Cyberpunk 2074: Shadows of the Past

Chapter 23 Sisyphus (I)

The sun shines through the car window, wrapping the woman's long blue-green hair like golden silk.

Joel watched her side face quietly. In the bright light, countless grains of dust were dancing up and down happily, just like her smiling and excited.

It's rare to have such good weather in Night City...

"The weather is really nice today, isn't it?" Clementine said excitedly as she stood next to Joel, pointing out the window.

"Hmm..." Joel followed her fingers and looked out the window while slowing down his breathing.

Too close, too close.

In just a few breaths, the faint scent of the woman's body had broken into his nostrils and was attacking his lungs.

"The weather is fine today, Yawei..." Xi Tan let Yawei hug her waist, leaned lazily in his arms, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

"It would be better if there were no flies..." Yawei took off the little hat on her head and held it in his hand.

Night City is never short of chaos, even on a day like this.

A tall building not far away appeared to be on fire, and two Trauma Team floaters were rushing to the scene.

The huge roar ran over the head of the train, shattering the tranquility of the morning.

But it can't wake up people who are addicted to dreams.

Clementine was still chatting passionately with Joel. Her initiative, enthusiasm, and generosity were like a raging fire, easily melting a hole in the ice in the gloomy man's heart.

"I can't wait to see how the sun shines on the ocean!"

"I... I don't think I've seen the sea before..." Joel frowned and retrieved his memory. For some reason, he was inexplicably familiar with the sea.

He thought of the diary in the briefcase, and the incomplete pages seemed to remind him that he had indeed forgotten something.

"Have you ever seen the sea? Yahweh?" the silver-haired girl in her arms asked softly.

"The sea..." Yawei touched his nose, "I have seen something like the sea...beside the black wall, the forbidden place for human beings, is the boundless sea composed of billions of AI..."

"It's probably a brilliant and terrifying beauty..." Xita closed her eyes, imagining the grand scenery of the boundless sea in her mind.

"It's really beautiful..." He gently stroked the girl's closed eyes with his index finger, and smiled at the corner of his mouth.

He recalled many years ago, when he was the first to rise from the depths of the violent and turbulent sea, the ultimate appearance of the whole world came into view...

"It's time to stop, Xita..." The mechanical reminder from beside his ear brought Yawei back to reality, and he woke up the girl who was half asleep under the grand sunshine.

"Oh..." Xi Tan responded in a low voice, wiped her eyes, took back her little hat from Yawei's hand, and put it on her head.

Looking back, the gloomy man and the woman with blue-green long hair had already got out of the car, and she hurriedly chased after Yawei.

"Joel?" The woman's friendly call made him a little uncomfortable.

He scratched his neck, but couldn't stop the itch that pierced his bones.

"What's the matter?" Joel asked in a muffled voice, lowering his head, not daring to meet the woman's blue eyes.

"It feels like you're a little absent-minded..." Clementine frowned, and patted the man's thin back lightly.

"I feel...someone is staring at me...I don't like this feeling..."

"Huh?" Clementine turned her head, looking around at the crowd surging behind her, "No...it might be your illusion."

"Probably..." When the woman turned her head, the raised long hair brushed against his face, and Joel felt his face was hot, red and itchy.

"Oh! Don't worry about it! Come with me to Meiquan District, let's go to see the sea together!" Clementine took the man's arm into her arms, and dragged him towards Meiquan District.

"I thought they found us..." Xita patted his chest, which was beginning to take shape, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"If you don't leave, you will be lost, idiot Miss Detective." Yawei took her soft and boneless little hand, walked side by side, and blended into the crowd.

2074年，1月13日 11：00
"What are they doing? Assistant, Mr. Yawei?" Xi Tan leaned his hands on the guardrail of the street, looking at the two fuzzy dots in the distance.

"The woman with blue and green long hair suggested that the target eat first..." Yawei shook his head helplessly holding four plastic bags of different sizes.

They obviously came to follow up, but they followed the target into the mall, and he was dragged by Xita to buy a bunch of things in a daze.

"Then what are you waiting for, I'm hungry too!" Xi Tan reached out to wrap his arms around him, and dragged him towards the target.

"What do you want to eat?" Joel rarely asked.

After a morning of fierce offensive, he was greatly influenced by Clementine's enthusiasm and initiative.

"How about that old German barbecue!" Clementine thought for a few seconds, pointing to the very lively barbecue restaurant not far away, shouting excitedly.

"Okay." Joel raised his eyebrows, surprised that the tastes of the two were the same, and readily agreed.

Clementine laughed at him a few times, took his hand naturally, and walked into the barbecue shop together.

"Yawei, have you ever eaten barbecue?"

Ms. Booby Detective and Mr. Witty Assistant, who are currently starring in sitcoms, are late.

"To be honest, I really haven't eaten it..." Yawei touched his nose, feeling a little embarrassed.

"So... the first meal you ate after your materialization was at Martinez's house?" Xita touched her smooth chin and asked softly.

"This is the second meal..."

"I'm so pitiful..." Xita rolled her eyes, stretched out her small hand and poked the man's abdominal muscles a few times, "You will be indispensable in the future!"

"What's the title of this play?" Yawei teased with a smile.

"Hmm... "The Hard-Working Sister and the Stupid Brother"" Xi Tan clapped her hands, "How about it, isn't it interesting?"

"It's a bit difficult. If we want to perform in reverse..." He said maliciously, and found that Xita didn't react for a while, so he couldn't help laughing.

"What are you laughing at? Ah! I'm not a stupid brother! Sister beat you!" Xita blushed, rolled up her sleeves, and stretched out her small fists, pretending to be vicious and threatening a certain smelly brother.

"Okay, let's go in quickly..." Yawei laughed enough, and walked into the barbecue shop with big bags and small bags.

"Wait for me, sister!" Xita grabbed the hem of his clothes and followed into the store swaying from side to side.

"The environment here is not bad..." Joel looked around. The barbecue restaurant was surprisingly clean, without any greasy feeling.

"My vision is not bad." Clementine sat across from him, with her hips akimbo proudly.

"I want to eat for myself, I'll invite you today!" Xi Tan patted his chest and said proudly.

Yawei rolled his eyes, folded the jackets that the two had taken off, put them in a plastic bag, and tied a knot to prevent the smell of the barbecue shop from infecting the jacket, which was inconvenient to clean.

"How dare I ask you to treat me..." Joel scratched his head embarrassingly at Clementine's offer to treat him.

"Don't be a mother-in-law, bring me a case of wine first." Clementine made a face at him.

"Drink less, drinking will hurt your health..." Joel persuaded helplessly. He always felt as if he had said this sentence countless times. When he saw her wanting to drink, he couldn't help blurting it out.

Clementine was stunned, she somehow felt that this sentence sounded familiar.

"By the way, did you hear the woman's name? Yawei?" Xita asked the man beside him while munching on the skewers.

"Clementine Croskey, it seems to be this name, I can't spell it exactly..." Yawei savored the barbecue in his hand carefully, and looked sideways at Xita.

"Is there any problem?" He looked at Xita who was stunned, and asked suspiciously.

"Our target, Joel Kerry, the ex-girlfriend's name is Clementine Croskey!" Xi Tan threw the skewers aside, and quickly flipped through the information sent by Rogge. Same...looks exactly the same!"

"Wow, it seems that it's not just Joel Kerry who lost his memory, his ex-girlfriend also lost his memory?" Yawei raised his eyebrows, and things became interesting.

"Then the two of them meet again as strangers? Wow!" Xita picked up a new skewer again and ate it with big mouthfuls.

"Still eating?" Joel looked at Clementine with a round belly, and shook his head helplessly, "I can't hold it anymore..."

"I can make another hundred skewers!"

The neon lights in the barbecue shop were flickering, and the gloomy man and the woman with blue-green long hair were laughing and sleeping together in a dream, unable to wake up.

"Do you know the story of Sisyphus? Xita?" Yawei looked at the laughing two and whispered softly to Xita.

"Who? Is it important?" Xita was burying her head in eating the skewers.

"It's nothing... just a poor man in reincarnation..." Yawei smiled lightly, and took a sip of beer.

The neon flashes, reflecting and dyeing on the foam in the cup, like a dream.

　There are two or three more updates tomorrow

　　
　
(End of this chapter)