Emily tiptoed toward Liam Carter's room, just a short distance away.
As she got closer, the vague sounds she had been hearing became clearer.
Though she had no personal experience, she had dedicated herself to scientific research.
But as an adult, she knew exactly what those sounds meant.
What's more, the intoxicating charm in them made her inexplicably hot, her pretty face flushing red.
The closer she got to Liam's room, the sound of V and Liam intertwined grew louder and louder.
Then suddenly, the room fell silent.
Everything around her became eerily quiet.
Emily froze.
Was it already over?
She had just arrived!
As she squatted near the door, still bewildered…
The door swung open.
Liam, shirtless and wearing only shorts, stood in the doorway, looking down at Emily with a strange expression.
With his heightened senses, Liam had already detected movement outside the door.
So, naturally, he had stopped his entertainment project in progress.
Sure enough—walls have ears.
The two locked eyes, and the air filled with an awkward silence…
After what felt like an eternity, a scream shattered the villa's tranquility.
"Ah! You pervert!"
Emily shrieked, spinning around to cover her flushed face.
Even though she had dissected many corpses and had seen all sorts of things…
This was very different from a dead body!
Hearing Emily accuse him as if she were the victim, Liam wasn't angry—just exasperated.
"Hold on. Let's get this straight."
"You were sneaking around, eavesdropping on us and spying on our privacy!"
"I... I... I..." Emily, usually quick-witted, found herself stammering, unable to form a proper argument.
She couldn't exactly say that the company had ordered her to gather Liam's genetic information, could she?
The instructions had been clear: Do it without disrupting Liam's normal life.
So today, she had no choice but to take the fall for this mistake herself!
"What's wrong? Got nothing to say?"
"Still not leaving? Want to come in and join us?"
"You scumbag! You disgusting pervert!"
With a loud bang, Emily bolted from the scene.
In the blink of an eye, she had retreated to the master bedroom.
Liam was left standing there, amazed at her speed.
The night passed, and as the first light of dawn crept in, Liam received a message from Rogue.
"You got what you wanted. Come pick up the chip anytime."
Reading the message, Liam didn't waste a second.
He threw on his clothes, washed his face, and headed straight for the teleportation point.
Less than ten minutes later, he arrived at The Afterlife.
"Fast. You must've been nearby," Rogue remarked, handing over the chip.
"Everything's on there. You'll be satisfied."
"I'll have to check for myself." Liam smirked and inserted the chip into his neural socket.
Immediately, several red message boxes popped up.
One displayed a live feed of Kansas Stevenson.
Another marked his current location.
"The secret Militech stronghold—on the far side of the Badlands' Broken Bridge," Rogue explained. "Their anti-aircraft defenses are top-tier. You'll need a strategy to get past them."
Liam nodded.
He had some memory of this place.
It was still part of the original game map, sitting on the northeastern edge beyond the Broken Bridge.
Back then, players had tried to explore beyond the bridge using various glitches, only to find nothing.
Clearly, the devs never intended to add anything there.
But in the real world? That was a different story.
Broken Bridge. Grand Canyon. Anti-Aircraft Defenses.
Put those three together, and it was obvious—Militech had hidden something valuable on the other side, preventing prying eyes from Night City.
Liam shifted his focus to the last message box.
Inside was a rough map of the facility, along with possible locations where Kansas might be held.
This was exactly what he needed for the next phase of his plan.
Rogue continued, "The Militech facility is primarily built around a small-arms assembly line, supporting their Night City branch."
"So, expect some serious firepower. Be careful if you're planning anything big."
Liam grinned. "That's fine. The more they invest, the harder they'll cry when I take it from them."
Seeing his confidence, Rogue just shook her head. "I was as cocky as you when I was younger."
"Anyway, that's all I can do for you. The rest is up to you."
"That's more than enough." Liam pocketed the chip and left The Afterlife.
Watching him go, Rogue fell silent.
She had done her part. If Liam and his crew actually managed to pull this off…
Night City might just witness the rise of its next legend.
Back home, Liam wasted no time.
He immediately called up Takemura and Jack.
Breakfast was ready, and everything they needed had arrived.
With Shockwave's help, the data was copied and distributed, and the team began strategizing over breakfast.
"Our top priority is getting Kansas out—dead or alive," Liam stated. "But we must retrieve his body so Kang Tao can confirm the extraction."
"So we'll split into two teams: I'll sneak in to find Kansas. Goro, you and Jack will locate and disable the anti-aircraft control platform."
"V, you'll stay on Shockwave and wait for their signal."
"As soon as the anti-air defenses are down, the hovercar will land on the central platform, and we'll regroup there."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Only Emily raised her hand. "What about me?"
Silence.
All four men turned to look at her in unison.
Takemura folded his arms. "Miss Emily, this mission is extremely dangerous. It would be best if you stayed home and watched cartoons."
"Pfft…" Liam nearly spat out his coffee.
Takemura's serious tone didn't make it hurt any less—if anything, it made the insult worse.
Stay home and watch cartoons? Oof.
"Hmph! I'm not useless! And Liam's hovercar is perfectly safe!" Emily huffed in protest.
Sure, she looked small.
But Liam's hovercar wasn't just any vehicle—it could transform into a combat-ready bot with energy cannons and whip-like arms.
No one could touch her while she was inside it!
"Actually… bringing her isn't a bad idea," Liam said after a moment of thought.
"Emily, you and V will stay in the hovercar. Use your cybernetic eyes to scan enemy distributions inside the facility."
"If you can pull that off, it'll be a game-changer."
"Deal!" Emily beamed, full of confidence in her enhanced vision.
With the plan set, everyone finished their meal and got ready.
Luckily, they had their weapons prepped in advance—otherwise, they'd be scrambling after the last mission.
With everything in order, the crew boarded Shockwave and set course for the Badlands' Broken Bridge.
As the Militech facility loomed in the distance, Liam smirked coldly.
"You ready, Kansas?"
"I'm here to settle the score."..
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