Players Invade Cyberpunk-Chapter 711 - 229: We Are the World

Something feels off about the atmosphere in Night City recently.

Anyone a bit sensitive will notice that there seems to be more red on the streets.

Not blood, not neon, but some stickers.

They mostly appear on some street vendors' carts or on mercenaries' clothes.

Those mercenaries call them—New Year's set.

No one really understands what it means, but the streets of Night City have visibly become more lively.

Until around February 3rd, many people realized it was Horizon Corporation organizing some New Year's celebration, seems like it's similar to what's arranged in Little Chinatown, and it spans a wide range from Taiping Continent to Santo Domingo.

For those who have grievances with Horizon Corporation and their mercenaries, it's a great opportunity to act, to toss a few bombs amid the chaos, mess up the celebration, and make them lose face.

But... the gangs are unusually quiet.

Because they're not facing the usual thugs who may or may not play by the rules, they're dealing with a group of bona fide cyberpsychos, the end-stage cancer type.

No one dares to guarantee that making a move now won't result in a bloody retaliation, and if they're found out, they might shoot to the top of the hate list, with their entire family wiped out, they could even shoot you down from a plane.

These people don't care about profit distribution, don't speak of territorial divisions, and don't even care about causes and consequences.

The gangs in Night City have come to deeply understand how lawless these people are over the past six months.

Now, all they can pray for is that their underlings won't get impulsive, grab a gun, and cause trouble on the other side, bringing disaster upon themselves.

And there's that critical issue, they still can't identify which in the crowd are cyberpsychos, and no one can figure out where the highest chances of success are.

It's safe to say thanks to the vicious reputation of the players now eclipsing any company or gang, the setup for the celebration could proceed smoothly.

"A little to the left... good, good, just hang it there!"

The entrance to Horizon Corporation has already been adorned with big red lanterns by the players, this modernity mixed with vintage style decorations has a very trendy Japanese touch in Night City.

At this moment, just like the red lanterns after being powered on, the bar inside and out is bustling with excitement.

Unlike Big Sur which only has players and Horizon Corporation employees, Stone Ridge Mountain and the bases inside the city, as well as Adcardo, the players' local friends in Night City, and bar regulars, this celebration is open to all.

As long as you're not a major villain with a bounty of several thousand euros on your head, you can freely clock in and out of this gate, join in the players' activities.

The football field-sized interior of Horizon Corporation is everywhere plastered with banners saying "Happy New Year," and the two production lines are completely shut down, with tables and parasols set up on the empty field, and according to the door frame robot replacing the doors, there are estimated at least nearly a thousand people participating in this event.

This also includes the sanitation workers who only joined the company at the beginning of the year, having to get up at four every morning to ride with the trucks, collecting garbage all over Night City until ten in the morning to finish work.

Although they don't have to sweep the streets like traditional cleaners, it's still very hard, especially with that garbage, which contains just about anything, a minor slip-up could leave you hurt or poisoned, and the salary of 1200 isn't high, so the employees are all grassroots workers who don't want to join gangs or become vagrants.

They dress simply, mostly wearing dark coats and hats for warmth, however, they don't consider themselves company dogs, nor do they understand why the company celebration would invite them and their families.

Such 'high-class' terms are normally reserved for company mid to high-level folks and their confidants who get to attend banquets discussing business matters, showcasing their strength to other companies, not for the bottom-rung company folks, let alone those who wouldn't even qualify as company dogs—more like slaves.

Though within this company, they feel their workload isn't at all related to slaves.

Long-time employee John was about to lead his wife through the gate, only to be stopped by her, having heard stories of the malicious reputation of 'Horizon Corporation,' where mercenaries don't blink while devouring people, those killed by them never found, with their terrifying tales spreading everywhere.

"They won't eat us, right?"

"Eat you?"

John looked up and down at his wife "How much meat do you have on you? There're so many people; it won't be your turn."

He and his wife stepped forward, pulling out his work ID to register at the door frame robot

[Employee John Marston, is the person beside you your wife Kenna Hopes?]

"Yes."

After a scan confirmed they were not carrying any dangerous items,

[Access granted, have a happy New Year]

Going through the gate, it was already a sea of people.

"Hehehe! Fresh, fresh hey, chocolate battered meat! Our Yangjing local snack hey."

"This looks like a pile of shit, all black and greasy."

"How can you say that? You foreign bumpkin, no knowledge!"

"I'm from the Northeast, I can't bear it, let's take him down!"

"This pork stew with noodles needs vinegar, without vinegar, how can it be good?"

"The stuff BBQ'd tastes just average, how do foreigners like this stuff? It's not as good as my Xinjiang kebabs."