Cyberpunk 2074: Shadows of the Past

"Good afternoon, viewers of Night City! The first guest of our program today is the 'last liberator' and the president of the Eliyahu Church - the esteemed Father Colfer!"

"Praise our Lord forever, praise our Heavenly Father!" A middle-aged man with a golden cross inlaid between his eyebrows and dressed as a clergyman bowed politely to the camera and chanted devoutly.

In the dim bedroom, only the TV screen and a little spark were the only lights flickering.

"Huh..." He exhaled a puff of light smoke and let it dance a self-admiring round dance in the air, leaving only a slowly escaping circle.

"V...Turn down your voice..." The person next to him muttered, turned over, and wrapped his head in a pillow.

V smiled, put the cigarette on the ashtray on the bedside table, turned around and took away the thick quilt covering Jill.

"V!" The angry shout came as expected.

Blocking his ears as expected, V shrugged his shoulders.

"Get up soon, it's already afternoon."

"Connard (French: swear word)" Jill rubbed her sleepy eyes and uttered a curse word in a low voice.

"Here, hot water." V took a glass of warm water from the bedside table and put it into the hand of Jill, who was still a little dizzy.

Jill glanced at her, sighed, and took a sip from the water glass.

"So what's going on? Is this your home?" Putting the empty water glass back into V's hand, Gil rubbed his scattered purple hair in annoyance, "Are we doing this harshly? "

"Pfft..." V didn't expect such explosive words to come out of Jill's mouth. His hand shook and he almost threw the cigarette he just picked up on the floor.

"What are you thinking about?" She couldn't help laughing, "We got off the bus last night. You saw that I was in a bad mood, so I offered to go to my house to sit there, have a few drinks and then leave. Unexpectedly, I ended up drunk..."

"How is that possible!? I have a prosthetic liver equipped with BTC, so it is basically impossible to get drunk..." Jill shouted exaggeratedly, with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Ha..." V smiled proudly, sat up from the bed, walked barefoot to the cabinet not far from the bed, and slowly opened the cabinet door as if to show off, "Dangdang! I have everything here. It’s something I’ve treasured for many years!”

"'Water of Life' Polish distilled vodka, American golden ale, Scottish distilled whiskey, Grenada rum, Balkan vodka... I*!" As a professional bartender, Jill subconsciously recited the names of those spirits. "Crap, V! You store explosives at home, don't you?"

"This is all precious liquid..." V carefully closed the cabinet door again, "Last night you picked up a bottle and started drinking it without saying anything. I almost didn't stop you..."

"No wonder I feel burning pain on the tip of my tongue and stomach..." Jill rubbed her belly with a scared look on her face.

"Are you hungry? I ordered takeout." V tiptoed and sat on the lazy chair next to the bed.

"I didn't pay attention when I came yesterday... Your house is quite luxurious..." After feeling relieved, Jill had some time to look at V's bedroom.

"My family has some subsidies, and I have recently made a name for myself in Arasaka, so I decorated it well."

"That's great..." Gil thought of his room, which was only about three and a half square meters in size, and sighed softly, "You have to come to the store every day from now on, and I will kill you several times!"

"Okay, okay..." V glanced at Jill's slightly gloomy expression and quickly changed the subject, "Have you seen the TV? There is a grand funeral today."

"Which big shot is it?"

Bad emotions come and go quickly.

Jill quickly regained her composure and asked calmly.

"This time they finally did some personnel work..." V pointed to the TV screen, "NCPD headquarters, together with many giants such as Ye's Company, held a memorial ceremony for those who died in the '118 Incident' and the '120 Incident' Funeral ceremony..."

"In the church?" Gil glanced at the priest who was slowly answering the host's questions on the TV show, and guessed.

"Yes, the largest church in Night City..." Following V's words, the TV happened to switch to the scene of the church.

A huge church imitating the Gothic architectural style stands in the wilderness of the countryside, like a giant from the ancient times, always adhering to ancient promises and silently watching the rise and fall of all things in the world.

"It looks quite intimidating..." Jill wrinkled her nose. She had no faith, so naturally she had no awe at all for this grand building. "Look at the expressions of the audience in the church... except for the few sitting in the front row. Except for family members and friends, the faces of everyone else are almost uniformly dull and indifferent."

The camera slowly panned over the people sitting in the church. V stared at the TV screen, but unexpectedly spotted a few familiar faces.

"Hey, why are they two there?"

"who?"

"Oh...my friend."

Perhaps because of their outstanding appearance, the camera tracking the traffic stayed on their seats for a few seconds longer.

V also took the opportunity to point to the handsome man and woman in the center of the screen, "Here, my friends, the silver-haired girl is called Heda Kasdei, the blue-eyed man is called Yahweh... and there is another one I don't recognize... It should be another friend of theirs.”

"Casdey? It sounds like a French surname..." Gil thought for a few seconds, but finally failed to catch the vague impression that flashed through his mind.

"Maybe you will get along well with each other..." V cut off the cigarette and said with a smile, "Next time I will bring them all over and go to the store to support them."

"Although I'm not the boss, I still want to thank you..." Jill made a face at V and said angrily.

"Look at the time, I guess the process is about to end..." V glanced at the clock on the wall, "How about tonight? It's better to choose a different day. I'll call them later."

"Are you really going to take them to the store? I don't even plan to go to work today..." Jill frowned and said, "How about I ask for a day off and you invite them to your home or go out to eat? A treat for you?"

"Hoho, I didn't expect you to have the demeanor of a master... It's a pity that I'm not Huan..." V praised him with a look of regret on his face.

"Hot knowledge, generally 90% of people who say 'I'm not a 囧' are out-and-out 囧..."

"real or fake?"

"Of course..." Jill stretched lazily and got out of bed on tiptoe.

"Say it first, I'm not embarrassed!" Looking at Jill who was approaching step by step, V shrugged his neck and said softly, but his confidence was not as strong as before.

"Gestures?" Gil stretched out his sinful claws and rushed toward V who was lying on the chair.

"Get out!" V scolded with a smile, gently pressing his foot against Jill's belly to prevent her from getting closer.

While they were busy laughing and playing, unexpected changes appeared on the unwatched TV screen.