The Gonk and The Forge (Cyberpunk Edgerunners/2077)

Chapter 12 –

Apparently, mind reading is some serious business that requires specialized equipment to manage. Even more serious than nonchalantly giving people brain aneurism, or selective organ failure on a whim.

Yoko had brought us all to her pad, a block away from the container yard in Kabuki Central. Her little apartment was attached to her store 'EdgeNet' in the Dewdrop Inn right in the very center of the Japanese pagoda-style marketplace.

This was the heart of Kabuki, a place where supposedly any-and-all hardware software needs that one could possibly have could easily be met …. with the right amount of eddies of course.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" The lithe woman said as she welcomed us into her store. The lights must've had motion sensor control, as they turned on the moment she stepped in through the sliding door…. or she pinged the switch remotely. You never know with these tech-wizard-hacker types.

"Make yourselves at home! My personal gear is in the back, I am going to get the cables set up, and the bath ready" She said indicating to a door behind the counter of her store. "I have a couple games if you want to try 'em while I get that sorted. Trauma Drama, Roach Race, and all that. Or you could sit in my living room and chill with Peter for a while"

The games she was talking about were a couple of arcade machines that she had set up beside the counter of her store…. I am not going to lie, I am jealous.

Arcade machines are awesome. Back home, I had a good enough PC and I considered that hardcore gaming…. A dedicated set of arcade machines blew my standards out of the water.

"Ooh! Roach Race!" Rebecca brightened as she spotted the machines Yoko had just indicated, rushing over to one and immediately pressed the keys to activate "Zain! Have you tried this? What's your high score? I have no idea how this Zirael got all the way to the three thousands! I can't get past a couple hundred!"

"I can't say I have" I replied walking in behind her.

"Oh hell," She said as I had committed the gravest of blasphemies "You have to play this! Drop that tub of lard over there and get over here!"

I had been carrying Peter on my shoulder like a sack of potatoes and dropped him on Yoko's store counter.

"Hey! You'll get blood everywhere!" Yoko complained, "Get him inside! The living room! Inside!"

Before I could apologize and pick him up again Ethan moved to get him "Don't worry, I got him! He's carried him up the stairs, I can take him inside"

I nodded at him in appreciation. My shoulders were nearly dead anyway. That and the bruises on my body from the attempted stabs that my clothing deflected were making me hurt all over.

"Right, thanks" Yoko nodded, "Archie, could you help me with getting the ice? The sack's in the freezer"

Archie agreed, and all three of them went through the door into the woman's apartment while I stayed with Rebecca in the shop.

Becca seemed to have forgotten all about me, completely engrossed in the game, her eyes locked onto the screen with unshakable focus. Her tongue stuck out slightly, caught between her teeth as she concentrated, completely unaware of the expression she was making. It was kind of endearing…. and it almost made me forget that she could be extremely perceptive and dangerous if she wanted to be.

There was a pair of fully reclined dental chairs in the far corner of the store. They looked like they would be comfortable.

I would need to take my healing potion as soon as I get home. I'd take one now, but I didn't want to bring any more attention to them if it could be avoided.

Yoko had seen me go invisible after taking one. I don't know what she had seen through her drone, or what she was assuming about the whole thing. I will not look a gift horse in the mouth, and take her lack of questioning about it for her disinterest in the matter that it seemed to be.

For the time being, I would take sitting down a while till Yoko preps whatever she needed to prep. I will deal with any questions from her; when they come, if they come.

The chair felt... too comfortable. Not the cheap, plasticky kind you would expect from a dental clinic. This felt like it was precision-engineered, built to cradle someone for long periods of time. Very cushy, and comfy to sit on.

That should have been my first clue.

I glanced around, eyes drifting over the biometric monitors, the cooling unit, and— a truly massive network server.…. A Raven MacroCyber Net Server.

It was connected to a bulky modem sitting next to it….. Raven MultiNeuro Cyberdeck.

Finally, my brain kicked into gear, the technological sixth sense that the forge had granted me a while ago working to decipher what I was looking at; like a silent snap of puzzle pieces falling into place.

I wasn't looking at just a normal internet connection hub. This wasn't some high-end hacking gear either…. This was a direct neural interface to the internet. A device that allowed someone to be meta-physically inside the internet itself.

I don't think I've ever had my mind blown as thoroughly as the feeling I am getting right now. Because…. Holy shit.

The server that I had assumed was meant to route internet traffic…. was a relay hub, letting multiple minds connect to the internet, multiple neural processes seamlessly transmitted into data and back into pure thought simultaneously within microseconds of delay.

The cooling system wasn't for the hardware. It was for the user. Because when you were in the net like this? Your brain was processing at a speed that could literally overheat you.

Becca's friend, Kiwi had taken a shot of coolant a couple days ago and I had assumed it was to cool whatever fucking cyber computer she had inside her that handled all that wireless hacking shit the hackers here did.

I inhaled slowly, keeping my movements controlled; letting my Micromanipulators handle any subconscious reactions. I had already been suspicious enough in my lack of knowledge about my own background here…. my ignorance over the existence of such tech would be truly damning if I freak out over this right now.

But internally, I was losing my goddamn mind.

I had known netrunners could wirelessly hack people's cyberware, or whatever piece of tech that they set their sights on.

But I'd pictured them as having terminals and screens on the HUDs of their optics, where they constantly do that hacker bullshit that they show in movies… pinging computers, looking for weaknesses in code, or whatever wizardry it is that they do.

But apparently not. Clearly, the techno-wizard hackers, Netrunners, could almost literally walk into the internet…. It made sense why they're called netrunners now…. fuckers like Yoko are literally running through whatever digital landscape they visualized as the internet.

Direct cognition-to-data interaction. Thought into code. Consciousness as part of the digital landscape.

In hindsight, this should have been obvious.

I exhaled sharply, fighting the urge to bury my face in my hands.

Of course, this was a thing.

Why wouldn't it be?

I lived in a city where people controlled guns with their thoughts, where cars could drive themselves based on brain impulses, where a vending machine could scan your biometrics and offer you a snack based on your stress levels.

So of course—of course—someone figured out how to upload human cognition to the goddamn internet.

What does that mean exactly? I can't help but wonder.

What would that feel like? I can tell by looking at the gear around, that this tech simulated physical interaction within the internet by feeding sensory signals through the neural link. That was the basic idea of the effect it simulates that my forge-granted tech sense was telling me.

But what does that mean? What the hell does the internet look like? What does it feel like? This tech can simulate all the senses a human mind can possibly process. Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch… the whole package.

Does the internet have a distinct smell? A taste of its own? That's…. a weird thought to have. Do I even want to know?

Or is it more like the AR–VR tech that was slowly gaining popularity back home? I remember that according to the media, Meta, or at least Mark Zuckerberg was absolutely obsessed with the tech. They even had a name for it…. Metaverse I think?

Most big tech companies were developing technology in that direction back home. Their own versions of online virtual spaces to do whatever.

Is this the end result of that line of development?

I was in the future after all. Having a direct neural connection to simulate real-world sensations digitally absolutely seemed like something that would be done around here.

Is that why there was no social media here? Had I been looking completely in the wrong direction?

Were people physically meeting up in whatever social hubs they had developed online in this metaphysical internet? I had assumed that satellite data transfers were the means of sharing content between people. This seemed like the more fitting answer to my search for social media.

…. I could try and explore the internet this way myself. I can jury rig this machine to fit me quite easily by converting the wired connection of the neural jack to a wireless connection to read my brain activity and I would have the device I would need to connect to the internet.

Do I want to do that?

…. Not just yet.

Whatever I jury-rigged to help me connect to the internet will break. I do not know the ins and outs of this technology yet. I do not want my jury-rigged tech to break down on me while I am connected to the internet.

What would that even cause?

Would I be forcefully disconnected from the internet, my digital consciousness forced back into my body?

Or would that lead to a disconnect between my body and mind, essentially having me stuck as an ethereal digital consciousness forever wandering the streams of code in whatever simulated space the internet was?

And even if I was willing to go online using one of my jury-rigged Cyberdecks, what kind of internet security would I have?

What does an anti-virus software look like, if the code that it's supposed to protect is my entire being in a digitized format? Heck, what the hell do viruses, malware, and all those other dangerous pieces of code even do?

I remember Yoko and Kiwi calling some of their netrunning wizardries a result of Daemons. Are those the local version of malware?

There are so many more questions that I have few answers to.

Well, I am in a netrunner's shop.

If there's any place in Night City where I could find answers to these questions... then it would be here.

Maybe another book? Yoko would have started her netrunning career somewhere at least. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Well, doesn't hurt to ask.

I pushed myself up from the chair, stretching slightly before heading toward Yoko's apartment.

And then… the forge stirred.

That now-familiar heaviness in the back of my head grew stronger, pressing down with an almost tangible weight.

A vibrant galaxy unfolded before my mind's eye. A sea of constellations, drifting and shifting, the stars orbiting something within me, circling like planets around a sun.

One star shined brighter than the rest. It pulsed. Once. Twice.

I held my breath, waiting for the knowledge, the skill, the next impossible gift that the forge had decided to bestow.

And then... It faded.

The pressure in my skull eased. The universe withdrew its hand, the vibrant lights receding into the depths of the unknown.

Nothing.

My brow twitched.

Was it….?

Did it just….?

I think the forge is teasing me.

Because that's exactly what it felt like.

I felt irritation bubbling up from my gut. The forge had the answers that I was looking for. I thought, when I was looking for answers to questions this desperately it would come through for me. That it would drop the answers neatly right in my lap…. or in my brain whenever I needed them.

I knew it could. Whatever knowledge the forge tapped into, whatever incomprehensible vastness it pulled from. It knew what I wanted to understand. It could have given me that knowledge.

And yet, it deliberately stopped. Like an outstretched hand snatched away at the last second. It wasn't enough that I had to deal with Rebecca jumping the gun with the Mox without talking to me. Now even the eldritch reality-warping forge that governed my entire existence decided to join in on annoying me.

Great. Fantastic. Whatever.

I didn't need to rely on the forge for all my knowledge. I could just learn things the good old-fashioned way with a book.

Rebecca didn't even glance up as I passed, fully locked into Roach Race. The machine's tinny speakers blared out a theme song as her horse bounced around some sort of medieval 2D landscape, but she barely reacted as I tried to get her attention. Her tongue poked out slightly, caught between her teeth in deep concentration.

"Becca! I am heading inside" I said as she continued to play "I'm going to check on Archie and the rest."

She nodded absent-mindedly, "Right… I'll be there in a sec. This… is my best run in…. ever! You're like my lucky charm, Choom! Can't give this up!"

Right…. Well, at least she was enjoying herself.

I stepped into Yoko's apartment leaving her to her video game.

It was small. Efficient. There was no wasted space.

A vending machine stood in the center of the room, humming softly, stocked with prepackaged meals and drinks—her kitchen substitute. The windows were covered with blinds, shutting out the neon chaos of Kabuki. A cubby-style capsule bed was built into one side of the wall, just like the one I had at home in the Umibe. The bathroom door was open on the other end.

Ethan leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.

Archie sat on a stool, hovering over Peter's limp form like a vulture sizing up a carcass. Blood had already seeped into the floor beneath him.

Yoko had mentioned a bath earlier. I had figured it was netrunner slang…. something about deep-diving into somebody's memories or something.

But now, having found out about what netrunning really was? Now I wasn't so sure.

Yoko's voice echoed from the bathroom capsule. "Water's ready. Temp's good. Let's wake him up."

Ethan nodded, reaching into his tactical vest and pulling out a taser. He gave it a quick spin in his hand before tossing it over to Archie.

She caught it effortlessly, "You've napped long enough! Rise and shine, asshole." She grinned toothily as she buzzed it once through the air—then drove it straight into Peter's ribs.

The Scav jerked violently, letting out a mangled yowl as his body spasmed back into painful consciousness. He gurgled, groaned, then sucked in a ragged breath, eyes rolling wildly before locking onto me.

"P—please," he choked out, his voice wet, trembling. "I—I d-don't—please, just—just l-let me go. I—I won't—"

"Shut the fuck up, Scum!" Archie knocked his head harshly with her boot.

I walked over to Ethan, glancing at him before nodding toward the bathroom. "What's going on?"

He gave me a lopsided grin. "Yoko's got everything set up. She's jacking in for the dive."

That told me nothing. I looked past him into the bathroom,

The bathtub was filled with ice.

There was a server rack just above the tub in the wall with a truly massive quadruple-cluster of servers inside —far larger and more advanced than the one outside. Cooling vents lined its reinforced casing, soft pulses of light running in steady intervals across its surface. Thick fiber-optic cables snaked from its ports, feeding into a bulky Cyberdeck nearby.

This deck was sleek and looked to be personally modified lacking the usual clutter of commercial models. To my senses, it was capable of a much more streamlined connection to the internet, with much less delay than the one outside. Though it looked like it was made for a single user and could not handle multiple neural processes at the same time.

A vitals monitor was mounted beside the tub, its display a flurry of various advanced medical readings—neural load, pulse sync, cognitive stability—far more intricate than the simple biometric readings from before.

And even with all that, it was Yoko that caught my attention.

Yoko stood completely nude beside the icy bath, steam curling off her skin where the heat of her body met the cold air.

It was easy to forget just how cybernetically augmented most people in Night City were. To forget that most of my friends are part machines themselves. It feels …. wrong to think of them as objects. It's easier to see them as …. as no different from normal humans from back home, without dwelling on the chrome under their skin.

But seeing someone naked like this?

It was impossible not to stop and notice when the difference was thrown in my face…. and not in a creepy way. Nudity was very common in Night City. Seeing somebody walking around with transparent or even holographic clothing was not anything new.

If there was one thing I…. appreciated about the city, this future at least, it was the culture of sexual freedom that Night City promoted. At least in theory. Even if it was shallow and rang hollow most of the time. 

Even so, Yoko's body was not something I could stop myself from staring at…. and that's not just because of her beauty.

She was beautiful, no doubt about that. Incredibly so. Despite whatever her age really was…

Yet even with that, it was the machine aspect of her that was truly breathtaking to my tech senses.

Thin chrome etchings traced across her skin, glowing as they pulsated lightly under the light. My senses filled in the details—the plating concealed a secondary circulatory system, synthetic veins running parallel to the natural blood pathways of her body.

A second network, pumping cooling fluid designed to counteract the absurd heat buildup that would come from what she was about to do.

Her spine was embedded with augmenting hardware, slots packed with RAM modules and high-performance CPUs, seamlessly fused into her nervous system protected with thick layers of perfectly designed chrome. Direct augmentations of her brain function, feeding raw power into the Cyberdeck chipware fused at the nape of her neck.

That chipware was wired directly to the external Cyberdeck beside the bath, jacked into the servers pulsing in the walls—teraflops of processing power feeding straight into her consciousness.

The amount of strain on her body would be staggering. Generating not just the heat from her overclocked hardware, but the sheer cognitive load it would put on her nervous system, her organs, even her blood vessels.

All of this…. just to read a man's mind.

No… that's not right. This wasn't data extraction. It wasn't pulling memories like files from a drive and reading them on a screen.

She was about to walk into his mind—move through it, dig through the deepest recesses of his consciousness, and take what she needed.

Truly a Deep Dive.

Yoko smirked, her violet eyes flicking up to meet mine as she caught me gawking. "At least someone appreciates what they see."

I ducked my head immediately, feeling heat creep up my neck. "Sorry—I, uh, I didn't mean to stare. It's just… your cyberware." I cleared my throat, trying and failing to not gawp at her body "It's… fascinating."

She tilted her head, amused, then turned away from me, climbing into the chilly bath without an ounce of hesitation. Her ass—plump, perfectly rounded—shifted with each step, the smooth skin interrupted only by the chrome expertly hiding the coolant veins latticed through the RAM ports in her spine.

"And is my cyberware the only fascinating thing about me?" she mused, giving her hips a teasing jiggling shake before settling down into the ice.

My brain locked up. "I—no, I didn't mean—"

Yoko turned back toward me, resting her elbows on the edge of the tub. Her chest pressed together, perfectly framed by the ice-slick curve of her collarbones, a teasing grin curling her lips.

"Oh, don't be shy now," she purred, beckoning me with one finger. "There's nothing to apologize for. You're in my bathroom, after all."

Ethan choked on a laugh, barely containing a full-on guffaw beside me.

"Aunt Yoko," Archie groaned, exasperated. "Would you please stop teasing the poor guy?"

Yoko sighed theatrically, then sank deeper into the bath, her body disappearing beneath the frosted ice water. Only her face and the soft, luminous glow of her cyberware remained visible, the faintest pout forming on her lips.

"I'm just having a little fun, dear." She extended her left arm, a thin, flexible cord unraveling from beneath the port on her wrist. She held it out to me, violet cybernetic eyes gleaming.

"Be a dear for me, would you?" she said, voice smooth as silk. "Please…. Plug me up."

I stumbled slightly as I processed the words, the request, everything about this moment had my brain locking up and refusing to function properly.

Yoko was nude, dripping wet…. and she was exacting revenge for catching me staring at her naked body. Which is … fair, I suppose.

Archie rolled her eyes, watching me fumble. "Really, Auntie?"

Before I could reply, Peter's head lolled forward, his breathing turning shallow.

"Who said you could go back to sleep, jackass!" Archie didn't hesitate—she jammed the taser into his ribs again.

The Scav jolted violently, his body seizing as electricity tore through him. He let out a garbled yelp, sucking in air between spasming gasps.

"Wh-why?" he stammered, blinking through the haze of pain, his breathing ragged. "Wh—why are you doing this!?"

He struggled weakly against the ground, his bloodshot eyes darting between us.

"I—I got eddies," he wheezed, voice raw with desperation. "Cyberware—you want chrome? I can get you top-shelf shit, man, please—please, just—"

Archie pressed her boot against his skull, grinding his face into the bloodied floor.

A thrumming whir followed by a sharp snikt echoed through the room as she deployed her mantis blade, the serrated edge pressing against his throat.

"Disregarding the fact that you're a Scav. That you and your chooms kidnap people, carve them up, rip the chrome straight from their bodies." Her voice was cold, steady.

The man whimpered, his body trembling beneath her. "P-please," he coughed. "That's… that's biz, man. Just biz. That's all."

Archie's eyes narrowed.

Her blade sank into his shoulder, fresh blood spewed onto the already wet bloody floor, as it slowly drained into the gutter.

The Scav screamed, his voice raw with pain, his body convulsing under her weight.

"Disregarding all that…" Archie's voice was low, dangerously calm. "You killed my father. Rafael Torres. You should have never come after us at the diner."

The man let out a strangled sob, his entire body shuddering beneath her as Archie twisted the blade in his shoulder….. she was torturing him.

"W—what!?" he gasped. "What—what fucking diner!?"

Archie's gaze darkened, her mantis blade twitching, just a hair's breadth from stabbing deeper.

"You can't hide shit from us." Her voice was sharp, biting. "My runner will find all your secrets anyway."

She reared her arm back, blade poised for another strike— she was going to stab him again. … this was unnecessary. But should I stop her? This man deserved all the pain in the world and more. I had over thirty souls of tortured people to justify all of it…

"Archie, that's enough."

She froze.

Her head snapped toward Ethan, her eyes flashing—challenging, questioning.

He held his ground.

"We want him alive," He said, steady but firm. All traces of humor gone from his face "He'll die if you keep stabbing him."

A moment passed.

Archie exhaled sharply, her shoulders rising and falling before she slowly retracted the mantis blade from his flesh as her arm rearranged itself.

She gave a tight nod, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Right," she muttered. "You're right."

"Let's get this over with, please?" Archie sighed tapping the side of his head with her boot. She grinned sharply, her tone playfully mocking. "I wouldn't want our dear little scav choom to feel like we've kept him waiting."

Ethan nodded solemnly, hands over his chest. "That would be unseemly of us as hosts."

I exhaled, at least that was handled without more unnecessary torture. I won't shed a tear for Peter's suffering.

My relief was more on the fact that I was no longer the subject of the nude netrunner's teasing

"Right," I muttered. Then, approaching the nude Asian woman in question, with an awkward cough, I added, "And for the record, I really was admiring your cyberware… In fact, I want to know more about netrunning in general…"

Yoko chuckled and tilted her head "Well then…. why don't we have a long deep chat, over a hot steaming cup later. Just you and me? After this bloody mess is over with hmm…?"

She was still in a teasing mood? After all that…?

This felt like a trap. I will ask her again later when she's in less of a teasing mood….

I pulled the cord from her wrist, shifting my attention away from her mischievous smirk, and knelt beside Peter, tilting his head to the side.

I plugged the cord into Peter's neuroport. The man twitched violently, his body stiffening as a shudder ran through him. His bloodied eyes flashed orange, going wide and glassy as his consciousness was forcefully yanked into the digital abyss.

In the tub, Yoko's violet eyes flared to life, glowing like neon embers in the dimly lit bathroom.

From the doorway, Becca's voice rang out. "Hey! Zain? Where'd ya go? Thought you'd play RR with me!"

I turned to see her stepping into the bathroom doorway, hands on her hips, her sharp green-pink gaze flicking over the scene. The cord linking Yoko to Peter immediately caught her attention, and her expression shifted from playful to skeptical.

"Oh… This is not done yet?" she asked, eyebrows raising.

I scratched the back of my neck. "Uh… no, we… uhm… got sidetracked a little."

Ethan let out a low chuckle. "Side-tracked… right?" He gave me a knowing smirk, eyes glinting with amusement.

Rebecca tilted her head. "Uh… okay?"

Then my phone buzzed in my pocket. At that exact moment, Archie, Ethan, and Becca's eyes flared to life.

Yoko let out a sharp gasp, her entire body tensing in the ice before she groaned, rubbing her temples. A shiver rolled through her as she exhaled. "Remind me to never dive into a Scav's head again."

She lifted herself from the tub, stepping out onto the cold tile floor, completely unbothered by her nudity. The heat radiating from her steamed the water off her and down her body, as she glistened under the bathroom lights.

I pulled out my phone, the buzzing insistent in my hand. A text notification from Yoko.

Opening the message, a map of Night City popped across my holo-screen, displaying multiple marked locations scattered across Watson and Japantown.

Yoko stretched, wringing water from her long black hair, accentuating her ass as she did so. "I have the locations of all their cell bases, their ripper clinics, their supply routes… everything." She stepped closer … to me, deliberately pushing her tits forward at me as she winked. "You're welcome by the way."

Before I could even react, Rebecca grabbed my wrist, her grip firm. "Then what are we waiting for?"

She pulled me out of the bathroom and into Yoko's living room, turning on her heel to face Archie. "What's the plan, boss lady? When are we going at 'em?"

I took a seat on the couch around the holotable in Yoko's apartment. Rebecca plopped down beside me, bouncing slightly as she got comfortable.

Archie, however, didn't move. She stood over Peter's slowly awakening body, her expression unreadable.

"Well," she muttered, rolling her right shoulder. The plates on her arm shifted, folding back with an audible whirr as a barrel protruded from inside. Her arm cannon hummed, charging with a low, ominous whine. "He's lived out his usefulness."

Peter blinked sluggishly, his pain-addled mind barely processing what was happening. His gaze flicked up to Archie, and then—realization hit.

"N-no—wait! Please—" he choked, eyes wide with sheer terror. His broken fingers twitched as he tried to scramble back. "I—I can get you more! Eddies—c-chrome—fuck, whatever you want! Just—just let me g—"

A hollow thunk echoed in the small space as Archie pulled the trigger.

Peter's skull burst like an overripe fruit, splattering blood and viscera across Yoko's pristine bathroom floor. His body slumped forward, a wet, lifeless heap.

Good riddance to scum. I acknowledged internally.

Yoko groaned, rubbing her temples. "Ugh. That's definitely gonna clog the drain." She exhaled in exasperation. "You should've laid out a damn tarp first, Archie."

Archie merely shrugged.

Yoko shot her a pointed look. "You're handling the cleanup and the body."

Archie wiped some of Peter's blood off her boot against his pant leg before nodding. "Don't worry about it."

She finally stepped away from the mess, strolling over to the couch and dropping down beside me.

Ethan, settling in next to her, glanced toward the corpse with mild amusement. "Don't worry, I'll help." Then, to Yoko, he added, "Look on the bright side—at least you don't have neighbors downstairs to complain."

Yoko scoffed. "Please. I wouldn't have taken this pad if I had downstairs neighbors." She stepped over Peter's body, sauntering into the living room like nothing had happened. "The plumbing here is atrocious. Rhyne didn't fix shit after the election."

She walked over to her closet, glancing back at me with a knowing smirk before bending at the waist. She pushed her naked ass out, giving it a slight shake as she peered inside. "Now… what do I wear?"

"WE!" Rebecca interjects "should get a plan ready! Zain, what do we got?"

I refocused, pulling up the map on my phone's holo-screen. "Their main base isn't far from here actually," I said, scanning the coordinates. "It's up on the rooftop slums in Kabuki, by Allen Street."

Yoko joined us again, settling onto the couch across from me. She'd put on a thin bathrobe to cover herself…. despite that she was choosing to keep her tits out.

This woman was truly vindictive…. I was not staring at her body dammit! I was admiring the tech behind her body modifications!

Anyway….. by now, it was easier to not stare. The awe of her cyberware was much easier to manage when most of it was covered.

She still smirked at me knowingly, as she crossed her legs exposing more skin. "I know the place. The No-Tell Motel isn't far from there."

Rebecca nodded. "This info gives us their locations—but not the layout of the area."

Yoko sighed, stretching lazily. "Alas… our dear choom Peter didn't spend much time there." She pouted. "Scav cells like this one tend to stay disjointed. I did what I could."

Rebecca crossed her arms. "I'm sure you did." She exhaled, then glanced at Archie. "We need a solid layout before we go in."

Archie nodded. "And we need to know their numbers. I don't want to put us at risk by walking into a shitstorm where we're outnumbered five-to-one."

Rebecca drummed her fingers on the table. "Right…. the only reason we handled the last ambush so well was because we had the element of surprise." She smirked, shooting me a glance. "That, and some truly amazing tech."

I felt a small surge of pride at that.

My alternating ice-and-fire bullets had worked flawlessly. My SMG had zero malfunctions, my holo-sights helped me track targets with precision, and had managed my ammo count perfectly.

My aim felt like an extension of my arm. Like the gun was built for me—because it was.

The carnage I had caused was nothing short of devastating. Yet, we had done good. We had saved those people from a hellish fate. We had started the road to payback for Rafael Torres.

Archie's father…. My friend.

That pride settled deep in my chest.

Ethan leaned back, stretching his arms. "Speaking of…" He gave me a pointed look. "I know you said you don't have the capability to mass produce that beast of a weapon you built…"

He grinned. "But how much would you charge to commission a piece each for Archie and me?"

Now all of them were looking at me intently. Even Yoko lost the last of her teasing edge as she straightened slightly, finally covering her tits.

I leaned back thinking the question.

Truly, the weapon itself was normal in most aspects… apart from the fact that I could treat aiming with it as a triviality. I will not suffer the recoil, or the potential jamming and malfunctions most others would. Purely on account that the gun counted as a gadget I built same would not be true for anybody else.

At the same time…. None of these guys, or any potential buyer for that matter, are really after the weapon itself. They are after the effect it seemingly creates. The freezing effect specifically. Thermal bullets were not an innovation in and of themselves.

It was the combination of my ice bullets, and thermal bullets that was what was truly attracting attention.

My first instinct, at least with my friends, was to clear the misunderstanding. They were my friends…. I could trust them. Even Ethan and Yoko, I think.

Archie was my closest friend here in NC, and Rebecca had gone above and beyond for me in not just being a part of this revenge shtick, but for looking out for me in her own way.

But should I really do that? There's no harm in telling them. Sure.

That's not true for the rest of Night City….. I want to delay the secret of CETN-3 getting out for as long as possible. It's an inevitability either way…. The mega-corporations would quite easily have the means to analyze, identify, and synthesize their own in some time. If not now, then at the very least in a couple of months.

All they would need is a sample of the bullet in question.

What can I do to delay that?

I suppose…. now that I think about it. I can modify the gun itself to produce the effect….

An injector nozzle that activates on the press of the trigger, which directly injects each hollow point bullet with the substance before firing was an easy enough workaround…. All I would sacrifice is the rate of fire of the weapon. And adding some bulk to it…. which would affect stability and recoil for people who are not me.

A good trade-off.

I could sell cartridges of the loading fluid, CETN-3 separately. Adding another way of generating revenue….

However, this does mean I would essentially be advertising that the fluid is what is causing the effect in the first place…. That defeats the purpose of the entire thing.

Do I have any other ideas?

I suppose I could sell the cartridges filled with potions instead of CETN-3. That would mean I would have to set aside a shit ton of potion ingredients to produce cartridges for every weapon I sell.

I will not be selling it en masse regardless… I can make the clientele limited to known entities. Friends, allies, trusted partners, etc. People who I can trust to use the weapons responsibly…. So it would be doable. If not practical long term.

But then who falls under the category of trustable people at this time?

Archie for one. I suppose Ethan too….

Rebecca ... would then be out. She's a merc. A hired gun. By sheer principle she would use it in the aid of whoever paid her the most…. but she is a moral person at the same time. She is kind, and well-meaning at least, and I can trust her to choose who she works for with a pure heart. So, I suppose I can trust her too….

Yoko…. I have no clue. Archie trusts her. I can take that at face value, and give her the benefit of the doubt too... She's been forthcoming enough, her teasing was in good humor too… but that doesn't tell me much of her character apart from the pragmatism she showed back at the container yard…. I will have to vet her a little more.

So, if I do craft such a weapon for these four…. Do I use potion bullets for the cartridges or CETN-3?

Do I have the resources, and more importantly the time to spare to produce quantities of such cartridges. With CETN-3 I could delegate the entire process to my matter synthesizer. In a couple hours I would have enough for over hundreds of bullets. With potions…. I would be spending hours to produce a fraction of that at a much higher cost.

For four people…. That was tenable. Not more than that. Time would be the major factor though.

I need to have spare time to seriously study chemistry, and now figure out what the fuck Netrunning, net runners, and the local version of Cyber Security really looks like. I need to figure out how secure the tech in my own home is. For all I know, a runner could be sitting inside my own computer at all times…. As ridiculous as that sounds.

I hope the Windows Desktop, and Operating System proves to be a good virtual landscape for them to run about in.

Jokes aside, I even need to figure out where in the hell I will be moving out to once this month ends. I can't be living under the ever-present threat of a Yakuza like Okada for much longer

I am certain she would be one of the first to find out about my weapons and bullets as well… I don't know how much potential she would see in it in her eyes, but she would want something out of it all to benefit her and the Clawz too….

Fuck this is more complicated than I had imagined.

Fuck it, CETN-3 would be by far the simpler, more resourceful option.

Baby Steps and all that.

First, I approach this first with my friend, and then the rest.

Ethan asked about the price I would ask for my weapons…. Honestly, I have no clue. Most of the material I got to make all of this was basically handed to me. And if I understood the forge well enough, I have a nigh-infinite supply to make more, all for free.

So the material cost was next to nil. I would be charging purely for the hours I would put in. How much is that worth?

My time is valuable to me. Extremely so. I cannot just keep churning out more and more of these. No matter how much people offer. I suppose I can keep the price competitive to the market….. of which I have no idea.

My knowledge of the local weapons market is limited to Budget Arms; their ads are genuinely everywhere, Malorian Arms; the manufacturer of my Overture, I know Arasaka, Kang Tao, Militech…. Most megacorps make weapons of their own….

Fucking hell, I need to do market research…. Something I actually studied at school!

Thankfully, all I need to do is check price ranges online across all companies and place mine somewhere above average. Easy enough to do.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I'll be honest with you… my guns"—I patted the SMG tucked inside my jacket—"are the first pieces I built. And you know how the production of any tech goes…."

Ethan nodded knowingly. "Doesn't give an accurate estimate of price. Testing, tweaking, remodeling, and all that. I get it." He leaned back against the couch, arms crossed. "Even so, give me a ballpark."

I shook my head. "You know I can't do that. I don't want to stiff you guys—you're my friends—but I can't quote a price without being sure myself."

Yoko cocked an eyebrow. "Then how long until you are sure?"

I thought about it for a moment before replying. "I suppose I can let you know in a couple of days. I don't mind crafting them for you guys, but I want to be certain before I name a price." I glanced around at each of them. "That is… if you all really want these."

Rebecca grinned wide. "Are you kidding? I meant what I said earlier—make a shotty like this for me, and I'll sell you my life!" She leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, her mismatched eyes practically gleaming. "Make 'em for the rest of my crew too, well, choom…"

I do not know her crew well enough. I am not crafting these for them.

Yoko nodded. "I already told you. I want one." She shrugged, and sure enough, her tits jiggled loose from the robe again.

I sighed internally. She's doing this just to mess with me now….

Well, looks like I was making four custom weapons.

"I will let you guys know once I have them ready for you" I replied finally.

Archie clapped her hands once, drawing our attention back. "Right. Coming back to the topic... We need a layout of Jae-Hyun's base of operations."

Yoko leaned back, looking unconcerned. "Don't worry about that. I'll send my drone over there tomorrow and create a detailed layout across the entire slum area. Won't be a problem. I'll even get an accurate headcount of the chooms we'll be up against and all that good stuff. Give me just a day."

Ethan nodded at her in appreciation. "That takes care of that… anything else?"

Archie's expression darkened slightly. "Yeah… we don't have funding. We—I—need upgrades. We all do." She exhaled sharply, leaning back into the couch. "Today was easy because of the element of surprise, and as Rebecca said, some unprecedented new tech. Next time, the Scavs—Jae-Hyun—he'll at least suspect something. We just took out his right-hand man. He'll know someone's after him. He'll be prepared."

That much was true. I could recognize that I had made mistakes tonight. I had been supremely lucky. Even after all my prep work, all my bulletproofing, and offensive capability… Luck had been on my side too.

The bruises on my body could attest to that. If that Mantis Blade-wielding bitch had rushed me at that speed with a shotgun… or a higher caliber rifle… instead of whacking away with her blades… I would have died.

If that borg claw with the hand cannon had aimed just a little better, I would have died. Cosmic protection from the Forge notwithstanding, luck had definitely been on my side.)

I need upgrades too.

Archie continued, her fingers drumming against the armrest. "I had hoped to sell the haul from tonight to fund those upgrades, get better gear. I thought we'd score some Cyberware—something we could sell here in Kabuki or elsewhere…" She exhaled, shaking her head. "But we all know what we actually got instead."

Human trafficking victims stuffed inside of shipping containers.

We all nodded. The silence hung heavy between us.

She sighed. "I won't ask any of you to pitch in, but we need ideas to fund these upgrades. Get a payday…."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting we take up merc work? Become a proper crew?"

At that, Yoko's violet eyes sharpened, her playful demeanor flickering away for just a moment as she studied Archie.

Archie was quick to shake her head. "No, no. I know Yoko has no intention of this being a permanent fixture. And I don't think you do either Zain…."

The nude woman in question gave a slow nod. "I'm sorry, dear. I'm content with my shop." She gave Archie a gentle look. "I'm only here because Rafael was a friend. Your mother would have wanted me here. I hope you understand."

Archie's jaw tightened, but she nodded back. "I do." She exhaled. "I'm suggesting we take up gigs only until the end of this operation."

Rebecca tilted her head, her neon-green and pink gaze flicking between Archie and Ethan. "If all you're in for is upgrades… then why not ask your rich input there to prop you up?" She jabbed a thumb in Ethan's direction.

Ethan gave a dry chuckle but didn't immediately respond.

Rebecca leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "And if you're bringing this up, that means you've got a couple gigs in mind already. Spill. What do ya got? More Scav haunts, or some other gangs? 'Cause I got some Maelstrom I'd love to hit up in that case..." Her grin was sharp, predatory. "Or do you have some corpo gigs lined up?"

Archie and Ethan shared a look. Something unspoken passed between them before Archie finally exhaled. "There is one gig… payout's at least a couple thou each. We'd have to steal documents from a corpo warehouse."

Yoko, who had been lounging lazily, suddenly straightened, her sharp violet gaze locking onto Archie. "Archie…."

But Archie cut her off, her expression firm. "It's a clean gig. We don't have to fight anybody. There's no killing involved. One job and we'd have the cash for everything."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "Alright… who's the client? Who are we working for if we do this?"

Archie didn't reply immediately.

Rebecca scoffed, shaking her head. "The only reason I'm here is because my choom"—she jabbed a finger at me—"decided to call me in to help you. I've got a crew of my own, and I ain't looking to join another all serious-like. I'll only be part of this if Zain decides he wants to be involved too."

At that, all eyes turned to me.

I resisted the urge to sigh. Why does this have to fall on me?

Archie wanted funding, but there was another angle she wasn't sharing. Something Ethan was involved in too. This wasn't just about getting a payout—it was a corpo target. To sell something.

That didn't sit right with me.

I don't want to be a mercenary. I'm willing to help my friends in situations like this, but I don't want to be a hired gun.

The issue, however… was funding.

What alternatives do I have?

I had a bar of gold sitting in my pocket dimension that I wanted to sell. The problem was, I had no idea where to sell it. But if Archie and Ethan were so desperate for money, maybe I could cut them a percentage in exchange for finding me a buyer.

That… wasn't a bad idea.

She needed a couple thousand eds. I'd get close to a hundred thousand on the gold. Giving them a small chunk wouldn't hurt.

I looked at them carefully before speaking. "All you want is funding for upgrades, correct? The upgrades are more important than the gig… right?"

Archie hesitated. I could see the conflict in her face before she finally admitted, "The gig's a decent payout, and I know the client personally." She shot a glance at Ethan before nodding. "But yeah. The upgrades are more important between the two."

Ethan's expression darkened slightly, but he didn't argue.

I nodded slowly. "Well… I have a better way of getting funds. If you can sell something for me."

Ethan leaned forward, intrigued. "What is it you want to offload? And how much would it be worth?"

I took a deep breath, my gaze flicking toward Rebecca. She would definitely see through the bullshit I was about to say.

"I have a twelve-ounce bar of gold," I said, keeping my voice steady. "Worth about a hundred thousand eddies… a little holdover from my days as a Nomad."

Silence.

The entire room went still.

Rebecca, Yoko, Archie—all of them were staring at me, processing what I'd just dropped.

Finally, Rebecca let out a sharp whistle. "What the hell did you smuggle to land something like that?"

I gave her a thankful look for rolling with my story. "How I got it isn't important. What is important is that I have it. Safe with me. I need a buyer—someone who'll keep my name off the transaction." I glanced between them. "I'm willing to cut you guys a percentage of the sale if you do this for me. You get your eds for the upgrades… and I get my cash."

Yoko tapped a manicured nail against her lips before arching an eyebrow. "Does that cut include all of us?"

I paused, considering.

Then I nodded. "Yes. All of you. Ten percent—split evenly between you four."

Yoko let out a low whistle. "Now that's generous."

Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly, already doing the math. "Two and a half thousand each…" He exhaled, rubbing his chin. "I can certainly sell this for you on the hush-hush. It'd be difficult hiding it from fixers like Okada, Dinovic, or whoever… but I do have some contacts. Reyes, maybe."

I nodded. "So you'll do it then?"

Ethan and Archie shared a long look.

Then, finally, Ethan spoke. "Yes. I'll see to it."

Rebecca clapped her hands together with a wide grin. "That takes care of the funding issue for your upgrades. And we get easy pay. Nova." She stretched lazily, her neon-pink-green gaze flicking between us. "I think we covered everything then…?"

Archie hesitated slightly, her gaze flicking toward Ethan.

I leaned forward, my fingers laced together as I looked at her intently. "Archie." My voice was gentle. "You're hiding something. This gig of yours… it's clearly important to you and Ethan. If you really want my help, if you want me involved—whoever your client is—give me details. What exactly are you taking us into?"

Yoko shook her head before Archie could respond. "I'm sorry, Archie." she said as kindly as she could. "I won't be a part of that, Regardless. I hope you understand"

Archie exhaled, nodding slightly. "It's okay, I understand." she said, sighing as she did.

Ethan shook his head and grinned at me laughing "Forget about it. It's of no consequence. What's important is we have the funding for upgrades.

I could see that Ethan was brushing it off, but I let it slide. For now. If Archie truly wanted to pursue this, she'd have to be forthcoming—convincing. Revenge for her dad was one thing… an unknown heist against a corpo was another.

Rebecca clapped her hands again, breaking the moment. "Then we're done here, yeah?"

Archie nodded after a beat. "Yeah. We're done for the night." She rubbed the back of her neck, looking between us with something bordering on guilt. "I'm sorry for pushing that on you guys all of a sudden."

Yoko waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry, dear." Then, she smirked, amused. "Just take the corpse from my bathroom, and I will consider it forgotten. It'll begin to stink if it's not taken care of."

Archie rolled her eyes. "I'll get to it, Auntie." Then, glancing over at Ethan, she called, "C'mon, Ethan."

Ethan exhaled, giving me a nod before following Archie toward the bathroom to handle Peter's rotting corpse.

Rebecca grinned, brightening as she turned to me. "C'mon, Zain! I haven't forgotten you promised we'd play Roach Race together." Before I could react, she grabbed my wrist, already trying to drag me toward the arcade machine in the shop.

I gently shook her off with a chuckle. "I have something I need to ask Yoko first. I'll be there in a second."

Rebecca paused, looking between me and Yoko for a moment, then nodded hesitantly. "I won't wait long, ya know." She tilted her head, her grin sharp. "A girl doesn't like being kept waiting."

I smirked. "I wouldn't dream of keeping you waiting."

She gave me a final, questioning glance before leaving Yoko's apartment and heading out into the shop.

Ethan and Archie were also on their way out, carrying Peter's limp, bloodied body between them. Archie had already drained all the blood, and brain matter down Yoko's drain.

As they reached the doorway, I heard Ethan mutter, "I think I saw a garbage chute downstairs. We can dump him there… the city incinerators will take care of the rest."

With that, the door shut behind them.

Leaving me alone with Yoko.

I turned to her, finding her watching me with an arched brow, her violet cybernetic eyes gleaming with mischief. She stretched her arms behind her head, making her already-loose bathrobe shift.

She smirked. "I admit, I didn't think you'd have the balls to be this forward." She tapped her lips in amusement. "If this is what I think it is… you're on the right track."

I sighed, running a hand down my face. "Yoko…" I exhaled, meeting her gaze. "I really wasn't ogling you. I'm sorry if it came across that way." I folded my arms. "I just want to ask about netrunning."

Yoko hummed, tilting her head. Then, after a moment, she leaned back, letting her robe slip even further, purposefully spilling her tits free again. "What would you like to know?" she asked smoothly. "How can I help you?"

I sighed. This woman can be ridiculously stubborn in keeping herself amused.

I took a moment to collect my thoughts. "Well, I'm not a netrunner," I said finally, keeping my voice even.

Yoko outright laughed. "Oh, that much is clear." She gestured vaguely in my direction. "You don't even have cyberware. A netrunner is far out of the question."

I nodded. "I get that. But I'm interested in understanding it—how it works." I met her gaze. "I just want help on where to begin."

For the first time, Yoko looked genuinely surprised. She sat forward slightly, her amusement giving way to curiosity. "Well… I have no idea how Nomads teach their kids out in the Badlands…" Her gaze flickered over me. "Your lack of a neuroport definitely doesn't help." She hummed. "So I'd say… you should begin there. A Militech Paraline is amazing for beginners."

I shook my head. "Is there no other way to go about this? I don't want to get cyberdecks or neuroports installed into me."

Yoko leaned forward, her fingers steepling. "Well, you're certainly not making things easy." She studied me for a moment, then exhaled. "Fine. There are some things that can be done. You will never be a true netrunner." She gave me a pointed look. "But… if your only exposure to it is seeing runners like me deploy hacks in real time…" She smiled brightly, true excitement on her face. "I can help you there."

That was at least something.

I nodded. "What do you have for me?"

Yoko rolled to her feet in a single fluid motion, her bathrobe swaying slightly as she moved toward a far cabinet. She rifled through a closet door, muttering under her breath.

"There are… a couple of devices," she said, pulling out various pieces of hardware. "Fairly old tech that still runs well enough nowadays…" Her fingers danced over the items before she suddenly perked up. "They're called Ocusets… where are they?"

A few seconds later, she made a triumphant noise. "Ah! There they are!" She turned, holding up a pair of bulky pink-and-blue headsets. A massive old Militech logo was emblazoned across the front, the casing covered in sensors.

My senses immediately started processing the tech.

4K vision. A massive 270-degree field of view. 8x optical zoom. Infrared capabilities. But more than that, this wasn't just a headset—it was a computer. Far, far more powerful than the Windows PC I had sitting back home.

Yoko twirled the headset in her hands. "These are some very old Militech Ocusets. Preloaded with a few daemons I used to use a long time ago." She tilted her head. "They can hack into most street cams, provided the subnet's ICE isn't too thick… They can even launch basic quickhacks—cause cyberware to overheat, short out last-gen optics, all that jazz." She smirked. "Honestly, I've forgotten most of the tricks this thing can do."

Holy shit.

This woman was handing me a glorified supercomputer that just happened to look like an old VR headset.

And then she lifted something else—a thick, ancient-looking book.

She held it up like it was sacred. "And this… is the primer for netrunning. The holy grail of all netrunners, written by the greatest netrunner of all time. Night Legend… or its greatest curse." A smirk pulled at her lips. "Depending on who you ask."

She waggled the book at me. "Rache Bartmoss' Guide to the NET."

She said it like it was the key to El Dorado.

I stared at her blankly.

Yoko groaned loudly. "Pearls before swine!"

Excuse me, I am not swine!

Yoko, completely oblivious to my internal protests, continued with dramatic exasperation. "Fuck me up a satmast. Bartmoss is the gonk who fucking trashed the first NET! Remember the DataKrash? RABIDs? No Pings?"

I stared blankly.

She groaned again, dragging a hand down her face. "Jesus. What am I doing here? Clearly you need this more than I thought."

Yeah… apparently, I did.

I mean, truthfully I do have a vague recollection of coming across the term DataKrash online before, but I hadn't looked too deeply into it. It seemed like just another one of the bajillion scandals from the Fourth Corporate War—one of the major ones, sure, but still not something I'd ever really dug into.

That war had been fifty years ago. Around my time. I hadn't felt the need to actively look into it.

At least… not yet.

Regardless, I nodded at her in gratitude and reached out to take both the Ocusets and the book from her.

She moved her hand away. "Uh uh uh— not so quickly."

I stumbled into her, her tits stopping just short before she pushed me back with a single finger on my chest.

"What will I get in return for these, hmm?"

I didn't take the bait. "What do you want, Yoko?" I sighed.

She smirked. "I'm sure we can work something out," she purred, trailing a finger across my chest.

I gave her a deadpan stare.

Seeing my unamused expression, she finally burst out laughing. "You really were interested in the tech, weren't you, kiddo?" She shook her head, still chuckling. "Sorry, had to try. And I have to say…. not many people out there get that fascinated by cyberware… not when there's a pretty lady to ogle instead."

I rolled my eyes.

She laughed again and leaned back against the desk. "Relax. What I want is simple. This stuff is old anyway—if I get a buyer for it, it'd sell for cheap." She tilted her head. "You're building me that gun, correct?"

I nodded.

She grinned. "Then cut me a nice discount, and these are yours."

That was more than reasonable.

"Deal." I agreed instantly.

She smirked and finally handed both items over.

I had an Ocuset. Now I just needed to go home and figure out my options for cybersecurity before even thinking about dipping into netrunning. The daemons in this thing would be the first thing I needed to analyze.

Yoko waved me off. "Now shoo. That girl of yours is waiting! And she's right, ya know—" she mimicked Rebecca's voice "you shouldn't keep a girl waiting!"

I exhaled through my nose, tucking both the Ocusets and the book under my arm. "Thank you, I appreciate this."

She waved me off again. "Go, go." Then, with a sly smirk, she added, "Unless… you really are interested in little ol' me."

I sighed. This woman will probably never let up…

I could deal with that. It was worth it.

I stepped out of Yoko's store, my eyes adjusting to the dull glow of the morning sun filtering through the smog and neon-lit skyline of Kabuki. The clutter of buildings around the market roundabout cast long, jagged shadows over the streets, painting the early dawn in a mix of flickering holograms and murky light.

Rebecca was standing by the arcade machine again, her arms crossed, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She turned the moment she saw me.

"Zain! I was starting to think you weren't gonna get out of there!" She called over, her voice tinged with impatience, "What'd you want with the hag?"

I rolled my eyes and gave her a small smile. "Sorry for keeping you waiting, Becca. I just needed to ask her some questions, is all. About netrunning." I stretched, wincing slightly as my bruises protested. "Anyway... I can't believe it's morning already. Time flew by."

Rebecca hummed, glancing toward the skyline, watching the sun slowly rise over the jagged chaos of Night City's architecture. "Yeah, no shit." She yawned, rubbing at her eyes. "Are you tired?"

I nodded slightly. "Yeah. It was a long night."

Her green-pink eyes softened as she tilted her head slightly. "Let's get out of here then."

I smiled at her, appreciating the gesture. I probably would've enjoyed playing Roach Race with her, but at this point, exhaustion was catching up with me. My bruises ached with every movement, and I needed sleep.

Not to mention, I had a lot to do when I woke up.

I needed to get started on crafting and modifying my tech. I had ideas—a katana for one. I wanted to test out what my kanji engravings could actually do for my gear. Then, there was the Ocuset—I had to analyze and test it before I even thought about using it. And finally, I had to make good on my promise to build custom weapons for my friends.

And on top of that… I need to head to the Gym! I've had my rest day… if it can be called that. But I am not backing out of workouts even if I have other things to juggle! Besides…. I need to somehow learn how to fight with swords as well….

Perhaps the Kanji engravings can take care of that?

So much to do. So much to figure out!

As we walked out of the store, heading down the winding stairs of the pagoda marketplace, Rebecca hesitated before speaking.

"Say... why'd you wanna know about netrunning anyway?"

I glanced at her. "Had a few questions about cybersecurity, actually. Figured it was best to ask a netrunner."

She didn't respond immediately, walking alongside me in thoughtful silence before finally saying, "If you want a good runner… I can get you in touch with a few." She frowned slightly, then added, "If the hag turns out to be shady or anything."

I raised an eyebrow at her, smirking. "Becca… Becca! Are you jealous?"

She scowled up at me instantly, huffing. "I am not! Just being kind is all. Is that too bad!?"

I chuckled. "Relax, I'm just teasing. I got teased way too much today anyway—I figured I'd get a chance to do it myself."

She pouted, crossing her arms.

I let her stew in it for a second before continuing. "Anyway… who did you have in mind?"

Rebecca tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, there's Kiwi, for one. She's a preem runner…"

The blonde woman with the opaque cyber-mask? From my brief impression of her, she didn't seem the social type.

I shook my head. "I don't think she liked me much last time we met."

Rebecca paused, then shrugged. "Okay, you're probably right." She didn't argue.

She stayed silent for a few more moments as we descended the stairs. Then, a bit more hesitantly, she added, "There is one more… another choom of mine. Lucy. I think she'd agree to help."

I looked at her, considering. I didn't know this Lucy—hadn't met her. But if Rebecca vouched for her, she was probably good people.

"You think so?" I asked.

Rebecca paused, then grinned brightly. "Yeah. Totally! She's a bitch sometimes, but she's nova!"

That was… a rousing endorsement.

I chuckled and nodded. "Cool. If I ever need another runner, then I know who to call. Thanks, Becca."

I pulled out my smartphone, swiping through the ChariotApp—a city-standard ride-call system for personal vehicles. Rafael's old car, now my car, followed my number if I set it. It had trailed Ethan's car here and was parked a few alleys away.

Most cars had this feature.

I still wasn't sure how I felt about automated tracking systems, but at this point, I had bigger concerns than corporations keeping tabs on my ride.

The only real concern was the feature's beta nature—I had to be very careful. The AI still wasn't perfect. If I wasn't paying attention, my car could very well plow through civilians, obstacles, or whatever happened to be in the way.

Not ideal.

I turned to Rebecca. "Do you want a ride home?"

Rebecca raised an eyebrow at me, smirking slightly. "Sure, why not? That'd be preem."

A few minutes later, the low growl of the engine echoed down the alley as my car pulled up, headlights cutting through the morning haze.

It had been a long day.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

(A/N)

Super Long Chapter!

Covered sooo much.

Once again, Zain is learning. Making mistakes, but he's getting there.

Zain opened with 0 CPs, earned 100 by time of roll. Failed to connect to 300 point perk and has 100 in reserves.