7:20 AM.
Driven by his internal biological clock, a boy who had lived in Santo Domingo since childhood opened his eyes on his bedroom bed.
He squinted half-open eyes, devoid of spark, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Only after a good long while did his dull, fish-like pupils begin to focus.
“Phew…”
The boy let out a long breath.
The black braindance he had gotten from the doc last night was way too intense.
Even in his sleep, bloody scenes kept flashing through his mind from time to time.
Reaching up to pinch his temples, the youth threw off the thin blanket, got up, and shook his head, trying to shake out the residual braindance images lingering in his head.
Unfortunately, he failed.
Picking up his Arasaka Academy student uniform from the foot of the bed, the boy put on his clothes while walking barefoot out of the bedroom—he needed to hit the bathroom first.
Before stepping through the bathroom door, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a figure reclining on the couch in the living room.
A yellow uniform jacket was half-covering the person and half-draped on the floor.
“Unbelievable…
slept on the couch again.”
The boy scratched his head and walked over, preparing to cover his mother up properly.
But with every step he took, his expression shifted subtly.
It wasn’t until he got close that he saw clearly that the person lying on the sofa wasn’t his mom, but an utterly unfamiliar young man fast asleep.
A flush crept up the boy’s face.
He was furious.
“Tsk, who the hell are you?!
What are you doing in my house?”
In a rage, the boy reached out to grab and pull the sleeping man on the couch.
Right then, the man who was supposedly sleeping soundly suddenly snapped his eyes open.
His dark brown pupils reflected the boy’s angry face and slowly reaching hand.
Moving second but striking first, a hand grabbed the boy’s wrist.
Before the boy could even react, he was pinned.
*Slap~*
With a slap to the boy’s pineapple-styled head, Lin Ke trapped both of the boy’s hands with one grip, twisted them behind his back, drove his knee into the boy’s spine, and subdued the youth who had interrupted his sleep and tried to sneak-attack him onto the couch.
“I’ve got a terrible morning temper, kid.”
Lin Ke had only followed Gloria into this apartment at three in the morning, getting a mere four hours of sleep on the sofa.
“Let go of me!
Who are you?
Why are you in my house?”
The boy squirmed continuously, trying to get up, but with his hands locked and his lower back pinned, he couldn’t put any force into it at all.
He could only lie flat on the couch, thrashing his head in helpless fury.
“You’re the one in the wrong for waking me up.
As for why I’m in your house…
well, I just arrived in Night City and had nowhere to stay, so your mom was kind enough to let me crash here for a few days.”
“You’re full of shit!
My mom would never bring a stranger home!”
The boy argued back, but his eye sockets were quietly reddening.
It wasn’t surprising he was overthinking it; this was the first time in his sixteen years he had ever seen his mom bring a stranger home—and a man sleeping under her jacket at that.
At the thought of this, grief and indignation welled up in the boy’s heart, and he struggled even more violently.
Unfortunately, the difference in physical conditioning between them was too vast.
The boy’s meager strength was nowhere near enough in front of Lin Ke.
Lin Ke watched the continuously struggling boy, a faint light flickering in his eyes.
*His personality is pretty much the same as at the start of Edgerunners.*
*He doesn’t even know how to throw out a few Night City swear words.*
*As a mother, Gloria raised her son to be nothing like a teenager of this era; he’s more like a good student from the peaceful era of my old home.*
*In the Night City of 2075, a personality like this just makes him a naive hothead.*
[David Martinez] Age: 16 Identity: Student Cyberware Coverage: 12% Description: A top-performing student attending Arasaka Academy.
His physique possesses a special insensitivity to implants, allowing him to withstand the mental erosion of multiple pieces of cyberware.
PS: A shot glass of vodka, on the rocks, topped with Coca-Cola.
“Lin Ke!
What are you doing?!
Let go of my son!”
Just then, Gloria, woken by the commotion, rushed over from the side.
She shoved Lin Ke aside, pulled David up off the couch, and half-squatted, her slightly red eyes nervously inspecting her son from top to bottom to check if he was injured.
Lin Ke stood to the side with his arms crossed without speaking.
In fact, he had deliberately relaxed his body when Gloria rushed over; otherwise, she wouldn’t have pushed him away so easily.
Bullying someone’s son in their own house and getting caught red-handed gave him a tiny bit of embarrassment.
And looking at the red-haired woman right now, Lin Ke felt even more awkward.
Gloria had probably been woken by his and David’s commotion.
Worried about David, she had rushed out of her bedroom wearing only a red silk nightgown.
In her half-squat, the rounded curve of her hips was clearly visible.
Standing nearby, Lin Ke’s gaze unconsciously drifted down from the loose collar of her nightgown, catching a glimpse of two plump, snow-white mounds.
*Her figure is surprisingly great!*
“Mom, why is this guy in our home?” David asked his mother, Gloria, pointing a finger at Lin Ke, his temper flaring.
Seeing that her son wasn’t hurt, Gloria breathed a sigh of relief.
Hearing David’s question, she could only offer a helpless explanation:
“He’s a friend from Mom’s work.
Due to some special circumstances, he’s staying at our place for a few days.”
David exhaled upon hearing Gloria’s explanation, the fire in his chest slowly dying down.
David knew how hard Gloria worked to earn money for his schooling, and he hoped she would have someone to rely on so she wouldn’t have to work exhausting overtime every day and support this household alone.
However, David didn’t want his mom finding someone who looked about the same age as himself.
Sure, this annoying guy was somewhat handsome, but looks were the cheapest thing in this city.
What’s more, the man in front of him didn’t even have a place to live.
Sitting on the couch, David puffed out his chest and put on a fierce face, glaring viciously at Lin Ke like a wolf claiming its territory, signaling Lin Ke to stay away from his mother.
“Yo, kid’s quite the actor.”
*A Husky is still a Husky, though.
No matter how much you bare your teeth and pretend to be tough, if you want to be the alpha, you need a lot more skill.*
“I happen to be very close friends with your mother.
You can call me Boss Lin, or if you prefer, Uncle Lin.”
Emphasizing the phrase “very close friends,” Lin Ke raised an eyebrow at David and flashed a cheeky smile, his shady intentions blatantly obvious.
“You bastard, I—”
Instantly triggered, David was about to charge forward when Gloria held him down.
“Lin Ke, shut your mouth!
David, you calm down too.”
Gloria rubbed her temples with a headache.
This “home” hadn’t been this “lively” in a long time.
“I’ll go make breakfast.
David, go wash up.”
Gloria dismissed David first, as some things were unsuitable for a child to hear.
“Oh…” Unwillingly, David trotted off to the bathroom—he really couldn’t hold his bladder any longer.
Once David walked away, Gloria finally looked at the headache-inducing young man in front of her—no, right now he was her employer.
On the way back early this morning, this man had bought out her entire day for ten thousand Eurodollars.
Heh.
Ten thousand Eddies!
In Santo Domingo, a regular worker working 16 hours a day would have to work six months straight without a day off to earn that much money.
Yet this man had handed it over so generously, and all she had to do was drive him around Night City.
According to him, it was his first time in the city, and he needed a guide and driver to show him around and help him buy a few things.
Of course, that money also included his food and lodging for the next week.
But that was a non-issue.
Sleeping on the couch was fine, and for food he could eat the same as David—breakfast at home, and lunch and dinner spending 10 Eddies on vending machine nutrition meals.
At most 200 Eddies in cost, plus one day of her time, to make 10,000 Eddies.
*If only money were always this easy to make.*
“You are not allowed to pick on David.
Otherwise, please leave my house immediately, and I’ll refund your money,” Gloria said with a stern expression.
“Fine, whatever you say,” Lin Ke agreed, spreading his hands with an indifferent look.
“Though he was the one who attacked first,” Lin Ke felt it necessary to clarify.
“Regardless, that’s the end of it.
I’m going to make breakfast.
Also, there are no extra toiletries at home.
After breakfast, when David goes to school, I’ll take you to the supermarket to buy some,” Gloria said, turning around and stepping into the kitchen.
Watching Gloria busy in the kitchen in her red silk nightgown, Lin Ke picked up the yellow jacket on the floor, shook it off, and placed it on the couch.
“What a gentle mother.”
However…
Glancing toward the kitchen, Lin Ke seemed to remember something, let out a chuckle, and walked in as well.