The Creators: From Night City

Page 305

She didn't sit directly next to Jiang Bing, as that would be too deliberate and easily arouse his suspicion. Of course, she also couldn't sit too far away, as that would be like throwing her flirtatious glances at a blind man.

She sat down at a distance that was just opposite Jiang Bing, maintaining a safe distance while allowing him to see her at any time.

Unfortunately, Lady Luck wasn't on her side today.

Before she could even incorporate the flirtatious behavior logic from Song Qianqian into her own persona, a man and a woman suddenly appeared and joined the fray.

“Hey big guy, don’t be so rude.” A French woman wearing a golden leather coat, but with most of her breasts exposed, teased Mann by gently pressing her hand against the arm she was using to block him.

"I just want to chat with this handsome guy, nothing serious, you don't need to be so nervous." This hot girl wore black lipstick and a half-heavy smoky eye, and spoke in a sticky, indistinct way, but her personality was surprisingly direct and unrestrained.

"Li De, there are two troublemakers." Alex held his wine, seemingly calm, but his heart was pounding with anxiety.

“I saw it. Keep calm and try to get information from these two people. I’ll contact Eagle’s Nest to check and see if they are ordinary people or if they’re here to cause trouble.”

"Look, my clothes are very revealing, you can't even hide a knife. You don't need to worry that I will harm your boss. Besides, you're just blocking this beautiful woman here without even asking your boss's opinion."

The other party was trying to persuade Mann, the bodyguard, by appealing to his emotions and reasoning.

"Let them come over." But what really prompted Mann to take action was Jiang Bing's order.

“Un beau mec (handsome guy), you’re so considerate.” The French hottie walked past Mann’s blockade and sat down in the seat to Jiang Bing’s left, right next to him.

“I am Aurora Cassel, and this blockhead is my brother, Emeric.” The other person immediately brought his face less than ten centimeters away from Jiang Bing, his long eyebrows and dazzling purple-black lipstick so alluring that they seemed to want to pierce straight into people’s hearts.

"Handsome, what's your name?"

Jiang Bing, aka "Sabur Lerek," remained completely unaffected by the other party's provocative behavior, calmly sipping his drink.

Even though he had already realized that the two men were frantically collecting his facial data using their prosthetic eyes.

"Did you need something?" Jiang Bing initiated the conversation.

"Can't we get to know each other if there's nothing wrong?" The other person extended her hand, adorned with an expensive gemstone and gold ring, and intimately caressed Jiang Bing's hand, continuing her provocative behavior.

Of course, teasing is only one aspect of the other person's actions; touching his prosthetic hand is their true purpose.

But upon touching it, the other party clearly sensed something was wrong.

The texture doesn't feel right.

“Mr. Sabur, to be honest with you, I am a real estate agent and my brother is an accountant. The two of us, of course, mainly me, simply want to get to know you. After all, who wouldn’t want to get to know such an important person as the host, Monsieur Kurt Hansen, who takes the initiative to greet him?”

The other party spoke concisely and sincerely, but Jiang Bing knew that those who started with "To tell you the truth" were usually not telling the truth.

as predicted.

“Something’s not right. Be on high alert, Alex. These two are registered as real estate staff for a European bank in Night City, here on business. But Eagle’s Nest has found their real information. Except for their names, everything else is fake.”

"They are a brother and sister hackers from Kassel. They used to work in military technology, then switched to Peizhuo Petrochemical, and now they work independently under a European bank. They are currently wanted by more than a dozen countries for endangering cybersecurity. They are definitely not to be trifled with."

"Should we try to strike first?" Alex asked Li De, touching the small fist-shaped dagger hidden on the inside of his thigh in his pencil skirt.

"Stay calm. We still have the initiative. The person in charge of military technology can hold out for a long time. Let's listen to what they want to do first."

The hacker brother and sister didn't really intend to do anything. They came here at Hansen's invitation to make a deal, and their visit to Jiang Bingze was purely out of curiosity. After all, they had never seen anyone before who could make Hansen come downstairs to greet them.

You know, the arrival of the NCPD director, who was dressed as Santa Claus, with one arm around each of the two 'Christmas reindeer', didn't even make Hansen budge.

Of course, another purpose was simply to satisfy Aurol's 'romantic' needs.

The French are famous for their 'romantic' style, so it's not surprising that Aurore wanted to get to know Jiang Bing, a powerful, young, and handsome prodigy, better than anyone else.

However, their real intention was definitely to test Jiang Bing's strengths and weaknesses; the extent of his influence was merely secondary.

Chapter 613 First Steps into the Little Beidou Project

"Trying to sell me real estate?"

Jiang Bing was behaving like a perfect actor at that moment.

“I think Dogtown is a great place, a perfect location with excellent feng shui, especially the underground area, which looks very valuable.”

However, Jiang Bing's next sentence caused the hacker brother and sister's expressions to change drastically. They exchanged a glance, their expressions filled with surprise and uncertainty.

They both felt that Jiang Bing knew their true identity from the beginning, otherwise he wouldn't have said such targeted things.

"Mr. Sabur is indeed a man whom Colonel Hansen personally greeted; he is truly resourceful." At this moment, Aurol was rapidly exchanging opinions with his brother online while trying to calm himself down quickly in reality.

“Indeed, even the toilet seat that military technology has been trying to keep hidden has been lifted.” The older brother, Emeric Kassel, finally spoke his first words, but his tone sounded somewhat effeminate.

"If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place," Jiang Bing said, raising his hand to beckon the bartender who had been busy with his head down. People who work in this kind of place are all shrewd and know that there are many things they can't hear, otherwise they might lose their jobs permanently. So unless they are beckoned, they usually won't approach on their own.

"What would you like to drink? It's on me."

Jiang Bing did indeed have an unusual interest in these two hackers. Although their hacking skills could only be considered world-class, they had previously worked in military technology and participated in the research and development of the Dogtown underground "Little Beidou" project. They knew a lot of top-secret engineering information about this military technology's network-level counterpart to Soul Killer.

"I'll have a bourbon, my brother (mon frère) doesn't drink."

"Then give him a glass of real water." Jiang Bing tapped the table, signaling the bartender to put the bill in his name.

This Christmas dinner looked very luxurious, but many things were not actually free.

Aside from the standard drinks and meals provided at the banquet, guests will need to pay extra if they want something special to drink, something nice to eat, a few gambles, or even to chat with two or more 'Christmas reindeer'.

After all, Hansen isn't running a charity. If restrictions were lifted on such a wide-ranging dinner party, with all the high-end wines and ingredients offered for free, the total bill would probably be too much even for a nouveau riche like Hansen.

After all, that's human nature—greedy and insatiable.

As Hansen's guest, Jiang Bing naturally didn't need to pay for his drinks; Hansen would foot the bill. However, this didn't mean the bill was settled. After all, it involved accounting, overall revenue calculation, and profit sharing. It was impossible to make an exception for Jiang Bing; that would be too cumbersome and unnecessary.

By simply recording the expense under Hansen's name, we can avoid these unnecessary hassles and demonstrate Hansen's respect for important guests—a win-win situation.

The bartender naturally nodded in agreement and turned to prepare.

"Mr. Sabur is also interested in the things in 'Little Big Dipper'?" Aurora Cassel asked in a melodramatic tone, trying to tickle Jiang Bing's itch and get some information from him.

"Is the 'big seller' Mr. Hansen was referring to you?"

It's clear that the brother and sister had a very clear purpose for their trip: to investigate Jiang Bing's true intentions and see if he was involved in their upcoming deal with Hansen.

Seeing that Jiang Bing acted as if he knew a lot of inside information as soon as they met, the two of them had some subtle misunderstandings and speculations.

After all, they were invited by Hansen mainly because they had been in charge of the security of "Little Beidou" when they worked in military technology, and they held the "security key" to the core components of the "Little Beidou" project.

This is the commodity that is about to be traded, and it is also the proof that the two can obtain wealth from Hansen.

To ensure the smooth execution of the imminent transaction, the two hacker siblings were extremely cautious, diligently gathering all possible intelligence factors that could affect the deal, aiming to gain a thorough understanding of both sides and achieve victory in every battle.

After all, the reason these two notorious hackers have survived this long is because they are meticulous about details.

"That depends on what Hansen is going to sell," Jiang Bing retorted indifferently.

But neither of them could have imagined that their conversation was being 'seen' by Alex on the other side.

At this distance, and with the three of them deliberately speaking in hushed tones, Alex naturally couldn't hear anything useful, but that didn't mean she couldn't read lips.

In fact, this is also the main way that agents use to steal intelligence from a distance. This common agent method mainly uses the magnified scanning function of the prosthetic eye at a distance, combined with a special lip-reading program, which can basically achieve seamless interpretation of the vast majority of languages ​​in the world.

This method has been so widespread and enduring that it has become so common that almost every intelligence agent uses it, precisely because it is indeed simple, direct, and effective enough.

Alex had also installed the corresponding prosthetic components, so she could 'see' the entire conversation between the three of them.

"Li De! I have an unexpected bonus." After sending out the information, Alex was in a rather unpleasant mood.

The operation had only just begun, and she already felt there were too many strange 'variables' involved.

“The Little Beidou Project, huh? But that’s not surprising. A big reason why Hansen chose to build Dogtown here was because of the underground ‘Little Beidou’ research base.” Li De’s voice was unusually calm, without a trace of tension.

“But it seems he really did dig something amazing out of the ground, Alex. I’ll report this to higher authorities, but for now, let’s keep our attention on our target.”

"Here's your bourbon," the bartender said shrewdly, waiting for the three to finish their conversation before bringing over the prepared drink.

"Sir, your water is truly excellent."

It was clear that Jiang Bing and the hacker siblings were Hansen's darlings. After chatting for a few more minutes, a security guard from the Ghost Hound arrived and politely conveyed Hansen's wish to meet the two hacker siblings, thus separating the three of them.

However, rather than saying that Hansen wanted to see them, it would be more accurate to say that Hansen was afraid that the three of them might concoct something sensitive through idle chatter.

Jiang Bing held his glass of wine, but his consciousness sank into the electromagnetic waves that permeated the air.

If you run out of new entertainment, sneaking a peek at the chat logs of two FIA agents isn't such a bad idea.

While he was underwater, he suddenly felt a gaze fall on him from the side.

You should know that with Jiang Bing's current perception, let alone a gaze, even if someone whispers his name or prays to him silently within a certain range around him, he can sense it from a higher dimension.

Chapter 614 Mask

So he looked in the direction of the gaze and found that in a secluded corner, the middleman, Mr. Hans, was pulling a waiter along and talking to Jiang Bing while looking at his position.

However, he did not expect Jiang Bing to turn around out of thin air and accurately find his location. He was stunned and stood there for a moment.

"Is someone spying on me?" Hans suddenly had this thought, but he quickly laughed at his own idea.

He quickly realized what was happening, dismissed the waiter, and subtly gestured to Jiang Bing with his wine glass.

To be honest, Mr. Hanz's actions were quite discreet. It was clear that he was keeping a very low profile in Hansen's place and had no intention of greeting Jiang Bing face to face. He did this in order to avoid attracting the attention of others and to reduce his own presence.

But unfortunately, Jiang Bing is currently being closely watched by two top agents, and his every move is under their watchful eyes.

"Someone is greeting the target, Li De."

Sure enough, Alex immediately reported the new situation to his teammates.

"Where?" Li De naturally took the sudden situation reported by his teammates very seriously.

"At the booth on the right edge of the hall, there's a middle-aged man in a burgundy suit, but he only raised his glass and doesn't seem to have any intention of coming over."

“I see him. I know this man. He’s Mr. Hans, the well-known middleman in Dogtown. I didn’t expect him to be here too.”

"It's normal. The intelligence doesn't indicate that the target has a particularly large luxury goods smuggling business in Night City, so it's normal for them to know well-known middlemen in Dogtown."

“I’ll keep an eye on him. His girlfriend is watching the show right now and has no intention of leaving. You can go now, Alex.”

then.

"This is the Sexy Beach drink that lady ordered for you, sir," the bartender's polite voice drew Jiang Bing's attention back. "The lady said that your taste in drinks deserves a toast in recognition of your good taste."

Jiang Bing has no taste whatsoever. The Secret Beach drink in front of him, which is a gin and tonic transformed from a cocktail, was something he scribbled randomly on the drink menu. He doesn't like drinking it at all.

He naturally didn't like the Sexy Beach drink from the same series either.

As an experienced agent, Alex probably never expected Jiang Bing to act unpredictably.

Seeing the target look up at him, Alex quickly followed the data recorded in the behavioral characteristics, striking a pose that was three parts curiosity, two parts provocation, two parts inquiry, and three parts virtuous woman charm, and smiled at Jiang Bing with his face that could be described as a femme fatale.

Alex, as expected of a talented actress who has dreamed of becoming a famous Mewtwo actor since childhood, had a look in her watery eyes that were filled with a hint of spring and a heart full of curiosity, with nothing else to it.

She has reached the highest level of an actor, and even she herself feels that her performance is full of conviction.

Although her current face was generated by an algorithm, it is definitely not the kind of rigid, plastic surgery template face that internet celebrities have, but a beautiful face that has been carefully modified by professionals.

A full forehead, smooth cheekbones, and a refined jawline without the harshness of a professionally made-up face; clear and bright peach blossom eyes; and full under-eye bags that greatly enhance sweetness.

Add to that her infectious smile, derived from Song Qianqian's behavioral data, and her eyes, which were voted the most beautiful in Asia in 2076, and the whole image is simply captivating and naturally alluring.

It's important to understand that, with the support of advanced technology, the disguises used by modern secret agents are not just simple changes of appearance.

The prosthetic body used is not just a simple behavior trait synchronization panel. Special agents who are proficient in disguise often need to have their entire skin, bones, hair, and face specially modified with prosthetic bodies. This allows the modified agent to change their skin color, texture, and body proportions to a certain extent, making them a beggar version of 'Mystique'.

In addition to these, the behavioral feature spoofing system can autonomously correct behavior by loading the behavioral feature data of the person being imitated. The amplitude of the throat sounds, personal demeanor, language habits and even micro-expressions will be spoofed and adjusted together.

This isn't even the most impressive aspect of the prototype technology for this military application.

The behavioral characteristics system also synchronizes with the endocrine regulatory prosthetics in the imposter's body, thereby regulating the overall endocrine system, including the secretion of hormones, hormonal substances, and even dopamine, to achieve the closest possible resemblance to the person being imitated.

Therefore, Alex at this moment is not comparable to those 'works of art' that have undergone facial plastic surgery and have had a full set of rigid facial sculpting. She sits there, exuding a fresh aura from the inside out, making her look absolutely no different from a normal, beautiful young woman.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of the 'craftsman', she was as conspicuous as a husky wearing an Ultraman mask.

You can question Jiang Bing's aesthetic sense, but you cannot question the vision of a 'craftsman'.

So he simply smiled and nodded in response, and that was the end of it.

He was supposed to play along with the other person's performance, but he pretended not to see it, so he could only force an already nervous person to start an impromptu performance.

"Why are you ignoring me?" Alex approached him and leaned against the counter under Mann's wary gaze.

"Am I not pretty enough?" The voice of the character she was playing was that of a slightly lazy, mature woman, with a hint of arrogance that would make anyone's head and neck heat up at the same time, and their blood rush to their head.

"Of course not, I just have urgent business to attend to, madam." Since the person had come to him, Jiang Bing, the amused man, had no choice but to put on an acting show.

"I was so scared! I thought I'd lost my charm." Alex said coquettishly, but in the team voice chat, she roared, "Damn it, Li De, the target's emotions are incredibly stable. My behavioral data collection is completely stalled."