“How did it go? Did you get along well with that netrunner?”
Wakako gently blew across the surface of her tea and took a small sip.
“Of course I trust someone you recommended, Grandma. And she’s quite capable too,” Leon replied, sitting across from her and slowly drinking his tea.
“How do you like it?”
Wakako placed the cup back on the table and looked at Leon questioningly.
Leon smacked his lips a few times, enjoying the taste left in his mouth, then said with satisfaction:
“It’s pretty good. I’ve never had tea like this at home.”
“It’s just ordinary tea grown in a laboratory. Under today’s conditions, even the little tea that is still grown outdoors is seriously polluted.”
Wakako sighed softly.
“When I was a child, I still had the chance to drink tea grown completely naturally. That was truly the real taste.”
Leon only smiled back at her but said nothing.
“By the way, your sister really let you come here alone, without an escort?” Wakako asked casually.
“There’s always chaos in the corporation. We rarely see each other anyway, and lately she’s had even more work,” Leon replied regretfully and set down his cup.
A strange glint flashed for a moment in Wakako’s cloudy eyes.
“Oh? Really? I’m quite curious what kind of work could make a sister who loves you so much spend almost all her time in the office.”
“What kind of work could it be? Ordinary corpo overtime,” Leon replied cautiously.
You really are a crafty old woman…
Only a few sentences, and you’re already trying to pull information out of me.
Are all members of Gen Z this dangerous when they grow old?
Yes.
According to this world’s timeline, this kindly grandmother really did belong to the generation born at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
“I understand.”
Wakako smiled faintly.
“If you ever get tired of sitting home alone, feel free to come by more often and talk with me. There will always be a cup of hot tea waiting for you here.”
If Leon had not known what Wakako was like in the game, he might really have considered her nothing more than a kind old woman.
He frowned almost imperceptibly.
Even now, he could not say for certain whether her words were sincere.
Maybe it was just an ordinary polite phrase.
Or perhaps she had just given him unspoken permission to come here whenever he wanted.
“Thank you for your concern, Grandma. If I get the chance, I’ll definitely come by more often,” Leon replied with a smile.
The rest of the conversation mostly turned into casual reminiscing about the past.
From time to time, Wakako tried to steer him into accidentally revealing some valuable information.
But Leon chose his words almost flawlessly, making it difficult for her to judge what he truly thought.
Time passed quickly, and before long noon arrived.
At one point, Wakako received a call from an unknown person.
She asked Leon to wait outside while she finished the business conversation.
When the call finally ended and Leon returned to the private room, Wakako watched him for several moments before asking with a smile:
“Child, are you thinking about becoming an edgerunner?”
Her voice was still calm and measured, but this time there was almost complete certainty in it.
“Yes. I’ve thought about it.”
Leon answered openly.
He was not surprised that Wakako asked him that, because the same scene had already appeared in the simulator.
Edgerunner.
In this cyberpunk world, that term referred to people who literally lived on the edge and pushed the limits of their own survival every day.
Their lives were like walking on a tightrope stretched above an abyss.
Everyone desperately tried to reach the other side.
But most never did.
Mercs, freelance netrunners, rockerboys who openly rebelled against corporations, as well as nomads and other people who belonged to no stable system could all, in a broader sense, be classified among those who lived on the edge.
“Why?” Wakako asked calmly.
If some completely unknown gonk from the street had given her such a statement, Wakako probably would not even have bothered asking why he had chosen that kind of life.
But Leon was different.
He had an older sister in a high-ranking corporate position.
Unless something completely unexpected happened, he would never have to worry about money in his life.
With his position, he could simply remain a wealthy client.
A buyer.
A person who never had to personally get close to those who survived every day on the edge of society.
He could sit far behind the scenes.
Pay the deposit.
Hold a glass of expensive champagne in his hand, spend time with some new girl in his villa, or calmly stroll through a park.
When the agreed time came, the fixer would find suitable people for his job.
Would the mercs succeed?
That was their problem.
Would they survive?
That was not the client’s concern either.
People like that always stood on the safe shore and watched.
They never allowed the mud from the dark world to stain their shoes.
Even this small job of finding a netrunner was a perfect example.
Leon only had to pay.
Wakako handled everything else.
Faced with her question, Leon’s lips stretched into a faint smile resembling that of a cynical wanderer.
But the words that came from his mouth were as firm as a steel blade.
“Either you leave a name behind, or you disappear without anyone ever remembering you.”
“Since I already live in this era, I choose the first.”
Wakako silently watched him for a while.
Then she sighed.
“Do you even understand what life is like for people on the edge?”
“Child, you’re still young. A lot of things are nowhere near as glamorous as they look from the outside.”
Her expression became more serious.
“Just remember one thing.”
“In Night City, legendary edgerunners always end up in the grave.”
Leon looked deeply at Wakako.
By now, he could roughly guess what was going through her mind.
Wakako probably wanted him to remain a client.
Another wealthy regular customer.
She knew Leon’s financial situation very well.
The payment for many smaller jobs was probably less than his monthly allowance.
And money from rich kids was always easy to take.
Unfortunately, if not for the simulator, Leon might truly have chosen a quiet and carefree life.
But the simulator’s most important rewards — Attribute Points and Perk Points — required real combat experience.
If he wanted to continue increasing his strength and one day become a legend, the life of an edgerunner was currently the best path.
As for a corpo career?
Leon was not considering it at all.
When she saw his determined expression, Wakako understood that she would not talk him out of it.
Perhaps he had not changed at all since the day they first met…
Even as a small child, he had been incredibly stubborn.
Once he decided something, he did not give up.
When he said back then that he would not become part of her family, he truly meant it.
Wakako pulled an old physical phone from her pocket and began checking something.
As a fixer, she still used this rare, almost obsolete communication device.
A few moments later, Leon’s communication interface received a message.
“A man called me just now.”
Wakako spoke completely calmly.
“The Tyger Claws kidnapped his sister, and he needs someone to get her out.”
“It doesn’t seem like a particularly risky job.”
“If you want, I can give it to you.”
Leon stared for a long time at the information displayed on his retinal HUD.
In the end, he nodded.
“I can take it.”
“I advise you not to approach a job like this with the attitude of ‘I can try.'”
Wakako looked at him seriously.
“If you go in unprepared, you’ll end up very badly.”
Leon nodded, then changed the subject.
“By the way, Grandma, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Do you have any connections through which I could get a higher-quality Sandevistan?”
Fixers had enormous networks of contacts.
Besides ordinary acquaintances, they often had access to goods that the average citizen could never obtain.
A good fixer, when given a sufficiently valuable contract, would even provide their mercs with advanced weapons and equipment needed for the job.
Wakako thought for several moments.
“You mean speedware? I have some contacts.”
“What model are you looking for?”
Then she immediately added:
“But just so you know, I don’t currently have an Mk.3.”
“Models like that mostly end up in the hands of the military and corporations. There are almost none on the open market.”
Leon was somewhat disappointed.
Although he had only asked in passing, he had not expected even Wakako to lack access to more serious speedware.
Come to think of it…
Even members of MaxTac, who only appeared in the game when the police pursuit reached the highest level, often used only a limited number of extremely advanced speedware systems.
It seemed that Mk.3 models and above really were extremely difficult to obtain.
And as for Mk.2…
Leon was not even considering it.
Installing such a weak model would only mean going through surgery just to have to replace everything again later.
“If you truly need one, you can open a special job.”
Wakako continued:
“As long as you pay enough, there will always be some group of lunatics willing to intercept a corporate transport.”
“And if you don’t mind secondhand goods, I can try to find an Mk.3 through the Scav market. It would probably have already changed owners several times.”
Leon fell into thought.
If he had a choice, he would much rather obtain a QianT Sandevistan Mk.4 through Vanessa.
But judging by the current situation, QianT would probably need more time to finish the final product and begin serious production.
“How much?” Leon finally asked.
Wakako looked at him with mild surprise but did not ask any additional questions.
After a brief moment of thought, she replied:
“I rarely take orders like this, but I’d advise you to wait a little.”
“Night City changes from day to day. Maybe in just a few days someone will intercept a corporate transport, or a suitable piece of cyberware will appear on the market.”
“I’ll keep my eyes open.”
She smiled faintly.
“Don’t worry, child. I’ve sold much more expensive cyberware.”
“I’d say we could have something within roughly a week.”
“The total price would be around 35,000 Eurodollars.”
“For now, leave me 15,000 Eurodollars.”
“That’s pretty expensive…”
Leon took a deep breath.
The average monthly salary of an ordinary person was around 2,500 Eurodollars.
Even taking the black market into account, this was still a serious sum.
Indeed…
Violence and crime did bring money, but military equipment was never cheap either.
Even though he thought that, Leon still transferred the money without hesitation.
This job was almost equal to his monthly allowance.
Fortunately, even as a child he had been smart enough to eventually agree to a compromise with Vanessa.
He called her big sister instead of Mom, which at least formally lowered her by one generation.
And since he was her ‘good, obedient little brother’…
his allowance became considerably larger.
Later, he used that money as starting capital for various investments.
With the help of the simulator, his savings had long since grown to a level that would leave the average person speechless.
He was simultaneously a rich kid with backing…
and a millionaire who had independently increased his own wealth even further.
People often looked down on families where an older sister spoiled her younger brother too much.
But as the person who directly benefited from it, Leon thought having a sister like Vanessa was something wonderful.
“Wait for good news, child.”
Wakako happily accepted the deposit.
“Then I won’t keep you any longer, Grandma.”
Leon stood up.
“I’m going to meet the client and learn the details of the job.”
He had no intention of wasting any more time.
After saying goodbye to Wakako, he turned and left the elegant private room.