He stared at the valve turned in his hand in disbelief, then bent down to listen at the hydrant, but all he heard was the sound of air flowing.

"...Sword Saint, it's empty in here."

"..."

Sword Saint covered his face, unsure of what to say.

Meanwhile, Coupon, who went to chase the attackers, had also returned.

Seeing the empty-handed Batman, Sword Saint asked knowingly

"Did you catch the guys?"

Coupon shook his head

"We were about to catch up when their leader's head just exploded. No bullet marks... seems like suicide."

"Exploded?"

"Yes, it just exploded, and all of them were highly modified, even their blood was white."

Sword Saint almost asked if Coupon had shattered the guy's head as an excuse, but then thought that the other guy isn't crazy enough to do that.

What kind of lunatics are they really dealing with?

Before coming here, he genuinely thought it was just a deranged Vortex Gang stronghold.

But for now, the clues have temporarily dried up, and they can't waste any more time on this.

Sword Saint looked at the expanding flames in front of him and the crowd screaming in terror, gritted his teeth

"We can't wait any longer. Get on the official forum and channel, call for help and get the fire under control first."

Masked Rider: "We don't have extinguishers, can't even use the hydrants. How do we control it?"

Sword Saint: "No extinguisher? Use your hands then. Clear out the flammable materials, and create a firebreak."

Tonight, the northern sky of Night City

Is crimson red.

——

Lin Miao, who had gone to sleep, opened his eyes

"Hey..."

Can't even get a moment's peace.

"Hmm... what's going on?"

Lucy, lying on top of him, mumbled sleepily, unaware of what was happening.

"There's a big fire in the Watson District."

"...What does that have to do with us?"

Lucy rubbed her eyes, not grasping the implications of the statement

"It's related to our people."

"...Are they... the ones starting the fire in Watson District?"

Even if Lucy were dense, she'd know what's going on by now.

"They're not the ones who started it. They're being attacked on the scene, and now the fire's spreading rapidly."

"Night City's fire brigade... better not count on them."

Even the cops are like that, how could they count on firefighters?

Even though Twin Towers hasn't had an accident in this world, the private sector situation is still infinitely worse.

Lin Miao gently tapped Lucy's smooth back, signaling her to let go of him.

Lucy realized she was clinging to Lin Miao like an octopus, blushed, and quickly let go, allowing him to get up and get dressed.

Looking out the window, although they were only on the third floor, they could see the sky over Watson District in the distance painted fiery red by the blaze.

Lin Miao stood at the window, looking at the clarifying text from Blue Eyes stating the incident had nothing to do with him

He couldn't help but sigh

"Every day, it's something..."

Lucy picked up the jacket from the sofa to help Lin Miao put it on

"Just ignore it. The fire's got nothing to do with you, let the city council and those companies worry about the firefighting."

According to Lin Miao, the fire wasn't started by the players; it was set by those who attacked them.

In her view, it's best to steer clear of such things, don't get involved. After all, Watson District's fire won't reach Santo Domingo, not with Westbrook in between.

Besides not gaining anything, it could end up causing trouble for them.

Lin Miao turned around to look at her

"Some things can't be measured solely by interests. If I did that, I wouldn't be any different from those money-grubbing people."

"Societal responsibility always needs someone to bear it, otherwise it'll eventually come back to haunt everyone."

"Moreover, it's important to have people in every era willing to go against the flow to do things that seem silly to others."

"I may not be one of them, but I can provide a little support, a bit of help from the sidelines."

The wall clock's hands had already passed midnight for quite a while.

This also means, a new day has begun

Whether to take action or not often isn't up to Lin Miao but those players on the first floor.

Can they just watch as the fire spreads throughout the city, burying countless citizens in the blaze and remain unmoved?

Is that possible?

If the fire wasn't related to them, maybe. But since they're involved, even if not the ones who started it, they can't just sit back and do nothing.

Lin Miao isn't like those planners who are constantly antagonistic to players, always nerfing strong equipment, secretly altering probabilities, tweaking AI difficulty, probably touching themselves in glee when players cry in despair.

In short, they don't let players enjoy themselves—damned if they do.

[Main Mission: Watson District Fire]

[Mission Background: You have just unveiled a corner of Night City's dark side, and someone couldn't hold back, using ruthless methods without regard for costs, willing to ignite the entire Watson District to erase traces. We cannot sit idly by and let the fire devour the lives and property of the people.]

[Someday we might ignite this city by ourselves, but never in this manner.]

[Mission Introduction: Create a firebreak to control the spread of the fire, evacuate the people, rescue those trapped in the fire, until the fire is extinguished.]

[Mission Reward: Participants will receive the permanently rare event title "Hero of Fire" and a reward of 2000 Euro Bucks as well as ten exploration point loot boxes, significantly boosting reputation in the Watson District]

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