Chapter 37

Sorry! I've been a bit busy nowadays

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Tang Yu and Jackie found the location for tonight's deal—an abandoned steel mill in the old industrial zone.

The abandoned steel mill is located in the Northern Industrial District, abbreviated as NID.

This area once had everything, but after the Unification War ended and Arasaka returned to Night City, they began a massacre in business, manufacturing, and finance in Watson to control Night City's prime maritime industrial park channels.

Factory after factory closed, until Arasaka finally took over Watson's waterfront industrial park, officially naming it Arasaka Waterfront Park.

Coupled with the damage from the old earthquakes and financial crisis, most factories could no longer operate and were abandoned.

Nowadays, the NID has become synonymous with Night City's waste, disorder, and chaos. It's a living area for the factory's lowest-tier workers and a territory cloaked by the influence of the Maelstrom gang.

The NCPD rates the threat level in the northern part of Watson as extremely dangerous.

Dusk was setting in.

Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, Tang Yu and Jackie used a prepared information map to confirm the general layout of the abandoned steel mill.

After careful comparison, they confirmed that the most suitable place for the deal was the steel forging workshop.

Rows of old workshops not only had spacious internal structures, but also various machinery workbenches and containers which served as obstacles and were convenient for concealment.

Tang Yu and Jackie arrived at the west side of the abandoned steel mill, enclosed by a fence made of wire mesh.

The west side used to be a flat area with cement steel plating.

Untended for a long time, wild grass and green plants had overtaken the ground, growing knee-high in lush abundance.

The wire mesh was rusted and in decay, and Jackie simply tore open a gap in it.

"This place is spooky. If you told someone it was haunted, they'd believe it. I have no idea how the Maelstrom gang can even live here," Jackie grumbled as he clipped through the wire, allowing them both to get through smoothly.

Tang Yu activated the 'Dragon Fist' smart glasses from Viktor to scan the surroundings and avoid being tracked by electronic devices.

Apart from the overgrown grass, rusted broken lamp posts, and scattered containers, there were no active electronic devices detected in the entire outdoor area.

Passing through the scattered containers on the wild grass, they reached a large warehouse, still without a sign of anyone.

The two continued towards the core area of the factory.

While using the Dragon Fist smart glasses to scan, Tang Yu explained the current situation to Jackie.

"Tonight is a bit special. To prevent information leaks, I haven't filled you in on the details yet."

Jackie waved off the concern with a relaxed reply, "Hermano, you know I trust you. Just let me know what we're doing once it's time."

Still, to make sure Jackie understood what they were up against, Tang Yu explained that Arasaka's special forces were coming to snatch a cybernetic body and that Militech may attempt a surprise attack.

Jackie shook his head after hearing all this, "This is way too complicated. Honestly, if Militech backs out, that cyberware might just end up in the hands of those corporate dogs."

Tang Yu was certain: "Militech won't miss this opportunity because I know them well, or rather, I am very familiar with their operations manager 'Auntie' Stout."

Jackie had never heard of this person, Auntie Stout. Coming from Heywood, he took a natural dislike to corporate staff and had almost zero contact with corporate higher-ups.

"Is she some distant relative of yours?"

"No, if I had that kind of backing, would I be working for Arasaka?"

Tang Yu's 'Auntie' Stout was a nickname for Meredith Stout, the head of Militech's special operations.

Back in the day, she had recruited Tang Yu to deal with the Maelstrom gang regarding an attack on a Militech convoy.

At that time, Tang Yu, V, and Jackie—the three cyberpunks as broke as could be—had thoroughly shaken down Meredith for a good deal.

They swept through the Maelstrom gang and earned her respectable appreciation.

Afterward, Tang Yu had several dealings with Meredith, and the two became quite familiar with each other. I finally got a decent pistol from Meredith, but I rarely used it and nearly forgot its details. 

I think Aunt Stout's playstyle is a bit wild. I truly can't keep up with her pace, and in the end, I had no choice but to cut ties with her. 

What I didn't expect was for Meredith to get promoted afterward, becoming the Director of Militech and Political Affairs, frequently appearing in Night City's major news, enjoying unparalleled limelight. 

The key is.

Meredith is very effective in execution, she likes to handle things personally, and her attitude towards Arasaka is extremely tough. 

So, I figured, as long as Maine follows my advice and passes the intelligence through the right channels to Militech, Meredith will definitely not waste such an opportunity once she hears of it. 

After all, she and Susan Abernathy have been real arch-enemies up to now. 

We walked through the warehouse area and entered the core production workshop zone, where rows of workshops sat, but only one was the gathering place for the Maelstrom gang members. 

The influence of the Maelstrom spreads widely across Watson, with members mostly operating in small teams. Some have more than thirty people, while others might just consist of five or six. 

I estimate that the Maelstrom members participating in this deal won't exceed ten. They only gather in large numbers for big operations. 

A military-grade Sandevistan isn't that significant to them. 

Jackie and I found a secluded corner and activated the thermal scanning function of the Dragon Fist to progressively check the workshops. 

Through the thermal information relayed by the lenses, my vision went dark, and soon I detected human-shaped thermal figures moving in the middle workshop. I counted six people. 

After turning off the scanning, I said to Jackie: "They're in that middle workshop, six of 'em Maelstrom."

Jackie meticulously checked his trusty old tool, a kinetic pistol made by Militech, called the Lexington pistol. In Night City, it's nicknamed "Justice and Glory." 

The moniker isn't about the gun's power; rather, every street kid or cyberpunk starting out in Night City begins with it. 

Because every regular NCPD cop has one to repress street punks. 

Everybody who's been on the streets has been hit by its bullets or has seen it in action. 

Due to lack of secure storage, plenty of Lexingtons end up in the market, getting into gang fights. 

The death toll in Night City from this gun remains high. 

Plus, its compact size makes it easy to conceal in a pocket for self-defense. 

Back when I started as a cyberpunk, I began with one too. 

Seeing Jackie's Lexington brought back memories. So I pulled out my own JKE-X2 Kensei pistol and offered it to Jackie. 

"Why don't you try this?"

Jackie glanced at the Kensei in my hand with a nonchalant look. 

"The gun's good, but I'm better off with what I know."

I didn't beat around the bush with him, I just shoved the Kensei into his hands, took back the Lexington, and expertly checked its condition. 

After a few aiming and shooting gestures, I found the old feelings with the gun still intact. 

Even without a trajectory coprocessor to assist with aiming, guns you've fired never feel wrong. 

"Apart from some worn paint, it's well maintained. Why the hell have you kept this old gun for so long?"

Jackie's expression turned a bit strange when he heard this, 

"You're really starting to sound like my old lady, like someone who's been there."

But his eyes cherished the Lexington. 

"I'm sentimental, that's why my mom always asks me why I keep so much old stuff in the warehouse, I'll let you in on a secret, I even have the belt my dad used to whip me with still."

Hearing this, I fell silent. 

That was the belt Misty showed me in Jackie's warehouse during his funeral, the belt telling the tale of Jackie's abusive drunk of a father. 

 I handed the budget pistol back to Jackie and said earnestly, "Cherish the present more. This time, we're gonna make sure everything with you and Misty goes smoothly!"

Jackie: "..."