Any form of energy is available in Night City, but if you want to be a power supplier here, you need not only stable energy, but also freedom from outside interference.In any case, the various neon lights in the Nightside always need electricity to operate.As a small city within a large city, Night City has many energy sources, including some illegal or even unnatural energy, such as human blood sacrifices, imprisoning gods, torturing the mind, and even small black holes that absorb energy fields. .There are also some very vast and terrifying, strange and strange sources of energy that operate in ways that the human mind cannot handle.Not many people in Night City care about where the power comes from. Everyone just needs to see that the lights will turn on and the car will run.However, in the entire history of Night City, the only power company that has ever provided a reliable source of electricity is Prometheus.Maybe the magical energy is more gorgeous, but the cutting-edge technology in Night City is definitely not inferior to any witchcraft.

Prometheus Power Company is a very successful business case in modern times.The company was established less than six years ago. With stable electricity and cheap prices, it quickly became the most important electricity supplier in Night City, with a market share as high as 12%.Given such importance, it is only natural that the recent incident of sabotage at the company's power plant must be addressed immediately.Walker emphasized this point to me again and again.Walker is the representative of those in power, and those in power are a group of power centers behind the scenes, and all the residents of Night City are under their control.From time to time Walker would hire me to perform some work, because I was reliable, efficient, and completely expendable to him.

I stood in the shadows on the street corner, silently observing the Prometheus building.The appearance of this building is a high-rise building made of glass and steel, and there is nothing special about it.The uppermost floors are used for administrative offices, the middle floors are laboratories for research and development, and the bottom floors are where the marketing and public relations departments are located.As for the power plant itself, the legendary modern spectacle with equal emphasis on quality should be buried deep underground.I say "should" because as far as I know, very few people in the world have actually seen this power plant in person.The entire power plant is managed automatically and operates through a control center.For six years no one knew what the control center looked like, or how the power plant worked.It's not easy keeping secrets like this, because the Nightside is a very difficult place to keep any secrets.

The Prometheus Power Company started around the time I left Nightside.During those years I tried to live a normal life in a normal world, but I failed in the end.When I returned to Night City again, it didn't take me long to start wondering what the Prometheus Power Company was hiding behind the scenes.I like to explore the unknown secrets, because a strong curiosity can help me survive here.I left the shadows and walked towards the office building.The building was full of security guards and guards.As soon as I appeared, a large number of people greeted me immediately.Countless guns were pointed at me, and the sound of pulling the safety catch was deafening.If it were someone else, they would probably be scared to death.

I stopped in front of the gate and smiled at the rows of security personnel in front of me and their dark blue assault uniforms.The leading captain was a tall, stout man with cold eyes.I nodded, he stood firmly on the spot, his expression didn't change at all, but I could hear many people behind him whispering my name, and some of them even drew crosses and ancient guardian symbols in front of them .I widened the smile on my face to make them more uneasy.Ever since I recovered the Fallen Holy Grail under the trap of two factions of angels, my ability has been touted to an unprecedented level.Of course, most people are hearsay, but I have not come forward to clear up these rumors, especially the part about how cruel I am.Having a good reputation, or rather a bad one, is the best weapon against unnecessary trouble.

"My order is to check the identity of the personnel," the captain said. "And shoot everyone who isn't on the approved list." "You know who I am," I said coldly. "I have an appointment." The captain breathed a sigh of relief. "This is the first good news I've heard tonight. Hello, Taylor. It's really nice to see you here. This incident has my men very nervous." "Is anyone dead?" I asked with a frown. "I've heard it's just plain sabotage." "No one is dead yet, but many people have been injured." The captain said darkly. "The people who destroyed the power plant obviously didn't care about other people's lives. I have lost forty men in the past three nights, but I can't find any clues. No one found anything suspicious. Every time something happened It's too late. I sealed off the whole building tighter than a duck's ass, but that bastard just managed to get in."

"Is there a mole?" I asked politely to show that I was listening to him. "I thought so too, but all the employees haven't come to work for a week. As soon as the incident broke out, the boss of the company told them all to go home and rest, and wait for the notice. Now only the boss is left in the whole building. Just in case, I also conducted a safety investigation on the employees, but nothing suspicious was found. Most of the employees are very young, so they shouldn’t have such a big grudge against the company.” "Then why are your men so scared?" I asked in a low voice. "It only takes a little more pressure and they start killing each other."

The captain snorted: "As I said, no one found anything suspicious. I surrounded the building tightly, and installed closed-circuit television, infrared rays, and motion detectors in every corner of the building. No matter who the other party is, these None of the alarm systems found anything." "There are plenty of things in Night City that can evade your alarm system," I pointed out. "Don't I know? The problem is that this should be a high-tech, low-magic area. If there are heavy magic users around here, all kinds of alarms should have been triggered long ago. Regardless of who destroyed the power plant What, in any case, is beyond my range of knowledge, either scientifically or magically, and must have never come into contact with it."

I nodded with feigned ease, trying to project confidence on my face. "That's why they came to me. I have a way to find out the unknown. See you later." I walked past the captain and walked towards the gate, but a security guard suddenly ran beside me and blocked my way.This is a huge guy with muscles all over his body, and the semi-automatic machine gun is like a toy in his hands.He looked at me with a ferocious expression that he thought was scary. "Everyone will be searched," he said. "It's the rule, no exceptions. Not even for a pompous bastard like you, Tyler."

The captain was about to speak, but I gave him a wink to leave me alone.If I can't even handle a stupid security guy, then I'll just retire.I smiled at the security guard. "I don't use a gun, never have. Because the guns are so restricted." I slowly raised my hand and spread it out, a pile of bullets slid from my fingers and landed at the stunned security guard's feet. "You're out of bullets in your gun," I said. "Get out of the way, or it will be your guts later." He insisted on pulling the trigger, but none of the bullets fired.Hearing a very uncomfortable sound from his throat, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then stepped aside.I walked past him like he didn't exist.By the time I walked through the gate and into the reception hall, the guy had been fired.

I strolled into the gorgeously furnished reception hall, putting on an air of arrogance, but it was useless because there was no one there.Then I heard the sound of the electronic lock locking the door behind me, indicating that someone knew I was coming.I looked around the reception hall and quickly located all the cameras on the ceiling.I saw that the power lights of each camera were on, so I stood there and let the people behind the cameras observe me carefully.I think I look decent, my white coat is cleaner than usual, and I remember shaving before going out.Sometimes looks are important.Suddenly, there was a murmur from a hidden loudspeaker, and I heard a familiar voice in the empty hall. "John, I'm so glad you're here. Come find me in the supervisor's office. There's a blue door at the end of the reception hall, just follow the arrow after entering. Don't go in, there are traps everywhere. And , be careful, God knows what the other party will destroy next." I walked through the blue door and followed the glowing arrows on the wall.After leaving the luxurious reception hall, there is nothing particularly worth mentioning inside the Prometheus Power Company.The narrow hallways, the blank walls, the marked doors, the frayed carpets, there is a dead silence everywhere, as if the whole building has stopped, silently waiting for something bad to happen.Finally, the arrow took me to a door with the logo of Prometheus Company, and the manager and boss himself, Vincent Clement, was waiting for me behind the door. He nodded, smiled, shook hands at me, but obviously wasn't thinking about me at all.Anyone can see that he is troubled by very troublesome things at the moment.He led me into the office, looked around to see if there was anything unusual in the corridor, then quickly closed the door and locked it.He then offered me a seat in the guest chair, and walked over to sit behind an expensive mahogany desk.This office looks very comfortable. The wallpaper on the wall is exquisite, the carpet on the floor is thick, and the high-tech wine cabinet in the corner shows that this is an office for successful people.It's just that the desk is almost buried under piles of documents, and there is a wall full of CCTV, showing images from every corner of the power plant at any time.I watched these CCTVs for a while, pretending to be interested, but in fact the machinery in the power plant was too technical for me.I couldn't tell the difference between a turbine and a teapot, except that all the machinery seemed to be in perfect condition and the aisles were empty.I looked back at the manager and he smiled at me again. I don't know him very well, but we were friends many years ago.Vincent Clements is a man who has spent his whole life striving for success and is always looking for opportunities to make money.Prometheus Power finally let him achieve his goal.Vincent was tall, well dressed, wrinkled and bald on top of his head.The suits on him are probably high-end items that I can't afford with my annual income. "Nice to see you again, John." His voice was steady, quiet, with a touch of false refinement. "Since you came back, I've been hearing interesting stories." "Looks like you're doing well." I said politely. "Does having success and wealth feel the same as you imagined?" He smiled. "Almost. What do you think of my company, John?" "It's good, but I don't really appreciate it. Technology has always been a very mysterious area for me. I'm the kind of person who even needs a secretary to help adjust the time on the VCR." He smiled professionally. "What I need is your other expertise, John. I want you to help me find out who exactly is trying to get me down." He stopped here because he noticed that I was looking at a photo of him on the table.It was a photo of a wedding, in a simple silver frame.Bride, groom, best man and me.Even though that was six years ago, it seems like it happened yesterday in my memory.It was supposed to be the happiest day in the lives of the two good young people, but unfortunately it turned into a tragic tragedy that is still unforgettable today.The main reason why I can't forget it is that the culprit who caused this tragedy has not been found until today. The bride's name is Melinda Dusk, nicknamed "The Hanged Man's Daughter"; the groom's name is Quinn, nicknamed "The Sunshine Runner".She was wearing a pure white dress with a cream skirt; he was wearing a good denim suit, cut all over in black leather and trimmed with shiny iron and silver.In their rented tuxedos, the happy couple were flanked by Vincent Clements, the best man, and myself, the bride's best friend.Melinda and Quinn, two of the most powerful families in Nightside, were married that day and murdered on the same day. Stories in Nightside rarely have happy endings, and even the greatest celebrities or powerful men can fall victim to tragedy.Melinda belongs to the dark forces, and the source of power comes from shadows and witchcraft; Kunn belongs to the light, and the powerful power he can control comes from the sun itself.Their ancestors, the earliest "Hangers" and "Sunshine Hands", had been life-and-death enemies hundreds of years ago, and after countless generations, the hatred between the two families has grown day by day and has not disappeared at all. signs.Melinda and Quinn, in this never-ending conflict of hatred, were instilled with negative thoughts of hating each other since they were young, but they met during the rare truce period and fell in love at first sight. They dated secretly for months before finally going public with their relationship.The two families could not accept it and almost started a war for it.However, Melinda and Quinn are very persistent. With the power they inherited, they each threaten to sever ties with their own families, even if they elope, they are unwilling to separate.In the end, they held an extremely grand wedding, inviting all members of the two families to participate.On the one hand, it is to show off one's strength to the other party, and on the other hand, it is to prevent the other party from causing trouble at the wedding.On that day, all the celebrities in Night City were present, and even Walker personally came to preside over the safety of the venue.It should have been the safest place in Night City. Vincent and I are concurrently the receptionist of the venue. The main task is to help guests seat, disarm everyone, maintain order at the scene, and be ready to stop any behavior that tries to disturb the venue.We were both very young at the time and still in the stage of building our personal names.Vincent's nickname is "The Technician" because of his ability to make and repair anything. "Magic is convenient," he always said. "But technology is the long-term way of stability." He specially made an automatic ribbon sprinkler for this wedding, and ran to improve its function whenever he had free time at the venue.He and Quinn have been good friends since they were young. Before this relationship was made public, he had risked his life many times to run errands for the two lovers.Melinda is one of the few childhood friends I have left, because she inherits a power so strong that even my enemies dare not easily provoke it. The wedding process went very smoothly, both families tried their best to restrain themselves, and no one dared to cause trouble.After the wedding ceremony, everyone cheered and applauded. Some people even really thought that the centuries-old family war would come to an end on that day.The bride and groom left the church together flushed as if they belonged to each other, as if their lives were not truly complete until the moment they met.That was the moment the automatic ribbon sprayer first did its job. Everyone started taking photos, drinking and eating snacks, and long-time enemies nodded and greeted each other from a safe distance, some even struck up a polite conversation.The bride and groom received the wedding glasses filled with top-quality champagne, and toasted to all family members and a bright future.Ten minutes later, both of them were dead.The wedding cup was poisoned.It was over before medical magic and modern medicine had time to do anything.The person who poisoned was obviously an expert, and there was no warning at all. It was not until Kun En died of the poison that no one knew what happened.Melinda lasted longer.She held her husband's body in her arms, shed a tear, and then passed away desolately on his body. If Walker hadn't brought a large group of people to the venue, the wedding banquet would have ended violently.The men and horses of the two major families went mad on the spot, saying to each other that the other party must have done it.Walker used strong means to separate the two parties until they all left the venue, vowing to make the other party pay the price.Then Walker used all the power at his disposal to order a full investigation into the matter, but no clues were found.There are many suspects, because many people from both families opposed the marriage and the armistice agreement, but there is not enough evidence to prosecute anyone.During the investigation, the two families had fought countless times on the streets. Anyone who was stupid enough to place an order would be slaughtered mercilessly by members of the other family.Finally, those in power intervened, threatening to expel both families from Nightside, and finally stopped the dispute. I would have done everything in my power to find the killer, but my own life took a drastic turn shortly after the wedding and ended with Suzy Huett shooting me in the back.I fled the Nightside and swore I would never return. "What a pathetic tragedy," Vincent said, picking up the photo. "I still miss them. It seems like part of my life died with them. Sometimes I think I keep this photo just to remind myself of the last truly happy time in my life." He puts down photo, smiled at me and said, "I wish they could see this place, my greatest achievement. It's a pity that someone wants to destroy it now. That's why I asked Walker to find you, John. You can help me?" "Maybe," I said. "I don't know the whole situation yet. Let's start at the beginning. How it happened." Vincent leaned back on the supervisor's chair, crossing his fingers in front of the expensive vest.When he spoke, his voice sounded very calm, but his eyes flicked to the CCTV screen from time to time. "It all started two weeks ago, John. Everything was going normal, just like any other day, but one of our main turbines suddenly failed. After investigation by my men, it was found that the machine was damaged by external forces. The people who did it were not professional, they just used violent means to hollow out the inside of the machine. My people repaired the machine within an hour and started working again. It didn’t take long for news of the system to be paralyzed elsewhere. ...everything follows this pattern. As soon as we fix one machine, another one breaks. Among other things, the cost of spare parts alone is very considerable. There is no sign of the other party's sabotage pattern. However, it is simply irrational violent destruction.” "No one has ever seen each other. You see how much security I have employed, but they haven't seen a single ghost. There are cameras all over the plant, and none of the tapes have caught anything. I took the tapes to the experts for analysis, still no leads. We can't even figure out how the other party got in and out of the power plant! The situation continues to deteriorate, and the speed of repairs cannot keep up with the speed of the other party's destruction. It won't be long before our power supply capacity will start to be affected , Many people will face the dilemma of no electricity available." And if Prometheus Power goes down, it's game over for you.I thought, but out of politeness, I didn't say it. "What about the competitors?" I said. "Is it possible that a colleague did it? Want to take your company's business?" "There must be competition." Vincent frowned. "But no other company in Night City has enough strength to eat our business. Prometheus provides 12.4% of the electricity in the entire Night City. If we fail, Night City will have a large area It's in the dark. No one wants to see this happen. Other companies will only drive themselves down the path of destruction if they want to take over." "Okay." I said. "What about people who simply hate you? Have you made any new enemies lately?" He smiled and said, "If it was a month ago, I would have said that I have no enemies in this world. But now..." He looked at the wedding photos on the table again. "I've been dreaming a lot lately... dreaming about the day when Melinda and Quinn passed away. I can't help but wonder... Could it be that the murderer who murdered them came to me." I really didn't expect him to say that. "Why did you come to me? Why did you choose to come to you after six years?" "Maybe the murderer thinks I know something, even though I have no clue. Or maybe it's because of your return, John. Since your return to Nightside, many old grudges that have been dormant for a long time have begun to surface again. Out of the water." He was right in saying that, so I decided to change the subject. "Tell me about the losses you have suffered. You said that the other party's sabotage methods were not...professional?" "That's right," Vincent said. "The other party obviously lacks real technological knowledge. There are at least a dozen key parts that can paralyze the entire power plant if they are destroyed, but the other party has not touched any of them. Of course, there is another Prometheus The secret processor at the heart of the power company. It is my personal invention, placed in a steel chamber, and equipped with top-notch defense measures. Without the correct password, even those in power cannot easily enter." Vincent He leaned towards me and said with pleading eyes: "You must help me, John. This incident is not only related to my personal life and property. If Prometheus goes bankrupt, the entire Night City will face insufficient power supply. This will kill people, and the lives of tens of thousands of people are at stake." I should have been aware of what was going to happen next, but whenever someone tells a story with red eyes, I always get confused. Then Vincent took me on a tour of the entire power plant, including underground facilities that had never been visited by outsiders.The underground factory area is very clean and eerily quiet.The actual generator itself is much smaller than I imagined, and it hardly makes any noise.I see lots of control panels, gauges, readouts, and lots of gleaming high-tech gadgetry that doesn't mean anything to me, but I still let out an occasional cry of admiration.Everything here was designed by Wen Sen himself, but that was before he was a technician and a manager.As he showed me around, he explained the purpose of each machine, but I went in one ear and out the other, with a polite smile on my face, always paying attention to the whereabouts of the saboteurs.Finally, Vincent finished explaining all the machines, and we stopped just in front of a huge steel door.He looked at me, obviously expecting something appreciative from me. "It's really...very clean here," I said. "I can't help but be amazed. It's just hard for me to imagine that you can supply such amazing power from... such a small machine. I thought I would see something ten times larger than this. " Vincent smiled. "These machines are not a source of power. Their function is simply to convert energy into electricity. The real secret is hidden behind this steel door. I'm sorry to boast, but it is truly a miracle of science." I looked at the door and said, "Could it be that there are nuclear energy pipelines hidden behind this door..." "No, it's not..." "It's still a controllable singularity..." "It's not that violent, John. My energy processing is very safe and has no side effects at all. But I'm afraid I can't show it to you. It's better not to reveal some secrets." He suddenly stopped talking because we heard some strange noise at the same time.A machine at the other end of the aisle began to vibrate violently, and thick black smoke was belching from one of its vents.Before the alarm sounded, the machine had automatically shut down.Vincent took two steps back and leaned his back against the large steel door behind him. "Here he comes! Vandal...he's never been this deep. He must have been following us all this time...Do you have a weapon, John?" "I don't carry a gun," I said. "no need." “Usually I don’t carry a gun, but after this chain of events, I’m starting to feel safer with a weapon on me.” He pulled a silver gun from the inside pocket of his jacket, which looked powerful and futuristic.Vincent raised his gun proudly and said: "This is a laser gun that can emit enhanced light that is powerful enough to fight against dark forces. This is another invention of mine. If it weren't for the management of power plants that took up most of my time, this gun It's definitely more than that. I don't see anyone, John. Do you?" A machine not far from us suddenly exploded. In addition to bringing more black smoke, the noise produced by the remaining machines also became louder in an instant, as if they had to work harder.It didn't take long for the third machine to explode, the fragments scattered, and the power was astonishing.The lights above our heads flickered a few times and then went out.Shadows are everywhere now, deep and dark.Some of the unexploded machines began to make horrible noises.However, so far, we have not even seen the shadow of the spoiler. Vincent's face turned pale, he was sweating profusely, and the muzzle of the laser gun was moving around, but the hand holding the gun was shaking. "Come on, come on," he hissed. "This is my place. I'm ready to face you." I suddenly saw a white thing out of the corner of my eye, but when I turned my head, the thing had already disappeared.Then I found a trace of white in the shadow between the two machines.The other party flashed back and forth, disappearing and reappearing in just a blink of an eye, but each time it appeared in a different position, as dim as moonlight, but gradually began to condense a pale facial outline.It wanders between the shadows, never stepping into the range of the light, but it is clearly approaching us step by step, perhaps, it is approaching the steel door behind us, the core secret of the Prometheus power company. I figured it was probably some kind of ghost, maybe a poltergeist, which would explain why the CCTV didn't pick up any footage.Given enough motivation, ghosts can walk the line between science and magic.But if that's the case, what Vincent needs is a priest or an exorcist, not a private eye.I made a suggestion to Vincent, and he was very angry after hearing it. "I had a lot of people do background checks on this site before I started construction, and no one told me that this place would be haunted. The entire area should be free from magic and supernatural energy. That's why I put the power plant Cover here! I'm a 'technician', I make high tech stuff, it's my talent, like you can find things, John. I don't know how to deal with ghosts, you're the expert. We What to do now?" "That depends on the purpose of this ghost." I said. "His purpose is to destroy me! I thought it was obvious, didn't it?" Now the other party appears in many places at the same time, its traces can be seen almost where there are black shadows, approaching us without stopping.The opponent's body was glowing white, flickering, his arms were slender, and he was very hostile.Seeing that Shiroying waved his hands, all the debris on the ground flew into the air in an instant, like a pile of metal hail, rushing towards us.I put my head in my hands and stood in front of Vincent.Having weathered this hail of metal, we looked up to find the white figure now standing in front of a machine, tearing it apart with supernatural brute force.With a roar, Vincent fired a shot at Shiro Shadow, but the opponent disappeared before being hit.I pressed my back tightly against the steel door and looked around.There was no other way out here, we had absolutely no way out, so I did the only thing I could, and turned on my gift. I don't like to use talents too often, because it will give away my whereabouts to my enemies. I sank inwardly, concentrated my attention, and slowly opened my third eye, the eye of my mind.As soon as I opened my mind, the other party immediately had nothing to hide, and my spiritual power forced me out of the shadows, into the light, and stood in front of us without reservation.She nodded to me, then stared at Vincent with wide, dark eyes.I recognized her right away, even though she was so different from the one in the wedding photos.Melinda Dusk reappeared six years after her death, still wearing a beautiful white wedding dress, but now the wedding dress is torn, and Melinda's body has lost all blood.Her long black hair hung over her bare shoulders, her lips were a terrifying purple-white color, and her eyes... were terribly black, like two black holes on her face.She looked very angry, irritable and miserable.Daughter of the Hanged, the Dark Queen, in a cold and unnatural form displaying her perennial beauty.She raised a hand and pointed it angrily at Vincent with its grave-grown nails.I looked at Vincent and found that he was short of breath and trembling, but he didn't seem very surprised. I take back the power of my gift, but she is still clearly in front of us.I took a step forward, and Melinda's terrified eyes finally moved to me.I held up my hands to let her know I wasn't holding any weapons. "Melinda," I said. "It's me, John." She turned her head away and stopped looking at me.Obviously I don't matter.All her attention and all her anger were focused on Vincent. "Tell me the truth, Vincent." I whispered. "What's going on here? You knew it was Melinda the whole time, didn't you? Right? Why was she so mad at you? Why was she crawling out of the grave to find you after six years?" "I didn't know it was her," he said. "I swear, I don't know!" "He knows," Melinda said.Her voice was thin but clear, as if reaching my ears through an unimaginable distance. "You are very good at picking a place, Vincent. You picked a place in Night City that is farthest from our family, plus the blood sacrifice and various oaths that were performed in private before the power plant started construction, it can indeed stop any evil spirits from invading— —Except for me. I am the saint of darkness, and all the shadows in the world are my portals. It took me six full years to finally find out your whereabouts, but now that I have found you, don’t Want to escape from my grasp because the only thing I care about is here. I have come for revenge, Vincent. Dear friend, Vincent, you will pay for what you have done to me and Quinn. " By this time, I finally understood what was going on.I was so shocked that I forgot to be angry, and could only stare blankly at Vincent. "You killed them—" I said. "You murdered Melinda and Quinn. But you were friends with them..." "Best friend," Vincent said.He stopped trembling and his voice stabilized. "I would do anything for the two of you, Melinda, but you let me down when I needed you. So I poisoned the wedding cup. I had to do it. The poison came out of nowhere Simple. Who would doubt the best man? No one has ever doubted me, not even Walker." He suddenly looked at me with a weird smile on his face. "I originally guessed that Melinda was sabotaging it, but I still need you to confirm it for me, so I asked Walker to contact you in my name. Because as long as we rely on your talent, we can make her do nothing. Hiding. You just need to help me restrain her, my laser gun will destroy her completely, and never come back to trouble me. Do me this favor, John, I will make you a Prometheus As a partner. You will get power and wealth beyond imagination." "They're my friends too," I said. "No amount of wealth can make me betray my friends." "Be my friend, John," Melinda said.At this moment, she is very close, and I can even feel a chill coming from my body. "The last time, when I was with Quinn's friend. Help me find out the source of Vincent's energy and find out his secret." Vincent fired a shot.Lasers shot through her glowing body, but she showed no signs of injury. I awakened my talent again, focused my mind and eyes, and found out the place where the deep secret was hidden and the way to enter.I turned to face the steel door, keyed in the correct password, and the heavy steel door opened slowly.Vincent yelled a few times, but I ignored him.I went through the steel door and into the back room, and Melinda floated in after me.In this secret room specially built by Vincent, we discovered the secret of why he can easily generate such a huge amount of electricity.His secret is Quinn, the hand of the sun. He still looks a lot like the one in the wedding photos, but like Melinda, he's undergone some transformations.昆恩身上穿的还是那件黑皮衣，只不过上面的小饰品都已经肮脏、生锈。他的身体被关在一个精神牢瓶里，那是一种专为囚禁死者灵魂而设的玻璃柜。巨大的电缆线穿过牢瓶的两侧，插入昆恩的双眼、嘴巴以及身体上许多的大洞里。自太阳中撷取能量的阳光运转手昆恩，如今被人摆在这里成为一颗大电池。精神牢瓶囚禁了他的躯体与灵魂，进而控制他的力量。电缆线吸收了他的力量，经由文森的机器转化，最后成为夜城中主要的电力来源。 真是残酷的天才。不过话说回来，技师的眼光总是看得比较远。 梅琳妲在精神牢瓶周围徘回，以无比思念的神情看着她死去已久的爱人，但是却没有办法触碰到他的身躯。我伸出手指触摸牢瓶上的玻璃，试探着它的硬度。 “离开那里，约翰。”文森说。 文森走进密室，枪口对着我。他笑了，不过笑声中有点颤抖。 “普通的枪对你无效，约翰。我知道。我知道你有办法取出枪里的子弹。不过这可是把雷射枪，它能够轻易地杀死你。很棒的武器，直接从昆恩身上撷取能量。所以我劝你最好乖乖听话，用你的天赋箝制梅琳妲，让我消灭她。要不然的话，我就会慢慢地将你折磨致死。” “杀了我，你要怎么对付梅琳妲？”我说。 “喔，既然已经确定是梅琳妲，相信我一定会想出办法的。说不定我该为她打造另一个精神牢瓶。” “为什么？”我尽量保持心平气和地说道。“你们三个是多年好友，比家人还亲。到底为了什么，文森？是什么让你变成杀人凶手？” “他们令我失望。”他冷冷地道。“在我最需要他们的时候，他们竟然不肯帮我。这座发电厂是我的毕生梦想，你知道吗？这是一个能够为夜城提供稳定电力的方法，简直就是张印钞执照，是我一生所追求的目标。只要昆恩肯帮忙，我就可以完成我的梦想。只要他肯把身体借我研究一下，我就可以在实验室中创造出使这座发电厂成真的力量。但是当我把这个想法告诉他的时候，他却一口回绝。说什么他的力量是家族秘密，不能跟其他人分享。我为他付出了这么多，他竟然连这点忙都不肯帮！我去找梅琳妲，要她帮我劝昆恩，但是她根本不愿意听。她跟昆恩想要共同计划一个全新的生活，而我完全不在他们的计划之中。” “然而当时我已经把身家财产全部投注到这个案子上，而且还跟一群惹不起的人物借了一大笔钱。我从来没想到昆恩竟然会拒绝我。案子已经推动了，绝不能说停就停，所以我只好杀了昆恩跟梅琳妲。这一切都是他们咎由自取，是他们要把个人的快乐摆在我的需求之前，摆在我的成功之前。我本来要让他们成为合伙人，让他们赚进大把钞票的。在他们死后，我的金主将昆恩的尸体自坟墓中挖了出来，以一个复制品掉包，然后交给我使用。到最后他还不是得要帮我工作！他是我……沉默的合伙人，如果你乐意这么想的话。” 梅琳妲看着我，默默地恳求着。精神牢瓶中充满了光明，完全没有任何阴影可供她运用。我看着牢瓶思考，文森则将枪口对准我的肚子。 “想都别想，约翰。如果你打破牢瓶，截断了昆恩跟发电厂之间的连结，那整间电厂就算完了，夜城将会失去我所提供的所有电力，到处都会停电，数以千计的人们将会死去。” “啊，这样呀……”我说。“那些人给过我什么好处？” 我展开天赋，轻而易举地找到精神牢瓶的入口，将之撕开一条裂缝。对昆恩来说，这一点点的缝隙已经足够了。他的身体开始巨震，瞬间绽放出强烈的光芒。阳光刺眼，没有任何肉眼可以逼视。文森跟我同时转开头去，伸出双手挡在眼前。精神牢瓶无法承受阳光运转手的力量，最后终于爆炸，有如雨滴一般洒出玻璃碎片。我强迫自己转头，拚着眼睛刺痛也要亲眼看着昆恩自牢瓶的残骸中走出。他拔出脸上跟身体里的电缆线，任由它们有如断肢残臂一般在地上抽动。 尸体看着鬼魂，两者相视一笑。自从婚礼过后，这两人直到今天才终于能够再度重逢。这时文森跌跌撞撞地向前冲来，视力还没完全恢复，不确定他想对谁开枪，不过我并不打算冒险。我低头抓起一条电缆线，向前跨出一步，当场就将缆线插入文森眼中。缆线深深陷入眼洞里，毫不迟疑地吸吮着文森的生命能量。就听他大叫一声，抽动几下，身体落地之前就已经死去。 梅琳妲·达斯克以及昆恩，绞死者之女以及阳光运转手，虽然死去但却不再分离，此时早已携手离去。他们的眼中只有彼此，根本不再在乎复仇这类的小事。昆恩的尸体如今只剩一个空壳，静静地跟他的老朋友文森一起躺在地板上。我看了看昆恩的尸体，心中盘算着是否要将他带回家族重新埋葬。既然我无法证明今天在这里发生的事，那么只要两大家族的停战协议依然有效，还是不要做出任何可能挑衅的行为比较好。毕竟，当初文森还能找什么人来当金主？除了两大家族中某些派系的人马之外，还有谁会在他失败这么多次之后依然愿意借钱给他？ 我走出密室，将两具尸体留在里面，然后再一次运用天赋找出发电厂的自毁装置。我知道这里一定有这种设计的，因为文森是个为了捍卫秘密不择手段的人。我走到安全的距离之外，启动了最后倒数，然后叫厂外的安全人员立刻离开。在看到、听到我的声音及眼神之后，所有人都听从我的建议转身就跑。等我走到三条街之外的时候，整座普罗米修斯发电厂就在一阵爆炸之中毁灭殆尽。我头也不回，继续向前走去。 这称不上什么成功的案子。我的客户死了，没有对象可以收钱。渥克多半会为了发电厂毁灭而大发雷霆，更别提有多少人会因为这次停电而受到伤害。然而，这一切都不重要。因为梅琳妲·达斯克跟昆恩都是我的朋友，没有人能在杀害了我的朋友之后还奢求有好下场。