The noisy, playful night gathering dragged on for several hours before finally winding down.
At moments like this, Lin Mo always recalled the old saying, "All banquets must eventually end." He couldn't help but marvel at the wisdom of his ancestors—simple, easy to understand, yet full of truth.
Because David needed to be taken home early, the two of them ended up being the first to leave that night.
Technically, this errand could have been left to Kitagawa Hiro. The sharp-eyed Japanese man had noticed it at once and even patted his chest, volunteering to handle it.
But since Lin Mo had been the one to pick David up from his house earlier that evening, his mother was probably still waiting for him at home.
Out of a sense of seeing things through to the end, Lin Mo decided he would take David back himself.
And there was good reason to call it a hassle.
David was drunk.
Ignoring the boy's drunken shouts about how he was destined to become a legend, Lin Mo hoisted him up without a word, carried him to the car, and tossed him into the passenger seat.
Then, from the car's front storage, he retrieved a box of medication and took out a capsule.
Back inside, he pried David's mouth open and slipped the capsule in.
It dissolved instantly, the drug spreading through his bloodstream.
A few minutes later, David slowly surfaced from his drunken haze, blinking as if waking from a dream.
His eyes finally focused on Lin Mo behind the wheel, and he asked blankly:
"What happened to me?"
"You're awake?" Lin Mo kept his eyes on the road, not looking back as he replied evenly:
"Nothing much. You drank too much and got alcohol poisoning. I had to take you to the hospital. The doctor said your bladder was ruined, so they scheduled you for a Big Cannon implant..."
"Big Cannon?" David blinked, confused. The term sounded familiar, like something he'd heard before...
A second later he snapped to, his hand shooting down to check his "best friend." When he found everything still intact, he let out a huge sigh of relief.
"You bastard! You tricked me!" David glared at Lin Mo, who was barely suppressing a laugh.
"Heh, just giving you a reminder. Drink like that again, and even if I did send you in for a full rebuild, you wouldn't be in any state to resist." Lin Mo wasn't the least bit bothered by his anger.
David thought about it, and had to admit he was right. He rubbed his temples, frustrated, his thoughts still hazy from the booze.
"When I was drunk... did I do anything stupid?" he asked nervously.
Lin Mo snorted dismissively: "With your half-baked skills? Forget doing anything to someone else—count yourself lucky nobody decided to do something to you."
David scratched his head. Yeah... that actually made sense.
The gathering had been full of edgerunners—people who lived by licking blood off the edge of a knife. Who among them would be scared of some greenhorn like him?
"But," Lin Mo added, "you did manage to pull a few surprising stunts while you were wasted."
"What stunts?" David's gut clenched.
"Oh, you know... including but not limited to: climbing on a table to shout you were a legend, declaring you'd cover everyone's bar tab for the night, picking a fight with Kitagawa Hiro, and, let's see... oh, yeah—hitting on some girl and getting punched for it."
David's jaw dropped. He never imagined drunk-him would be that bold.
Suddenly, a wave of shame made him wish he could smash his head into a wall.
Lin Mo glanced sideways and saw David's face locked in an expression of pure despair. He couldn't help but chuckle.
"Relax. Hiro and Jackie already cleaned up your mess. You're the little brother of the crew—what kind of senior would let you take the fall?"
Lin Mo smiled, deciding not to tease him any further, and added in a more reassuring tone:
"As for the money, don't worry. I've got it covered."
David exhaled, finally easing a little, and leaned back in his seat, gazing at the passing streets outside.
The flow of dim yellow streetlights and the neon brilliance of buildings reflected in his eyes. The sports car's speed blurred it all into shifting blocks of color. Even just watching it was an experience.
He'd never been out this late before.
But as the Caliburn raced from Westbrook into Santo Domingo, the vivid scenery faded, darkening into drabber tones, like a rainbow smothered by clouds.
For a long while they sat in silence, the only sound the soft, soothing music from the car's radio filling the space.
"Lin Mo... do you think it's time I got some implants?" David asked suddenly, still staring out the window.
"Anytime you want. I can arrange it. But you need to be prepared—cyberware isn't child's play."
Lin Mo's answer came casually, unsurprised by the question.
Truthfully, David was still young for combat-grade cyberware.
But the simulator's life-script had already made it clear—by the following year, at seventeen, David would achieve the peak of his life.
And such achievements... without implants? Lin Mo doubted it.
So far, David hadn't shown any extraordinary talent fighting with just his natural body.
That meant his true potential lay in using cyberware. Exactly which kinds, Lin Mo couldn't yet say.
"But hey, why don't you tell me what cyberware you'd like? Even if you can't get it installed right away, no harm in dreaming a little." Lin Mo grinned.
David didn't answer. Instead, he stared at Lin Mo's waist—no, his back.
Realizing what that look meant, Lin Mo chuckled and shook his head.
"Guess you don't know much about cyberware. Never read up on it, have you?"
"Uh... no, I haven't. But how did you know?" David blinked.
"It's obvious. You see someone you know with badass gear, and you think, I want that too. That's just you, David—you're still not much of a decision-maker." Lin Mo's tone was that of someone who knew him inside out.
David: "..."
Aren't we the same age? Why do you sound like my dad...?
"Anyway," Lin Mo went on with a smile, "tomorrow's Sunday. You got a ripperdoc you trust? I'll take you to see what's out there. If not, I'll introduce you to one I know."
"Yeah, yeah! I do know one. Used to buy black-market braindance from him all the time," David said quickly, eyes lighting up.
"Where?" Lin Mo asked.
"Santo Domingo. Preacher's Waterfront!"
"Alright. Tomorrow morning, I'll take you there."
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MY CYBERPUNK 2077 SIMULATOR
🧠💻 MY CYBERPUNK 2077 SIMULATOR 💻🧠
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📢 SYSTEM ONLINE! 📢
My Cyberpunk 2077 Simulator has 100+ chapters ahead available on Patreon! 💾🔥
Enter Night City with a simulator, a system, and the kind of advantage most mercs would kill for.
But this is still Night City.
And in a world ruled by corpos, bullets, chrome, gangs, and cyberpsychos, even a cheat-like power doesn't guarantee survival.
⚙️ Level up.🔫 Fight harder.🌃 Stay alive.💀 Or get swallowed by the city.
Read ahead now before the public readers catch up!
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🛑 ALSO AVAILABLE ON PATREON:
🌃 Cyberpunk: Dogtown Legend🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless👩👦 Cyberpunk: Lucy Adopted Me and I Got a System🤖 My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew?🛡️ Star Wars: The Rise of Mandalore🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past🏰 Game of Thrones: Secrets Beneath the Dreadfort⚡ The Rebirth of Harry Potter🌹 R18: Reincarnated in Her World
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