"Good evening, everyone. Welcome to WNS News. I'm Arif Yinkbal."
"Tonight, we have several important public service announcements. First, a homicide case near the Corporate Plaza in City Center. The victim was the Director of the R&D Department at Moore Technology, male, found at the Anning Apartments on Congress Street, City Center."
"According to reports from our field journalists, after a joint investigation by Moore Technology and the NCPD, it was discovered that before the murder took place, an unidentified group of thieves had broken into the victim's home to steal property. Once discovered by the victim, the group immediately fled the scene."
"However, the matter didn't end there. At approximately 23:15 last night, seemingly shamed by the discovery of their attempted theft, a hitman infiltrated the apartment building once more. At the time, the victim was preparing to go to bed, when the killer—already lying in wait in the bedroom—assassinated him."
"From current reports, the assassin had implanted the so-called 'time killer' Sandevistan cyberware—this was the key to his ability to infiltrate the building again. The implant allows… Currently, the best Sandevistan models on the market are produced by Dinara and Zetatech..."
"Moore Technology has stated they will use all available intelligence resources to hunt down the mastermind behind the attack. Any criminal daring to offend the dignity of the company will face justice—Night City's laws will not permit such behavior..."
"As of now, the motive of these criminals remains unclear. However, given that Moore Technology is about to release its new Berserk cyberware line, industry insiders speculate this may have been an act of corporate retaliation…"
"Moore Technology's Chief CTO, Royne Levac, will be arriving at the Night City branch in several days to personally attend the launch event for the Berserk Mk.3 cyberware module. This will be the first Mk.3 Berserk unit to debut on the market..."
"..."
"Thank you for watching WNS News. We'll see you next time."
In Japantown's Turbo Diner, a television hung from the wall near the ceiling.
On screen, a well-dressed male anchor in a crisp suit delivered last night's news with a stern face, his voice clear and serious.
In the corner booth, Lin Mo sat back casually on the sofa seat, looking relaxed as he sipped juice from a bottle through a straw, utterly at ease.
His gaze lingered on the TV, calmly watching his "masterpiece" from the night before.
"Hao," Lin Mo asked, "don't you think what we did last night was a little too high-profile?"
Across from him, Kitagawa Hao—also seated comfortably—paused his movements. He had been peeling and slicing a few tangerines with a small fruit knife.
Wiping his hands clean with a napkin, he picked up the neatly arranged tangerine slices and set them in front of Lin Mo, answering with quiet seriousness:
"Lin-kun always acts with caution. How could that be called high-profile? This sort of thing can't be hidden forever. Taking out the head first was a wise move. Now that the target is dead, what can Moore Technology and the NCPD really find beyond a few security records?"
Lin Mo thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.
Indeed, as Hao said, from start to finish their operation had left no loose ends. Even the victim—Goodwin—had no idea why he'd been targeted.
No one could possibly guess that it had all started from a line of simulated incident text displayed in a Braindance headset.
Perhaps something in Goodwin's past had caught the attention of Moore Technology's director.
That night, had Lin Mo gone to Yu Jin Restaurant, Goodwin might have recognized him. But he chose the Black Hole Restaurant instead, and contact fell instead to Kitagawa Hao.
As for the final infiltration and assassination, Lin Mo was certain he had disabled all cameras along the way.
Yet the news claimed the killer had a Sandevistan, meaning some hidden cameras had survived… but still, nothing could be traced back to Lin Mo.
After all, what did the deeds of "Mr. Shadow" have to do with Lin Mo?
With Sandevistan time-dilation and careful disguise—aside from carrying a katana—there was nothing to connect him to the crime.
Even so, after some reflection, Lin Mo admitted the move had been reckless. To break into someone's home without a word and cut them down—however swift the vengeance—was not without risks. Best to keep such acts to a minimum in the future.
He still wasn't at the max-level strength of V—caution was a necessity.
Seeing Lin Mo still deep in thought, Kitagawa Hao chuckled and added:
"Lin-kun, still worrying about the future?"
"A little," Lin Mo replied, shaking his head and pushing aside those messy thoughts as he took a slice of tangerine.
"Nothing is ever perfect," Hao said. "Your approach was solid. Don't be fooled by Moore Technology's tough talk on the news. They won't waste serious resources chasing a director's killer."
"This is Night City, not Moore's European HQ. Incidents like this happen all the time here. Grab any random street punk and chances are there's an NCPD bounty on them—assaulting corpo reps, robbery, smuggling. The badges know exactly how it works."
"And yet people still live just fine. Corpo execs get kidnapped or murdered now and then, and Night City remains Night City. Even in chaos, the streets have their own rules."
Spoken like a man who'd been around.
Lin Mo nodded faintly, taking it as Hao's way of easing his mind. Still, more caution never hurt.
Hao seemed encouraged by Lin Mo's acknowledgment, his lips curling into a smile as he spoke with more enthusiasm:
"Lin-kun, you're still young, but already you act with such foresight. I'm certain our crew will only grow stronger from here..."
"Mm, yeah, sure," Lin Mo replied calmly, sipping his juice as if long used to Hao's tone.
The longer they spent together, the more the Japanese man seemed to admire him. Even casual gestures were read as signs of deeper meaning.
"...Lin-kun, perhaps you haven't noticed, but your caution permeates every part of your life. Take this juice, for example—you're using a straw so the sugar doesn't erode your teeth, aren't you?"
Lin Mo: "..."
For once, he had no words.
"Alright, enough of that. Let's go check on things outside. I wonder how David is getting along with Jackie and the others."
Lin Mo cut off Hao's musing and turned to look out the diner's window at the small parking lot.
Tonight, the Japantown streets around the diner were as lively as ever.
Street stalls dotted the sidewalks, rough-and-tumble edgerunners resting and mingling. Among them was Maine's crew.
Lin Mo spotted the boy with the makings of a legend, now being led around the food stalls by that loudmouthed Heywood bruiser—big brother showing little brother the ropes.
"Looks like those two are hitting it off just fine."
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