29: Chapter 29 Returning Home at Night

The doors of "Empathy" closed behind them.

The soundproofing was indeed excellent—the deafening drumbeats, the psychedelic cold lights, and the steam of sweat on the dance floor were all cut off in an instant, as if someone had pressed a mute button.

Replacing them was the cold air unique to late-night Night City, wrapped in dust, exhaust fumes, and a burnt smell of unknown origin, washing over them.

Lin Yi perked up. Beside him, V shivered violently.

"Cold..." She mumbled half a word; her body was faster than her brain, instinctively pressing closer to the heat source beside her—which was Lin Yi.

She was almost half-hanging on his arm, and he could feel the warmth of her body through two layers of clothing.

The scent, a mixture of high-end perfume, strong alcohol, and a certain distinct feminine odor, drifted straight into Lin Yi's nostrils. He stared straight ahead at the parking lot, his throat bobbing.

Uncomfortable. But he didn't say anything.

"We'll be home soon." He tried to keep his voice steady, reaching an arm under her armpit to half-support, half-carry her into the passenger seat of the "galena."

When he pulled the seatbelt over and buckled it, she had completely given up resistance—her head tilted onto the headrest, her breathing became slow and steady, as if she had powered down on the spot.

Lin Yi walked around to the driver's seat and started the engine. The "galena" slid silently into the traffic near Corpo Plaza. Neon lights flowed across the windshield, and the car was quiet, save for the sound of her breathing.

He glanced at V—she was asleep.

He let out a slight sigh of relief.

[Insight] was in its lowest power standby mode, not performing active scans, merely passively filtering surrounding traffic signals and routine threats.

Less than five minutes later.

As the car just left the Corpo Plaza area and turned onto the elevated ramp leading to Japantown, [Insight] suddenly emitted a faint alarm. A pale gold notification box appeared at the edge of his vision.

[Detected multi-target persistent tracking. Vehicles: two black Quadra Type-66s (no license plates), one Mizutani "Shion"—No vehicular heavy weaponry detected. Behavioral pattern: alternating cover, tactical follow, stable distance. Threat level: Low.]

"They actually dared to come. You chose this path yourselves, don't regret it."

Lin Yi cursed under his breath, the relaxation he felt while taking her home instantly vanished from his eyes.

He slammed on the accelerator, and the "galena" gave a low growl, suddenly accelerating, darting forward through the gaps in traffic, hoping to use the curves and speed to widen the distance.

The sudden G-force jolted V awake in the passenger seat.

She opened her eyes groggily, her gaze unfocused, not yet grasping the situation. But her body reacted faster than her brain—the vigilance ingrained by years of corporate agent training made her subconsciously reach for her waist.

She actually pulled out a compact pistol.

"There... there's a tail!"

Her tongue was still thick, and as her other hand reached for the window switch, her arm was as limp as boiled noodles. The muzzle of the gun swayed with her arm.

Lin Yi watched as that pitch-black muzzle traced irregular arcs from left to right and back again, several times grazing his arm and the side of his face.

"Damn it! Damn it! V! Stop moving! That thing doesn't have eyes! The damn barrel is poking my nostril!"

Cold sweat broke out on Lin Yi's back immediately.

Getting taken out by your own person—the number one most frustrating way to die in Night City this year.

While weaving through the traffic, he freed his right hand, grabbed her gun-wielding wrist with quick reflexes, and with firm but not rough force, pressed her disobedient hand and the gun back onto her lap.

"Let go... I can handle it..."

"Handle it my ass! Why don't you handle your own balance first!"

Lin Yi snapped back.

In the rearview mirror, the two Quadras had caught the scent of their prey and were no longer hiding their intent to track, beginning to press in alternately, closing the distance from both the left and right. One of them had already started to change lanes to the outside—this was the prelude to forcing a stop. He couldn't take any more risks.

He controlled the steering wheel with one hand. With the other, he grabbed the seatbelt beside V, yanked out another length, nimbly looped it over her gun-wielding wrist, wrapped it around her body, and tied a temporary slipknot. He pulled it tight.

"You... tying me up?!"

V looked down at the extra seatbelt on her body, then looked up at Lin Yi, her eyes wide. The alcohol had slowed all her reactions by half a beat; even her anger seemed like slow motion.

"Heh, how do you have three heads and six arms..."

Lin Yi had no time to explain. His gaze had already swept across the rearview mirror, a cold light flashing in his pupils.

"Art is an explosion? Then let's do it."

His consciousness sank into Bai Ze.

[Insight] activated to full power. The control system schematics of the three trailing vehicles spread out in his mind—the node distribution of the engine management module, the security authentication vulnerabilities of the electronic control unit, and the communication protocols between the powertrain bus and the central gateway. He locked directly onto the core nodes of the engine management systems.

[Command confirmed. Execution: Quickhack - Vehicle Hijack subroutine - Engine Overload. Target: x3.]

No fireballs. No deafening explosions.

The two Quadras that were accelerating to close in suddenly emitted thick smoke from under their hoods.

This was followed by a harsh, grating metallic sound—as if something had been forcibly crushed inside the cylinders. The headlights flickered frantically twice and then went out completely. Both cars lost all power almost simultaneously, their speed dropped sharply, and they eventually stalled completely in the middle of the elevated road. The third car braked a bit late, its front end smashing directly into the bumper of the lead Quadra with a dull thud, instantly turning the elevated road into a chaotic traffic jam.

Lin Yi released the accelerator and dropped [Insight]'s power consumption back to standby. After the adrenaline ebbed, the sweat on his back began to trickle down—he hadn't noticed it while highly focused, but now he felt a chill on his back.

V beside him was no longer struggling. The gun was still loosely held in her hand, her wrist bound by the seatbelt, and she was slumped in the seat. She tilted her head to look at him, her eyes unfocused and hazy, as if watching some amazing magic show. She mumbled softly: "...Impressive."

Lin Yi sighed, reached out to take the gun from her hand, engaged the safety, and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

"Don't touch a gun next time you're drunk. It's fucking terrifying."

The car drove smoothly into the apartment building's underground garage.

After parking, Lin Yi unbuckled his seatbelt and was about to help her untie the temporary slipknot. She suddenly leaned in. So close that her nose was almost touching his neck.

"Bro..." The hot air she exhaled, mixed with the smell of strong alcohol, washed over his neck. Her voice was slurred. "You... you smell so good..."

Lin Yi froze.

One second. Two seconds. Before he could react, V's expression suddenly changed. An ominous gurgling sound came from deep in her throat.

Vomit. Face to face. Zero distance.

A wave of warm liquid, mixed with alcohol, stomach acid, and half-digested matter, sprayed solidly onto the front of Lin Yi's jacket and pants. A suffocating smell instantly filled the car.

Lin Yi looked down. Ash-white. He was completely dumbfounded.

"V... I really..." He gritted his back teeth, grinding the urge to curse back from the tip of his tongue.

The subtle romantic tension that had risen from her saying "you smell so good" and hadn't yet dissipated, vanished into thin air in the face of this biochemical attack.

Sighing. He unbuckled his seatbelt. Enduring the smell, he got her out of the passenger seat. V had completely lost consciousness; she was as limp as if she had no bones, leaning against him, wet, heavy, and hot. Lin Yi half-carried, half-dragged her into the elevator, used her fingerprint to open the door, and walked into the apartment he had visited once before.

Bedroom. He put her on the bed. His movements were as un-rough as possible, but there wasn't much gentleness to speak of.

He first took off his own jacket, which was ruined by the vomit, and threw it on the floor, then took off her jacket, which had suffered the same fate. Then he went to the bathroom and wrung out a warm towel.

Returning to the bedside, he tried his best not to look, using the towel to simply wipe her face, neck, and hands. His fingertips occasionally touched the skin on her neck, feeling warm and delicate, and his heart skipped a beat.

Then he turned her onto her side, and the smell of alcohol on her breath hit him again. He calmed down immediately. This was not that kind of time. And this was not that kind of atmosphere.

He covered V with the quilt. His gaze swept over the nightstand—he took out the items from her jacket and placed them properly. Wallet. Encrypted chip. A small folding knife...

His fingers touched a hard, square little box. He took it out. It was a portable storage case for a braindance wreath. There were no text labels, only a hand-drawn pattern on the front. A man and a woman, tightly embracing under the hazy moonlight. The lines were bold, not subtle at all, full of some unspoken implication.

Lin Yi's eyebrows arched. A smile couldn't help but curl the corner of his mouth.

"...Well, well, good stuff. V, oh V, I didn't see that coming. On the surface, a ruthless Counter-Intelligence elite, but in private, you're into this." He flipped the box over, then back. " 'Forbidden Encounter Under the Moonlight'. Tsk tsk. Definitely dark history, saved."

He placed the box and other items neatly in the most conspicuous spot on the nightstand—ensuring she would see them the moment she opened her eyes tomorrow. Then he threw her dirty jacket into the washing machine and set it to heavy-duty wash.

After doing all this, he sat at the foot of the bed for a while.

In her sleep, V frowned, her face buried in the pillow, shedding that sharp outer shell she usually wore, revealing a rare softness.

He reached out and turned off the bedroom light. He left a small night light on.

"Sleep well, future famous V." He took a bag, stuffed his dirty jacket into it, and closed the door.

Back in his own apartment, the first thing he did—rushed into the bathroom. He threw his pants and the affected jacket directly into the washing machine.

Then he stood under the hot water for a long time, letting the water wash away the sweat, smell of alcohol, and a certain indescribable fatigue he had accumulated along the way.

His face in the mirror looked a bit haggard.

What a night. Saving the damsel was fine, although he was almost taken out by the "damsel" with a gun, and ended up suffering a biochemical attack.

Coming out of the bathroom, he made another call to book a 24-hour car wash service. He asked them to go to the underground garage to thoroughly clean and disinfect the "galena," which had also suffered. By the time he finished all this, the horizon outside was already faintly showing the first light of dawn.

He collapsed onto the bed and closed his eyes. But in his mind, uncontrollably, images of V's hazy eyes as she leaned in, her warm breath, and that braindance cover of the couple embracing under the moonlight floated up.

The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

"Hehehe, this dark history, I'll have to properly tease her about it when I get the chance."

With a body full of fatigue and a hint of a smile he hadn't even noticed himself, he drifted into a deep sleep.

And in V's apartment, a greater storm concerning corporations, betrayal, and survival was quietly brewing within her drunken dreams.