Chapter 172 You Have to Learn How to Lose Before You Know How to Win!
"V, this party will end in two hours. Then you can hide around here and wait for me to send you a message."
Song Zhaomei’s specific plan was for V to find a place to hide in advance when the guests here were about to leave the Gemstone Green Rooftop.
As long as Hansen gets rid of the extra ghost dog soldiers on this floor, the next thing will be easy to handle.
At that time, Song Zhaomei will naturally prompt V and ask him to sneak around to the designated location.
After Hansen took out the AI neural matrix device, she immediately launched an attack on Hansen and others!
Of course, close combat is not Song Zhaomei's strength, so she needs V's help. As long as they work together to kill Hansen, the matter is almost done.
During this period, Song Zhaomei will activate the black wall invasion protocol and single-handedly control the entire Dog Town's drones and mechanical devices, causing internal fighting in Dog Town.
When the time comes, the Nether Dog soldiers in Dog Town will be massacred indiscriminately by drones and combat robots, and they will be able to escape safely.
"In addition, when I use the blackwall intrusion protocol, you must protect me and not let anyone interrupt the running process of my program."
Song Zhaomei reminded V specifically.
This matter is very important, related to her life and death.
During the period of using the blackwall intrusion protocol, Song Zhaomei must devote all her energy to controlling those mechanical devices.
After entering the semi-real world and semi-cyberspace state, she has almost no melee capabilities.
Once someone gets close and causes damage, she is likely to be swallowed up by the black wall's backlash.
In addition, the overloaded information flow caused by using the black wall will also hit Song Zhaomei's whole body like a tsunami, and by then her body will become very weak and hot.
Yes, it's literally piping hot.
The material of Song Zhaomei's full-body prosthesis is a metal with strong heat dissipation properties, but even so, when she enters an overload operation state, her whole body will still be as hot as a fireball.
Coupled with the weight of Song Zhaomei's prosthetic device, she looks as light as a bird on the surface, but in fact, she may be heavier than the fat Deshaun who weighs 300 pounds!
Therefore, if it were a mercenary with average strength, there really would be no way to bring Song Zhaomei out of Dog Town safely.
"Okay, I understand."
V nodded and responded.
After learning about Song Zhaomei's specific plans and requirements, V suddenly understood why she chose him.
It is estimated that except for myself, there are really few mercenaries who can do such a difficult job.
However, if he really wants to carry out the next actions as Song Zhaomei said, then V can only sit and act as a puppet during these two hours.
Everything will change later, not to mention that V is still a borrowed fake identity.
If these Nether Dog soldiers conduct personnel inspections and discover that a person like himself does not exist, they will be in big trouble!
Fortunately, this problem that Song Zhaomei had not considered has been solved by Li De.
Because the specific task Li De assigned to V was to first kill the hacker brother and sister downstairs, and use their identities to continue to stay in Sapphire Green and get close to Hansen easily!
But if V wants to accomplish this task, he must explain the situation clearly to Song Zhaomei, otherwise they will still easily expose themselves in front of Hansen.
Therefore, V needs Song Zhaomei to actively cooperate with him to complete this matter!
But would Song Zhaomei really agree to let Li De and Alex suddenly intervene? If she chose to expose Li De to Hansen, wouldn't they all die?
Just when V was thinking hard about how to speak to Song Zhaomei, Li De, who was supposed to be lurking on the top floor of Baoshiqing, appeared behind Song Zhaomei at some point.
"Xiao Song, long time no see."
A low, hoarse, and aged voice sounded, and Song Zhaomei's attention was instantly drawn back to her.
When it became clear that the visitor was Li De, who had disappeared for a long time, Song Zhaomei's first reaction was guilt, followed by indescribable complex emotions.
Li De was the person who introduced Song Zhaomei to the CIA. The relationship between the two could be regarded as close friends like master and apprentice, and they also had a life-long friendship with each other.
But during the Chambi Building incident a year ago, Song Zhaomei, under the instruction of Miles, personally cut off all ties between Li De and the CIA.
This directly resulted in Li De being unable to contact any available forces from the outside world, including the CIA agents lurking in Night City, and he could only witness Li De's miserable death indifferently.
If Miles is the iron-faced judge who ordered the execution of Li De's life, then Song Zhaomei is the cold executioner who carried out this task.
And the person she was about to kill was her mentor and close friend who had known each other in life and death.
Although Li De did not really die due to a series of coincidences, few people could bear the pain of being stabbed in the back by a boss whom they respected and a disciple who regarded him as his own son.
Song Zhaomei can totally relate to this.
"Li De, I'm sorry...you, how are you doing recently?"
Song Zhaomei lowered her head subconsciously and avoided Li De's gaze directed at her in a dodge manner.
"I know your difficulties, Xiao Song."
"I never blamed you."
Li De could see that Song Zhaomei felt guilty about him, but he never hated Song Zhaomei, and he never blamed Miles for abandoning him.
Since the moment he joined the United Intelligence Bureau, Li De had understood that this was the fate of the United Intelligence Bureau agents, and he had to accept and get used to such pain.
"Today, V and I came here to help you, to help you get the AI neural matrix device and you out of Dog Town safely."
Li De certainly couldn't tell Song Zhaomei his intentions truthfully, and he wouldn't mention Miles' name in front of her.
He knew very well how much Song Zhaomei hated Miles and the United Intelligence Bureau as an organization, otherwise Song Zhaomei would not have let Hansen use missiles to shoot down the Sky-Sky One.
Li De's words surprised Song Zhaomei. She was a little confused whether Li De came here to take her to Miles or really wanted to help her.
After thinking about it, the silent Song Zhaomei chose to look at V on the side, trying to find out from V whether what Li De said was true.
There was no way, Li De was also a professional agent who had received rigorous training, and it was impossible to tell whether it was true or false just by listening to his words.
Only V, who knew the situation, knew whether what Li De said was true, so Song Zhaomei needed V's personal promise to guarantee Li De who appeared rashly.
Otherwise, she would rather let Hansen drag Li De out and shoot him now!
At this time, Li De also noticed Song Zhaomei's thoughts, and he also looked at V with suggestive eyes, hoping that V would keep this secret.
Don't leak secrets, everything is for the overall situation!
Facing the gazes from Song Zhaomei and Li De at the same time, V, who reacted quickly, immediately understood what they meant. After a brief thought, V nodded to Song Zhaomei:
"Yes, Li De and I are here to help you. This operation is too risky. With more helpers, our success rate will be higher."
"Just think of it as an insurance policy. It's best if it doesn't work. If it does, we won't suffer any loss."
After seeing that V was willing to guarantee Li De's words, Song Zhaomei reluctantly believed the other party's words.
She didn't have any opinion on Li De himself, but was simply responsible for her own freedom. Song Zhaomei didn't want any changes in this operation.
However, this did not mean that Song Zhaomei would completely relax her vigilance against Li De.
She knew Li De's loyal nature. If Li De really dared to suddenly attack her at a critical moment, Song Zhaomei was confident that she and V could deal with him together.
As long as V was on her side, no one could stop her from escaping Dog Town successfully!
"Okay V, I believe you."
Song Zhaomei looked at V deeply, but fortunately she didn't realize that V lied to her.
When Li De saw that Song Zhaomei would rather believe V, an outsider, than what he said, he felt a little helpless and bitter.
For some reason, he had obviously given everything for the revival of the new America, but in the end, not only did he not get the honor he deserved, but he kept losing what belonged to him.
The recognition of his superiors, the trust among colleagues and friends, and even Alex's good impression of him were slowly disappearing.
But now is not a sentimental moment. His partner Alex is ready, and all he needs is V to follow him to deal with the two European hackers downstairs.
"Xiao Song, we need your help now, and you must know about this."
Immediately, Li De told Song Zhaomei about his plan to assassinate European hackers and let V and Alex pretend to be Americ and Aurore.
When Song Zhaomei learned that they were going to complete such a risky action plan, she couldn't help but sweat for V in her heart.
This is too dangerous!
Aurore and Emeric are the top elites of the company. The IQ of this brother and sister is quite high. Even professional agents find it difficult to pry anything out of them.
Not to mention gaining their trust and favor, not to mention killing them in front of so many Nether Dog soldiers, this plan is no different from walking into a trap!
"I advise you not to do this. Aurore and Emeric are not stupid. What if your trick is discovered by others."
"I am afraid that I will be affected by you by then."
Song Zhaomei frowned. She was not optimistic about the plan arranged by Li De at all. The risk was too great. If you were not careful, all the previous efforts would be wasted.
Just when Song Zhaomei was about to refuse Li De's request, V suddenly smiled and said, "Don't worry, Song Zhaomei, I'll take care of everything."
"Li De's plan is feasible. Anyway, there are still two hours. If we don't take the initiative to do something, it's actually not safe."
V is as confident as ever. The people standing behind him at this moment are far more than Johnny Silverhand, but also the powerful Li Ang and LA Company!
This is where his confidence lies. In any critical moment, Li Ang will back him up.
Since V has promised her, Song Zhaomei also knows that she can't beat these two people, so she has to nod and agree to them.
"Okay, then, you guys pay attention to safety."
"Contact me as soon as there is a situation, don't be stubborn, and run away if something happens."
At this point, Song Zhaomei can only pin her hopes on V and Li De.
"Well, take care of yourself too, we'll see you later."
After the words fell, V and Reed immediately turned around and went downstairs, and hurried to the direction of the gambling table in the corner.
According to Reed's plan, V will take the initiative to chat with Aurore and Emeric, play two rounds of cards with them, and deliberately lose some money.
When the hacker brother and sister win, Reed, who is responsible for pretending to be a bartender, will serve them a few glasses of wine in time.
Of course, there is a trace of diuretic sprinkled by Reed in the wine, which will not take effect immediately, but will take effect after 20 minutes.
The advantage of doing this is that it can reduce Aurore and Emeric's suspicion as much as possible, and let them go to the toilet to relieve themselves.
At that time, Reed and Alex, who ambushed in the toilet in advance, will take the opportunity to assassinate them!
In the end, Alex will use a high-imitation mimic mask to disguise himself as Aurore Cassel.
V, on the other hand, waited for Reed's message and went to the toilet to disguise himself as Emeric Cassel.
Although the high-imitation mimicry mask device of the United Intelligence Bureau is not as powerful as the original version of LA Company, it can also achieve almost the same functions.
It's just that the anti-counterfeiting is a little poor, and advanced scanning equipment can detect them.
However, for a small place like Dog Town, Hansen probably doesn't need too advanced scanning equipment, so it's not a big problem.
"V, this is all I told you, you must remember it firmly, and there must be no mistakes, because we only have this one chance!"
Reed's expression became more serious than ever. Today may be the last mission he will perform in his life. He doesn't want anyone to make the slightest mistake.
In this plan with many details and great difficulty, V is the most critical person, and the success or failure depends on V's performance!
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
V's mentality is quite relaxed. He has handled at least 800 of the more difficult commissions than this one.
It's just playing with two hackers. What's the big deal? It's easy for him.
"Then it's up to you!"
After that, Li De and V officially started to act separately. V went to find the European hacker pair to play cards, while Li De put on a bartender's clothes to make it easier for him to deliver the drugged drinks.
After a while, V walked to the gambling table in the corner of the hall. There were not many guests who came here to gamble, only the European hacker pair.
The reason why Auror and Emeric sat here to play cards was that they were bored, but they didn't want to have unnecessary contact with other people.
After all, none of the dignitaries who came here to attend the party were easy to mess with.
"You two, do you mind if there is one more player here?"
At this time, V took the initiative to talk to Auror and Emeric, and his words and deeds revealed absolute confidence and calmness.
This made Auror, who was already bored with playing cards, immediately interested.
Who would refuse the initiative of a handsome guy to talk to them?
"No gambling table is unwelcome to players. As long as you are not afraid of losing everything but your underwear, you can sit down and play at any time."
Aurore looked at V with interest. She was trying to judge the other party's true identity from V's outfit, appearance, words and deeds.
Emerick kept his mouth shut and stared at V who came out of nowhere without saying a word. Obviously, he was also observing V and secretly guessing the other party's identity.
"Real players will not only accept the result of 'winning'. They must get used to how to 'lose' before they can really learn how to 'win'."
V responded to Aurore with a smile and exchanged 100,000 euros in chips from the dealer.
"Wow! Brother, did you hear it? What this handsome guy said seems to be quite interesting!"
Aurore said to Emerick in a sexy French that was as smooth as Dove.
She was a little interested in V.
Aymeric didn't say anything. He just stared at V from time to time, but more often he was observing the game on the gambling table.
Seeing that Aymeric was still on guard against him and his attention was on the card table, V simply invited him to gamble.
"Since you two are also players who come here to relax, why don't we play two cards."
V took the initiative to attack the European hacker in front of him: "If I lose, you will take the money away. If I win, you will buy me a drink. How about it?"
Hearing that there is such a good thing in the world to pick up money for free, Auror was immediately happy and agreed with a smile.
However, before accepting V's invitation to gamble, out of courtesy, Auror did not forget to introduce himself to V briefly.
"My name is Auror, he is my brother Aymeric. My brother doesn't like to talk much unless you can talk about a topic he likes, hehe."
After speaking, Auror had asked the dealer to prepare to deal the cards. The gambling game they played was very simple, just a pure competition of points.
Since the dealer randomly draws cards during the card dealing process, there is no technical competition, and the victory or defeat depends entirely on luck.
"For a man like Mr. Emerick who is very frugal with words, I think the results of the gambling on this small card table would not be worthy of his attention."
V took the initiative to turn the topic to the silent Emeric, and as expected, the other party immediately turned his head and looked at V as soon as he heard V's words.
Seeing that the other party had taken the bait, V was secretly happy.
According to the information provided by Alex, Emeric, who works at the World Satellite Communications Network, has a strong interest in current affairs.
To put it bluntly, he is a keyboard politics enthusiast, and he usually likes to talk to people about the game of companies and the confrontation between big men.
But there are not many people here who talk about topics related to current affairs, so Emeric is silent.
Immediately, V tentatively talked about Hansen, who will definitely be favored by the Cuban Group and European companies after shooting down the Sky-Sky No. 1 airship.
From then on, he will soar to the sky and will become a big man in the future.
Sure enough, when Emeric, who disdained Hansen, heard that V actually praised such a small warlord, he could not suppress the keyboard politics soul in his body.