บท 204: A Sponsorship Delivered to Your Doorstep
[Caller ID: El Captain]
El Captain: Hey—Boss! You guys are finally back! Want to come by the shop for a visit?
Leo: Is there something up?
El Captain: Well, it's nothing major. One thing is to let Boss see our new business.
El Captain: If you want to talk business, there is indeed one thing. Boss, did you guys steal a Militech vehicle in the badlands?
Leo: Just a little sparring session.
El Captain: Boss, is this your vehicle? [Image]
The image is not very clear; you can only see a vehicle leaping over the heads of Militech soldiers under the moonlight, and a robust man is preparing to jump from the vehicle.
Leo had also seen this photo from Meredith: the Militech had leaked some false intelligence, mixing truth and lies to cover up for themselves.
The main reason was to cover their failures. After all, it's hard to hide something as big as the border wall being blown up. On the other hand, it was to mislead other companies and organizations into thinking they were effective.
Most of the circulated photos are fake, edited, but some have a high degree of authenticity; this one is genuine, though rather blurry.
However, one thing is clear: this vehicle is definitely not a Mackinaw, and it isn't even a Thorton vehicle.
Leo: It's ours; what's up?
El Captain: The Thorton company saw this picture, and they want you to continue using their vehicles.
Leo: Endorsement fee?
El Captain: Of course, it can't be less. What kind of role do you think Boss is playing? How can you work for free?
El Captain: Actually, Thornton is panicking; because of this incident, the stock trading center even put out some kind of Mackinaw concept stock, specifically to target gullible investors. Whenever it drops, they cash out, but they want to cut more.
El Captain: Of course, if Boss finds them annoying, we can forget about it.
Leo: Let's talk face to face; give me a location.
El Captain: Sure!
Leo didn't expect to receive a windfall as soon as he entered the city; that's a good thing.
This phone call also means that the Mackinaw has entered the vicinity of Night City and can now receive cell signals.
The bustling city occupied all three of their views once again. Without the Militech's jurisdiction, the elevated roads were clear and unobstructed.
V leaned out the window, and the wind that blew in was even more putrid than in the badlands, mixed with the acrid smell of chemical waste—
But this is the flavor of Night City, the taste of freedom!
"Woohoo! Night City!"
Suddenly, V noticed a gang-painted sports car pulling up alongside them. The people inside stared unblinkingly at the Mackinaw.
V immediately showed an unhappy expression: "Why do we run into trouble right after entering the city? Is driving a sports car that impressive?"
Just as she was about to draw her gun, the people in that car expressed their admiration—
"Wow, dude, you have good taste! Where did you get this battle-damaged Mackinaw modified? It looks just like the real thing! I mean, did you shoot this with a sniper rifle?"
V's hand, which was about to draw her gun, froze.
The guy in the sports car looked like a member of the Mixed Six Streets Gang, gazing at the Mackinaw as if it were a limited-edition sports car.
It seemed like V was the one in a sports car, and they were driving a beat-up van.
This completely baffled V.
"Quit with the bullshit; get your guns ready!"
The person in the passenger seat slapped the driver and the car immediately chased after a business sedan ahead, looking like another typical scene in Night City where a gang rookie planned to mess with a company dog.
However, the passenger also gazed enviously at the battle-damaged exterior of the Mackinaw.
A gunfight quickly erupted. The Mackinaw floored it, speeding past the conflict zone, leaving the explosions and stray bullets behind.
Boom!
Two more cars exploded behind them, the flames reflected on the glass, and a concept in V's mind exploded as well.
"Wait… Are we not driving a Mackinaw right now?"
Jackie nodded: "Real deal; just look at this logo."
"Then why do I feel like I didn't understand what they said just now?"
The Mackinaw was strutting down the street, and the people on the roadside had expressions of admiration. V seemed to see her former self in their eyes—
The old her would have looked at those flashy sports cars with the same expression; of course, she concealed it better than these people.
Could it be that the value of Mackinaw has increased?
V rubbed her ears and then heard the advertisement from the street:
"All-Food Burger King, grab the 'big guy' burger, passed down from the exclusive old brand of fifty years ago."
V rubbed her eyes and saw an advertisement featuring a terrified man in a suit, who was suddenly poked between two slices of bread by a hot dog.
V stared in shock: "What the hell is this?"
Leo also clicked his tongue: "All-Food can even pull this out of the patent archive; that's impressive."
Jackie nodded quietly: "Does this count as being on TV? I want to go home and tell my mom I was on TV; better not say anything.
Where are we going now?"
"To El Captain's modification shop."
You should never turn down a free sponsorship. Leo still owes over a million now.
The car stopped at an intersection, and the front was jam-packed with vehicles. For some reason, it seemed a bit too congested today.
Stop and go, the three of them continued to see many "familiar" advertisements.
Things like "Drive a Mackinaw, Enjoy a Legendary Life" and "Eat at Burger King, Taste the Delicious World" popped up continuously.
TN: lol burger king came back to life in cyberpunk
As they passed St. Domingo, several makeshift modification shops had put up signs: "Battle-Damaged Makino Style Modifications This Way, Burger King Fast Food 100 Meters Ahead, Turn Left."
The key point is that these shops were doing pretty good business.
On the street, several punks seemed to be waiting for vehicle modifications. One mohawk kid folded his arms, boasting to the others:
"Hey, you came to the right place; I know what a Mackinaw looks like, pitch black at first, then modified to red and black stripes.
I was there both times!"
"Why was it pitch black at first?"
"Are you stupid? They did a terror attack downtown the first time, would they drive the car out without repainting it? That would be asking for death!"
"Then why didn't they just change the car?"
"Duh! The quality of the car is good! You don't know that night; I saw the car drive past my house; I saw it clearly!
Stop wasting my time; black version 500 eddies, red and black stripes 1000 eddies, battle-damaged version an extra 500 eddies."
"Damn, is this paint made of gold or is the bullet made of gold?"
"Heh, where can you see what's real on the scene now? Most of the people there that night are dead; this is knowledge, patent, copyright fee!
If you think it's expensive, I think it's expensive too!"
The people coming to modify their cars looked the kid up and down, and when they lifted their heads to think, they just happened to see the trio's Mackinaw.
He suddenly pointed at the vehicle and asked, "Wow, that car looks just like the real thing, red and black stripes, bullet holes."
The hustler smiled disdainfully: "How could it be? That… that car is fake! A replica!"
"Then how is yours real?"
"Heh, I run a custom paint shop; would I sell you a fake paint job?"
"I'm asking you, is this paint job genuine?"
The kid suddenly became displeased, his alarm bells ringing in his head: "Are you deliberately looking for trouble? Are you modifying or not?"
"If this paint job isn't genuine, I definitely won't modify it! What if it isn't real?"
"If it isn't real, I'll tie it down and let the car run over it, alright?"
After saying that, the traffic light finally turned green, and the Mackinaw slowly drove into the street. A white Mizutani Shion MZ2 sports car suddenly turned the corner and respectfully followed alongside the Mackinaw.
The Mizutani Shion isn't rare in the core urban area, but it's not often seen in St. Domingo—
Especially this white and black painted car, the infamous rookie fixer El Captain is known to own.
And everyone knows El Captain has a close relationship with those three brothers.
Doubtful and unkind glances were cast towards the kid who had been boasting earlier, and the latter panicked: "It's acting! It's definitely acting!"
Just as he finished speaking, the Mizutani Shion rolled down its window, and El Captain Muamar respectfully leaned out, saluting the Mackinaw before the car drove ahead to lead the way.
The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
The modification kid turned pale; just as he wanted to run, a few punks pinned him to the ground, signaling their companions to bring out the car—
The sound of screams echoed through the streets, blending with the roar of engines before falling silent.
Jackie shivered: "Do people get called like this every day in St. Domingo? It's way too eerie."
Leo and V nodded in agreement.
In broad daylight,
What the hell is this?
TN: alright I'm done goodnight
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