2077: V really knows how awesome he is

"Hey!"

Solomon Reed was startled. Had he revealed some flaw?

He turned around cautiously, expecting to be questioned and harassed, but instead a broom was shoved into his hand.

The prison auntie, shaking her drooping breasts, said fiercely, "Kid, don't even think about leaving until you've cleaned up the mess you made!"

Solomon Reed: ...

That day, he swept the floor all afternoon. But because of this punishment, he also watched the replay of the new US presidential inauguration ceremony in fits and starts.

When he saw the administrative orders such as "Comprehensively Improve the Treatment of Military Personnel and Their Families", "Do a Good Job in the Resettlement and Retirement of Veterans", and "Actively Carry Out International Cooperation to Exchange Peace for the Future", his long-dormant heart couldn't help but flutter.

When he heard that "Rosalind Miles declared while incarcerated that she would do anything to take back everything that was rightfully hers," he nodded without surprise, thinking that this was exactly the kind of thing Miles was capable of.

From this perspective, the current danger to the new America lies within, not outside. Only by dismantling the power of Miles and his remnants can the country's peace and stability be ensured.

No, we need to verify the authenticity of this message first.

Solomon Reed was still not entirely convinced, because a qualified agent would never listen to a single source of information; only by comparing multiple sources could the true answer be obtained.

He decided to talk to Alex and hear her thoughts. Since she had been in the medical ward for a week and the news had been running for several days, Alex must have seen it too.

So, getting discharged from the hospital as soon as possible became Solomon Reed's biggest demand. He thought it wouldn't be difficult, since his injuries had almost healed. But unexpectedly, the doctor found that he had erectile dysfunction, also known as impotence, which is commonly referred to as erectile dysfunction. A big X was drawn on his health test report.

“This is an old injury, something I sustained while working in the past. It has nothing to do with this riot, and it doesn’t matter if I don’t treat it!” Solomon Reed tried his best to explain to the doctor.

But the doctor, holding his thermos, remained calm and composed: "That won't do. Now that you're in the medical ward, we want you to leave unharmed. This..."

“That’s the rule!” Solomon Reed said angrily.

The doctor smiled and said, "Yes, that's the rule, so you can go back now. I've already prepared the medication, and the medical staff will give you the injection in a bit. The medication has a slight drowsy side effect, so just think of it as a rest."

Solomon Reed had no choice but to go back. Soon after, medical staff came and gave him an injection, and he drifted off to sleep.

Solomon Reed received injections for three days and slept for three days. On the fourth day, the doctor changed his medication. This time, instead of being drowsy, he was excited, so excited that he couldn't sleep for nights on end. Three more days passed, and the doctor changed his medication again. This time, instead of being drowsy or excited, he was melancholic. Solomon Reed would lament the desolation of falling leaves one moment, and then lament the brevity of life the next. Eventually, he even cried over the excrement stuck to the toilet that he couldn't flush down.

Once the effects of the drug wore off, even a fool like Solomon Reed would know there was a problem and resolutely refused to inject any more drugs.

The doctor didn't make things difficult for him. If he didn't want to have the injection, he didn't have to. The doctor simply had the top agent tied to the hospital bed with restraints, pulled down his pants, and brought over fifty interns to visit the actual case.

The interns were both male and female. The doctor used tweezers to hold the patient's area while demonstrating and explaining to the students. The interns listened attentively, taking notes and asking questions, fully demonstrating their thirst for knowledge.

And so Solomon Reed was "visited" for another three days, during which time he was subjected to various electroshock and acupuncture treatments, making his life a living hell and leaving him with no will to live.

The top agent was starting to lose his composure. He knew this was the effect of the drugs he'd taken earlier—the drowsiness, the euphoria, the depression—that stuff must have altered the chemicals in his body, causing mood swings. As an agent, he was quite adept at this and was trying his best to regulate his emotions, but he had to admit, the other party's methods were incredibly sophisticated; there must have been a mastermind guiding him behind the scenes.

Solomon Reed guessed correctly.

There is indeed a master behind this, and that master is none other than Alex.

She'd be overjoyed to use the friendship of former colleagues as a pretext to settle personal scores!

Finally, after three days of inhumane observation, the doctors and students, through joint discussion, concluded: Your disease is incurable, just cut it off and replace it with a big steel cannon!

"Hold!"

The top agent couldn't hold back and cursed out loud this time.

Do you think I don't know I need to upgrade to a high-performance engine? Even a shady clinic on the street with an unlicensed doctor knows I need to upgrade to a high-performance engine. Do you think I need you to tell me that?!

Solomon Reed stumbled as he emerged from the medical ward, and River Ward, sitting in front of the monitor, frowned slightly.

"The effect doesn't seem very noticeable."

"Don't worry," Alex said confidently. "With drug interference and mental torture, Li De hasn't collapsed yet because he's been professionally trained and is tough and resilient. If you put an ordinary person in his place, they would have obeyed orders long ago."

"Your agents are really something. Although our NCPD has similar methods, they are still not as efficient as yours."

"NCPD members have to abide by laws and regulations, but secret agents don't. That's why we're not well-liked."

River Ward nodded, then suddenly panicked: "You're not going to use this trick on me too, are you?"

Alex laughed and said, "If you promise twelve times a week, I won't need to."

River Ward panicked: "I said ten times!"

"Fifteen times!"

"no……"

Eighteen times!

"Okay, okay, eighteen times, just eighteen times!"

River Ward broke out in a cold sweat. He looked at Solomon Reed, who was slowly moving along the wall while holding onto the monitor, and felt that he was his future self.

Eighteen times a week! Eighteen times! Eighteen times!!!

Whether the top agent has collapsed or not is unknown, but the future director of the NCPD is about to collapse.

Upon returning to his cell, Solomon Reed immediately sought out Alex.

"What's your opinion on the change of president in the new United States?" the top agent asked bluntly.

Alex rolled his eyes: "What's it to me!"

Solomon Reed frowned: "You've been getting too close to River Ward lately, that's not a good thing."

Alex rolled his eyes again: "None of your business!"

Solomon Reed was getting impatient with his old comrade's unyielding attitude. He wouldn't normally be in a hurry, but the previous series of moves had a significant impact on him, especially emotionally.

"River Ward might be a Night City mole!"

“What do you mean by ‘maybe’? He is. He told me everything.” Alex’s words were startling, taking Solomon Reed by surprise.

What did you tell him?

“I told him that you and I are both agents of the new America.”

"Damn it, how could you..."

"Please, he's an undercover agent in Night City. He knows our identities perfectly well. Why should I keep it a secret?"

Solomon Reed was taken aback. What he said... seemed to make sense.

"But you are an FBI agent, obligated to keep the country's secrets, and you have sworn an oath to His Majesty the President!"

"Screw oaths, the president I swore to is almost in jail." Alex sneered, "Reed, you're an old hand, you know the rule of 'a new emperor, a new court.' We're Miles's men, the new president definitely won't tolerate us. Anyway, I plan to take this opportunity to cut ties completely, and I advise you to prepare early."

Solomon Reed had truly lost control of his emotions. He grabbed Alex by the collar and shouted, "You've betrayed the new America!"

“New America betrayed me!” Alex retorted defiantly. “That’s right, I sold all the intelligence I knew. Don’t worry, you know I only have some insignificant stuff that won’t harm New America. With Reed and Miles gone, we’ve all lost everything. You want to sell intelligence? I can provide the means. You want to be a loyal subject? I won’t stop you. But don’t expect me to be like you. The money I made from selling intelligence is what I deserve after years of enduring humiliation! I just want to live a normal life. If you won’t even allow that, then I’ll kill you first. This time, I’m not joking!”

Solomon Reed looked into Alex's eyes and finally reluctantly let go of his hand.

“I thought we would be together until the end,” he said softly.

“We were built by Miles, and now that she’s out of power, this is our end. Reed, you’ve fought for this country for most of your life, now it’s time to think about yourself.” Alex walked away without looking back.

Solomon Reed leaned against the wall with his hands on his hips, head bowed, seemingly lost in thought.

In the monitoring room, River Ward pulled out a chair for Alex and asked anxiously, "Will he waver?"

“No.” Alex was absolutely certain. “I know Reed too well. My words will not only not sway him, but will only make him more determined!”

"Then why do you say that?"

"Of course, it's for our real purpose." Alex curled his lips. "The chances of Reed betraying New America are zero, but the more loyal he is to New America, the easier it is for him to side with the new president. My dear, let's have our lobbyist step in. The new president wants to smear and suppress the former president in order to consolidate his position. This has been the case since ancient times. What we need to present is a real lie!"

So the next day, Solomon Reed received his first visitor since his imprisonment.

“Hi, I’m here on behalf of the new president,” Kurt Hansen said with a smile, then casually tossed a commemorative coin onto the table: “Also on behalf of the former president.”

Chapter 63 The Game of Damage

"Clang clang".

The commemorative coin bounced on the table for a while before finally settling back down.

Solomon Reed stared intently at the "President Rosalind Commemorative Coin," a token that symbolized the restart of his life as a silent agent.

“Dog whistle, that’s what Miles calls you to start your program.” Kurt Hansen gestured toward the commemorative coins: “Do you know how many of these commemorative coins there are? A whole drawer full. I just opened the table and these worthless little things spilled all over the floor.”

Solomon Reed's pupils contracted sharply. He knew it wasn't that exaggerated, that Kurt Hansen was deliberately provoking him, but he also knew it was just "not that exaggerated," and that he was genuinely provoked.

He asked in a deep voice, "Have you sided with the new president?"

“How can you say I’ve defected? I was originally a regular soldier of the new America.” Kurt Hansen sneered, “It’s just that the new America doesn’t want me anymore.”

"At the time, it was simply a matter of necessity..."

“I understand, so when New America said they wanted to reinstate me, I went back without hesitation. Li De, we're quite similar in that respect, aren't we?”

“Not at all.” Solomon Reed shook his head: “I am acting for the country, while you are acting for your own personal gain.”

“If the state can protect my personal interests, I can give them up; but if the state cannot protect my personal interests, then I will fight for them myself!” Kurt Hansen leaned back in his chair: “You’re right, Li De, we’re not like each other. We may both be pawns, but you will be abandoned again and again, while I will only be abandoned once.”

Solomon Reed scoffed, "You really trust the new president that much?"

Kurt Hansen smiled: "No, I believe in V."

Solomon Riddell paused, speechless.

The dogtown boss laughed even harder: "Do you know what the biggest difference between us is? It's that I'm better at choosing masters. If I don't have a good master, I'll become the master myself, but you can't survive without a master."

"Was Meredith Stock really promoted by V?"

“Yes, Meredith Stock is a bit politically inexperienced, but she’s young and she can learn. The presidency isn’t some high-end job that requires specialized knowledge. There’s a saying that you can put a bunch of dogs and a pile of documents in the Oval Office and still decide national policy based on their paw prints. The so-called national will is just the will of a small group of people, and you and I both know how unreliable they are.”

"As for V's involvement in the politics of the new America... please, this is a great thing! You've seen the changes in Night City, don't you want the new America, your homeland, to become like Night City? You must have analyzed V's personality and style, and know that she's distributing the benefits of technology to the lower classes. This is indeed unconventional, and anyone else would probably have died eight hundred times over, but V's personal combat power is unprecedented. So you have to admit that she is truly changing the world order single-handedly, like Prometheus stealing fire from the gods back to earth."

Solomon Reed sighed, "What benefits did the new president give you that made you go to such lengths to speak well of them?"

“My family, and the family of the Ghost Hound.”

"that's it?"

“That’s all.” Kurt Hansen gave a mocking look. “We never ask for much, but unfortunately Miles won’t even give us this much.”

Solomon Reed sighed again. He suddenly understood why Miles had fallen so quickly. Not everyone was as selfless and devoted as he was, putting the national interest first. Miles had long since lost the support of his people without them even realizing it, and now it was simply a case of everyone kicking him when he was down.

"What do you want?" Finally, the Dogtown boss used his own experience to make the top agent accept the fact that Miles had fallen.

Kurt Hansen grinned: "Miles' dirt."

"Are you planning to completely end Miles's political career?"

"To be precise, we want her to spend the rest of her life in jail. She's still up to no good and is the biggest threat to the security and stability of the new America."

"Okay, I can hand over some information."

Not some, but all of them!

"No, what I've given you is enough for you to take down Miles. Any other intelligence, if leaked, will harm the interests of the new America. It's safest to keep it with me!"

"Don't be naive, loyalty is not absolute, it is absolute disloyalty!"

The meeting room fell silent, and after a long silence, Solomon Reed let out his third sigh.

"In the basement of the Carter's restaurant, behind the freezer, there is a safe. Inside is all the intelligence I've gathered over the years. The access code is 0931."

Become!

Everyone secretly monitoring the meeting cheered inwardly.

“You made the right choice.” Kurt Hansen stood up to leave.

“Wait a minute,” Solomon Reed called out, “When can I get out of prison?”

"The moment Rosalind Miles goes to prison will be the moment you come out." The Dogtown boss stopped at the door, turned around, and bowed gracefully, saying, "New America thanks you for your contribution."

For the sake of the new America, Solomon Reed kept secrets; for the sake of the new America, Solomon Reed betrayed secrets. These diametrically opposed actions, both seemingly contributing to the nation, left Solomon Reed with no sense of honor, only a profound sense of irony.

Whom should I pledge allegiance to? What is the right thing to do? Patriotism is so hard, so hard. Right now, the most powerful agent just wants to sleep.

Maybe when I wake up, everything will be different.

He guessed the beginning correctly, but not the ending.

When I woke up, things were indeed different, but not Solomon Reed, but Rosalind Miles.

V quickly obtained the secret intelligence held by the top agent, and what he saw shocked him. Miles's actions over the years, if not countless, were absolutely outrageous.