Ghost in the City: Cyberpunk Gamer SI

Chapter 212

I slurped the soba noodles as the Tyger Claw guys around me all joked and chattered about whatever their discussion drifted to.

The Soba was good, I’d had noodles here before, but it had been since Jun and I stayed at the Dojo, so it was a good memory.

The weirdness of all these gangsters joking around me without issue was a bit strange.

“Did you see his face, when she just locked his blade and slapped him in the face with it?”

“Oh, shit I was howling inside. Couldn’t actually laugh in front of sensei, but if I didn’t have some chrome, I think I would have broken a rib.”

The boys all laughed and joked as if they were normal people and not well, murderers and gangsters.

What a weird situation.

I slurped my noodles, and looked over. Men that would happily do terrible things to others were joking and acting normal...

It reminded me of a song.

“You’ll never know the murderer sitting next to you.” I half whispered and half sang before stuffing my face with noodles.

“What’s that?”

“Hmm?” I asked, looking up before quickly swallowing the mouthful. “Nothing, just a song stuck in my head.”

“Oh that’s right. I heard the Oni mention it, you’re a Rockerboy too right?” I blinked at the tattooed man that was probably ten years my senior who seemed to talk to me like he would his own kid sister.

Fucking weird.

“Yeah something like that. Alright. I’m done. Thanks for the meal boys.”

“Anytime Yurei!” One of them called out and I winced at the name before waving and heading out.

The situation with the Tyger Claws was... Different now.

Was it Fujimura, the fact I was working with Hayato, or just my general actions?

Either way I was too tired to train anymore without a nap so I slid onto the Kusanagi, and enjoyed the way my girl rumbled to life.

Another thing to consider, but not worry about at the moment.

The streets were busy as I slipped into the traffic, and I ended up caught in light after light. The slow stop and go traffic gave me plenty of time to consider what I should do from here.

Probably needed to set up the next Section 9 training day. Maybe some sniper training? I bet I could get an Ashura and train everyone in using it, giving Section 9 some low level sniper support if needed? ℞Ά₦ОʙЕṤ

I was just about to start moving again when gunshots rang out, and like many of the people in cars around me we ducked down. I took cover on the other side of the Kusanagi, as I was already drawing my Burya ready to fire, but the bullets were coming my way.

A gangoon came stumbling down from a building, his feet practically slipping and failing to catch the steps as he held a Unity up towards the door before just rocketing away with the gun pointed in the general direction of the doorway as ran.

I considered taking a shot.

He was right there. Probably some gangster causing issues. It was free XP.

The Burya was out and pointed and his stumbling run wasn’t enough for me to miss but...

I holstered my gun as two goons stumbled out of the entrance. Some minor gang I had no idea of, shouting and cursing at the running man.

Yeah, not any of my business. I slipped back onto the Kusanagi and hit the gas.

Just another day in Night City.

—--

I was tinkering with some songs at home, I’d had plans for something big, but it turns out that even with my memory getting the whole thing put together was a big mess.

So I was mostly putting off that and playing with the song that had popped into my head at the noodle stand.

“All my friends are heathens, take it slow.” I crooned as I strummed the chords. Heathens was a great song, and it really fit the dangerous gangoon lifestyle. I had no doubt it would be popular if I ever played it.

I hesitated mid chord.

Would I play it? I shook off the thought. That was a problem for future Motoko.

Instead I kept playing the song, recording it into my music box as I suddenly got a call.

I checked the number and frowned.

That wasn’t someone I expected to see again.

*This is Motoko.*

*Kid. It’s Bishop from the Afterlife. Got a situation. You open for work?* Bishop. The Afterlife merc and his Edgerunner team I’d worked with a while back. Bishop the solo that reminded me a lot of someone trying to be Morgan Blackhand too hard. Mira the Sniper Exotic... Stupid exotics. Sam? It was Sam something, their corpo front, and Hakase the Street Samurai.

*I’m kinda just hanging out, what’s the sitch?*

*Sam got klepped trying to have a meeting with a corpo contact. The meeting didn’t go well. We need to bust him out. We’re on a time limit, before Ion Frontier decides he isn’t worth trying to get info out of. I remember you’re good at sneaking around.*

*Pay?* I asked, instead of what I really wanted to say which was hell yes.

Rescuing a gonk from some corpo sounded like fun.

I was already setting my gear aside, and reaching for a maxdoc. My muscles were still sore from earlier, but a maxdoc, would make up for not taking a nap.

*I’ll pay at the Afterlife rate, with hazard pay.* I hummed, because frankly I had no idea what that was like, but I was already in my room grabbing some stuff. Copperhead? It was bulkier, but corpo security tended towards body armor. All the better to take out any street kids causing trouble.

No.

I looked at the two Katana I had resting against the corner of the room. My older Thermal Katana, and the much higher quality, but also more brittle Musashi blade.

Infiltration Ninja?

*So you in?*

*I’m in.* I agreed, grabbing my Thermal Blade, I liked the brutality of it more. Sliding it into my belt.

I turned and headed out to the living room, and slipped on my boots.

*Where are we meeting?*

*I’ll send you the deets. Talk to you when you get here kid.*

*Yeah yeah.* I grumbled as the call cut off, and I hurried out of the apartment.

Time to have some fun!

—--

Normally I would have taken the Quadra but traffic was still pretty rough right now, and with a time limit I couldn’t just amble along.

My Kusanagi roared as I lane split, and then cut into a turn lane as they had a green and then cut over to keep going straight.

The maneuver had me laughing a little.

*100 Driving XP Gained.*

An alert meant it was well done I guess? Either way my unsafe driving cut off at least a few minutes from the drive as I pulled off the street and into an alley that my GPS was guiding me towards.

Corporate office’s weren’t exactly black sites. It wasn’t hard to slip onto the floor through the stair access and head straight for the security office. With these three gone, and the security terminal, I should be able to disable all the rest of their defenses.

I looked over the gonks for a moment.

Yeah the armor was crap. Old Militech stuff, but I doubted they’d even bothered to change the inserts since they bought them. On top of that, these guys weren’t ex-soldiers. Just hired goons.

I slipped into their network without any trouble. Old Militech firewalls. Nothing that would slow me down, especially not from inside the network.

I blinked my eyes and had access to all the camera systems, as well as the personnel ID’s.

Hmm. The data shard from Bishop had mentioned the corpo that Sam was coming to meet, and... There he was. Alongside two other security guards.

Well now...

I pulled out of the system and walked back out to the hallway. I was clear for now so I checked out the window. I could see Mira, and the others looking at me but I ignored them. I could take the elevator, the stairs, or right here. The window wasn’t bullet proof, we were too high up for that to really be needed.

My Katana heated up as I slowly poked it through the glass, cutting out a weak point I could use.

I could see the three of them watching me, probably thinking I was crazy as I cut through the glass to weaken it for later.

Once I was satisfied I headed back and turned a corner. Slowing a bit to stay silent as I approached an open room.

There were two more inside. I did a quick peek and then I was across the door without anyone noticing and moving on.

As much as I wanted the XP, no point in killing a bunch of civvy workers. Sneaking around this office was kinda odd, but now that I had vision on everyone it was a simple job to just keep moving.

Finally I reached where I needed to go. A hallway that had a locked and secured door. Two security guards outside, and another couple in, along with the man that had last been with Sam, so probably he was inside.

I loosened my Katana in the sheath and then simply activated my Sandy.

Everything slowed as I rushed out down the hall. A blur of motion that the guards' organic, or cybernetic eyes were just starting to catch when I reached them. I skipped the first guy, instead my cut as I pulled my Katana from the sheath went through the second guard just under his helmet and all the way out and through.

The return cut had me bouncing a bit back slicing through the second guards throat before bringing it back around and stabbing through.

The quiet gasps as both men died and slumped to the floor was quiet, but I still waited to see if there was any motion from inside.

Nothing.

*500 XP Gained.*

*500 XP Gained.*

I took a breath, let the Sandy cycle a bit. The warmth on my neck telling me I’d be getting close to my limit soon.

I took the moment I had to check the guards.

Again shit quality equipment. Nothing worth even looting at this rate, although I took a moment to adjust the Ajax the guard had been carrying up against the wall that would come in handy.

Then I rose up and opened the door.

—--

Samuel Perry

This had not gone as planned.

He spat blood, truly Hanson hadn’t changed at all from when he was just an up and comer.

“Now my old friend, you know I don’t like doing this, but I need to know what gonk fuck shitstain thinks they’re going to steal from me? Just give me the name and I promise I won’t just throw you in the trash. As a respect for an old boss.”

Hanson was lying of course. The moment he cracked he would get a bullet and a quick toss into the nearest trash can.

Hanson had always been a piece of scop.

He breathed out, painfully, his ribs were killing him. His Pain Editor was working, but he didn’t want to turn it on fully.

The fact was, letting it hurt meant that Hanson was enjoying playing with him, and if he thought it wasn’t working, worse things than just pain would be in his future.

“Just tell me Sam, that’s all I want.” Hanson lied with a smirk that wasn’t even trying to hide that fact.

C’mon Bishop. I have enough contacts, I’m valuable enough to get out of here. C’mon Mira, I know you like me. Force that cold bastard to come rescue me.

The door opened, and for a moment Sam didn’t really register it. Why would he? It wasn’t the first time the guards had swapped out, or Hanson had left to take a leak.

But then as Sam opened his one good eye, he couldn’t help but blink at what he was seeing.

Who was that?

There was a blur of motion that Sam had to slowly replay in his mind to understand.

She stepped in, and cut with her Katana, drew a knife and tossed it at another guard, before spinning around using the guard she had just cut down as a shield to draw close and cut off the arm of the third.

His scream was silenced before it could even begin. And as Hanson reached to pull his pistol suddenly a Burya of all things was pointed at him, as the girl had simply followed the motion her blade still stuck into the second guard’s chest where she had cut into him from shoulder to chest.

There had been no hesitation. Just a single constant movement that left death in her wake.

“Don’t.” She offered simply as a Burya pointed at Hanson’s head.

“H-Hey we can talk about this!”

“Sam. Nice to see you again. I’m your extraction, are you able to move?” The sound of a confident woman cut off Hanson entirely, and it was a cut off.

Hanson for once in his life had a brain and shut up as Sam blinked weakly.

“Shoot him.” He said instead of answering her question and to his surprise the sound of a Burya echoed out through the room making him flinch and Hanson splattered across the wall.

“Are you able to move?” She asked again as she finally pulled her sword out of the dying guard, and holstered her pistol and sword in a single movement.

“Yes.” He hissed, but he was still tied to the chair. She gathered her thrown knife and quickly cut his bonds, and Sam rose before almost instantly falling forward into a much smaller body that hefted him a bit.

“I’ll take that as a no. I’m afraid that my shot has set off the alarms. This isn’t going to be an easy path for you. Here, put this on.” She plopped him lightly back into the chair and a moment later put something on his head... One of the Guards helmets?

“Alright time to go.” She said and hefted him up into a shoulder carry that knocked the air out of him, but to his surprise she started moving just a moment later.

He really wanted to tell her he could probably walk, but she didn’t seem to care. Grabbing one of the guards Ajax at the door and instantly firing down the hall. Sam couldn’t see anything other than her back as she started jogging which hurt, but he could hear a scream of people not used to being shot at.

She hurried on and then around a corner. And again firing every once in a while and sending people screaming.

“Okay hold on.” She ordered a bit strained as he heard gun shots the rest of the magazine going off, and the sound of shattering glass. “This is going to hurt.” She said and he wondered what she meant, before he managed to just see past her and...

“No no no!” He managed to gasp out, but she didn’t stop as she raced for an open window and leapt.

Her shoulder plowed into his stomach as she leapt and that hurt,. But then they were weightless for a while before suddenly they slammed into something metal and very painful.

“Ow.” She muttered after a few moments when to his surprise they didn’t keep falling despite the fact he was looking down at a long drop. “Hold on.” She grunted, he moved up a bit and then more and then he was thrown over a metal railing landing painfully, but...

“Sam!” Mira was there grabbing at him and Bishop and Hakase too.

Fuck. The woman rolled over the railing and then slammed into the ground next to him. She was breathing heavily and she rose wincing as she grabbed her ribs.

“Not doing that again.” She muttered as she stood.

“Let’s go!” Bishop ordered and he and Hakase grabbed him and then there were a lot of stairs, but he was free.