"Maybe you'd like some corn? It's great — boiled or roasted."
"Beef's good too. Thin slices cook in seconds in a hot pot."
"And chili peppers — those are the soul of cooking."
...
After Vash and Judy arrived at Sunshine Estate, he took her out to buy groceries.
In 2077's world, grocery shopping and cooking had long since been streamlined. Specialty supermarkets sold perfectly balanced meal packs, engineered down to the gram. If someone didn't feel like eating, a couple of protein and nutrient injections could keep them going for the day.
But the changes technology brought hadn't reached the lawless sprawl of Sunshine Estate. Even now, some of the poorest corners still clung to old-fashioned farmers' markets — people selling what they'd grown or raised themselves, mostly for the neighborhood's own needs.
Judy trailed after Vash from stall to stall. Everything felt strange — and fascinating. She'd never seen produce sold without any "smart" processing. The vegetables were right there in the open, soil still clinging to their roots, dew still shining on the leaves.
And the small vendors' faces were lit up with genuine smiles — so different from the sterile, expressionless service bots in the city districts.
For Judy, it was a completely new experience.
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Vash took his time at the market, and only after they'd bought everything did they head back upstairs.
"Make yourself at home. I'll put this stuff away." Vash said, carrying the bags into the apartment.
He said it like there was somewhere to relax, but aside from the weapons-room workbench, there wasn't much to sit on.
"V, do you mind if I look around?" Judy asked.
"I'll handle the ingredients — go ahead." Vash replied.
With other people around, Friday was set to standby by default.
Judy wandered through the spacious room, still half-convinced she'd stumble across some hidden smart-home setup. But there was nothing. No auto-adjusting lights, no integrated assistants — just raw, utilitarian space.
Is this really how mercs live?
Her gaze drifted to the computer setup Vash had asked her to look at. It sat against the wall, multiple screens showing live feeds from surveillance cameras pointed in every direction.
As a tech expert, Judy recognized it instantly. She'd installed cams around her own basement, mostly for when she was inside and wanted eyes on the street.
But this was different. Vash's net of cameras covered nearly the entire Sunshine Estate.
His intention was obvious without her needing to ask. This side of town was a lawless zone — and over in Watson, the Maelstrom were crawling with cyberpsychos, the kind who did horrific things the corps didn't bother policing.
The setup felt… protective. As for who he was protecting, Judy had already seen the answer downstairs.
She tore her eyes away from the monitors and checked the weapon arsenal next. The wall was packed with firearms of every type, but not a single one had a smart-link module installed.
On the workbench lay scattered parts and a thin layer of blueprints. The drawings were detailed — precise weapon schematics sketched in pencil.
Judy froze.
She wasn't a weapons specialist, but she knew enough. Top-tier megacorps like Arasaka and Kang Tao were always developing new hardware — and these days, all high-precision designs were handed over to AI for calculation, modeling, and rendering.
Pencils were relics. Yet here, on plain paper, were clean, exact lines and measurements — designs that looked like they'd come straight out of a corporate lab.
She leaned in, studying them carefully, impressed by the variety and sophistication. Braindance editing was one thing; weapon engineering was another. Both required patience, fine control, and a level of technical intuition most people never developed.
Without warning, Judy found herself growing genuinely curious about Vash.
Could a wanderer who'd only recently rolled into Night City really have skills this broad — and this sharp?
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In the kitchen, Vash had no idea what kind of conclusions Judy was drawing from his "decor". After rinsing the vegetables, he suddenly remembered it had been a few days since he'd done his Mark L suit check-in.
The daily counter had refreshed.
"System, daily check-in." Vash said.
『 Check-in successful! Host has obtained 〈Perfect Danger Intuition〉! 』
『 Check-in successful! Host has obtained 〈Perfect Plugin Manufacturing Blueprint〉! 』
『 Check-in successful! Host has obtained 〈Perfect Culinary Skill〉! 』
{T/N: "Danger Intuition" can be explained later, but it refers to the ability to sense danger and react to it.}
The three rewards were all solid, but the third one stood out — the culinary skill.
Before, Vash's cooking could be described as barely edible. Now, knowledge of countless cuisines, temperature control, seasoning balance, and ingredient handling flooded his mind as if it had always been there.
In other words, he'd just become a master chef.
"Perfect timing." Vash chuckled, "They're in for a treat today."
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"V! I'm here!" Jackie announced loudly as he stepped inside.
But the moment he looked up, he saw Judy perched at the workbench while Vash busied himself in the kitchen.
"Am I tripping, or is this real?" Jackie blurted, staring in disbelief.
Before he could piece together why Judy was here, the door behind him opened again.
Evelyn Parker walked in as well.
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
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That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)