The next day.
The morning air was cool.
David got up early.
He quickly changed into his academy uniform and, as usual, got ready to head to Arasaka Academy for class.
In the living room, the holographic TV was playing the morning bulletin from Channel 54 News.
"Last night, a serious traffic accident occurred on an overpass in The Glen, Westbrook. According to reports from the scene, the perpetrator was identified as Carter Smith, an employee of Arasaka Corporation's Counterintel division."
"He was suspected of suffering a cyberpsychotic episode and used a Thermal Katana to slaughter four pedestrians on the street before being neutralized on site by an Arasaka Special Ops team. At present, Carter Smith himself can no longer be reached."
"Two consecutive cyberpsycho attacks linked to Arasaka Corporation have..."
The broadcast then showed Carter Smith's ID photo.
David was startled by the news and immediately called out to his mother.
"Mom! Arasaka had a cyberpsycho! Someone from Counterintel!"
Hearing David shout from the living room, Gloria came out of the bedroom covering a yawn. She was wearing a simple set of wrinkled sleepwear that still did little to hide her curvy figure.
Maybe it was because she had drunk a little the night before last, but she had not slept this deeply or this comfortably in a very long time.
As for David's compensation fee, she had already managed to gather enough money.
That night at Embers, she had not paid for the meal. She had only spent some money on clothes, and the most expensive item by far had been the one she gave Kai.
As for the red long-tail dress she had worn, it had been rented. Even though it had cost less than four hundred eddies for the night, it had still hurt to spend that much.
Then she had gone to the public medical center and collected a small severance payment, and she had also settled the unpaid cleanup jobs from before.
Piece by piece, she had scraped together the compensation money, and yesterday she had already transferred it to the academy's finance office, so David could go back to class without worry.
After hearing David call out to her, Gloria walked into the living room, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she looked at Channel 54 News.
"Yesterday, a violent explosion occurred on the twenty-third floor of a high-rise apartment building in Westbrook. A woman in her sixties who lived alone died in the explosion. At present, the NCPD has classified the blast as an accident."
David reminded her to look at the previous story.
Gloria waved a hand to control the holographic TV and rewound the broadcast, watching the report on the cyberpsycho attack on the overpass. The focus of the report was Arasaka employee Carter.
After watching it, she was visibly surprised. An employee from Arasaka's Counterintel division had suddenly turned into a cyberpsycho, and not long ago there had already been another cyberpsycho attack in Corpo Plaza.
Gloria watched for a while, frowned, then shut off the TV and urged David beside her, "Stop worrying about that. It has nothing to do with you. Hurry up and get to school. You already missed a day. It won't look good if you're late again!"
David could only put on his clothes properly, grab a quick breakfast, and head out.
After seeing David off, Gloria returned to the living room and turned the news back on. She watched the report several more times, then switched over to WNS.
Sure enough, they were reporting the same story. The difference was that WNS defined Carter Smith's cyberpsycho breakdown as the result of privately installing advanced combat implants that damaged his biological nervous system and caused him to lose control.
As for why he had killed four people, the report claimed those four had been gang members who provoked Carter first.
Gloria had too little information to work with, but because of her background in emergency transport, she was especially sensitive to sudden deaths like this.
And Carter Smith's identity as someone from Counterintel had caught her attention. It might have something to do with Kai.
She pulled up Kai's contact screen.
Looking at the box marked familiar, she hesitated for a long time without making the call.
After thinking it over again and again, she gave up.
Ever since they had dinner at Embers the other day, Kai had not contacted her even once.
"At this hour, Mr. Kai is probably busy with his morning shift..."
Gloria could not be sure whether the invitation Kai had mentioned that day still counted, but she did not feel comfortable asking about it directly either.
The only thing she could do now was wait.
Gloria collapsed back onto the sofa, her eyes a little vacant.
She used to juggle multiple jobs every day, but ever since that car accident, she had not gone back to work.
"Sigh... it's been a long time since I've had this much free time."
"It just doesn't feel right... forget it."
"Better not rush to find another job yet. What if something suddenly comes up? It'd be awkward if I promised and then had no time."
After thinking it over, Gloria decided to go back and get some more sleep. Yawning, she headed back into her bedroom and buried herself under the covers again.
At the same time, David took the train as usual and prepared to get off at Corpo Plaza Station.
As he slowly moved with the packed crowd toward the exit gates, his gaze suddenly locked onto something off to the right.
He saw Kai, dressed in a crisp suit, heading toward the exact same exit gate.
David instantly tensed up, looking flustered. This was the first time he had run into Kai without Gloria beside him.
For some reason, every time David saw the man who had saved his life, he became inexplicably nervous.
Maybe it was because he did not want to owe Kai anything.
Or maybe it was because he always looked pathetic in front of him.
Or maybe it was because Kai knew too many of his secrets.
"Damn it, why would a high-ranking Arasaka executive take public transit?!"
David did not have time to think too much. He quickly looked left and right, hoping to switch to another exit and avoid him.
But before he could escape, he heard someone call his name beside him.
"David, off to school pretty early."
David's whole body instantly stiffened. He let out a helpless sigh, turned around, and forced a smile.
"Mr. Kai, good morning..."
Seeing David look so listless, Kai thought he had been bullied by Katsuo again.
"What, are things with your classmates at the academy not going well?"
David was terrified that Kai might bring up what had happened in the Embers bathroom that day. He definitely did not want that humiliating memory dragged out into the open.
"No, no, no, everything's fine. My mom already paid the academy compensation fee."
Kai nodded.
The two of them walked out of the station one after the other, heading toward the same destination: Arasaka Tower.
Noticing that David did not seem to be in high spirits, Kai did not ask further questions. Teenagers were always sensitive.
Instead, after walking with his head down for a while, David asked in a muffled voice, "Mr. Kai, I saw in the news today that someone from Counterintel got into trouble."
Kai had already known about Carter.
"Yeah. He worked under me for a while. But in a corporation, one wrong step can send you straight into the abyss. So what, has this changed the way you see the company?"
David lifted his head and looked at Kai walking beside him, still moving with the same steady pace and quiet confidence. Gathering his courage, he asked with concern, "Were you involved in this at all?"
Kai stopped and looked at David. He still was not very tall.
Kai lowered his head slightly toward him and said with a smile, "What if I told you I'm the one who had Carter Smith killed?"
The moment David heard that, he froze on the spot in shock. Staring at Kai's calm, friendly smile, he looked utterly unable to believe what he had just heard.
"What..."
Seeing David's exaggerated reaction, Kai burst out laughing.
"I'm messing with you. He got himself killed. It doesn't have much to do with me."
Kai shifted his gaze into the distance, toward the towering silhouette of Arasaka Tower standing like a giant black monolith.
"David, this is Arasaka. This is the place you want to enter in the future. Have you really thought that through?"
Kai patted David on the shoulder, then walked off toward Arasaka Tower on his own.
Leaving David standing there in shock, a complete mess in the morning wind.
(End of Chapter)
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