Triggered a cutscene?
Jake perked up, leaning slightly forward away from his backrest.
The computer screen froze on Gloria’s slightly panicked eyes, her movements turning sluggish, and the subtle background noises stretching out, as if she were using a Sandevistan.
Below the screen.
A minimalist input box popped up.
[Free Dialogue: Please enter what David will say here.
Different dialogue choices may lead to different plot branches and character relationships]
“Free dialogue?
Did they embed an AI into the game?” Jake recalled information from the anime.
“Looks like I have to clear her check to get the cyberware…”
To Gloria right now, this cyberware was a sum of money large enough to change their lives, so she wouldn’t let go easily.
And working hard was all so David could get ahead, so she clearly didn’t want him messing with stuff like this.
How should he convince her?
“Emmm…”
Jake pondered for a moment, his fingers beginning to fly across the keyboard.
…
“David?”
Gloria stood up from the sofa, the yellow jacket slipping down into the crook of her arm: “What is that in your hand?
Put the bag down.
That’s not something you should touch.”
She reached out to grab the bag, but David backed up half a step, cleverly dodging her hand.
“This is military-grade cyberware, right?”
“What?”
Gloria was completely astonished.
At the same time.
The digital TV mounted in the living room happened to be airing yesterday’s news.
[Last night, the military implant on the corpse of Lieutenant James Norris, who was shot dead by MaxTac, was stolen…]
“It was ripped off him, right?” Jake glanced at the TV and continued typing: “Arasaka is tracking this down.
We’re in serious danger right now.”
Although this Sandevistan originated from Militech, it had leaked out from an Arasaka lab, and Lieutenant Norris was also Arasaka personnel.
To Arasaka.
This implant was a fairly valuable experimental sample.
“How do you know all this?”
Gloria looked at her son, feeling for the first time that this face she saw day and night felt somewhat unfamiliar.
She brought this thing back originally wanting to flip it as fast as possible to make a quick buck, just to handle rent and those expensive academy fees…
It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered the risks; life simply forced her to gamble.
“I study at Arasaka Academy.” Jake typed on his keyboard: “The connections and info network inside are much more complex than you imagine.”
“I know some people who are very interested in Militech tech.”
“They offer a higher price than Maine, and it’s safer.
They’ll help cover up this deal, and any leads Militech tracks down will cut off completely.”
Arasaka Academy?
Connections?
Hearing this left David dumbfounded.
Where did he get connections like that?
It was already good if those elite assholes at the academy didn’t completely ignore him!
“Maine…”
Gloria was stunned: “You even know about this?”
Maine was the buyer for this cyberware.
For David to drop this name directly was enough to prove he understood the situation thoroughly, and finding her buyer was clearly no difficult task for an Arasaka Academy student.
It seemed her son really had made a bit of a name for himself at Arasaka Academy…
“This is the safest choice right now.”
Jake struck while the iron was hot: “Trading directly with Maine carries huge risks.
Trust me, let me handle it this time.
I can get a higher price, and it’s safer.”
The living room fell into a brief silence.
Gloria took a deep breath, preparing to agree.
But looking at the dead calm on David’s face, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
David had brought up wanting to drop out to work and help ease the household burden more than once.
If he really had any connections, he would understand the value of Arasaka Academy better than anyone, so why would he repeatedly try to give up?
Something was wrong!
“I’m sorry, David.”
Gloria seemed to have made up her mind, decisively reaching out and snatching the bag with the cyberware: “Don’t touch this matter ever again.”
Exposed?
In his heart, David breathed a sigh of relief that Gloria hadn’t easily fallen for it.
But soon, he grew tense again.
With the lie exposed on the spot, was this guy going to just snatch it by force?
“Failed?”
Jake said somewhat helplessly: “Guess I’ll just have to try again…”
Try again?
What did that mean?
Before David could even think it through, he felt everything around him getting draped in a strange color, as if he were inside a BD.
Immediately after.
An incredible thing happened.
The morning light filtering through the window, his mom holding the duffel bag, and the news on the TV…
everything began rewinding in a way that defied the laws of physics.
Gloria’s hand released the bag, backing away.
He stumbled backward himself, step by step, precisely rewinding to the center of the living room, rewinding along the path toward the doorway, rewinding back to the threshold of the laundry area.
The perspective pulled down rapidly.
He sat back down on those mosaic tiles, his gaze locking once more onto the round observation window of the washing machine.
Inside, the wet clothes were tumbling in reverse, going from stationary back to thrashing around.
David sat frozen there, looking blankly at everything in front of him.
Huh?
Time…
rewound?!
His legs stood up uncontrollably once more.
David glanced at Gloria sleeping soundly on the sofa, then dragged the black canvas duffel bag out from the corner again with clear purpose, heading toward the door.
What should I say this time?
Jake’s brain spun at top speed.
Even pulling the Arasaka Academy card failed; directly persuading her stood even less chance of success.
Gloria only wanted David to study hard and stay off the streets, so how could she possibly let him handle this cyberware?
Is this level a dead end?
Maybe the trashy dev didn’t intend for players to get this gear in the first place…
Jake backed up to the doorway.
His peripheral vision stayed locked on Gloria sleeping on the sofa.
Gloria seemed utterly exhausted, her breathing even and deep, completely unaware of the commotion over here.
The apartment door had opened automatically.
Just one step, and Jake could leave with this priceless piece of cyberware.
Yet he happened to stop right at the doorway.
One second, two seconds…
Jake was waiting for Gloria to wake up and trigger the event.
But nothing happened.
Inside the apartment, all remained quiet.
“Huh?”
Jake was utterly confused.
He controlled David to tentatively step out of the apartment, the door closing silently behind him.
The walls on both sides of the hallway were plastered with glaringly bright neon graffiti, while a few homeless people wrapped in tattered blankets curled up in the corner shadows.
Looking at the public hallway before him, Jake was stunned:
“Where’s my special cutscene?”