How To Live as a Cyberpunk Solver

65. movie

Leonard raised a watch window in the corner of his field of vision and zoomed in.

It is written to two decimal places in the New Humanity Federal Standard Time, but nothing has changed.

“…you’re not coming.”

Is it wrong to believe in Wasteland Bandit? The promised time passed 2 hours 11 minutes 33 seconds. This was enough consideration, so even if there was a problem, Leonard Walker’s reputation would not be damaged.

“What should I do in this case?”

“What do you do?”

It was the first time in Max’s short career that a client had been submerged – or missing or dead. But Leonard was unconcerned.

“The broker is to blame.”

I didn’t have to worry about this because I was being brokered and the commission was deducted in preparation for such a case. Sure enough, a call came from Jake, a well-timed broker.

-damn! It wasn’t something like a bandit request!

In order to recover the commission money, if you deliberately cheated, you had to find the client to set an example. That’s how you can’t be seen easily on the floor, but with only 1,500 credits, it’s not profitable to look for a bandit that might have stumbled into the wasteland. After swearing for a long time, the broker suddenly spoke cautiously.

-Hey, Leonard, if you don’t have anything to do right now…

“I will not.”

-You were the one who actually saw that bandit. I’ll leave it for 3,000 credits, no, 4,000 credits…

“You say it’s best not to go out of town?”

Even if he succeeds in retaliation, he seems to want to deal with it quietly because the ‘broker who was stabbed in the back of the bandit’ remains. But Leonard didn’t have to respond.

“Send me 1,500 credits.”

-It’s 975 credits after fees. damn…

When Leonard had a credit in his account, he called the bartender and ordered a coffee. He gave me a cup of flavored coffee, where I got it. It was not a coffee cup, but a whiskey cup, but I put up with that much. Max quickly added his order.

“I am hungry. Something to eat.”

Leonard asked, ‘Are there beggars on board?’ I held back from saying a word. I barely understood that living humans of that age eat a lot. The bartender prepared protein mixture pasta while muttering, ‘This is a bar’.

“I am a bit surprised.”

“what?”

“This client.”

Leonard took a sip of coffee and pulled out a lollipop.

“It could have been a waste because I was trying to pay off my entire fortune.”

“Eh, even though his head was a little strange, he seemed sincere…”

In fact, Leonard thought so too. It’s common for credit to be more important than life, but that wasn’t the bandit. Most likely killed or captured. It was also the reason for refusing the broker’s request.

“Let’s eat that and wake up.”

“Should I eat noodles?”

“…Were you thinking of eating noodles too?”

Max explained the long-standing tradition of the Walker family, but forgave him with pasta without soup, considering that the request would not end neatly. Leonard, who was forgiven in the blink of an eye, said thank you and soon regretted it.

“One more bowl.”

“……”

It was when Max ate so much that he didn’t know whether it was a bar or a restaurant. Leonard’s cell phone went off an old-fashioned alarm. Leonard identified the caller and linked it with a brain chip.

“I didn’t expect you to contact me so quickly…”

– Leonard Walker! what’s going on right now!

My eardrum hurt a little. Leonard double-checked the caller just in case. I didn’t put a profile on it because we weren’t close, but Jessica Rabbit was right.

“What is going on? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

-Don’t pretend! It’s been weird ever since I started talking about bandits…!

The line that seems to be shot with a machine gun is bang-! drowned in the sound and disappeared. It wasn’t usually a shock if the brainchip call was interrupted. Leonard wondered if he was dead and said ‘Hello? Hello?’ Fortunately, he wasn’t dead.

-Bandits you can’t eat even if you chew!

Leonard immediately made an excuse because he was stabbed.

“No, I received the request, but I haven’t handed over the information yet, but it feels a bit unfair to get angry already…”

-Shut up! Explain why the bandit sucks!

“What are you talking about?”

Max tapped Leonard on the arm. Leonard was annoyed and brushed it away, but when it was repeated three times, he reluctantly looked at it. ‘why?’ But Max was watching the TV on the wall, not Leonard. Two answers came at the same time.

“…That’s the damn thing.”

@

A-044 The road from Checkpoint 6, East Wing Town, to 27th Street, Junk Town, was black. It was neither an adjective nor an idiomatic expression. It was really pitch black.

Nearly three digits of cars were on fire and emitting toxic fumes, but tank trucks were the overwhelming majority.

“Oh my gosh…”

A news drone shot close to the ground through the black smoke covering the road.

The bandit, with shaved hair, beard and eyebrows and clad in crude tattoos, gestured naughtily at the drone. It was a clean greeting like a bandit. Compared to a bandit that screams while shooting a flamethrower, a bandit that dismantles a company vehicle with two machetes, and a bandit that enjoys smearing human blood on its body.

The news drone flew right past the crazed bandits. The numbers were staggering. It was definitely over four digits, and it seemed like it would go over five digits if I did well. Even more spectacle was the entrance to the city.

The first thing I saw was a rocket missile flying with a white tail. There was a faint sound of air escaping, and then a police vehicle took off into the air. Kwakwang-!

The rocket impact was so great that I couldn’t catch it right away, but small sparks flashed here and there. I didn’t have to explain what it was. At the entrance of the overpass into the city, a gunfight was going on between the police and the bandits. It was a mind-boggling sight.

All the bar patrons forgot their drinks and focused on the screen. As an older suburban resident, the impression was different.

“Is this a war?”

It seemed to be referring to the war seven years ago, or the great war of forty-seven years ago, but it was not wrong. This was a city versus wasteland war.

“Where did Bandit get that weapon from?”

Leonard knew the answer. I focused again on the phone call I had forgotten for a moment.

“Where are you now?”

– Can’t you hear this? We’re out to stop the bandits!

“Why a corporate mercenary?”

It was a tough question to ask. Since it was not on a scale that the public security could handle, they would have requested cooperation from companies. But why Wing Town? Organizing your thoughts and parting your lips were at the same time.

“There’s a Wildkid gang behind them.”

-what? Wild?

The Wildkid gang in this area was almost wiped out by Ryan Bourne and the Twins gang. They continued to bring in goods from the wasteland, but it was difficult to expand their power because there was no place to set foot. The proof was that he had attracted trash like bandits.

“Go to work now.”

-What are you talking about! Get your explanation right!

“Your base is dangerous!”

To-to-to-to-

The call was disconnected. This time, it must be really dead or the phone is broken. Leonard wished for the latter and opened the call list again. Today was a day where I often talked to people I wasn’t close with.

“Ryan Bourne, where are you now?”

@

Citizens with implant eyes in A-044 City focused on the entrance to Wing Town, east of the city.

It was unprecedented for a group of nearly 10,000 bandits to break through a checkpoint and engage in gunfights with corporate forces. This was the first time since the pioneering of the ground, and perhaps the first in the 21st century.

“Once I came, I came…”

Of course, there were exceptions. A-044 City’s best fixer, Logan Mays, and Elia Garden, hired by Big Ground, have gathered in Head Town.

“Anyway, your request has nothing to do with Bandit.”

Ryan Bourne expressed his discomfort with his heavy body. It was an expression that knew the truth that nothing is free in this world. Leonard put his hands in his coat pockets and spoke calmly.

“So 30,000 credits if I’m right.”

The broker and the twins reprinted the information they didn’t buy. This time, it was a worthy opponent. Ryan Bourne winked at the fixer he was working with. The gang of big-headed fixers nodded without hesitation. It was cheap compared to the compensation from Big Ground and compared to Leonard Walker’s help.

Leonard looked away with a satisfied smile. This was 2 km north of A-044 City, and it was a wasteland road that continued for a while after passing the first checkpoint. The reason I picked this place was simple. This is because it is the fastest way to enter White Town.

“Even if the corporate mercenary is missing, it is still a corporation. There are dozens of automatic turrets installed inside and outside the building, and there’s no way you’d go in without heavy equipment.”

If there was a base in the city, they would hide their troops and equipment, but they had been beaten up by gangs and fixers for the past two months, and there was no place. Even if you look at their main job, they will definitely attack from the outside. That guess was remarkably right. At the end of the horizon, where the federal highway looked like a needle, a thick cloud of dust rose.

“Do you know the movie The magnificent seven?”

“I don’t watch movies.”

“There is a separate original, but I think this one would fit the current mood. It’s a movie with a very deep history.”

Curious Elia Garden searched with a brain chip. It’s not the Wild West, it’s not the Seven, but it’s plausible that an ex-soldier and a kid from a junk town defend the city.

“You are close!”

Max shouted from the top of the pickup truck. Implant cyborgs with good eyesight had been watching for a long time.

“Is it an armored car?”

“You must be a priest.”

Bulletproof plates were attached to the 24-seater bus and guns were installed. It’s shoddy, so it looks like a ragged piece of equipment, but it was a piece of equipment that would prove very powerful in street fighting. Logan Mace and Elia Garden, who had gathered under the assumption of a man-to-person battle, looked down at their guns.

“Really, what would you have done without me?”

Leonard gestured to Max. Max pulled up a tarp in the luggage compartment and showed off his new gear. A 12.7mm heavy machine gun that an ordinary solver would never use in his life was revealed.

“mmm, cool…!”

There was one more gun mania. Conceited, Max fastened the belt and cocked the muzzle. It’s an armored vehicle that will lightly bounce off rifle bullets, but it won’t be able to stop Gold Brownie’s heavy weapons, which are more like cannons than guns.

“Let’s check. shoot.”

It was a real battle where there was no need to save bullets. Max squeezed the trigger. Bullets the size of a palm were sucked into the chamber and spewed out with a body-shaking recoil. tututututatatang-!

It was clear that Max’s marksmanship was natural. He skillfully controlled a heavy machine gun the size of himself and hit a target at 4,500m. Considering the power of the 12.7mm bullet, it was fatal no matter where it hit. The priest armored vehicle lost its balance and skidded, then overturned. All the fixers except Leonard were impressed. I couldn’t ignore him as a young kid.

“Now we begin.”

The modified van accelerated to avoid the armored vehicle. The gang of fixers each pulled out their weapons.

“But how will the movie end?”

Leonard didn’t answer. Reality doesn’t have to be like a movie.