At night, in the Black Hole Restaurant.
Gloria looked at the delicious dishes on the table, more than half of which had already been eaten. In the end, she couldn't hold back and let out a small burp, quickly covering her mouth as her face flushed red.
She glanced around and saw that the boy who had excused himself to take a call still hadn't returned. Now she was the only one sitting at the starry black-cloth-covered table, and fortunately, no one had witnessed her embarrassing little moment.
As the memory of her undignified action replayed in her mind, Gloria couldn't help but feel a surge of shame welling up inside her.
She had originally come here to negotiate, yet her attempt to uphold any shred of dignity had been utterly dismantled by the boy across from her with just a few casual words and gestures.
She had wanted to rely on her status as an elder to maintain some kind of advantage, but that intention had completely collapsed the moment Lin Mo appeared. From start to finish, he had held the upper hand.
When the dishes were brought out by the waiters, Gloria had tried to maintain her poise and planned to eat only a little.
[Promotional text omitted for clarity.]
But once she tasted the food, those thoughts went out the window. As a typical Night City resident, raised on synthetic food her whole life, she had never imagined real food could taste this good. The tenderness of the meat paired with the sauce, the freshness and sweetness of the vegetables, the smooth, melting ice cream...
Every bite felt like someone was gently massaging her brain. Dopamine flooded her mind, and joy surged forth.
In this era of technological advancement, aside from the mass-produced synthetic meals for everyday folk, molecular gastronomy had developed steadily. Flavors calculated with high-tech precision, every molecule of the dish balanced by machines. Combined with AI trained on the culinary techniques of every known master chef, each dish was guaranteed to satisfy every palate.
Even the pickiest food critics might only find one fault: "There's no human emotion in these meals."
Gloria held her chopsticks and stared at the half-finished spread on the table.
She still wanted to keep eating, but her stomach was already bursting. There was simply no more room.
"Why hasn't that kid come back yet?"
She glanced around again. The massive restaurant felt eerily empty, and the boy had vanished somewhere. With the holographic projection tech enhancing the surroundings, she looked like a lone traveler floating through the void of space.
Now that the dinner conversation had gone smoothly, Gloria had to admit: the boy had a certain undeniable charm. Though he carried himself with the presence of someone superior, he lacked the usual arrogance of a rich kid.
During their casual chat, he had shown her — his friend's mother — great respect. When he noticed she enjoyed the food, he didn't even need her to say anything; he simply smiled and signaled the waiter to bring more.
To help her save face, he'd even eaten plenty himself.
Just as her mind drifted off, a soft door sound echoed through the restaurant. She immediately looked up to see a small door open at the edge of the "universe" — and Lin Mo stepped out.
"Sorry about that. Someone called with a bit of trouble, and I had to help them out. Took longer than expected," Lin Mo said, walking gracefully through the "cosmos" with a faint, apologetic smile.
"Was it work-related?" Gloria asked.
Lin Mo pulled out his chair and sat down. After a moment's thought, he decided not to hide it and answered candidly:
"Yeah. Some of the studio members ran into a little issue, so I stepped in to handle it."
Since Gloria was going to be the public face of the studio, once she got involved in the operations, there would be no hiding things from her.
Gloria nodded in understanding.
"I get it. You're already running your own studio at such a young age — you must face a lot of problems and challenges."
"But I still want to ask… will the work we do at the studio involve... violence?"
At this point, a trace of unease crept into her expression. She looked at Lin Mo anxiously, waiting for his answer.
It was clear: even though Lin Mo only wanted her as the studio's public figure, she had already sensed that the nature of this operation wouldn't be so simple.
Without hesitating, Lin Mo answered truthfully: "Yes."
"Then… is David also involved in these dangerous things?" Gloria's expression shifted to panic.
"There's always going to be risk," Lin Mo said patiently. "But Auntie, I've told you — I'll do everything in my power to keep both you and David safe. I won't let anything happen to him. And this is also his own decision. As his only friend at the academy, I could never treat him like some pawn and cast him aside..."
Lin Mo did his best to reassure her.
He knew that her greatest weakness was her son. They had relied on each other for so long, and convincing her as an outsider wasn't going to be easy.
But with the help of the simulator — which allowed him to preview future events — he was confident he wouldn't let any tragedy happen to those close to him.
So when he said he would protect them, it wasn't an empty promise. He had the means to back it up.
Of course, he couldn't reveal the existence of the simulator.
So the only strategy left was to shift the burden — to emphasize that "this was David's decision." That way, it would become a matter between mother and son, letting Lin Mo step back.
As expected, when she heard that it was David's own choice, Gloria couldn't say anything. She lowered her head and fell silent for a long while, then finally let out a sigh.
"Please take care of him, Lin Mo. I'm counting on you."
"Don't worry. I will." Lin Mo smiled, relieved, then steered the conversation elsewhere.
"By the way, Auntie, I have something else I need to take care of soon. So how about we decide on the studio's location now? Where do you think would be best?"
Gloria bit her lip, caught off guard by the question.
But since she'd be the studio's "owner" on paper, the decision of where to set it up should indeed be hers.
"If you're not sure yet," Lin Mo offered helpfully, "why not choose Santo Domingo? You already live there, so your commute would be easier. I'm not that familiar with the area, so I'll leave the exact address up to you. Of course, you can also ask David's opinion."
Lin Mo smiled as he spoke.
Truthfully, the exact location didn't matter too much to him.
Eventually, when the studio expanded, they'd need branches all over Night City anyway.
He suggested Santo Domingo mostly because it was close to the Badlands and had more open space.
Corporations didn't have as much control there compared to other districts. The dominant gang in the area was 6th Street — a group with a fairly "moderate" reputation.
"I'll think about it," Gloria replied. "But what about the costs...?"
"You don't have to worry about that. Just let me know what you want. If you'd like, I can cover the cost of renting out an entire floor of this commercial building we're in."
Now that they were talking about something he excelled at, Lin Mo's confidence returned. He smiled, lacing his fingers atop the table like a seasoned negotiator.
An entire floor...? How much would that even cost?
Gloria's eyes widened slightly. She stared at the boy across from her in disbelief.
She didn't know much about real estate, but she knew enough to understand this building was in a prime district. For most people, owning even a tiny space here would be a lifelong dream. At best, they might scrape by renting something.
Yet Lin Mo sounded like he was planning to buy an entire floor outright?
He was really entrusting her with that much money?
While Gloria was still frozen in shock, Lin Mo's brows suddenly furrowed. His gaze turned distant, as if he were staring at a data panel only he could see.
Silence fell between them.
After a long pause, his expression still hadn't relaxed. With some concern in his voice, he turned to Gloria and said:
"I'm really sorry, Auntie. Something urgent just came up — we'll have to cut tonight's talk short."
"Did something happen?" she asked.
"Just a small issue. I'll handle it. Sorry I can't stay longer."
Lin Mo gave a slight nod, stood, adjusted his appearance, and walked swiftly toward the restaurant's exit.
"Oh, right — I already paid for the reservation tonight. The restaurant will also arrange a car to take you home. I'll leave it here for now. If anything comes up, feel free to call me."
Before Gloria could ask anything else, Lin Mo was already walking quickly away, leaving her stunned in her seat.
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MY CYBERPUNK 2077 SIMULATOR
🧠💻 MY CYBERPUNK 2077 SIMULATOR 💻🧠
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📢 SYSTEM ONLINE! 📢
My Cyberpunk 2077 Simulator has 100+ chapters ahead available on Patreon! 💾🔥
Enter Night City with a simulator, a system, and the kind of advantage most mercs would kill for.
But this is still Night City.
And in a world ruled by corpos, bullets, chrome, gangs, and cyberpsychos, even a cheat-like power doesn't guarantee survival.
⚙️ Level up.🔫 Fight harder.🌃 Stay alive.💀 Or get swallowed by the city.
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🌃 Cyberpunk: Dogtown Legend🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless👩👦 Cyberpunk: Lucy Adopted Me and I Got a System🤖 My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew?🛡️ Star Wars: The Rise of Mandalore🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past🏰 Game of Thrones: Secrets Beneath the Dreadfort⚡ The Rebirth of Harry Potter🌹 R18: Reincarnated in Her World
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