It was a little small, but there would be more than enough room to start messing around with stuff and setting up a small working area. The bathroom was tiny, but it had its own shower. Best of all, it was in a fairly well-protected part of town. Not too close to Ichiban to get caught up in any gang-related attacks, yet just close enough to benefit somewhat from the Fangs patrolling the area.

The physical protection for the place left a little to be desired. It had the typical chain, bolt, and locks that most apartments had. The ones in this place looked new; They still had a shine to them that age would wear away. The wood around them was also a little discolored, though it was pretty hard to tell.

The apartment had four rooms. The front door led into a cube of a living room with rooms on either side like the top of a T. To the right was the kitchen- or dining room I should say. Barely anyone actually cooks these days non-professionally. It was more a kitchenette with cabinets and a spot for a fridge. To the left was a small bedroom with an even smaller attached bathroom.

The only downsides were the asking price for the room and the poorly scrubbed blood stains on the bedroom area’s carpet... The landlord wanted sixteen hundred for the small studio apartment, which was just over base price for a studio apartment. He argued that since it had a view, it was worth at least that much.

I kind of agree. The apartment was on the thirteenth floor, which was taller than most nearby buildings, so I had a pretty damn good view of the neonscape. I could even see parts of the Ryu Container yard peeking out from around taller buildings and the odd arcology. I didn’t agree with the price because of that though; I agreed because of the location of the apartment. It was on the corner of an alley, and the fire escape could be reached by skirting around the faux balcony outside the window.

Something that always irritated me about the cargo yard was the lack of escapes. If I was ever under attack, I had one way in and one way out. There were no second chances if I were caged in. Now though, I could escape if I was being hunted; say by a megacorp with a twenty million Rayn bounty out. ‘Course, the hope was I wouldn’t have to use it, but a bit of precaution wouldn't hurt.

Maybe I should set up a false identity to start operating by? It was something the majority of mercs did, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea… but it would be useless if I didn’t find a way to start hiding my face. I need a mask, or a feature scrubber for my face. The mask would be cheaper and add versatility, but the scrubber would be less noticeable… hmm…

Thoughts for another day. This one was good, in a good place, and offered everything I wanted. The pay would be a slight issue, but I had plans for that. With a bigger, more secure place, I could start fabricating stuff. Especially with the knowledge I got from Tech 5. I already had ideas brimming in my head for stuff I wanted to start making. And I had the skills to actually start. Sure they would be rugged at best, but they would work.

I needed to get in with a night market to start selling stuff though… more things I could worry about later. I walked around a bit more before turning to the man waiting at the door. He was a slightly chubby guy, but he had a kind and honest face. It made me instantly suspicious of him. “I’ll take it.”

“Nova… we can head back to my office for the contract and other assorted fees. Should be about five or six hundred extra Rayn on top of the monthly cost.” The chubby guy clapped his hands together in front of his synth-cotton vest.

My poor bank account. I followed the guy back down to the first floor. I only had a few hours before I needed to head in towards Carone. After nearly an hour negotiating and carefully reading the contract, I forked over twenty-five hundred Rayn and received my key. The guy didn’t ask for any form of identification, and I didn’t offer one up, so it also wasn't tied to my name at all.

I spent the next hour checking the apartment for bugs or other spyware. Nothing stood out, though I would need a Bughound™ to be sure. I checked all the usual places, but there really wasn’t a good place to hide anything considering no furniture. Still, it didn’t hurt to double-check everything just to satisfy my sudden onset of paranoia.

I did find a duffel bag hidden in the vents with an odd assortment of items in it. Weird, but free stuff was free stuff. Most of it looked like it had to do with disguises, makeup, some wigs, bolts of fabric, and other sewing supplies. None of it was particularly high-end, but there was another commlink. Backup, I guess.

Then I started the moving out process. It was rather easy since only a few things actually belonged to me. My guns, clothes, and foodstuffs were basically it. The furniture had come as part of the container crate, so I didn’t own any of them. I left them behind for the next owner to appreciate. I also had to give Ishimaru a call to let him know I had moved out, which he slurred a congratulation over before assuring me he would take care of it.

After everything else, I carefully moved the documents to my new apartment and hid them behind the mirror. As far as hiding places went, it was poor. I unfortunately didn’t have the time nor furniture to hide it well. For a similar reason, the blood stain stayed where it was till I could afford to go buy some cleaners.

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I did take the time to look through the schematics and memorize them thanks to Eidetic Schematic. I dunno why I didn’t do it before… fear, maybe? It had hurt like hell to obtain the Perk, and part of me wanted to keep space from the Perk. It was stupid, all things considered.

I wanted to burn the documents after memorizing them. A bit more thought stopped me though. They offered a lot of value outside of their intrinsic worth as instructions. Nefarious ideas were already starting to form about how best to use them. If Sentinel was willing to pay twenty million for them, then surely they could bulldoze a particularly annoying group. It was like a tactical nuke I could call in as long as I wasn't caught.

Also, I could only memorize about a third of the papers. Two-thirds of the papers were technical documents discussing the prototyping of the weapons, and I couldn't memorize those with Eidetic Schematic. Even if I burned what I could remember, those would still be damning. And it's not exactly like I could take a picture of them to keep.

With a higher level in Tech, I also partly understood some parts of the schematics. They weren’t simple, that much was obvious. The weapons were mostly alternative platforms to the normal. There was everything from experimental plasma casters to cartridgeless ammo and even some more absurd stuff I couldn’t understand. ‘Course, I didn’t even know where to start on making them, but I could at least get their functions.

The chrome was similarly odd. Most of it was things that people could only dream of, like an arm that had a full arsenal of weapons stashed in it, or legs that doubled as a jet pack. My favorite from the bunch was an arm that could shift into a sniper rifle at will. There were even some alternative organs that had special functions. For instance, one of them was a heart that would actively increase stamina, muscle mass, and speed.

‘Course, I could’ve just taken photos of the schematics. It would’ve been so much easier and way more risk-free. At least, if I wasn’t trying to hide from the Big 7. They probably had some bullshit photo scrubber that could instantly detect I had photos of what they wanted and come snag me. Much safer to just keep things in meatspace.

After moving everything, I was off on my bike and headed back towards Sakura Street. The streets felt odd as I drove down them. I had noticed it as I made trips to and fro for my errands. They were empty- or at least far emptier than they had been in a long time. There was less traffic out and about, both on foot and otherwise. Even the ever-present homeless population had receded back into the alleys.

It wasn’t hard to tell why. The occasional patrol of the Blue Crusade had been joined by patrolling groups of armed corporate operators. Sentinel had Armored Trucks moving about the streets as if we were in an active war zone, causing the air to spike with tension. Sentinel weren't the only culprits. Raijin had a constant stream of flyers moving to and from their Raiju flying fortress.

I parked my bike and started my walk towards Carone’s shopfront. Everyone kept their head down as I walked around the less crowded streets- far more so than usual. It was especially unsettling when I walked past an alley and saw a pile of corpses not far off from the main path. All young gangers, it looks like, and they had been shredded by an HMG. Maybe one of them tried to contest an AT?

I arrived at Carone’s. I was searched by the bodyguards once more before I was allowed to enter, though they again passed over my Sidewinder and knife. And then I was allowed entry into Carone’s antique store. It was still as musty as it had been the last time even with the several candles flickering with flames around the room.

“Ah, Shiro… welcome back to my humble store.” Carone’s voice was as snake-like as I remembered it being.

I nodded at the man. This time around he wasn’t trying any shitty pyrokinetic intimidation tactics at the very least. “You said you had a gig?”

“Potentially…” He stared into my eyes for a moment before leaning forward onto the counter. “You said you were good at subtlety? I need a… test, if you will before I recommend you to some of my crews. That is, assuming you want to do other things than investigate?”

“What is it?” I asked, feeling a little giddy. I was finally going to do what I’m good at! And being introduced to a permanent crew would be interesting. The payouts tend to be bigger, though I don’t have much experience in a crew setting. At most, it was that time with Shinobu’s one-off crew.

“A client wants a… relocation of assets. A certain file. This-“ He held up a data chip before setting it down on the counter. “Also needs to be plugged into the terminal afterward, and it’ll upload a virus. All without setting off any alarms. Twenty-four hundred Rayn for doing both silently. You in?”

Twenty-four hundred Rayn? Heck yeah! I was just in need of some more funds. That was a month of my new rent, and I would be using my actual talents. “Sure.”

“The target is Ajay Insurance.” His eyes glowed, and my PA received a message. “That’s the file name and link to the firm’s site.” Carone tossed me the chip.

A corporation, huh? Maybe because of how easy it was to knock over the transport; I didn’t feel near the usual trepidation. I checked the file on my HUD and tucked the virus into my pocket: ‘malwort.Mp3’. An audio file? “Isn’t this a Netrunner’s job?”

“The client specifically asked for no Netrunners…” He stared at me for a moment as he tapped his chin. “Alternatively, I have a different… client that has put a five thousand Rayn bounty on the corporation. They want someone to throw enough dirt at the corp to shake the pond. I doubt someone of your… stature could do such a thing, but it is an option.”

Bastards will be bastards. There was no reason to go about insulting me… though five thousand Rayn was incredibly attractive… That was some serious stuff. Maybe I should look into hiring out for this one… like a real Edgerunner.

Hmm… to what extent does the dirt need to be? Something as simple as the CEO cheating on his spouse? Or something a little more complicated. Well, I’ll keep it in the back of my mind for now and focus on the first two objectives. “I’ll think about it…”