Multivers, Leveling Up in the World I Created

Chapter 293: 293 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 4

The next day, after showering together, Lucy and I decided to share the second‑floor bed from now on. So I removed the mattress that had been on the first floor and moved the pool table back to its original spot.

"Today, after work, let’s do some shopping together. I need to buy clothes and underwear, and more than anything, I need to get my implants checked. I haven’t been able to because I didn’t have the money until now."

"You should have just asked me for something that important."

"I’m already living off you, and last time I used your money to buy various things. And even a car... Anyway, do you know any good ripperdocs?"

"I’m not close with any, but I do know a ripperdoc with a good reputation."

"That’s a relief. I was a bit worried since this is my first implant check‑up in Night City. There are a lot of garbage ripperdocs out there, you know."

A ripperdoc is, in one word, a doctor in the Cyberpunk worldview. To put it simply, that’s what they are, but you can get implants through them, get repairs, and they also serve the role of surgeons. Since implants are machines, there is the hassle of having to get them checked regularly to see if there’s any problem after a certain period of time. Because if a problem occurs with something that’s in the human body, a very difficult situation could arise. So ripperdocs are a very important profession.

But as expected of the Cyberpunk worldview, the reality is that it’s not easy to find a good ripperdoc. There are guys who tear implants out of people kidnapped by gangs and sell them to make money, and guys who sell garbage implants and rip people off. So entrusting your body to a ripperdoc you don’t know is a high risk.

Lucy and I were sitting on the sofa, watching TV, and waiting for a request. Since there were no calls — maybe there were no requests today — we just took the car and went shopping first. Lucy, having a lot to buy, walked around the mart and bought various things in large quantities. If I had known this would happen, I should have given her an advance on her earnings, or at least some allowance. Even if I might have felt a bit burdened, though.

After shopping like that, we came out and moved to the ’Watson’ district, arriving at Viktor Vektor’s private clinic. Viktor’s clinic was on the first floor — perhaps because Misty hasn’t started running her shop yet.

Viktor was a middle‑aged man with short hair, wearing sunglasses. He had various tattoos on his arms, and was seen watching a boxing match to pass the time.

"A famous solo friend has come?"

From Viktor’s expression and words, it seemed he was seeing me for the first time. But since I’ve made a bit of a name for myself, he recognized who I was right away.

"Nice to meet you. My partner here needs a check‑up."

"Hmm? I thought you worked solo. Different from the rumors?"

I must have been rumored to work alone.

"I prefer being safe too. So I took on a netrunner as a partner recently."

"I see. Well then, princess, have a seat."

Viktor pointed to the ripperdoc chair and spoke. Lucy sat in the chair as Viktor told her to and waited for a moment. Then Viktor brought over a machine device, plugged it into Lucy’s socket, and began the examination.

"Let’s see... hmm... it’s been a while since your last regular check‑up. Your implants are fine... just need a slight system upgrade."

Viktor fiddled with various things for a moment and quickly performed the upgrade.

"All done. Princess, make sure you get regular check‑‑ups."

"Got it. I’ll come again for my next check‑up."

Lucy, seeming to like Viktor, promised to come again. Lucy paid, but I added a bit more as a tip and then came outside.

We talked about Viktor as we returned home.

"He’s a decent person. He felt definitely different from those garbage ripperdocs who recommend implants without even asking anything first."

"I also heard he’s skilled and a decent person. So if any problems come up in the future, you can go to him. His name was definitely Viktor."

"I will."

When we got home, we first organized the things we bought. We had bought quite a lot, so it seemed like it would take some time to organize, but since the two of us were doing it, it got sorted out quickly.

"Let’s go out again."

"Where to?"

"To buy a used car."

"Huh? Why a car?"

"For you to practice with, you see. Buy a cheap one so it won’t matter if you crash it anytime. Besides, my car has high horsepower, so it’s not a good car for a beginner to drive. And I thought you should have at least one means of transportation for when you go shopping alone."

"I suppose so, that’s true. Alright."

We just walked outside the apartment, called a Delamain taxi, and went to a used car lot. There, they had a slightly older ’Thorton Colby’ at a very low price, so I bought it immediately. The interior was clean, so Lucy liked it as well. The Thorton Colby had low horsepower, making it easy to drive, and it was a common vehicle in Night City, just like a Hyundai Avante in modern times.

But when I actually drove it, there was a reason it was cheap. It wasn’t that there were just one or two things that needed fixing. So we skipped driving practice today, and while Lucy was resting, I went down to the parking lot for a moment and used various abilities to repair the vehicle. I fixed it up enough so that it could be driven without problems for the time being, then went back up and rested for a bit myself.

From the next day, after doing our requests and returning home, I took the Thorton Colby and moved to the Badlands near the city to have Lucy practice driving again.

"Try pressing the accelerator gently."

"Got it." ƒreewebɳovel.com

Whether crashing my car had been a good lesson or not, Lucy started driving, tense.

"Good, you’re doing well. Now take the right lane."

"Okay."

"This time, left."

"Got it."

"Now it’s a straight road, so how about speeding up a bit?"

"Alright."

VROOM~

"You’re doing well? At this rate, you’ll learn quickly. Let’s stop here for today and go home."

"Got it. Can I try driving home too?"

Lucy, having practiced a bit, seemed to have gained some confidence.

"Sure. Give it a try."

In the Cyberpunk world, cars don’t have separate navigation systems. Because basic implants include navigation functions, so they’re not needed separately. So even when going somewhere for the first time, you can receive guidance.

"Ah... I’m tired! Why are there so many things to pay attention to once you get into the city... I think driving in the city is still hard."

"That’s true. Especially in Night City, where there are a lot of guys like me who speed, it’s even more so."

"Pfft... right. It does seem that way."

Lucy burst out laughing, finding my words funny.

"Just drive that car around for now, and once you get used to driving, get yourself a better one."

"Got it."

I taught Lucy to drive like this for several days, and also showed her the high‑crime areas she shouldn’t go to. Then Lucy had fun driving for several days, going grocery shopping alone, and sightseeing in Night City, getting around well. Of course, I had shadow soldiers following her, so even if she met strange guys, there was no problem. freewebnovёl.ƈom

As I now lived with Lucy without any discomfort, she often walked around the house naked. Due to the nature of netrunners, their bodies generate a lot of heat, so when netrunning, they need to use ice baths or wear dedicated heat‑regulating suits to cool their body temperature. But Lucy, because of her past trauma, didn’t wear the suit, and when netrunning, she had no choice but to rely on an ice bath. For that reason, she spent most of her time at home naked.

At home, it was just the two of us, so it didn’t bother me much, but during requests, I wished she would wear the suit and not get naked if possible. Lucy didn’t seem to mind being naked in front of other people while working, but I was different. My lover being naked in front of other people bothered me, no matter what.

"Lucy."

"Huh?"

"At home it’s fine, but outside, I think it would be better if you wore your netrunning heat‑regulating suit."

"Why suddenly?"

"Honestly, I don’t like my lover being naked in front of other people, that’s why."

At those words, Lucy smirked.

"I thought you weren’t the type to care about that kind of thing — surprising. So you do mind other people seeing my body, huh?"

"Of course. Who would like showing off their lover’s naked body to other people? And besides, depending on the situation, there might be times when an ice bath isn’t available. You wouldn’t need to waste time looking for an ice bath either."

"That’s true... I’m glad you think of me that way, but I can’t wear the suit because of the Arasaka thing. So I’ll just go in wearing clothes when I’m outside. I’ll have to keep spare clothes in the car at all times, though."

It was a bit disappointing, but it seemed Lucy had made a compromise in her own way, so I didn’t push any further.

It’s not really a replacement, but to prepare for network attacks, I passed on the [Status Ailment Immunity] ability to Lucy, but since it was such a good ability and I was worried about breaking the worldview balance, I adjusted it with [Control] and passed it on, significantly weakening it, focusing mainly on hacking‑related things. In terms of an ability, I think it’s about [(C) Hacking Resistance].

Now that Lucy’s problem was somewhat settled, I decided to get what I needed to get.

I told Lucy I was going grocery shopping for a bit, and at night, I went out and moved to a container ship called ’Ebunike’ in the Watson district harbor. This is a place where Adam Smasher’s secret warehouse is, and also a person named ’Jeremiah Grayson’, who was in partnership with Adam Smasher, after ’Johnny Silverhand’ died, kept Johnny’s pistol and car for himself and was guarding the secret warehouse. So there was a lot to obtain here.

’I can’t resist Johnny’s Porsche and Malorian Arms.’

Jeremiah Grayson is a really interesting figure. When Johnny was alive, he worked with ’Rogue Amendiares’, the current owner of the Afterlife and queen of fixers, and after Johnny died, he went into partnership with Adam. In a way, he was a traitor, but there were various circumstances.

But I don’t care about that kind of thing. I just need to get what I need.

I parked my car at a nearby harbor and quietly moved to the Ebunike. Fortunately, luckily, Grayson was on the Ebunike, directing people and moving cargo. As always, I started from the perimeter and quietly took out one person at a time. Of course, I also hacked all the CCTVs to show only the previous footage.

Schlick! Schlick!

Thud! Thud!

When the perimeter was cleared to some extent, Grayson sensed something was wrong and ordered the nearby armed personnel.

"Hey, why can’t we contact the security personnel? Go check."

"Got it."

I hid nearby and also took out all the personnel who came to check. Then, now, only three remained, including Grayson.

"What the hell are those bastards doing! I sent them to check."

When he couldn’t contact them again, Grayson grumbled and walked toward me with the remaining personnel. I slowly showed myself in front of them. Then Grayson, seeing the corpses strewn around me, finally seemed to grasp the situation.

"What the fuck!!! Who are you!!!"

They quickly pulled out their guns and started shooting at me.

Bang bang bang!

SWOOSH! Schlick!

I quickly approached them, and took out the remaining two quickly, leaving Grayson.

"You son of a bitch!!!"

Grayson quickly aimed his Malorian Arms at me and tried to shoot, but I was faster and cut off Grayson’s arm.

"AAAAHHHH!!!"

While Grayson clutched his severed arm and screamed, I slowly picked up the Malorian Arms he had been using and examined it.

"Nice gun."

"Y-you’re Jin. Who hired you!? Was it that bitch Rogue???!!!"

This guy also, since I was famous in the mercenary industry, recognized me right away.

"Johnny Silverhand."

"Wh-what!!!???"

When I said Johnny Silverhand, Grayson was extremely flustered.

"I have a few things I’m curious about. I don’t have much time, so I hope you answer quickly."

"Damn it, do you think you’ll get away with this? If you touch this place, Adam Smasher won’t stay still."

This guy was stupidly threatening me with Adam Smasher.

"I already knew that guy is now Arasaka’s head of security. He’s not coming back to this dumpster. And if you think I’m afraid of a guy like that, you’re sorely mistaken."

"Shit..."

When I knew about Adam Smasher, Grayson, having no more useful cards, spat out a curse.

"There are exactly two things I want to ask. Where is Johnny Silverhand’s car now? And what did you do with Johnny Silverhand’s body?"

"Why? Are you a fan of Johnny too?"

BANG!

"AAAAHHH!"

I also wanted to try out the Malorian Arms, and to intimidate him, I put a bullet into Grayson’s thigh.

"I told you I don’t have time."

"The Badlands. Buried near the oil fields. Take the 101 northbound road, turn off at the landfill, and it’ll come out. Dig well. You might find a silver arm covered in shit."

"The car?"

Grayson pointed to a container and handed me the car keys.

"It’s in there."

I thought I had heard everything, and aimed the Malorian Arms at Grayson’s head.

"W-wait!!! You’re a Johnny fan, right? Then I still have the guitar he used! I’ll give you everything, so let me live. There are still a lot of Johnny fans, so I could sell it and make a lot of money."

I had no intention of letting this guy live. So I put my hand on his head and just read his memories. Then I could find out where the various weapons he had in storage were, and where Johnny’s guitar was. But the location where Johnny was buried was not exact. This guy had also just heard about it.

"I’m not a Johnny fan. I’m just taking what I need."

"Fuck!!!"

BANG!

THUD!

After reading his memories like that, with those words as my last, I pulled the trigger.

I first opened the container where Johnny’s Porsche was and took the car, and took the guitars. There were quite a variety of guitars — whether they were guitars Johnny had collected rather than the one he used in concerts — so I just took them all. I think the guitar he used in concerts is probably with Nancy, a member of Samurai, like in the original.

Then I opened the container with the weapons, took the weapons, and then went to Adam Smasher’s secret warehouse, opened the locked door through hacking, and took all the weapons inside as well. Here, there was an endgame weapon called the ’Ba Xing Chong’. It’s a rocket launcher that fires explosive rounds, can target up to 6 enemies at once, and each smart projectile automatically tracks the enemy, so for the enemy, it’s a bolt from the blue.

But since this is reality, getting the special rounds that go into the Ba Xing Chong is difficult, so using it consecutively would be hard, but I was different. Because I can mass‑produce them with [Material Copy], so it wouldn’t be a problem. In my hands, it’s a truly overpowered weapon. It seems like it would be a really good weapon to use when taking out enemies in a wide area.

After taking everything, I cleaned up all the bodies and erased the traces. In case Adam Smasher or other factions found out, it might become a hassle.

After everything was done like that, I washed my body with [Life Magic], then took out vegetables and meat from my inventory and went home.

"You’re late?"

"I ran into some troublemakers. I was late because I had to take care of them for a bit."

At my words, Lucy sighed and spoke sympathetically.

"As expected, I guess Night City can’t be helped."

"I know, right."

The next day, after finishing a request, I took out Johnny’s pistol, the Malorian Arms, at home, duplicated it with [Material Copy], and then modified it. I changed the metal used to alloy and increased the precision. I also modified the rounds used to further increase destructive power.

After that, I duplicated it again with [Material Copy], making three of them. I stored the original and one modified version in my inventory, and decided to use the remaining two modified versions akimbo from now on. The gun I had been using before, the custom ’Malorian Arms Overture’, was good in every way, but it held 6 rounds, so reloading was cumbersome. So I decided to use the Overture custom as a secondary weapon from now on.

Before I knew it, it had become evening. I said to Lucy.

"Let’s eat out today."

"Huh? Where? The food sold in Night City is garbage, isn’t it?"

Lucy also now knows that the sold food is garbage.

"I’ll make it here and bring it. I have a place to go."

"Where are we going to eat?"

"The Afterlife."