Chapter 91: The Grand Empire Mall
As the car rolled forward, the desolate surroundings gradually gave way. But without proper lighting, the area still looked dark and remote.
The Night City government’s plan for Pacifica was to turn it into the most extravagant money pit on Earth.
The Grand Empire Mall was one of the most important pieces of that puzzle.
It sprawled along the edge of an unfinished plaza, ringed by slightly outdated amusement rides, open to the public for free.
Roller coasters, Ferris wheels—kid stuff.
The mall itself was nearly complete. The main structure was finished, and most of the exterior detailing had already been applied.
By now, night had fully fallen, and Pacifica looked unusually dim—nothing like the blinding glow of other parts of Night City.
This was, after all, an anarchic zone, with a power supply barely holding together.
While the rest of the district lay under a heavy shroud of darkness, the massive mall ahead glimmered with scattered points of light.
As they drew closer, spotting the sparse activity inside, Jackie switched off the headlights.
“Looks... not too tough, huh?”
He parked at a safe distance, killed the engine, and said it with some hesitation.
“Come on, it’s just an abandoned hideout. You can’t expect many eyes on it.”
Arthur was already opening the door, ready to step out and take a closer look.
“Hey! You don’t think getting out now will spook them?”
Jackie hurried after him, still uncertain.
Arthur glanced at him, then snapped irritably.
“What else do you suggest?
Rely on those meatheads from the Animals?
Ha... don’t make me laugh. They couldn’t even find the door.”
The Animals had gotten on his nerves, but he kept his temper in check. Still, it was obvious—if things escalated, words wouldn’t be enough.
Jackie chuckled at his response.
“Don’t forget who we are...”
He called out to Arthur before he could go further.
“Intel like this—we can just ask a Fixer.
And for the detailed stuff...” He tapped his head.
“We’ve got our netrunner girl to scout first.”
“I can do it...”
Jessica’s soft voice chimed in before Jackie had even finished.
Arthur stopped mid-step and silently headed back to the car.
Even two centuries later, there was still far too much he hadn’t gotten used to.
“I’ve got a question... have you been waiting for us online this whole time?”
He was clearly asking Jessica.
“Not really. The weak AI picks things up automatically.
It just pings me.”
Getting intel was almost too easy.
Arthur only contacted Daino, who immediately sent over critical data—including the Grand Empire Mall’s full 3D model—without asking for payment.
Jessica didn’t disappoint either. The mall’s broken-down power grid gave her some trouble, but she still slipped into the terminals and pulled files on the stationed personnel.
Around fifty people, with about half of them technical workers. From the looks of it, resistance would be minimal.
“Feels like... driving here was pointless.”
Arthur muttered from the passenger seat, his Gambler’s hat pulled low as he leaned back.
Sitting in the car while intel rolled in felt a hell of a lot better than spending all day on a hillside with binoculars.
“Haha, Vik’s right. You gotta see it yourself before you can rest easy.”
Jackie seemed relaxed. With the operation starting tomorrow, they needed the rest.
Under his hat, Arthur’s eyes were closed, but his retinal display showed the mall’s full schematic—down to the power distribution.
“There are only two ways up.
One’s the partially finished staircase. The other’s an external construction elevator.
Odds are we’ll be climbing. That elevator’s bolted to the outside and way too easy to sabotage.
Falling to your death? Not exactly how I want to go.”
He explained as he studied the model.
Jackie frowned thoughtfully.
“What about the front? How do we get inside?”
“There are three levels of underground parking. Still unfinished, but climbable.
We can slip in without alerting anyone inside.”
Arthur straightened, adjusting his hat brim.
“Alright. If nothing goes wrong, tomorrow we’ll be holding this place.”
They had agreed to help the Animals, and Arthur planned to use their manpower to guard the crate until Daino’s so-called good news arrived.
...
At dawn the next day, Arthur and Jackie were jolted awake by noise outside.
They’d been given a dusty abandoned room and slept on the floor—not out of neglect, but because everyone else had the same deal.
With a loud crash, the flimsy iron door was kicked open.
Sasquatch stormed in, hair a wild mess, her booming voice shaking up a cloud of dust.
“Time to move, people!”
Without the door to muffle it, the noise outside grew deafening. Heavy things slammed into the ground one after another.
Arthur squinted at the blinding sunlight, irritated.
“Uh... so this is the time you picked?
Broad daylight? What, to catch some sun?”
“What’s wrong with daylight? At least there aren’t any rats hiding in gutters, taking potshots.
Besides, this is Pacifica.”
With that, she strode off, clearly pleased with her chosen time.
Jackie shrugged, helpless.
“Pacifica, man. You can start a shootout in broad daylight and no one cares.
People here like to settle things in the open. No cops breathing down your neck no matter what you do.”
Arthur remembered yesterday—an AV and a skyscraper trading fire in broad daylight.
This land was savage. For the first time, he almost felt civilized.
Grabbing his hat from the windowsill, he and Jackie stepped out.
They hadn’t gone far before spotting the Animals’ muscle, already hard at work and moving fast.
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