Uff…
Ah…
I slowly clenched my fist, then unclenched it, surveying the room I was in…
What can I say? According to my new memories, it's a typical apartment in a very typical megabuilding, number N4, in the Arroyo district. I woke up in the apartment that my mother, who had recently died, rented. She died during a gang shootout on the highway.
But that's not all...
Uff…
Ah…
The guy whose memories, along with his body and skills, I had taken over was such a fucking psycho that when he found a Sandevistan in the apartment, clearly taken off someone, he went to a familiar ripper and had it installed.
Fucking unbelievable…
He seemed like a smart kid…
He was.
He was studying to be an operative, and he knew his way around tech and weapons pretty well. And this smart kid went and installed a sketchy implant that appeared out of nowhere. And he even went to a ripper who wasn't all that great.
No, in Arroyo, he was one of the best, and he had a business with the kid selling black-market brains, but still… to do something like that…
I shook my head, got up, and went to the bathroom, where I looked in the mirror.
Eighteen years old, almost finished with his training at Arasaka's corporate academy. With his grades, he should have been offered a job and some pretty decent implants. And he makes a stupid move like this…
Although…
Maybe I'm judging him too harshly. He was still young. Despite his mother working so much, he was showered with her love, and losing her… combined with the bullying from his classmates, which only intensified after Gloria's death…
Uff…
Ah…
And here's the catch—I know about the past and the guy himself not just from his memories, but also from a cartoon I watched. A cartoon where the main character was David Martinez. In that cartoon, he was a solo, working in a crew first under some big guy, and then as the head of the crew himself.
He got obsessed with implants and developed cyberpsychosis, but he went out pretty nicely, fighting against Night City's legend, Adam Smasher. He dated some cute girl and led on another who was in love with him.
The world itself was also familiar to me from the game… Cyberpunk. Although in the game there was almost nothing about the guy I was now inhabiting, but…
Combining all this with the knowledge from my, what is now probably my past life, I can say that this world is no fairy tale. To survive here, I'll have to work my ass off, and if I want to not just survive but live well, I'll have to work three times as hard.
I winced slightly…
David always dreamed of becoming a solo and a legend of Night City, to live a short but bright life, but I don't like that path. I've already died once; I'd like to postpone the second time for as long as possible.
"So, what the hell am I supposed to do…"
I washed my face one more time and, looking in the mirror, smirked.
"…I should probably start by searching the apartment. If there was one implant here, maybe there's something else?"
Coming out of the bathroom, I looked at Gloria's urn.
"Sorry, Gloria, I didn't mean to take your son's body, but it seems that in this reality he couldn't withstand the blows of fate. Or maybe the Doc screwed something up when he installed the chrome… But in thanks for such a good body, with a minimum of implants and a decent physique, I'll scatter your ashes in some picturesque place…"
I looked around the apartment, which was essentially a studio. It had a large living room with a small nook for the bed and a small nook for the shower and washing machine. There was nothing else in the apartment—no computer, no secret room with weapons, like in V's apartment.
Well, it makes sense. Gloria was a medtech, not a merc. Even with all her overtime, she wouldn't have had enough money for anything more than a standard apartment…
Uff…
So, where could you have hidden a weapon?
I don't believe that Gloria didn't even have a beat-up pistol.
First, I checked the closet with clothes. And there I found Gloria's jacket. I examined it and sniffed it. The jacket smelled of a girl, but the scent was quite pleasant, and I put the jacket on, went back to the mirror, and looked at myself from all sides.
Overall…
It looks preem. So I'll be wearing this for now.
With that settled, I went back to the closet and started pulling out all the clothes. There wasn't a lot, but I put all of Gloria's clothes in a separate pile; I could sell them at a second-hand store. I'll make a few eddies.
After piling all of Gloria's clothes separately, I noticed a small box at the bottom of the closet. Inside I found a pistol.
"Mmm… a Unity, a couple of mags, and a box of fifty rounds. Not a bad start…"
Nodding at my own words, I took the pistol and quickly loaded the mags, then put the pistol in the pocket of Gloria's jacket. The jacket had very deep pockets, so the pistol fit easily.
"Mmm… What's next?"
I checked the closet again and found nothing else. There was also nothing behind the couches, under the bed, or behind the washing machine.
"So, that's it, huh?"
I returned to the mirror and looked at myself.
"Well, the face is a little dumb, but I have the knowledge, I have the Sandevistan—if my memory of the canon is right, it's a military-grade one—and I have a pistol and two mags, each with twenty-five rounds. A good start…"
Nodding to myself, I quickly went to the exit of the apartment and first headed to the nearest public phones.
Yeah, in this world, they had those…
A couple of minutes of searching the phone book, and I found the number I needed.
"Regina on the line, and now you tell me who the fuck you are?"
"Hello, Regina Jones. My name is David Martinez. Until recently, I was studying to be an operative at the Arasaka academy. However, not long ago, my mother died, and I made a small mistake… In short, I need work to pay off my debts and not lose my apartment."
"And you decided to call me?"
I shrugged, even though she couldn't see me.
"You're a fixer, a very good one. They say you have a certain amount of compassion. That means there's a high chance you won't brush me off. Especially since I wasn't the worst student in my class."
"Heh, honest and respectful… I have a couple of jobs I could give you to test you out…"
The woman went silent, and I didn't rush to interrupt her thoughts.
"Alright, there's a place where Scavs are based. Not long ago, they took apart a corpo girl, and while her parents weren't very rich, they had enough money to hire a solo, even a pro."
"Where do I go?"
"Send me your personal number; all the details will go there."
Shrugging, I sent Regina my details. About ten seconds later, I received the job details.
"Client requests?"
"None. Just kill all the Scavs who are there."
"Fixer requests?"
"Work as quietly as possible so you don't attract unnecessary attention, and no bystanders get hurt by your actions."
"Understood. I'll call you after I complete the job."
"Yeah, go on…"
The connection was cut.
And why did I call from a public phone if I just sent Regina my contacts? Although, on the other hand, how would I have gotten her contacts if there was no phone book or computer at home?
Shaking my head, I opened the data they sent me in a message, and my eyes scanned it.
Mmm…
Turning around, I used David's memories to figure out where exactly I needed to go, and I quickly got to the monorail. I rode the train to another district. From the metro stop, I walked to the building where the Scavs were holed up. A couple of minutes to find an inconspicuous alley, and I wrapped a cloth around my face. Then I came out and calmly walked to the fire escape and climbed up.
A couple of minutes and I was on the right floor, but I didn't rush inside the building. No, I carefully pressed myself against the wall and watched what was happening inside. And pretty quickly, I found the apartments where my targets were.
And there's the entrance…
Smirking, I crept under the windows to a small balcony, which I easily jumped onto. I got to the window and looked into the room.
Three of them… I stepped away from the window and quickly climbed onto the ceiling of the balcony, which was the floor of the next balcony up. It wasn't easy to hold on, but it wasn't too difficult either. Only after I was sure I had a firm grip did I take a magazine out of my pocket, clamp it between my teeth, and pull out a single cartridge.
Uff…
And with a quick flick, I sent the cartridge flying so that it would definitely attract the attention of one of the Scavs.
"What the fuck?"
"Ah, come on… something probably fell from upstairs…"
"Nah, I definitely gotta check…"
"Well, if you gotta, you go."
"Fuck you…"
And one of the Scavs did go out onto the balcony and started looking around carefully.
"Fucking empty…"
He took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, and at that moment, the door behind him closed.
A quiet jump, and I was already behind the Scav, who didn't even realize someone had landed on the floor behind him.
One motion of my hands, and I snapped his neck. Then I carefully laid him on the floor and searched the body. A single, shitty-quality knife and a Unity, and only one magazine for it.
I put the magazine in my pocket and set the pistol aside in the corner; I'll pick it up when I leave. I can sell it and get some extra cash.
I approached the window one more time and, peeking in carefully, confirmed that both idiots had their backs to me.
Closing my eyes, I counted to three, pressed the door-open button, and activated my Sandevistan. In real time, not even two seconds had passed, and I was already standing next to the first Scav. A knife plunged exactly into his temple, and without wasting time pulling it out, I was already at the second one and simply and crudely snapped his neck.
Phew…
A quiet exhale, and I dragged the bodies onto the balcony where no one could accidentally see them. They only had a crappy Kalashnikov and another Unity on them. I put the extra weapons in the corner. After thinking for a bit, I also plunged my knife into the temples of the two enemies whose necks I'd just snapped.
With a smirk, I went back into the room and quickly looked around, but I didn't find anything interesting. But the room wasn't the last one, so I went to one of the doors and opened it slightly.
A bathroom…
Slipping inside, I noticed several bodies stacked in a tub with ice.
I wonder… are there any survivors here?
I quickly checked for a pulse and realized there were no survivors. The bullet holes in the heart area pretty much gave it away.
"Well… let's keep going…"
I'm not sure I could have taken lives so easily in my past life, and David… we didn't have that same mentality… we did. But death and being in that darkness affected me somewhat. I no longer perceive death as something bad.
So my conscience didn't bother me, especially knowing what these ghouls did; it was hard to even consider them people.
Leaving the bathroom, I quietly approached the second door and, carefully opening it, quickly peeked inside.
Five of them…
Risk it or not?
After a quick look around, I hid behind a column that was quite large. I took a bottle that was on top of it and carefully threw it against the wall, so it would hit and break.
Barely a minute later, one of the Scavs came in.
"Hey, Ex! What the hell is going on here?! Where is everyone?!"
"What?"
"It's empty in here!"
"Well, maybe they're fucking the bodies in the bathroom?"
"I'll go check…"
He went toward the bathroom, and I waited for the door to close with a quiet hiss. I stood up and threw my knife, which went right into the back of the bastard's head. Then, in three steps, I was at his side and kept him from falling loudly to the floor.
To the balcony with him…
I quickly searched him and took his pistol, which he hadn't even drawn. I put another magazine in my jacket. I laid his body off to the side.
"Damn it, what the fuck?!"
Another Scav entered the room. I opened the door from the balcony and threw the knife at him, but I wasn't able to get to him before he fell. So, catching the body, I quickly dragged it aside and, pulling the knife out, got ready. But no one appeared, and the guy had a thigh holster with a Unity and a knife.
A minute later, I took off his belt and put it on.
I peeked out of the room and realized that the three remaining guys didn't care what was happening out here, and that made me smirk maliciously…
It's their own fault for being such losers…