When he returned to the restaurant, Leon saw the waiter who had been standing behind the counter earlier.
He was now unconscious and lying across the table, sleeping deeply like a baby.
The back door leading deeper into the restaurant had been violently smashed open, and the middle of the door was riddled with bullet holes.
Several deep dents from punches could also be seen on the metal surface.
Just from those traces of the brutal attempt to break in, one could imagine how desperate Hiroshi had been.
Still, they were electronic security doors and obviously extremely sturdy.
Even with all the effort Hiroshi had put into trying to break them down, he had only managed to create an opening about half a meter high.
Leon thought for several moments.
Then he looked at the opening.
Then estimated his own height.
In the end, he sighed quietly.
Without a word, he walked over to the unconscious waiter, found his access token, and swiped it across the control panel beside the door.
The door opened instantly.
Of course, Leon did not forget to take some loose money from the cash register either.
But he did not keep it.
He neatly slipped the money into the poor waiter’s pocket.
Following the traces, Leon reached the second floor and ran into Hiroshi Kitagawa there, whose face was completely cold.
He was slightly hunched over and carrying a girl on his back.
Hiroshi’s jacket was draped over her, and she was still unconscious.
Her face was hidden behind his back.
Her long black hair hung disheveled down her body, and in several places on her head, patches where her hair had been torn out were clearly visible.
“Do you need help?”
Leon spoke quietly.
He did not want to further upset her brother, whose heart was already broken.
Hiroshi raised his gaze toward him.
A hoarse voice came from his throat, almost like the growl of a wounded beast.
“No.”
“Thank you for your kindness, Leon.”
Carrying his sister on his back, he quickly headed down the stairs.
If he had not had the girl on his back, he probably would have sprinted straight through the street.
Leon silently followed him.
Soon they reached the place where they had left the car.
Hiroshi very gently placed the still-dazed girl on the back seat.
Then he quickly sat behind the wheel.
The moment Leon sat in the front, Hiroshi slammed the accelerator all the way down.
The gauges on the dashboard suddenly jumped.
The old wreck’s engine roared like a beast, the tires slipped across the asphalt, and the car shot toward the road.
It was hard to believe that this falling-apart bucket still had such a sudden burst of youthful energy left in it.
A personified image of the old car even appeared in Leon’s mind.
A decrepit old man lies on a hospital bed…
Then his owner’s will awakens him.
The old man suddenly sits upright as if rising from the dead and shouts:
“Who says I’m finished?! Where’s the boss?!”
The sudden acceleration caught Leon completely off guard.
His body was violently thrown backward, and his head hit the seat.
Only then did he remember something.
Among the Tyger Claws, every sufficiently ambitious member tried sooner or later to acquire a Quadra Turbo-R 740.
Then they would paint it bright red and light green and decorate it with traditional kanji inscriptions such as “Unrivaled Under Heaven,” just like the car belonging to that arrogant guy from earlier.
After that, the vehicle would receive some overblown name meant to emphasize how fast it was.
When such a sports car raced down the street, people often saw nothing but a fiery-red flash disappearing like lightning.
Hiroshi, who had once worked for the Tyger Claws, certainly was no stranger to that kind of lifestyle.
He too had once been full of energy.
Chasing the gang’s enemies down the highway in a sports car.
Eyes cold as ice.
A cigarette between his lips.
A pistol in his hand.
One hand on the steering wheel.
And the demeanor of a man it was not wise to provoke.
But because of his younger sister, he had given up that kind of life.
He put aside the extravagance.
Extinguished that showy side of his personality.
Got rid of his expensive things and sold them for far less than they were worth.
In the end, he bought this unimpressive old wreck.
A car he used every day only to drive his sister to school and bring her back home.
But his old arrogance and driving skills had not disappeared.
They had only been buried deep in his memory.
They had turned into instinct that he could not completely erase.
And now, in order to get his sister to a doctor as quickly as possible, that instinct awakened again.
The wildness of the former street wolf was released once more.
Hiroshi raced through the steel jungle of Night City!
Even if someone gave him a fucking tractor, he would probably try to drift it down the highway!
…
However, even the strongest burst of will has its limits.
And its price.
For several moments, the old car truly seemed as though it had become young again.
But before they could even cross the intersection—
BANG!
A loud explosion came from the front.
Thick black smoke immediately began pouring from the hood.
The vehicle’s speed suddenly began to drop.
Hiroshi Kitagawa: “…”
Leon Mercer: “…”
Leon silently stared at the scene.
His worst prediction from earlier had actually come true.
He did not even need to look at Hiroshi’s face to know how dark it currently was.
“Baka yarō!”
Hiroshi punched the steering wheel with all his strength.
“Why now, of all possible moments?!”
His expression was so gloomy that it looked as though he was about to kill the car itself.
Well…
even if Hiroshi had Takumi Fujiwara’s driving skills and was the god of Mount Akina, that would not help him now.
“I called my vehicle.”
Leon tried to calm him down.
“Don’t panic. Just wait a little.”
At the same time, he sent a request to Delamain through his neural interface.
Hiroshi leaned heavily back into the seat.
He turned his head toward the girl lying in the back seat.
Pity and deep sadness could be seen in his eyes.
“Leon…” His voice was quiet.
“Am I really that useless…?”
“If it weren’t for your help, I wouldn’t even have been able to save my own sister.”
“And now I have to bother you again…”
“No.”
Leon answered immediately.
“Just the fact that you were willing to think about someone you love and risk your life to save her means you’re stronger than most people.”
He spoke sincerely.
Hiroshi frustratingly shoved a hand into his pocket.
He was obviously looking for a cigarette.
But when he did not find one, he simply angrily punched the steering wheel again.
“When I found her, she was already like this.”
“Other women were locked in the same room.”
“I asked them what happened, but none of them knew enough to tell me anything useful.”
Hiroshi lowered his gaze.
“There was nothing else I could do except let them go.”
“Now I have to find a doctor to examine my sister as soon as possible.”
“Do you have a doctor you can go to immediately?”
Leon rummaged through his pockets.
In the end, he found a lollipop and held it out to Hiroshi.
Seeing his confused expression, he explained:
“Sugar calms the nerves a little. It helps when you’re under stress.”
Hiroshi smiled faintly.
He accepted the lollipop, removed the wrapper, and put it in his mouth.
“I don’t have anyone I can trust.”
“I can ask a few acquaintances, but they’re mostly old contacts.”
“I don’t know if they’ll do me a favor now.”
He smiled bitterly.
“You know yourself… right now I barely have any money.”
“How about I take you to someone?” Leon asked casually.
Hiroshi immediately looked at him seriously.
“If you have someone to recommend, I’ll listen.”
“Viktor Vektor.”
Leon leaned back in his seat.
“A ripperdoc in Little China.”
“His clinic is in the basement behind Misty’s Esoterica.”
“Don’t let the fact that the place doesn’t look particularly luxurious fool you…”
Leon’s tone became firm.
“He is without a doubt the best ripperdoc I’ve ever seen.”
He did not even try to hide how highly he regarded him.
Hiroshi looked somewhat surprised.
After spending the entire day together, he no longer viewed Leon as a younger kid.
He now considered him a comrade-in-arms.
A man to whom he owed an enormous favor.
If Leon praised someone this openly, Hiroshi was convinced that the man definitely had something special about him.
“If Leon thinks that highly of him, then I’m truly looking forward to meeting that doctor,” he said seriously.
While they were talking, an elegant black-and-gold car stopped beside the road.
A discreet horn sounded several times.
Leon immediately looked toward it.
“Oh. It’s here.”
He opened the door.
“Come on, quickly.”
Hiroshi once again carefully lifted his sister from the back seat and followed Leon toward the Delamain taxi.
But when he clearly saw the vehicle, a trace of surprise appeared on his face.
Leon sat in the front, while Hiroshi placed his sister on the back seat and sat beside her.
“Little China.”
Leon addressed the bald AI.
“Misty’s Esoterica. Viktor’s clinic is right behind it.”
Then he added more seriously:
“And hurry. The girl in the back shouldn’t have to wait any longer than necessary.”
“Of course.”
Delamain’s voice was perfectly calm.
“Please fasten your seat belts, both passengers.”
“Due to the medical condition of the lady in the back seat, I will select the highest possible speed that still ensures a stable and safe ride.”
“Autonomous driving really is convenient…”
Leon leaned back comfortably in the front seat.
He did not even have to touch the steering wheel.
The car’s AI would find the shortest and most suitable route on its own.
It would analyze the traffic.
Calculate the best path.
And drive them to their destination without Leon having to do anything.
Hiroshi watched all of it and could not hold himself back.
“I never thought I’d ride in a Delamain.”
“What?”
Leon looked at him curiously.
“You know about their taxis?”
“Of course I do.”
Hiroshi recalled the past.
“A few years ago, while I was still with the Tyger Claws, I was ordered to take a team and deal with some corpo guy.”
“In the end, he managed to jump into one of these taxis.”
Hiroshi laughed briefly.
“We even pulled out heavy weapons.”
“A portable guided missile launcher.”
“We hit the taxi directly.”
“And do you know what happened to it?”
“One fucking scratch.”
“Thank you for your positive assessment of the quality of Delamain Service,” the bald AI immediately cut in.
Leon smiled but said nothing.
Since he knew the game’s story, he knew very well how durable Delamain’s vehicles could be.
A rocket launcher?
That was the least of the problems.
If they were not careful, even an elite Arasaka unit could have serious trouble stopping one of these taxis!