7:00 p.m. — Nightfall.
As a subsidiary of Kang Tao Corporation, Qianchi's Night City branch was located within the Corporate Plaza, right next to the towering Kang Tao headquarters. Although the Qianchi building was shorter than those of other megacorps, it still held its own presence.
Inside a private office on the top floor, Xu Wanxue sat behind her desk. She had just finished reviewing a new batch of cyberware reports and forwarded the files to her subordinates for overnight processing.
Rubbing her eyes, Xu Wanxue got up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Below, the Corporate Plaza blazed with light.
One by one, the city's lights flickered on—like a fuse being lit across the skyline. Golden streams of luminescence stretched out to the horizon, and Night City awakened from its slumber.
At this hour, Night City always lit up on cue. Only those standing at the top of the corporate pyramid could truly enjoy its neon majesty.
Feeling slightly more awake, she walked back to her desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a stimulant inhaler, bringing it to her nose.
But just before using it, she recalled Lin Mo's warning.
With a bitter smile, she put the inhaler back and walked to the coffee machine instead, pouring herself a steaming cup.
"Looks like another long night... wonder what that brat's doing right now."
She returned to her seat, dragged the chair up to the window, and sipped her coffee while gazing toward the North Oak district.
It was a holiday—he should've been home by now.
As she imagined what Lin Mo might be up to, a comm alert flashed in her vision.
A soft orange glow lit her pupils. The incoming call displayed three letters: SSI.
Her expression tightened. She answered immediately.
"Good evening, Miss Xu Wanxue," said a soft, courteous voice. "As per the Family Safety Assurance Agreement you signed with us, we are obligated to inform you that your brother, Lin Mo, has activated our VIP Emergency Security Response service. Our agents are en route to the designated location. Please rest assured."
Upon hearing this, Xu Wanxue felt the floor vanish beneath her.
She jumped to her feet—her cup of coffee falling and spilling across the carpet.
Taking several deep breaths to stabilize herself, she asked in a sharp voice, "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes, ma'am. The request was personally made by Mr. Lin Mo. Voiceprint analysis confirms the identity without question."
Xu Wanxue began pacing frantically, nerves fraying. Her voice dropped in temperature.
"Bring him back—whatever it takes. Spare no expense. And find out who dared lay a hand on him."
"I want them all dead."
Her words cut like a winter wind.
"Please rest assured, Miss Xu. This falls within our operational scope. Also, the cost for this intervention has already been paid in full—by Mr. Lin Mo himself."
Xu Wanxue froze.
That kid... where the hell did he get that kind of money?
Sure, she gave him a generous allowance—on par with a mid-level corporate manager—but not enough to afford full-on VIP emergency coverage.
Thinking back on Lin Mo's increasingly unusual behavior over the years, she suddenly realized—
She barely knew her own brother.
"…Thank you," she said, dazed.
"We're happy to assist. If you have further concerns, don't hesitate to contact us. Have a good evening, Miss Xu."
The call ended.
Xu Wanxue stood motionless for a moment, then turned back to her desk, grabbed her things, and stormed out.
Tonight, she was leaving work early.
Meanwhile, outside the alley—
"Boss, what do we do with those two?" one man asked with a grim look, nodding toward where Lin Mo and Kitagawa were trapped.
"Shit... who knew those two punks would be so damn tough? Took over a dozen of us just to pin them down—and then those other two showed up and blew everything to hell," another grumbled.
"Let's just waste 'em already," someone growled.
Their leader stood silent for a while, then asked, "Do we have any info on them yet?"
"No clear ID. But they're not part of the squad Moore Technologies hired us to go after. They're not on the target list."
He glanced at a digital pad, flipping through the briefing files.
"Whatever," said the hothead. "Let me take a squad and finish this. No way these two are as tough as the mercs from earlier!"
But the boss wasn't buying into the bravado. He kept his eyes locked on the shadowy alleyway—dark, narrow, and stinking of rot.
If not for the headlights of their trucks, he wouldn't even go near a place like this.
Tonight's mission had already turned into a joke. A dozen men deployed to snag just two mercs—and they'd still failed.
And now, those two idiots hiding in the alley had cost them their targets.
"We fail this job, the corp will wipe its hands clean and dump us," one of the men muttered. "Might as well grab these two—they could be part of the same crew."
"Eyewitnesses said it's a teenage kid and an adult male, right?" the boss asked.
"That's correct," someone confirmed.
The boss snatched the datapad and barked, "Anything else from Moore?"
"…They said, whatever shitshow we create, it's on us. They only care about results."
The boss clicked his tongue. "Tch. Typical corpo scum."
He slipped a decryption chip into the device, unlocking the encoded messages. Dozens of logs appeared on screen, all from Moore Technologies.
"I don't care how you do it—bring the team back alive. Kill one, you lose 20% of your pay."
"You've got the intel. Don't ask questions. Same deal as always—do what I say."
...
"Fucking useless. All those men and you still couldn't scratch 'em? I should've sent the damn bots."
"They're certified to enter Afterlife. I left some nice gear at the handoff point—use it."
...
"Two targets surrounded? Good. Don't screw this up."
"Bunch of idiots. I gave you the gear, the manpower, and still nothing. Clean up your own damn mess. I want results."
"You should feel honored I chose you bastards. I could've picked someone better—and I still might."
"Tell Erik—if those other two are mercs, bring them too. I'll pay accordingly."
After scanning through the messages, the boss said nothing. Just clenched the datapad—and crushed it in his cybernetic hand.
He didn't know what Moore Technologies wanted with those edgerunners. And he didn't care.
But those two bastards who ruined everything tonight?
Mercs or not—they'd become mercs now. Just so he had an excuse to bring them in.
"Get everyone ready," he growled. "We're storming that alley. Bring those two in—alive."
.
.
.
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