How To Live as a Cyberpunk Solver

76. Palm

Skinhead was a usable solver even by Leonard’s strict standards.

He moved his body while guarding the gunfire in his black suit with his large Charge Arm. I hit the poor gunman, who was targeted for being close, with a short uppercut. It was a great blow that barely gave up any gaps.

The gunman, who was hit right by the charged power, floated up. It wasn’t a slow flight by any means, but the relatively quick and concise skinheads made it appear almost stationary. The skinhead twisted at the waist and put a straight through the gunman’s back.

It is now possible to see how the gunman who entered the villa for the first time bounced back at 3x speed. A second gunman flew to a parked sedan in the same pattern. bang-!

“wow…”

Max gasped in admiration. I’ve seen a lot of fist fights, but it was the first time I’ve seen a fist that treats people like rubber balls. After all, are pros different? I reflected on myself as an assist solver.

“I’ll have to mess around a little bit.”

Still, the blackheads continue to look like blackheads.

Skinhead skillfully handled the charge arm and opened the battle. But the numbers couldn’t be ignored. As the bullets hit each other, he shrank and slowed down. Well, it was difficult to catch them all. There is no way that the ‘processing team’ that was mobilized for this kind of work brought a proper memory, and there was a limit to the information that could be found out with a memory chip.

The skinhead threatened the third gunman before escaping into the villa. It was not a polite exit. Breaking the broken windows and crackling bang-! thump-! made a fuss

The gunmen reloaded their guns and attempted to enter more cautiously than at first. Their hands and feet fit together as if they were communicating via a brain chip. It wasn’t just a group of scavengers with decent attire.

Leonard said after watching the series of processes like a movie.

“Let’s prepare soon.”

According to plan, the ‘philanthropist’ has already left the villa. Skinheads are also pros who eat bullets, so erasing their traces was easy. So what is the waste disposal tank to do?

Leonard uploaded a hacking program to the black suit gunman’s brainchip. The first thing stolen was communications.

– Missed the target. Request the following instructions.

Leonard checked the voice graph emerging on the brain chip and started recording.

-Yes. Then I will withdraw. We ask for on-site repairs.

The black-suited gunmen exchanged glances and returned to their vehicles in an orderly manner. It was a communication of just a few words, but I could tell two things.

“It’s a mercenary company.”

“Eh? Aren’t they a terrorist organization?”

“I don’t know what organization it was, but it’s clear that they hired them.”

“Then you must be rich?”

It was a rich organization that invested money in scavenger renovation and called a company to clean up.

“What? Shall I follow you?”

“Can’t you come all the way here? chase.”

Instead of Leonard, who is busy with hacking and wiretapping, Max took the steering wheel. It wasn’t difficult as I just had to follow along.

In fact, if it was done professionally, they would change cars in the middle, disperse, and rejoin after about 24 hours, but they returned straight to the headquarters, probably thinking that there was no need to show their expertise in handling only one junk town scavenger. It was a high-rise officetel on 9-1 Street.

Max grumbled as he walked past the barrier.

“No, what kind of mercenary works in White Town?”

“The industry is booming these days.”

Gangsters, bandits, mutants, psycho cyborgs, and all sorts of heinous things ran amok, and the demand for gunfighters increased. Even so, it was not an ordinary job to have a decent office in White Town, where houses were priced in gold.

Leonard glanced at the signboard as he passed the officetel entrance. Under the word ‘Success’, there was a small inscription ‘Private Military Company’.

“These were famous guys.”

“Is this your first time hearing it?”

“These are the guys who work with businesses. There are not many things that people from the back alley come into contact with.”

Max, from the back alley, pursed his lips. I turned around the officetel and temporarily parked in the opposite lane.

“Then is the company behind it?”

“I don’t know. They are like prostitutes who will stick with anyone as long as they give credit.”

Max said, ‘Isn’t that the same for the fixer?’ I thought, but didn’t say it out of my mouth.

“They have good security, so it’s hard to infiltrate…”

Since all the employees are gunmen, it was difficult both online and offline. Leonard crossed his arms, then untied them a moment later.

“Even a big forest starts at the root of the tree.”

“What does it mean?”

“It means to capture the members of the organization, not the organization.”

Leonard confirmed that the hacking program he planted in the gunman was working. Since the voice of the brain chip was secured, there was no chance of missing the target.

@

The mercenary who did the rough work was also an office worker after all.

I worked for a paycheck, and when the time came, I left work. It was an advantage in this case to be a solver who did not go to work or leave work to earn as much as he worked.

“Is it advantageous?”

“It means to be so comforting.”

It was not a conversation to be had by kidnapping an office worker who is going home with a happy heart.

The gunman in a black suit, now not in a suit, but anyway, the gunman working in the field rolled the machine prosthesis. The limb implants were paralyzed, so I couldn’t move anything except that.

“If it’s like this, can’t we just catch it during the day?”

“It is not. The other side also has a position, but isn’t it okay to cooperate during the day?”

Like the power of the uniform, the people who belonged to the organization were strangely strong. This was especially true when grouping with members of the same organization. However, when he was left alone after work, he became an ordinary citizen A. Rather than admitting that they did not know it would be such a large mercenary organization, it was better for their pride to insist that it was an intentional operation.

“Ah, there is nothing to be afraid of. I just wanted to ask you something.”

Leonard snapped his fingers like he was hypnotizing! Bounced. The gunslinger’s voice restrictions were lifted.

“Why, why are you doing this? What do you want from me?”

Leonard told Max to follow the outlying road and turned to the gunman.

“Except for people who do similar things to you.”

Well, replacing someone else’s work was similar.

“Actually, I didn’t intend to go this far, but it was strange that things were going on. There are no personal feelings.”

“…Then what is it for?”

“I would like to hear more about what happened during the day.”

The gunman was silent as he remembered what he had done during the day. Aside from personal matters, there was only one thing worthy of being kidnapped.

“You mean clearing the scavenger’s lair?”

“A scavenger’s lair? You can put it that way, but the real purpose is different, right?”

The gunman didn’t answer. It was a well-trained friend who deliberately changed his words. Leonard flipped the card first.

“It’s not the words of a philanthropist. Aren’t you going to kill him?”

Leonard’s pickup truck, Max’s pickup truck for a limited time, drove out of Junk Town and drove on a suburban road. The number of vehicles on the road has been significantly reduced. There was no street light either. It was dark and bleak, like pure human malice.

“Who made it happen? Just say that and get out of the car right away.”

“With a bullet in the head?”

Not only did he train well, but his brain was also good. Leonard laughed.

“He’s not that cruel. promise I will release you.”

Then, he tapped on the brain chip.

“It’s not just that. My friends are interrogating your friends one by one. Even if you are loyal to the company alone, there is nothing left. Even if you lie, you will regret it if you don’t agree with each other.”

Max whistled softly. Regardless of whether Leonard had any friends, it was a plausible threat. The gunman had no way to check because communication was cut off due to brain chip hacking.

“The more you insist, the longer it will take you to get home. If you’re unlucky, you’ll have to spend the night naked in the mutant den in the wasteland, but anyway, let’s blow the lights up early and go comfortably.”

There were not many office workers who came this far to maintain their loyalty. said the gunman with a sigh.

“It was Rex who gave the order.”

“Rex?”

“Operation Division 3 Team Leader. My boss.”

Leonard accessed the Serces site. Of course, there was no such thing as an organization chart.

“You’re not asking your boss. I keep wasting time and getting angry…”

“How can a field worker like me know a client… Oh, no, I do! Wait a minute!”

After checking the revolver’s chamber, Leonard gently pulled the ball. The gunman actively cooperated as if he had decided to live.

“A few days ago, an employee from High Lane visited our company.”

“Your company originally works with large corporations, doesn’t it?”

“Damn it, it’s not the same company as a company. Megacorps are always the boss. Our company is just a hole-in-the-wall shop.”

The fixer’s office, which sells a three-room villa in Junk Town, was not even a hole.

“So, Highlane is your client?”

“I don’t know about that, but isn’t it a clue to my reasoning?”

“Where do you try?”

“Highlane’s main business is brain chips and implant brains. By the way, wouldn’t it be bad if the junk town beggars researched an implant body that doesn’t work with the brain chip?”

“That makes sense, but…”

Leonard’s reasoning and direction were different. Leonard thought that the benefactor of the ‘philanthropist’ had sent a gunman to silence him, who suspected that the corporation was trying to kill the ‘philanthropist’ to protect the market.

“Think of it from the perspective of High Lane. A lot of bad news lately. The son of the governor melted his chips while drinking e-drugs, and the customer from the underground died or was injured in a terrorist attack.”

It was a story that both knew well.

“Stock prices are plummeting, and there is talk of business sanctions from the federal government of A-07 City.”

“Is this your first time hearing that?”

“Because the city’s press is controlled by High Lane. Rumors spread openly outside the city.”

@

Leonard kept his promise.

The gunman, who had done his job, was dropped off in the middle of Tail Town. I’m not a three-year-old, and I can use credit and telecommunications, so I’ll be able to work late even if it’s hard work.

Leonard sighed as he put the puzzle pieces together.

“You’ve been playing in the hands of corporate guys.”

Max, who drove without a circle today, looked up.

“Who is the benefactor and who is the antagonist?”

“Is there a need to separate them?”

It was Highlane that sponsored the ‘philanthropist’ and remodeled the junk machine, and tried to silence such a philanthropist. Max squeezed the steering wheel.

“What do you mean?”

“Scavengers converted into junk machines are causing accidents all over the city.”

If the number of accidents was insufficient, they were forced to make accidents. He even cut off his tongue so that the secret would not be leaked.

“How does that benefit the business?”

“It’s kind of noise marketing.”

Implants that do not use brain chips could instill a perception that they are very, very dangerous. In other words, it is to reinforce that brain chips are a necessity for implants and to defend Hirea’s share price, which produces high-quality brain chips.

“Didn’t it be two months ago that the philanthropist received donations?”

“Two months ago… when the request to capture the psycho cyborg came in?”

“It was also when the son of Chairman Volfors became a psycho cyborg.

It was clear that he had been prepared since then.

“The philanthropist is treated as a mercenary, the junk machine released on the street is retrieved as a solver, and the business is stabilized by announcing that there is no technology to replace the brain chip yet.”

Max listened quietly to Leonard’s reasoning and suddenly admired it.

“Hey! Are you a pro too?”

“yes?”

“Everything that is difficult is handled by subcontractors.”

It’s good when pampered, but it’s annoying when pampered.

“Then who should I sell this information to?”

Max did not forget his initial purpose. It was an important quality of a solver. Leonard muttered after thinking a little more.

“Where are you going to sell this?”

Not all information can be credited, and even though patience was bitter, the fruit was not sweet.