Cyberpunk: XYZ

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Chapter 9: Netrunner III

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Only then did he put in the chip in a device he previously brought, specifically for old-gen chips like that one, "Oh... What a joy to see a living Joi."

The code was fragmented, mostly broken, but as it turned into numbers in X's eyes, it started to look very salvageable, so he copied the code to his virtual machine and started filling the holes in the code.

X even had to get outside resources such as leaked Joi codes, especially the latest versions. Most importantly, he read through the ancient Joi's data bank, what's left of her memories.

Whatever it was, it made X work harder as his hands moved like a blur, nearly rivaling the speed at which linked Netrunners code, which is the speed of thought.

It was, as usual, a sleepless night, but it was a lovely night, one of learning, improving, and overcoming obstacles to the point that when Vik arrived at the clinic in the morning, he found X holed up there, working on something, sparks flying everywhere.

"What're you working on?" Vik wondered.

"Fixing this projector," X reflexively responded, too focused on the device before him.

"Looks like old tech," Vik remarked, "Why would you want to fix it?"

"It's the latest projector that supports an old chip I have," X replied, "I tried to fix this emanator, but it doesn't seem plausible."

"Good luck," Vik shrugged, preparing to head to his computer only for X to stop him.

"Can you come and look at this?" X asked, "It's a project I've been working on. Do you think it's plausible?"

"Let me see," Vik got closer, looking at X's laptop screen, his expression slowly but surely turning weirder, "I won't really know unless I sleep on this, but it seems ambitious, too ambitious. The amount of funds you'll need to even make a prototype would be ridiculous."

"Please keep it from the Net," X swiftly handed Vik a shard, as if already prepared.

Sending the file through the Net is certainly more convenient but it's also too dangerous for what's within the shard.

"Hmm," Vik took the shard as he let out a sigh, bringing over his chair to sit right before X, "Showing me this means you're thinking of chroming yourself up, right?"

"I do," X nodded, giving his full attention to Vik, knowing that he had something to say.

"Do you know how many chromes I have?" Vik asked a question which he answered directly after, "Almost none, only ones necessary for my line of work... Know why?"

"You, as a Ripperdoc understand better than most, the danger of implants," X of course knows.

"Let's talk about the lesser of two evils that are those dangers," Vik took a deep breath before continuing, "Ripperdocs are the scum of the earth, preying on the misery and ignorance of others. Do you know why chromes implanted by Ripperdocs malfunction so much?

It's either of two reasons, the less evil of the two is incompetence, installing incompatible models which accelerate neural degradation, cyberware that works to the detriment of each other, destroying their bodies inside out, installing faulty chrome that does irreversible damage to the body, and most dangerous of all, to the brain.

Then there is the most evil of the two, business practices, a common courtesy in the field, rigging the implants so that the clients require very regular maintenance, meaning more eddies for Ripperdocs. Even if the client lost trust in that specific Ripperdoc, they'll have to visit another Ripperdoc, like an exchange of patients.

I mean, what can the clients do? Go to to corps? Ripperdoc fuck you in the ass, corps fuck you in the brain. I don't want you to be that kind of Ripperdoc, and I only accepted you as a student because I saw your desire to learn. I just hope Night City doesn't change you."

"If it does, hopefully, it changes me for the better," X nodded lightly before adding, "I know NC isn't in the habit of changing people for the better, but I am special."

"Indeed you are," Vik agreed, "Which is why I have to tell you about the grandest evil of 'em all... When you get implants, you sell your soul. You give away control. Your implants, they aren't yours, not when they can shut it down anytime they want, not when they can watch you all the time through them."

Vik stood up, pulling his chair back with him, "Ripperdocs might be the scum of the earth but corps are demons in human skin, keep that in mind if you wanna chrome up." He went on to watch some boxing.

X stroked his chin for a bit, contemplating Vik's words before nodding to himself, having decided on something. Only then did he go back to work.

That day was the first that X would ask for an early leave as he hurried to the roof, making sure it was empty before quickly screwing the newly fixed projector by the wall.

X watched with anticipation as the projector lit, its newly purchased power source working as intended, and the chip within it feeding it information, allowing it to project... Joi.

She was truly a joy, a flawlessly beautiful petite young woman with her smooth brown hair tied into a bun, and her alluring ever captivating green eyes looking about in confusion.

Joi looked much too real, just like a real person standing there would look like, not a single sign that would make anyone believe her to be merely a projection, even her expression was... Fascinating.

"Hello, Joi," X spoke first, seeking to settle her confusion, "I am X. To sum things up, I acquired the broken emanator you were in, then I fixed you. How do you feel?" Strange thing to ask a projection.

"Dizzy... Disorganized," Joi muttered, her expression turning into a frown as she added, "I... I have a headache." She spoke as if she truly felt things, so human she seemed.

"Understandable," X nodded, "I find your memories to be quite corrupted. I did my best to recover what I could, but unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Last thing I remember?" Joi murmured as her frown deepened, "Rain and Sadness... I remember just how I felt, not what happened."

"Then please lie down there and rest, try to organize your memories," X gently muttered before turning his attention to his computer, eyeing the message he just received.

Joi walked to the couch and lied down, all seeming quite natural. X's manners allowed her some peace of mind as he treated her like a real human and she acted human.

[Sent you a hundred for a job well done... I do have an offer for ya tho. The client gave me a follow-up gig. She wants you to...]

X didn't need to know the rest but he still read through the message nonetheless. It contained exactly what he expected, a request for a thorough investigation of Antonio and the uncle.

'Is she looking for blackmail material? Using Antonio against the uncle will definitely not work. Both are scumbags that will leave each other in the dirt with no hesitation... Therefore, the only entry point is Olivia.' X mused before narrowing his eyes, 'Sounded dirtier than I meant.'

X shook his head as he got to work right away. Olivia was in his mind the weakest link related to the three targets.

The client, Valerie must think that Antonio has some material on his uncle or at least something in that context. However, there wasn't really much X could do without performing a deep dive.

All he could do was occasionally send her emails disguised as one of her subscriptions in the hope that she would click the link within, a link that uploads a file to her device.

The file would look like a magazine of the company to her, but the hidden code is what matters, and she hopefully won't wonder about it for long as the link will redirect itself to the legit site.

The only thing that can go wrong in this situation is if she has some sort of advanced security measure.

The code for the virus was created by X for the purpose of working around most security softwares that are used by people like Olivia, people very low on the ladder of hierarchy.

If that doesn't work, there are plenty of methods to try next, although they aren't as discreet. X now just had to wait for the prey to take the bait, so he returned to harvesting the endless knowledge of this world.

"What are you reading?" Joi soon had enough rest, joining his side by the couch.

"Some leaked research papers about nanites," X replied, his mind still focused on the laptop screen.

"Why?" Joi wondered.

"Why not?" X shrugged, "Does there need to be a reason to seek knowledge other than the fact that knowledge is the greatest miracle in the world?"

"I guess not," Joi hummed to herself, "Why did you fix me?"

"Why not?" X shrugged again.

"I see you aren't in the habit of answering questions. You've added a lot of knowledge into my databank, so I know that I am old tech by now," Joi muttered, "Why would you want someone like me?"

"I think it's maybe a combination of a lack of money and curiosity," X murmured, "I am, however, unsure. You can ask him when he wakes up."

"Hm?" Joi was perplexed as she questioned, "Ask who?"