Chapter 15 end

The rain had almost stopped.My body was shaking a little, probably because of the cold.Fortunately, the starry sky in front of me still has some stars and a huge bright moon, so I can try to find some comfort in this scene.Sitting on the sidewalk, huddled in my big dirty coat, I watched Walker's men scurry up and down the clearing across the way.Of course they won't make any big discoveries, but from time to time someone will still find some small corrupt organizations, and then carefully put them into plastic sealed bags as evidence or for future research. Bar. Or maybe Walker was just fantasizing about growing a new house out of these tissues, he always liked to collect new gadgets left by his enemies.At this moment, he stood at a distance and commanded as usual, because he never got his hands dirty.

He came with his army not long after Suzy and Cathy and I got out of the dead house.Apparently they'd been watching quietly, just in case I made a mistake and messed up everything.Walker must have moved here after hearing the dying roar of the house.I've always believed he had all the makings of a good vulture. Cathy sat next to me, still wearing the dirty raincoat, graciously.Walker got her a cup of beef tea from somewhere, but she just held it in her hand and took a sip or two when she thought about it.Her body degenerated under the absorption of the house, and she no longer remembered the feeling of hunger.Suzie stood guard beside us with a shotgun raised, and whenever Walker got a little closer, he immediately cast a very unfriendly look.Even a character like Walker is not willing to mess with Suzy Huett easily.

Although Joanna had disappeared with the house, I could never get her out of my mind.I can't believe I've been lied to for so long...but everything about her is so real.I had to wonder if I trusted her for the same reason Cathy trusted the house, simply because we all like to hear what we want to hear.Do I love Joanna just because she's the perfect lover for me?Strong, but fragile; resolute, but also with anxiety.In fact, she resembles me in many ways.The people who designed her knew me well, those bastards.But I think Joanna was willing to believe in herself at the last moment because I was willing to believe in her, even if only for a moment, but she still became a real person through the effort of will.In the Nightside, dreams can come true.This is a fact that everyone knows.

It's just that after waking up from the dream, they disappeared after all. Suzy looked down at me and frowned, seeing through my mind. "You're always too soft-hearted, Tyler. You'll forget about it eventually. Hey, at least you still have me." "I'm so lucky," I said.I knew it was her way of showing kindness. "And we gave that house a hard time, didn't we?" "Yes." I said. "We did teach it a lesson." Susie looked into the clearing, ignoring Walker's men, and asked, "How many people do you think it ate before we got rid of that house?"

I shrugged: "How many lost souls are there in Nightside? How many of them are missing and unattended? If it weren't for some important people going astray, Walker and the others wouldn't intervene at all." When Walker heard his name, he swayed towards us pretending to be leisurely, but still kept a certain distance from Suzie.Susie turned her gun and pointed it at Walker, with a malicious smile on her face.I motioned for Susie to let him come over, because my physical strength was gradually recovering, and I wanted to ask him something.He nodded politely in front of us. "You already knew that," I said.

"I'm skeptical," Walker said. "If you can be sure," I asked slowly. "Will you still watch me walk into the trap?" "Maybe. You're not my man, Tyler. I don't owe you anything." "You can't even tell the truth?" "Oh, especially not the truth." Susie frowned: "Are you talking about that house, or Joanna?" "It's all the same," I said. "As long as it is a secret that cannot be told, Walker will keep it secret. Tell me, Walker. Is my mother really coming back?" "I don't know." He looked at me very calmly, with an unreserved and sincere attitude.But then again, he was always sincere. "There are some rumors... but rumors are always there, aren't they? Maybe... just in case, you should stay in the Nightside for a while." He avoided my eyes and looked into the clearing go. "I can help you find out, but of course it's not on the table. After all, you still look young."

"You're not timid." Susie said. He smiled back at her and was courteous, like a good servant of the people. "It's a habit of work, my dear." "I'm not your darling, Walker." "Then don't say I'm ungrateful." I was afraid that the two of them would fight if they said they were stiff, so I interrupted: "Walker, can you help me with Cathy's matter? Send her back to the real world, her mother? Her real mother?" "Of course," said Walker. "Don't pay attention to those nonsense." Cathy said suddenly. "I'm not going back. I'm never going back. I'm staying here. I'm staying in Nightside."

I looked at her with the most serious expression. "Are you crazy? After so much, you still want to stay here?" She smiled at me, and there was nothing joking about in her smile. "There's more than one kind of nightmare in the world. Believe me, no matter how scary Nightside is, it's never going to compare to the hell I'm fleeing from. I want to follow you, John. Do you need a secretary? Every private eye doesn't Does everyone have a sharp-tongued secretary? It's stipulated in the rules, right?" Suzy couldn't help laughing.I glared at her and she immediately faked a cough.Walker returned to direct the work in the clearing again.I turned to Cathy grimly.

"I just saved your life, but I didn't say I would adopt you!" "There's no rush to study it now." Cathy said confidently, and then looked at the open space across the street. "Seriously, what the hell do you think that is?" "Just a Predator," I said. "It's just better at camouflaging than other predators. It's... some kind of product from the Night City." (End of Night City Series 01 "City of Eternal Night")