"No matter what you call it, in the end, it's all life-threatening business.
But then again, Night City's darkness hides too many dirty things. Here, human life isn't worth much."
Viktor's gaze inadvertently fell on the woman Arthur had brought back—
An ordinary person, who might have a small family, but was still almost swallowed whole by this city, leaving not even a trace.
"Don't worry, Viktor, at least… I need to pay off my debt first."
Arthur's hoarse voice was filled with determination, even a hint of confidence.
Although nearly two centuries had passed, people were still using guns, and as long as it was a gun, Arthur had no reason to fear.
Viktor smiled wryly and shook his head, frowning as he looked at Arthur.
It seemed there was something Arthur didn't know about the situation.
"Clearly, you still lack understanding of the dangers involved.
Take your current situation, for example: you have almost no combat-grade cyberware, so you can't use many firearms.
The most dangerous part is that the neural link in your head is very outdated, even worse than the most basic civilian models.
You don't even need a hacker to attack you; I even think direct sunlight could fry it."
Arthur subconsciously touched the metal interface at the back of his neck, where a thumb-sized metal groove was deeply embedded in the soft panel.
Arthur actually knew what that thing was for; after all, it was the only piece of cyberware on his entire body.
Even without money, newborns would be given a free and mandatory neural link by the government. Besides its basic functions, it also served as a citizen's identity proof.
It seemed its functions were far more extensive than that.
"Your neural link has no stealth, no encryption, not even a firewall. It's practically a glowing target."
Viktor explained, looking at Arthur's puzzled eyes.
"So, I'll also need to replace your frontal cortex and operating system, so you don't die for no reason.
Moreover, that unknown drug in your body might be a secret experiment by some big corporation, so I think it's best to give you a new identity."
"It seems… I'll have to add a huge sum to what I owe you."
Arthur's tone was helpless; he had to be grateful he met Viktor, otherwise he would have truly struggled to survive.
"So you'll have to wait a few more days. I'll go contact some hard-to-get gear for you. During this time, you can stay here with me and learn the ropes of being an Edgerunner."
Patting Arthur's shoulder, Viktor sat back down at the table he often used to watch boxing matches and started operating something.
Over the next few days, Viktor was busy contacting black market channels that supplied him with cyberware, arranging for Arthur's cyberware.
Arthur, meanwhile, learned about the detailed situation of Edgerunners in this era. This information was not accessible to his original self, a vulnerable student with autism.
Just like the Scavenger Arthur shot, who had armed biomonitor panels, even a large-caliber kinetic revolver couldn't directly kill the guy.
And there were the hackers hidden in the shadows, who could fry an enemy's brain without anyone knowing.
In this waiting period, four days later, the first piece of cyberware Viktor prepared for Arthur arrived.
It was a square, silver-white metal box, its exterior adorned with intersecting black lines, making it appear heavy and full of technological flair.
In the center of the box, a row of square letter logos was neatly displayed: "KIROSHI"
The 'O' in the middle was stylized into the shape of an eyeball.
"Kiroshi Optics…"
Arthur unconsciously read it aloud.
"You're very lucky. This company's products are trustworthy, and this is an internally confidential product; you can't get it without connections."
Viktor directly picked up the box and walked into the clinic.
"Is this a cybernetic eye? But I don't want anything done to my eyes."
Arthur followed the doctor into the clinic. It wasn't that he rejected these new-era things; he just had enough confidence in his own eyes.
During his years roaming the West, his eyes had always been his means of survival; he was born with a pair of eyes that announced death.
"This isn't a cybernetic eye, but a scanner built into the cornea. It doesn't require replacing your eyes."
Viktor's voice came from ahead, explaining.
The iterative upgrade of Arthur's cyberware was the result of careful discussion between Viktor and Arthur, so it naturally wouldn't diminish Arthur's inherent talents.
"The scanner can be used with a neural link to help you better collect information on the battlefield, and it can also display your own status in real-time. In short, it's indispensable."
As he spoke, he had already opened the box, and a cloud of white mist overflowed from the opening, bringing with it a chill.
"Lie down."
Viktor pointed to the operating table on the side.
"I'll install it for you."
Over the next few days, the cyberware Viktor prepared for Arthur also arrived successively.
An external neural link from Dynalar Technologies, and a ballistic coprocessor placed on the palm of his hand.
"I haven't prepared any combat-grade cyberware for you. If you need it, you can choose it yourself.
But I must warn you, any type of cyberware, if it extensively replaces your circulatory and nervous systems, will put immense pressure on your original mind.
Ultimately, it will lead to an incurable disease—cyberpsychosis."
In this era of entertainment to death, every morning, Night City's television stations would broadcast an interesting show.
"Dead Man's Lottery"
This show used people who died unexpectedly for entertainment.
—
In Night City, gang wars, terrorist activities, robberies, crime… were endless.
Among them, there was often information about cyberpsychosis. Arthur only knew that these were a very dangerous group of people, and their appearances were often accompanied by heavy casualties.
"Maybe you should educate me on this; this disease seems very dangerous."
Arthur subconsciously touched his palm. Although the ballistic processor fit snugly against his hand, he could still slightly perceive its difference from the panel.
"Excessive cyberware implantation puts immense pressure on the nervous system. If this pressure becomes too great, it will crush a person's sanity, leading to loss of control and making them extremely aggressive.
The symptoms of this disease are very similar to rabies; it directly targets your nerves."
Viktor moved the assisting mechanical arm from Arthur's arm, explaining as he did so.
Arthur spread his palm, revealing a cluster of black, metallic-sheen patterns in the center, and sensors extending to his fingers.
This was the ballistic coprocessor he had just installed, which could assist him in monitoring the status of his weapons.
"I guess these little gadgets don't have much impact."
Arthur's tone was inquisitive.
"Of course, what I'm talking about are the cyberware that replaces original nerves; those are the things that put stress on the body."
As he spoke, Viktor picked up a pistol from a nearby table—a common model manufactured by Militech.
Immediately, a stream of data rose from the edge of Arthur's vision, displayed on the Kiroshi scanner.
"Not bad, I must say."
He twirled the gun in his hand, then turned his head, feeling no sense of incongruity.
"The things I tune will certainly not hold you back.
Moreover, this set of equipment has a very high-security level; as long as you don't encounter a top-tier hacker, there won't be any problems."
Viktor smiled and removed the auxiliary arm from his own hand. He knew Arthur was clueless about hacking, so he specifically chose an external neural link for him.
Although this device from Dynalar Technologies didn't even have an expansion slot, its firewall and stealth attributes were top-notch. It could even be forcibly shut down without causing the user to lose consciousness, which was indeed more suitable for Arthur, a hacking novice.
"Also… Arthur."
As Viktor's voice faded, three new contacts appeared before Arthur's eyes.
Padre, Okada Wakako, and Regina Jones.
"I don't have many fixers I'm close with; these are just the ones I can talk to.
You don't need to contact them proactively. I've mentioned you to them. If there's work, they'll contact you."
Seeing Viktor's furrowed brow, Arthur knew his friend was worried about him, and he smiled.
"You don't seem like you're not close to them. It seems you've got deep connections, Viktor, to be able to befriend these big shots."
"I once saved some of their people, so they just acknowledge my skills."
As he spoke, Viktor's gaze gradually became serious, his low voice sounding as if a stone had been placed upon it.
"Arthur… some Edgerunners sometimes blindly trust their fixers, because these fixers provide them with information, and even protection.
But you need to understand that whether it's you or the so-called reputation of those fixers, it's all for profit.
If the profit you represent outweighs the value of their reputation, no one knows if they'll turn on you."
Nodding thoughtfully, Arthur patted Viktor's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I've always been used to relying on myself."