Chapter 189 – Cyberpunk: Edgerunner (4)
A few days have passed since the children were rescued.
The children, who at first enjoyed the joy of escaping, soon found themselves at a loss as to what to do.
Since I lived as an orphan and was kidnapped by Arasaka, all I learned was netrunning skills. Seojun reached out to those children.
“Then, would you like to work for me?”
“Work?”
Seojun nodded and smiled.
“Okay. “Seeing as how he tried to hack me when we first met, I guess his skills aren’t that bad.”
“Well, I’m really sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. “I didn’t bring this up specifically to receive an apology.”
He waved his hand and continued his explanation.
“I’m currently working solo—that is, as a mercenary. As you all know, I am a bit strong.”
He tapped the sheath of the sword on his belt.
The children who saw that nodded slightly.
When we escaped from Arasaka, the outside was in complete chaos. Seeing that Arasaka’s private soldiers and robots were helpless, he must be very strong.
“But I only specialize in using my body. “I’m not very good at gathering information or other things, so I’d like you to help me.”
Oh, and.
He added:
“If you don’t want to decide, you can refuse. “I know what you went through, so I have no intention of forcing you.”
“…”
The children thought deeply.
After much deliberation, it was divided into two branches.
“Sorry. No matter how much I think about it, I feel uncomfortable doing it again.”
“… “I can’t do it because it reminds me of my dead friends.”
“I will return the favor in other ways.”
“Well, I don’t want to do net learning either.”
Four people gave up,
“I will help.”
One person accepted.
And that one person is,
“Lucy. Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
It was Lucy.
Lucy answered Seojun’s question in the affirmative.
‘I want to be helpful.’
In her life, she had never received goodwill from ‘adults’.
All she saw was an adult who approached her with a purpose or was trying to take advantage of her.
However, only Seojun had ‘good intentions’ and saved them from that horrible world and took care of them.
‘You can tell by looking at the eyes. ‘He is a person you can trust.’
Seojun’s eyes are extremely clear and transparent.
I felt lies, deception, and malice in the eyes of the people I saw when I was wandering around as an orphan and the Arasaka employees I saw at the facility, but Seojun had none of those things.
“Good. Please take care of me, Lucy.”
“Oh, yes. Please take care of me.”
The two shook hands.
Afterward, Seojun spoke to the other children.
“Then think about it because I’ll give the other four a week to do whatever they want. “I will provide some support.”
“… Thank you But why are you being so nice to us?”
“Well, since I brought him here, I have to take responsibility. Oh, but they’re not lending this for free? “Pay it all back later with interest.”
He finished speaking jokingly and waved his hand.
Of course, my feelings were slightly different.
‘In the end, I just saved Lucy as a bonus.’
Except for Lucy, everyone else is just a bridesmaid.
Still, it is not a lie to say that once you bring someone in, you have to take responsibility.
In this harsh worldview, children who have no backs are no different from food prepared to be eaten.
At the very least, I plan to provide support so that I can live like a human being.
“Then everyone disperses except Lucy.”
Clap.
When he clapped, the children dispersed except for Lucy.
“Do you know why I left you behind?”
“Isn’t it to teach me in detail what I need to do?”
“Correct answer. “You’re smart.”
Seojun stroked Lucy’s head gently.
Lucy, startled, trembles.
“… Sigh.”
“Ah. Sorry. Did you feel bad?”
“Oh, no.”
Lucy turned her head.
Seojun shrugged and began to explain.
“As I said earlier, Lucy’s job is to be my assistant. When a request comes in, there are a lot of things that need to be done, such as collecting information related to it and being a real-time operator. Instead, we will provide generous support for various expenses related to compensation and work.”
“Uh. So, is there anything left?”
“Of course. Even after all this, I’m pretty famous. Try searching for ‘Resolver B’ or ‘Geomgwi’.”
“…”
Lucy’s eyes glowed red.
It was to access the net using eye cyberware and search for information.
“Gasp!”
Lucy opened her eyes wide.
This is because a tremendous amount of information has been released about him.
‘Request success rate 100%?’
I’ve never failed a request.
Even as a child, she knew what an absurd figure that was.
‘It’s cool.’
Lucy’s eyes sparkled brightly.
Seojun, who saw that, smiled and continued.
“Okay then, I’ll continue again──.”
***
Time passed.
Except for Lucy, each child learned what they wanted to do.
One became a car mechanic, one was learning to cook at a restaurant, and the other two were studying to become ripperdocs.
Normally, he wouldn’t have accepted the children, but thanks to Seojun’s connections and reputation, he was able to get over it.
Lucy also learned to work hard.
Since he was so smart, it didn’t take him long to learn.
It just took her a while to make it her own. So she is now more reliable than most netrunners.
‘Then, let’s start working with Lucy.’
Seojun worked alone until Lucy mastered it.
Because it’s dangerous.
However, looking at her skills, I felt like I could join her.
‘Hmm. What kind of request would you like?’
There were many people who wanted to entrust requests to him.
Seojun just has to choose what he wants to do there.
‘It’s the first time, so it’s small? Or a big one?’
It was when Seojun was thinking about such things.
I got a call from someone.
After confirming that the name was familiar, he immediately connected the call.
“What’s going on? Log.”
Rogue Amendiares
She is the owner of Afterlife, a mercenary base, and a living legend known as the Queen of Fixers.
There is no fixer to follow her in Night City.
When he called the name, a middle-aged woman’s voice was heard.
-I heard you brought in the little ones, they seem to be doing quite well.
“Well, I’m just doing well. But the world’s rogue didn’t just call to ask how I was doing.”
-You still have a good sense of humor. Yes, this is a very urgent nomination request.
“A nomination request?”
-I will send you the details right away.
“Hmm.”
Seojun’s eyes glowed red.
Detailed data related to the remotely transmitted request was projected onto the cornea.
As I was reading it, I heard Rogue’s voice.
-What the client wants is simple. Safely bringing back my daughter who was kidnapped by a scavenger a few minutes ago.
“What is the compensation?”
-50,000 Eddy (€$).
“He’s a pretty big client.”
-He is big and has an impatient personality.
“Good. Accept the request. “Send us all the target information.”
-I expect a neat job this time too.
Drop.
The connection was lost.
And immediately, information about the rescue target arrived.
Seojun immediately called Lucy.
“Lucy. It’s a request. Let’s go. “
“Huh! I understand! “
The two left the house immediately.
