Chapter 79: Chapter 75 I want to be with you... (Please follow~)

"Robbery?"

Tanaka Shigeru reacted as if he had heard some kind of joke, pausing for a second before doubling over with laughter.

"Hahahahaha—You’re robbing me? Look at yourself, how long do you think you can live, a year, two years?"

Lille shook his head, "To be precise, four to six months."

Tanaka Shigeru was at a loss for words again.

Lille continued, "But if you don’t hand over your valuables, you definitely won’t live past today."

David, who was in the corner, swallowed, lost in thought, and then suddenly lunged forward, coming up to Lille.

"What are you doing, Martinez? Are you saying you’re a criminal too? What does your mom do for a living to afford your tuition at the academy?

Don’t tell me..."

David didn’t speak, just threw a punch with a serious face—

Smack.

Tanaka Shigeru blocked David’s fist with one hand, revealing a playful smile, "What’s that, some cheap chipset? Was it free?"

As he spoke, he made a "hmm—hmm—" sound, pushing away David’s hand, and David could only clench his teeth.

However, it was no use—Tanaka Shigeru abruptly brushed away David’s hand, throwing rapid punches, each one stopping less than three centimeters from David’s face!

The punching speed was so fast that David couldn’t see his movements at all!

"Adadadadada—"

Tanaka kept making strange noises, and the pressure kept mounting in David’s heart, leaving him dumbstruck.

Lille suddenly spoke up, "Kuai Arm 400 series chipset, plug it in and it’s like you’ve learned how to fight, pretty good stuff for civilian use."

Tanaka continued to throw punches, laughing arrogantly, "That’s the difference between us!"

David closed his eyes, yet after three seconds, he could still hear the whoosh of the punches.

And Tanaka Shigeru had started to sweat—he couldn’t stop himself!

[Magic Doll upload complete: Prosthetics malfunction]

Lille moved to the guy’s side, clicking his tongue in wonder, "What a marvel of technology, just pay money and you can buy the skills others take years to learn."

"You... what have you done to me?!"

"I said a robbery—The chip’s locked. I can keep you like this until your body collapses." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"You...you’re a hacker!"

Tanaka Shigeru looked terrified—this guy had breached his ICE and locked his prosthetic body!

Who else tinkers with ICE all day? It’s either hackers or Scavengers!

He just hoped Lille was the former!

"I’m your daddy, dumbass, better transfer the money—and you two as well, don’t think you can run. I’ll give you three seconds to pay up, or I’ll sell you out to the Scavengers one second late."

The two lackeys of Tanaka Shigeru had already quietly moved to the entrance of the alley, but Lille could burn out their systems in an instant—if he so wished.

Compared to military-grade ICE, breaking civilian ICE was a moment’s work, especially with students.

[Transfer: +4600 Euros]

[Transfer: +1300 Euros]

[Transfer: +1100 Euros]

Within seconds, all three were on their knees without hesitation, and Lille hadn’t even started to count.

"You can go ahead and call the NCPD—if you want to meet the Scavengers, that is."

Data lights flickered in Lille’s eyes, and with a snap, the Kuai Arm 400 chipset popped out and landed in his hand as Tanaka continued to swing.

With the goods in hand, Lille turned and left, while Tanaka kept punching.

"Hey! You haven’t unlocked my prosthetic body..."

"The prosthetic is locked. It will unlock on its own after 30 minutes—if you still want to throw punches, go buy another chipset yourself."

Tossing the chipset he held, Lille pocketed it and walked away.

Rich kids sure were easy to rob, even picking a seedy place without cameras—just like that, 7000 Euros in the account.

David looked at Tanaka Shigeru, still throwing punches in place, and became even more certain of one thing—

Schooling? Screw schooling.

At that moment, David’s values shifted ever so slightly.

Thinking back on what Lille had just said—with schooling from Gloria that taught him not to use dirty language from a young age, suddenly he felt how satisfying it was to swear.

So, he spat with contempt, glanced at Tanaka, then at Arasaka Academy.

"Studying? Screw that, what a moron."

Then he hurriedly followed in Lille’s footsteps.

...

"Kid, what are you following me for?"

"I want to be with you, to do..."

Lille’s expression showed a slight change.

"Big jobs!"

Lille exhaled—anyone who didn’t know better would have thought the kid was about to take him to the Moon.

He rubbed his forehead:

"Listen, don’t act like an idiot, getting all excited. If you want to get into this line of work, you should be finding partners in bars.

Not, for God’s sake, confessing to a man you’ve just met on the subway like this."

"Uh..." David lowered his head in shame, embarrassed by his immaturity.

Lille stroked his chin, thinking the kid was quite amusing. Although he appeared a bit juvenile, there was potential.

In the work "Cyberpunk Edgerunners," not only had the kid installed the same Si Anweisitan that James Norris used, but he had also been duped by Arasaka into getting a Prosthetics Vajra.

His body wasn’t sensitive to the side effects of prosthetics; he could overclock them at will. Although this was highly damaging to his body, his combat capabilities were indeed remarkable.

It’s just that he was a bit thickheaded, mainly because he was too young and lacked experience.

David looked up again and said, "Actually, we’ve met before. Remember the overpass in the Scenic Area? That thing from the day before yesterday, my mom and I were driving a G240 on the road..."

"Do you remember how many small pieces of bread you’ve eaten?"

"Uh? No..."

"Well, there you go. Kids like you are a dime a dozen in Night City, let alone a G240. The G240s I’ve wasted in the past few days alone not half a hundred, then forty for sure. You’ve seen me, I haven’t seen you."

"But I’m sure I can do this job, please take me with you!"

David put his hands together, bowed his head sincerely, and even performed a precise bow that he learned in etiquette class at Arasaka Academy.

Lille laughed inwardly: if other mercenaries knew about this scene, they’d at least compliment him—

Pure.

Too pure.

And it’s only because David asked him, the good guy, that he’s not being sold off by a native of Night City, and then having to help count the money for them.

But then again, he always felt that David had changed a lot from the character in the work—anyway, there was a bit of a streetwise vibe about him now.

It’s not easy for ordinary people to survive in Night City; looking for work is the norm, and losing their lives in the process is all too common.

So, after thinking for a moment, Lille asked, "Is your mother dead?"

"Ah? No, she’s still in the hospital. I’m planning to pick her up from the hospital this afternoon."

"Red Shirt Mental Hospital?"

"Yeah, you know it?"

Looking at the innocent David, Lille sighed once again.

It seemed that it really was David who had slapped the doctor with a gun.

"David, make a call to your mom—don’t ask why."

Seeing Lille’s expression, a surge of unease washed over David, and then he dialed Gloria’s number.

But there was no answer.

David’s unease grew stronger, and Lille said again, "Call that doctor and ask him to send you a real-time photo."

David did as told.

This time, the call was answered.

Doctor: "Mr. David Martinez, your mother is in good condition and can be discharged at any time."

David: "Why didn’t she answer my calls? Send me a real-time photo."

Doctor: "Oh, certainly. She’s just asleep. Take a look."

In the photo, Gloria, with her hair spread out, lay on the hospital bed, appearing to sleep very peacefully.

The medical equipment next to her showed that the woman was indeed alive, with stable vitals.

David: "Okay, thank you, doctor."

Doctor: "You’re welcome. Please come to discharge Ms. Martinez at the agreed time."

Lille slapped David suddenly, "Are you braindead? Why would you thank him?"

David rubbed his head, "Why not thank him? He said that the cheaper package wouldn’t allow for visits..."

"You think after threatening the doctor with a gun and slapping him, almost scaring him to piss himself, he’s going to help you honestly?

You believe if I tell you that there are at least three Scavengers hiding beside your mom right now? One specializes in snapping spines, one with a gun, and another with a car.

They’re just waiting for you to show up so they can kill you and then let you and your mom reunite in someone else’s body."

David was stunned.