8: Chapter 8 "Military Funds" in Crisis

The night in Watson seemed forever steeped in a cocktail of neon and shadows—viscous, clamorous.

Lin Yi and Jackie crawled out of that alley, which reeked of metal and chemical rot. When they breathed in the relatively "fresh" air again, both felt as if they had survived a lifetime. Jackie clutched the cold metal case tightly under his arm, as if holding some peerless treasure.

"Damn. Coming out of that scrap heap feels like being covered in a layer of spiderwebs."

Jackie took a deep, exaggerated breath, then grinned and slapped Lin Yi hard on the back. "But damn, that was exciting! Brother, that move of yours earlier... what the hell was that? How did that guy Brick suddenly just short-circuit like that?"

Lin Yi's face remained somewhat pale. He had quietly wiped away the blood from his nostrils, but the dull ache in his temples and the sense of collapse after his spirit had been pulled away still persisted.

He shook his head and squeezed out a smile. "Just a little trick. Took a lot out of me. Delivering the goods and getting paid is what matters right now."

The two did not delay and returned once again to Owin Kiennett's cramped office.

When Owin saw the intact metal case with its key lock untriggered, a green light almost shot from his sunken eye sockets. He snatched the case, his trembling fingers quickly performing biological verification and basic scanning.

"Intact... it's actually completely intact..."

He muttered to himself, the anxiety on his face instantly replaced by greed and relief. When he looked up at Lin Yi and Jackie again, his eyes held a bit of genuine surprise—and a trace of imperceptible wariness.

Being able to take something out of Maelstrom's "meat factory" without a sound was definitely not something a rookie mercenary could do on their first try.

"Well done. Jackie, and you... Lin Yi, right?" Owin's voice remained thin and sharp, but his tone had softened significantly. "Here is the agreed-upon payment."

He efficiently transferred a considerable commission to the account provided by Jackie—a full forty thousand.

Just as Lin Yi had expected. For the perfect recovery of such experimental-grade drugs, the fixer was happy to pay a premium.

"Pleasure doing business, Owin! Next time you've got a good job, remember to call us!"

Looking at the balance displayed on the chip, Jackie grinned from ear to ear and slapped Owin's desk hard, nearly knocking the data pad off it.

Leaving Owin's lair, Jackie generously gave Lin Yi twenty thousand eddies.

The feeling of the heavy digits landing in his account temporarily dispelled the discomfort in Lin Yi's body.

"Let's go! Brother! We have to celebrate! This was your first job in Night City and it was so impressive, it wouldn't be right not to have a drink at El Coyote Cojo!"

Jackie didn't take no for an answer, hooked his arm around Lin Yi, and rushed toward Heywood.

El Coyote Cojo was still bustling with noise and life. Jackie was clearly a regular here, greeting the bartender and regulars familiarly, and ordered two large mugs of the strongest beer.

With a few mugs of cold liquor down, the atmosphere became even more heated. Jackie vividly—omitting the details of Lin Yi using [Lockdown]—boasted to a few acquaintances who had gathered around about the operation just now, praising Lin Yi to the skies, saying he was like a ghost, running those scrap-heaps in circles.

While they were drinking, a middle-aged Latina woman wearing a denim jacket with a kind but sharp gaze walked out from the back kitchen. Seeing Jackie, a look of helpless indulgence immediately appeared on her face.

"Jackie! Are you bringing new friends to cause trouble again?"

She walked over and skillfully picked up a rag to wipe the spilled beer Jackie had splashed on the table.

"Mom!" Jackie laughed, pulled Lin Yi over, "Let me introduce you, this is my newly sworn brother, Lin Yi! Don't look at him like he's skinny, he's got real skills! Thanks to him today!"

Mrs. Wells looked Lin Yi up and down. Her gaze paused on his still-pale face, her tone gentle but concerned: "Hola, Lin Yi. I'm Jackie's mother. Looks like you two were busy with something big just now? Are you alright, mi hijo? You don't look too good."

Lin Yi hurriedly stood up, smiling somewhat stiffly: "Thanks for your concern, Mrs. Wells. I'm fine, just a little... tired."

Jackie chimed in from the side, lowering his voice: "Mom, you didn't see it. When we were pulling out, my brother's face suddenly went white, and he even had a nosebleed. It scared me! Lin Yi, is there something wrong with that 'treasure' you just installed?"

He pointed to the back of his own neck.

Lin Yi shook his head and took a sip of beer: "It has nothing to do with that thing. It's top-tier AA+ gear, it's perfectly fine. It's my own problem... or rather, my current 'configuration' is dragging it down."

He pointed to his head and body: "It's like putting a top-tier engine in an old car—it runs fast, but the chassis and cooling can't keep up. I need to find time to upgrade the supporting 'parts'."

Jackie suddenly realized: "Oh! I get it! Cyberware, right? No problem! Leave it to me, I know a few good docs, besides Viktor..."

"I've got it under control, Jackie." Lin Yi interrupted him, giving him a grateful look, "I'll definitely ask for your help when I need it."

He didn't want to face another strange ripperdoc right now. Especially when it involved matching equipment on the level of "White Marsh".

After chatting for a while, and declining Jackie's proposal to continue the party elsewhere, Lin Yi took his share of the payment and returned to that pigeonhole apartment in Watson.

He closed the door.

The noise of the outside world was shut out.

The world instantly quieted down.

The brief excitement brought by the twenty thousand in his account quickly faded. Replacing it was a deep exhaustion and contemplation of the future.

He collapsed onto the bed and closed his eyes. His consciousness, however, began to plan involuntarily—

[RAM Balancing]: Must be a priority. It can significantly reduce neural stress and physiological side effects during high-load operations. It is the foundation for safely using [Insight] and even [Lockdown].

[Smart Link]: Essential for hackers. It can greatly improve the efficiency and strength of quickhacks, and combined with "White Marsh", it could produce a qualitative change.

[Subdermal Coloration]: Good for survival.

[Reinforced Skeleton], [Second Heart], [Kill Healing], [Biomonitor]...

The names of familiar cyberware from the game flashed through his mind. Each one could significantly improve survivability and combat effectiveness.

But following that was the staggering price marked behind them.

Twenty thousand eddies.

In daily life, it sounds like a lot. But thrown into the cyberware market, you might not even be able to buy a top-tier [RAM Balancing]. Let alone the others.

"Fuck..."

Lin Yi couldn't help but curse, burying his face in the cold pillow.

Still short of money.

The fucking hardest currency in this world.

Immense power was within reach, yet it was restricted by the most realistic shackle of poverty. This feeling was more irritating than mere weakness.

Just as he was staring at the mottled mold spots on the ceiling, almost drowning in frustration—

A thought, like lightning flashing in the dark, suddenly illuminated his mind.

"White Marsh... Old Net..."

He sat up abruptly. His eyes shone in the dim room.

"Damn it... I'm sitting on a monster processor capable of 32PB/s at its peak... and I'm still worrying about money?"

He muttered to himself, his tone carrying a trace of self-mockery and growing excitement.

"This is like begging for food while sitting on a gold mine!"

A plan, so bold it was almost crazy, quickly took shape in his mind—

Go to the Old Net and "mine"!

The Old Net. That primitive cyberspace that collapsed before the Fourth Corporate War, filled with dangerous data and rogue AI.

It was a forbidden zone for ordinary people.

But for him, possessing "White Marsh"—it might be an uncultivated land full of "raw data gold mines".

Those forgotten databases, broken financial transaction records, even fragments of certain early AIs... as long as he could parse and extract the valuable parts, they could sell for astronomical prices on the black market!

Of course, the risks were extremely high.

Netwatch monitored the boundaries of the Old Net like hounds. Any unauthorized deep access could attract devastating blows. Not to mention the rogue AIs and corrosive data packets in the Old Net itself that were like digital ghosts.

But the quantum-level ICE barrier of "White Marsh" and its terrifying computing power—

Gave him the confidence to try.

He immediately took action, sitting down at that old terminal. Although the performance was trash, it was enough as a springboard.

[Insight] operated silently, power consumption maintained at an extremely low level, assisting him in planning.

He couldn't connect directly. He needed multi-layer proxies. He needed encryption. He needed to forge countless springboards to hide his real IP in the maze of data—just like putting several layers of masks on his digital avatar.

His fingers danced on the keyboard. Lines of code flowed as if they had life.

One layer. Two layers. Three layers...

The proxy nodes were wrapped layer by layer like an onion. The final exit proxy address needed to be chosen extremely carefully—it had to be a place where Netwatch's attention was relatively weak, yet close enough to the Old Net data stream.

His brain rapidly searched through the "guide" memories from the other world.

Finally—

A location locked into his mind.

Pacifica.

More precisely, inside Pacifica, that Data Fortress area near the Old Net barrier, which was regarded as a nest by the Voodoo Boys.

The abandoned intercity subway station.

That group of Cyber-Haitians was famous for their exquisite hacking techniques and obsession with the Old Net. Their network activities themselves constituted an excellent cover.

Setting the final proxy node near Pacifica was like hiding a drop of water in a rushing river.

"This is it."

Lin Yi took a deep breath, not a trace of hesitation in his eyes. Only the desire for "military funds".

All preparations were ready. He checked the multi-layered encrypted proxy chain one last time. The final node's IP pointed to the depths of Pacifica.

Then—

Let's begin.

The first pot of gold in Night City might just be dug from this forbidden "mining area".

He took a deep breath, his consciousness sinking into the cold "suet" and the surging "red core" at the back of his neck. Carefully, he extended a tentacle of exploration along the meticulously constructed digital tunnel—

Reaching toward that vast, dangerous, and opportunity-filled wasteland of old data.

[Command Confirmed: Launch Deep Data Scanning Protocol (Hook).]

[Target Area: Edge of Old Net — Pacifica Proxy Node.]

[Power Consumption Frequency: 25%.]

[Risk Level: Unknown.]