“Got it just like that?”
Jake scratched his head: “Is getting gear really this easy?”
A bug or a mechanic?
He recalled the entire process of getting the cyberware and quickly found where the issue lay.
Before rewinding, he was searching all over the apartment for the cyberware, making quite a bit of noise, whereas after rewinding, his goal was clear, grabbing the cyberware and leaving without any extra movements.
So…
Gloria was woken up by him?
This game’s plot actually changes based on such minor actions from the player?!
“Sick.”
Jake couldn’t help but sit up straight, his expression turning serious.
Just good luck, otherwise without a guide, who would know how to clear this stage…
Carrying that heavy black duffel bag, he walked over to the elevator entrance on this floor.
Creak
The elevator doors opened.
The space inside was cramped, and through the glass curtain wall, one could catch a glimpse of the cityscape bathed in morning light.
He pressed the floor button.
The elevator slowly descended, numbers starting to jump floor by floor.
To install the Apogee Sandevistan, he needed a reliable ripperdoc, like Viktor Vektor, “Vik.”
Vik’s skills went without saying.
But having him install cyberware would still cost a chunk of eddies.
Besides the cyberware.
He also had to resolve the issue with the BD wreath.
If he didn’t eliminate the hidden danger of the wreath, David wouldn’t be able to go to school normally, and once he went to Arasaka Academy, it would very likely trigger the car crash plotline, leading to Gloria’s death.
To deal with the BD wreath, Jake already had someone in mind.
But likewise, that required money too.
“How can I make a huge haul?”
Jake muttered while looking at the screen.
Dogtown did have supply airdrops, but right now David couldn’t beat Barghest soldiers either…
Thinking it over back and forth, he quickly came up with an idea.
…
The elevator vibrated slightly, stopping at the ground floor.
David walked out of the elevator, passed through the main entrance of Megabuilding H4, and the streets of Santo Domingo unrolled before his eyes.
Early morning sunlight passed through holographic ads, and AVs zoomed across the skyways overhead, making the city appear extremely busy and noisy.
“Santo Domingo to Watson North is pretty damn far.” Jake opened the map to plan a route: “No fast travel points, and don’t know if I can get into the NCART subway, looks like jackings a ride is most convenient…”
Carjacking?
David froze for a moment.
In Night City, practically everyone carried a gun; going up to jack a car empty-handed, was he asking for a death wish?
Jake looked around, just about to select a suitable target, when he noticed pedestrians on the roadside moving in a hurry, as if dodging something.
Looking in the direction they were fleeing from.
Not far ahead under the overpass, a few figures were gathered around.
David recognized the jackets and military implants on those people.
6th Street.
The local warlords of Santo Domingo.
They called themselves patriots, flying the banner of restoring the glory of the old USA, but in reality, they pulled protection rackets, smuggled arms, and did Militech’s dirty work.
They were one of the nastiest local gangs in this neighborhood.
Surrounded in their midst was a man wearing a rumpled, cheap suit, looking by his attire like a low-level corporate drone.
The man’s face was deathly pale, both hands raised high, trying to argue his case.
A burly 6th Street member was poking the man’s chest repeatedly with a finger, forcing him back step by step, while his other cronies crossed their arms, standing off to the side watching the show.
Seeing this scene, a touch of relief actually arose in David’s heart.
Compared to messing with these thugs, jacking a car didn’t seem like much after all…
Before his thought even settled.
He heard that voice suddenly say with great interest:
“Yo, an NCPD scanner hustle?”
Jake’s mouse hovered over those 6th Street gang members with yellow exclamation marks above their heads on the screen.
Perfect timing to test out this game’s combat system and damage scaling…
He didn’t even think twice, pressing down on the W key.
David’s body walked toward the underside of the overpass uncontrollably.
He controlled David to stick close to the base of the wall, utilizing abandoned vending machines and construction debris as cover to flank around to the side and rear.
“…Debt!
Overdue by three weeks, huh?”
That burly 6th Street member, Jack Barnes, poked the suited guy’s chest with a metal finger: “That’s pension money for veterans!
You not supporting them means you ain’t patriotic!”
“Night City is a free city, it doesn’t belong to the NUSA…”
Slap
Barnes slapped him right across the face: “Talking back, are ya!”
“Boss.”
Another skinny guy leaning against the graffiti-covered wall spat: “Looks to me like his implants and organs are worth a few eddies, why not…”
Listening to their conversation, David’s heart almost leapt out of his chest.
He knew all too well how ruthless 6th Street was.
In this neighborhood.
Even the NCPD wouldn’t care if 6th Street beat a poor student to death in broad daylight.
Really mess with them?
David seemed to foresee his own end, unable to bear the sight.
Yet he didn’t even have the right to close his eyes.
He could only watch helplessly as his own hand covered the mouth of the outermost lookout member, his arm giving a violent twist.
Snap
Accompanied by a crisp sound, warm blood splashed onto the back of David’s hand.
I killed someone?
The hair all over his body stood on end, his stomach churning violently.
“Takedown feel is alright.”
That voice sounded light and airy inside his head, as if breaking someone’s neck just now was nothing more than snapping a useless chopstick.
He bent over and picked up the smart pistol from the ground.
Bang
The second shot, a precise headshot.
The skinny guy leaning against the wall dropped dead before even realizing an enemy existed.
Gunfire detonated instantly.
The remaining four people reacted in an instant, bullets flying relentlessly like rain.
David was scared out of his wits.
He could clearly hear the wind-cutting sounds of bullets whizzing past his ears, as if he would be turned into a sieve the very next second.
Yet Jake was rock solid.
His fingers flew across the keyboard, slide-dodging, taking cover, popping out to shoot—a seamless sequence of moves, even timing the enemy’s reload gaps to peek out and pop two more heads.
In less than thirty seconds.
Only the leader, Barnes, remained on scene, firing blindly behind a car while spewing foul profanities.
David’s body leaned against a concrete pillar, trembling all over.
Those dozen seconds just now felt longer than attending classes at Arasaka Academy.
Yet Jake remained calm and composed.
“Squishy…”
With another shot, he precisely blew through the wrist Barnes used to hold his gun.
Argh—!
Barnes’s scream rang out, the gun dropping to the ground.
Jake gave him zero chance, controlling David to walk over step by step, picking up the kinetic assault rifle off the ground, pressing it against Barnes’s chest, and pulling the trigger.
Bang
With the roar of a gunshot.
Barnes slumped against the rusted vehicle frame, blood gushing from the bullet hole in his chest.
“Who…
the hell are you…
did we offend you?”
Right!
Why go out of the way to pick a fight with 6th Street?
David wanted to know the answer to this question, too.
Pity Jake didn’t answer Barnes.
He raised his arm and stuffed the warm gun barrel into the man’s mouth.
Dying, Barnes stared dead at the enemy before him, those brown eyes holding nothing but void.
He understood.
There was no reason, or the reason didn’t matter at all.
Bang
Barnes’s head slammed onto the ground, moving no more.
The scene suddenly went quiet.
Only the corporate employee in the suit remained slumped in the corner nearby, his pants soaked through.
David deftly looted the corpses, taking useful gear, and finally felt a set of bike keys at the waist of one of the bodies.
He stood up and walked toward the bullet-riddled motorcycle under the overpass.
“A bike is great.”
“Finally got a ride…”