Chapter 190 – Cyberpunk: Edgerunner (5)
『Quest type: SOS: Mercenary sought
Objective: Rescue Lena Pendstone, who has been kidnapped by the Scavenger.
Target information: Female, 19 years old, height 161 cm, attach photo for detailed appearance
Location: Nortel Motel in Kabuki, east of Watson
Details:
There’s a saying that when five people get together, one of them is an asshole. But when five scavengers get together, all five of them are just assholes. 15 minutes ago, the client’s daughter was kidnapped by a scavenger. Afterward, they demanded a ransom from the client. But the problem is that the hostage taker is a scavenger. She can’t guarantee that her hostage will be released by making a deposit.
So the client found a mercenary with the money to pay the ransom to the guys. That’s why I nominated you, a famous solver these days.
Your job is simple. Rescue the target safely and quickly. It doesn’t matter if you kill all the scavengers. The client actually wanted me to kill them all. If you wipe out all the Scavengers, she says she will pay you additional compensation.
Well then, let’s look forward to this again. Show your professional skills.
(Photo of young woman)』
‘Is it a scavenger?’
Beep.
Seojun finished the message that floated on his cornea and recalled the scavenger’s information.
Scavenger
This is a gang that kidnaps people and extorts ransom, or extracts cyberware or organs from dead people and sells them.
Most people are from Eastern Europe and mainly speak Russian.
They only care about their own interests, and the organization is loose and secretive, so even the scale is not properly understood.
Unlike other gangs, they are not limited to specific areas but appear in all areas.
The gang is as infamous as Mellstrom for being just as cruel as Mellstrom, as they pull out all of their victims’ bodies and organs and discard the remaining parts, as well as setting a terrible example.
“Lucy. I sent the file. “Please put the location on the map.”
“Yes!”
Lucy, who received the file from Seojun, immediately took a map of the location and sent it to her.
A map of Night City appeared on his cornea, and soon the route and distance to the destination were displayed.
[2.7KM]
“Hold on tight, so it doesn’t fall off.”
Wow!
Lucy, riding in the back, hugged Seojun’s waist.
Seojun confirmed that and pulled the throttle.
Wow-!
Seojun’s black Kusanagi sprang forward, emitting a loud exhaust sound.
***
Squeak.
Seojun’s bike stopped when he arrived at his destination, Kabuki.
‘An atmosphere where splendor and gloominess coexist. It’s such a mysterious place.’
Watson is one of the six districts in Night City and is an area with an oriental atmosphere, with Ghost in the Shell-like slums and skyscrapers.
It was originally a center for businesses due to the presence of Arasaka Tower, but after the Arasaka Tower terrorist attack, it completely collapsed, and now a huge slum has been formed centered around old buildings previously owned by companies, made up of poor people such as immigrants and daily workers.
Among the Night City gangs, Tiger Claw and Melstrom, who are famous for their extreme violence, are both active in this area, so it is also a place where people die due to conflicts between the gangs.
That’s probably why the scavengers also hid here.
“Lucy. Hack the CCTV and transmit the enemy’s location, and if there are any changes, notify me in real time.”
Originally, it was okay to use energy.
However, since this incident itself was something she came to check on Lucy’s growth, she left it entirely up to her.
Is she happy that people trusted her?
Lucy answered with a bright smile.
“Yes!”
“Then I’ll come back. “Wait in a safe place.”
Leaving Lucy behind, Seojun walked after her.
A Scavenger gang member who saw him approaching with great strides growled.
“What are you? Get away from me.”
The scavenger gang was easy to recognize by its appearance.
Because only the scavenger had something similar to a hologram on his face.
Since their main source of income is essentially organ sales, they are probably using it to hide their identities.
“I came to rest. “Why are you blocking the entrance?”
“We rented out this motel a few weeks ago. There is no room for you to stay. So get out of here, you bastard.”
“Okay? “I said there is no room, so I can make one, right?”
“What bullshit.”
“That’s what it sounds like.”
Crash.
Seojun placed his hand on the hilt of her sword.
A Scavenger gang member saw this and immediately aimed his pistol.
“… This bastard. When you say nice things, go back. “If you pull that out, it really falls apart.”
“Hmm. Okay? But I’m sorry──.”
Seojun tilted his head.
And then he made a sly mockery.
“I already picked it.”
“What is that…”
The Scavenger gang member could no longer speak.
That’s right,
Slurp, slurp.
Because he died with his lower body and upper body divided.
Seojun’s movement that he saw was not an attempt to pull out the sword, but rather a redirection of the sword that had already been drawn and swung.
The Scavenger gang member remained silent, not even knowing that he was dead.
-I sent you Lena Pendstone’s location, so check it out.
Lucy made a call.
Lucy’s quick hack skills were better than he thought.
“Okay.”
Seojun opened the file Lucy sent.
The file was a map of the motel, and it clearly marked not only the location of Lena Pendington, the person to be rescued, but also where the enemies were.
Seojun nodded and said.
“Great job. Are you good at it?”
-Thank you.
According to the location marker Lucy sent, there were 7 people on the first floor.
After thinking for a moment, Seojun soon strengthened his legs and jumped up.
His new model soared about 5 meters.
Tak.
He hung on the window frame.
After that, he carefully entered after making sure there was no one inside.
‘It would be better to handle it secretly.’
I want to go in head on and kill everyone.
He chose this method because he didn’t want anything to happen to the person he was rescuing.
‘Lena Pendstone is also on the third floor.’
In Lucy’s data, it was in the innermost room on the third floor.
Seojun, standing in front of the door, listened. I could hear the scavengers talking.
‘There are five enemies on the third floor.’
Two in Lena Pendington’s room.
One at the entrance to the room.
Lastly, two in the hallway.
‘It hits all at once.’
So as not to notice from downstairs.
Jiying.
Seojun opened the door and quickly ran out into the hallway.
Gang members can be seen trying to react to the sudden popularity.
Whoosh!
Seojun took out a flying sword from his pocket and quickly threw it.
It was fired like a wall and landed right between the eyes of the gang member guarding the hallway and stairs.
Afterward, it rushed towards the guy guarding the room and tore it to pieces. In just one second, three corpses were created.
‘It’s easy.’
Seojun stood in front of the room and scanned the door.
The door was locked.
‘If it’s locked, you have to force it to open.’
Suddenly—!
The blade split the iron door.
“W-what!”
When the iron door suddenly splintered, Seojun threw another curse at the panicked gang members inside.
The two guys inside also failed to respond properly and remained silent.
“… Her. “If I were even a little late, I would have been in big trouble.”
Inside a room decorated like an operating room.
The surgical tools and blood stains around clearly showed what happened here.
On the chair in the center lay Lena Fanton, naked and unconscious. The good news for her is that her body is fine.
He was probably safe because Seojun came in right before something happened.
‘Scavenger guys. They demand ransom and then try to extract my organs before I get the money? The client made a wise choice. If it had been late because you didn’t ask me to do it, you would have only met an empty shell.’
As expected, scavengers are a group of people that should not be interacted with.
Seojun took out 〈 Maxdoc MK.5〉 from his pocket and stuck it in the chest of the unconscious Lena Pendstone.
Afterward, I pressed the button and injected the drug inside.
“Huh!”
Her consciousness awakened.
Lena, looking around her with fearful eyes, opened her mouth.
“Da, who are you? I definitely…”
“I was kidnapped. “I was commissioned by your father and came to save you.”
“Are you my father?”
“Okay. So, get your mind together. There are still some leftovers, so let’s clean them up.”
“… Ah, I understand.”
Seojun left the room immediately.
And he proceeded to liquidate the remaining gang members at lightning speed. It took 25 seconds to kill 18 gang members on the first and second floors.
“It’s over. “I’ll take the target out.”
-Thank you for your hard work.
After quickly finishing up, Seojun took Lena out of the motel and put Lena in Fixer’s car that was waiting.
Immediately after, he called Rog and reported.
-Very good. It’s a professional feat that’s always amazing. Not only was it not enough to have rescued his daughter safely, the client was also very satisfied with the news that the cleaning of the trash had been completed. Remuneration is deposited immediately. Please take care next time.
“Okay.”
A message appeared in Seojun’s vision.
[+€55,000$]
[Balance: €17,582,600$]
“This is the end. “It’s your first time, but you’re pretty good, right?”
Seojun stroked Lucy’s head.
Then she laughed heartily.
“Hehe. I will work harder.”
“To celebrate successfully completing Lucy’s first request, I’ll eat what I want. Just say anything.”
“Ah! Then I want to eat beef. Not cultured meat, but real beef.”
This worldview has been ruined by companies.
By definition, Europe is not a country, and 20% of the continent has become uninhabitable, and most species used as food resources are either on the verge of extinction or have become extinct.
That’s why real beef was quite expensive.
However,
‘It’s not a waste to buy it for a heroine.’
Seojun nodded his head willingly.
“Good. Then let’s go to a place I know. “The steak is amazing.”
“Yay!”
So Seojun picked up Lucy and headed to the restaurant.
The neon sign that did not go out even at night illuminated the two brightly.
