The entire room had a design reminiscent of a space capsule, exuding a strong sense of futuristic technology.
Whatever material was used for construction here, it was impressive—a whole wall was made of a single piece of glass. When closed, it served as a screen; when opened, it revealed the scenery of Night City.
On Lin Yu's original world, living on the 23rd floor would already be considered high, but here, it felt more like living on a lower floor, with very little sunlight reaching inside.
Looking up, all he could see was an endless steel forest. Not far from the building's entrance, a few floating cars hovered silently.
Suddenly, gunfire rang out from outside the window. It seemed the city's security forces were on duty.
In Night City, shootouts could break out at any moment, and people could die on the streets without warning. It was a city brimming with both opportunity and danger.
Pulling his gaze back inside, Lin Yu noticed a small floating robot hovering in the room—it was the housekeeper.
The temperature and humidity were kept at the most comfortable levels, and it could dispense nutritional fluids tailored to one's body condition based on big data. The robot also handled all the cleaning.
The default settings were already quite good, but if he wasn't satisfied, he could adjust them anytime.
"Dim the lights a little. Warm tones."
As soon as Lin Yu spoke, the ambient lighting shifted to a soft orange-red glow.
This housekeeper had truly achieved the level of real artificial intelligence, far superior to the so-called smart assistants of his previous world.
The apartment wasn't small. Besides the living room and dining area, there was also a bathroom and an armory.
Walking into the bathroom, the sensors detected his skin and automatically started the water at just the right temperature.
The armory was spacious, though currently empty—aside from the worn-out pistol issued by the company, Lin Yu had no other weapons.
Still, this space was a collector's paradise. Just imagining legendary and immortal-grade weapons lined up here was a kind of bliss.
★★★
The next morning, the first thing Lin Yu did upon waking was to check in—this was why he had chosen to meet Jack today instead of yesterday.
The Mantis Blades were too conspicuous to use all the time; if he kept flaunting them, the company would track him down sooner or later.
It was better to have several weapons to rotate between, to keep people guessing.
"Ding! Watson Hagen Apartments check-in complete. Reward: God-level Firearms Mastery!"
A flash of clarity swept through his mind, and detailed information about the skill streamed into his consciousness.
Lin Yu immediately understood: 'mastery' was similar to a passive skill.
God-level Firearms Mastery meant he could instinctively handle any firearm with proficiency—he could pick it up and use it with expert skill.
Even though he hadn't received a powerful weapon this time, this skill was more than good enough. It was vastly more effective than any training chip.
"A divine skill!" Lin Yu couldn't help but praise inwardly, feeling even more confident about the adventures ahead.
Before long, another call came in.
It was Jack. This guy had pestered him twice yesterday and was at it again first thing in the morning.
"Lin Yu, are you up yet? The sun's already roasting my balls!"
As soon as he picked up, the big guy unleashed a torrent of colorful language—he could hardly wait to get started.
"Wait for me downstairs. I'll be there soon!"
Lin Yu said as he stripped off the company's suit and changed into a casual T-shirt.
He was no longer a corporate employee—wearing their uniform now would only make him stand out.
After heading downstairs and meeting up with Jack, he found the guy sitting in the car, eating something that looked like Japanese food.
"Hey! My brother, want some?"
Jack offered, handing over his food container.
"I'll pass. I'm not hungry..."
Lin Yu only needed a whiff to know what kind of stuff it was.
Ever since people here had started relying on nutritional fluids to sustain life, it seemed their culinary skills had plummeted.
It hadn't felt so noticeable while playing the game before, but now he could confidently say that even a random street vendor from his past world could cook better than anything here.
'Maybe someday I could open a restaurant in the luxury district,' Lin Yu mused. But that was a thought for the future.
As usual, Jack was the one driving.
After a short ride, they arrived at a residential block.
Getting out of the car and weaving through a few alleys, they finally arrived at a small storefront.
The shop was even smaller than expected. Inside, it was filled with skulls, strange statues, candles, and incense sticks. Under the glow of pink ambient lighting, the place exuded a weird, almost mystical atmosphere.
The smell was reminiscent of a witch's alchemy hut.
Behind the counter, a girl was leaning lazily.
She had short, golden-blond hair, wore a blue hoodie, and like most people in the city, had heavy smoky makeup.
But the most striking thing about her was the spiked choker around her neck.
She looked every bit the punk.
"V, this is my girl, Misty."
"Misty, this is my best buddy, V."
Jack introduced them warmly as soon as he stepped inside.
Maybe they had just gotten together, or maybe Jack simply hadn't brought her out much—because Lin Yu, or rather V, hadn't officially met Misty before.
After exchanging greetings, they finally got properly acquainted.
Up close, Lin Yu realized she looked even better than she did in the game.
Not that it stirred any extra thoughts in him—he already had his own goals.
"V, since you're Jack's friend, if you ever get hurt out there, you can come to see Doctor Viktor. If your soul gets wounded, I can help heal it."
Misty leaned on the counter, smiling at Lin Yu.
"Uh... I think I should be fine for now..."
Lin Yu glanced at Jack, who didn't seem the least bit concerned.
This world... seemed even more interesting than he had imagined.
"Haha, next time we'll sit down and have a good chat. But today, we're here to see Viktor."
Jack laughed heartily, leading Lin Yu toward the back room.
★★★