In a restaurant in Heywood—or rather, a fast-food joint owned by local Mexicans, so the food was naturally spicy burritos and wraps.
But the prices were affordable, and the taste was good.
Sitting opposite Lucy, Jax was chatting with her.
Both of them had nothing to do today, no friends, and by chance, these two had come together and were having a surprisingly pleasant conversation.
But they had clearly agreed to talk about business, yet in reality, after arriving at the restaurant, Lucy and Jax were discussing personal matters.
"You've eaten fresh salmon before? Really?"
"Why would I lie to you? But if I had to recall the taste and texture, I've forgotten it now. I vaguely remember it being cool when it entered my mouth, and it seemed to be sweet. Other than that, I can't say, it was too long ago."
Lucy said, cutting a burrito with a knife, spearing a piece with her fork, and putting it into her mouth before speaking.
Lucy ate very elegantly, even though the Mexican burritos were typically a rough-and-tumble affair.
To put it this way, at the table opposite Jax, there was a man with his upper body bare and chest hair more abundant than his head hair, but if Jax only looked at Lucy, he would almost mistake himself for being in a high-end restaurant.
Elegant, beautiful, swallowing food in small bites.
Jax, however, was different. He grabbed the burrito directly and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing and swallowing it in no time. Fortunately, Jax didn't have the habit of talking while eating.
So, after swallowing, he continued, "I say, were you a young miss before?"
"…" Lucy fell silent. After a few seconds, she said, "I don't want to talk about that."
"You were the one who bragged to me about eating fresh salmon," Jax said, somewhat speechless.
"When did I brag to you?" Lucy asked.
"Isn't this bragging? Hey, forget about eating fresh salmon, I've lived in Night City for so long and haven't even seen a real live fish. Yet you're telling me you've eaten fresh salmon. If that's not bragging, then what is?"
Hearing Jax's words, Lucy suddenly smiled, but then immediately dropped her smile.
Instead, she said coldly, "I was just stating a fact to you."
"This isn't something worth bragging about."
Hmph, she's being cold again.
Jax snorted at this.
Jax didn't know too much about Lucy's background, as her identity wasn't explicitly stated in Edgerunners.
But what could be gathered was that Lucy was a mixed-race individual; her father was an Arasaka executive, a Japanese man, and her mother was a local from Poland.
As for why a Polish woman… that's naturally Trigger Studio's little trick. 2077 is a CD Projekt Red game, and CD Projekt Red is located in Poland, isn't it?
"Regarding that moon braindance, if you're not satisfied after watching it, I have plenty more you can borrow," Lucy said, taking a sip of "freshly squeezed" juice and looking at Jax. She added, "Authentic braindances are expensive, especially these numbered scenic braindances. To ensure the client's experience, high-end equipment is used during filming. By the way, what specifications is your braindance player at home?"
"An old brand worth a few thousand euros, and the effect… it's not bad," Jax said after some thought.
He had brought that device from the Moxes. Although it was only worth a few thousand euros, after Judy modified it, it was no worse than devices on the market costing tens of thousands of euros.
Smooth, no lag, high-definition picture, and a great viewing experience.
As for why a braindance costs nearly ten thousand, while a cheap instrument on the market can be had for a few thousand, well… think of it as a game console.
The machine costs a few thousand, and then authentic cartridges start at three or four hundred each. With that explanation, it should be understandable, right?
Braindances are like this in this world too, especially those filmed by legitimate film companies. Prices of hundreds, thousands, or even several thousands are very normal.
For example, among the braindances Jax bought today, the most expensive were the two related to the Danger Girl, due to legitimate companies, brand effect, celebrity effect, and so on…
"A few thousand euros, the effect would be too poor…" Lucy shook her head, but after thinking, she still didn't say that sentence out loud.
The date with Jax was just an accident. Inviting Jax… was also because Lucy hadn't eaten with anyone for too, too long.
Or rather, when she went drinking with Maine and the others that day, although she seemed resistant on the surface, after returning home, she sat blankly on the edge of her bed, hugging her feet and staring into space for an entire night.
That night, Lucy surprisingly didn't fall asleep relying on braindances as she used to…
Getting up and paying the bill, their meal cost a total of over thirty euros. For an affordable shop, even a lavish meal wouldn't exceed a hundred euros, as the store didn't even sell proper alcoholic beverages.
So, Lucy paid.
Although the young miss said they would split the bill, she ended up footing it.
As they left the shop, they were headed in different directions.
Lucy had been living in Heywood during this period; it was considerably wealthier than Santo Domingo and had a better environment, while Jax naturally planned to return to Santo Domingo.
But just as they stepped out, before they could part ways at the intersection, Jax suddenly leaned close to Lucy.
"Someone's following us," he whispered close to Lucy.
A warm breath brushed her ear, causing Lucy to raise her hand to adjust her hair, covering her ears. Then Lucy pursed her lips, the orange lip gloss caught between her white teeth.
She noticed her surroundings and then saw that there were indeed people in the crowd following her and Jax.
They were two unremarkable individuals, a man and a woman, but… Lucy had seen these two when she came out of the mall.
At this, a hint of anxiety flashed in Lucy's eyes.
She took a deep breath… a feeling of trepidation, unease, and nervousness arose in her heart.
Are they Arasaka… agents?
A guess formed in her mind, and Lucy suddenly felt that she had been too indulgent lately.
During these three months in Night City, she no longer fled all over the world as before, instead gradually adapting to the fast-paced life of Night City.
In fact, she had never stayed in a city for more than a month because she was afraid of staying in one place for too long.
But Night City was different…
Now, looking back, her life in Night City had been too comfortable, greatly lowering her sense of crisis.
Hesitantly, Lucy wanted to tell Jax that these people were following her, wanting to… let Jax leave early, but after thinking about Jax's strength, Lucy began to hesitate again.
Should she use Jax?
Involve Jax?
A moment later, Lucy seemed to make up her mind and opened her mouth to say something.
But Jax interrupted her; he spoke to her first.
"Let's go this way," Jax said to Lucy.
As he spoke, Jax was also thinking.
Are those two from the 6th Street Gang?
After he had spoken harshly to Gunner yesterday, did they actually remember him?
Jax snorted. Sure enough, when it's time to go crazy, you have to go crazy. If he had taken care of Reiner and his crew at the warehouse yesterday, the 6th Street Gang would still… forget it, they really would dare.
There's no shortage of lunatics in big gangs, and there are simply too many people in Night City who aren't afraid of death.
Don't think that you can conquer everything by just killing. New recruits can give everything to rise, and even a big boss can be dragged into the gutter by a new recruit.
Therefore, Jax grabbed Lucy's arm and led her into an alley.
Grabbed by Jax, Lucy instinctively struggled for a moment, but how could her strength compare to Jax's?
Jax was a monster who could open an iron door with his bare hands! With his potential overcharge activated, he could even tear through steel doors!
So, pulled by Jax, watching him lead her into the alley, Lucy gradually fell silent.
Then, she also calmed down.
Jax is very strong…
With him around, it seems she doesn't need to be so afraid of Arasaka agents?
Looking at Jax's not-so-broad back, Lucy thought to herself, This isn't me… actively involving you.