How To Live as a Cyberpunk Solver

6. Noodle

Freelancers are usually like that, but I was always stressed out because I was paid as much as I worked, but I didn’t have much work. Leonard Walker, the self-proclaimed best solver of Sodom, was no different. If you do a job well, you can earn three months’ wages at once, but if you don’t have a job, you starve for three months.

Tiri-Ri-Ring-Tri-Ri-Ring-

Leonard, a fixer with no work, spent half a day in front of a slot machine. The best fuel to burn time was credit.

“I heard that the refund rate for this is 92%? If I put in 200 credits, shouldn’t I get at least 184 credits? these children! Are you a cheater?”

Bondi gambling houses only have cheaters and hukou, but if you are not a cheater, you just have to be sure that you are hukou. The manager of the 12-3 Street gambling hall approached with a smile at Hogu’s curse.

“Oh, you are a math genius. Your IQ will be 180. Hey, Mr. Fixer, have you heard of probability?”

Leonard nervously pulled the slot lever. There is a light and convenient slot button and automatic button, but I dared to roll the reel with a lever. The cutting edge hacker was outdated in an odd way.

Tiri-ri-ring- ttt- ttt-

It was seven, seven, cherry, boom. Leonard’s right hand trembled. The casino manager glanced left and right. His actions were rough compared to his smiling face.

“If you run out of bullets, get up cheaply. We are waiting for another guest.”

If you go to the 11-1st 2nd floor gambling hall you usually go to, they would give you a few credits to buy the energy bar, but there was no such service as it was your first time there. There is a coming.

“Take 200 and get 200 more.”

“That, don’t just say it.”

Receiving the manager’s signal, the ‘shoulders’ surrounded the surroundings. It was a warning to get up and not to do anything stupid. I felt bad, but I could understand. Most of the fixers were from the military, had a dirty temper, and had a good knowledge of gun shooting. It was natural for gangsters to be wary.

“I am still a guest.”

Leonard pulled a chip out of his pocket. It was not a token chip put into a slot machine, but a cleanly formatted memory chip from a public security company. The casino manager frowned.

“We don’t treat stolen goods.”

“It’s not stolen goods, it’s trophies. Very clean. You can trust me.”

Implant memory chips, which can be called human auxiliary brains, were necessities of life, so they had good liquidity. It was also used like cash instead of credit that left traces in corporate data. If the price was right, there was no reason to refuse. But then a nuisance came in.

“Is this a corporate security item?”

A small boy poked his head out from between his shoulders. There is no ‘alcohol, tobacco, and gambling from the age of 19’ campaign, and even if there is, it is notorious Sodom that will not be observed, but children are heterogeneous. It was not because of the low fertility rate on earth.

“What? public security?”

The casino manager freaked out and backed off. Even if you are not afraid of troubleshooters whose credits have dropped, you are afraid of corporate public security.

The boy squeezed through the bulky cyborgs and came inside. Leonard couldn’t be mad at that appearance. He was a strange kid. I’m not kidding, it was really amazing.

“Are you a real human?”

“Are there non-humans here?”

Looking at his face, he looked like 15 or 6 years old, but he was small and looked like 13 years old. I emphasize that it is an important word, but ‘body’ was small. It wasn’t an implant. I even scanned it with Hexagon, wondering if it was disguised as a living skin, but it was a 100% natural human.

‘It must be difficult to survive without implants until that age…?’

I’m not talking about getting shot and being stabbed with a knife. I got so used to it that I forgot it, but the ground was a seriously polluted area. Machine bodies often break down, and healthy organs are gradually implanted, but it was impossible for a child to survive as it was when it was born, in case of high molecular restraints of companies, in the back alley. The kid, noticing Leonard’s suspicions, said.

“Because I don’t have the cost of implant surgery.”

It could be. It’s just a miracle that he didn’t die. Leonard turned his attention to the memory chip in his hand.

“How did you know this was a corporate public security item? You fixed the exterior and erased the records?”

“I erased the number, but the location where the number was engraved remains the same. Rycoff chips have a number in the middle, and the only fool who uses Rycoff memory chips is corporate public security.”

“They’re not stupid.”

Leonard readily agreed. Seven years ago, the only people who used the products of companies that were at the bottom during the war were people related to companies. If it was an unnumbered memory chip that the solver brought while talking about booty, the previous owner was obvious. However, it was amazing to see it from a distance and notice it.

“Still, I’m sorry for interfering with the deal?”

“I’m more offended by the fixer man who tried to throw corporate stuff!”

The gambling house manager joined the conversation with a red face. Vascular system implants seemed cheap. Leonard smiled awkwardly and put the memory chip in his pocket.

“Now, wait a minute, I have another chip…”

It was also a corporate public security spoil. The gambling manager couldn’t stand it and got angry.

“Get rid of them right now!”

@

Leonard looked at the cloudy sky once and then at the filth-filled floor. Maybe it was because of the bland environment, but the way he spoke was not mature.

“I was kicked out because of you.”

The boy who was kicked out with Leonard pursed his lips.

“I saved 200 credits because of me. That slot machine won’t explode even if I mess around with 40,000 credits.”

“The rate of refund is 92%?”

“What percentage was the dividend rate?”

Leonard turned on the calculator on his brain chip and gave it a quick tap. If you spend 100,000 credits and it explodes with a 0.07% chance, the recovery rate is 90%. In other words, there was no chance of winning with Leonard’s credits. It was a common scam in gambling houses.

“That… but I played well, so it’s okay.”

“I’m sure you’re so crazy.”

He was a kid who had nothing to say. Leonard kicked the broken glass bottle away and turned the topic in his favor.

“Then why are you following me?”

“I was kicked out because of you, but I need to buy you lunch.”

“I don’t mind. Is this a red flag?”

“Enemy… What? Don’t use difficult words. I don’t go to school.”

Without a brain chip, you won’t even be able to search in real time. Anyway, he was a strange kid in this day and age. ‘How are you really alive?’ Leonard gave the rare animal gentle advice.

“If you follow someone you don’t know like this, you will get into trouble.”

“Ah, my body doesn’t have any implants, so I don’t have much.”

“I don’t know what. That’s why it sells for a higher price.”

A scavenger who rips off the body of a machine and sells it won’t even look at it, but the company official in that tall building had a connection with the underground city. There, live bodies were traded at many times more expensive. It was difficult to explain the reason to the ground kid.

“Leonard Walker. Just call me Leo.”

“Yes. Mr. Leonard.”

Why do people on earth hate the name Leo? I was genuinely curious.

@

I usually eat my meals with energy bars, but since I can’t feed my child hard calorie chunks, I visit a noodle restaurant that I go to once in a while. Even noodles were cheap instant noodles made with artificial seasonings and artificial meat in a protein mixture that tasted like flour.

“A son?”

“Does he look old enough to have a son this big?”

“Well…? Doesn’t it look that big?”

One of the characteristics of earthly people who claim to be new people is that they cannot tell their age. It’s because I’ve never seen children before. Of course, even though the birth rate is a fraction, there are newborn babies. The problem was that it was indistinguishable from an adult if the face was removed from implantation early on. Leonard kicked out the noodle restaurant owner who was about to die of boredom and told the kid.

“Eat that and go home. Don’t snoop around the gambling hall for nothing.”

“why?”

“Because there is no top among the people who are killing it.”

“Your uncle is killing you too, isn’t it?”

“…But why does this little thing keep talking back?”

“Wow! Such a statement in this day and age!”

Without losing a single word, he tucked his noodles in. Leonard smiled and placed the meat in a small bowl. A child itself is rare, but this guy felt exceptionally rare. Maybe that’s why I didn’t hate it.

“Twenty-eight credits.”

“What? What is the price of noodles?”

“Including external charges. If you don’t pay this time, I’ll report it.”

I don’t know if he’s reporting to the corporate police or to the local gang, but either way he’s tired. Leonard quietly pulled out a memory chip.

“I bought it not too long ago, but it was formatted cleanly so it’s no different from leaking. It should be 200 credits, but especially with 197 credits…”

“That public security thing… Whoops! Oops!”

Correction. The more I looked at it, the more I hated it.

@

Without requests, there was nothing to do, and without credits, there was nothing to play. I wandered around the alley market and chatted with a kid.

“Are you Max?”

“It’s an ordinary name. If I sing out loud here, maybe one platoon will gather?”

“I like plain names.”

“why?”

“The public security came to arrest you and confuse you.”

“…you don’t have to do anything to get arrested.”

Max, who was neither an adult nor a machine, had nothing to do either. Adults and children each took a bite of candy and watched people.

“Is your work as a fixer fun?”

“Where is the person who works for fun?”

“Then is this good?”

Max curled his thumb and middle finger. Half a century has passed since commercial currency was replaced by virtual currency, but that gesture has not changed easily. Is it because the credit logo is a coin-shaped C mark?

“If that’s good, you haven’t been kicked out of the gambling house.”

“but. I guess.”

It’s a boring conversation, but the time went well. It was a time when bright streetlights were lit on the main roads and obscene signboards flickered on the alleys. It was time for the good old man to brush his teeth and get under the blanket. Leonard stopped and spoke to his new friend.

“Mac, if you’re going to play at the gambling house, come to 11-1st Street.”

“I heard you shouldn’t snoop around the casino?”

“I’m saying this because I don’t think you’ll hear me even if I tell you.”

As if it was the correct answer, Max laughed bashishly.

“Hey. What is different there?”

“It’s different because it’s where I go. If you’re Leonard Walker’s friend, you won’t take credit for no reason.”

There was such a craving. Max said he would think about it and waved his hand. He was smart enough not to bring strangers to his house.

“I won’t die from being stabbed somewhere.”

Tittitttk –

I was just walking away when the phone rang. I thought it was an android worried about the owner’s credit, but it was broker Jake. I reduced the surrounding noise and received it with a brain chip.

-How are you?

“so so.”

– I followed the work you said last time.

The broker, who dislikes long calls, went straight to the point. So this broker was good.

-Pay is pretty good. 7 thousand credits. Are you going to do it?

“First of all, the content.”

– You just need to find someone.

“protect? kidnap?”

-What difference does that make? I’ll send you the materials now, check it out.

Leonard moved the candy to the other cheek and downloaded the data. The broker couldn’t wait a moment to see what was bothering him and continued.

– I’m going to die on the road anyway. I send you to a good place, so you don’t have to be burdened. It’s good that they also do state-of-the-art implants.

Life is often compared to a play, but there was a dramatic encounter in the play.

-The client said they sent someone, so if you’re going to do it, you’d better hurry. keep in mind That’s seven thousand credits.

I couldn’t hear what the broker said. Sounds like you did too much noise blocking. Leonard bit off the candy and spat it out along with the stick.

“Max…!”