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Chapter 179 c
🕑 Added 2025-04-21 15:01:04 +0000 UTCChapter 179 c
But Leo didn’t explain—he only said they’d need it.
So Jackie and V didn’t press further.
They stepped onto the red-and-white marble tiles, walking past floor lamps casting a cool red glow. The doorman standing by the entrance bowed respectfully.
“Welcome to Konpeki Plaza.”
While waiting for the security check, T-BUG’s voice came back through the comms.
“Leo, I made the reservation under your alias—‘Luke,’” she repeated their cover. “You’re here to meet Takigawa Hajime, representing Militech. The Flathead is for business demonstration purposes.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
Leo went first through the security scanner.
No issues.
Next was Jackie, carrying the case.
When he stood inside the scanner, the light suddenly turned from blue to red. Jackie, being here for the first time, didn’t realize what that meant.
He thought the scan was done and started to move forward—Only to have a guard stop him with a firm hand.
“Hold up, we’ve got an issue.”
The guard instinctively reached for the grip of his sidearm.
Everyone knew how “welcoming” Night City could be. Plenty of folks living on the edge didn’t care for the corpos. Most just mouthed off, but some took action.
It was the guard’s duty to investigate anything suspicious as they never knew if a person would be the "take action" type.
“Sir, would you mind explaining why you’re bringing a combat bot into Konpeki Plaza?”
Jackie looked toward Leo instinctively.
Leo, of course, wasn’t about to hang Jackie out to dry.
He stepped forward, cool and sharp. “I don’t owe you an explanation. Call your manager. We booked this appointment days ago. Why are we even dealing with this kind of amateur mistake?”
The guard hesitated, but didn’t back down. “It’s protocol. In cases like this, we need a clear reason.”
The lobby manager, who had been stationed nearby, hurried over after hearing the commotion. A quick tap through his tablet, a cross-check with the registry—and just like that, the air shifted.
“You’re here to meet with Mr. Takigawa, correct? My deepest apologies. It’s our mistake. Gomen nasai!”
The manager bent into a perfect 90-degree bow, practically folding himself in half.
Hearing this, the guard stepped aside and disabled the scanner’s alert.
Once V passed through, the trio moved directly toward the main reception desk.
“Good evening, welcome to Konpeki Plaza.” The front desk receptionist had golden skin implants across her face. She smiled sweetly.
Interestingly, the lobby manager also had similar gold-tone enhancements. Apparently, the higher-ups at Konpeki thought this look added to the hotel’s luxury image.
Leo didn’t care much for the aesthetic preferences of the ultra-rich. “We’re checking in,” he said directly.
“Of course. May I have the name the reservation is under?”
“Luke Weili.”
She entered the name into the terminal. “A triple room, one night, is that correct?”
Leo nodded. “That’s right.”
So far, Dexter and T-BUG’s arrangements had been solid.
Smooth sailing.
Now all they had to do was get into the room, deploy the Flathead through the ventilation ducts, and have it crawl into the surveillance center.
Once there, T-BUG could bypass the subnet and disable the penthouse security. Konpeki Plaza wasn’t like the usual dive bar hideouts.
Disabling the whole building’s security was impossible. At best, T-BUG could neutralize just the penthouse system.
And even that wasn’t a full takeover—just temporary shutdown.
To fully seize control? That was something only the rogue AIs beyond the Blackwall could manage. But for this job, simply disabling the penthouse system would be enough.
Once T-BUG gave the all-clear, they’d move in, grab the package, and ghost out clean.
No noise, no witnesses.
But then—something unexpected happened.
The receptionist acted on her own.
“Great, I’ll go ahead and notify Mr. Takigawa that you’ve arrived. Please wait here.”
T-BUG’s voice flared in the comms, anxious and sharp. “Shit, no! That’ll blow the timing. Stop her—stall!”
Leo responded calmly, “No need.”
The receptionist blinked, confused. “But… isn’t Mr. Takigawa expecting you?”
Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Are you teaching me how to do my job? Maybe after our business meeting with Mr. Takigawa, we can discuss Konpeki Plaza’s service standards.”
His tone was soft. Gentle, even.
But the content of the words made the front desk lady quiver.
The receptionist trembled, eyes darting nervously toward the lobby manager—who was watching intently.
She quickly bowed. “I—I’m so sorry. That was inappropriate of me. Please forgive me.”
Leo nodded. “I forgive you. But here’s some advice. This is a luxury hotel, right? Then you already know—your guests are either rich or powerful. And people like that don’t appreciate being told what to do.”
The receptionist bowed again. “Y-yes, of course.”
“Excellent. Now, are the check-in procedures complete?”
…
The hotel’s interior wasn’t some gaudy mess like a wannabe tycoon’s mansion. Everything had been designed by true masters of architecture and interior decor.
The style was understated yet lavish.
Wall-mounted lights were used throughout. The lighting was gold-toned—warm but never harsh, casting just the right atmosphere.
As they walked across the cool metallic flooring, T-BUG seemed to still be hung up on Leo’s earlier outburst.
“Don’t you think that was a bit harsh?”
Leo didn’t see it that way. “Was it? I gave her a free lesson. Consider it a professional courtesy.”
The receptionist was probably new—still on her internship, maybe. Working hospitality in a place like this wasn’t easy.
And if there was one thing you didn’t do, it was make decisions on a customer’s behalf.
Put bluntly: that kind of move was reckless.
If it had been someone with a worse temper, she’d have been chewed out in front of everyone. Or worse—someone with a nice smile and a cold heart.
The kind who says nothing to your face, then drops a quiet complaint to corporate HQ.
And what happens then?
Docked pay? Chewed out by your team lead?
Or both?
…
Two guests stood openly in a hallway, loudly discussing a kidnapping plot.
No shame. No secrecy. Just bold, loud, and proud.
But this was an Arasaka hotel. Here, guest privacy was absolute—unless the guest posed a threat to Arasaka. In that case, anything said or done on-premises became admissible leverage.
As they passed the bar, Jackie whistled softly.
“Damn. This place looks slick.”
Leo still didn’t get the hotel’s obsession with employee aesthetic enhancements. But he had to admit—the interior design here had taste.
Elegant. Refined. Premium.
Top-tier vibes.
At the bar entrance, another server with gold skin implants greeted them.
“Welcome to Konpeki Plaza. On weekdays, we don’t require reservations. Please feel free to choose any open table—or take a seat at the bar if you prefer.”
“Man, this place is sweet. Might be nice to bring…”
Jackie trailed off, catching himself before he said the name.
Leo patted him gently on the back. This place was crawling with surveillance and listening devices. Sure, Arasaka protected guest privacy—but they also collected it.
Better to be cautious than dead.
The elevator doors slid shut in front of them.
Wearing high-end suits, walking through a hotel where one night’s bill could drain a corporate salary—this wasn’t something Jackie could’ve even imagined back in the day.
But now… here they were.
