Free Web NovelChapter 306: 306 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 17
But at the entrance to Japantown, the NCPD had blocked the road with their vehicles, and beyond that, thick smoke was seen rising from Japantown.
"Hey, right now Japantown is under封锁. Didn’t you watch the TV... gasp, Jin?"
Now, because I was so famous, even the NCPD recognized me right away.
"You know that even MaxTac gave up and withdrew, so open up. I’m on my way to deal with it."
When I said that, the NCPD thought for a moment and then spoke.
"Wait a moment. I’ll contact my superiors."
"Then the damage will only get worse, won’t it?"
"It’ll just be a moment."
And then the NCPD officer urgently contacted someone somewhere. I thought about just breaking through, but I decided to wait for a moment. No matter how useless the NCPD is, they are still the police of Night City, so considering possible future problems, I decided to wait a little.
"Headquarters gave permission. They said to just let you through."
The NCPD said that and then gestured to another colleague, and they moved the vehicles blocking the entrance just enough for us to pass. With no other alternatives, the NCPD seemed to have opened the way, hoping for a miracle.
Lucy and I took the riverside road, which was relatively free of vehicles, and quickly moved to where the disturbance was.
I parked the car two blocks away from where the disturbance was happening, left the driver’s seat to Lucy, and got out of the car.
"Keep your distance from that thing. If you get in danger, I get in danger too."
"Got it."
I said that to Lucy and moved to the engagement zone.
Ratatatat!! CRASH!! CRASH!! Tatata-bang!!
There, Militech forces and the Cyberskeleton were engaged in combat. The Militech forces, seemingly trying to avoid close combat with the Cyberskeleton, were keeping their distance and concentrating their firepower only from afar. They too seemed to have realized how dangerous close combat with the Cyberskeleton was.
But such attacks did not have any effect at all, due to the Cyberskeleton’s gravity field and its super‑high‑speed evasion ability using Sandevistan. As a result, Japantown was becoming increasingly devastated.
I couldn’t fight in this state, so I approached the guy commanding the Militech forces and spoke to him.
"Hey! You idiots being played by Arasaka! Stop attacking for a moment!"
When I shouted that, the guy commanding the Militech forces stared at me. The other forces tried to subdue me, but the commander gestured with his hand to stop them.
"You’re that famous mercenary, Jin. Do you know something?"
"Who else could make that kind of thing but Arasaka? You’re just experimental rats to extract combat data from. By this point, even a passing dog would have noticed, but it seems only you guys are unaware, huh? Even now, those Arasaka bastards are probably sitting in front of their monitors, chewing popcorn and grinning."
At my words, the commander thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Evidence?"
"Of course not. Why would I have that kind of thing? Arasaka will deny it for sure. How about you go after the bastard who called you to the Badlands first? Then something might come out of it, don’t you think?"
At my words, the commander frowned, then struck his aged vehicle in anger. Even he would know if he thought about it a little. That all of this was Arasaka’s doing.
"Fuck... you goddamn Arasaka bastards!!!"
"Anyway, stop attacking for a moment. I’ll take care of it."
At those words, the commander was incredulous.
"Do you really think that makes sense right now? No matter how great a mercenary you are, you’re saying you’ll take on that thing that we couldn’t stop even by pouring all our firepower into it? Is this a new form of suicide?"
"Just wait and see. It’s not like it’s a loss for you. Stop attacking for a moment and watch. If I fail to stop it or die, then you can start attacking again, right?"
I should have just come as Ryu Seung‑ryong — that was a mistake. It was such a bother to have to persuade every single person every time I went somewhere.
The commander thought again, then spoke to me.
"Then I’ll give you 3 minutes. If you can’t prove that you can handle it by then, I’ll order an attack again, so know that!"
"Even 3 minutes aren’t necessary."
When the conversation ended like that, the commander gave some order to his aide and had the forces pull back for a moment. I also checked my pistols, finished preparing for battle, and moved to where the Cyberskeleton was.
WHIR— CRACK!!!
As soon as this thing saw me, it activated its anti‑gravity device and started to crush me down. An enormous pressure poured down as if pouring over my head, and under that force, the ground distorted as if screaming. A circular area over 10 meters in diameter collapsed in an instant, and the surroundings shook with shockwaves.
But I quickly moved out of the attack range and sprayed bullets at the organic parts, which were the Cyberskeleton’s weak points. Then that thing also used its Sandevistan, performing evasive maneuvers and successively launching gravity field attacks.
Bang bang bang!!
WHIR—CRACK!!! WHIR—CRACK!!!
As the pressure continued, the Cyberskeleton, perhaps judging that it couldn’t go on like this, began to pull me in using its gravity field. I also used that force in reverse, took out my sword (Byakko), and quickly approached the thing.
The moment I reached it, I swung my sword aiming for the organic parts, but the Cyberskeleton activated its Sandevistan, reacting in the blink of an eye, and raised its arm, blocking my attack by a narrow margin.
CRAAAACK—!!!
This guy, whether it was because it had become a cyberpsycho or not, even blocked an attack that a human would have difficulty reacting to. Seeing that, I could be certain that the test subject Arasaka had chosen was no ordinary person. Of course, since my attack wasn’t weak either, deep sword marks remained on its arm. But perhaps because of its size, its vital parts were not damaged, and it was still moving without hindrance.
– Get ready! I’ll create an opportunity!
At that moment, Lucy’s voice came through. As soon as I heard her words, I quickly circled around the Cyberskeleton, looking for an opportunity, and constantly rained bullets targeting its organic parts.
Bang bang bang!
But that thing didn’t stay still either. Using Sandevistan to evade or raising its arms to block bullets, it simultaneously counterattacked by using its anti‑gravity device to pick up and throw surrounding cars or building debris.
THUD!! CRASH!!
I also quickly moved to evade the incoming debris or deflected it with my sword.
– Now!!!
At Lucy’s shout, the Cyberskeleton flinched for a moment. It seemed Lucy had succeeded in hacking and temporarily stopped its movement. Not missing that opportunity, I jumped onto the Cyberskeleton and precisely fed a bullet into the test subject’s head.
BANG!
POP!!!
With that single shot, the head of the test subject controlling the Cyberskeleton burst like a watermelon. Then, the Cyberskeleton couldn’t even walk a few steps and stopped functioning entirely.
When the fight ended like that, cheers were suddenly heard from the surroundings.
Wah wah wah~!!!
Both those who had been watching from the high buildings of Japantown, and the Militech forces who had been troubled because they couldn’t do anything about it, were cheering.
"He’s insane, to catch that thing!!!"
"Truly amazing!!"
"Fuck!! I think I’m losing my mind!!"
"He’s a living legend!!!"
Aware that there were spectators watching, I spun the ’Malorian Arms 3516’ in my hand once stylishly, then tucked it into my coat. And I struck a relaxed pose as I stood. At that moment, the cheers erupted even louder from the surroundings.
’This is why you become a legend!’
While I was striking a pose and enjoying the cheers, the Militech commander came up to me, breaking the mood, and spoke.
"Amazing! To actually catch that monster... Anyway, we’ll be taking this thing. Because it will be evidence to strike a blow against Arasaka."
The purpose of these guys was obvious without even looking. They were after the technology of the Cyberskeleton that had given them so much trouble. They would obviously take it, disassemble it, and analyze it. "Evidence," my ass.
"I’m going home, shower, and rest. Do whatever you want."
When I said that and tried to leave, the commander spoke.
"I’ll talk to my superiors and have them give you a reward, so you can look forward to it."
I moved to the riverside road where Lucy was waiting and got into the car. Lucy, having been tense that I might get hurt, and also having had a hard time with the hacking, had sweated a lot, and her clothes were a bit damp.
"Haa... this is the first time I’ve been this tense. I’m glad you handled it without getting hurt."
"Thanks for your help. If it weren’t for you, it would have taken a long time to catch it."
"If you know you’re grateful, then be good to me from now on." freewёbnoνel.com
"Yes, yes."
Actually, even without Lucy, if I felt like it, I could have easily handled it. But at times like this, it was necessary to appease Lucy a bit.
"I want to get home quickly. I need a shower." frёeωebɳovel.com
Lucy and I went home, showered together, ate, and rested well.
When the next day came, the news was all abuzz with stories about me.
– Everyone! Look at the screen right now! These magnificent movements, this perfect pose! Amid the tragic situation in Japantown, a single person has stopped everything! On the burning streets, among the collapsing buildings, even as a cyberpsycho with bizarre implants was destroying the city, he did not waver. The moment he finished everything, stylishly spun his pistol, and tucked it into his coat, the citizens at the scene cheered! Night City witnessed another legend today. Jin! Remember that name. He is not just a mercenary. He is the hope of Night City!
These guys were hyping me up excessively. It was obvious even without looking. Clearly, this was a trick to use this to cover up the horrific damage in Japantown, the incompetent NCPD, and the truth of the Cyberskeleton.
"How does it feel to become a legend?"
Lucy watched the TV beside me and spoke.
"You know as well as I do — that these guys are hyping me up to cover up something dirty."
"That’s probably it. But still, your name value has gone up, so it’s not bad."
"I suppose."
As expected, this incident was buried like that, and Japantown, despite so many civilians having died, was quickly repaired as if nothing had happened. I heard that Night City provided some compensation to the affected residents, but I don’t know if they actually received it properly. The interesting thing was Faraday — that Militech had placed a large bounty on him. There was no way they would just leave alone Faraday, who had latched onto Arasaka.
Faraday had always been the guy who brokered Militech’s requests, but this time, he had chosen the wrong side, and the situation had escalated, making him a target of Militech. The funny thing was that Arasaka had also placed a bounty on Faraday — this was probably an attempt to eliminate him faster than Militech could, to destroy evidence. Just as he had always used mercenaries like disposable items, he himself was now receiving that same treatment from Arasaka.
’Good for him.’
But whether it was because he was lucky or because he was good at hiding, the guy hadn’t been caught yet. Even though two megacorporations, Militech and Arasaka, were after him. And he hadn’t even left Night City. He’s quite something. For that reason, among mercenaries, Faraday had almost become like a lottery. There were even mercenaries who said they would catch Faraday and retire — that says it all.
And Militech gave me a reward, asking to maintain good relations in the future, and it was quite a generous amount. It seemed that, from Militech’s perspective, they were quite pleased to have retrieved the Cyberskeleton in a not too damaged state. I handed half of that reward to Lucy.
"Wow~ they gave you this much?"
Lucy seemed quite surprised to receive the amount.
"They gave it to me, asking to maintain good relations in the future."
"With money like this, they should be helping the affected civilians instead..."
I was about to say ’then how about using the money you got this time to support them’, but I stopped. In Night City, corporate support and individual support were a bit different.
Because corporations are so powerful, even if they provide support, no particular problems arise, but when an individual does it, it’s different. Because it invites all sorts of pests from all over. The reality is that it’s hard to provide proper support because of the gangs that will touch anything if there’s money. Moreover, because of her trauma with Arasaka, Lucy was reluctant to take the lead in doing anything herself.
And now that my name value had skyrocketed, even more requests weren’t coming in. It was about once every two weeks on average. So I had a lot more free time. Still, because the request fees were high, the money I earned was more than before.
"There’s no work, so I’m extremely bored. Let’s go out and get some fresh air."
Lucy also seemed to be feeling stifled from staying indoors all the time.
"Then how about we make some pizza and go hang out at the Afterlife? Have a drink too."
"Let’s do that."
We made pizza to coincide with the evening time and went to the Afterlife.
"Gasp! It’s Jin..."
"To see a living legend..."
"As expected of the Afterlife."
When we arrived at the Afterlife, guys who hadn’t been there long were murmuring among themselves, seeing me.
"Jin! Welcome!"
The bartender today as well, ’Claire Russell’, greeted me warmly.
"Long time no see, Claire."
"A drink named after you has come out. They’ve only added the names of legends who have gone out in style, but you’re the first living person."
"Oh~ really? An honor, isn’t it?"
"Rogue and I had a lot of discussions about that. Whether to add it or not. But in the end, they decided to add it."
"Then, give me two — one for Lucy as well. I can’t not try a drink named after me."
"Okay. I’ll make it right away."
Lucy and I sat in chairs and waited for a moment. Then Claire quickly made the two drinks, and I tried them with Lucy. It was a drink with a slightly white hue, a bit sweet, and went down smoothly.
"Oh~ not bad?"
"It’s tasty. Women would like it."
Lucy also tried it and said it was good.
"Right? Because Jin is always taking care of those around him, they had a hard time capturing a smooth image rather than a rough one. I’m glad you like it."
"Thank you. You made it well, so I’ll have to drink it often."
I thanked Claire, paid including a tip, and went to Rogue.
"You haven’t eaten yet, my Queen?"
"Oh~ pizza. Let’s go to the office immediately."
Rogue, seeing the pizza I brought, got up from her seat with a very bright face and moved to the office with us. This time as well, she roughly made a table out of a barrel and set the pizza on it.
"There are various kinds today, aren’t there?"
"Yeah, I thought it would be a bit much to eat only one kind, so I made various kinds."
"Looks like my mouth will be happy today, won’t it?"
We ate the pizza deliciously and talked with Rogue about what had happened.
"I knew from the time that bastard Faraday started playing both sides that he would end up like this. He deserves it."
Rogue seemed to have predicted Faraday’s end from before.
"I know, right. Should I call it an end fitting of him? But he’s capable too — how is he still alive?"
"According to rumors, there are stories that he made a deal with Militech, or that he went into hiding in Dogtown — I don’t know if they’re true or not."
"He is impressive. That he’s hidden so well that even the Queen doesn’t know."
"Unfortunately, I don’t know everything either."
True to the Queen of Fixers, Rogue knows almost all kinds of information, but it seemed that even she didn’t know where Faraday was hiding.
Perhaps because I made a bit too much today, even after eating our fill, quite a bit of pizza remained. I had thought that if there were any mercenaries I knew, I would share it with them, but today it was just Rogue, so even more remained.
"That’s good. Later, when the shop closes, give some to Claire too. She seemed a bit upset last time that we only ate the pizza ourselves."
"Really? Then next time I’ll have to make a bit more."
"If you do that, I’d appreciate it."
We finished eating like that, then moved to the Afterlife’s main hall, had a drink, and returned home.
Now, I wanted to purchase a ’Rayfield Excalibur’. The Rayfield is a top‑class aerial vehicle (AV) that operates autonomously without a pilot, and all four seats are for passengers. Actually, it was a vehicle I had been eyeing for a while. Because my apartment is a penthouse, an AV‑only parking area was already equipped.
The unfortunate thing was that, by my standards, its speed was a bit slow. Since it uses bio‑fuel, it’s only natural, but it was only a bit faster than a real helicopter. Moreover, because it’s a luxury limousine AV, its price was disgustingly expensive. Still, since I had come to the Cyberpunk world, I decided to order one.
In the past, there were rumors that AVs in the Cyberpunk 2077 world flew around emitting radiation, but this is not official lore. So I was quite worried as well, but in reality, most use a bio‑fuel called CHOOH2, and it’s said to be less polluting than conventional fossil fuels.
That doesn’t mean it’s completely without basis — it’s only for regular AVs; super‑large transporters like the ’Aerozep’ operate on nuclear power, so the possibility of radiation leaks cannot be ruled out. But I’ve never seen one myself, so it’s hard to say for sure.
A few days later, the Rayfield I had ordered arrived. It just automatically flew in on its own, and its color was silver, which I liked, and when I rode in it, the surrounding scenery was very clearly visible. I was worried that there might be some strange backdoor planted, so I checked, and fortunately, there wasn’t anything like that.
So, after strengthening its armor with special alloy and raising its performance a bit as well using [Material Manipulation], I duplicated it with [Material Copy], stored one in my inventory, and parked one at home.
"Is this it? That AV?"
"Yeah. I’ve registered you too, so if your car breaks down and you can’t move, or if there’s an urgent matter, you can call it. Then it will automatically fly to you."
"I see. It would be convenient, I suppose."
"I’ll always keep it fueled, so use it comfortably when you need to."
"Got it."
"Since we bought it, how about we take a lap around Night City?"
"Okay!"
Lucy and I flew around Night City in the Rayfield.
Beyond the Rayfield’s windows, between the densely packed high‑rise buildings, advertisement boards were blinking incessantly, and holograms were moving brilliantly as if dancing. Looking down below, people were still busily coming and going, and vehicles were constantly filling the roads. It was a familiar city, but looking down from above, it was a completely different sight.
Lucy, seeing that, spoke as if lost in thought.
"On the outside, this city looks so dazzling and wonderful, it’s hard to believe it’s rotten to the core. How many people will be drawn to this place, captivated by this outward appearance? And among them, how many will actually survive?"
"I don’t know. I don’t know how many people will be swallowed up by this city in the future either."
