41: Chapter 41 Once it's done, we'll leave.

Emerging from the clamor of the Afterlife Bar, the cold reality of Night City wrapped around them once more.

The trio did not delay and immediately began their operation.

"Jackie, you head over to the All Foods Factory area first and scout around," Lin Yi said, assigning tasks while quickly browsing public and private information about Maelstrom and Meredith Stout on his personal terminal. "Figure out the perimeter, look for other entrances and exits, and check the patrol patterns. Keep the comms open."

"Leave it to me! I'll meet up with you two in a bit," Jackie said, full of energy. He patted his holster and turned to merge into the flow of the street crowd.

Lin Yi looked at V: "As for this Militech agent supervisor... We need to talk to her, but we can't let it be on her terms. V, you make the first contact."

V nodded; she understood what Lin Yi meant.

With her, a former corporate employee, stepping forward, it was easier to understand the other party's mindset in certain situations and easier to establish a twisted sense of "equality."

"Location?" V asked.

"Contact her directly and decide on a location between you. I'll provide support nearby," Lin Yi's gaze was sharp. "Remember, we're going to seek cooperation, not beg for handouts. If she tries to pull rank..." He didn't finish, but V already understood.

V drove alone to the designated location, an abandoned-looking warehouse district on the edge of the Badlands.

Lin Yi snuck into the top floor of a nearby abandoned building, set up his Nekomata, activated [Insight], and began constructing a real-time dynamic model of the surrounding area.

He saw V's car pull in, and almost simultaneously, an inconspicuous black sedan arrived, along with several heat signatures that seemed to be scattered randomly but were actually occupying key vantage points—Militech personnel.

Sure enough, as soon as V stepped out of the car and stated her business, two Militech agents hiding in the shadows quickly stepped forward, roughly pinning her against the car to search her. V's suppressed angry breathing echoed in his earpiece.

"Ms. Stout, is this how Militech treats its guests?" V said coldly to the air.

The window of the black sedan rolled down a crack, and Meredith Stout's cold voice emerged: "There's no need for courtesy with unidentified street rats. How did you know about this place? Were you involved in that hijacking too? Speak, is your handler..."

Just then, Lin Yi moved.

The moment the [Insight] command was issued, it instantly locked onto the cyberware operating systems implanted in the two agents holding V.

Silently and in the blink of an eye, the two agents' bodies stiffened; their consciousnesses seemed to be locked directly inside the cages of their bodies, and they immediately lost their grip on V.

At almost the same moment, Meredith Stout's personal communication channel was forcibly intercepted by a high-encryption signal, and Lin Yi's calm voice rang in her ear:

"Ms. Stout, tell your subordinates to calm down. We're only here to seek cooperation. Think about it, if we were enemies, it wouldn't just have been a brief paralysis to stop their actions just now. Besides, the one in a 'shitty situation'—the one in an awkward spot—is you, right? The mission was botched, the goods were hijacked, and I'm sure people inside the company are waiting to give you trouble. Show some cooperative attitude and stop with the aggressive posturing."

This space fell into a brief, dead silence.

V took the opportunity to straighten her clothes, stood up straight, and looked at the black sedan with cold eyes.

Meredith Stout clearly hadn't expected that the other party wasn't a lone wolf, that they had such a formidable partner, and that he had pinpointed her predicament in one sentence.

A few seconds later, she pushed open the car door and stepped out.

She waved her hand, and the two agents, having regained control, retreated sheepishly.

"Very well," Meredith Stout said, eyeing V and seemingly looking through her toward the hidden Lin Yi, "You've proven... you have some value. Speak, how do you want to cooperate?"

The ensuing negotiation was led by V, with Lin Yi providing input from behind the scenes.

The plan was similar to the original plot: Meredith Stout would provide a special payment chip containing a virus to be used in the transaction with Maelstrom. During the trade, the virus would be released, paralyzing the "flathead" and severely damaging Maelstrom's network. In return, the team would take back the "flathead" and help Militech teach Maelstrom a harsh lesson.

"Give me the chip." V extended her hand.

Meredith Stout handed over the chip and said meaningfully: "Remember, don't try anything funny. Otherwise, next time, it won't just be you being pinned down." This was said to V, but it was even more of a warning to Lin Yi.

V took the chip and turned to leave without the slightest hesitation.

In the comms channel, Lin Yi said to V: "Nice work. I remotely scanned the chip; the virus is definitely there, and the structure... is interesting. The plan is feasible." He paused, then added, "But this woman can't be fully trusted; we need to keep an ace up our sleeve."

Jackie had already scouted the perimeter of the factory. After regrouping, the three finalized the plan: V and Jackie would enter from the front to trade with Royce.

Lin Yi would provide hacking support from a van on the perimeter, focusing on using the virus to create chaos and securing an extraction route.

The interior of the factory was filled with the smell of oil, sweat, and madness.

V and Jackie sparred with Royce in a standoff, the atmosphere as tense as a drawn bowstring.

Royce clearly didn't want to trade honestly; his words were full of provocation and traps.

Just as the negotiation was on the verge of collapsing and swords were drawn, Lin Yi, from the perimeter, activated the modified virus daemon through the transaction chip.

"Plan initiated," Lin Yi's calm voice rang in V and Jackie's earpieces.

Instantly, the lights inside the factory flickered wildly, and alarms wailed shrilly.

The machines that had been running stopped abruptly, and several Maelstrom members wearing heavy cyber-eyes suddenly clutched their heads and screamed as their visual systems were flooded with malicious code.

What was even better was that Lin Yi didn't stop at paralyzing the "flathead" and creating basic chaos.

With the support of his current cyberware, [Insight] instantly deconstructed and amplified the virus structure, and he directed its power deeper—he found the factory's security system, the armory access controls, and even the low-level control protocols for some of the gang members' cyberware.

"Left corridor cleared."

"Three targets ahead, cyberware motor functions temporarily offline."

"Back door opened. Jackie, one o'clock, take down that big guy!"

Lin Yi was like a ghost commander overlooking the battlefield, precisely broadcasting information and clearing a path for V and Jackie.

V moved like a phantom, her gun accurately picking off every threat that popped up—and even the ones that didn't.

Jackie was like a human tank, using his massive firepower and physical strength to crush all obstacles.

Their cooperation reached an astonishing level of synergy under Lin Yi's overall coordination.

In the chaos, they successfully retrieved the "flathead," fighting as they retreated, and followed the optimal path planned by Lin Yi to rush out of the factory and jump into the extraction vehicle.

"Woohoo! Got it! Let's get out!" Jackie roared excitedly, tossing the heavy "flathead" into the vehicle.

The vehicle sped away, leaving the devastated All Foods Factory and the curses and chaos of Maelstrom far behind.

Inside the car, V breathed slightly heavily, looking at Lin Yi, who was quickly operating his terminal to confirm there were no tracking signals, a complex light flashing in her eyes.

In this operation, what Lin Yi had displayed was not just superb hacking skills, but a terrifying ability for strategic planning and precise timing.

Lin Yi looked up, met V's gaze, and smiled slightly, though his eyes remained calm deep down: "The first step is complete. The line with Meredith Stout has been established. However..." He looked at the city neon lights flashing past outside the window, "The real battle has only just begun."

They had obtained the key, but behind the door leading to Konpeki Plaza and the path to legend, it might not be victory—it could also lead to hell.