“Boss, we usually just handle some idle resource relocation, social asset recycling, targeted collection of scarce medical supplies, and second-hand cyberware harvesting,” Makoto Ito replied without the slightest hesitation.
“Boss, I can tell just by looking at you that you’re a solo.
We’ve got some combat cyberware here.
Military-grade.
It’s second-hand, but we guarantee there are no hidden issues.
If you like them, they’re yours.”
“Interesting.
You Scavengers make it sound so upscale.
‘Second-hand cyberware’ my ass.
You mean fresh-plucked cyberware, don’t you?
It disgusts me.
I want money.
Eurodollars, got it?” Ruan Xian slapped Makoto Ito across the face, knocking out two of his teeth and leaving him sobbing in pain.
“Crying?
Crying takes up time.
If you don’t produce the money, I’ll shoot your little brother off and send you to Jig-Jig Street to work off your debt.
Fuck.”
[Makoto Ito: Bro, are you coming up yet?
I can’t hold out much longer!
This guy is stubborn as a mule, he only wants money!
I told him we have high-end gear but he won’t budge!
Bro, hurry up!
If you don’t get here soon, you’re going to lose a brother and gain a sister!]
[Kiyoshi Ito: What the fuck are you talking about?
That dumbass Watanabe says he forgot the armory password.
Dammit, I thought it was four zeros, why the fuck won’t it open?]
[Makoto Ito: Bro, those are the security camera passwords!
The armory is 1234!
Hurry the fuck up, you’re my only brother!]
[Kiyoshi Ito: Shut up.
If all else fails, tell him to take the cyberware and sell it himself.
Drag it out a bit longer.
Tell him about our high-grade inventory, give him the drop point, and save your skin.
We can always kill him at the drop point.]
[Makoto Ito: Got it, bro.
I’ll drag it out.
Just hurry, for the love of god!]
“You little piece of shit, have you made up your mind?
Either pay up, or I take your little brother and send you to Jig-Jig Street.” Ruan Xian grinned, looking as elegant as a psychopath.
“I’ll pay, I’ll pay, I’ll pay!
Boss, there’s money!
Once we sell the goods, there’ll be money!” To save his “little brother,” Makoto Ito surrendered at lightning speed.
“Boss, let’s not play games.
I can tell the girl on the bed has nothing to do with you.
You’re here for the eddies, right?
Our small-time operations usually go to Fingers over on Jig-Jig Street.
But him?
He doesn’t have deep pockets.
For the really valuable stuff, we sell to Wakako Okada.
But she takes forever to pay out.”
“What the fuck are you babbling about?
Give me the money! Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Eighty thousand!
Do you know what eighty thousand means?” Ruan Xian slapped him again.
There was no such thing as a good Scavenger; if he didn’t beat him to death, he’d beat him within an inch of it.
He was going to crush him in the end anyway.
“Boss, looking at you, outside of your gun and your muscles, your gear isn’t worth a dime.
I’m guessing you’re trying to carve out a living in Night City.
Why not partner up with us?” Makoto Ito sat on his knees, practically begging on the floor.
“We have a smooth-talker, a fast driver, and Watanabe can do surgeries, even if he doesn’t have a license.
We just lack a heavy hitter.
If you join us, we’ll have everything.
We can expand together, make a fortune, and conquer the scene!”
“Heh, interesting.
I need to see your sincerity first.
How big is your operation?
How did you get this house?
How long can you use it, and is it safe?” Ruan Xian knew the kid was genuinely terrified now; he had even stopped texting his brother.
“We’re small-time, we can’t make it big without muscle.
I handle the negotiating, my brother is a great driver, and Watanabe has decent medical skills, though he’s unlicensed.
We teamed up to set this up.
This place used to belong to a Japanese old man.
We strapped him to a chair and skinned him alive.
By the time we peeled off one of his balls, he finally signed a 100-year lease,” Makoto Ito answered honestly.
“Fuck, you guys are brutal.
Weren’t you afraid he’d call the cops and have you all killed?” Ruan Xian was taken aback.
To be this vicious even to their own compatriot, they were truly qualified Scavengers, devoid of any humanity.
“Once he signed the lease, we chopped the old bastard up.
Then we paid our taxes to the Night City government and bribed the NCPD.
Now this house is ours, and no one can touch it for 100 years.”
Makoto Ito pressed his forehead against the floor, keeping his face down.
“Boss, you can rest assured.
We have a house, a car, and established channels.
If you join us, with your skills, all the sheep in this area will be ours.
Anyone who objects gets put down.
You take the lion’s share, and we’ll just take the scraps.”
[Makoto Ito: Bro, why aren’t you here yet?
I’ve talked things through with this boss.
I’m confident I can get him to join us.
Put the gun away, grab some coffee beans from the first floor, brew some coffee, and bring it up.
Help me show some respect to our new boss.
We’ll take over Little China completely and build an empire.]
[Makoto Ito: Bro, answer me, bro.]
Ruan Xian sighed softly.
“You figured it out, didn’t you?”
[Kiyoshi Ito: You figured it out, didn’t you?]
[Watanabe: You figured it out, didn’t you?]
Makoto Ito kept his head buried deep against the floor, silent.
“I looked around before entering this house.
There is only canned coffee here.
No coffee beans, and no coffee machine.
How were you going to brew coffee?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Ruan Xian grabbed Makoto Ito by the throat, lifted him high, and pinned him against the wall. Read the latest chapters at novelping(.)com.
“Deep breaths, kid.
Dizziness is normal.
Any last words?”
[Kiyoshi Ito: Deep breaths, kid.
Dizziness is normal.
Any last words?]
[Watanabe: Deep breaths, kid.
Dizziness is normal.
Any last words?]
With tears streaming down his face, Makoto Ito looked despairingly at the cold, indifferent expression of the burly man before him.
His memories drifted back to his homeland.
His father, Takeshi Ito, had died fighting for Arasaka in the corporate war.
But his death only brought a meager pension to the family, and it was only paid for a single year.
There was no doubt that the money meant for them had been pocketed by someone else.
To raise him and his brother, their frail, soft-spoken mother had to work two or three jobs every single day, leaving early and returning late.
She struggled to raise them to adulthood.
On his birthday, on her way home with a cake, she was caught in a gang war—an internal conflict within the Tyger Claws.
Makoto Ito and Kiyoshi Ito, who were waiting at home, ultimately received only a jar of ashes.
After hastily burying their mother, Makoto Ito had wanted to take the sword left by his father and fight the Tyger Claws to the death.
But his brother had held him back tightly.
They sold all their belongings to buy two plane tickets to Night City.
They heard it was a city of dreams, where countless people struck it rich overnight, and countless others became legends.
He was 18 that year.
He swore he would make a name for himself in Night City, return to Japan with pride, force the corporation to pay what they owed the children, make the Tyger Claws pay the price, and let good people like his mother live happily.
“Fuck, how did I become like this?
How did I turn into a monster?” Makoto Ito’s eyes gradually lost focus.
The face of the burly man before him slowly morphed, resembling the father he had long forgotten.
“Even when you have nothing, you stand up for a stranger, break into the enemy’s nest, kill all the bad guys, rescue a stranger you don’t even know, and walk away like it’s nothing…
I actually wanted to become someone like that.
I wanted to be a hero.”
[Makoto Ito: There’s an anonymous databank chip in the armory.
The password is 2073.
There’s also a sword left by my father.
He called it Demon’s Cry, but I call it Hero.
They’re both yours.]
[Makoto Ito: Keep going, stranger.
Don’t let Night City consume you.
Don’t turn into a monster.]
Ruan Xian looked at Makoto Ito with a look of utter bewilderment.
A hint of hope had suddenly appeared in the Japanese kid’s eyes.
He felt the guy was a complete idiot, actually gifting his life savings to the man who was killing him.
He really couldn’t understand the mental wiring of these Night City locals.
“Whatever, let’s call it a reward.” Ruan Xian thought to himself.
Aloud, he said, “Kid, one day I’ll stand at the very top of Night City.
I will become the king of this city.
When that day comes, I’ll send all of Night City’s Scavengers, parasites, and oppressors straight to hell to keep you company.
If you get a next life, try to be a good person.”
With the peerless grip strength of his 15 Body, he snapped Makoto Ito’s neck.
The idiot actually died with a smile on his face.
*Jesus, I hope stupidity isn’t contagious.* Ruan Xian shook his hand vigorously, hoping to shake off whatever stupidity virus might have transferred from the kid’s neck.