Cyberpunk 2074: Shadows of the Past

The Night City in winter is not very friendly to gamblers who like to bet on the Dead Man Lotto.

One night passed, and dozens of people froze to death on the streets alone.

This greatly increases the difficulty for dog gamblers to bet on the right numbers.

They have to step out of their homes, or go to the streets in person to collect information, or issue commissions and find people to investigate to mark the living conditions of those street rats.

No one cares about the lives of homeless people except them.

2074, January 17, 17:10

The sun seems to be tired of the decaying stench of this sinful city, and is impatient to take away the last trace of warm radiance in the world.

The biting cold was mixed with the biting cold wind, howling savagely.

The God of Death waved the sickle in his hand carelessly, harvesting the thin and displaced crops on the streets one after another.

Laura was tense, walking through the narrow alley, carefully stepping over a cold female body that collapsed on the ground.

January 17th is her birthday.

In the past, my mother would always take her cheerful self on this day and go out to celebrate happily.

They would buy two new clothes from the clothing stall downstairs.

Every time, Laura would follow her mother's instructions and seize the only opportunity of the year to look carefully in the mirror and carefully observe the changes in her appearance and height.

The stall owner who sells clothes is a good person and will allow her to use chalk to write down her height on the edge of the mirror.

Afterwards, her mother would take her to an old ramen restaurant in the alley and order a big bowl of steaming ramen.

Year after year, it's the same.

This is the happiest and happiest day of the year for little Laura.

Until three years ago.

Her mother took her into the alley as usual, but she never came out.

Laura couldn't remember exactly what happened that day.

I only remember the rough roars of several men and the miserable screams of my mother that kept lingering in my ears.

I only remember the turbid liquid that kept flowing and spreading in my field of vision.

I only remember the dried tears on my mother’s face and the blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.

Laura shrank her head and tightened the shabby cotton jacket wrapped around her body.

This is the only legacy left to her by her mother.

She pursed her lips, which were pale from the cold, and walked with her head lowered, dragging her heavy steps on the rough ground of the alley, making wailing sounds.

As she walked, she stayed away from tall buildings and passed by her former home.

After her mother died, she couldn't afford the rent and had to live on the streets.

As she walked, she passed a dirty stall.

I heard that the kind stall owner also died.

It is said that he was beaten to death for secretly filming customers changing clothes.

She thought, slowed down her pace, turned around and walked towards the empty and shabby stall.

Among the pile of tattered clothes, the mirror with the mark of her height still stood crookedly, like a dog guarding a tomb.

She gently wiped the thick dust on the mirror with her hand. The small face in the mirror was covered with scars and stained with black dust.

So ugly.

She sighed softly.

Three years ago, she looked in front of this mirror and used a key to draw deep blood marks on her pretty face.

Just to stay alive.

In order not to be roughly dragged into the depths of the alley by those people.

She rubbed the corners of her red eyes, picked up the tattered scarf hanging nearby, and wrapped it around her face.

She took steps and walked towards Japan Street.

It is said that in the entire Night City, Japan Street has the most leftovers and the most delicious ones.

If you're lucky, you might be able to eat a fish that's incomplete.

Laura licked her lips slightly, but she only tasted a faint taste of rust.

God willing, on her 18th birthday, reward her by finding some reasonably complete food in the trash can.

She clasped her hands together, muttered, and walked towards the trash can on the roadside.

2074, January 17, 18:00

"Yahweh! I'm hungry." Xida, who had been playing around all afternoon, finally started to cry out.

Yahweh touched the girl's silver hair and glanced sideways at another short-haired woman who was quietly rubbing her belly.

"I'm hungry too." Lucy secretly rubbed her belly, but her tone was a little cold.

"What to eat?"

"In Japan Street... of course we eat Japanese food!" Xi Da squinted her eyes and enjoyed her boyfriend's gentle touch, expressing her demands in a low voice.

"Isn't it a little too expensive..." Lucy rubbed her chin. She had just arrived in Night City for a few days and couldn't afford such extravagant consumption.

"Yahweh is treating us! Let's go buy new clothes after we eat!" Xida secretly poked the man's solid abdomen with her elbow. The wonderful touch made her a little addicted.

Yahweh smiled helplessly, and he couldn't hide the secret of hiding private money from Xi Da.

But anyway, it’s dark money from biotech companies, and it’s not wasted until it’s wasted.

"Oh, you actually hid private money..." Lucy and Xi Tao made eye contact for less than a second, and they immediately reacted and cooperated.

"Okay, okay, I'm treating...I'm treating..." He raised his hands in the air to express surrender, so as not to be teased further by the two of them.

"Let's go!" Xi Da nodded with satisfaction and took the initiative to take several large and small bags from the man.

Lucy raised her eyebrows and stayed away from the two men with feigned disgust.

The interaction between Heda and Yahweh made her a little envious.

She had only seen this kind of scene on those useless data fragments on the deep web.

"Lucy?" The silver-haired girl turned around and called softly, waking her up from being distracted.

"coming."

Lucy took agile steps and quickly caught up with the two closely connected figures in front of her.

2074, January 17, 18:15

"The environment here is quite high-end..." Xi Da patted the tables, chairs and benches in novelty, as childishly as a child.

Yahweh sighed, stretched out his hand to catch Heda, who was wandering around, pressed her into his arms, and locked her with both hands.

Lucy sat opposite the two of them, holding her head up, slightly crossing her legs, dangling her leisurely feet, watching the sweet interaction between the idiot couple without saying a word.

Xi Da struggled several times, but unfortunately all failed.

In the end, she collapsed weakly in the man's arms, her face pressed against his throat, and she rubbed back and forth.

Lucy rubbed her belly and frowned.

Even before the food was served, I felt 30% full.

"What are you thinking about?" Yahweh asked softly when he saw that no one was talking at the table.

"I'm thinking of you..." The girl lying in her arms murmured softly, completely ignoring the presence of outsiders.

Lucy shook her head helplessly and hesitated to speak. She had no choice but to take the dishes brought by the waiter and place them on the table one by one.

She picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

Yahweh and Heda looked at her deliberate silence in amusement and stopped playing around.

2074, January 17, 18:16

Laura's little body lay in the trash can, rummaging through it, and finally found food that could be eaten.

She squatted by the wall and ate with big mouthfuls, feeling the happy feeling of the cold food residue flowing down her esophagus and mixing with the warm gastric juice, and she smiled happily.

She looked at the high-end restaurant across the street from a distance, stretching out her lovely nose and sniffing hard, chasing the trace of gourmet fragrance floating in the air.

Smelling this light fragrance, it feels like you have already tasted delicious food.

She thought happily and gently licked the dry and cold sauce on her fingertips.