Chapter 329
2-in-1-chapter
----------------
Finally, after a long pause, River smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll consider it. But how much will you pay ? If it’s too little, I’m not interested.”
“€1,000 a day—€30,000 a month. How about it? Fair enough, right?”
“So much?” River was stunned.
When he had worked at NCPD, his monthly salary had only been about €4,000—and that was with exhausting overti and constant conflict.
Jumping ship to a private company, and his pay would increase by nearly ten tis?
River couldn’t help clicking his tongue in disbelief.
No wonder so many of his forr colleagues, after leaving NCPD, chose to work private security.
Was running a company really this profitable?
Or was Leo just saying this to keep him happy?
“Can you really afford to pay that much?” River asked.
What he really wanted to ask was: “Where the hell do you get that kind of money?”
But asking that outright would sound like prying into soone’s private affairs—or rather, not privacy, but trade secrets.
Business was war. Trade secrets were the most closely guarded core of any company—and absolutely not sothing to be shared with outsiders.
Moreover, asking directly would easily give people a bad impression, so River chose this relatively more tactful phrasing.
Even though River had asked tactfully, Leo knew exactly what he really ant.
In fact, River’s concern was understandable.
In Night City’s brief history—shorter than that of the United States—there had been many legendary figures.
Johnny Silverhand, Morgan Blackhand, Andrew Weyland, and so on…
So of them had fought in wars themselves, hoping to awaken the masses through rock, calling on people to rise up against the corporations.
So appeared to be lone legends, but behind the scenes maintained close cooperation with Militech.
So tried to change things, but failed, leaving only a nto in a public cetery and an epitaph carved into a tombstone…
There was no doubt they were all Night City legends. Even the drinks they loved in life would later be renad after them, to be venerated by those who ca after.
But even so, it was aningless.
In the eyes of the corporations, all people were nothing more than potential working ants.
So-called legends were simply larger ants.
History had proven that becoming a legend changed nothing; it could not alter the world.
Therefore, their path had been wrong.
Leo’s approach was simple: fight corporations with corporations, use their own thods against them.
He also understood that Night City was saturated with entrenched corporations—every slice of the pie and every market had already been carved up by the old giants.
He couldn’t grow and expand freely here; he would be constrained at every turn.
That was why he had set up his company at Rocky Ridge, developing from outside the city, following the strategy of “using the rural areas to encircle the cities.”
Leo smiled: “You don’t need to worry about salaries. That’s my problem to solve. Just tell whether you’re in or not.”
River closed his eyes, torn between hesitation and commitnt.
If it were anyone else making such a generous offer, there would be no doubt they were a scamr.
But Leo was different.
Even though their collaboration hadn’t been long, River had a very good impression of him.
As a detective, River had t all kinds of people in his work. It might sound like mysticism, but River could sll the difference between people—the scent of deceit, lies, cri.
On Leo, he didn’t sense any “deception,” “lies,” or “cri.”
So he decided to trust him.
“Alright, I’m in. But I’ll need to wait until this matter with my nephew is over. Sorry, Leo—until Randy is safe, I can’t focus on anything else.”
Leo had no objections.
“No need to apologize. I understand completely. And since you’ve decided to join , we’ll solve this together.”
“You’re my employee. As your boss, protecting my employees is my responsibility.”
With another key person joining his team, Leo was pleased.
In combat, River might not compare to a professional rcenary, but his strengths lay in investigation and detective work.
Perhaps Leo’s company didn’t need such skills right now—but that didn’t matter.
A good boss always plans ahead.
“That Yawen… she looked awfully unhappy. Do you think she might sell us out?”
River shook his head. “We’re friends, after all. I don’t think she would.”
Leo quipped, “Friends? From the way you two interact, you seem more like enemies.”
River laughed heartily. “We used to date. After a while, we realized we weren’t suited for each other and broke up.”
“I’ve moved on from that relationship, but Yawen hasn’t. Ever since, she’s held a lot of resentnt toward .”
“I know I could’ve phrased things better back at the lab—but please understand, I was in a rush. I couldn’t stop thinking about Randy…”
Leo sighed. “Randy has a good uncle. If he gets ho safe, he should kneel and thank you.”
River shook his head gently. “That won’t be necessary. I just hope Randy can turn his life around, start fresh. If he can get back on track, then everything before can be left in the past.”
“As for Yawen, don’t worry too much. And if things really fall apart with her, I’m not afraid—I have leverage on her too.”
Leo could guess.
He didn’t know the details, but judging by their conversation, River had probably helped Yawen get into dical school.
Precisely because that was a murky favor, Yawen had flown into a rage when River brought it up—angry not just because of their relationship’s cracks, but also because he held that leverage.
If River decided to expose that, Yawen would be finished.
She had worked her way up from the bottom, so she treasured her current job. If she was kicked out now, she would be ruined for life.
Still, though River could control Yawen with that leverage, the problem was…
“Do you think, under these circumstances, Yawen would still help us?”
River was unconcerned. “We fight, but we always make up… I’ll tell you the rest over drinks soti.”
Since River said so, Leo didn’t ask further.
“Just buy a al next ti. No need for drinks—I don’t like alcohol or tobacco.”
…..........................................
.............
.
River’s sister, Joss, lived with her three kids in a trailer park on the outskirts of Santo Domingo.
As soon as they arrived, Leo felt the poverty and desolation in the air.
These people couldn’t even afford a house in Santo Domingo—they could only live here, and their poverty spoke for itself.
“Alright, we’re here.”
The NCPD almost never patrolled these remote places, and there were no parking lines, so River pulled the car right up to Joss’s door.
Joss’s family had two mobile hos: one for her and Randy’s younger siblings, the other for Randy himself.
A mobile ho, as the na suggests, is a house that can be towed by a vehicle.
It sounded high-tech—but in reality, it wasn’t.
Even in 2023, most mobile ho owners in Arica were relatively poor.
If it was just about liking freedom, there were better alternatives: a camper van would be more convenient, faster, and easier.
In truth, the typical use of a mobile ho was to park it in a place like this trailer park—a slightly upgraded version of sleeping on a park bench or pitching a tent in a park.
River sighed, “I used to co here every weekend… but that was a long ti ago.”
“Why?”
River scratched the back of his head. “Too busy, too tired, or sotis I just didn’t want to co… honestly I can’t really explain why.”
In front of Joss’s trailer was a small yard with several parasols and tables and chairs.
But there was no one sitting there.
Even inside the trailer, the lights were off.
Leo looked at River and asked, “No one ho?”
“No… ever since Randy went missing, she hasn’t even gone to work. She just stays at ho waiting for news every day.”
Leo followed River into the trailer, and as they neared the kitchen, they heard a tired and anxious woman’s voice making a phone call.
“Yes, yes, I know I just went to the NCPD earlier today, but it’s evening now… I thought maybe you’d have found so clue about my child by now.”
“Still nothing? Alright… but if you hear anything, please, notify imdiately, okay? I’ll be at ho, waiting for your call at any ti. Thank you.”
In the kitchen, a woman whose exhaustion was impossible to hide put down the phone. She glanced up at River and Leo, stunned for a mont, and then said:
“River, if you’re here, it’s either business or you have news about Randy—otherwise you wouldn’t have co.”
River introduced Leo. “Joss, this is Leo.”
Joss turned to look at Leo.
“Leo… sothing’s happened to my Randy, hasn’t it?”
Back in the car, River had instructed Leo not to tell Joss the truth about Randy’s kidnapping, so Leo simply shook his head in silence.
“You don’t know, or you can’t say?” Joss pressed.
River found a chair and sat down, but then, as if compelled by so invisible force, he began speaking frankly—despite having told Leo earlier not to reveal the truth.
“Joss… I… I don’t know how to say this. Randy… Randy was kidnapped.”
As expected, Joss froze for a mont, then imdiately panicked.
“Kidnapped? He’s still alive, right?” Seeing River stay silent, Joss grew frantic. “River! Say sothing!”
When River was cornered by his sister’s barrage, Leo stepped in.
“The man who kidnapped Randy has already been caught by the NCPD. He was shot and is now in a coma at the hospital.”
Joss imdiately turned on Leo. “Then where’s Randy?!”
River could tolerate his sister’s reproach against himself, but when she turned on his employer, that he could not allow.
As Randy’s uncle, River felt deeply guilty about the boy’s disappearance.
He had said so himself outside: he used to visit every week, but then he stopped.
Ever since Randy vanished, River had blad himself.
Maybe if he had co more often, Randy wouldn’t have ended up like this.
That was why he silently accepted Joss’s accusations.
But now that she was turning her anger toward Leo, River had to speak up.
Not just because Leo was his employer—but also because Leo was there to help.
It was already a lot to trouble soone for help. To then take out one’s frustrations on them… that would be truly unreasonable.
“Joss… we’re still looking for him…”
“Looking?!” Joss cut him off without catching his aning—or perhaps she understood perfectly but simply wanted soone to fight with. Faced with her empty ho, she was on the verge of breaking down.
Leo could understand her emotions, but he still said calmly, “Stop giving River a hard ti. Fighting won’t solve anything.”
Joss raised her voice imdiately. “He’s my son! You have no right to tell what attitude to take!”
Leo sneered.
“You still rember he’s your son?! River is Randy’s uncle—not his father. He dropped everything to help you find your child, and this is how you treat him?!”
Joss froze.
Leo’s words made sense—and left her unable to argue.
“You—”
Leo cut her off sharply.
“Don’t you ‘you’ ! Let tell you sothing, Joss. I understand exactly what you’re feeling right now. The pain of a mother who has lost a child—I’ve seen it, and I empathize.”
“But my willingness to help a mother find her child does not an I’ll tolerate a shrew using as a punching bag!”
Joss fell completely silent.
“I—”
Leo gave a cold snort and continued.
“‘I’ what?! If you think I’m wrong, go to any NCPD precinct in the city, and try treating the officers the way you just treated River—see if they’ll care.”
“You’d better get this straight, Joss: your child is missing. If you want people to help you, then act like it—not like everyone owes you sothing.”
Watching Joss, like an over-inflated balloon about to burst, River quickly intervened.
“Leo, thank you for speaking up for —but please, leave this to . Could I ask you to step outside for a mont? Please.”
Seeing River’s face written with clear, desperate pleading, Leo nodded and stepped out of the kitchen.
Once Leo was gone, only Joss and River remained.
Joss’s face was flushed with embarrassnt; she didn’t speak, just stood there.
The air was heavy and silent.
--------------------------------------
You can read 50 advanced chapters as well as 2 daily chapters on!
Patreon(.)com/IDKjust
Reviews
All reviews (0)