#1022 - Interlude (a short break today)

【Broadcast: Citizens of Night City, we have been drawn into a war. In fact, we started it.】

【Broadcast: As you can see, we drove out the corporations, drove out the New United States and the European Community, burned their stinking money, and rejected their rule. What followed was their furious barrage of bullets.】

【Broadcast: We have beaten the New United States to a pulp, and the European Community is also afraid of us!】

【Broadcast: You may ask, what are they afraid of?】

【Broadcast: They are afraid of us having enough to eat!】

【Broadcast: They are not only afraid of us having enough to eat, but also afraid of us living comfortably in our homes, enjoying normal food, warm heating, and convenient lives.】

【Broadcast: They just don't want us to live well! Otherwise, no one will buy their garbage products!】

【Broadcast: If you own your own house, real estate companies will have nowhere to collect rent; if you are healthy, medical companies will have no patients to exploit; if your life is safe, security companies will starve; if you have enough to eat, food companies will go bankrupt!】

【Broadcast: They are afraid of no longer being able to suck our blood!】

Rhein's voice echoed through the underground city—

There were no lofty goals, just pure hatred, just pure expression. The corporations simply didn't want them to live well.

This idea might seem absurd in another world, but here, everyone deeply believed it: because life was indeed like this.

Houses had to be rented, breathing air was taxed, food was a mix of insect scraps and chemical additives, and medicine was needed because corporations were poisoning the water supply. Cybernetics were bought with loans to go to work.

Of course, reality was complex. Everyone at this moment ignored that some of this money used to be collected by the Night City City Hall, like this air tax.

The reality was that Night City had indeed improved. As it got better and better, more and more corporations became anxious, and it eventually turned into what it is now—

Yes, political relations, social relations, and diplomatic relations might be complex, and experts could brainstorm and extend them into super essays and dissertations, but ordinary people rely on intuition to perceive the world, and the feeling is:

Our lives have improved, and the corporate dogs are getting desperate! So desperate that they're biting people!

The ground vibrated from time to time, and the broadcast sound was accompanied by intermittent noise. Those in the know knew it was electrical interference, while those who didn't felt that the noise came from another world.

The people around hurried through the passages. The underground city began to become crowded due to the influx of a large number of people, walking through the viscous air.

Johnny had never imagined that the city he had left for 50 years would become like this:

“Holy crap... These softies in Night City actually drove out the corporations, are fighting with Night City, and are still full of energy while hiding underground? Am I dreaming?”

At this moment, he was stuffed into a humanoid robot. Although there was no big cannon, the feeling of being able to move freely was still good.

He had been like this for some time, and Rogue also knew that the soul imprint of Johnny Silverhand was inside this robot.

Honestly, she thought this was good. If Johnny occupied a person's body, even if it was no different from him decades ago, even if the original body appeared in front of her, she would feel confused.

But now that Johnny was in a humanoid robot that looked very similar to a human but had no facial features or muscles, she could easily distinguish this Johnny.

Or rather, it wasn't so difficult to accept this reality.

The busy underground city was already operating at full speed. Taking a slight breath, one could smell the thick industrial atmosphere mixed with oil and fuel. Rogue said:

Rogue laughed: “Me too. In terms of personal charisma, Riel is a true leader of Night City.”

“Personal charisma?” Johnny was still stubborn, “Stuffing a nuclear bomb into someone else's mouth isn't personal charisma.”

“Enough is enough. Do you think everyone has to be like you, unable to control the thing in your pants to be called personal charisma? Or do you think holding a hot-blooded concert under Arasaka Tower, deceiving innocent people to be used as smoke bombs, is more powerful than leading the entire city to fight?”

Johnny was speechless, but he still laughed, pointing at Rogue with a scoundrel's gesture: “This is the crazy woman I know, always arguing with whoever she catches. It seems that without a big cannon, I have no charm for you.”

“But you are not the Johnny I know anymore, after all, you don't have a big cannon, and you can't take drugs anymore.”

“That might be a good thing.” Johnny put away his smile, looking at every passing face.

He also remembered some of the fans under Arasaka Tower, those fans whose faces were full of fanaticism, and mustered the greatest courage in their lives to make trouble in front of Arasaka Tower.

He used to think he was awesome, encouraging people to do things they didn't dare to do, but now it seems that that kind of madness is different from true tenacity.

People cannot fight with irrational madness, let alone win the future with this kind of madness.

This sentence really shocked Rogue, so shocked that she couldn't speak for a while: “...?”

Johnny continued: “I may have indeed been changed by that guy. Now my mind is much clearer, as clear as when I was just born from my mother, without extra dopamine or adrenaline. The little head can't control the big head.

But I always feel like there will be new inspiration—Night City, your rock and roll king is back!”

The latest and fastest novels are at Liu 9 Shu Ba First!

Johnny stood in the hurried crowd like a runaway robot, raising his arms as if to embrace the entire underground city!

“But first.” Rogue took out a tablet and confirmed, “This place doesn't support idlers. There's no place for you to squat and think about composing and writing lyrics every day. You have to go to the assembly line.”

“Ah?” Johnny's raised arms froze, “I'm going to the assembly line?”

“Nonsense, do you think this place will support you, an outdated rock star? You can find your old buddies. If you want to form a band, I will apply to put you on an assembly line—I will manage you.”

Johnny was immediately discouraged, but even he wouldn't think of violating Riel's policy...

He could only resentfully think in his heart: What kind of personal charisma is this.

Following Rogue with his head down, Johnny looked even more like a robot with incorrectly installed drivers. Fortunately, Night City was now used to these strange robots.

“Uh, is that Johnny Silverhand?”

Jackie brushed past Rogue, looking at the robot following Rogue.

Riel pointed at the robot and said: “See? That's Johnny Silverhand. Okay, let's go after seeing the legend.”

“Doesn't it feel a bit embarrassing?”

“It doesn't matter if he's embarrassing, let's not be embarrassing. These are probably the only legends of Night City who are still alive. Get ready to deal with true 'legendary' warriors.”