Cypher felt each little movent in redith's body. He felt strange, as his mory reminded him of her as soone stiff, proud, and one who talks back. But here she was, in his grasp like a doe stuck in a trap. It was all about the level of power one possessed, clearly. She submitted to a higher authority and stomped on those below.
And he was… Omnissiah was… scary.
"Can you back it up? All I know is—"
Cypher said nothing and pointed towards the city in the distance. His one hand stayed on her belly, like he was hugging her, the other stretched away. "Look there and see it for yourself."
Instantly, the Night City returned to its majestic lights. The darkness vanished, and the buildings lit up. The large, skyward holographic advertisents appeared again. The entire sky above the city looked like a large bulb had suddenly turned on.
"If I wanted to hide, redith, I'd have bided my ti in secrecy. But I didn't, I showed my tech, little bits of them, dumbed down versions. And look where that landed ? I get to et Director Goldstein, and he's the one chasing like a desperate lover. I barely lifted a finger for that."
"What?!" redith moved quickly and turned around between his arms. "You planned all this?"
"Not my original idea, but once I knew you were onto , I chose to play the cards. And sohow you're still undershooting , even after throwing around Omnissiah, redith. You're gonna have to think a hell of a lot bigger, and then stack that up a few tis over. Now, I need an answer."
Cypher released her entirely and stepped away, crossing his arms. He let the sound of the water fill the air, and the hum of it as well. The electricity was back, so the floodlights nearby were on. He could see her clearly, as could she.
"What's her internal stat, Atlas?"
[She is nearing hypertension. Her neural activity has risen at an exponential rate. Her heart rate mirrors that of soone who had just run a marathon.]
Cypher smirked and stayed silent. He knew she wanted this. She wanted to rise and beco powerful. That was her dream to begin with. He only raised the ceiling and showed her a grand dream. Still, to redith, this was a significant step. Betraying Militech wasn't an easy decision.
"Alright." redith voiced suddenly and walked closer. Her right hand reached out, still nervous. "I'll do it. And… don't even think about fucking over."
"Yeah, I might end up doing that. Just not the way you're thinking." He smirked, gave a slow head shake, then winked. "Welco to Project Renaissance, redith Stout."
To that, redith showed a smile as well, but a half-nervous sort.
"Now." Cypher stepped in close, real close, and softly held the side of her face, his thumb rubbing over her cheek. He wanted her to get used to this type of treatnt because he enjoyed startling her like this. "Get going. By morning, you'll hear from . I'll let you know where and when to bring Director Goldstein. Tell him you've seduced successfully, but I'm not so easy to be swayed with just that."
Revealing a surprising show of guts, redith suddenly pressed herself into his chest, all the way. One of her hands reached up to hold his shoulder. Her face beca icy plain, eyes narrow.
"Are you? Seduced?"
Cypher smirked and, for the first ti, let his one hand land flat on her ass. He still didn't squeeze, just felt the bubbly softness. He flexed his erection, aware she felt it against her pelvis. "You're getting there, almost."
"Hm, guess I won't be lying to the Director then," redith said stiffly, brushing her hand across his chest before pulling herself off him. "I'll head back, Mr. Blackwell. I hope I won't regret this."
"You won't." Cypher watched her walk away, her hips a sight to behold. Those high heels really made them stand out. But she still had so visible dread in that walk. Like she was escaping a lion's den alive, and trying to act brave.
"Keep track of her, Atlas, at all tis, in every way possible. If she tries to play double-agent, deal with her."
[If she truly acts against the goodness of this world, which leads through our plan, I may have the justification. If not, I can only stun her and bring her to you.]
"That will do, Atlas. Anyway, I'm tired now. We gotta start renovating the club tomorrow."
[That we do, Cyph. Go rest.]
####
The next few days were spent working on the entire twenty-four-floor building Cypher had bought. The first thing needing to be fixed was its foundation, which was the reason the building was abandoned. The Microbots were helpful there.
Cypher had to make a few trips from ho to load boxes of microbots and bring them to the building. There, newly purchased material would co, and the earlier microbots would make more of themselves.
By the end of the second day, thousands of microbots had started work on the building's interior, starting with the club and his personal apartnt on the roof. The club was given a more modern look, but still had an overall blue the. There were neon signs, holographic screens, new seating that didn't look cheap, and better private booths, not just open corners.
Entire new sections were created on the upper floor where teams could gather and discuss their missions in privacy. They were soundproof private booths. On the upper floor, the cyberware shop, the gun shop, and the intel shop were built in multiple corners.
anwhile, the personal ho on the roof was simple but modern. It was built with a single high-ceilinged living and dining room combined, massive floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city, a private fake garden, two bedrooms, and one workroom.
By the third day, most of the demolition had finished. Construction materials started arriving in large trucks the sa day. But that night was ant for another itch, and this ti Cypher couldn't have been happier.
"Hah! It's Duracrete!" Cypher howled in excitent. "Atlas, use this!"
Duracrete was an artificial building material. It was a fluid material, aning it could be poured into any form and then hardened. And it was damn strong, since it was often used for docking bays for literal starships.
From that day, Atlas began using Duracrete in the basent levels under the shaft, and also in the new building. It was used to fix the building's foundation, and then used to strengthen the walls of the club, as well as Cypher's personal housing.
When the fourth day arrived, Cypher made Atlas send out the mass invitations.
He purposefully used the nas Obsidian and Cypher Blackwell in it, so people would co out of curiosity, if not nostalgia.
####
Panam knew she was living a boring life, but it paid the bills, so she kept at it.
Making deliveries that common movers would usually reject was her speciality. She had a truck, her wits, and hands that handled a gun pretty well. Although not as good as she hoped to be after that night in the tunnel.
Like usual, she was busy driving down the city with a new haul.
Beep!
She stopped humming to the music in the car and focused on the text. She bead up when she read the na, Cypher Blackwell.
"Oh? He's moving up fast! This man."
Her brows nearly vanished into her scalp, and she almost hit the car ahead. It was an invitation to Club Atlantis' opening in a few days.
"Atlantis? I think I've heard that na."
She read the entire invitation. It said she could bring her friends with her as well, and that drinks and food were free that night.
How could she say no to that?
She quickly typed a response. "Will do."
Then, she called Mitch to tell him about it.
####
Across Night City, many received that invitation.
So were fixers, so were rcs, so were sellers, and others were simply rich folks who liked to mingle with the rough crowd. There were a few won as well, the joytoy sort.
Cypher was busy preparing for that night. He spent all his ti at the club, bringing Lucas with him, letting him stay in his under-construction ho on the terrace.
He was only focused on the club as the rest could wait. He wanted to start his chro and intel selling business. He knew with Atlas' help, the latter would beco a major earner. It would beco the big attraction that would pull away crowds from Afterlife.
The fourth day went by. Then fifty, and finally, the night of the opening party arrived. What would have taken months had been done in days, thanks to the microbots that could be scaled in numbers easily.
All the caras were working. All the security systems were in place. All the drinks were stocked, and the bartenders were hired with Judy's contacts at Lizzie's. He didn't poach any of them, just found new ones through referrals and hired those who endured Atlas' scrutiny.
Half an hour after the party officially started, he dressed up in a regular, bulletproof black suit with a white shirt and black tie. He holstered his gun inside his suit jacket, combed his hair, and walked to the elevator.
"Gonna get a new itch tonight," he muttered in the elevator. "Keep that in mind."
[I rember it, Cypher. You also have a eting with Director Goldstein after the party.]
"I know. How's the party going?"
[It's free food and drinks. Everyone seems to be enjoying it. The BD booth with Old Net entertainnt and the Pre DataKrash music on the dance floor is working its charm.]
"Alright, here we go. Ti for the big boss to show up," Cypher said and smugly fixed his tie. "Start naming people if I don't recognize them."
______________________
Check out Cypher X Panam, Cypher X Gloria, Cypher X Judy NSFW ART, and advance chapters at [email protected]/MrPlotThickens Or Subscribestar.adult/mrplotthickens
Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 8 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 26-30 Webnovel chapters.
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