{Wakako's Pachinko Parlor, Jig-Jig Street, Westbrook}

"Alright. This is a data shard, plug it in, and I'll explain the gig." Wakako spoke, and I nodded. At least she gave me a chance, though I'm sure this gig would not be her most important one. I looked at the pure black data shard and carefully plugged it into the back of my head.

...

[Data Shard detected]

...

...

The notification appeared before the screen shifted, and a portrait of a man with a sophisticated look appeared on the screen. Along with the photo, several data lines regarding him appeared: a bunch of background info and his heavily redacted file hacked from the corps' less secure servers. A list of hobbies and a somewhat consistent daily routine were listed.

"The name of that person is Garth Gerrard. He's a low-level management officer overseeing three warehouses in a Night City-based corporation called SupplyDrop. They use a courier-based service to deliver high-quality goods around the City. The gig is simple. You need to sneak into his apartment to place this..." She said as she extended a circular patch-like device. It was a circular box made up of glass and metal, and inside, I could see a patch-like piece of circuit that didn't make sense to me.

'Right, I quickly need to figure out a way to gain more basic knowledge regarding more streams. The skills are the only thing that makes me competitive in this world. Having more technical knowledge in addition to more streams like Physics and Biology would maybe open up more avenues. Still, the first order would be to try and gain a skill related to technology and maybe cybernetics.' I thought. Maybe dismantling low-level technical hardware would work. I don't know how I would go about gaining the skill without detailed instructions like a course.

"...onto the panel of his main desk. The device has camouflage compatibility, so you need to place it behind the panel, and it will disguise itself. You have a window of opportunity between 4 and 9 PM almost daily when Garth has to go and check on the warehouses as part of a mandatory task." Wakako finished explaining the gig. She looked into my eyes and asked, "Is this too hard?"

"No. Of course not. Is there a tight timeline on this?" I asked.

"Yes. This needs to be done within three days." She looked at me questioningly, and I nodded.

She waved her hand toward the door, clearly dismissing me, which felt weird. I know I painted a good picture of my skills, but she shouldn't trust me so much on just my say-so. Still, I buried my doubts in my heart as I walked out of the shop—the sound of various machines beeping around me. Gambling was a big part of the daily routine, even in the dystopian future.

'Maybe even more so as money is everything here... I have to go to Corpo Central, where my target apartment is. That's the other way from the station next to my building.' Now that I knew my way around a little, I turned toward the train station again. The bustling sounds of machines faded, and the hustle and bustle of the city entered my ears. The marketplace was a bit unique. I had never visited Japan or China in my last life, but the congested marketplace was probably a good representation.

A low hum passed around me, probably from the train passing through the city. A sweet voice came from my right, interrupting my sightseeing.

"Hey, are you looking for some company tonight?" I looked up and down at her. The cheetah leotard was quite inconspicuous, and a green robe thrown over it did little to cover her intentions as she took a drag of a cigarette and looked at me with an interested look.

"No, thank-" I didn't even finish my sentence when her face shifted. The smile and enigmatic look were gone as she looked back, clearly marking her next prey.

'Right... let's just get out of here.' The more risque shops that should be hidden in darker alleys were clearly displayed on the main road, with suggestive signs or, most of the time, clear nudity. I wasn't really a saint when it came to this stuff, but hooking up with a hooker felt a bit demeaning.

"Cómo estás," Another one said as she smiled at me. She was dressed a little better, but I had no intentions of stopping for now. My eyes drifted to the mini-map as I ignored her. She was marked with green like a vendor or a shop. The concerning thing was a yellow dot that was following me. I have been keeping an eye on it, and it has again started giving chase once I came out of the Pachinko parlor.

'Is it the Tyger Claws? Did they somehow trace that incident to me? But if it is so, why is there only one person on my trail? Shouldn't they come at me from all directions and with multiple people? They could do that as this is their turf, or maybe the one behind me is an assassin. But still, they should be starved for information about the clash; catching me alive should be a better motive...' In a flash, countless thoughts and scenarios ran through my head as I arrived at the barriers barricading the jig-jig street.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The sounds of advertisements and moaning faded into the background, and more infomercials replaced them. The tone was a little different as the Corpo slang took over.

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'Should I deal with the straggler? Fighting in this area against someone from the claw would be troublesome... let's delay it for a little more.' I turned onto the street right underneath the flyover. Going toward my intended destination, the metro station, I would deal with the trail if an alley was nearby. The following few minutes were tense, and I only got to look when I arrived at the stairs.

The person following me was trying to blend in. He wore all-black attire and a leather jacket that reminded me of the one the gun seller in my building wore. A mask or a cybernetic implant covered the lower half of his face. The theme continued as a katana was slung onto his back. I evaded his attention as I turned around and walked up the stairs. The turn allowed me to look, and I focused on the mini-map again.

Surprisingly, when I arrived at the next turn of the stairs going up, the yellow dot was moving away. When I looked back, the dark-haired man was nowhere to be seen. I still had a decent lead, and as I was about to rush up the stairs and dash into the crowd to apply stealth, a holo-call from an unknown number appeared in the left corner of my vision.

I hesitated again before, with a clear mental command, accepting the call. The same masked face appeared as a hologram. His voice was a little muffled but had a metallic twinge to it.

'So the whole lower part of his face is an implant...'

"Don't look in my direction and continue onto your gig. Wakako-sama has given me instructions to clear the mission in case you fuck it up." With that command, the call was cut off.

I stood on the red stairs for a moment before I sighed. My eyes rested on the graffiti-covered wall before me as I started moving. The train station wasn't far from here. The map showed me that the distance was just 150m.

'Right. That makes a lot more sense. The Yellow dot started following me when I entered Jig-Jig Street. He should be a part of Madam Wakako's entourage. But why was I noticed?' I looked down at my hands as I arrived on the street and turned right toward the metro station. I mainly was flesh. No scan should prompt me up as anyone dangerous. Sure, the Lexington was strapped to my waist, but everyone had some weaponry.

'Maybe the scan showed him my eyes, so he was interested. Being a sentry could also be a boring job, though that would be a hell of a coincidence...' Dwelling on different and abusrd scenarios didn't make sense, and the only reason I could think of was that somehow they had found out my connection with the shooting. But then why was I alive, walking around Night City freely?

'Didn't she work for the Tyger Claws? No, she should be independent; otherwise, she couldn't be a good fixer. Right now, she should be debating my worth. If I'm good enough, I'll be another tool in her arsenal. Otherwise, I would be presented to the Tyger Claws in exchange for a favor or something...'

I didn't like that one bit. Maybe going to Wakako wasn't a good idea, but I had no choice. I at least need her help to get some form of street cred, maybe some form of reputation, and then I can try to get involved with Rogue. The sounds of someone playing an instrument entered my ears as I looked at the sign.

'''Monroe and Sagan'''

'''Westbrook'''

The Yellow line again would take me to Alexander Street, which, according to the file, is the closest metro station to Garth's apartment. A swipe of my metro card and the doors opened, another batch of €$50 down the drain.

The doors slipped open, and I walked through the terminal. The monotonous white marble once again felt bland. The graffiti-covered walls abruptly vanished for clean, unnatural slabs of stone as the hallway led to a revolving door behind which a train was already waiting. I looked up, and after confirming that it was the yellow line going toward the Megabuilding H8 station, I hurried a few steps to jump on board.

The train was empty; compared to the hustle and bustle of the city, it was a serene ride. If you ignore the moaning sounds from the advertisements, that is. This theme was quite consistent across Night City. Most advertisements had some form of moaning in the background, which felt a bit weird to me.

'Surely doing something unique would benefit them, right? From cars to medicine, why does everything need to be related to sex.'

A glance at the minimap revealed that the cart I was in was at least free from any notorious presences. With nothing to do to pass the time, I observed the people around me. Earlier, most people on the train were dressed in suits and hurrying toward their jobs. Right now, the train was a mixed bunch. There were a couple of bums who were drunk or high. One of them had his head pressed between his knees as he shivered, while the other one was drooling as his eyes stared at the ceiling.

A woman caught my interest because she was wearing some form of implant in place of her eyes. Her dirty red hair matched her gleaming nail polish. She was dressed in a clean black suit, and whatever the implant was, it worked as her head tilted to the side to look at me. I looked away instantly, but it didn't help.

I felt it before it happened; the warning of my ICE appeared in front of me as a breach occurred in my systems. It was too quick for me to counter fully, and I could barely block the attack. My vision flashed white before it broke into pixels. I was familiar with this quickhack as I had been experimenting for a while. As I could block some of the code from breaching in, my vision didn't vanish for long, and barely a second later, I could see.

Still, I grabbed onto my head and looked away, intent on avoiding the woman from now, who had just done this as a warning.

'What the fuck...don't fucking tell me this was karma or any such bullshit.'

...