John settled the final paynt and retrieved the Jurassic ZT15.
The armored vehicle carried a hint of freshly cleaned oil sheen, with all armor modules fully restored. The panel work was ticulous; minor scratches and speckled bullet marks had completely vanished.
John drove through the streets of the East District, using Black Light to rescan the system and the radar module to detect signals—no negative software implants, no puppet remnants, and no physical trackers.
Sure enough, you get what you pay for; both the speed and quality were indisputable.
Kaufuglanton's work was relatively clean, perhaps because Raphael had hinted in advance.
"F*ck, paid the Dan Street package too early; this seems way more damn cost-effective and reliable over here..."
John reminisced about his Eisenberg supercar, ntally cursing Bone Shards twice.
He confird the vehicle was correct and felt relieved, then recalled the conversation with Raphael, sending a ssage to Ryan Randall.
The doctor called back quickly.
He verified the relationship with Raphael, avoiding talk about his past as a rcenary—he didn't comnt on the offered olive branch nor offered any reminder.
Only then did John feel at ease, his artificial eye flickering as he deleted the doctor's chat window from the windshield, switching the interface to open Barry's recent email.
[Contact - Barry Kit [Unread ssages]]
[The Owl Town gang is getting burned out by a rampant AI. I reckon the news can keep blowing this up for another week. In such a critical mont, I thought their sex trade would be affected, but no, it's booming. Damn, what a joke—turns out staying pent-up is scarier than death...]
[The ss has been cleaned up by net supervision, but the real trouble is just beginning. The Owl Town gang lost a large batch of sex dolls and hasn't had a chance to replenish through normal channels. Soone sensed an opportunity and plotted sothing devious. Mole, that's his nickna, Ghoul background, a damn human trafficker. He abducts young won in the slums, drugs them to addiction, then sells them to the Owl Town gang.]
[I have an injured retiree underling, a cop, whose sister Xia Li, a cashier at a convenience store whom I've t, is a good girl and has been missing for over two days. No doubt Mole did it. I can't spare anyone, so I have to rely on you...]
[Your job is to rescue people, coordinates at the Sex Doll Club, intelligence says the kidnapped girls are placed in the underground warehouse. The Owl Town gang minions on site are all damn bastards, but I urge you to keep a low profile, as tensions are still high. Everyone's on edge.]
[The club is extrely dangerous. Normally, you'd pay rcenaries for this, but whether you like it or not, you've got to deal with it. You owe a favor from before, and once you rescue the person, we're even.]
[I'll emphasize again, John, the priority is to save lives. If you can simultaneously take out Mole... well, don't push yourself, but if you do succeed, there's an extra reward for you.]
After reading the ssage, John waved to embed the coordinates into the system.
[Series Task Black Cop: Forced into Prostitution]
[Reward: Compensation (Variable)]
Didn't expect it to be a series task.
The Jurassic ZT15 roared as it sped across the flashing yellow lights at the overpass intersection.
12:37 PM.
[Eden City - Sakura Cross Street]
Fire trucks and patrol drones were still hovering.
The municipal cleanup crew drove washing vehicles, emitting honking sounds.
John crossed the overpass, sparse traffic on either side. Under the sun, Eden City's skyscrapers looked slightly pale, and the billboards always seed faded and weak during the day.
The armored vehicle was set to external circulation.
The air was filled with a complex scent.
John switched modes, slowly decelerating, passing casually through a checkpoint marked with white numbers, turning into the Asian enclave, where remnants of gang skirmishes still lay on the streets.
Road workers held yellow glow sticks, wearing masks, watching equipnt pour asphalt into explosion-created craters.
Smoke billowed from the drainage and factory chimneys, cent walls adorned with fans several ters high. Filth trickled below, as gray blades whooshed out hot air.
Blood on graffiti and obstacles had been washed away.
John saw no bodies along the way.
The car's system played the morning news:
Last night, SAT suppressed rampant cyber lunatics everywhere. The Owl Town gang and Black Gold Gang were slaughtering each other, almost blasting each other's brains out, while Ghouls scavenged remnants till they were about to lose their shit...
John barely listened intently.
[Shop - Floating Life Kyoto Club]
This was the heart of Sakura Cross Street, the Owl Town gang's control zone. With the gang wars heating up, there were more modified vehicles and street thugs around.
[Task Objective Updated]
[Survey the Task Site. (Not Achieved)]
John got out at the street corner, pulling up his hood to block the scorching sun and cover his face, blending into the building blocks like a street thug.
Sakura Cross Street was a general term.
Specifically, it referred to the Asian enclave within the radiation range of the three cross-district bridges south of Chengxin Square.
The buildings here were compact and detailed.
Various cultural symbols clustered densely together, like seeing nurous pseudo-wooden structures, electronic sakura, and multicolored lanterns as common light sources in comrcial streets or alleys.
Skyscrapers blocked the scorching sun.
John walked in the alley, looking up to see wires and various cent structures crisscrossing between floors, chaotically entangled, middle and lower-level buildings wantonly growing, rging and fusing.
He walked over venting tal grates, brushing past gang thugs, mingling in a crowd with indifferent expressions and rampant eyes, occasionally needing to lift his foot to avoid stepping on trash, drunks, or holess people.
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