Lucy nervously touched rcer’s forehead, watching the flashing red light on the netrunner station.
The whirring of the cooling fan made her forehead break out in a cold sweat. Her hand hesitated near the back of rcer’s ear as the ssages she’d sent remained unanswered.
Ten seconds ago, the netrunner station had issued a warning alert. Sothing had happened to rcer, triggering his instinctive activation of Overclock. Once Overclock was engaged, Lucy’s attempts to contact him went unanswered, like stones sinking into the sea.
She considered performing an ergency disconnect, but the numbers displayed on the netrunner station indicated that although rcer was in an Overclock state, he hadn’t reached his limit yet.
Lucy hesitated, afraid of disrupting rcer’s operation. Fortunately, it only lasted ten seconds before the safety indicators on the netrunner station began to decline.
rcer took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. "Why did you send so many ssages? Aren’t you asleep yet?"
"Why didn’t you reply?" Lucy retorted. "With your ntal capacity, sending back an emoji would’ve been easy, right?"
"Ran into NetWatch. They used a lockdown program to seal off that part of the network, data couldn’t get in or out. Clever move, learned sothing new today. I dealt with NetWatch, wiped my traces, and ca back to talk to you right away. So don’t be mad. I know you were worried. Let’s just say I got too excited today. I’ll be more careful from now on and try not to make you worry."
rcer spoke casually, rubbing his head. "Not bad, feels like only 39 degrees."
"You..." Lucy didn’t know what to say to him.
She’d never seen soone so intent on finding trouble.
She sat back on the mattress, staring at him. "What exactly were you doing tonight? You Overclocked multiple tis and even provoked NetWatch? The Overclock half an hour ago felt okay, a bit hotter than usual for most netrunners, but normal for you. But just now, with NetWatch... your netrunner station triggered an alarm!"
"Did a good deed, saved a poor girl, killed a bunch of scum, human traffickers forcing girls into being joytoys to make money for them. Turns out one of the clients I killed was a corporate dog, and not a low-level one either. Probably his company’s monitoring program detected his biotrics disappearing and triggered an automatic alert based on his last IP address. Next thing I knew, NCPD and NetWatch were both on the scene. NetWatch’s skills were decent, those two had a large server, felt about on par with your current level. I wanted to jump out right away, but they were chasing too closely. To avoid information leakage, I had to teach them a lesson."
rcer said it all lightly. "Anyway, it’s all handled now. If NetWatch doesn’t want to die, they’ll have to tread carefully and be polite if they ever contact again."
"What if they consider you an extrely dangerous criminal and send out their top agents?" Lucy frowned with worry. "rcer, we just fled Arasaka to Night City. Where else can we run now? It’s NetWatch! And we’re still wanted by Arasaka!"
"Don’t be afraid," rcer said gently, sitting up from his netrunner station and looking at Lucy, who was seated on a mattress on the floor.
He smiled, exuding confidence and a tenderness that surprised Lucy. "Even if sothing goes wrong, I promise I’ll make sure you survive."
"If even you die, where could I possibly run? Arasaka agents might just be a Quickhack away for you, but for ..."
Lucy t his gaze. "You’re not alone anymore, rcer. You said I could follow you, so you have to take responsibility. You can’t keep acting so recklessly!
I asked Panam, you almost died at Afterlife today!
I knew you wouldn’t behave yourself in the net, either, which is why I ca here to watch you. But even then..."
She lowered her head, burying her face in her knees. "Even if you don’t think about , think about Kyoko. She’s only turning twelve next year. If sothing happens, she won’t have anyone to rely on.
You have the nerve to save so doll, but can’t you spare a thought for how we feel? Be a little selfish, rcer. You’re only human, too."
rcer rubbed his head in frustration before finally getting up from his netrunner station, crouching down, and patting her head. "Alright, fine. Honestly, I’m pretty confident though..."
"Bartmoss was confident too, and look what happened to him, blown to bits by Arasaka.
Alt Cunningham was confident, and now she’s a rogue AI.
What about those legends you’re always talking about, like Johnny Silverhand? Where are they now? Weren’t they all brimming with confidence back in the day?
rcer, I know you’re a real genius, but I’m begging you, even if it’s just for , rein it in a little, okay? Let’s take things one step at a ti."
Tears welled in Lucy’s beautiful iridescent cybereyes as she pleaded.
rcer was always weak to this, especially when Lucy looked like a little girl. It got to him even more.
He could only nod earnestly and say, "I understand. Safety first.
Unless it’s for work, I’ll keep a low profile whenever I can. Even if it’s just for you, alright?"
Lucy stared into his eyes, and seeing his serious expression, she knew he wasn’t just saying it to placate her.
"...Okay, it’s a promise." She held out her hand. rcer paused for a mont before smiling and linking his pinky with hers.
"Whoever breaks this promise has to swallow a thousand needles."
Lucy’s adorable face delivered the terrifying words.
"Uh... alright. But you have to understand, making it in Night City without taking any risks is impossible."
As rcer spoke, Lucy simply watched him, wiping her tears away herself. "And fighting NetWatch agents is a risk you just have to take? Don’t tell you really couldn’t have gotten away safely."
"...Alright, fine. I just wanted to test my skills against a real master," rcer admitted honestly. He sighed and said, "The netrunners I’ve encountered lately all feel like small fry. Forget about giving a real challenge, even NetWatch agents backed by their servers are basically trash I can take down in ten seconds.
Either their code is a pile of garbage, with vulnerabilities I can spot at a glance, or they just try to brute-force overwhelm with raw processing power. I haven’t t a single true master, you know, the kind who’s actually still alive.
I just want an evenly matched fight, to see how real geniuses handle cyber offense and defense. Not this.
Using these losers as opponents, I can’t even test whether my own programs are any good."
rcer simply sat down on the mattress on the floor, next to Lucy, and turned to look at her. "Do you get it? I want to see what level I’m really at now, and how far I can go.
I just took a stroll through Night City’s network, and it felt like my own playground. I know that might sound exaggerated.
But aside from the corporate servers, I can’t even find a worthwhile target to practice on.
I’ve been holding back, I was tempted to take a look inside Arasaka’s servers earlier and had to restrain myself from trying to hack in."
"...rcer." Lucy gave him a disapproving look.
rcer shook his head helplessly. "I know it’s hard for you to relate, but I want you to understand, I’m really strong. So strong I don’t even know my own limits. I need real practice to test and improve my skills.
And my skills aren’t sothing you can learn from books.
The path I’m on, no one’s walked it before. My way of programming, my way of seeing data, it’s all my own unique talent.
If I just hole up in my LAN writing code, I’ll only ever be a great programr. But I want to be a top-tier netrunner, and netrunners need targets and real-world experience.
Those monts of instant cyber combat, spotting vulnerabilities in milliseconds, applying targeted programs, even improvising code on the fly...
I thrive on those intense monts. They spark my inspiration."
Lucy pressed her lips together, and rcer turned to her, speaking earnestly, "I’ll do my best to stay safe, but you’ll have to get used to it, Lucy. I really do know what I’m doing, I won’t carelessly leave you behind.
And don’t worry about NetWatch. As a new netrunner making a na in Night City, it’s only a matter of ti before they take notice.
Here in Night City, they’re not as powerful as you might think. Don’t be afraid."
Seeing that this was as far as he’d concede, Lucy reluctantly turned away. "Well, you pinky-promised ."
"I know."
rcer relaxed onto the mattress. "I’ll lay low for a while, no causing trouble, no reckless exploring. I’ll just focus on writing code, alright?
Maybe take on so gigs, build our rep, earn so cash.
I’ve been wanting to research AI anyway, so I’ll put my energy into that for now."
Lucy suddenly felt it might be better if he just went back online.
rcer patted her head and stood up again. "Alright, stop worrying about everything. I’m the one in charge here, just leave things to ."
"I just wish big bro could be a bit more reliable," Lucy muttered, rubbing her face wearily. "Not going online anymore?"
"Mhm, I’m heading to bed too. You should rest early. I’m just going to let my AI program run so data in the background, don’t worry, no trouble. I’ll use my own computer, netrunner station, and CPU for it."
As he spoke, rcer lay back in his chair and plugged in. "No need to worry, I’m just setting a learning scope for the AI program. I’ll sleep soon. You go ahead and rest."
Lucy pursed her lips, not buying that he would actually go to sleep properly. Still, she tucked herself back under the covers and watched him for a while. Seeing him unplug not long after and drape a blanket over himself to sleep, she finally closed her eyes, reassured.
True to his word, rcer didn’t pull any tricks. He sent a ssage to V and Kiwi to let them know he was safe, then yawned and actually went to sleep.
Before dozing off, he curated a set of learning materials for his Morning Star AI, manually filtering the content before feeding it to the AI in batches. It would take so ti to nurture an AI with basic common sense and intelligence.
Mainly, rcer was worried it might learn the wrong things, so he preferred to take it slow rather than give it the chance to grow autonomously during its formative phase.
It felt a bit like raising a child.
No, since it was cloned from the core of Deathwish, did that even count as his own offspring?
He mulled over these random thoughts for a long ti before his active mind finally settled down, and he drifted off to sleep.
When he opened his eyes the next day, it was a refreshed, brand-new morning.
By the ti rcer got up, Lucy had already gone out, though he had no idea what she was up to. He shuffled over to wash his face, then picked a bag of synthetic food from the snacks he’d bought earlier, strictly speaking, this could be considered a staple for the lower classes in Night City.
A vitamin supplent produced by the All Foods Corporation, branded Vita-Mine.
He squeezed the toothpaste-like substance into his mouth. The texture was akin to at jelly, and the flavor, rcer had bought the strawberry variety, was a mix of sweet and tart when he squeezed out the "jam" on top. Not great, but passable.
Once he’d eaten, rcer returned to his computer. He first checked on the AI, planning out another set of online learning materials for it to process, then opened his emails.
Among them, a ssage from Rogue stood out the most.
[Rogue: I got the intel you asked for. Source is a friend at City Hall, should be reliable, but you might want to verify it yourself.
Also, don’t worry about Fenrir. The ones still alive won’t be coming after you.
A few rcs have been asking about you, probably hoping you can provide net support for their ops when needed.
If you’re open to freelance work, I can pass your contact info along and let them reach out.
As for the VIP thing, gotta say, it’ll take ti. A lot of ti to arrange.
Given what you want to discuss with the VIP, I have to bypass everyone as much as possible to get you in touch. You know how it is, gotta find a new angle, maybe engineer a coincidence.
Anyway, safety first. Better for both of us.
(Click to download attachnt)]
rcer replied imdiately.
[rcer: Thanks, Rogue. I’ll take on temporary gigs too, but for people I don’t know, I only offer remote services, no field work. And it’s expensive. If they can’t accept that, don’t bother sending them my way.
Also, I know you’ve got a good eye for people, so do a favor and don’t push any trash my way. I don’t work with scum.]
Then, rcer noticed a ssage from El Capitán.
[El Capitán: Buddy, all the vehicle systems I need hacked are in the attachnt. Get them to ASAP, pay is good!
But I’m curious, in Santo Domingo, don’t people usually go to Faraday for fixer work?
I do similar jobs, uh, but honestly, most still see as just a car dealer.
(Click to download attachnt).]
rcer had a good impression of El Capitán. He was one of the few fixers who could still be considered a decent guy, reliable, and he genuinely cared about his friends and subordinates.
He was also the type who stayed humble and kept things friendly, making dealings with him hassle-free.
[rcer: Because I think Faraday’s an idiot, a fool who doesn’t know his place. The corps toss him a bone, and he’d wag his tail and lick their boots without hesitation.
A corporate dog has no business making deals with .
I prefer working with reliable people. You’re alright.
I’ll send you the program by today.]
There was also one from Mr. Hands in Dogtown.
[Mr. Hands: Hm, was that you causing a stir at Afterlife last night? Seems you weren’t lying, a newcor making trouble at Afterlife and walking away unscathed. You might actually have so skills.
Contact before you co to Dogtown. I’ll arrange a pass for you and have a few gigs that’ve been giving headaches.
Each one will be worth your while.
Looking forward to your call, A.]
rcer didn’t reply to Mr. Hands’ ssage. This old fox could wait until he decided to set up in Dogtown, might even save on rent that way.
It didn’t matter if he found out where rcer lived. Dogtown was small; rcer planned to stay at most two years before moving his base elsewhere in Night City.
But he decided to keep so distance from this old fox, Mr. Hands was the type who lived and breathed profit. He seed friendly, but he was really the kind of fixer who liked to have everything under his control.
rcer had no intention of letting him have that "control," so maintaining a careful working distance was key.
After handling his work emails, rcer imdiately checked the materials Rogue had sent.
Blueprints of City Hall’s structure, security layouts, shift schedules, pretty much every detail needed for an infiltration operation was there.
As expected of Night City’s top fixer. Just this intel alone showed how capable she was.
With the materials in hand, rcer didn’t waste ti. He quickly emailed V to let her know a gig had co up, they were working tonight.
He thought V might still be asleep, but shortly after sending the email, his phone rang. It was V.
"A, what’s the job?"
Her voice was brimming with eagerness.
rcer thought for a mont and said, "Let’s et up sowhere and talk."
He needed to get things ready for V.
Including keycards for infiltration, chips for virus implantation, and the server virus itself.
"No problem. By the way, what about Kiwi?" V said, sounding a bit frustrated.
"I’ll transfer her a thousand eurodollars in a bit, give her so startup funds. After that, she can find her own gigs. With her netrunning skills, she should be able to pull in around ten thousand eurodollars a month."
After rcer finished, V seed surprised. "I thought you were planning to recruit her."
"V, I don’t just take anyone. I told you, you’re special. You’ve got that potential. As for Kiwi... it’s up to her. If she genuinely wants to work with , we can talk about it later."
rcer wasn’t worried about having too many people to manage. When you’re aiming big, you naturally want as many allies as possible. As for loyalty, that’s sothing ti reveals, through hardship and true character.
V replied a bit sheepishly, "I feel like your opinion of might be a little too high... Anyway, let’s et at noon. It’s not even eight yet, how about we et at nine-thirty? We can grab a late breakfast. I heard there’s a good spot in Japantown with a pretty waitress. Want to go there?"
"Sure, that works." rcer mused silently, pretty waitress? Why are you telling this?, feeling like he was being stereotyped sohow.
"Should I bring Kiwi? She’s curious about you too. I think she wants to et you in person."
After V said this, rcer thought for a mont. "Whatever, she can co if she wants."
"Alright then, I’ll send you the location in a bit."
V hung up with a chuckle.
Soon after, a ssage from Kiwi ca through.
[Kiwi: Thanks for what you did yesterday. I’ve been thinking, could eting up be dangerous? V says you’re new in town, and NetWatch definitely has you flagged after yesterday. What if they track to you...]
[rcer: Avoiding you won’t clear my na. Night City will soon know there’s a new skilled netrunner around. NetWatch will keep a close eye on soone like , whether I’ve done anything or not. But let them know. I just took out so scum. The Voodoo Boys cause way more trouble, and NetWatch hasn’t done squat about them. In this city, if you haven’t got dozens, even hundreds of kills to your na, you can’t really call yourself a rc. Don’t overestimate them. This is Night City, they’re not that many. They’re weak on the net, and in the real world, I don’t fear them either.]
Besides, NetWatch’s stance is different from NUSA’s or Arasaka’s. rcer wasn’t too worried they’d side with Arasaka or NUSA. Given his skills and position, he might even end up collaborating with NetWatch soday.
[Kiwi: Alright then, see you soon. I’ll thank you in person.]
rcer ended the call, got himself together, and got straight to work.
First, he spent ten minutes studying the vehicle system El Capitán had provided, then took five minutes to write a universal bypass program. It included unlocking and vehicle ID verification, as long as the target system wasn’t updated or the vulnerability patched, the program would remain effective.
Next, rcer spent another ten minutes coding a remote vehicle hijacking software. It could automatically lock onto a target vehicle’s network from a distance, upload the program, and forcibly alter the vehicle ID verification.
The reason it took a bit longer was that rcer also threw in a complintary hardware design schematic for El Capitán.
[rcer: All set, with a bonus design schematic. Get the hardware and assemble it yourself, then install the hijacking software. Even a fool could use this device to hijack vehicles.
The intrusion efficiency depends on your hardware’s computing power, make sure to use a decent CPU. Don’t co complaining later that my program’s no good.]
[El Capitán: Holy shit, man, you’re for real? This fast?! Bro, A, I’ll go test it right away. If it works, the money’s coming your way ASAP!]
rcer sent Cassidy’s bank account details without another word, imdiately picking up another mory chip to start working on sothing for V.
Soon, a custom virus program was ready. Its function was to help rcer connect his network to the server’s subnet without alerting the local ICE after being uploaded.
The actual netrunning would still need to be done by him personally, just to be safer.
Just as rcer was busy at the computer, Lucy walked over. "rcer, I’ve collected all the Relic chips."
She and Daichi were each carrying two large insulated containers.
rcer nodded. "Store them safely for now. Once we have so official mbers, these might be developed for other uses to strengthen the team. Of course, they’ll only be provided to those who’ve passed the probation period and are truly one of us."
He paused, then turned to Daichi with a teasing tone. "Was the ga I brought back for you fun? If it’s good, let have a go soti."
"It’s pretty interesting. By the way, Kyoko’s been pestering since early morning about watching a BD with you. She said she wants to buy a BD wreath for two so she doesn’t have to watch it alone."
Daichi held back a laugh.
rcer rolled his eyes in exasperation but after a mont said, "I’ll get one for her. What about you guys? Need anything?"
"Not really. Leon and I have started taking jobs around the camp, updating vehicle systems and writing so ICE programs.
They even said they could help us transport our goods to sell in Night City. With our skills, the chips we write could fetch a high price."
Daichi’s eyes shone with hope. "I’m planning to save up for an RV first, then convert it into my ho and workstation. Maybe later, Leon and I could open a shop together in the camp.
The Aldecaldos could help us distribute in the city. rcer, are you interested? I think this could be really profitable.
I checked the prices, over in Japantown, even the lowest-tier quickhack chips sell for at least 3,000 eurodollars. If the program’s solid, it can go for over ten thousand."
rcer looked pleased; these kids weren’t helpless without him.
"That’s a great idea, and a partnership is a smart move. I was actually planning to start similar work in Dogtown later.
Do you know where the chips in Japantown co from? They’re produced by that new Voodoo Boys group that just moved to Dogtown.
They handle network work for Colonel Hansen, and also deal in cyberware, refurbishing scrap and reselling it by reprogramming implants for Dogtown."
After hearing this, Daichi understood his aning and grew concerned. "You’re saying the Voodoo Boys might co after us if we cut into their business?"
"They definitely will. In Night City, every profitable venture has an owner. Taking soone’s market share isn’t just about product quality.
Right now, the Voodoo Boys dominate the market. Any ordinary netrunner who tries to step in will be hunted down by their mad dogs."
But then rcer reassured him, "Don’t worry too much, though. The Aldecaldos aren’t easy to push around. The Voodoo Boys in Dogtown aren’t as crazy as the ones in Pacifica.
I an, you just focus on business here for now. I’ll head to Dogtown and have a chat with Slider, the boss of the Voodoo Boys there. After that, we’ll make money together.
By then, I’ll need to find jobs for Lucy and Kyoko too. Starting with programming should work, they probably don’t feel like deep diving lately anyway."
Daichi nodded and grinned, "Got it. I’ll wait for your update, A."
"Ah, screw it, never mind. Panam really can’t keep her mouth shut." rcer imdiately knew the nickna "A" had to have co from Panam.
He waved a hand dismissively, tucking the chip into his pocket, then rembered he still hadn’t settled yesterday’s car fare with Panam. He promptly sent her a thousand eddies.
rcer wasn’t stingy about money like that.
For him, taking on just one job could easily net him at least 100k eddies.
But for people like Panam or V, scraping by at the bottom of society, one or two thousand eddies could last them a whole month if they budgeted carefully.
"I’m heading out now to get everyone new IDs, oh, by the way, send a proper photo, a serious one. I’ll get your new identities sorted.
Also, think about what new nas you all want and send those to too. If you have any specific ideas about age or birthdays, let know."
Daichi paused, having nearly forgotten that new identities ant changing nas. "Understood."
Lucy also fell into thought, mulling over the details of her new na.
rcer waved for them to figure it out themselves as he got ready to leave. After putting on his mask, he decided to drive out alone today.
Yesterday had been packed with errands and complications, surely a simple etup over a al couldn’t go wrong too, right?
Then rcer found his Galena parked just outside the camp.
After salvaging this piece of junk from the Raffen Shiv, he’d patched it up again and again, turning it from scrap into... slightly better scrap.
It was low-key yet sturdy enough for defense, capable of weathering gunfire to make a quick escape when needed. Plus, the Aldecaldos markings on the car would deter plenty of troublemakers.
rcer started the car and drove toward the address V had given him. With navigation guiding the way, the drive wasn’t much hassle.
Smooth sailing all the way, no gang shootouts, no road racers firing guns on the highway. rcer humd a tune; post-rush hour traffic in Night City was fairly clear.
Still, driving from the Badlands into the city and then to Japantown took over an hour. By the ti he arrived, it was already 9:40.
As soon as rcer stepped out of the car, he spotted V squatting by the restaurant like so street loiterer, while Kiwi leaned against her car, smoking a slender cigarette.
Seeing rcer get out, V stood up, clutching her stomach. "Hey A, what took you so long? We’ve been waiting half an hour."
"The drive’s pretty far. Getting here from the Badlands in just over an hour ans I was pushing it. You’re lucky there was no traffic."
Still, rcer conceded apologetically, "But being late is being late, so... my treat."
"Sweet!" V’s expression instantly brightened as she bead enthusiastically. "A, you’re the best! So what if you’re a little late? No big deal!"
Kiwi had been studying rcer intently the whole ti. When she noticed him looking back, she gave a slight nod, hesitated for a mont, then put down her cigarette and bowed her head earnestly. "Thank you, A."
"Don’t ntion it. Even without , with your skills, you’d have found a way out soon enough."
rcer didn’t have much else to say to her and simply waved a hand. "Let’s head inside. V looks like she’s about to starve to death. Any longer and I’m afraid she might start biting people."
Saving Kiwi had been nothing more than a convenient thing for him. His plans afterward were just about seeing things through to the end, but truth be told, he didn’t have any particular expectations of her. Whether she wanted to go off and be a Solo netrunner or stick with him, rcer wasn’t going to force it.
After all, Kiwi had promised to pay up, 50,000 eddies. That was enough for V to tear through that black-market doll shop ten tis over on her own.
"Screw you. The only reason I’m this hungry is because you had working in the middle of the night," V grumbled, pushing the door open and stepping inside.
The mont she entered, she froze mid-step.
Then, she turned her head back. "Holy hell, there’s a whole group of Animals in here. They don’t usually show up around these parts."
rcer leaned over her shoulder to take a look. Sure enough, the fairly small diner had one large booth completely packed with burly n.
These guys showed little to no signs of cyberware, each one bulging with muscles, their veins popping in a way that clearly wasn’t from honest training.
There were only four of them, but each looked like trouble, carrying rifles and shotguns as if they were here for a fight, not a al.
"What’s the plan? They look like they’re just passing through for a bite. Probably no trouble," V said.
rcer shot her a glance. "Next ti, don’t jinx it like that."
He considered just finding another place to eat, these big guys were the kind netrunners hated most. They generally had little cyberware, relying purely on drugs to pump themselves up with that "strength." At most, they might have Subdermal Armor or tal bones, or even just iron-plated skin hacked straight into their bodies. Trying to Initiate Overload on their cyberware was pointless, there was hardly anything to overload.
When they encountered netrunners, these bruisers would often just disconnect their neural links, then charge forward roaring. You could say they were the natural counters to netrunners.
But as his gaze drifted, a young girl’s pretty face suddenly ca into view.
rcer stopped in his tracks.
Green twin tails, pale skin, hints of pink tattoos, and on that defiant little face, cybereyes modified with a striking red, pink, and yellow color sche stood out brilliantly.
Sitting across from her was a tall, lanky young boy, well, though the boy wore sunglasses, sported an exaggerated mohawk, and had a full beard.
Rebecca! Pilar!
No mistake, it had to be them!
"Well, we’re already here... Let’s go eat."
Without another word, rcer walked right in.
Truth be told, he was a true die-hard fan of Rebecca-chan, the kind who’d specifically gone searching for her urn at the grave multiple tis in the ga!
Since they were already here...
His collector’s itch was starting to act up.
--------
5000words.
Bonus Chapter @600 power stones.
I also recomnd reading HxH: Dying Makes Stronger it’s a true hidden gem.
Advanced Chapters on p-atreon/AstartesTL
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