How To Live as a Cyberpunk Solver

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Leonard and Max quickly ran through Junk Town.

There were some places that were lost because the tracking failed or because the information was out of date, but the junk machine was captured at a rate of 18 out of 10.

Learning from the hardships of the first hunt, they adopted a neat method, three times approaching with thermal optic camouflage and hacking off limbs, and three times luring them into a pick-up truck with little Max at the fore.

The universal conscience of mankind has long since been dumped in the sewers of Junktown, but even if it remained, there was no reason to feel particularly guilty. At least two of the three junk machines that followed Max were intent on stealing Max’s weapons and credits. If Leonard’s hacking had been a little late, Max would have had a lump on the back of his head. Or something the size of a lump is gone.

“Anyway, Junk Town bastards…!”

Max hit ‘Junk Machine No. 7’, which rolled his eyeballs. It’s not a normal body, so there’s no pain, but even if it was normal, it didn’t seem like young Max’s kicks would hurt.

“Don’t lose your strength and get in the car.”

“Are there still people left to catch?”

Leonard climbed into the driver’s seat and checked the information from the ‘philanthropist’ again. Most of the junk machines with clear names and origins were captured. You can find the rest if you spend time and money, but it was necessary to balance due to efficiency issues. Opportunity cost matters. Because it might be better to aim for something bigger.

said Max, stepping into the passenger seat.

“The luggage compartment is full. Even if I catch more, I can’t burn it.”

“Seven people?”

“Nope. Thirty-five thousand credits.”

Leonard and Max grinned. The ‘big thing’ was different. I made three months’ worth of profit in one day.

“If I catch a few more tomorrow, I can top up 50,000 credits.”

“Why tomorrow? You promised Jake three days, right?

“There are other things to do on the last day.”

Leonard manipulated the brain chip to arrange a new prey. Since the creator of the junk machine couldn’t be just a ‘philanthropist’, I thought to dig into that first and, if possible, catch the people behind it. If you do it well, it will outweigh the junk machine.

However, there was no easy request. This is because of the hard life in the world and because there are many people in the industry who do not have good morals.

Kiyi Iik-!

Leonard’s advanced auditory module picked up the sudden sound. It could be a common car accident, or it could be a bunch of residents who want to poop, but the solver who trusted his intuition stepped on the accelerator before turning his head to check. A pickup truck loaded with more than a ton of luggage ran out screaming. Max shouted, holding on to the assist grip.

“Safe driving! Safe driving!”

It wasn’t a joke to be pointed out by a 15-year-old without a driver’s license. Leonard’s intuition was right again. A mid-sized SUV popped out of an alley at a crossroad where a pickup truck quickly passed by. If I was a little late, my side would have been crushed.

“What kind of guy…!”

Leonard’s eyes turned into hexagons.

A hacker’s most powerful force is information. Hacking a nearby CCTV and chasing an SUV that disappeared across the street, I checked the surroundings to see if there were any more gang members. There was a wagon running ahead at an unusual speed.

Leonard shifted into reverse and returned to the range. And at the right time, I turned the steering wheel and made a rear left turn. The wagon rushing from the front passed by again narrowly. Max, whose vision was limited to his own eyes, also noticed something strange.

“Am I an enemy?”

“It seem to be like that.”

If the attack was this prepared, don’t ask, it wasn’t murder. It was clear that the trap was targeting Leonard’s group.

Leonard continued filming CCTV and switched gears to Drive. I had to get out of here once.

There were only two vehicles over there, but they did not give up and chased after them. Leonard wandered randomly around the alley and was sure of one thing.

“There is a hacker.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Since hacking is not Leonard’s unique specialty, there were self-proclaimed hackers even among freelancers. Leonard’s lips curled up slightly.

“It’s been a while since a hacker thought of fighting me.”

The hacker’s fight was more brutal than the gunman’s and knife’s fight. Because distance and place are meaningless.

It was immediately clear when I remembered the hacker hired by the Blast Gang in the Azdek company’s request the other day. He attempted to hack from the other side of the city, but was caught by Leonard by the tail and burned to death. He died in the pain of tearing his nerves, so it was a more terrible death than being burned.

Before that, there were several self-proclaimed hackers who had quarreled with Leonard. Since modern warfare doctrine requires implant hackers to catch implant hackers, it was only natural for those with a grudge against Leonard to mobilize hackers.

The Junk Town hackers, who were overconfident in their skills and took on the challenge with just a few pennies of credit, realized desperately what the ‘Hexagon’ was created by the Old Man to subdue the rebels, no, to massacre them.

That realization has been passed on for years, and hackers who challenge Leonard Walker have been rooted out, but today a newbie has appeared after a long time.

“Did you think it would be worth trying if you tried while pressing offline? If you thought so…”

Very well thought out. It was difficult to trace back because there was no environment to focus on hacking.

The SUV blocked the way out to the main road and stopped. Leonard had no choice but to turn the steering wheel and enter another alley. The junk machines in the luggage compartment roared silently. It would be a taste of death to roll tangled here and there while restrained. Max grasped the situation and shouted.

“Why do you keep avoiding me?”

“Then let’s go crazy!”

“Yes! We must defeat each one!”

Leonard’s foot moved to the brake. Chiyiririk-! Skid marks were drawn on the cement floor. The drug lord who was wandering nearby admired it carefreely. ‘You’re good at driving!’ I didn’t say thank you.

“…There’s no reason to run away, is there?”

“I see!”

It’s because he hates unplanned fights. It was better to blame the plan than being surprised by the car rushing and running away.

Leonard moved the pickup truck around the corner and grabbed a weapon so he could stop the car from rushing. Max also packed his gun and got out of the passenger seat.

“Which one is it?”

Leonard’s hexagonal eyes widened slightly.

“It comes first from the other side. It’s a six-seater wagon.”

“Then, six at most?”

Since when did 6 people become ‘only’? However, Max’s gun skill, which develops day by day, was reliable. 7.62mm ‘Winterfield’ sniper rifle from Gun & Guns. Leonard kept pace with his assistant.

“It’s the right corner 100 meters ahead. Appears in 5 seconds.”

Leonard gave a small signal. ‘4. 3. 2. Now!’ Max’s breath stopped, and the trigger cocked. Taaang-!

The 11.5g bullet that left the muzzle rotated at high speed and tore the air. 790 meters per second. It was twice as fast as sound. No matter how fast the vehicle made by modern technology was, it was no faster than a bullet fired from a gun.

The distance of 100 meters disappeared in the blink of an eye. It was not an exaggeration. The wagon driver died from being pierced between the eyebrows with his eyes open. The vehicle, which lost control, couldn’t find its way and scraped the building next to it, then hit a pile of old scrap metal and stopped.

It was irresistible because he didn’t know that he would shoot as soon as he turned the corner. However, not knowing did not change the result. Leonard and Max didn’t miss the opportunity and fired bullets at the stationary wagon. The twin pistols and shotguns spewed sparks like crazy. Bang! bang-! Bang bang!

The passenger in the passenger seat was hived for pulling out a handgun, and the gang in the back seat had their heads smashed as they crawled out of the car.

A 6-seater does not mean that 6 people board, but ‘at most’ 4 people. Three of them died irreversibly and one surrendered wounded.

“Don’t shoot! don’t shoot! It’s my fault!”

Leonard tilted his revolver to check the ammunition. 3 shots and 2 shots, a total of 5 shots left. It was enough to defeat the rookie solver who abandoned his weapon.

“Are you a fixer?”

Max asked as he reloaded his shotgun.

“Why is the solver attacking the solver? Doesn’t that make sense?”

“If you’re a proper fixer, that’s the case, but fixers aren’t a job where you take a test and get a license.”

“Your name?”

Originally, ‘I am a solver’ is a solver, so the word ‘self-proclaimed’ was strange. Leonard approached the newcomer and interrogated him.

“Is the purpose a junk machine?”

“Oh no, we just…”

“Didn’t Zidang teach you that if you lie, you’ll get scolded?”

“saccharose?”

It was an old-fashioned expression, so I didn’t seem to understand it. Leonard used one bullet instead of teaching liberal arts. Gently put it on the newcomer’s thigh. bang-!

“Ah-! my legs! my leg-! C-B-! These are not implants!”

“Then I shot there. What are you going to do by shooting it through the body of a machine?”

Leonard put the muzzle to the crown of the rookie rolling on the ground. The invisible threat that seemed to be aimed from behind was intense.

“If you were targeting a junk machine, the middleman gave you the information, who is it? If you say that, I will save you.”

“How can you believe that…”

“Oh ho? You’re right, I was aiming for a junk machine. I thought it was sent by a gangster who also had a grudge against me.”

This is the difference between jjambab. The newcomer unwillingly revealed his occupation and purpose and remained silent. Leonard pressed the muzzle to his scalp.

“This is a .45 caliber armor-piercing bullet. No matter what you do to the skull, you can’t stop it from these streets. It means that if you pull the trigger now, you will surely die.”

“Are you really, really going to save me?”

“I will not kill needlessly. You must have heard of Leonard Walker, the Unkillable?”

Max stared at him. ‘What’s with that reputation?’ Leonard cleared his throat and cleared his rude gaze. I think I was almost persuaded, but I ran out of time. A moment-forgotten second vehicle was caught in Leonard’s Hexagon eyeball. The distance was close, and there was a stop.

“Shit! Harm!”

Leonard hugged Max and threw himself into a pile of scrap metal. It was a quick decision, but it was meaningless. What the opponent was aiming for was not Leonard and Max, but a rookie solver with a light mouth.

Unexpectedly, the fragile skull that hadn’t done ‘something’ broke and the newcomer’s body fell backwards. The gunshots followed slightly later. Taa-ang-!

Max pulled the ‘Winterfield’ loading handle, loaded the bullet, and held the muzzle over the scrap metal. However, ‘the other side’, which had been monitoring the situation all along, was the real thing. Didn’t show up at the sniping angle.

“Hackers and shooters. Aren’t our parties similar?”

“Our workmanship is better!”

That was agreed to by some.

“Killing all of our kids, you’re one of the best Hexagon Leonard Walker.”

Leonard searched for the opponent with his hexagonal eyes and added a word.

“You killed the last one, you madman.”

I used to be afraid of calmly crazy people among crazy people.

But Leonard wasn’t particularly normal either. Because hackers who play the role of solvers can’t be normal.