Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Contrary to what I thought, I wasn't in a penthouse, or at least not at the top of the building, which I now recognized as the Megabuilding H8. I must have ignored that particular fact while reading the papers they'd sent with Paper Trail.
And on the other hand, I should have noticed. The apartment's full-length window had a spectacular view of Morro Rock, Night City's translunar spaceport.
That at least gave me something to work with. Below me were Clouds, which I couldn't really say I liked. I had no problem with prostitution; that would be hypocritical of me, but the part where the "dolls" could be customized and programmed with other personalities was something else.
I decided to ignore the 12th floor as much as I could.
And then on the upper floors, it had some of the most powerful members of Tyger Claws, so as long as I didn't have any problems with them, I would try to stay as far away from the gang members as possible. It would be a problem to continue living here if I caused a massacre among their members.
Once I left the safety of the apartment, I quickly made my way to the elevator while ignoring the constant noise and bright images of advertising, almost wincing at the constant saturation of advertisements that were everywhere.
For some reason, I thought much of what I saw in the Night City game was some kind of 'augmented reality,' and that a lot of what I saw was being transmitted to the neural chip, or something like that. But no, the visual and auditory pollution was horrifyingly constant and abhorrent at all times.
It was… around 10 in the morning, so I had most of the day to wander around the city. Jig-Jig Street, Night City's most famous red-light district, was literally behind the Megabuilding H8.
And also… Fingers was just around the corner. Maybe I could sneak a peek and steal his memory since I was passing by. My thoughts left me when the elevator stopped and other people got in.
My new apartment was on the 47th floor, and there was a long walk down to the ground floor, so it wasn't unusual for it to take a while to get down or for me to pick up people who were also going down.
I looked at them out of the corner of my eye; the cyberware on most of them was blatantly visible, even something as small as chrome lines on the sides or under their eyes, or the neural ports on the sides of their neck. It was bizarre to see in person.
Luckily for me, none of them gave me a second glance. I mean, they stared at me for a few seconds, then looked away and acted exactly like I didn't exist by ignoring me.
I didn't really know if it was their desensitization or the self-preservation the citizens of Night City had developed, but it didn't matter; it was good that they ignored me long enough not to take any more notice of me.
The bad thing is that I was almost sure they were confusing me with a Tyger Claw, despite not having any tattoos and not even looking Asian. I guess the swords just called too much attention.
My gaze focused outside the elevator as we descended from the upper, more elegant floors. The more ordinary floors quickly became a combination of apartments and shops of all kinds. Maybe I'd have to stop and see what they were selling sometime soon.
Once the elevator finished descending to the ground floor, I almost stopped. For some reason, I half expected it to be run-down and dirty. I mean, there was graffiti here and there, and plenty of worn-out areas, but nothing too over-the-top.
I left the Megabuilding and took a few seconds to get my bearings as I watched people come and go. I stood still for a few seconds just staring at them. It was weird. Like… culturally weird. I was used to wizards and witches or demons. Not so much cyberware everywhere.
I quickly shook off my fascination and started walking. I wasn't even following along, going anywhere, I was just… walking, walking, and getting used to the new environment.
Most of the buildings were overloaded, one thing on top of another, and almost certainly half of them were advertisements for some useless product that, for some reason, nearly looked like a porn ad.
I guess they take the phrase "sex sells" to the limit. The number of ads with half-naked women or men I saw in just half an hour would make any prude weep. And they weren't even sexually explicit; they simply featured a half-naked woman, the product, and nothing more.
And the other half were more violent. Quite graphic, I should say. Even so, I continued to watch everything closely. Finally, after walking for almost an hour, my feet led me to Jig-Jig Street.
Which was weird because I was pretty sure Jig-jig Street was supposed to be a 5-minute walk from the Megabuilding H8. I guess I wandered around more than I thought. I glanced at the giant sign marking the entrance.
To my surprise, the street was quite crowded even though it was almost noon. I tried to avoid people and was about to enter when I felt myself crash into someone, or rather, that person crashed and bounced off my body.
"Hey! You damn gonk, watch where you're going! " I looked down at the shrill voice that had just yelled at me. No, in fact, she had pulled out her gun and was trying to point it at my head, which didn't seem very effective.
She was short, not as short as GLaDOS in her new chassis, but almost the size of Ravel, measuring around 160cm or less. I was more than a head taller than her, so she raised her hand above her own head and placed the barrel of the gun in front of her face.
I wasn't even fazed by the gun, which was pink for some reason. I was more interested in staring at the person in front of me. Slightly blue skin, pink tattoos, turquoise hair, and a black jacket. I was staring at Rebecca. What the fuck...
What kind of luck did I have to find her here in Japantown and run into her? I'm pretty sure she lived on Northside, Watson. Which, granted, we're not that far away from—Watson was north of Japantown, still.
"Did you hear me, Gonk!?" Rebecca growled as she continued to point the gun at me. No one around us seemed even fazed by the gun. I wanted to snort, but I simply looked at Rebecca once more.
I moved my hand and grabbed the barrel of the gun, barely applying force, and raised the weapon toward the sky. I could feel Rebecca struggling with the gun.
"W-what the fuck, what kind of chrome do you have on that skinny arm!" Rebecca growled, unable to release her weapon. She growled, without letting go of the weapon, she tried to kick me in the stomach. I mocked her, grabbed her leg from the calf, and stopped her in her tracks before turning her around while lifting her from her leg. "W-wow!"
I ignored Rebecca's squeal as she was left upside down, suspended in the air only by my grip. She dropped the pistol she was now holding into my other hand in surprise.
"Put me down, gonkhead!" Rebecca squealed and used her free leg to try to kick me in the face. Really, I had to give her credit for not knowing how to give up. I easily dodged her kicks before dropping her in place. I heard her snort before she stood up, pulled out another gun, and pointed it at me again.
"Really? Again? " I asked playfully before ignoring her and walking past her.
"Wait! Give me back my iron, bitch!" Rebecca exclaimed as she approached once more. I snorted and looked at the gun in my hands before humming lightly. I considered it for a few seconds.
Trace On. Let my Structural Grasp completely envelop the weapon in my hands. It was an instant, but I could see everything about the weapon in my hand.
M-76e Omaha, the materials and manufacturing were nothing special. I couldn't see the history, nor the experience of the weapon, since it definitely didn't count as a Mystery, so the total steps of my Trace On didn't apply.
But the weapon was interesting, semi-automatic, simple, and compact. Although quite impressive, it has a powerful electromagnetic rail system that fires solid metal projectiles instead of bullets.
It has quite a bit of penetrating power from what I can understand, and its three-round shots increase the damage even further. A pretty good weapon, I suppose.
Quickly analyzing the materials, their creation, the entire plan, and other minor details was a piece of cake. The problem is that it wouldn't automatically memorize within my Reality Marble, so I grabbed all the feedback from my Structural. Grasp and immediately send it to GLaDOS.
Caught GLaDOS off guard, but it took her less than a fraction of a second to understand, and she received all the information with enthusiasm. She will be in charge of keeping the plans safe.
"Were you always able to scan things and create technological blueprints?" GLaDOS asked almost incredulously, and I mentally shrugged and relayed to her what I had just done.
"Yeah, I always could, but it's not like I'm really interested," I said honestly in GLaDOS's direction. I could almost hear a growl.
"New plan, leave the connection open, I'll see through your eyes, you'll scan everything I tell you, and transfer the plans to me." GLaDOS growled, and I laughed lightly.
"I have no problems, but let it be known that it's easy for simple or mechanical objects. However, those that need some program or software to work, it's impossible for me to replicate it," I warned GLaDOS.
"It doesn't matter, I'm more than capable of creating the necessary operating systems for any technology, and if necessary, I'm seeing that operating systems are sold on the Internet," GLaDOS said without hesitation.
" Yes, yes, yes," I said playfully. I guess it was also good to be able to do it this way; it would make creating some things in large quantities easier.
"Are you listening to me, Gonk!" Rebecca exclaimed before firing in my direction. My body moved almost automatically, my hand quickly flared, and I grabbed the three projectiles in the air before looking Rebecca straight in the eyes.
I raised an eyebrow at her before opening my hand and dropping the three pieces of metal to the floor. Rebecca's eyes widened slightly before she frowned. I could see she was about to pull the trigger again. I simply tossed her the pink pistol.
Rebecca was surprised once again as she tried to grab the gun in midair. With that, I turned and started walking away once more. I looked at the crowd; several had moved away from us, or even run momentarily.
But as they saw that nothing had turned into a bloody mess, they quickly recovered and moved on with their lives. I was incredulous at such behavior.
Actually, maybe GLaDOS was right, or they were just so culturally accustomed to hearing and seeing gunfire almost constantly that it only took them a few seconds to compose themselves, or they were lunatics bordering on sociopathic.
Or maybe it was just this place, Jig-Jig Street wasn't really a place where 'normal' people would spend their time; in any case, I didn't care, I just kept walking. I guess I could go get Fingers since I was here.
"Wait!" Rebecca shouted before running in my direction. I sighed once more, not even stopping, just kept walking. "That was amazing, choom! What kind of chrome do you have to do something like that? Do you have a Sandy? A Kerenz? That level of reaction and speed is insane! And I guess you have some amazing Gorilla Arms to stop a bullet!
I looked at her almost incredulously. Just a little while ago, she was pointing a gun at me, even shooting at me, and now she was really impressed by it and put her anger aside? So easy?
"Let's say yes," I said vaguely before continuing to walk.
"Don't be a party pooper, Choom," Rebecca said, almost pouting. "What strange swords, I've never seen anything like them. They're Preem! What are they made of? " Rebecca asked, looking at Kanshou and Bakuya behind me.
"The essence of the five mountains and the metal of the six heroes, along with a human sacrifice to unite everything," I said, speaking the truth. Rebecca frowned.
"Okay, no kidding, but don't be a bitch, either." Rebecca snorted, and I laughed lightly. "So, where are you going, Starry Eyes?" Rebecca asked as she walked beside me.
"Starry eyes?" I asked playfully. She shrugged.
"I don't know your name, and you have stars in your eyes. They're weird. Again, this is the first time I've seen chrome like that." Rebecca said simply. "By the way, YOU ARE weird, those eyes and those pointy teeth, it's the only chrome in sight despite having some Gorilla Arms and a Sandy, I don't even see your ports, you're weird," Rebecca added.
"I like it that way." I said simply, Rebecca hummed.
"Uh… I guess they build them differently in other countries," Rebecca said thoughtfully.
"Another country? Why do you say that? " I asked curiously. Had she noticed I wasn't from Night City? Rebecca just snorted.
"Come on, you're cleaner than 80% of the people here, you smell like you just stepped out of a goddamn flower garden, your clothes are immaculate and brand new, and you're looking around like a goddamn tourist. You couldn't be more obvious."
" And besides, you don't smell like Night City. Not a body odor, but a metaphorical smell that everyone who lives in Night City has, a combination of depression, blood, and a trampled spirit," Rebecca said simply. I looked at her, slightly impressed.
"You're right," I said with a shrug. "Just arrived from the UK," I said honestly. Rebecca whistled slightly.
"So, what Gonk did you piss off to get sent to this shithole?" Rebecca asked playfully. I laughed lightly.
"No one, I have some errands to run with my wife," I said simply. Rebecca looked at me for a few seconds before shrugging.
"I don't know whose idea it was, but you two might want to reconsider your honeymoon choices," Rebecca mocked, and I burst out laughing. I guess it could be seen that way. Although, unlike what Rebecca might think, GLaDOS would have a wonderful time in this world.
"Maybe," I said, chuckling.
"So… do you need a guide?" Rebecca asked simply as she stared at me.
"A guide? And you're offering yourself very kindly, aren't you? " I asked playfully, Rebecca smiled broadly at me.
"Well, since you say it like that, I could do the job for a small fee," Rebecca said playfully. I snorted. "Come on, I could help you find what you're looking for more quickly, and then you can get back to your Mainline," Rebecca added. I snorted playfully.
"You know what, I'll take you up on that offer. I've been planning on going to a few places; it wouldn't hurt to have a guide," I said playfully.
"You won't regret it, choom!" Rebecca said happily.
"You're too excited to be a guide," I said playfully, and she shrugged.
"You're interesting," she said as if that was all she needed to know.
"If that's enough," I said with a shrug.
"It is! Now come on, where do you want to go first? " Rebecca asked excitedly. I hummed lightly. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a guide, but Fingers will have to wait. I ignored GLaDOS's whimpers.
...or not, Rebecca was an Edgerunner; I doubt she'd mind a few hunts around Night City. I smiled slightly, guessing the plans were still in place.