Chapter 142

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Santo Domingo, Wellsprings district, the H4 megatower.

Gloria woke up early and stepped out of her room to see Sasha coming out of the adjacent bedroom at the same time. They exchanged smiles.

"Morning~"

After greeting each other, they started their day.

Gloria watched as Sasha, donning an apron, skillfully took out various ingredients from the refrigerator to prepare breakfast.

She couldn't help but admire Sasha, who was always so well-behaved.

Gloria was still in her thin nightgown from last night. She got up and went over to help Sasha with breakfast.

Ever since Tang Yu arranged for Sasha to stay at Gloria's apartment, the two quickly became familiar with each other.

Due to the apartment's limited space with only two separate bedrooms, Gloria gave her room to Sasha and cleaned out David's room to use temporarily.

David hadn't come back recently; he stayed at the company when busy and at hotels when not.

Gloria, peeling the wrapper off a synthetic sausage, asked Sasha, who was cutting vegetables nearby, "Did you teach yourself to cook?"

Living together lately, Sasha woke up punctually every day, took care of things, then prepared breakfast, which made Gloria, who tended to sleep in, embarrassed to continue doing so and had her rising early to make breakfast with Sasha.

Sasha nodded earnestly. "Yes, I'm self-taught. I follow the recipes and cooking procedures step by step until I learn them."

Gloria nodded thoughtfully, placing the peeled sausage on a plate and pulling up her somewhat loose silk strap.

Sasha noticed Gloria was still in her pajamas and chuckled, "I can prepare breakfast."

Seeing Sasha's smiling face, Gloria felt an urge to stroke her hair, remembering Tang Yu had done the same to her.

As Tang's assistant, only someone as outstanding as Sasha could fit the role.

Gloria changed into her regular clothes and returned to the kitchen to help.

With their teamwork, the breakfast was soon ready.

Sasha set two plates on the table and called Gloria over to eat after she had freshened up.

"Let's eat," said Gloria with a smile.

They sat down at the table to enjoy the breakfast.

Gloria had just taken a bite of bread when a call came in.

She politely excused herself from Sasha and turned to her cybernetic interface to answer the call.

Seeing the red-haired beauty take a call during breakfast made Sasha think of Tang Yu, as she often saw him handling messages during meals too.

With little appetite, Sasha wondered, "What is Mr. Tang busy with?"

"Who prepares his breakfast?"

"Is he out on a field assignment again?"

She lived comfortably at Gloria's place, accompanying her on missions and ensuring her safety.

Tang Yu, considering Sasha's identity issues, had even asked V to prepare an electronic fluorescent cat mask to block facial information scanning.

Sasha wore the cat mask whenever she went out to avoid recognition.

She was also curious about Gloria's relationship with Tang Yu.

From the last incident, Sasha observed that Tang Yu and Gloria had known each other for quite some time and kept in frequent contact.

Gloria's call was with Maine, who reported completing the target capture mission and asked for further instructions.

Previously, Gloria had uncovered that the mastermind behind the disappearances was Noriyuki Masafumi, but without a trace of him, catching the principal proved difficult.

After learning this, Tang Yu gambled heavily at the Phoenix Club to lure out Noriyuki, who liked to hide in a secret base above the club and record illegal braindances.

Tang Yu relayed this information to Gloria to arrange the follow-up.

Gloria then coordinated with the Mox and hired Maine's team to abduct Noriyuki.

Now the Maine team had captured Noriyuki and awaited further instructions.

On the phone, Maine explained, "We have successfully captured the target, incapacitated him, and transported him to the designated location."

"To prevent tracking, we installed a jamming chip in his bio-neural socket. How do we proceed?"

Gloria inquired if the deep dive equipment was still operational.

Maine affirmed.

Gloria decided to go over immediately.

As per Mox's request, they had now delivered Noriyuki to a secret location for further handling by the Mox.

After hanging up, Gloria informed the Mox contact of Noriyuki's capture and arranged to meet at the secret location.

After settling everything, Gloria told Sasha it was time to leave for the mission involving Noriyuki. Sasha, now aware of the mission as the reason for her stay, got dressed in her tactical gear and donned her cat mask with its identity concealment feature.

They took a cab to the secret location in the Watson Northside - a derelict apartment building.

They took the stairs and disabled the building's surveillance systems using Sasha's hacking skills to stay unnoticed.

At the third-floor steel door, they gained entry through verified access. 

The location was one specially remodeled by Gloria to facilitate deals such as kidnappings.

Inside, they met with Maine and saw Noriyuki, unconscious and bound to a chair.

After confirming the operation went smoothly with Maine and assuring no tracks were left behind, Gloria transferred payment for the successful capture.

Maine acknowledged Gloria's gratitude and restated the offer for help, speculating on Mox's intention of diving into Noriyuki's neural network to extract more information.

When the Mox agents arrived, Gloria recognized the lead girl with twin buns and a baseball bat, accompanied by a woman with rainbow-colored hair and single-shouldered overalls, adorned with rose tattoos.

The Mox girls entered, and Gloria confirmed the successful handover of Noriyuki. The twin bunned girl introduced the rainbow-haired lady before proceeding to handle Noriyuki.

"This is Judy, she will discuss the details of the contract with you later."

Judy stepped forward and gave Gloria a gesture of appreciation.

"Thank you for your help this time."

After she finished speaking, Judy's cybernetic eye lit up as she transferred the payment to Gloria for the assignment.

Once the payment was completed, she turned and glared at the unconscious Seiho Shomune with disdain.

"This scum has killed so many innocent people; he's getting what he deserves. Today is the day he pays for his sins!"

During her investigation, Gloria had also learned about Seiho Shomune's actions and despised his vile and bloody methods, agreeing with Judy and saying,

"You're right, scum like him should get a taste of hell."

"He's stained his hands with the blood of too many innocents; he must pay with blood for blood."

"I've investigated; this scum specifically targets defenseless street girls—extremely cruel. He deserves death."

Judy looked at Gloria somewhat surprised, not expecting her to share this hatred for the scumbag.

In fact.

Before Judy found Gloria, she had approached several fixers to investigate the girls' disappearances.

But those fixers either wouldn't take on the job or would give up halfway through.

Only Gloria took on the assignment and successfully investigated the truth, finding the culprit Seiho Shomune.

She understood the risk involved in investigating a high-ranking member of the Tyger Claws.

After all, the Tyger Claws are notorious for their retaliation; even the harm of the lowest gang member can bring the full force of the gang's vengeance.

This is why many prefer to fish people out of the Maelstrom gang's territory rather than provoking the Tyger Claws.

In contrast to the Maelstrom's grudge-holding but loosely organized structure, the Tyger Claws are a more strictly organized criminal group.

This further increased Judy's positive regard for Gloria—respecting her courage and integrity, unlike other fixers who were only motivated by money and power.

At that moment.

Five girls unanimously decided to give Seiho Shomune a harsh lesson.

A street tough girl was holding a baseball bat and poked Seiho Shomune's face.

Soon.

Seiho Shomune, struck by the solid object, groggily opened his eyes and slowly regained consciousness.

He saw five girls wearing fluorescent masks before him, his brain foggy, remembering he was at the Phoenix Club on the second floor, then suddenly attacked and knocked out, to wake up here.

Looking around, Seiho Shomune instantly realized he had been kidnapped, and his body signals were blocked, unable to contact the outside world.

He smirked arrogantly: "You must be with the Moxes. Anyone who's done their homework should know the consequences of this."

"If you don't want the Moxes to suffer an even worse fate, I suggest you back off now... Or else..."

Bang!

Seiho Shomune's sentence was cut off as the baseball bat slammed into his face, knocking out several teeth and causing blood to gush from his mouth.

The street tough girl said coldly: "This is for the Moxes."

Seiho Shomune slowly righted his head, suppressed the pain, and gave a sinister smile, ready to speak with blood foaming at his mouth.

Another swing of the bat came and hit his arm.

Crack!

The excruciating pain from the broken bone twisted his facial expression to an extreme.

That swing was Gloria's, and she said coldly: "And this one is for the girls."

Then, the group took turns hitting Seiho Shomune non-lethally with the baseball bat until he was battered, bruised, and barely alive.

Sasha, after checking his vitals, said gravely: "His biological signs are still within the normal range—administer adrenaline to sustain his vitality."

Seiho Shomune, his face covered in blood, mumbled with difficulty: "Heh, those girls, they died horribly."

"With your methods, you'll never find the missing girls... It's impossible..."

Clearly, Seiho Shomune had no intention of revealing any details.

Judy took the baseball bat, weighed it in her hands, and aimed it at his groin, saying coldly.

"Good, your mouth is indeed tough, but we will see if your head is just as tough!"

With that, she swung the bat down hard at the sensitive area.

The sound of shattering.

Waves of intense pain shot through Seiho Shomune as his eyes bulged, unable to even scream out, and he fainted again, his head drooping motionless.

After dealing with Seiho Shomune, Judy decided to proceed with the next step.

She had anticipated that Seiho Shomune might divulge nothing and had arranged for the Moxes' netrunner to dive deep into his neural network to extract information.

Gloria had prepared the deep dive equipment, connecting Seiho Shomune with a data cable.

On the other side.

A Moxes' netrunner undressed and lay in a chilling bath, connecting the deep diving interface at the back of her head with a fiber optic cable.

The deep dive commenced.

Seiho Shomune may not have anticipated this day; his ICE protection mediocre, the dive went smoothly. With Sasha watching, an emergency was unlikely.

Waiting.

Judy folded her arms and turned to Gloria to ask, "How long have you been a fixer? I've never heard of a talented one like you in Night City before."

Gloria confessed, "Not long. Compared to real fixers, I fall short."

Admitting she had only succeeded with Tang Yu's support, without whom she wouldn't have come this far and didn't feel strong enough to stand on her own yet.

Judy smilingly said, "Don't be too humble; it shows you have a knack for this job."

"You're different from those other money-blinded fixers. In my eyes, you're really good."

Blushed by Judy's generous compliments, Gloria was a bit embarrassed.

The street tough girl chimed in with a laugh: "Judy is Moxes' darling, whoever she approves of is top-notch."

Gloria smiled and then asked, "Seiho Shomune is a high-ranking Tyger Claws; kidnapping him might bring their retaliation."

The street tough girl retorted angrily, "They dare? The Moxes are not afraid of them!"

Judy looked concerned, as it was her idea to kidnap Seiho Shomune.

Upon realizing the missed girls might tie to the Tyger Claws, she hadn't expected Seiho Shomune, the scumbag, to be involved.

Judy didn't want the Moxes or Lizzie's Bar to be hit, but she couldn't stand the thought of doing nothing as one girl after another disappeared.

"Let's take it one step at a time, but this scum must pay for his actions!"

Gloria nodded.

Without Seiho Shomune's removal, the girls wouldn't have peace.

This kind of scum is like Night City's cockroaches—kill one, and soon a new nest appears.

But at least for now, the girls might find a moment's safety.

Suddenly, Judy received a communication request.

Evelyn?

Signaling the group, she stepped out to take the call.

Evelyn's voice was slightly reproachful: "Judy, the Seiho Shomune thing, is it because of you? Now the Phoenix Club and the Tyger Claws are in motion, searching everywhere for him!"

Judy was also furious: "What about Seiho Shomune? With one less scourge in Night City, what impact could there be? If they can find him, let them search—in Night City, he no longer exists!"

Evelyn urgently continued: "Judy, you don't understand how deep this goes. Seiho Shomune has deep ties to Night City's higher-ups and too many secrets on him—it could kill you!"

Sensing Judy didn't grasp the gravity, Evelyn emphasized, "Now, it's not just the Tyger Claws looking; even NCPD is involved, tracing leads on Seiho Shomune."

"And, the Tyger Claws have taken Suzy Q in; it won't be long before they come to you."

"If you don't want to implicate the Moxes, Lizzie's, or yourself, you should clean up this mess and release him, fast!"

Fed up, Judy hung up without another word, seeing a message from Lizzie's Bar owner Suzy Q, urging her to spare Seiho Shomune's life or risk consequences.

"Darn it!"

"A Night City scumbag goes missing, and they mobilize like this."

"When the girls disappeared, nobody showed this much compassion!"

Judy felt the bitter irony.

After a moment of silence.

She stood, returning inside—the deep dive had ended.

The Moxes' netrunner emerged from the bath, sharing the intelligence that several missing girls were being held in a shipment container at an abandoned factory, watched by Seiho Shomune's men.

After hearing this, Gloria contacted Maine to head to the containers and rescue the captives.

All done.

Everyone's gaze turned to Seiho Shomune, the final dilemma.

Judy spoke gravely, "You all go ahead, leave this scum to me."

The street tough girl, puzzled, asked, "Judy, what happened? Let's just off this scum and head back to Lizzie's."

Judy explained reluctantly, "Evelyn got word that the Tyger Claws are searching for Seiho Shomune. Suzy Q is negotiating with them, trying to keep him alive."

Snorting with disdain, the street tough girl said, "Damn it, Suzy's spineless as ever. We can just fight the Tyger Claws—who's afraid?"

Gloria, realizing the implications, knew Lizzie's Bar current owner was Suzy Q.

This means there's a divide within the Moxes: one side supports Judy in fighting the Tyger Claws, while the other side looks to Suzy's representation to compromise.

Gloria said, "But killing this scum might mean no more coming back to Lizzie's, and the Tyger Claws won't let you off."

The street tough girl snapped back, "Because of this scum? Judy's the heart of Lizzie's Bar, without her, it's not Lizzie's anymore!"

Judy knew the stakes.

Suzy's message meant that if Judy didn't spare Seiho Shomune, she'd be handed to the Tyger Claws to ease tensions.

She didn't want to involve the other two Moxes sisters—she'd rather kill Seiho Shomune herself and lay low elsewhere.

As Judy hesitated, Sasha sensed trouble.

The apartment building's surveillance captured footage; crowds were gathering on the streets, many Tyger Claws, tattooed and menacing.

"Alert, the Tyger Claws found this place."

Everyone was shocked.