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3.75% Cyberpunk's Singular Peculiarity / Chapter 11: First Contact

บท 11: First Contact

"'Sup choom..."

Ori wets his lips as he looks between the strange short-stack and the increasingly amused-looking Judy, who'd spun her chair around and leaned against the bar to get a good view of all of this. "Good on you for buying her that drink Judy, didn't think you swung that way." he states after a moment, throwing her the live grenade.

Strangely, Judy's cheeks actually redden at that, "What? Lost your nerve after going through all that trouble, Ori? Come on Rebecca, you know he's full of shit."

"I don't know," she leans forwards with a mischievous grin, "I've seen you lookin' my way, shame we don't bat for the same teams."

"Hmph, whatever." Judy grumbles, "Since you're here, I assume you're trying to come back?" she quickly changes the subject.

Rebecca shakes her head and downs the drink Ori had unintentionally passed her way, "Pfft, not anytime soon, just went through a test but 'apparently' killing the hostage ain't allowed! It's a game god damn it! Why not use the big ass rocket they give you!?"

"An exercise to test you, y'know, after the shit you pulled last time?" Judy retorts.

"Hey, that wasn't my fault! That guy ran right in front of my gun!" she argues, taking a seat next to Ori and kicking her feet up onto the bar.

"You blew the head off of a Suit's kid, a Suit that spent more Eddies on the Mox than anyone else. I don't agree with Susie, but do you really think you're worth more than thirty thousand Eddies a month?"

"Uh duh, obviously there ain't anybody like me!" Rebecca childishly responds with folded arms.

Judy rubs her forehead, "Yeah, and we all have to suffer for it."

The girl leans closer to Ori and begins inspecting his face closely with a grin, "So who's the boytoy? Looks too young and wimpy to be in the gang, not pretty enough for BD's."

"I'm right here you know." Ori protests, wondering if he should just leave and save himself the headache.

"He came looking for help from Susie but she refused. I'm helping him in the meantime, says he might start Merc work..."

"Name's Ori." he offers lightly.

"Hm? Rebecca." she dismissively replies before continuing, "Ori? Sounds like a girly name... You one of those dyke lesbo's I heard about?"

He frowns at her, "Don't know, you one of those trans-dudes who overcompensate with the dumb-ditsy attitude?" he questions, causing a vein to visibly throb on the girl's forehead.

Judy pauses in thought, "Maybe you could help him out since it looks as if you're gonna stay solo."

She snorts at that and turns to him, "No offence, that stunt you pulled with the drink was funny but I ain't going anywhere with you. That's just asking to get shot in the face."

Ori crooks a brow at her not offended in the slightest, just curious. "Oh yeah?"

She begins pointing at him, "You're wearing rags, got the shittiest gun I can think of, and look like you haven't eaten in a week. I'd probably be better off picking up a junkie off the street."

"Ouch." Judy quietly remarks.

"What? Think I'm wrong?" Rebecca questions the BD Techie.

"No." Ori states, "You're probably right, but it's not like I've got other options." he relents, knowing well his chances of survival weren't great.

"Are you deaf? I just said this job don't suit you. Unless you're actually lookin' to die, then be my guest." Rebecca irritably huffs.

"Gettin' lectured by some pipsqueak ain't gonna change my mind."

"What pipsqueak!? You tryin'a say somethin' about my height, ya' bum!? And for your information, I'm sixteen! I've still got room to grow!" she angrily exclaims, drawing her pink pistol and pushing it against his temple as if to emphasize her point, causing Ori's breath to hitch.

"Not likely with your body mods... And put the damn gun down, you're in enough trouble even without this." Judy adds with a sigh.

"Psch!" she reluctantly holsters it at her hip, "How old are you then 'Ori', bet you're like a thirty-year-old dwarf or somethin'!"

He shrugs, "Almost sixteen... And I've actually got room to grow." he stands and towers over her, almost a full foot taller. "If anyone's a dwarf around here, it's you."

She growls at him, "Whatever! I'd rather be this size forever than a skinny-ass lampost-looking hobo!" she shakes her head and starts to leave, "See you later Judes, lemme know if the newbie lasts more than a week. We'll throw a party for luckiest asshole in Night City!"

"Yeah, yeah." Judy waves her off before turning to him, "Looks like you've made your first contact, congrats."

"What, her?" he questions, was she crazy? That girl was definitely more trouble than she was worth.

Judy nods, "Don't let her looks fool you, she's actually one of the better Mercs around here-, most of the time at least. I'll send you her detes in a week, see if she's still interested then... Might need to complete some jobs before she'll work with you though."

"Maybe I should forget being a Merc after all, if only to avoid her." he mutters while standing, "I'll call you when I've sorted my biz out." he says, headed for the door.

"Don't take too long, there's only one person riding on this, and it ain't either of us."

"Yeah, I know... Thanks Judy..."

---------------------------------

*Click!*

Ori enters the apartment and spots Bats on the couch with his head depressingly in his hands, "Did you get what we need?"

...

"It wasn't enough... The Eddies, we don't even have enough to rent the damn things..." the man solemnly admits.

...

Ori lets out a sigh and drops onto the couch next to him, just as clueless about what to do next as Bats was... "Mox refused to do anything, but a techie offered to help. Looks like I'm becoming a merc...."

...

"Sorry." Bats offers, unable to say anything else.

"How much are we missing?"

"Around three thousand, give or take..."

That's not a cheap sum, Ori sincerely doubted he'd get lucky at the junkyard again either. Plus the fact Judy was waiting for him to decide, he felt incredibly tied for time. He turns in the TV on and starts idly flipping through channels, wondering when was the last time he actually watched something... Or even relaxed for that matter.

"Today, Mayor Lucius Rhyne announced that under him Night City's crime rate has fallen by a whole ten percent! Stay tuned for News 54's very own interview with our illustrious may-*Bzzt!*"

"Having problems getting up in the morning, always feeling like nothing you do matters? Then buy our special organic facial cream to find the brighter side of li-*Bzzt!*"

"Rumours of Christy D'Clert's-" Ori perks up at the mention of his celebrity friend, he hadn't seen her since before everything went to hell...

"-split from UnSomberly appear to be greatly exaggerated, as the star appeared with her bandmates at the Nourriture chère restaurant! We've even received word that they're preparing to release a new single called Killa' or not, I don't know about you guys, but I'm on the edge of my-*Bzzt!*"

Ori shuts off the TV and stands, how could he have been so stupid and forgotten Christy? Surely she would help them out with some extra Eddies, it's not like she's lacking cash anyway!


ความคิดของผู้สร้าง
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :

ShinAmazake

Kingsprovince

Faruk Ereng

VidDav FerDeL

บท 12: Charity-Case

[Calling Christy D'Clert...]

[...Calling Christy D'Clert...]

*Beep*

"... Ori?" Christy asks as her face appears over the holophone. Her expression was tense, maybe even worried.

"Yeah, it's me..." he says with a faux smile.

"You look awful... Listen, I heard what happened and if there's anything I can do for you, anything at all, please let me know. It makes me sick to my stomach that something like that would happen to you and your family..."

"You know, that really means a lot..." Ori mutters with a small choke. It was strange, he'd been hearing similar platitudes ever since it'd happened, but she was the only one he felt truly meant it. He was getting emotional, and he was only barely holding it together to prevent himself from grossly sobbing in front of her.

"L-listen, you remember my sister? Cat?" he quietly asks.

She nods, "Yeah, didn't seem to like me at all... I-is she alright?"

He shakes his head, "No, she's missing and I don't know how to find her... I know you don't owe us anything, but if you knew any way of finding someone-"

"Of course! I don't know if it'll help but I'll ask around, someone's bound to know something... Is that all? We're friends and I'd be a terrible person if I left you alone in a time like this."

He sheepishly rubs the back of his neck, "Y-eah... I hate to ask you this but, me and Bats are missing a couple thousand Eddie for some equipment that might help in finding her," he sighs, "I feel dirty for even asking but, could you loan us some? I'll pay you back with interest, I swear!"

Christy quickly nods as her eyes flash with light,

[+5000§] the notification appears in the corner of hi vision indicating a transfer, causing his eyes to widen. (AN: This is the symbol for Euro Dollars/Eddies)

"That enough? I can give more-" she starts but he cuts her off.

"No! That's more than enough... Really, I can't thank you enough for this!" he hurriedly thanked her.

She smiles sweetly at him, "Don't mind it Ori, you need anything and you come to me, after all, what are friends for?"

"Yeah. Friends. I need to go... Bye." he smiles back and ends the call before sitting on the bed to steady his rapidly beating heart... That was harder than he thought it'd be. It felt like he'd just run a mile in a minute...

"Whatever, time's wastin'... BATS! WE GOT THE EDDIES, LET'S GO!"

-------------------------

The duo ventured through the Kabuki, the spiralling alleyways that were either completely destitute or filled to the brim with criminals. The only real light around these parts were the blinding neon signs pointing unwary travellers to their respective stores, along with the occasional Chinese lantern.

The biggest industry by far was the Chinese-inspired food stalls, most promoting themselves as fresh and genuine, despite the fact that Ori was certain most were serving rat meat on skewers. The other significant part of Kabuki was the unlicensed and untrustworthy Ripperdocs and body modders that were more likely to strip you clean and sell you to Scav's than to actually do their jobs.

Thankfully, Ori wouldn't have to subject himself to their mercy, since Bats was there to operate things. After much walking they slip through another alleyway and end up standing before a rundown abandoned building with 'Weilu Ripperdoc and Salon' spray painted across it.

...

"This really the place?" Ori mutters while resting a hand on the pistol at his side, sceptical.

Bats shrugs, "This was the cheapest place I could find with the equipment we need. Don't worry, I've already checked if their shit works, and I'll scrub it of viruses and daemons that might be hidin'."

"If your sure, think this'll work?"

He shakes his head unsurely, "Not a hundred, but it's better than anything else I could think of."

"Better than nothin'-"

"Mā de! Lǔ! Nàxiē liúmáng láile!" someone exclaims from the building, drawing their attention.

"Yāoqǐng tāmen jìnlái! Tāmen yǐjīng fùle liǎng gè xiǎoshí!" a man's voice loudly responds from another part of the building.

...

Ori glances at Bats, "Any idea what they're saying?"

"Huh-, oh? You don't have the translation programs...? You're probably gonna need it if-"

The door opens and a Chinese woman sticks her head out and begins waving at them, "Why you waiting for sum'ting!? Why waste time? You come in now!"

...

The duo look at each other, shrug, and follow the lady inside. She leads them through the half-broken-down furniture-less rooms and down to the basement where a Chinese man was waiting for them at the door.

"Ah, you are 'Bats', I assume?"

He nods, "Yeah, Lu, right?"

"It is this, you have two hour, no longer or we charge you more." he states before walking off.

"Y'know, I think I prefer the chinks over the other guys we have to deal with, quick and to the point." Bats remarks, trying to make small-talk as he steps through the door, only to pause when he sees the room.

It was an utter mess, the tech and equipment were fine and in working order, but almost the entire place was covered with blood and oil... It looked like someone had filmed or performed the chainsaw massacre or something.

Ori sends a dull stare his way, "You were saying?"

"The hell...? Those fucks ripped us off!"

Ori picks up a scalpel covered in old, coagulated blood before tossing it to the side, "You only asked for the equipment, never said anything about the state of the place, did you?"

Bats irritatedly ruffles his hair with his hand, "Fuck sake... We can make this work... Just sit-," he glares at the dyed crimson operating chair with a scowl, "Just deal with the filth for now, we've got a lot to do with the time given."

Ori does as he's told and sits in the chair after giving it a brief wipe with some nearby discarded clothes, the thing still giving a 'squelch' regardless. "I'll jack in once you've checked for viruses..."


ความคิดของผู้สร้าง
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.

Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :

ShinAmazake

Kingsprovince

Faruk Ereng

VidDav FerDeL

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