Chapter 913 - 192 Crash

"Matt...the kid back then has become a world-class sports star, truly bringing glory to the family—

Bringing glory to your Burger King family, a group of criminals producing a big star."

Blais wandered through the industrial district, wearing a tattered work suit with signs of mending.

Now he’s a registered worker with the Worker’s Union as well, and his Prosthetic System has been upgraded with components that allow cross-dimensional communication.

The only difference is that he doesn’t exist in any European Union records, and his identity switches between various workers at any moment.

Network Supervision finds it difficult to locate someone without records. After all, it’s a big world, and every abnormal piece of information is handled through cross-dimensional communication, forcing Network Supervision to rely on field investigations of those whose identities have been abused to uncover anomalies.

But as long as Blais doesn’t get involved in anything big, they can only conduct a sweeping search to identify records not actually logged in by the person themselves.

[Lille: Have you found anything?]

Blais held a paper bag of bread, looking at the Network Surveillance Agent vehicle heading towards other skyscrapers. Today was a gloomy day, it seemed the typhoon was approaching, and the sunny day the day before yesterday was the last clear day recently.

After teasing Matt, he internally mocked himself: He used to be one of those prestigious agents, living comfortably, unlike now where every night is tense and terrifying, unable to fill his stomach, without even a personal account.

But looking on the bright side, at least he’s no longer in debt.

[Blais: Harlin Eck’s reputation is a bit strange; some say he’s a decent elder brother and mentors many newcomers in the factory. Though strict, he’s willing to teach real skills, and when the company plans to cut costs, he also tries to persuade supervisors with data.]

[Blais: Others say that although his skills and character are convincing, that’s not enough to get promoted. Rising to the management level requires understanding how to deal with the European Community...]

[Blais: They say Harlin Eck’s daughter hooked up with a big shot, which convinced other companies to poach this big tree.]

[Blais: But there’s some inconsistency; some say Harlin Eck never even wanted his daughter to...cling to the big shot?]

[Blais: By the way, his daughter is just getting ready for college, no idea if she’s of age yet.]

[Lille: What’s the name of the big shot?]

[Blais: I don’t know, but...I found something strange. Remember the worker’s child from Bruges?]

[Blais: That child was reportedly taken to Berlin for a charitable treatment program, and coincidentally, the big shot Harlin Eck cozied up to is related to this project, seemingly a leader.]

[Blais: This project is connected with a company in Italy. Italy’s medical industry...has a lot to do with Biotechnology.]

Blais stopped after speaking, knowing Lille needed a moment to figure out the relationships.

Standing by the bus stop, surrounded by workers waiting to catch a ride to and from work—

The TV at the bus stop was broadcasting the news.

[SVT News brings you the latest update:]

[Two years ago, Night City exposed a horrific crime scandal that shocked the world. The then NCPD Deputy Police Chief colluded with Tiger Claw Gang criminals to kidnap and traffic people, including many minors...]

"Haha! Perverted Night City folks, liking to play with kids. I think that little Japanese called Taro didn’t die unjustly. With just this one incident, Night City has no right to go after Burger King!"

"Eastern people are real freaks. I wouldn’t be surprised if Arasaka Saburo has a little island just for this kind of thing..."

A large group of people in front of the station were passing their time watching TV, listening to their talk made Blais twitch the corner of his mouth:

Maybe you guys are doing it too?

Boom—

A deep engine roar echoed through the streets as a completely black sports car growled to a stop by the roadside.

The car had barely stopped when it drew the attention of many passersby—entertainment for some wealthy young people in Berlin involved driving such sports cars at low speeds on the streets.

A large group of women would then flock over, dazzling.

Seeing this scene, the mouths of workers beside the bus stop puckered down: "...at least over here, we don’t play with kids."

"Heh, if my daughter could marry well, I’d accept it."

[Blais: ...You might not know, people here like to rise through ’respectable marriage,’ and if you go to the workers’ district, you’ll see a lot of girls heavily made-up.]

[Lille: I’m not blind—Isn’t that leader’s last name Medici?]

[Blais: Medici? Of course not, Medici is a noble surname, they wouldn’t step in...you’re not thinking...of trading big figures again, are you? This Medici is not like what you knew before...]

[Lille: Don’t need your introduction, chicken shawarma, keep looking into it, something will happen in 3 days...]

Beep—

On the noisy street, a faint humming sound suddenly arose, unnoticed by anyone...

Followed by soaring flames—

Beside the car window, the lucky chosen girl had just seen the Black Car Prince inside extending his fair porcelain-like arm. Before she could grab that arm, grab the future, the future before her eyes turned into a destructive explosion!

The completely black assailant "Weiler" was instantly engulfed by the fireball, shards and heat waves swallowed everyone around like a storm!

Boom!

The sudden explosion completely shattered the street’s peace; all airborne drones and those traveling on the street were instantly lit with red lights, Floating Cars took off from the police station, and patrolling police cars immediately sounded their sirens—

The explosion broke more than just the street’s tranquility; it shattered all of Berlin’s peace.

The car that exploded was the assailant "Weiler," a globally limited single-digit supercar, worth millions of Euros...

Unaffordable for regular people.

Blais froze for a moment, then felt a chilling sensation trickling down his spine to his forehead—

A terrorist attack just happened in Berlin!

[Blais: Damn it! Contact your little follower, I need to take refuge with him!]

[Lille: I can help you interfere with the Floating Car, you have the thing I gave you, right? Stick it on—remember to turn off nearby surveillance first.]

[Blais: I’m just a weak and feeble hacker!!!]

Though his mind was frantically complaining, Blais immediately dropped the bread in his hand and rushed towards the nearest public network interface!

...

Up in the sky above the industrial district, Matt was slowly cruising in a Floating Car provided by the European Union, admiring this miracle built on unity and solidarity:

Night City doesn’t have such clean and safe streets. No matter how much he tries to justify Night City, the violence and crime rates in that city remain high. Even with the bosses’ deterrence leading to a steady decline, achieving such a level is not something that happens overnight.

Night City feels more like the ruins after a great war, somewhat barren after abandoning all "external aid."

Although he holds an unexplainable sentiment for Night City, the fact remains that Berlin is the miracle of this world, the true crystallization of modern technology.

But just as he was thinking of this—

"Son, this time we’ve really hit the jackpot!" Across from him, his dad was truly excited, "Do you know that Medici woman? She seems to be interested in you. She’s an Italian noble, a super big shot. It’s said her family holds considerable shares in Biotechnology..."

"Dad, I’m here to play soccer!"

"But..."

Boom—

The noise-canceling system could neutralize external noises, making the inside of the Floating Car as quiet as the most silent night...

But the explosion was simply too loud, too sudden, completely exceeding the noise-canceling system’s threshold. A twisted muffled explosion sound interrupted the father and son’s conversation:

The basic literacy every Night City person has showed its full glory at this moment!

Explosion!

Sizzle—

Strange red spots flickered in the view, Matt’s Floating Car seemed to be flipped by a hot air current, spiraling towards the ground!

"Damn it!!!! We’re crashing!!!"