Chapter 962 - 15: A New Afterlife

Rebirth is also different from before, very different. The first impression when you walk in is: this place has gotten bigger.

Lille doesn’t observe the world with the vague senses of ordinary humans; his sensors combined with graphic algorithms can accurately determine this fact: the overall space of Rebirth Nightclub has expanded.

The positions of the load-bearing columns have also significantly changed, or rather, some load-bearing columns have been added. The originally somewhat crowded hall is now quite spacious, with more colorful LED lights than before. The sound system maintains a level between garbage and excellence; high-frequency sounds turning into harsh noise. Perhaps this sound stirs the blood?

[Johnny: I never thought my songs would still be popular after all these years. We should upload the full version of Black Dog online... Is there still a network where we can upload works?]

[Johnny: By the way, whose place is this now?]

[Johnny: Rogel?]

The sound that shatters eardrums is still that song "Plug-in." Hardcore rock has now become a classic hit of this era, to some extent seeming a bit of an antique.

But classic is classic; even though the current Rebirth has become somewhat high-end, it still fits.

And Johnny, upon hearing Rogel’s name, immediately reminisces about the old days—

She was one of the frequent partners among many, a formidable woman with a bad temper, the leading light of Rebirth Nightclub, with excellent combat ability.

The only downside was that she always wanted to control the grand thoughts of Johnny Silverhand.

In Johnny’s view, the only reason Rogel wasn’t called a legend was this: she was a bona fide professional mercenary who wouldn’t take on tasks obviously beyond her capability and wouldn’t show up for boring ideals...

She was a survivor.

And only someone as charming as Johnny Silverhand could persuade Rogel to attack Arasaka Tower. Anyone else trying to hire her for this would likely be sold out instantly.

[Johnny: So she became the owner of Rebirth Nightclub? Now...she’s turned into an old witch.]

[Lille: About to meet your old flame, excited?]

Johnny looked around the new Rebirth and sat right down at the bar, lost in thought.

The little octopus floated around in front of Lille.

[Little Octopus: Boss, who is this guy? Smells funky.]

[Lille: A stinking corpse, don’t mind him.]

The three walked into Rebirth Nightclub, the people around them unable to control their gaze.

Jack and V are legends in the mercenary world, living legends. Over two years, they fought extensively with remnants of Military Technology and Arasaka, leaving ruins and debris in every corner of the city.

Even companies like Biotechnology, Peizhuo Petrochemical, and Kantao could only choose to make concessions to Night City’s new administration. Mercenaries who dared to take on major corporate commissions and cause trouble in Night City mostly ended up dead.

Without Lille’s cover, or rather, V and Jack no longer needed Lille’s hacker skills to disguise their faces. Everyone who came to Night City bought information about their appearance first:

images of the Death God.

But Lille, trailing behind them, was different: beneath a green coat and cloak, only a slightly bulky frame could be seen, as if carrying some enormous toolbox. Every step on the road produced the sound of clashing metal, but clearly, this wasn’t something Lille did on purpose—

Even judging from his movements, Lille was very attentive to coordination. Such loud noise was purely due to the material of his steps and overall body weight.

Rebirth Nightclub had only deafening music left; no one was talking.

Lille said, "...This place has changed."

More mercenaries, more space, a hall with various panels, seemingly to enable them to take on some tasks directly...

It feels just like playing a game.

V nodded: "It is different. The City Guard mainly consists of Netherworld Dog, and most of the gang people occupy their territory to prevent others from making trouble. Those escorting foreign trade convoys have to be found separately.

Adkaduo and their Wanderer siblings are indeed numerous, but Ryan said they also have to give other outsiders some chance. Mercenary work is after all a tradition of Night City.

Many of the commissions here are actually issued by our industries, mainly for escorting convoys to export to Mexico, and occasionally some other jobs.

Ah, it wasn’t this easy to find work before."

[Johnny: Mercenaries? Isn’t that just who pays more gets the work done? Aren’t you afraid those companies might plant spies?]

[Johnny: I say, can you give me a few more conversational partners? Surely you don’t plan to keep me in your head forever?]

Johnny leaned back against the bar, his legs shaking restlessly, clearly his mind was not so calm.

After being trapped in the Divine Chariot for decades, finally becoming a chattering machine in Lille’s head, he has gradually adapted to the current situation. Returning to a familiar place, he just wants to get out and breathe easier.

Unlike the original game, he knows Lille can grant him this privilege.

[Lille: Why rush?]

"Ahhhhh!"

A piercing scream suddenly erupted in the rock hall, causing people’s gazes to shift—

However, they realized the source of the scream wasn’t just one person. Three individuals in different spots convulsed violently as if struck by epilepsy, their limbs forcibly twisted by the uncontrolled electrical currents, while their human tissue desperately resisted movements beyond natural limits, muscles tearing, blood seeping through the skin...

Why is this happening? The reason was obvious: smoke was rising from their heads, and soon their scalps were burning!

V and Jack seemed used to this, albeit a bit surprised: they had already reached for their guns, but when they turned, they found everyone was already dead.

Clearly, this wasn’t the first occurrence of such events; after a brief surprise, the people in the hall enthusiastically sprang into action:

"This time it’s three! Man, didn’t even need the guns!"

"Haha, I called it right... Pay up, pay up!"

"Lucky bastard."

At this, V said to Lille, "It’s easier to find work now, but agents from companies are not welcome here, and those who accept commissions, only to be lured by company offers, get put on the wanted list.

We haven’t returned here much in the past two years, but each time we do, there are company agents, like cockroaches that can’t be exterminated...

Usually, Lark would help us identify hackers, and then we’d draw our guns to send them on their final journey—

Well done, Little Lille, no need to draw guns this time, but there are really lots of people, three of them."

Lille shook his head, "It’s five, two more are in the semi-open booth. I reckon it’s not about the large number of people this time, but that we haven’t been able to root out all the hackers."

Lark’s skills are excellent; she can distinguish and capture commonly used and less commonly used wireless communication frequencies, but some special methods, plus a little complex design, might elude her.

For example, the two people in the booth were receiving information via frequency-modulated infrared and ultraviolet rays, and in such an environment, the communication quality is inherently low, making it hard for hackers to detect these without preparation.

Besides, that’s a semi-open booth; although not like the completely enclosed luxury suites, the effect of cell signal monitoring is excellent, and the people inside are influential, making monitoring the situation difficult.

Luckily, Lille’s Prosthetic Eye can capture infrared and ultraviolet rays, and his powerful quantum brain can recognize anomalies, indifferent to who’s in the booth.

Sure enough, the next second, black smoke wafted out from inside—

"Cough cough cough... Damn it! Who the hell is bold enough...!"

Rogel was seen coming out of one of the booths, covering his nose, cursing angrily...

Even though Rebirth now collaborates with Night City’s officials, it doesn’t mean they can act recklessly here!

So when she saw the person doing business with her suddenly flash with electricity and catch fire, she was furious—

Very, very angry!

Not taking her, the Queen of Rebirth, seriously at all!

All the mercenaries found their expressions turning interesting: turns out the people in the booths also suffered!

V and Jack, the King and big shots, without a doubt, are Night City’s crownless kings, all gangs, middlemen, City Hall, companies... must respect them.

But it doesn’t mean these people are their slaves; city development requires mutual respect, especially in a city like Night City.

However, the fiery scene didn’t occur; Rogel’s curses stopped as she raised her head and saw V and Jack—

To be precise, it stopped when she saw Lille.

Lille quickened his pace a bit, walked ahead of Jack and V, heading toward the depths of the most luxurious booth, brushing past the stupefied Rogel:

"You were careless... Felt like you were careless?"

V also walked over, casually patting Rogel’s shoulder: "Sorry, he didn’t give me time to dissuade him, waiting for you in the booth."

Rogel swallowed all her words, watching the trio’s departing backs...

In the end, the imagined small conflict between the Queen of Rebirth and the crownless king did not happen.

The Queen of Rebirth looked at the bodies in the booth, waved to her subordinates:

"Indeed, I was careless."

Rebirth Nightclub was in an uproar.