Chapter 91

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Late at night.

A small car sped through the streets of Night City, carrying three people towards the northern Watson district.

At the wheel was Jackie, a big boy from the streets of Heywood, his hand casually on the wheel as he hummed a little tune from 'Body Heat' radio.

In the passenger seat was Arasaka executive Tang Yu, leaning against the window, with a breeze brushing his forehead, bringing a touch of coolness.

In the back seat was Gloria, a fixer who had just begun her trade, venturing into Maelstrom territory deep into the night to the Afterlife club—a first in her life.

However, with Tang Yu by her side, Gloria wasn't too scared, but rather a bit excited; it meant, at least, that Tang Yu didn't see her as a burden.

Jackie couldn't help but comment on the strange song playing on the radio.

"Is it me getting old, or is it harder to understand today's music?"

For Tang Yu, music wasn't always the point.

"Are you trying to sound profound now? Don't tell me you're a hardcore fan of Samurai," Tang Yu teased.

Jackie grinned. "Hey, even if I'm not into Samurai's old hits, that doesn't stop me from being a fan of Johnny Silverhand."

"Johnny is quite the character—you know it. If you ever met him, you'd probably get an earful," Tang Yu joked.

Jackie chuckled. "No worries, I'd gladly take it from Johnny Silverhand in a dream; who wouldn't want a round with Johnny in another life."

"That's true," agreed Tang Yu.

Jackie changed the subject, addressing Gloria in the back seat.

"Sis, thanks so much for helping us out with the Hynes matter."

Tang Yu had already introduced Gloria to Jackie and explained that she had organized the investigation into Hynes.

"It's no trouble at all," Gloria replied.

"I have to say, brother, you've got a good eye for talent; finding a fixer with such potential," Jackie praised.

"You're just complimenting yourself in a roundabout way," Tang Yu said with a smile.

Gloria's smile emerged as she listened to their banter.

Compared to her initial impressions of Tang Yu, who seemed to keep others at a high distance, he was now more amiable and carefree—perhaps this was how he treated his friends.

"What's on your mind, sister? Relax, we're just going to the Afterlife club tonight to see the world."

"That place sucks, and it's my first time too, but us Heywood natives aren't short on guts," Jackie's sudden interjection startled Gloria into a flustered response, "No, I wasn't thinking anything..."

Seeing Gloria's discomfort, Tang Yu interjected to ease the situation.

"We're almost there, Jackie, get ready to pull over."

They were at the intersection of Panxing Street, surrounded by vast abandoned factories.

Following industrial decline, the area had suffered severe population loss, leaving hotels and towers deserted.

The Totentanz club was hidden behind one such hotel, connected to an abandoned factory repurposed by Maelstrom into a nightclub bar.

A key Maelstrom stronghold, the Totentanz club generated sizable revenue each night and was a hub for their manufactured 'Paralysis', a drug best consumed with a pair of black mirrorshades for an incredible experience.

The streets were empty, with trash piled in corners and dim lights providing scant illumination; pedestrians were scarce, and occasionally an armored vehicle would pass by.

After Jackie parked the car, the trio headed toward the dilapidated building.

Above the hotel's main entrance hung a sign with 'HOTEL' lit in blue.

Graffiti covered the surrounding walls—blood-colored skull-spider images were especially pervasive, signaling Maelstrom territory.

Tang Yu remembered the place; the Maelstrom gang would often hang around here.

They headed to an entrance on the ground floor and climbed up the iron staircase to the second floor.

Passing Maelstrom members eyed them strangely but quickly returned to their smoky revelries.

The three reached a guarded elevator; armed with their signature cyborg augmentations, the guard looked somewhat horrifying.

Despite the amount of traffic to the Totentanz that night, he didn't stop them, merely stepped aside with a strange metallic twang in his voice.

"Heh, before I joined Maelstrom, I was cleaner than you."

Ignoring the guard's rambling, they entered the elevator, pressed the button for the third floor, and reached the Afterlife club.

Gloria observed the environment curiously, feeling a bit dizzy.

Crimson lights, deafening bass, gory graffiti, and a thronging crowd added to the Maelstrom members, making the place seem like a hellish rave.

Outside the club's metal gate, four Maelstrom members crouched and smoked—among them was 'old friend' Dum Dum.

Dum Dum recognized Tang Yu and Jackie almost at once.

Tang Yu had shot Royce dead with a single bullet that night, a ruthless move still fresh in memory.

He straightened up and asked coldly.

"Is it you? What are you doing here? Still not satisfied with the last mess you caused?"

Taking the lead, Jackie approached and said, "It's you, huh? We're here to see Brick. Remember the favor you owe for Royce? Time to repay."

Dum Dum responded begrudgingly. "You dare bring that up? Want your head blown off? But you did help me out, follow me; Brick's probably been wanting to see you guys."

Dum Dum led them through the automatic gate and into the Afterlife club, up to a raised platform that overlooked the entire dance floor and the DJ booth.

Brick was lounged back on a sofa, deeply inhaling from a customized vaporizer, while the table before him was piled with bottles, foil, and firearms.

Dum Dum stepped forward and prefaced the introduction.

"Brick, new visitors—those who took down Royce. They're the ones I told you about."

Brick finally turned around, his red cybernetic eyes scanning the three newcomers.

After a moment, he spoke.

"They don't look like ones who could take down Royce. Sit down. I've seen enough corporate types to last a lifetime, still haven't had a real chance to settle that score."

Tang Yu knew he was referring to the botched deal at the steel plant—Maelstrom lost over a dozen men to Arasaka.

Dum Dum had his men bring over a rough leather sofa and placed it across from Brick.

Tang Yu took a seat directly, with Jackie and Gloria standing to his left and right.

"Brick, you do need to settle that score properly or you won't realize how big a favor you owe me."

Brick tossed his vaporizer carelessly onto the table, staring intently with his crimson eyes, and replied coldly.

"So, you corporate dogs come in, kill a dozen of my guys, blow Royce's head off, and from the start, you've been playing dirty, claiming I owe you a favor?"

The mood among the surrounding Maelstrom members turned hostile as they closed in on the trio.

Tang Yu remained calm, addressing Brick with a smile. "You're playing dumb. Who doesn't know Royce was gunning for your spot? If he had gotten his hands on that military-grade Sandevistan, do you think you'd still be sitting here enjoying yourself? Use your mechanical brain."

Brick remained silent as they stared at each other.

Suddenly, Brick let out a cold laugh, growing louder and more unrestrained.

"Ha ha, ha ha ha..."

"You're a real smartass, true to your corporate breeding."

"The truth is, Royce had it coming. He didn't even tell me about the deal. It's his own fault he died."

"I can let that slide. Now, tell me what you're here for."

"We've come to settle our accounts," Tang Yu said frankly.

Brick, unimpressed, twisted his neck against the back of the couch. "It's endless, isn't it? Today it's this corp, tomorrow it's that one; waters are always muddy. You kill me; I kill you—heh, none of you are good."

"That's not fair. If we're being honest, the true culprit behind your men's deaths that day was the Militech. It was their trap from the start, waiting for Arasaka to fall into it, and you were just the bait to lure them in."

"Moreover, you've been working on Militech recently, remember Hynes? The Valentino kid you guys kidnapped a while back is now clamoring for revenge."

After hearing this, Brick looked up at Jackie.

Jackie stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, his hair tied up in a bun, a thick gold chain around his neck, a denim jacket over tattoos – the look of a street kid from Haywood with quite the Valentino vibe.

Brick disdainfully said, "So you're here to collect a debt for that kid? If that's the case, don't blame me for turning hostile."

Jackie scoffed, "Who are you trying to scare? If I came to collect a debt, your club would have been overrun by hellfire. If you don't want to meet God too early, I suggest you wise up a bit. Valentino is no pushover."

Brick coldly replied, "Who asked that kid to loiter around on my turf? With so many underlings, we kidnapped whoever was at hand. He was just unlucky, you got that?"

Tang Yu candidly said, "Brick, every debt has its debtor. We can let this one slide, but you have to cough up some information on the Militech. Spill the beans; what are you doing for them?"

Brick stared at Tang Yu suspiciously, speaking in a grave tone, "You're so keen to know about the Militech business. Are you working for Arasaka Corporation?"

Tang Yu didn't deny it, silently assenting.

Brick laughed, "I knew it; dog eat dog in the corporate world. I can give you this bit of intel, but there's a lot involved, and I worry that if I tell you tonight, you might not be around tomorrow, heh heh."

Tang Yu replied with a calm smile, "Is that so? Then I'm even more interested. If the matter is too trivial, I wouldn't bother knowing."

Brick laughed heartily again, "I love that fire in you. Alright, about Hynes – to tell you the truth, he's just an unlucky bastard."

"I don't enjoy working for these corporate dogs either, but as you know, they pay too well."

"The Militech needs fresh human bodies for new cyberware experiments, specifically young adults. So I had to arrange someone to capture them."

"We just happened to snatch a Valentino gang kid loitering around, so he was taken for the cyberware experiment."

Hearing this, Jackie was seething with rage, wanting to flip the table and finish off these scumbags. But he understood that the real puppet masters were the corporations, and the Maelstrom gang was just a tool.

Even if it weren't Hynes, there would be another victim. It's a vicious cycle.

Since Tang Yu still had business to discuss, Jackie had to suppress his rising anger and continued to listen to Brick's explanation.

Gloria, from start to finish, remained silent, intently listening to the ins and outs of the situation.

Militech, Arasaka, human experiments, the Maelstrom gang – these were all familiar terms to her, but this was her first time delving this deep.

The murky waters were much deeper than she had imagined. To a certain extent, she was truly seeing just how dark the underbelly of Night City could be.

Gloria glanced at Tang Yu, knowing that following this conversation, they would be officially involved in high-level corporate gang games.

She steadied her mind and continued to listen to the two men talk.

Brick said, "The Militech was in such a rush to find us because they have a deal with the NCPD about something. I'm not too clear on the specifics, but it's probably not something like new combat implants."

"Also, here's another piece of intel for you."

"It's not just Militech that's looking for our services. Even Arasaka's R&D department has approached me. Their methods are no worse than the military's."

"Hynes turned out to be useful in the end. His body was sold off to Militech for new cyberware experiments, his organs to biotech for drug testing, and even his brain went to Militech for braindance experiments."

"That's all I can tell you for now. As for more details, I have nothing to say. With all the corporate schemes, you're clearer on it than I am, aren't you?"

Brick then picked up a new inhibitor and started vigorously inhaling, even offering Tang Yu a taste.

Tang Yu declined, busy analyzing the wealth of information hidden in Brick's words.

The fact that various corporations in Night City had backroom deals with the Maelstrom gang for underhanded activities was not news. 

What caught Tang Yu's attention was that Militech recently had a deal with the NCPD involving combat cyberware, which explained why they urgently needed the gang to kidnap people for experiments.

This was a lead worth pursuing further.

As for biotech and Militech's affairs, Tang Yu had to maintain a conservative stance for the time being. It wasn't time to meddle with these secrets yet.

Having obtained the information he was after, Tang Yu stood up from the couch and addressed Brick.

"Brick, that intel is quite valuable."

Brick chuckled, "Safe travels, no need for farewells."

As the trio prepared to leave, Dum Dum approached Brick, "You're just going to let them go like that?"

Brick snorted, "Let those corporate dogs fight among themselves. I'm just here to get paid and not to take the fall for them!"

"We've got a shipment coming in from outside the city for the Militech, something about a new high-tech gadget called 'flathead'."

"Let's have the boys prepare a little surprise and hit them hard when the time comes, teach those corporate dogs a lesson..."

Tang Yu and the others exited the Afterlife club and returned to the cold streets.

Upon seeing their tagged vehicle parked not too far off, Jackie cursed, "These blind fools, they have the nerve to graffiti our ride with a skull spider!"

Tang Yu noticed the large spider painted on the side of the car and chuckled, "They didn't torch the car, so that's them being respectful. And I must say, this spider graffiti is quite fitting. Makes the car safer to drive in Watson."

The three of them laughed and got into the car, speeding off towards the southern parts of Night City.

In the passenger seat, Tang Yu looked at the darkened sky and decided not to go for another night run.

Ever since the clean-up incident, night runs would have to be put on hold for a while.

He told Jackie, "Drop Gloria off at her place first."

Jackie turned on the radio, tuning to the Temperate Zone channel at 98.7, and the car speakers started playing music.

"No problem, I'll make sure the Fixer lady gets home safe."

Before Gloria could explain, the music drowned out her voice.

With not many cars on the late-night streets, they smoothly reached the megabuilding H4 in Santo Domingo's river valley area.

After thanking them, Gloria got out of the car.

She watched as Jackie drove off with Tang Yu, disappearing into the streets.

Once the car was out of sight, Gloria turned and headed upstairs, her mind full of the day's conversation.

Militech and the Maelstrom gang were secretly conducting human experiments, and Valentino gang member Hynes had been taken.

Biotechnology and Militech were also involved, with even Arasaka Corporation employing similar tactics.

Her mind was a mess.

Before, she thought that joining a corporation meant success. Now, she realized that this 'success' was built on countless evil deeds.

Even though she had witnessed many of the corporations' cold-hearted actions while working at the public medical center, being confronted this directly was new to her.

"This is what corporations are..."

"And Mr. Tang..."

Gloria didn't dare to think any further and didn't want to.

If the day ever came when she learned something she shouldn't, she would find herself in an even more awkward situation.

Arriving back home, Gloria stepped into her apartment and collapsed onto the sofa in the living room, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Suddenly, she received a message. Her cyberoptic whirred as she quickly checked it.

It was from Tang Yu.

The main content was a business card with a contact name and information.

"Regina Jones?"

"Reporter for N54 News?"

The attached message read: "Continue to investigate the Militech's dealings with the NCPD and related human experimentation. Try contacting Regina Jones; you might find something unexpected."