Chapter 80: Chapter 80: A Friend’s Mother
After chatting with Maine for a while, the conversation between the two men became a bit too dull. Maine watched Lin Mo as he casually ate his oden while they continued their small talk.
Eventually, Maine couldn't resist anymore and went over to the food stall to order his own portion of oden.
"Is this Eastern snack really that good?" Maine asked, staring doubtfully at the steaming bowl of oden in his hand.
"It's alright. It's mostly synthetic ingredients, but it's good enough to fill your stomach," Lin Mo replied.
Lin Mo quickly finished the last of his oden, and while the taste wasn't anything to write home about, he didn't waste any of it. These synthetically produced ingredients, while not the best in flavor, had developed to a point where they could almost pass for the real thing.
The only downside was that they just didn't taste as good.
"Yeah, well, I guess for someone like you, a rich kid who's had nothing but fresh, high-quality food all their life, this kind of stuff is probably pretty subpar, huh?" Maine said, using his chopsticks to poke at a fish ball in his bowl.
Lin Mo set aside his empty container, intending to dispose of it later.
"I have, but do you really want to hear about it? It might make you feel a bit bitter," he said with a smile.
Maine snorted dismissively as he slurped some noodles, a look of world-weary understanding flashing in his eyes.
"In this fucked-up world, especially in this city, there's no such thing as fairness. Go on, give me a taste of what it's like, Mr. Big Spender. Maybe one day I'll be living large like you, eating the best food, wearing the best clothes."
"Alright, here's one example. On one of my birthdays, I had a cake made with real honey, straight from a beehive," Lin Mo said casually.
Maine raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Real honey? How much did that set you back?"
"About 150,000 eurodollars. And that wasn't even top-quality honey. The premium stuff, I'm told, can only be sold at auction for an unthinkable price," Lin Mo explained.
He stretched his arms, feeling a slight drowsiness after the meal, though the cool evening breeze kept him alert.
"I've read in some news and gossip magazines that these kinds of organic, natural ingredients often go for no less than 200,000 eurodollars at auctions. Pretty crazy, huh?" Lin Mo said with a calm smile.
Maine let out a cold snort, his tone grim. "What's there to be amazed about? In this world, that's just how it is."
Lin Mo leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together. He stared at the ground for a while before speaking again.
"Honestly, you're right. But it shouldn't be like this."
Maine didn't seem particularly moved by Lin Mo's comment.
After all, from his perspective, Lin Mo was one of those fortunate few who benefited from the world's imbalance. The kid's monthly allowance was probably enough to cover an entire job for their crew.
It was just another rich kid's musings about the unfairness of life.
The two didn't dwell on the subject, continuing their idle conversation until they were interrupted by a minor distraction.
An elderly woman with a hunched back emerged from the restaurant's rear door, carrying a bag as she hobbled toward them.
Their conversation came to a halt.
Lin Mo watched as the old woman handed the bag to Maine, and the two of them carried out what looked like a covert exchange—money for goods.
As the old woman shuffled back inside, Lin Mo gave Maine a curious look.
Maine chuckled, waving the bag in front of Lin Mo. "Wanna guess what this is?"
"You don't have to tell me. It's pretty obvious that this restaurant is some sort of black market trading post, right? With so many Edgerunners hanging around here, I doubt the food is what's drawing them in," Lin Mo said with a knowing smile.
"Got it in one," Maine said, tearing open the bag to reveal several glass vials filled with a clear liquid.
Immunosuppressants.
Lin Mo immediately recognized them for what they were.
"Yep. These medical-grade drugs aren't exactly easy to come by. Let me fill you in: this restaurant's got connections. If you need something, just talk to the owner. He's got the hookups to get you some decent stuff," Maine explained.
Lin Mo's eyes lit up.
If there was anything holding him back from spending his wealth, it was the lack of connections and access to certain channels.
A middleman who could get anything done for the right price? That was precisely what Lin Mo had been looking for.
"Think he could get me some implant mods? Like a Sandevistan cooling system, or maybe an Arasaka ballistic armor suit? And if he could hook me up with some military-grade vehicles, like a Basilisk, I'd be all over that," Lin Mo asked eagerly.
Maine's grin froze. His expression quickly shifted into one that seemed to say, Are you messing with me?
After a moment of silence, he let out a couple of awkward coughs and said, "My dear little rich kid, do you really think someone who can get their hands on that kind of stuff would be running a restaurant?"
"Yeah, I figured as much. But it doesn't hurt to ask, right?" Lin Mo sighed, clearly disappointed.
"Don't get your hopes up too high. The best he can do is probably hook you up with weapons, ammo, and some medical supplies. If you're after cyberware, though, I can introduce you to someone," Maine said, pulling out a vial of the immunosuppressant and loading it into a pneumatic injector. He pressed it into his arm, and as the liquid entered his system, his face slowly relaxed into a look of pleasure.
Lin Mo watched without a word, fully understanding Maine's reaction.
Thanks to the DNA-matching biological components in his implants, Lin Mo didn't experience rejection symptoms. However, for Maine's purely mechanical implants, like the Sandevistan or Kerenzikov, immunosuppressants were essential to prevent his body from rejecting the tech.
The immediate relief from the rejection symptoms gave the user a sensation akin to scratching a persistent itch. Maine's exaggerated expression of bliss was understandable given how much cyberware he had implanted.
Still...
Lin Mo observed the sheer amount of pleasure on Maine's face and couldn't help but feel concerned.
For someone to react this intensely... it was a sign that Maine's level of cyberware was way past the danger threshold.
After a while, Maine finally came down from the euphoric sensation, glancing at Lin Mo.
"So, where were we?" Maine asked.
"You were going to introduce me to someone who can get cyberware," Lin Mo reminded him.
"Oh, right. Wait a sec, here's her number. You can give her a call tomorrow. I'll let her know to expect you," Maine said, his eyes glowing faintly as he transmitted the contact info.
Let's see who this mystery person is...
Lin Mo eagerly opened his comms to check the number Maine had sent him.
The moment he saw it, his expression changed.
No way... isn't this David's mom's number?!
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