Chapter 278

Generally speaking, this is nothing.

If someone is gone, you can just hire another one. You don’t have to pay compensation. Anyway, there is no shortage of people who want to work for the company these days.

Even the vacant position itself can give the employees below a boost.

——You see, now the position of team leader is vacant, and the company wants to choose someone who is capable and willing to take responsibility from among you to take on this important task.

But who should be chosen?

Anyway, the opportunity is here, and it depends on your performance next.

As for whether it will end up with a lover who sells her beauty and just climbed down from the executive’s bed before work, that’s another story.

In short, it’s not a big deal.

But if the company executives are targeted, the problem is a little more serious.

After all, they have a lot of intelligence information.

——And as far as it can be seen, this is very likely, otherwise he would not have been notified.

But the most important thing is that the executives in Night City know something about him... plus the Chimera Box.

Even though Lin Qiao had previously erased part of their memories in order to hide their true identities, most people except a few knew that there was a mysterious person named BloodRiot inside.

But in order to facilitate their daily actions, they did not completely erase it.

Although the other party's purpose has not been figured out, it is inevitable that someone will follow the clues and find the door... This matter is a bit troublesome.

"The person who lost the data is a bodyguard named Maxim, and he is usually responsible for Tanaka."

"Oh, the fat guy in the product department."

"To be precise, it is the highest person in charge of the product department and a member of the board of directors."

Sasha sighed, but these are not important matters.

And given Lin Qiao's status, he really doesn't need to look down on Tanaka.

"In short, according to Maxim himself, some time before the data was stolen, he was betting on boxing in a nearby underground boxing ring."

"But because his favorite boxer died on the field, causing him to lose a large sum of money, he was depressed and went to the bar to get drunk. During this time, his boss also found him once."

"And this was also confirmed by people around him. The counterintelligence department also gave the same inference - the data was stolen between 5pm and 7pm, and the location was probably the bar where he was."

It is common to start in a chaotic place like a bar.

The noisy music around, plus the paralysis brought by alcohol...

Don't say it's just a small navigation chip on the back of the neck. Even if a scavenger walks in and drags a living person out, no one may notice it.

"Just tell me who did it."

"I don't know."

"Hmm?...Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately, we are still investigating, so we really don't know. Anyway, that's what the Counterintelligence Department said."

"..."

Good fellow, when Arasaka reported to his superior, he ended up saying he didn't know... Did the people in the Counterintelligence Department really think their salary was too high?

However, Sasha herself was helpless about this...but she didn't care.

- After all, she was not in charge of the investigation, she was just a mouthpiece at most.

"There was no surveillance in that bar, and the surveillance on the entire street was hacked in advance. In addition, there happened to be more people going there during that period. It would probably take a lot of time to check them one by one."

What's more terrible is that this kind of investigation usually has little effect.

Or to put it more bluntly, the other party may have achieved their goal and fled long before they finished the investigation.

- There is not much use in continuing to investigate.

This is the conclusion that Sasha came to based on her previous experience as a mercenary... This method is inexplicably familiar.

But before she could come up with anything, Lin Qiao interrupted her thoughts.

"Didn't the guy named Maxim see the thief?"

With today's technology, even if there is no surveillance to take direct photos, as long as the witness's description is detailed enough, the restoration degree is not 100%, but 90% is no problem.

"That's the theory, but he said he couldn't remember it."

And in fact, the problem lies here.

Although Maxim was drinking to relieve his sorrow at the time, he was not drunk to the point of being completely intoxicated - this can be seen from the fact that he answered the phone as soon as his boss called.

But his boss waited for more than an hour and didn't see him, so he reported it to the company.

When the Arasaka people found him, they found that this guy had been drunk in the bar.

According to the bartender, when this guy was about to leave, he started drinking with another person...

But Maxim himself had no impression of this, and even the bartender couldn't remember what the man looked like.

- Something is a bit abnormal.

It was precisely because of this that Arasaka sent someone to give him a comprehensive check.

And it was during this check that he discovered that his navigation data had been copied.

"Memory erasure, or mental control...?"

Because he was a good controller, Lin Qiao immediately suspected this.

But no matter which one it was, this could not be the ability of the natives of this world.

——Even the wandering AI could not do this.

"Is it the person you are looking for?" Seeing Lin Qiao frowning, Lucy reminded him.

In response, Lin Qiao looked at the system prompt and shook his head.

"It shouldn't be... at least not him."

The task given by the system is still in the first stage of the survival task.

This means that the distance between him and the other traverser is more than 80 kilometers.

—— From the rocket launch base to the bar in Santo Domingo, the distance between them must be less than 80 kilometers.

In other words, is this the vanguard sent by the other party to test?

"But why did they target Tanaka?"

Is there anything special about that fat guy?

Although he is indeed the highest person in charge of Arasaka's product department in Night City and a member of the board of directors, he can be said to be powerful and rich, but...

Well, thinking about it this way, there are quite a few reasons to target him.

"So what instructions do you have next? Director Abernathy means to let the counterintelligence department conduct a comprehensive search."

"Comprehensive search..."

Lin Qiao pinched his chin and thought about it. This is indeed a way to deal with it... but it doesn't fit his idea.

"No, tell the counterintelligence department not to make any big moves for the time being, and let them handle it according to the general situation, but keep a close eye on Tanaka's whereabouts."

Sasha hesitated for a moment, and she probably understood what Lin Qiao wanted to do: "You want to play the long game to catch the big fish?"

"Yes." Lin Qiao answered affirmatively.

After all, you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child, not to mention that this is not his own child.

As for this process, will Tanaka himself be in trouble...what does it have to do with him?

"One more thing--"

Just when Sasha was about to log off, Lin Qiao stopped her.

Listening to the faint smacking of lips on the other side, he could probably imagine Sasha's expression when she heard the bell for the end of get out of class, but was forced to stay after class by the teacher.

--I have to say, it is really interesting.

"Go investigate and see who sent the commission."

Chapter 346 David, a fledgling

The streets at two o'clock in the morning seemed unexpectedly lively.

Several sports cars stopped at the door of the bar. A group of people dressed wildly and looked like mercenaries, under the influence of alcohol and music, wantonly released the pressure they felt living in this hopeless dream city.

"Look at me to do a whole job for everyone!"

In the place where everyone's eyes were focused, Pira, who was responsible for livening up the atmosphere, seemed to be performing acrobatics.

With his arms that were much longer than others, he threw multiple bottles and plates into the air, and then caught them intact.

To be honest, this was a scene David had never seen before.

Because he had to go to Arasaka Academy before, at the request of his mother Gloria, he had always been a good boy who went to bed early and got up early.

Although he had inevitably been exposed to some places like bars, this was the first time to be honest.

The unexpected feeling was not bad...

But it was a little difficult to integrate into them.

"Good job, kid."

Just when he was still a little dazed, Manin came over with a bottle of beer in his hand.

Compared with his sturdy body, the beer in his hand was just like a milk bottle.

Just looking at his right hand holding the beer, David's left face hurt slightly.

"As a newcomer, today's work was done well, and the hands and feet were very neat."

David scratched his head: "It's just good luck. If it weren't for that person who showed up later..."

"So luck is also a part of strength, and even if he wasn't there, I arranged Rebecca to delay time."

Rebecca? Who?

David thought about it, it seemed to be the fierce little girl he saw in the clinic last time.

I didn't expect such a young child to come out to be a mercenary.

"So I passed the test?"

"Well, it's qualified, but the above is only for newcomers... But in Night City, newcomers don't live long."

Every year, there are a lot of newcomers who come to the fore, but less than one-third of them can survive a year.

Looking up and taking a big sip of ice beer, Man Yin breathed a sigh of relief, and then his tone became a little serious.

"Whether it's for yourself or for Gloria, you have to grow up quickly."

"I know..."

He nodded in a low voice. It was indeed as Man Yin said. He was now shouldering more than just himself.

David grabbed the beer bottle next to him, but just after two sips, his face changed because of the strange taste and he almost choked.

His embarrassed look made Man Yin laugh.

"By the way, this is your money this time, and..."

As a delightful number was transferred, Man Yin took out two small packages and placed them in front of David.

"This is an immunosuppressant and a muscle relaxant that K gave away at a discount. They are all in the instructions for use. They are all for one month's dosage."

"Although the latter one is about to expire, if you want to continue using Sian Westin, you still need this."

Even if the guy who sold this thing was suspected of clearing out the inventory, it was true.

It's just that these were originally prepared for him.

"Thank you." He took the two bags handed over by Man Yin.

Although their initial encounter was not friendly, it was even bad.

But after getting to know each other better, I felt that Man Yin was like a reliable and mature big brother.