This body was much healthier, but the mental fatigue was still there.

Seeing her son like this, Maya also chuckled, then hugged Lille’s shoulder, mother and son swaying back and forth.

"You are my pride."

Lille scratched his nose with his finger, feeling a bit embarrassed: "It’s not over yet, the election."

"This isn’t about the election, the President, or power," Maya stopped, looking at the television.

Many times she couldn’t understand Lille’s thoughts. Ever since he woke up, it was as if he had undergone a complete transformation, both spiritually and physically.

She was also aware of the battles in New York happening beside Lille, and she would involuntarily learn about those overseas as well.

As an immigrant from Latovia, unlike others, she didn’t perceive war as something lightly, as if it were just a game on a sand table.

Fools always think of war in that way, and they always think they will win, win, win.

The fact is, humans are quite vulnerable to the malevolence of their own kind, and such malevolence is contagious, spreading like wildfire.

Lille is now someone who could be directly attacked by much malevolence at any moment.

But raising a child is like that, if you’re lucky, you get to see them walk the same path as you, become like you, then with your experience, go further on the road to happiness.

If you’re unlucky... you have to learn to let them go, despite your worries.

Maya got lost in her memories, "You’re just like your father, never complaining, always full of energy, always working hard, always... trying to make things better."

Lille didn’t say a word, he had never met this father figure she spoke of, but his dad from his previous life was certainly that kind of man.

More coincidentally, his mom from his previous life had said the same thing.

Sometimes, it felt like the two lifetimes were blurring together.

Lille watched TV for a while and then suddenly said, "You are the reason I try so hard. I want the people who love me, and the people I love, to live happily in this world."

Maya seemed a bit sleepy and rubbed her eyes with a smile, "You really are just like your dad. But when it’s time to say those words to the girl who sweeps you off your feet, you can’t get tongue-tied like him..."

As she spoke, she fell asleep.

Lille stared at the TV, preparing to consciously switch to Night City.

The election had started, and all he could do was wait for the results, but there was still stuff to wrap up in Night City.

[Switch primary consciousness?]

[Switching cost: 100 points/1 hour]

[Consciousness switching.]

...

Three mercenaries walked into the Afterlife nightclub.

Rogel leaned against the bar, one hand holding a drink, the other gesturing welcome.

"What kind of music do you guys like? Today’s a special case. Even if you want some old-school disco, the sound system will play it for you."

As soon as he got back here, Lille felt sore all over. There was no denying it, home was better.

"The sound system is fine, but it would be better if someone sang live." Lille, with Jack and V in tow, sat down at the bar and placed Munemasa under the table with a slap, "Like bringing over the rock star Kerry Oulodin."

Rogel took a meaningful look at Munemasa on the ground but didn’t ask any questions.

"Ha, if you’d mentioned it earlier, he might have been willing to come. Now it’s too late. What’ll you have to drink?"

Lille quickly waved his hand before Jack and V could speak, "Start with two cans of motor oil. Tell the people outside to come one by one, and get me a cable. I need to deal with this thing here."

After saying that, he looked at Jack and V, "Medical necessity, need to adjust the prosthetics first, then we drink."

The two felt stifled inside, but still listened to the advice, laying on the bar with deadpan faces, resting their heads, waiting for Lille’s instructions.

"It’s all prepared for you already. I’ll go fend off those people for a bit, don’t keep them waiting too long," Rogel said and then headed towards the door.

Lille pulled out a cable from the bar and connected it to his neural interface; he needed to first sift through Munemasa.

Information was valuable.

"Little Li Zi!" V suddenly interrupted Lille, waving her hand in front of him, "Are there still people outside? What are you planning to do?"

Lille glanced at her, "Don’t worry about things that require thinking, you don’t need to know too much. Just wait and open your interface."

In a corner away from their attention, Jack muttered under his breath, watching Rogel’s retreating back:

"Does this count as Rogel acting as our agent..."

After mumbling to himself, Jack called out to V, who looked like she wanted to give Lille a piece of her mind, "V! Do you know any legends about Rogel?"

"I don’t care!"