Inside the suburban construction tunnel.

A transport vehicle arrives at the end of the tunnel, searchlights illuminating the way, and multiple mechanical function vehicles block the way.

Lucy quickly jumped out of the driver's seat of the transporter, took a step around the convoy and quickly trotted forward, finding that the mound of dirt was blocking the way.

At the edge of the mound, Team Mann and V all fell to the ground, all of them looking like they had passed out.

Lucy walked up to V, crouched down next to her, pulled out the nerve cable from her wrist and embedded it in the port on the back of her neck, then turned her prosthetic eye circle to detect V's vital signs and help her reboot the operating system.

It didn't take long.

V raised his eyes in a daze, and the overlapping images around him continued to zoom in and out, and finally what clearly caught his eye was the ice blue and pink hair, and a delicate and beautiful face, with deep red eyelids dotted with neon eyes, mysterious and deep.

"Lucy?" V recognized her, and his tone was intensely puzzled.

It's just that she doesn't have any impression of what happened just now, she just looks at the person in front of her, hoping to get an answer from her.

Lucy suddenly smiled lightly, thinking that after realizing that it was the third time that V had fainted, she opened her eyes and saw her.

"Let's get up first, it's not convenient to talk here." Lucy helped V to get up, and continued, "Your vital signs are stable, and the operating system is basically normal after the restart. ”

V covered his head and thanked him softly, and after calming down for a while, he finally sobered up, and then he had the energy to look around and find that there were still many people lying next to him.

Panan, Mitch, Scorpion, and the others involved in the action all lay motionless on the ground.

She instantly woke up as a spirit, and immediately realized that this was a group annihilation.

V quickly got up from the ground, ignoring the dust on her body, and immediately approached Panan, held up the back of her head, and said, "Wake them up too, we were hacked by people before we were remotely invaded, and this place is too weird." ”

After speaking.

V reached out and patted Panan's face gently, and found that there was no reaction, so he grabbed her middle again, and then used his fingers to test her snort, and there was still life.

Lucy also immediately took action, walking to Qi Wei and crouching down to embed the data cable.

"The other party's hacking technology is far above us, but fortunately, Tang Yu has solved this matter, and the matrix space has been shut down."

Shut down?

The news came as a surprise to V, who had thought that the plan had failed completely.

At that time, she learned that Mitch and Scorpion had lost contact after entering the construction site, and she and Panan managed to slip the night company's pursuers in a big circle, and finally flicked off their tails and returned, rushed into the construction site, and went directly into the tunnel.

As soon as he reached the end of the tunnel, before he could even fire his gun, his eyes suddenly went black, and then he fainted, and when he woke up, the person he saw was Lucy.

With V's efforts, Panam also opened his eyes in a daze, and muttered with great difficulty.

“V？ It's great that you're okay."

V didn't dare to delay, and hurriedly said, "Everyone is okay for the time being, evacuate here first." ”

Lucy, on her part, also woke up Qi Wei and Rebecca, who had fainted.

Rebecca slowly opened her eyes, rubbed her eyes, and looked around a little blankly.

A short circuit in her brain has kept her coming back to her senses.

"Where is this? Am I asleep?"

She blinked her eyes and looked sideways, only to find Lucy waking up Dorio and Kivi helping Mann.

"Lucy? Why are you here? ”

Lucy had no choice but to explain again: "Get out of here first, and go back and talk about something." ”

Rebecca nodded as if she didn't understand, and retracted her gaze to see her brother Pila sleeping next to her, who was snoring, and kicked him up directly.

As Panan woke up Mitch and Scorpion, and joined up with Mann's team, several men hurried out of the tunnel in a transport.

The group rode in their respective vehicles and returned to the Adicado tribe.

In the tent.

A group of people stood around the tactical table, everyone was in a state of embarrassment compared to the way they had looked before they set off, but fortunately everyone came back safely.

After everyone looked at each other for a moment, it was Panan who opened the topic first.

"Ahem. There were a lot of surprises on this mission, but we were all determined to follow the plan. ”

"Now that everyone is back, let's talk about what we know."

"But before I begin, I want to ask, where did Don go?"

Hearing Panan's question, everyone looked around for a moment, only to realize that the mastermind of the operation was not at the scene.

Lucy had no choice but to explain: "He left with the people of military technology, it should be the Night Company asking for help from military technology." ”

Hearing that military technology had come to the scene, everyone's expressions and reactions were different, but they all fell silent.

"However, it seems that the high-level of military science and technology is very familiar with Tang, and they have not discovered their existence." Lucy suddenly thought of the woman, reached out and touched the place where she shouldn't have touched, and continued.

"Tang has already persuaded the people of military science and technology, and everyone doesn't have to worry about the rest for the time being."

Panan nodded and asked with concern, "Did the plan succeed?" How do I remember seeing Don in the tunnel, but it was really in a bad state at the time, maybe I was dazzled. ”

Lucy explained: "So far, it can be regarded as a success, the matrix space has been shut down, and my side has also found their whereabouts in the cyberspace. ”

Hearing this news, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere in the tent was a little more lively.

Then, they exchanged their experiences.

Qi Wei told everyone that after she entered the matrix space, she fainted with the embedded signal source program chip, and she didn't know what was going on.

Mann told everyone that he and Pyra had also entered the matrix space, and before they could make a move, they fainted, and they didn't know what was going on.

Rebecca told the crowd that she was sitting on the ground with her gun in her arms, and she fainted in front of her eyes without doing anything, and she didn't know what was going on.

Dorio admits that she is in a similar situation to them.

Panan's face also looked a little embarrassed, and she motioned to Mitch next to her to speak first.

Mitch smiled helplessly, saying that after he and the scorpion rushed into the construction site, they were invaded by a mysterious signal and blackened the screen, and there was nothing to know behind it.

Panang and V were in a slightly better situation and made their way to the tunnel.

Panam held out a little longer because of the small number of implants.

After chatting, everyone fell silent again.

It turned out that this well-planned and mobilized action had accidents in every link.

They couldn't help but wonder why everyone was standing here in a good position since there had been an accident in every link, and the matrix space had also been shut down according to the set goal.

Lucy had the answer in her mind.

All this was done by Tang Yu alone.

It's just that I don't know what happened to him in the matrix space.

Tang Yu's real strength is probably far stronger than she imagined.

With that in mind.

Lucy's mood is also a lot calmer, Tang Yu's identity alone is enough to be on an equal footing with people in military technology, not to mention that he is resourceful and has special abilities, and he will definitely be able to retreat.

V looked at Lucy suspiciously, opened her eyes and was the first to arrive at the scene, so she asked, "Since everyone has fainted and the operation has failed, Lucy, do you know what's going on?" Why did everyone faint together at the end. ”

V's question was also a doubt in everyone's hearts, and all eyes looked at Lucy.

Lucy explained in a deep voice: "It's Don, after you had an accident, he went into the tunnel alone, and then the matrix space was shut down, and he came out of the tunnel with the military technology people, and when I entered the tunnel, you had already fainted together." ”

Tang Dynasty?

Mr. Tang?

Corporate?

Wearing a suit?

Everyone spoke in unison, and each of them pronounced the name of that person in their hearts.

V suddenly thought of something and added, "Is it because he hasn't had a prosthetic implant, so he won't be invaded by mysterious signals, and he is not afraid of electronic pulse interference." ”

Lucy bowed slightly: "It should be"

But she knew in her heart that it was definitely not that simple.

Only then did everyone suddenly realize.

Rebecca slapped the table and praised proudly, "Yo! I'll just say he's coming, and look, everybody's in danger. ”

Her confident tone seemed to have predicted the direction of the matter, and she felt a little complacent about it.

Knowing that Tang Yu finally solved the trouble, the stone that pressed on everyone's hearts dissolved, and returning safely was more important than anything else.

Dorio still had some doubts in her heart, and asked, "Lucy, who is the person from the military technology?" ”

"Meredith Stout, head of the Special Operations Department of Military Science and Technology." Lucy remembered who she had just been scanned.

Mann's face sank suddenly, they glanced at each other, silently exchanged the information in their eyes, and couldn't help but feel nervous in their hearts, if they were caught by her, it would be difficult to get out again.

Everyone had limited information, and when the exchange was almost over, Panan proposed to rest in the camp tonight to see what was going on, and if it was safe to do so, send them back to the city tomorrow morning.

Everyone should accept that this is the end of the matter, and everything can only be seen tomorrow morning.

The military science and technology armed floating vehicle flew slowly, heading in the direction of the company square, the speed of the car was not in a hurry or fast, and it swept the evening scene of the busy traffic below the night city.

In the carriage, the originally small space was squeezed by all kinds of mechanical and electronic equipment.

Meredith folded her legs, her upturned toes almost touching Tang Yu's trouser legs.

She slowly took off her black leather gloves and leaned lightly on the soft back of the sofa, looking a little lazy.

"It's a pity that it's not my personal floating car, so I can't invite you to drink two drinks."

Tang Yu smiled calmly: "The bus naturally talks about business, tonight is a good night for you." ”

He roughly judged the attitude of military science and technology towards the matrix space, and he must have an opposing opinion.

Therefore, Meredith led people to the tunnel construction site, in addition to making a show, he wanted to see the result of the failure of the matrix space.

If she fails to get what she wants, she will find a way to achieve it, after all, the people who carry the pot are lying on the spot.

It's not the first time she's done something bad, and she's very handy about it.

Meredith smiled, her eyes fluttering, and she pretended not to understand, "What, is this the surprise you are talking about?" ”

After speaking, she leaned forward slowly, and her right hand, which was properly maintained for her skin, was placed on Tang Yu's knee, rubbing back and forth on her thigh.

She kept staring at Tang Yu's face, wanting to see if the young man in front of her was really so calm, or if he had just been pretending.

After observing for a while, she found that Tang Yu neither stopped her nor showed any grievance or embarrassment, which made her feel bored.

Meredith withdrew his hand, sat upright, put his right hand in front of his eyes and looked at it a few times, and said quietly: "It seems that the years are not forgiving, I was in my teens and twenties, and I was as tender as the silver-haired girl just now. ”

There was a hint of menace in the remarks.

Apparently.

Meredith saw some clues, and Lucy's eagerness aroused her suspicions.

However, she is not very sure that a company executive like Tang Yu, who is like a lone wolf, will really take a fancy to anyone, everything is just interests.

Tang Yu chuckled and said, "Each has its own taste." ”

Hearing this, Meredith couldn't help but sneer, and she was used to being serious, but she laughed a little uncomfortably.

"You said that military science and technology didn't recruit talents like you in the first place, whether it is the ability to do things, or the hard work, it's amazing."

"I submitted your resume back then." Tang Yu took over the conversation: "But the personnel department of your company refused on the grounds of lack of ability and expertise, so naturally there is no chance to see it." ”

Meredith looked a little surprised: "Really? It's only to blame them for having no eyes, but I'd love to know about your abilities and specialties now, if you don't mind. ”

After speaking.

Meredith smiled at the corner of her mouth and looked at Tang Yu with amusement.

Tang Yu said indifferently: "Naturally, I don't mind, just take the matter of matrix space as an example, if the Ye's company wants to continue to make new moves for a while, it is almost impossible." ”

"I've entered the matrix space to see, and they still lack a main program, and this main program is temporarily in Arasaka's hands."

Meredith immediately said, "The main program? Convenient to reveal a thing or two? ”

She knew that tonight's action against the matrix space was planned by Tang Yu, but she didn't understand the deep meaning yet.

Now she had two options in front of her.

The first is to choose to remain silent and shield Tang Yu, so as to reach a deal with Tang Yu.

The second is to choose to turn against the water and publicize Tang Yu's plan to invade the tunnel construction site of Ye's company and disrupt the matrix space, so Arasaka will explain this matter and even deal with Tang Yu.

However, Meredith felt that Tang Yu was so empathetic, he must know what she wanted.

Tang Yu didn't intend to hide Meredith, it was she who wanted to wade into troubled waters, so it was no wonder that he was.

"Subnet Poseidon."

Meredith was stunned.

Ye's company needs the 'subnet Poseidon' as the main program, and this intention is obvious.

As the core technology of the Voodoo Gang, in addition to basic network services, 'Subnet Poseidon' has one of the most important functions, which is to shuttle through the black wall and communicate the existence of the old network.

Meredith asked again, "Is it the one in Adam's hammer?" If that's the case, the Ye's company can go and talk to Arasaka Yori, and I don't think Prince Arasaka will refuse the business delivered to his door. ”

Arasaka Yoritoku's various acts of disobedience have long been spread in Night City.

In the eyes of most people, Arasaka Lai Xuan was because he couldn't wait to get on the throne, so he had a conflict with Arasaka Saburo.

Tang Yu shook his head slightly, denying her guess.

"The Poseidon data in Adam's hammer is damaged, and it is of little value to the Yeshi Company."

"The real Poseidon data, in the mind of a mercenary, has now awakened into an artificial intelligence with a certain degree of self-awareness."

Meredith's pupils shrank, and her eyes were full of surprise.

A subnet with a dense and powerful algorithm has awakened into artificial intelligence, and the value contained in it is self-evident.

She was glad that she had made the decision and did not choose to cooperate with the Yeshi Company, otherwise she would have sneered at the consequences of letting a powerful and uncontrolled AI infiltrate the company's servers.

"It seems that the ambitions of the Yeshi company are indeed not small, and the so-called new infrastructure plan is just a cover for them."

What Tang Yu said was the truth, and it was none of his business how Meredith understood it.

"The matrix space is now closed, as for when it will be opened again, wait for me to tell."

Meredith understood the relationship, Tang Yu not only held the mercenaries in his hands, but also pinched the secrets of the Ye Company, so he had the bargaining chips to negotiate with the Ye Company.

She judged that the man in front of her definitely didn't want to work hard for the Arasaka Company to the end, and completely tore his face with the Yeshi Company, so the two sides each took a step forward and reached a cooperation to suspend the matrix space.

Meredith sneered: "You kid is quite daring to play, making small moves under Arasaka's nose, and you are not afraid of being caught." ”

"Heh, I don't know if we're fated, every time I happen to have a problem, I can run into you, and then somehow it's solved."

"I'll tell you the truth, I was asked to investigate the purpose behind the space matrix of the Ye Clan's company, and I was worried about it."

"It's good now, things are settled, and I'm just busy and can take a vacation."

"I have to say, every time we meet, you can always surprise me."

Tang Yu thought to himself.

As long as you are bold, you can take more than just a small vacation.

He didn't ask about Meredith's backs, as long as the two worked together and had common interests, this delicate relationship could go on forever.

With Aunt Mei's assist, you can get twice the result with half the effort.

If it was someone else who came this time, Tang Yu might really have to deal with it.

Tang Yu looked out the window and found that he had arrived in the sky above the company square, so he said in a deep voice.

"That's fine, that's all I can say, but if you want to get deeply involved in the affairs of the Arasaka family, I'd be glad to do so."

Meredith looked suspicious: "Are you serious?" ”

Tang Yu nodded slightly, vowing to be honored.

Meredith covered her mouth and was very happy, and then teased: "Then I can only thank you for your sincerity, your company's Arasaka family's affairs, or you have to worry about it yourself." ”

She glanced out the window, stretched out her fingertips and pressed them on the armrest, and after prohibiting the storage device from recognizing fingerprints, a black box slowly popped up.

Meredith took out the box and handed it to Tang Yu, and introduced: "The latest model of military technology, the Swiftstein, the Raptor, is one version sequence higher than the one stolen by your R&D department. ”

"After the cyber maniac incident that was previously prepared to be delivered to the NCPD for the armed terrorist mobile team, the prosthetic experiment was exposed, and this batch of high-end goods was nowhere to be sold."

"The mercenary you mentioned has a brain that can withstand the 'subnet sea god', maybe it's also this piece of material."

Tang Yu took the black box and pressed the opening button, and the inner box automatically slid out, with white air conditioning, and a delicate black Sianweistan was refrigerated in it.

Meredith smiled and said: "Don't worry, it's clean goods, the only requirement, the human body operation data is left to me, just remember to keep it secret, it's a secret between the two of us." ”

Tang Yu closed the box and said bluntly: "The secrets we can't tell seem to be a bit much. ”

Meredith chuckled, "If you mind, I can drop you off somewhere else, like to my villa, where there is no one." ”

On the company square, the military science and technology building and the Arasaka Tower are opposite.

Tang Yu returned in a military science and technology armed floating car, and it was difficult not to attract the attention of others.

However, he was already ready, so he declined: "Next time, there are still people waiting for me to report back tonight." ”

"Michiko Arasaka?" Meredith asked.

Tang Yu nodded: "Well, just park the car in front of the main gate of the Arasaka Tower." ”

The military-tech float slowly landed in front of the Arasaka Tower, and after landing, the engine flame went out, and the door opened to extend the base.

Although it was late at night, there were still a lot of people working overtime at the Arasaka Company, and the entire Arasaka Tower was brightly lit.

The unusual scene caught the attention of some of the Arasaka staff, who cast curious glances at the place.

Military technology and Arasaka have never dealt with each other, and although the two have some contacts, they generally choose a third-party address and rarely visit publicly.

Tang Yu got up and walked out of the floating car, fastened the buttons with one hand, walked to the main entrance of the Arasaka Tower as if no one was around, and walked straight to the public elevator after accepting the security check.

When the Arasaka employees saw that the company's top management was actually returning to the company in a military technology floating car, they couldn't help but be dumbfounded and turned to whispering.

dared not shy away from associating with people in military technology, Tang Yu was also the only one.

Tang Yu ignored the reactions of others, and after entering the elevator, he went directly to Michiko's office.

Last time, I missed the appointment, and Michiko said that she would wait for him in the office tonight.

Tang Yu didn't plan to go back to the Adcardo camp again, the matter over there had already been settled, and it would be enough for Gloria to settle the commission.

It's just that Lucy's side is not a commission, it is more like a favor to help, risking life and death to climb over the wall and enter the old net, which does require a lot of courage and determination for her.

In Tang Yu's opinion, this is indeed a great favor.

In the tent, Lucy's sudden initiative made him feel that maybe there was no need to make too much trouble.

When this is over, let's make an appointment for a night run." ’

Tang Yu got out of the elevator, walked straight to the office, and after the access control certification, he came to the office half a football field.

Xiaomei Zhizi stood in front of the glass window, suddenly turned around, looked directly at Tang Yu and said.

"Arasaka Yoritomo has come to Night City."

Not tonight.

(End of chapter)