How To Live as a Cyberpunk Solver

71. philanthropist

Morning came, as always.

As the shy sun illuminated the ground through the buildings, the fierce battle of the night before was revealed.

The corporate mercenary who blocked the primary entry was found with limbs torn off, and the scavenger exposed to the automatic turret was disassembled to make it impossible to recycle and had to be swept away with a broom.

However, compared to the scale of the battle, the factory damage was not large. One side of the wall has been demolished, a conveyor has been broken, a canister of fluid has been ruptured, and several automated machines have been scrapped. It wasn’t irony. It was a really minor damage considering that close to 50 people came in and made a mess. The factory owner and client, who rushed to hear the news, also thought so.

“As expected, Leonard Walker. I was counting on you.”

It’s not empty words, but it would be nice to express it in something material or something that can be turned into material.

“Twelve and one.”

“thirteen?”

“no. Twelve and one.”

The arithmetic is strange, but I quickly understood it. The war machine of the poor and the junk machine could not be treated as the same number.

The client was impressed by the iron plate and the jagged steel implant.

“I’m 40 years old and this is the first time I’ve had a body like this.”

As much as he operated a waste disposal plant, he had an eye for waste. It was impossible to move an implant body of this mass with the existing power unit. It was fun to poke around.

“I will add 5,000 bonus credits to the basic salary of 3,000 credits.”

It wasn’t an amount that would fit the castle these days, but considering the difficulty of the request, it was satisfactory.

“And if you don’t mind, I’d like to hire Mr. Walker for another week. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I think the equipment will be broken and the scrap disposal period will be extended.”

“That is troublesome. It is beyond words because I have the next schedule.”

Max said, ‘Schedule? Was there such a thing?’ I looked at him, but I ignored him. I didn’t want to give an excuse for long-term employment for only 3,000 credits, and it was unlikely that the scavenger would attack me twice.

“That’s really unfortunate.”

The client clicked his tongue as if he were serious. He would be reassured if he could use a talented person like Leonard as his subordinate. I won’t fall for gangsters or rich bodyguards like gangsters.

“It was a good relationship. Please visit often. I can’t do it cheaply, but I’ll take care of it well.”

When Leonard said goodbye, the client opened his high-end eyeballs.

“What do you mean? There are still three days’ worth of work left. Go to work tonight.”

“… after all this fuss?”

“This is this, and a contract is a contract.”

Also, business wasn’t for everyone. Leonard sympathized with the pain of office workers, albeit briefly.

@

The client hired additional mercenaries and installed a new automatic turret, but there was no threat until Leonard’s request was completed. In fact, it was natural. Nearly fifty scavengers were exterminated. It was cleaner and quieter than usual because rumors spread around the nearby group and they didn’t even come close to it, lest it be taken as a remnant.

Leonard was sent the promised 8,000 credits.

‘Rattle’ Cooper introduced it, but the commission did not go out because he signed a direct contract with the client. Only 15% was taken off from corporate taxes and city levies, leaving 6,800 credits. A faint smile crept across Leonard’s lips.

“Pin money! Give me pocket money!”

At the same time, Max was excited. Leonard closed his credit account and stared blankly.

“What have you done?”

“You work hard as usual! Is today the only day?”

The facial skin was implant level. But I couldn’t deny it. Leonard fired a generous 30 credits into the terminal and turned around. A snarky but not unpleasant laugh came from behind.

“Let’s eat noodles.”

“Did you eat yesterday?”

“The only store open at this time is the noodle store.”

Looking at the sun just rising, I had no other options.

Max yawned and climbed into the driver’s seat before being kicked out and dozing off in the passenger seat. Leonard glanced at his sleeping paper brother.

I was still 15 years old even when I ran through the rough field. White Town’s peers were either going to school or receiving specialized training in cyberspace. Thinking about it made me a little sad.

“It’s time to start higher education.”

Max wriggled. Muttering ‘I don’t like studying… I don’t…’ is probably because I’m happy because I didn’t go to school.

Leonard stopped the pickup truck in front of the noodle shop and applied the side brake. When I heard the sound of rice, Max, who had been dreaming, jumped to his feet. At that age, it seems that appetite can overcome the need for sleep.

“Large slices of meat!”

“…go in and order.”

The owner and chef welcomed regular customers who came every week.

“Normal one. one slime. A lot of meat especially. right?”

“Exactly!”

Since it was a very simple instant dish, it didn’t take long.

Leonard took a spoonful of broth and rolled the noodles. Occasionally, the poor boy from a rich family was right. Max, on the other hand, inhaled the noodles and broth all at once. It was true that he was a native of Junk Town, grumbling every time and not refusing to give it to him.

“But that Bomberman.”

“Junk Machine.”

“Is Bomberman cooler?”

“Junk Machine.”

Leonard hesitated, then said, ‘That’s really cool?’ muttered. Even after 7 years, it was difficult to fully understand the sensibility of Junk Town. Still, the hairdo was the same in every city and in every city.

“Isn’t that what the scavenger made?”

“Perhaps.”

There was no way the scavenger had such a skill. Even if they had the technology, there was no way they could use it to plunder the factory. Dealing with the gangs will give you more credit.

“The weapons I brought were also luxurious.”

“Wasn’t that a slam gun?”

“I erased the serial number, but it was a branded product.”

“Why are you robbing with a gun like that?”

Leonard put down his chopsticks and thought of the scrap factory owner. I thought about it on the first day, but I knew something when I saw that three fixers were hired. Information that scavengers will raid the factory, or information that scavengers are at the level of corporate mercenaries.

“Isn’t Leonard good at something?”

“hacking?”

“It’s a threat.”

It seems that it is not information that can be said openly, seeing that it is not disclosed for this excuse and that excuse, but the risk of hacking or threatening entrepreneurs with citizenship was too great.

“It doesn’t matter if it has nothing to do with me.”

“Don’t you have a sense of justice? Are you curious?”

Max emptied his bowl of noodles and belched small. It was like that when we first met, but he had a great appetite. When Leonard tried to shout, Max jumped at him.

“Have you forgotten about snowball already?”

“Why?”

“Even then, the old man’s accident could have been prevented if he had investigated in advance.”

It was a sharp point for Max. It was because I hated studying, but my brain was definitely good.

“This floor is narrow. Junk Town is narrower. When an incident happens, is it somehow related?”

“It’s correct in principle, but I forgot something important.”

“Me?”

“Your noodles are not free.”

You don’t have to do anything that doesn’t get credit, and you shouldn’t do it. Because if you work for free, there will be people who ask for free or cheap. Maintaining the ransom was the basic stance of a pro.

“It’s just being greedy. either annoying.”

“If you later become independent and set up your own office, work hard then.”

“Independence…”

“How long are you going to stick around? When the time comes, I will go out.”

Leonard’s words made Max depressed. If you learn enough and build enough connections, it’s right to be independent, but somehow it sounded sad.

“I was thinking of inheriting Sigma and the office when Mr. Leonard dies…”

“…this bastard?”

Leonard left the store, leaving the price for the noodles as an offense. While Max bargains with the noodle shop owner, he opens Brainchip’s phone directory and finds a familiar name.

– Leonard? what are you doing first?

“I have a request.”

-Of, a request? There are still quests you can do…

“no. I have something to ask you.”

Leonard invested some of the commission money into a new job. It wasn’t because of Max’s advice. It was because it was necessary to redefine the professional posture. It was real.

@

Three days have passed since the work at the waste disposal plant was over.

I spent a whole day due to the aftereffects of the night shift, and the last two days have passed, but the broker fired radio waves early in the morning as if he hadn’t rested enough.

– Why are you taking it so late!

“…was on a dive.”

-you? what brings you here?

If you have a brain chip, even a 7-year-old kid can dive, but Leonard, whose title as a hacker is ridiculously analog, didn’t access cyberspace for quite a while. That’s why we often get city information through Sigma.

“Because I’m at an age sensitive to fashion…”

– Seeing that you’re talking nonsense, you must be really diving. Calm down and listen.

More novels at readwn.com

Jake, a broker who divides time into seconds, sent the data first.

-File 1 is information about the scrap processing plant on 25-9 Street, and file 2 is information about ‘philanthropists’ floating around among the scavengers.

“A philanthropist?”

– It’s just called that.

Leonard read the second file. A picture of an old man with a cheap prosthetic eye and a few things were shown.

-It appeared without rumors two months ago, but since no one knows the name, he is not from this city.

“Isn’t the information worth it?”

-What did you expect with 500 credits? This is also a bleeding service.

Leonard looked through the history of the ‘philanthropist’. It’s a very well done nickname.

-If you bring implants, they will replace them for free, treat drug addiction with sincerity, and give out food to children.

“Does that make sense?”

It was a great eccentricity in Junk Town, where they cut their implants and couldn’t sell drug chips.

– No one has seen the driver’s license, so it looks like a savage, but it’s amazing. No one has ever died from the aftereffects of an exchange.

“I doubt that kind of skill.”

the story is long The broker said, looking uncomfortable at the call time that had passed one minute.

– If you have more questions, go see your friend.

“Do I have one or two friends?”

– One or two are right. Don’t pretend to be an insider.

And hung up. It’s a lot more humorous than before. It’s cool in this day and age…

“Yamae Doctor, there is someone similar.”

Leonard reactivated the darknet connection he had forcibly disconnected. A virtual world unfolded in full view. It was a cyberspace that was so vast that it was unbelievable that it was a world made up of 0 and 1, and human insignificant consciousness and ideas disappeared without form.

Hundreds of billions, hundreds of billions, maybe trillions of information were born and died in real time, and one was picked up. It was dead information that none of the tens of thousands of users passing by this space were interested in, and that even Leonard almost overlooked.

“Scavengers with their tongues cut out aren’t common.”