How To Live as a Cyberpunk Solver

121. debt

The only thing Leonard missed was time.

I thought I would get in touch before the sun rises, but the call arrived at around 13:33 a long time ago. It was not because the decision of the remnants of the company was slow. This is because the contacts of Leonard and Noah Lucas belong to high-level information.

“Shouldn’t have leaked some information beforehand.”

“Then you can tell. And I thought I knew your number.”

“But… if I disclose personal information, spam comes…”

You should have combed through all the junk town brokers to get Leonard’s contact information. That’s how desperate it was, so it was a good sign.

While Leonard and Noah read the message through the brain chip and put it away, Max tapped the terminal hard and output it to an external device. It was for nothing. It was only a few sentences, so I didn’t have to see it myself.

“If you go to 30-1… it’s in front of Orange Prison, right?”

“You have a good head, too.”

The Aktion gang area was the culprit behind the lawlessness, but ironically, it was the safest place in the Aktion area.

“Should I call it security?”

Occasionally, very occasionally, fearless or immature or brainless men raided Orange Prison. It was the fastest way to get famous in Junk Town, so the spirit of challenge was commendable. If you remember that the Stonehead gang, which was popular in the past, raided the detention center and collapsed, the result did not have to be mentioned.

“War Machine is dispatched at the sound of a gunshot, so safety is guaranteed.”

“It’s not safety, it’s companionship. They kill all the scavengers nearby.”

Even the half-mad Action Gangsters took care of themselves on 30th Street. It was partly because of the trauma of the prison and partly because of the armed guards guarding the prison. Max, who obtained the rough information from Leonard and Noah, rolled his eyes.

“So what? You were going to meet and die…?”

Max, who grew up on the streets, also shed his words when he negotiated, as if he felt that calling and killing was petty. Since all the opponents are hackers-even if the types are slightly different-there was a need to keep quiet for security reasons.

Leonard crossed his arms and touched his chin. It is an advantage of the implant body, but sometimes it is a pity that the beard does not grow.

“I guessed that he would do something like this.”

“Then you must have thought of a countermeasure?”

Noah and Max gave me expectant glances. It was the best brain both technically and idiomatically. Leonard answered confidently.

“If you go to the site, you will remember that too.”

Originally, small paintings come out spontaneously. Believe it or not, it was real.

@

Beyond real-time conversations with people on the other side of the globe, we have reached an era where we can write contracts and shake hands in cyberspace, but ‘meeting and negotiating’ is still valid.

“There are people who are relieved to see the real thing.”

– The economy is also an era where only virtual currency remains?

“Because it is different from the economy.”

– Specifically, how?

“You can put a bullet through the head.”

That wasn’t the right word either. Cyberspace doesn’t mean you can’t kill. Leonard alone killed several people by burning their brains out.

“Because of Leonard, I decided it was dangerous to meet on the net. To be honest, I don’t want to dive into a server like Hexagon either.”

Noah Lucas helped with a word as he sat in the luggage compartment of Blue Bee. From there Max adjusted the Winterfield scope in a wasteland pickup truck about 400 meters away. Noah’s face zoomed in and looked like it could be held in his hand.

Leonard is said to be ‘fooled by implants’, but he was still a pretty person. The small and dense face, lively expressions, bobbed hair, cheerful voice, and excellent killing skills were all beautiful.

‘As expected, he’s my idol.’

Max laughed out loud. Noah turned his head away as if he had noticed such a voyeurism. Max was stunned, put the scope away, and looked the other way. A well-groomed sedan, which is rare for such city limits, was rolling over.

“Here you are.”

Leonard opened the car door and stepped out. The time commitment was correct. It remains to be seen whether the other promises will be kept.

The sedan stopped about 10 meters away. It was close to be called a stranger, but a little far away to be called a party. Leonard scanned the car just in case, but nothing was found. Even there was only one occupant.

– Jolly Ritz.

Noah notified with a brain chip. Leonard has identified the most important piece of information about the Jolly Ritz.

– The body?

-I don’t know about that, but it’s the modified body I saw before.

Noah’s memory chip was a high-performance chip favored by the wealthy in White Town. It was clear that it wasn’t just the appearance. Leonard pretended to look around and brought out his voice.

“Why are you alone?”

“There were only two of them.”

DMs without appearance information did not appear. No, Jolie Ritz is also a puppeteer who controls a dummy, so no one actually came.

“Is trust broken from the start?”

“If there is such a thing, I wouldn’t even have a meeting like this. Who do you know as an idiot?”

The plan to lure them into one place and strike them all off went awry. Leonard forced a smile. Their vigilance did not end there.

“The meeting is being relayed to our broker.”

“What about portrait rights?”

“That’s a funny joke.”

I don’t know which city the broker is, but if the fact of contract violation is known, it will be difficult to earn a living as a fixer. Of course, there was nothing wrong with processing it before signing the contract.

“The commission we decided to receive is 750,000 credits.”

-Wow…

Max’s exclamation briefly cut off the flow of conversation. Leonard tapped the bottom of the ear to mean to be quiet.

“I’ll give you 550,000 of them.”

It was the share of the five who died without having to take out a calculator. If Leonard, Noah, and Logan Mays split it, they went back 150,000 credits each. Max? Max, it’s okay if you give me a penny.

“What are the conditions?”

“Please withdraw from this task and do not attempt any direct or indirect interruption afterwards.”

Although expected, it was an attractive proposal. 150,000 credits in exchange for doing nothing, anyone would be tempted. Jolly Ritz showed no hostility with a gesture and sent the contract to the external device.

“That’s all we ask for. Will you accept it?”

The signature line flashed loudly. Even if it wasn’t a signature, it was effective the moment it left a trace. Leonard briefly exchanged opinions with the party and spoke as a representative.

“I don’t know because I’m a foreigner, but here in A-044 City, I’m called a trustworthy solver.”

“It has a pretty good reputation. So, I trust you and offer you.”

Leonard smiled at the compliment. He was excellent as a solver, but his flaw was that he was weak in recognition. In other words, the desire for fame is strong.

“You seem to have misunderstood me. Credit here refers to not making double contracts.”

“…I beg your pardon?”

He wouldn’t accept it anyway, but even if he did, there was a reason why Logan Mace’s share was higher than Max’s, who struggled even if he did. The fixer’s time didn’t just come out.

– I found it.

In the corner of Leonard’s field of vision, the letters ‘Logan’, which had been silent until now, sparkled. It was a report and a signal.

“It’s a trap!”

Since it was a closed communication, it could not be seen or heard, but the other side was also an experienced solver. With a moment of silence, I noticed. Jolly Ritz’s, to be precise, the Jolly Ritz’s dummy stretched out its arms.

It was more like an android than a cyborg. The top and bottom of the outer shell of the harpoon was separated, and the large muzzle that served as the skeleton protruded from side to side. However, Leonard did not hide and stared at him nonchalantly. On this side were the best snipers in Sodom who had already finished their aim and the best assassins who could brandish their swords at any time.

Phishung-!

There was a short burst of gunfire and a very small, plosive sound as it squeezed through the plastic tubing. Because the place was a place, it had to be done in one blow so there was no harm.

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Jolly Ritz’s body tilted sideways, then her head was cut off by a blade like a mantis forelimb. It was neat, as if it had been put together several times.

“What about public security?”

Leonard checked the previously hacked Orange Prison communications and made a circle with his finger. Fortunately, there was no need to use Plan B, running away from War Machine and armored vehicles to the wasteland.

I also thought about hacking the prison’s main system so that the guards would not be dispatched even if there were gunshots, but I excluded it because the possibility of success was not high and it was difficult to focus on that. It was difficult for even the most talented Hexagon hacker to do two hacks at the same time.

-It looks like you’ve disposed of the doll. A woman awoke at the remote port.

Leonard tracked Jolly Ritz’s vehicle back and routed it to Logan Mays. It wasn’t easy as I went round and round the streets and passed blind spots frequently. It wouldn’t have been so easy to find if it weren’t for the resourceful veteran fixer and the residents of 29th Street who promised active cooperation.

“There is nothing more to look at. Deal with it.”

After a moment of silence, a loud gunshot was heard. Logan Mace and the Aktion Gang raid the secret camp of the corporate fixers. The other side was also a pro, so they would have prepared their own defenses, but the difference in power was so big that it wasn’t difficult.

“Is everything over now?”

Noah asked as he stowed his mantis paws. It was a question mark, but strangely it sounded like an exclamation mark.

“Let’s join Mr. Logan and clean up.”

Before that, I had to sort this out. Max shouted excitedly.

– Mr. Leonard! Mr. Leonard! How cool is this silencer? this is mine right? can i keep writing?

Leonard sighed as he looked at the corpse that was not Jolly Ritz’s.

“No way. I have to return it to the old man, so separate it so that I don’t feel embarrassed.”

-no? why? Is it this good?

“Because our request is 44,000 instead of 750,000.”

In Leonard, Max, and Noah Lucas’s head, ‘Didn’t he just take the offer?’ The thought passed by. However, because of the pride of wanting to be respected by the other person, he did not say it out of his mouth. Reputation was created in this way.

@

Logan Mays and the Aktion gang have taken over the abandoned building on 29-9 Avenue.

There was a skirmish with the dummies of the Jolly Ritz, resulting in some casualties, but no one cared as it was a gang with widespread disregard for life. He won against the ‘legend’ dispatched by the company confidently, so it was enough to call him the mummy of the last kind.

“There was no DM.”

said Logan Mace, pulling out an empty magazine and checking the chamber. It was an issue that had to be pointed out before taking the loot. Leonard scanned dozens of implant bodies scattered around the abandoned building.

“Did you check everything?”

“exactly. It’s just a toy from a puppeteer named Jolly Ritz.”

It seems that it is not a kind of beauty. With his face, the tricky guy whose name I don’t know escaped.

“Information will go into the company.”

“It was only a matter of time anyway.”

Leonard thought it over and nodded. As the name suggests, ‘Legend’ was sent and failed, so I won’t use the same method.

“The broker will do the rest.”

The fight on 29th Street is not over. Businesses won’t give up on farms that can wipe out credit. However, the fight of the solvers ended here.

Logan Mace slung the disassembled firearm over his shoulder and rose from the wreckage.

“Contact Jake and send him the promised 11,000 credits.”

“uh? Aren’t you having a celebration party?”

Max caught on urgently. It was an unfamiliar word to Logan.

“A celebration party?”

“Ahem! We have a meat party whenever a request to go to Walker is successfully completed…”

“Noodle. it’s noodles Don’t fabricate.”

Leonard hit Max in the back of the head. It seemed a little too big to squeeze the top of my head. Logan Mace laughed softly and pointed to the wreckage he had been sitting on.

“Do that later. It’s the main body of Jolly Ritz, so if you investigate it, you’ll get some information.”

Leonard nudged the head of the wreckage. Again, the chip was missing.

“Are you going to continue?”

“I’m the type of person who can’t sleep if I can’t pay my debts.”

I didn’t have to ask who I owed it to. Leonard thought about what to say to comfort him, but just nodded. That was enough for the new legend.

“Then let’s see again.”