Ruan Xian rummaged around the empty warehouse to see if there was anything worth taking, but aside from a pile of packaged meat from the All Foods factory, there was little else.
“Seventy percent real meat!
Real meat with actual blood!”
The advertisement was annoyingly loud.
Ruan Xian turned on a computer in the warehouse to see if there was anything valuable on it.
The files contained only records of meat, meat, and more meat—various flavors of synthetic meat.
Among the messages, Brick was chewing out some idiot at the warehouse.
Brick: “Stop throwing fucking corpses into the food factory!
We have enough supply.
If you play someone to death, just throw them in the trash, alright?
They’re rotting in the plant and making the whole place stink!”
Ella: “Aw, come on, Boss.
That’s such a waste.
Let the dumbasses of Night City eat some real meat for once.
Just shove them into the machine.”
Brick: “Are you a fucking idiot?
Synthetic meat has a formula!
Do you know what a formula is?
Tossing everything in there messes up the quality.
Stop giving me your bullshit.
Clean up your own playthings.
If you can’t, eat them yourself.”
Ella: “Got it, Boss.
We tried it last time anyway, and it didn’t even taste as good as the chicken-flavored synth meat.”
*Fuck, I let them off too easy.
Next time, I’ll use cyberpsychosis to make them slaughter each other.
Fucking Maelstrom bastards.* Ruan Xian felt physically sick reading that.
He resolved to stick to Lalala Ramen and Veggie Heaven from now on; he wouldn’t touch a single bite of meat in Night City.
Besides some weapons, there was really nothing else to take.
Ruan Xian ended up tossing two decent-looking vehicles into his Spirit World.
In any case, he couldn’t leave a warehouse empty-handed; returning from a raid with no loot was out of the question.
“Got it—the data bank.” Ruan Xian retrieved the device, then looked at the stolen vehicle: a classic Columbus V340 van.
It didn’t look like a corporate vehicle, but he didn’t care.
He pocketed the van as well, slipping it into his Spirit World.
Having accepted the gig, Ruan Xian intentionally chose not to block his data.
After all, remaining permanently invisible to all electronic surveillance would actually draw more suspicion.
Sometimes, a complete lack of clues could become a clue itself.
He planned to keep the Sean Donnelly persona clean and legitimate.
Then, he would forge another fake identity for pulling off major stunts.
It would be a waste not to use the Mimetic Masking Shroud he had worked so hard to acquire.
He didn’t even need official ID spoofing; in Night City, people forged fake identities all the time using basic neural links.
It was a highly reliable method.
*Buzz…
Buzz…* Just as Ruan Xian walked out of the meat warehouse and hopped onto his beloved scooter, his phone rang.
Regina: “Walking out in broad daylight.
I take it you got it?
I’ve marked the location.”
Sean Donnelly: “Piece of cake.
Don’t make a scene, but you don’t care if they die.
Mind if I ask why, Regina?”
Regina: “Just some internal corporate drama.
It doesn’t matter if something is stolen; as long as no one knows it’s gone, it was never stolen.
But it becomes a massive headache if it becomes public knowledge.
Understand?”
Sean Donnelly: “Got it.
The package has been dropped off.”
Regina: “Mm-hmm.
Received.
Very clean work, the client is extremely satisfied.
Job’s closed.”
[Transfer: +20,000 eddies]
Sean Donnelly: “Damn, that generous?”
Regina: “Sandra asked me to look out for you, though it seems you don’t really need it.
I think you’ve got talent.
I’ll hit you up when another suitable gig comes along.”
Sean Donnelly: “Sounds like a plan.
You can count on me.”
Giving a high-paying job to a stealth expert backed by a top-tier netrunner, Sandra, one that involved stealing something from a Maelstrom warehouse that Maelstrom didn’t even know or care about, was indeed a massive favor.
Ruan Xian appreciated the gesture.
Finding an empty lot, Ruan Xian pulled out the Satara.
This high-end Serbian-made shotgun utilized electromagnetic tech to fire sharp steel flechettes.
Both the gun and the ammo were expensive, but for good reason: once charged, its power could pierce right through solid walls.
Ruan Xian checked the ammunition he had swiped from the Maelstrom warehouse.
Ten full crates of Satara ammo, each stamped with the Biotechnica logo.
It was obvious Maelstrom hadn’t acquired them through legal channels.
*This will last me till the end of time.
Might as well test the gun.* Ruan Xian scanned the area with his optical cyberware.
Perfect.
In the alley across the street, three Maelstrom morons were conducting some typical Night City harassment.
“Hey, dipshit!
Do you know this is Maelstrom territory?
What are you doing here?” The leading Maelstromer raised a leg and kicked a passing, raggedly dressed vagrant.
“I…
I just took a wrong turn.
I’m not with any gang, please, I…” Shivering violently, the vagrant was on the verge of wetting himself.
Everyone in Night City knew how depraved Maelstrom was; they installed eye implants without anesthesia.
They were utter lunatics.
“Ha!
Look at you.
I’ll show you a good time and hook you up with some shiny new chrome.” Maelstrom psycho-freaks loved nothing more than dragging random passersby from the street for crude, forced modifications.
Half the time, they ended up creating cyberpsychos who blew everyone present to pieces, but they never grew tired of it.
“No…
please, spare me.
I’m a veteran.
I used to defend Night City.
Please, let me go…” Cold sweat poured down the vagrant’s face.
Being modified by Maelstrom meant going mad, dying, or living a life worse than death.
“Oh, a hero!
I love heroes.
Come on, let me put a new eye in you.
Join Maelstrom!” The three young Maelstrom punks laughed with psychotic glee.
“Tsk, I can’t watch this shit.” Ruan Xian’s fingers itched.
Stepping directly behind the Maelstromers, he raised his Satara and began charging it up.
The vagrant watched Ruan Xian approach behind the thugs and pull out the Satara.
Trying not to draw attention, he shuffled two steps to the left to clear the line of fire, continuing to plead, “Please, gentlemen, I really don’t want any trouble.
I beg you, let me go.”
“Hey, boys.
Look over here.” Seeing the veteran’s quick reaction, Ruan Xian stopped hiding and delivered a lethal greeting.
“What the—” The three Maelstrom punks whipped their heads around, only to find a towering man pointing a fully charged Satara right at them.
“Holy shit, a cyberpsycho!” Even Maelstrom killed for money or fun, but this guy had drawn his weapon to execute them without a single word.
He was crazier than they were.
Before they could even fully turn, the charged Satara fired.
To Ruan Xian’s Body stat of 15, the recoil was practically nonexistent, and its power lived up to the hype.
The Maelstromer in the center disintegrated on the spot.
The one on the left lost his right arm and leg, collapsing instantly into a pooling mess of blood.
The lucky one on the right only suffered minor scrapes, though his cybernetic left arm was completely blown off.
“Whoo, that’s the stuff!” Ruan Xian relished the sheer power of the weapon.
Unfortunately, since the vagrant was standing directly behind the Maelstromers, firing another shot risked hitting him.
He simply holstered the gun and delivered a front kick, launching the only standing Maelstrom punk into the air.
“Take a deep breath, and say goodbye to the world.” Ruan Xian walked over and stomped down, crushing the punk’s head.
Turning around to finish off the last surviving cripple, he saw that the vagrant had already drawn a Lexington pistol and put a bullet through the head of the one bleeding out on the ground.
“You’ve got some guts.
North Watson is crawling with cyberpsychos.
Stick to the main road and head toward Little China.
It’s a bit safer there.” Seeing that the veteran remained on high alert, Ruan Xian had no desire to chat further.
He turned to leave.
“Hey, man!
Thanks!” Seeing Ruan Xian turn his back without a care and walk toward his motorcycle, the veteran knew he wasn’t a cyberpsycho.
He yelled out his gratitude.
“Don’t fucking mention it.
Save someone else next time, and we’ll call it even.
Take their guns.
Rock bottom is only temporary; from here on out, the only way is up.
Hang in there.” Without looking back, Ruan Xian waved his hand.
The motorcycle engine roared to life, carrying him back into the brilliant darkness of Night City.