Chapter 51: Afterlife and Checks and Balances

Twenty hours ago, at the Red Mud Bar.

Maine stood upon the loess-covered Gobi Desert, the air scorching and dry.

Under the blazing sun, his shadow appeared somewhat thin and lean. Sweat slid down his young, tanned face, dampening his short, pale-gold hair, which looked somewhat malnourished.

The horizon, meeting the clear blue sky, stretched on boundlessly, impossible to see to the end.

Once a weak and frail boy, he had begun running barefoot across the gravel and sand, not knowing where the end lay, nor what destination awaited him.

Someone had once told Maine: You must keep running relentlessly so that your body can perceive your inner resolve to become strong. Maine had believed this with absolute devotion.

The sharp gravel stung the soles of his feet. The pain caused his pace to slow down, and his breathing grew heavy—

Still the same unchanging frailty.

"Maine! Maine!"

There was a red imprint on Maine’s forehead, and his eyes were heavy with sleep. The rock music playing inside the Red Mud Bar poured into his ears—it was the classic track by SAMURAI, Chippin’ In.

Dorio looked at Maine with utter contempt. She figured this guy must have spent the entire night watching disgusting brain dances again.

Maine bared his teeth in an innocent smile. "It was all Pilar's fault. He made me watch the good stuff he just got his hands on yesterday."

Pilar pointed a finger straight at Maine, opening his mouth to speak.

"Shut up!" Maine said in a deep voice.

"Asshole!" Pilar cursed, smoking a cigarette to protest the injustice. Yet, finding himself powerless to do anything, he could only shift his gaze back to the rocker girls inside the bar.

"Has the supplier arrived?" Maine didn't know why Dorio had woken him up; that dream always left his head feeling dizzy and heavy, stirring a faint, unpleasant irritation in the bottom of his heart.

Dorio crossed her arms, watching Pilar as he whistled at the girls, and asked nonchalantly, "What do you think about Faraday's proposal?"

Maine adjusted his sunglasses. "That guy always gives off the vibe of treating people like dogs on a leash. Tch, working for that four-eyed fixer—I'd rather team up with Lin Yue and make a score in Dogtown."

"Faraday is a fixer who can actually make a name for himself at the Afterlife. No matter how you look at it, he's more transparent than Lin Yue's faceless boss, right? I thought you'd be tempted."

Dorio knew full well that Maine would never be interested in Faraday's terms. As a standard cyberpunk through and through, the guy only cared about money, and he wanted to make it safely. Even though Faraday's offer was quite attractive, Maine was unlikely to ever trust that fixer again.

"He said it was an accident, that nobody could trace it back to us—do you believe that? Lin Yue's boss went to great lengths to bail us out of that wolf den in Dogtown. I'm not about to trust an unsettling piece of work like Faraday." Maine cast a sidelong glance at Dorio, voicing his doubt.

"Lin Yue and that boss of his, Rin, really are a bit elusive. He seems awfully familiar with our backgrounds, and I still don't get why we were investigated so thoroughly by outsiders." Dorio shook her head helplessly.

Maine: "Tell me your thoughts."

Dorio: "Forgot the first time we ran into each other? That guy held back so much it was ridiculous... and his aim is definitely not sloppy. Besides, he gets along naturally with Rebecca, doesn't he? He isn't surprised by anything Rebecca does... There's this kind of, weirdly familiar vibe to it."

Maine nodded with a serious expression. "Now that you mention it, yeah."

Yet, in the blink of an eye, that familiar sleazy glint surfaced in Maine's eyes, impossible to hide even behind his sunglasses. "D’you reckon they’ve already hook—"

***

After being knocked back to his senses by Dorio’s punch, Maine behaved himself a little more.

It didn't really hurt; the hand of the woman he fancied was wonderfully soft, and he just loved her specific brand of charm.

Her strength was formidable, and her punches hit the spot.

Maine wiped away a trickle of bloody nose, just about to say something, when the doors of the Red Mud Bar swung open to admit a woman with wine-red hair.

She wrapped herself tightly in an oversized, light-yellow jacket. Seeming somewhat ill at ease, it was likely her first time visiting a bar so thoroughly infested with Sixth Street scum.

"Hello, are you, uh, Maine?"

Gloria wiped the sweat from the side of her clothes with her hands. Pilar rested his two long arms on the tabletop, staring intently at the woman.

Dorio puffed on her cigarette, watching her in silence. Only Maine maintained a shred of damn gentlemanly decency, pulling out a chair for her to sit down.

Dammit, what kind of crew are these people...

Gloria felt a mounting sense of tension and fear, but aside from these cyberpunk crews, ripperdocs slashed their prices mercilessly, and black-market channels offered similarly predatory rates. Overwhelmed by financial pressure, she had no choice but to take a desperate gamble.

"I need money, so can you discuss this job with me?"

Maine adjusted his sunglasses, imagining his smile was warm and welcoming, when in reality he looked more like a silverback gorilla towering over her, baring its teeth:

"Of course, no problem at all, Ms. Gloria."

***

Lin Yue lay face down on the sofa, his eyes devoid of focus.

A sheet of flames licked at a stack of bloodstained paper currency, swirling them up into the air as if they were being reclaimed by souls in heaven.

He hadn't kept that ten thousand for himself, choosing instead to quietly burn it for that mother when night fell—a traditional Chinese custom for paying respects to the departed souls.

His eyeballs rolled, and the glowing indicator of an incoming call lit up in his field of vision.

"Got results?"

"..."

"Mmh-hmm, so that's how it is—thanks for the hard work."

V had brought him news regarding Angie's circle of influence within the Animals.

Aside from dealing with facial plates, Angie's commission was currently the most critical priority.

Lin Yue had already finished gathering his intelligence, and Angie's cargo was prepared for transit at a moment's notice, meaning that in the very near future, the Animal named Aye would have to be handled "discreetly."

Lin Yue had two primary concerns:

On one hand, this gig involved tasks like assassination and information tracking, which were notoriously difficult to pull off without a netrunner. Having a netrunner would shave off more than half the hassle. Yet netrunners possessed steep technical barriers, and Lin Yue, being an outsider to that specific craft, feared recruiting a double agent, after which nobody would have a good time.

Maine had refused to bring Sasha, a member of his crew, into Dogtown to work together, and at present, there were no better candidates available.

On the other hand, there were the internal shifts and power struggles within the Animals, coupled with the opaque nature of Angie's intelligence. With no other choice, Lin Yue had squeezed more intel out of V concerning this particular gang.

One had to hand it to Arasaka Counter-Intelligence; they had a crystal-clear understanding of Night City's gangs, right down to individual profiles and the friction between rival factions.

The intelligence revealed that Angie was actually in over her head, teetering on the edge of ruin, and this entire operation was a desperate, all-or-nothing gamble for her.

She probably didn't even realize—the Animals actually had a designated successor lined up to take over the books in Dogtown. Even if Aye died, theoretically, Angie didn't even qualify to muscle her way in.

Thus, Lin Yue, this new fixer, neatly arranged the details for his Animal client.

Since Angie had zero chance of securing control over Dogtown's Animals no matter what she tried, she should simply make a deal with Aye's successor instead.

Lin Yue's reasoning was simple: Angie could handle the books and retain the underground brawl and cyberware business, while Aye's successor pretended to look the other way. That was the most foolproof, mutually beneficial solution.

Most importantly: by letting Angie retain control over the gang's cyberware smuggling, it would establish a long-term revenue stream. That worked out well for everyone.

After transmitting all the mission details to every member of the crew via Rin's communication channel, Lin Yue hauled himself up from the sofa.

A fixer had to weigh considerations far beyond what a mere mercenary did. He needed to ensure the client was satisfied and that all three parties could profit. Whatever the crew needed to know, Lin Yue would naturally tell them; as for things they had no business knowing, ignorance was bliss.

Lin Yue shook his head to keep himself alert—silently packing away yesterday's lingering emotions.

The pair of military-grade gloves still sat on the tabletop. Having been washed clean, they had revealed their original color, turned a deep brownish-tan purely from the countless hours Sano had worn them through dirt and grime.

Lin Yue slipped the gloves onto his hands and let out a long breath.

He had arranged to meet Maine and the others at Heavy Hearts an hour later, and Lin Yue had no intention of being late. He muttered to himself:

"Let's hope your gloves are genuinely wear-resistant, slip-proof, and tough as nails, buddy."

***

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[The Afterlife]: A club located in Little China, Watson, in Cyberpunk 2077. Owned and operated by the Queen of the Afterlife, Rogue, it serves as the ultimate dreamland for mercenaries and legends alike—"You want your name on the drinks menu too, merc?"

Special thanks to [White Given Kun Kun] for the tip of 1,000 coins~ Thank you!

Special thanks to [Excessive Isolation] for the tip of 1,500 coins~ Thank you!

I will be writing additional side stories expanding on the 2077 timeline later on.