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Chapter 326 c
🕑 Added 2025-07-20 15:00:18 +0000 UTCChapter 326 c
2-in-1-chapter
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If River wasn’t exhausted because of this case, then what was it?
And why did he want to show Leo the footage from this case?
River’s miserable state didn’t look like an act.
He wasn’t going home to sleep but had called Leo out here—he must have a reason. River wasn’t the kind of man to act without purpose.
So Leo waited for his explanation.
“My nephew, Randy… he disappeared not long ago.”
Hearing the heavy tone in River’s voice, Leo quickly understood.
“Your nephew’s disappearance… is it connected to this Harris criminal?”
“Yes. At first I didn’t know. But then, when I saw the child sitting in the same car as Harris in the footage, I recognized the shoes—that was my nephew Randy’s footwear.”
The news had reported that besides the unfortunate Martinez, seven children remained missing.
So River’s nephew was among those seven missing kids?
No wonder River was in such a desperate state—now Leo understood.
Anyone would panic if something like this happened to a family member.
“The case got handed to Gonagall—that lazy bastard. He hasn’t found a damn thing.”
Gonagall… Leo had never heard that name before, but since River clearly had no respect for the man, it was probably deserved.
Still, one thing puzzled Leo…
“They didn’t assign the case to you? Why? They think you can’t stay objective?”
River drummed his fingers irritably on the steering wheel. “More like a restraining order—they won’t even let me near it.”
Leo understood.
Because the higher-ups wouldn’t let River touch the Harris case, he was asking Leo for help.
Just think: River was the kind of cop who would pursue the mayor’s death all the way to the end, even if it didn’t involve him directly.
Now this Harris case was personal—it involved his own nephew. And even though Harris had already been captured by NCPD, Randy’s whereabouts and fate were still unknown.
How could River not be anxious?
That’s why he wanted Leo’s help—just like last time.
Leo didn’t hesitate at all. He was willing to lend River a hand.
River was one of the few good detectives in this city. Leo was happy to help him—even if there was no pay involved.
But Leo still didn’t know exactly what River wanted him to do.
Harris, suspected of abducting Randy, was already in NCPD custody.
Right now, he was lying in a hospital bed, guarded. And according to the news, Harris hadn’t regained consciousness yet.
Then what was River’s plan? Was he asking Leo to sneak into the hospital with him and extract intel from Harris’s neural link?
“No, not that. Actually, they’ve already examined Harris’s brain. For some reason, his neural link is like a computer on its last legs—data corruption everywhere, chaotic information.”
“Even the department’s netrunners didn’t dare go too deep. His neural link is like a condemned building—touch anything and it might all collapse.”
“So, I’ve got another way to try to find a clue: by analyzing his dreams.”
Leo frowned. “His dreams?”
“Come on. I’ll explain on the way.”
River got out of the car and walked with Leo down the sidewalk.
It was dusk. Few pedestrians were on the streets, and cars driving past were turning on their headlights. Neon signs flickered constantly, casting multicolored psychedelic glows over passersby.
“This technology is still experimental—but it’s showing results. They record dreams and replay them through braindance.”
Leo immediately understood.
This approach was clever. Compared to directly interfacing with Harris’s neural link, recording his dreams was a much gentler method.
The only issue was whether this tech could induce the subject to dream.
If not, things might get tricky—not everyone dreams every time they sleep.
Glancing at River striding purposefully ahead, Leo mused, “So, we’re going to retrieve these dreams now?”
“That’s right. They’re all stored at the lab we’re headed to.”
River led the way. Leo followed him across a crosswalk. They hadn’t even walked 200 meters before they reached an NCPD building on the street.
Seeing “NCPD Laboratory” on the sign above the entrance, Leo knew this was the destination.
No wonder River had arranged to meet nearby—he was saving time.
Standing outside the main door, Leo waited for River to unlock it.
But unexpectedly, River said, “The front door’s no good.”
Leo was taken aback. “What? Aren’t you an NCPD detective? Just swipe your badge—it’ll open, right?”
River responded matter-of-factly, “I told you—they won’t even let me near this case. My badge is useless here… Leo, what’s with that look on your face?”
Leo’s eye twitched.
“If we can’t go in through the front, and your badge won’t work… River, you do realize this means we’re about to break the law, right?”
“This isn’t called breaking the law, this is called flexible investigation. If you’ve ever worked for NCPD, you’d know—if you stick rigidly to the rules, nothing gets done.”
“I reserve my opinion on that.”
River was doing this for his nephew, and Leo could understand that. If it were someone he cared about who went missing, of course he would bypass procedure too.
But what surprised Leo was that River wasn’t even allowed in the building. What had he done to be excluded this completely?
A faint sense of unease crept up on Leo.
But he said nothing.
If River didn’t want to talk about it, Leo wouldn’t pry. In Night City, everyone had secrets—that was normal.
River couldn’t read Leo’s thoughts, but seeing his silence, he assumed Leo was upset and apologized: “Sorry about this, Leo. We’ll need to find another way in. Once we locate what we need, we’ll get out fast. I haven’t been here before, so I have to rely on professionals like you.”
Leo nodded and activated the scan function of his tactical goggles, quickly identifying that the NCPD lab didn’t have only one entrance.
After confirming this, he gestured to River: “Follow me.”
A moment ago River had been leading the way, but now Leo took the front, leading him around the building to a side alley.
There was a side door—if it could be opened, it would offer an easy way inside.
River stepped forward to try the door but, unsurprisingly, found it locked.
Left with no choice, River gave Leo a hopeful look: “Looks like we’ll have to hack this to get in. How’s your hacking skill, Leo?”
“Don’t look at me—I’m no hacker. If you’d mentioned this earlier, I would’ve brought my friend.”
River scratched his head. “Does your friend live far? How long would it take her to get here?”
“Forget it, she wouldn’t make it in time. Besides, there’s another way in.”
Leo led River forward another ten meters, then used a trash bin as a step to climb over a wall, reaching the back of the lab.
This was the staff parking area.
River was dumbfounded. “We could have come in this way the whole time?”
They climbed a fire escape to an upper floor and finally entered through an open window.
“At last, we’re in,” River said, swaggering ahead. “They’re doing an audit today, so no one’s around. Even if we make noise, it doesn’t matter.”
Leo frowned. “How do you know about the audit?”
River had never been here before, yet he knew today was audit day and that the place would be empty…
Was he deliberately choosing this time? He claimed the brass wouldn’t let him handle this case, but wasn’t this going too far?
“I did my homework.”
“Alright,” Leo replied, deciding not to dwell on it. “Do you know where they keep the dreams he recorded?”
From the outside, the NCPD lab looked large. If they had to search room by room, it would take forever.
“Most likely in the Braindance editing room for autistic children. Look for a sign with Anthony Harris’s name on it.”
River’s answer was practically useless.
If River hadn’t been here before, Leo certainly hadn’t either.
“So, where exactly is that?”
“No idea. Let’s split up. Check the signs above the doors. If you find it, ping me on comms.”
Leo sighed in resignation.
That was the only option.
“Wait—River, aren’t there surveillance cameras here?”
“I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry, Leo. Our esteemed Chief Gerald Fort decided not to install any here to save on costs—not a single one.”
“He’s not worried about anyone sneaking in?”
River laughed. “Who’d break into this place? The equipment’s all outdated. The megacorps don’t care about this junk. As for street thieves…”
“There’s no money here. Why bother?”
Leo gestured to the surrounding rooms. “There’s plenty of equipment. Even if you don’t know exactly what it’s worth, just hauling out the monitors could net a decent profit.”
River explained: “Fair point—but you’re missing the key detail: this place usually has plenty of staff around....Staff with guns. It’s only empty today because of the audit. Even a lunatic bold enough to hit this lab wouldn’t know when it would be empty.”
“And besides, why bother breaking into an NCPD lab when it’s easier to rob a shop on the street?”
….........
The lab was large, but at least they only needed to check the nameplates on the doors, not search every room inside. That was a small mercy.
After about ten minutes, Leo finally found the fabled Braindance Editing Room for Autistic Children.
“River, I found it.”
“Good. Hold tight—I’m coming over now.”
When River arrived, he checked the door’s nameplate to confirm.
“No doubt. This is the one. Let’s get what we need and get out before anyone comes back.”
They entered the room. The first thing Leo noticed were two reclining chairs, the kind commonly found in ripperdoc clinics, next to a machine whose function was unclear.
A childish painting hung on the wall beside the chairs—a clear indication of who the patients here were.
A small oval table on the left held a few scattered books and two Rubik’s cubes.
On the right, near the wall, several filing cabinets stood.
River’s cybernetic eye scanned them and quickly identified the cabinet containing Anthony Harris’s records.
River’s face lit up. He rushed over, yanked the drawer open, and pulled out Harris’s file.
“No doubt—this is Anthony Harris’s data.”
Seeing River’s excitement, Leo suddenly asked, “Hey River, why didn’t you just have someone come open the door for you?”
River had mentioned before that he wasn’t allowed to get involved in this case.
But everywhere, throughout history, there were always workarounds.
Even if his superiors had ordered him not to interfere, River had worked at the department for years—could he really not have a single friend?
That couldn’t be true.
Getting a few friends to quietly help out, turning a blind eye—that was routine.
And this wasn’t just Leo speculating—films about cops often portrayed things exactly like this.
River, flipping through Harris’s file, replied, “I don’t want anyone gossiping again, saying I’m sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Leo shrugged.
He could tell River wasn’t being fully honest.
But whatever—that was River’s business.
In any case, they’d retrieved what they came for; they could leave now.
“Shit! I knew it!” River suddenly exclaimed, visibly agitated.
“What is it, River?” Leo asked.
River shoved the file back into the cabinet and slammed it shut.
“Remember I told you this case was handed off to Gonnagall? That idiot didn’t get anything useful—this whole file is full of useless nonsense!”
Frustrated, he ran his fingers through his hair. “Sorry, Leo—I’m just a bit worked up.”
Leo’s expression suddenly hardened.
“Forget that for now. Someone’s coming.”
“What?” River froze for a second. “That can’t be. No one should be here today.”
“Well, she’s coming—and she’s headed straight for this room.”
Leo quickly glanced around the room—there was nowhere to hide.
He motioned for River to press himself against the wall beside the door.
They had no authorization to be here—getting caught would mean serious trouble.
If whoever entered came all the way into this room, Leo would have no choice but to knock them out before they could raise the alarm.
He didn’t want to end up on NCPD’s wanted list.
The footsteps drew nearer. It became clear the visitor was heading directly here—perhaps to retrieve Harris’s case file—and so had returned unexpectedly.
Half a minute later, the door slid automatically into the wall.
A woman entered—short hair, blue blouse, black skirt, black stockings.
The moment River saw her, his pupils shrank sharply. He immediately stretched out a hand to stop Leo from striking, and spoke first.
“Yawan.”
The woman turned, puzzled by the voice.
When she recognized River, she was stunned. “River?! What the hell are you doing here?! You’ve already been fired from the force!”
River, by contrast, stayed calm. “Technically, suspended.”
Leo glanced back and forth between River and Yawan. “Fired? Suspended?”
