Chapter 1

The rest of the month has you working under Vik once again. Your accounting work resumes, with you continuing to sort through the years worth of backlog and documents that have piled up in Vik's inbox. Now you're starting to enter the older years, during the early 2060s. Here, you note that some company names are addressed separately, likely owing to them being separate companies pre-merger or something similar.

You do a little digging and find out that these companies have a policy for long-time customers, where they're entitled to receive free products as thanks for their continued patronage.

Vik is, naturally, over the moon at this news and asks you to do confirm it more before appraoching the company's and claiming his due.

But then, something happens while you're nose-deep in a dataslate.

"5000 eddies for a new arm?! You're fuckin' short-circed if you think I'm a leadhead like that!" one of the customers shout, and you hear the distinctive click of a loaded gun. "You're askin' for a shootin'!"

You look up to find the gonk pointing a gun at Vik as two others stand up and back the first guy.

"Easy choom," Vik tells him. "You don't wanna do that."

"Yeah? Cuz' I'm in the mood to slammit on." he snarls.

"C'mon Rick, zero 'im." one goon tells the shooter. "His shop's loaded with chrome man, we can sell it for some good scratch."

"One to the head, that's all it takes." the second goon tells him. "Do it man! Do it!"

Before you can say something or think, you're out of the chair.

"H-Hey!" you cry. "Leave him alone, Yono!"

"The fuck you called me--?!" he snarls, turning to you.

Vik lunges.

The gun goes off.

The sound is deafening in such close quarters, and you trip on your startled feet-- landing on the ground. But you still force yourself up to see what's going on.

Vik is among the goons now, punching with the speed of a boxer-- as though her never left the ring. The goons are unable to keep up and eat a nice helping of several knuckle sandwiches in the span of a few seconds. It only last seconds, but the scenes of violence echo in your mind for what feels like hours.

Then it's over, and Vik is zip tying the goons and stacking them up against the wall. You're on your feet by the time he's done, the adrenaline rushing through your system as you try and calm your racing heart.

"Kid? Kid, look at me." Vik asks, rushing to you. "Peter, are you okay? Did you get hit?"

"…I-I don't think so?" you blink, running your hands all over yourself. "I don't feel any pain, but that might be the adrenaline. Y-Yeah, I'm okay." you pause. "Wait, the data-slate--!"

You find it on the floor, sporting a big hole.

You look at it in horror, freezing at the hours of work you've just lost. Vik just laughs and pats you on the shoulder.

"T-The loyalty reward offers expire in two days…!" you murmur. "T-That's thousands of eddies worth of goods you'll miss out on…! V-Vik, how can you be laughing?! Vik!"

It takes him a bit to calm you down, but you're left pouting and grumbling for the rest of the day as all your work has gone down the metaphorical drain.

You eke out some measure of satisfaction by dragging the goons up some stairs by their feet, letting their heads bump up against the steps as you ascend. Vik just laughs.

(gained 250 eddies, Vik is amused)

Kiwi laughs at your misfortune, telling you that Night City can be quite the mean bitch sometimes-- taking away fortunes as easily as it gives them. She would know as an edgerunner herself; jobs are many but eddies are scarce.

"That doesn't make me feel any better." you grump.

"It wasn't supposed to." she grins back. "Let this be a lesson Pete-- in NC, you can't ever stop and be comfortable for too long. All it takes in some screw up from yourself or other gonk, and you could lose it all."

You grumble at that and Kiwi laughs more at your reaction-- which has you going for your tools and some junk immediately to work off your dissatisfaction. It's your usual go-to anyway, and it… works.

You haul out some junk and get to tinkering, deciding that now is a good time to take a look at the circuitry and seeing what you could do to get it optimized. As it turns out, there's a lot you could do so you get to doing it immediately with the tools you have at your disposal.

The main issue you find immediately is the overcrowding and general inefficient routing of the various bits and elements on the board. You get to work pulling apart the elements and bits, then rearranging them into something that would still be usable despite the decreased presence of elements.

The resulting PCB has vastly more space, yet retaining the same amount of processing power as its original form-- allowing for some downsizing or the presence of higher-quality parts; which would mean you can make smaller stuff with similar potency or more potent stuff without making it any bulkier/bigger. You make sure to jot this down for future use.

Heh. When you look at it this way, you think you're actually making some decent progress in your new life here. It's great!

(unlocked new Science options, increased revenue potential from Small Gigs)

With your newfound understanding of computer and circuitry optimization, you decide to take a swing at cyberware to get it optimized as well.

As you suspected, there's a ton of inefficiencies and redundancies that you can strip out and make more efficient-- streamlining the internals into something less bulky without sacrificing performance. This allows for the installation of sturdier hardware, as well as the uparmoring of the cyberware itself; either making it more durable or allowing for the installation of more synth-muscles or hydraulics, thus making it stronger.

There are limits, though. The parts you currently have access to impose a limit as to how much you can downsize and streamline the internals before performance issues and overheating come up.

What's more, the frames you're working with aren't strong enough to carry more than a set limit of synth-muscles before its structural integrity collapses-- meaning you can only install so many synth-muscles or hydraulics before the limb breaks from simply moving.

But you get a good understanding to how cyberware works now. Or, at least, the older gen models. You're sure that the corpos have much more advanced stuff-- which would be pricier but is significantly better in performance than even anything you can make or jury rig.

So that means you'll have to get your grubby little hands on those before you can optimize and make better stuff out of it yourself.

And until then, you'll put your new-found knowledge on chrome to good use-- for yourself and those close to you. As well as any prospective customers you'll get. Heh.

(unlocked new Science options, increased revenue potential from Small Gigs, can now produce first gen ParkerTech cyberware)

Your work with Vik is quiet this week, word of the previous altercation likely having spread around and discouraged anyone from doing anything stupid.

This time, you go into work with a loaded gun and a sharper look. You're sure nobody actually notices you, but it helps reinforce Vik's own air of authority and keeps patients in line. He tells you that you didn't have to do that, but you like your boss-- he's a good guy in NC and you're starting to understand just how scarce people like him are.

That said, he's insistent that you get rewarded for your good deed and hands you some third-hand old-gen chrome. Really preem of him, but you put up a fight-- arguing that as an employee, it's practically an unspoken part of your job description to look after your workplace.

In the end, he relents and agrees to cut your pay for the two weeks in exchange for handing you some used chrome. And even then, he only takes a tiny cut and no more.

"You've been doing good work for me, Pete. In any other circumstance, I'd hand you that chrome for free." he sighs. "It's hard finding good people in NC."

"Yeah, well," you cough, hiding your blush. "Like attracts like, no?"

"Heh. I guess." he grins. "I still wonder sometimes what kind of environment you grew up in to be… well, you. Where'd you come from Pete?"

You remember Queens, Midtown High, Uncle Ben and Aunt May, Gwen, Harry. You remember the superheroes of your world and the moral duty they upheld in ensuring the world and its inhabitants remain safe.

"Someplace much better than here." you sigh.

(gained 332 Money, gained 824 Material)

In between your job and your minor interactions with Kiwi and Vik, you spend your time learning and tinkering. One of the biggest things you learn is the existence of ICE.

You first heard it from Kiwi a few times, and from there you get to sleuthing-- revealing a whole 'nother can of worms that all but consumes your free time in learning. And learn about it you do.

Otherwise known as Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics, ICE is what you could say is this world's version of a firewall-- only souped up and with dedicated physical parts to keep them running. From what you can read online and glean off of forums, every corporation has ICE and Netrunners to further protect from outside intrusion.

According to netrunners, ICE almost always appears as structures in the 'net-- or some kind of defensive emplacement, looming tall over any and all attempts to breach it. There's even a term for it-- Data-Fortress.

Netrunners circumvent these defenses by finding metaphorical cracks in them that they can squeeze into and make a back door into, provided they don't fry themselves in the process. Yeah, turns out that connecting computers to your nervous system and synapses means they take damage if any hacking attempt takes too long and heats up the implants-- resulting in permanent damage or even death.

Horrified, you turn to Kiwi for confirmation. She just shrugs.

"Yeah, that's about the gist of it." she tells you. "Failing to breach a data-fort or just plain getting caught too long in their ICE means your chrome will overheat to get you out. That's why runners have 'decks and their cooling systems to prevent themselves from getting fried."

"Wait, so you have your own cooling system?" you blink.

She gestures at her bathroom, to the bathtub inside it.

"Fill it with ice cubes and presto; a home-made cooling system." she tells you. Then she laughs. "Relax Pete, I don't use it often! Only for big jobs!"

"You shouldn't even use it at all!" you protest. "And you having chrome in connected to your nervous system-- what the fuck?!"

Sufficed to say that Kiwi takes time off her usual schedule to calm you down and assure you that she's fine and that you won't have to worry about her. She's been 'running for years now, she knows the do's and don'ts of the business. You won't have to worry about her.

Screw that-- you're making her a proper cooling system!

(gain basic understanding on ICE, unlocked new Science options, unlocked new Personal options)

You get to work looking into specs for a cooling system that Kiwi could use, and you take a look into her Cyberdeck contents to see just how much heat would be produced during a prolonged cyber-battle.

Your attention span is very quickly taken over by the lines of code in the Quick-Hack arsenal. There's tons of it, each one primed to do a specific purpose. And you see that there's plenty of improvement to be done, lines of code that could be cut off or added on to make them much more effective.

With your knowledge in coding, you get to work-- taking various quickhacks and chopping them up into metaphorical pieces. You throw away the bits you don't want, and start editing the bits you do; removing redundancies and altering commands to be more specific and compact as to save RAM speed.

Then you put them back together, one line at a time, making sure to smooth out any bugs and correct any glitches-- a digital equivalent of honing a spearpoint or sharpening a sword edge into something deadly.

It takes you some time, long enough that even Kiwi comes to deliver you food and water to keep you going. You work and work, little by little, bit by bit…

"…te? Pete?" you feel a hand shake you. "Pete, you okay? Get back into realspace Pete, c'mon."

"Wha?" you blink. "What happened?"

"You were staring off into that 'slate like a vidiot. You alright?" Kiwi asks, worried. "You've been sitting there for hours, gonk. What happened? What'd you do?"

"Ah, crap, hours?" you stretch your legs and wince at the pins and needles. "Oh Jesus, my legs…! Holy shit, ow!"

"Meathead." Kiwi laughs, pulling you back. "So, what've you been doing all day hm? Watch XBDs of Joytoys getting it on?"

You look at her and find that she's only wearing a towel, her body wet and steaming from the shower. You gawk at her figure for a long moment before remember propriety and tearing your traitorous eyes away from her.

"N-No, no, nothing like that." you hiss, massaging your legs to get the blood back into them. "I was planning on making you a better cooling rig or something when the quickhacks you left on the cyberdeck caught my eye. I went to tinker with it and, well…" you gesture at the dataslate, which Kiwi picks up. "I made a BACC."

"A BACC?" she blinks at you.

"Yeah, a BACC. Y'know, a Basic Assistant Code Crafter program. It's basically a program that helps me play with codes and can update databases with new any new info that's fed into it." you shrug. "I figured, since coding was so hard, I could just make something that'd help me with it."

Kiwi stares at you for a long moment, then back at the dataslate, then back at you.

"…are you telling me you've basically made a program… that can make other programs for you?" she asks.

"Well, not just me-- anyone with it can do it too." you nod. "All you need to do is feed it data and it'll make programs. Though, uh, you're gonna need to keep an eye on it-- what it makes varies unless you're VERY specific with what you put it."

"…a-and what's it making right now?" she asks, voice faint.

"Oh, that!" you grin. "I call it the Webstringer MK.1."

Kiwi stares at you, then finds a wire to connect with the dataslate.

"It's a special program that cues up multiple programs to be unleashed with each successful hack attempt. Basically, how it works is that it takes multiple quickhacks, puts them in digital waiting line, hits one target with one quickhack, then another that connected the first target with the second quickhack that's cued up behind it." you explain. "This continues until all the quickhacks that have been cued up have been used up or one target's ICE can rebuff the program, allowing the user to go after certain objectives or strengthen hacking attempt to make sure all the quickhacks are deployed."

"…it's like a Demon…" Kiwi breathes.

"A what?" you blink. She glances at you, shocked. "No, seriously, what's a Demon?"

"It's a program what has multiple quickhacks in it, allowing it to effectively rampage in a server by deploying appropriate quickhacks on appropriate targets. Plus it's got some degree of autonomy, so it can operate on its own to an extent…" she trails off. "You made this?"

"Yes." you nod.

"Really Pete, you made this?" she asks again, disbelieving. "You put all this together in less than a day?"

"…yes?" you start to fidget under her gaze. "Did… Did I do something wrong?"

Kiwi stares at you for a long moment, then she moves-- lightning quick, faster than anything you've seen thus far.

Her towel comes off, her arms wrap around your head, and she pulls you into her bare chest with a laugh that borders on pride, exuberance, and mania. You flail, trying to pull away, but she holds you tight against her bosom.

She holds you tight and doesn't let go even as she hops excitedly, continuing to try and smother you with her breasts. You feel your face catch fire and your pants tighten, dread and the possibility of being teased to hell and back making you flail harder without hurting Kiwi.

The woman just buries you deeper into her soft warmth.

"Pete, you turned what used to be gomi into a program that most 'runners would pay out the nose for! And you're just handing it to me without so much as batting an eye!" Kiwi gushes. "So many would call you a gonk for doing something like that, but I'll zero 'em cuz' you're my gonk!"

You make protesting noises, your words muffled into her naked breasts. Kiwi giggles, amused at your protests or tickled by your attempt at talking you're not sure.

"You've been nothing but the best roommate I can possibly ask for! You've kept my place clean, made sure to welcome me whenever I get back from a job, and you make preem stuff that I usually have to shell out for-- Pete, no 'runner in their right mind would let you go!" she tells you. "At this point, I don't care if you're some escaped corpo project; I'm gonna keep you here with me for as long as possible!"

"G-Gah!" you gasp, managing to pull your face from her bosom. "K-Kiwi, your c-chest!"

"Hm? What about it?" she blinks at you. "You don't like them?"

"I-I do! T-They're really, really nice!" you splutter, red-faced. "But this is just-- I-I-It's wrong!"

Kiwi stares at you for a long moment. Then something in her clicks and she throws her head back laughing.

"Are you a virgin, Pete?" she grins, and you splutter harder. "Oh my god, you are! Hah! You are such a cute gonk, you know that? Given the stuff you've done for me, I'd be up to helping you lose that V-card~"

"No! Stop!" you pull away as Kiwi guffaws hard. "I'm 15! You're probably old enough to be a mom!"

"I'm just a few years older than you, Pete." she laughs. "Besides, age is just a number here-- there's probably some joytoys younger than you out there doing jobs right now. In fact, I can--"

"Lalalalalalala not listening!" you over your ears as Kiwi laughs harder.

(created a BACC program and proto-demon, Kiwi over the fucking moon, increased revenue potential from Small and Big Gigs, unlocked new Science options)

To get your mind away from Kiwi and her teasing, you plop back down in your so you can start tinkering.

Kiwi sees you and sits down on the couch, watching you with interest. While still wearing her towel. Her towel that's not entirely covering her girly bits and is starting to slip off to reveal parts you've only ever seen in pornos and--

"See something you like?" she grins.

"P-Put something on, damn it!" you splutter, looking away and hoping she doesn't see the tent in your pants. "Gosh, now I can't focus!"

"Oh, stop being such a gonk Pete~" she giggles. "Alright, fine, I'll cover up a little so you can focus."

You breathe a sigh of relief as you hear cloth shift and see movement in the corner of your vision. You wait until the noises and movement stop before looking up--

"A-Ack! Kiwi!" you splutter, looking away. She laughs. "Goddamnit, cover up!"

"Hmm… nah." you see her shrug. "I wanna see just what you can make while you're under pressure. See if your smarts are easily swayed."

"How does that even…" you sigh, face red. "Fine, but if I make something bad you can't complain."

So you get to work, consciously ignoring the pair of feminine breasts on display to focus on the task ahead-- improving the Spider Bot MK.1.

Looking back, you spot quite a few flaws here and there; mostly internal. The wireless connectivity range, battery time, and internal integrity could use plenty of the upgrades. And with your knowledge of ICE, you could make it so that the bot is harder to hack-- enough that enemy netrunners will be forced to dedicate more effort into the task and thus open them up to getting zero'd by someone else. Likely Kiwi.

The thought of Kiwi getting in trouble while out on a job has you redoubling your efforts to make the Spider Bot better; refining codes with the BACC and replacing internal components for improved versions taken from more advanced tech.

When you finish, Kiwi's eyes are wide. Her breasts are still out, but you're miraculously able to ignore them in favor of showing of.

"Bot, to Kiwi." you order.

The Spider Bot MK.2 perks up and scurries over to the net runner; who watches the robot climb up her couch to settle on her head. She snatches it off and her eyes glow as she accesses it with her netrunner skills.

"…you put ICE on this thing." she gasps. "And half-decent ICE at that. The connectivity range is doubled, the battery life is longer, it has partial autonomy-- Pete, what the fuck?"

You just grin, proud.

(gained Spider Bot MK.2, increased revenue potential from Small Gigs, unlocked new Science Options)

When you go to Vik's shop for another day at work, you find him talking with Misty in her shop. The man sees you and waves you over, looking glad to see you but conflicted at what he has to tell you next.

"I'm gonna be out for a while handling some business with my usual suppliers. It's gonna be a slog though, so I probably won't be back for a while." he sigh. "Sorry Pete, I won't be able to pay you for this week."

"Hey, it's not a problem Vik." you beam. "I can survive doing something else for some pocket money, you don't have to worry about me."

"You sure? A bennie in NC is never a good thing." he tells you. "You're not gonna get into trouble, are you?"

"It's dangerous, Pete." Misty cautions you. "I don't want to see something happening to you that'll get you hurt."

"I'll be fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine." you laugh. "Really, I promise I won't be getting into trouble."

And you don't. With Vik gone, that frees up time for you to do something else. Mainly, studying.

This time, you dive once more into the net and go looking for detes about Black ICE. Simple stuff and examples, enough for you to work off of and eventually develop on your own. What you find it… pretty neat.

Black ICE is, as you've thought, the metaphorical 'security guards' of a NET structure usually protected by ICE-- tasked with hunting down and killing intruders that break through a NET structure's ICE. Be it Netrunners or their programs, Black ICE will hunt them down and eliminate them.

But it is limited. Black ICE can only patrol one 'floor' of a NET structure at a time-- meaning a single Black ICE program can't protect a whole NET structure. What's more, they can be attacked and 'derezzed'-- stunned. And if they're de-rezzed for long enough, the netrunner could escape them by sliding into another floor of a NET structure.

According to people you've spoken to on forums, particularly difficult-to-crack NET structures have potent Black ICE programs installed; which can hunt down and recover from being derezzed quicker than a 'runner can slide into another floor. They theorize that such a thing is possible due to those programs having their own dedicated server to perform better.

You hum. This Black ICE sounds a lot like anti-virus programs from your original world-- that hunt down, quarantine, and delete malicious code to protect a device. You wonder…

(gain basic understanding of Black ICE, unlocked new Science options)

Having done your research on Black ICE, you're left with a ton of free time once again. Kiwi watches you in between jobs, to the point where you're honestly a little fidgety.

"…is there something on my face?" you ask.

"No, but I have this feeling that you're gonna do something crazy while I'm not looking." she tells you. "Honestly Pete, it's almost like you're a mini-Bartmoss."

"Who?" you blink.

"Rache Bartmoss, the greatest netrunner ever known." Kiwi tells you. "He's the one that turned the world into that it is now. People even say he's the one responsible for the DataKrash in the first place." she shrugs. "You doing the stuff you've been doing makes me think of him, y'know. It's like--"

She pauses and stares at you. A look of horror slowly dawns on her.

"…I need to make some calls." she tells you. "Don't move."

You blink and watch her go, leaving the apartment entirely. You look around and see several electronic components laying around, an idea coming to you.

A few hours pass as you strip the parts down to their base pieces, then start reassembling them piece by piece into a smaller form. So small that you have to bust out the highest-magnification level you available on hand.

It's slow, painstaking work as you build electronic components and assemble them on board from scratch at a quarter of the size. You have to take deep, calming breaths to keep your hands from shaking too much.

But you manage. And when you do, you use it in the making of a cyberdeck-- a quarter of the size yet just as potent with just as many Quick-Hack slots and no loss in performance. You grin at your work just as the door opens and Kiwi steps in.

"Kiwi! Hey!" you greet. "Look, I downsized a cyberdeck into a 25% of its original size without any loss of performance!"

(unlocked new Science options, increased revenue potential from Small Gigs, increased revenue potential from Big Gigs, new Personal options)

After you explain what you did and Kiwi once more marvels at what you've done, she plops down with a heavy sigh.

"Pete, the things you're pulling out of your ass are things the corpos would kill people for, you know that?" she tells you. "Where the hell are you from that you can do this and think it's not some kind of miracle?"

"…uh…" you fidget.

"Really Pete's you're something else. Even if you're a big gonk." she snorts. "Okay then, I guess I'll have to give you some work to keep you from doing another crazy thing while I'm not looking. I'll even pay for you."

"You don't have to--" you start, but she cuts you off.

"Pete. Listen to me." she tells you. "Your kindness is gonna get you killed one day if you keep that up. You have to set boundaries for this."

You look at her severe expression and realize that she's serious. You take a deep breath and nod.

"Okay." you tell her. "What do you need?"

Spider Bots, she winds up telling you. Your gift for her turned out to be a very helpful investment, exacerbated more with the latest one you've made. She'd like more to further help her in her jobs.

You nod, a plan forming in your head.

Kiwi doesn't give you anything specific beyond 'make me spider bots', and you originally think she just means the basic Spider Bot MK.2.

But this is Kiwi, the woman who took you in when no-one else would. Who saved you from a bunch of posergangers and taught you the basic lessons on how to live and thrive in NC. You owe her more than you could ever repay.

But you will repay her, no matter how long it takes or whatever you have to do. And if she wants your Spider Bots, then you'll make her Spider Bots.

But not just any regular Spider Bot. You've got it in your mind to make several types-- each one with different prices and capabilities so she can get her money's worth and not be restrict to just one type.

You spend three days and nights designing, streamlining, programming, and building the examples for Kiwi-- an industriousness that impresses even yourself. Your 'client' notices too, but doesn't comment; allowing you to work at your own pace with no complaints.

On the fourth day, you scavenge a nice cloth cover and lay it on the bots you've made. Then you call for Kiwi.

"Okay." you take a deep breath. "You wanted to buy my Spider Bot, yes?"

"I did, yeah." she nods. "How much for a bot?"

"I'm not done." you tell her. "You were right in that I couldn't afford to be nice in NC, as rare as that line of thought might be. I need to prepare for the future, be ready to do what I need to do to keep myself clothed and fed and safe." you pause. "So I figured, rather than just one Spider Bot for a set price, I could make several for different prices."

Kiwi stares at you, and keeps staring as you yank the cloth off your creations.

There are 4 Spider Bot types arrayed before her, arranged from smallest to most largest.

The smallest and most expensive is called the Peacock-- named after the peacock spider. Its small enough to fit between the her knuckle and the first finger joint, with all the latest bells and whistles you've made; costing 250 Eddies a Bot.

The middle-sized bot is called the Weaver-- named after the weaver spider. It's half the size of an adult fist and comes with the Peacock's features plus a 25% effectiveness increase as well as a storage space to fit additional modifications-- on top of a spot for a gun. It costs a good 125 Eddies a Bot.

The biggest bot is called the Tarantula, and makes up for its size with plenty of space for modifications as well as a signal booster-- turning it into a mini-cell tower.

There's two variants of this; the Naked Tarantula that comes with no extras, priced at 75 Eddied.

And then the Loaded Tarantula; loaded with cyberdecks, storage space for cargo and small weapons, and even a Webslinger MK.1 loaded into a cyberdeck. Costing a whopping 1500 eddies per bot.

All three variants come with partial autonomity and 3D movement capability, as well as limited water resistance so it could be used in the rain. Each one has a battery life of up to 8 hours and can be remote controlled as far away as 350 meters. And most importantly, each one comes with ICE and Black ICE of your own design.

You turn to Kiwi after you finish your explanation.

"Well?" you ask. "What do you think?"

"…what I think?" Kiwi says, strangely monotone. "I think I should teach you a few lessons on business and gratitude."

"Right." you sigh. "It was too expensive wasn't it? For stuff literally built from scavenged materials, the pricing should've been lower since it's comparatively lower quality." you shake your head. "What do you think about a 25% cut to the price? Maybe 35%?"

Kiwi heaves a sigh, and you're about to lower your prices more when she reaches out and pulls you into a hug.

"Pete, these things are preem. I'd argue they're just as good as the stuff the corpos put out, arguably even better since it's also user friendly and easy to mod." she tells you, with the same sort of maternal pride you've heard from Aunt May. "You should be pricing them higher because of that-- at least double, no triple the price you've set."

"But then that'll make it inaccessible to some people!" you argue. "That'd cut my client-base and lessen revenue, plus people might be discouraged from buying it!"

"Your client base grows on the quality of what you put out, you adorable gonk. Cheap stuff in NC is everywhere, but decent stuff is a little on the rare side." Kiwi tells you. "People will talk when they get your stuff. And when they do, word'll spread on its own and it'll get you that big client base. Stop underestimating yourself, Pete."

"…still…" you hedge. Kiwi laughs.

"Stubborn, aren't you?" the woman purrs. "I guess I'll need to do something to make sure that message sticks, don't I?"

She pushes you back at arms length and kneels down.

"K-Kiwi--!" you choke, but the woman shushes you. "You c-can't just--!"

"Yes I can, you cute gonk. And I will, if only so the message sticks." skilled hands work your pants and pull it down. "Don't worry Pete, I've done this enough times to know what boys like. You'll love it."

You swallow heavy and stammer as Kiwi hooks her fingers on the waistband of your boxers and pulls it down. She makes an impressed sound at what waits for her.

"You're pretty impressive for a 'ganic, Pete." Kiwi notes, her hot breath washing over you. "5-- no, 7 inches? And you aren't even fully grown."

"I-I haven't measured, s-so--" you swallow. Kiwi giggles.

"Really? Well then, I'll help you." her fingers close in and you groan. "That's it, let me handle this. You don't have to think at all. Sit back and enjoy~"

Her fingers are incredible, moving with the skill and experience of an older woman. Her movements are slow but sensuous, and you're brought to full mast in no time at all-- groaning and gasping at her talent. Kiwi just giggles.

Then she leans in and puts her mouth to use; licking and suckling and kissing. Her teeth graze your sensitive skin, the thrill of it making you twitch as you throb under her hot breath. She chuckles, voice deep and knowing.

"You're not like most men, Pete. You actually know how to show your appreciation for a woman." she grins up at you. "It's nice."

"…y-you're welcome?" you pant. Kiwi grins up at you,

"And it makes a girl horny too, hearing how good of a job they're doing." she tells you, coy. "And I haven't even gotten to the good part."

"T-There's more…?!" you gasp.

"Yeah. This." opens her mouth and takes your entire length in, sliding all the way to the base. "Mmm~"

You choke and gasp, legs stiffening as Kiwi's throat clenches and relaxes all around you-- the hot wetness surrounding you feeling incredible as her lips press tightly against your base. For a moment, you find that you have no words to use for this situation.

Then Kiwi moves and a word pops into your thoughts.

Nirvana.

There is very little you can do to last against the slow, sensuous bobbing of her head and her clenching throat. The hot, tight confines of her throat moving in a rhythm you can only describe as heavenly.

A cycle of pleasure that robs you of reason and strength, but not enough as to send you toppling to your knees. Such is your weakness that your hands fall on her head, fisting in her hair as she moves.

The woman pleasuring you makes an approving noise, her efforts redoubling. You gasp and your grip on her hair tightens, inadvertently tugging at her.

Her throat tightens around you as another happy noise leaves her throat, and you cum.

Starbursts erupt in your vision as your soul leaves you. What little strength left in your legs leaves you, and you collapse to the floor-- panting and trembling as you spurt ropes of thick white.

It's a testament to her skill that Kiwi doesn't let you leave her mouth even as you fall and an orgasm rips through you like lightning. The thought of this incredible woman has you groaning and throbbing in her mouth again, and she manages a quick laugh while still locked around your cock.

Slowly, agonizingly, she pulls off of you with an audible slurp, kissing the tip of your manhood just before pulling way. Then you hear Kiwi swallow audibly and sigh in content.

"…whoops. Forgot you were still new to this." she says, not at all sorry. "So, how was it?"

You moan. She chuckles.

"I'm glad you think so highly of me." she teases you, then the sound of cloth rustling reaches your ears. "But I couldn't help but notice that you tried something while I was blowing."

A weight settles on your stomach, and you notice immediately that its hot and wet. You look up and see Kiwi sitting on you, naked and smug.

"I'm not mad Pete. Quite the opposite, really." she tells you, lightly grinding herself on you. "But I did tell you to let me handle everything, didn't I?"

"…U-Uh… b-but you did?" you swallow, nervousness and arousal bringing your manhood back to life. "W-What are you gonna do now?"

"Now? I think I'll teach you a few things." she grabs your hands and puts them on her. "If you insist about helping a girl when she's going down on you, the least you could do is to know what you're doing."

You stare as she leads your hands all over her body-- her hips and navel, her stomach and flanks, all over her bountiful chest and sculpted collar bone.

Curiosity moves your hands on your own, sliding down and hefting up Kiwi's breasts. The woman smiles and brings her arms up so you have better access, pleased that you're taking the initiative.

"Consider this a bonus." she purrs. "A hands-on lesson on how to properly treat a girl in bed, with a willing teaching aid."

Kiwi's impromptu sex-ed lesson lasts a good two hours, with her providing ample visual aid and demonstrations-- even allowing you to try a few things yourself. Only toys and fingers though, the closest you get to actual genetalia-to-genetalia intercourse is through videos.

"I don't want you to waste your first time with me." she shakes her head. "I'd rather yours be special and with someone you like."

"I like you, though." you tell her. She smiles, pleased.

"And I like you too Petey, but not enough to try and take advantage of you." she lights up a cigarette. "Let this be another lesson to you-- some people aren't above using their own bodies to get what they want out of you, and you need to be careful about that."

You look at her half naked body now wearing pants, then at your spider bots, then back to Kiwi. She has the grace to look sheepish.

"I'm still paying you, don't mistake that." she tells you. "This is more for when you deal with anyone else besides me, since you're gonna be selling your stuff on the street and people will try and get in your good graces for free stuff. Don't let them."

"Right." you nod. "But how will I be able to figure out which one means well and which one doesn't?"

"You can't-- at least not at a glance. That's why you have to be extra careful Petey; NC has a lot of people in it." Kiwi tells you, "And then there's your prices."

"Boost them a little more so I'm actually paid according to what I'm worth. And don't accept anything less." you nod. Then you pause. "Bit there are exceptions."

"I'd say there aren't, but I doubt I can talk you into that." she puffs out smoke. "At the end of the day, that's up to you to decide since it's still your stuff."

"Right." you nod. "So, which ones do you want to buy?"

"I'll take three Peacocks, two Weavers, and two Tarantulas-- one Naked and one Loaded." Kiwi tells you.

"Gotcha." you nod, running the numbers in your head. "That'll be 2575 Eddies."

Kiwi blinks and shoots you a look that's a mix between exasperated and touched. You grin, knowing full well that's the combine price of her purchases before the suggested price hike.

"You are such a sweet gonk, you know that?" she tells you.

"I know." you grin. "But only to my friends and loved ones."

(Small Gig complete, gained 2575 Money, gained I Know What I'm Doing perk, Kiwi pleased, initial reputation spread)

You're riding on cloud nine after that you did for Kiwi, and that excitement stays with your for the rest of the week-- giving you the energy to hit the books once again and learn about the intricacies of the digital world.

More specifically, you go looking for information about Quick-Hacks and Demons.

The former is easier to find, with them being pre-installed on many commercially available cyberdecks. But you're not interested in that-- no, you interest lay in how they work and do what they do.

You get the gist of things easily enough-- Quick-Hacks are programs that force the software in targets to go haywire in a specific way. Some just deactivate for a time, some cause malfunctions and-or glitches, and some just outright kill the person that the targeted chrome is attached to.

But how does that work? How could programs force hardware to do something like that? It goes against everything you know about how coding works and how computer software in general is supposed to function.

So you turn to the better techies on forums, opening up threads inquiring about the generalities in how Quick-Hacks work. Most of the comments are trolling and shitposts, but you do glean some golden nuggets here and there.

Those nuggets you take and piece together into a bigger picture, painting a medium that shows how programming works in this world.

It turns out that, yes, foreign software can't forcibly enter into guarded software. So they have subroutines that try and fool the local protections into letting them in by generating access codes. How quickly this happens is dependent on the hardware located within the cyberdeck it's installed on.

The better the hardware, the faster it gains access. Once its in, it starts screwing over the system and makes things work in its favor.

"So the speed and capability of a Quick-Hack is dependent on the hardware it's installed on…" you turn to your current cyberdeck. "Huh. Okay then."

(gained basic knowledge on Quick-Hacks, unlocked new Science options)

From there, you get into a conversation with another user who reminds the thread, a little cockily, that there's something bigger and more potent than Quick-Hacks that nobody uses anymore-- Demons.

There's four classes of Demons; Imp, Afreet, Succubus, and Balron. Each of them can incorporate programs or Quick-Hacks into themselves as subroutines, essentially giving themselves powers based on what kind of program they encorporate. The higher up a Demon's class is, the more programs they can encorporate as subroutines.

Imps can only use two. Afreet use three. Succubi and Balrons use four, though Balrons are distinguishable from Succubi as being smarter-- being nearly an A.I itself.

'Wait, so, Demons are A.I?' you ask.

'Nah, not even close choom-- Demons are 'smart' programs with some autonomy, but not entirely.' a poster explains. 'They can choose not to attack the programs that they can't beat, but will almost always go after shit that's under or near their own level.'

'They're like rats. They go after the easy meals, but leave the ones with guards alone.' another tells you. 'Balrons are actually smart enough to actually do some basic plans first-- go after the weak links to weaken something before going in for the kill. Buuuuuuuuuuuuut they're still kinda dumb so their weakening of something is just barely enough to get them a chance.'

'Ah, okay.' you answer. 'So why don't runners use Demons so often nowadays? Why only Quick-Hacks?'

'Cuz they're all pussy bitches that don't have the balls to take risks.' one poster heckles.

'Fuck off Ghost_Lord. It's because today's software is advanced enough that some Demons can turn into full-fledged A.I if they aren't properly regulated. And you know how illegal it is to have A.I in NC.'

You don't actually, but you don't say that.

'Bah! Netrunners these days aren't even netrunners! They don't have the balls to push the envelope and cause trouble if it means getting shit done and raising hell!' Ghost_Lord heckles. 'What's the point of exploring the 'Net if you keep to places where everyone's gone on?'

'Because the last time someone raised hell, they cause the DataKrash.' a poster reminds Ghost_Lord.

'The world pulled through just fine!' he argues.

'I think it's fine to do some exploration, see what's there and build off of it.' you say. 'But you should also be careful since the 'Net is dangerous, and not make it worse for everyone else.'

'Bah! Pussies!' Ghost_Lord posts.

(gained basic knowledge on Demons, unlocked new Science options)

With the knowledge you've gleaned from your research, you feel confident enough to start work on your next ambitious project.

Something to help you with your work, that you can gain long-term benefits from with periodic updates as you learn more and more about the technical details of the world around you. Something that'll help lighten your work and open up a ton of free time-- at least help you manage your time enough so you don't tunnel vision and lose yourself with your tinkering.

Fresh data slate in hand and Notepad open you start working; typing up long strings of code and inputting functions separately. Then you open up Assembly and start to put it together.

It's a wonder that Assembly still exists even now, despite the many difficulties it poses towards programmers using it. The tedious bit by bit construction, with dozens of minor edits to make as to make sure everything fits together.

Yet the end results could not be denied-- highly optimized and streamlined, with no redundancies and unnecessary script. If it worked, it would work beautifully and without any issue; with tons of modding potential as well as possibilities for future improvement just waiting to be done.

"But does it have to be so damn tedious?!" you hiss as you edit and re-edit, then re-edit the whole block of code before fitting it in and re-editing both code blocks to weed out any bugs. "Jesus Christ, how hasn't anyone deleted this shit yet?! Ugh, my damn eyes…!"

You work for five grueling days and four cruel nights with Assembly, alternating between cursing at it and praying to the computer gods to get it to work. Whether your prayers are heard goes by without any sign.

So you keep working, continue to slave away at your dataslate to try and get your work to fruition. Bit by bit you stack the individual code blocks like a metaphorical game of tetris-- shaving away redundancies and inefficiencies until only the absolutely needed remain.

One the dawn of the sixth day, Assembly beeps it's judgement.

Quickly, you transfer your work out, save it, then open it. A screen blinks into existence and a spiderweb icon opens.

//"Hello. I am Thread, your Virtual Intelligence assistant."// it beeps. //"How may I help you today?"//

You stare at it.

"Open task manager." you say, and it complies-- opening the data slate's task manager application. "Now open the 'net browser option."

//"This program will need your permission to access the 'Net browser application on this device."// Thread buzzes. //"Will you give this program permission?"//

"Permission granted." you answer.

//"Accessing application…"// Thread buzzes. Then, a screen opens. //"Application opened."//

You heave a deep breath and shoot to your feet.

"YES! YES!!" you cheer. "FUCK YOU ASSEMBLY, I DID IT!!" you jump and holler. "KIWI! KIWI GET THE CAMERA! KIWI! KIWIIIIIIII--!"

(gained V.I named Thread, +2 AP)

You get a call from Vik not too long after Kiwi finishes gushing over the fact that you built a literal VI out of nothing… using Assembly no less. She's still poring over your work when you answer Vik's call and are delighted to hear that his business with the suppliers is over, allowing him to reopen his shop.

You congratulate him on his success and promise to be back at work bright and early the next day. True to your word, you show up bright and early to him the older man open and set up shop.

"Thanks Pete." he smiles at you. "You know, most people I've hired aren't anywhere near as hard working as you."

"Aww schucks Vik, you're making my blush here." you laugh.

"It's true. A lot of people here are full of themselves. It's hard to find someone who's willing to help because they genuinely want to." Vik tells you. "And even when I do, there's always a dete to it."

"Dete?" you blink.

"Detail. Or, uh, something in the fine print." he shakes his head. "Sorry, forgot you were a bennie for a sec."

"No problem. But yeah, I can see you having that kind of issue." you shrug. "I'm guessing that's why you work solo most of the time?"

"Me and other ripperdocs I know." he grunts. "Nobody trusts anyone else fully with their stuff. Just hiring some gonk off the street is a surefire way of getting your hardware looted off you."

"Right. And that's not counting them possibly zeroing you outright then looting everything." you muse. "You ever thought of that happening, Vik?"

"Had that worry a few times, yeah. But I learned to trust my gut and punch gonks that look too off." he shrugs. "In the worst cases though, I'd just draw my iron on them."

"You carry iron?" you blink.

"Yeah. I just rarely use it." he shrugs. "Don't wanna lose potential clientele and all that, y'know."

(gain 240 Money, gain 954 Material)

In between working with Vik, you continue soaking up what knowledge is available for you like a metaphorical sponge. This time, you crack open the can of worms that is Specialist Cyberware.

Specialist Cyberware is different than the normal kind as it fulfills certain niche roles rather than doing several things well. This leads to different internals that facilitate such roles-- like bigger and more precise optics, the incorporation of synthetic muscles or more powerful hydraulics, having weapons outright built in, and more.

Beyond differences in purpose, there's also differing construction philosophies to account for the wild range of purposes. Lighter and sleeker for movement, large and sturdy for combat, and small and compact for support or QoL. It's eye opening, really.

The more you read, the more you hear about something known as Cyber-Psychosis-- present in individuals who had taken on too much chrome. It's dangerous and often results in many deaths, on top of the Cyber Psycho themselves. A cautionary tale against taking too much chrome.

That makes you think as you watch to a video recording to a Cyber Psycho tearing through NCPD before being dealt with by Max Tac.

If hearsay is true and over-installation of cyberware leads to cyber-psychosis, then there has to be something in Chrome that causes such a change. But… that doesn't make sense.

How can installing too much cyberware can turn some into mass-murdering psychopaths? It's not like there's something in cyberware that leads to a drastic physiological change-- otherwise it wouldn't be bought.

Then again, you're no native here; maybe this world's humanity is just not compatible with non-organic parts? Who can say.

Either way, this opens yet more windows for you to explore-- science-wise anyway.

(gain basic knowledge in specialist cyberware)

With your newfound knowledge on cyberware and specialist cyberware, you decide to take a crack at it.

You take an old outdated chrome arm you got from Vik and set it down in front of you, looking it over. You see imperfections and inefficiencies everywhere as well as unnecessary bits tacked on-- like plating on places where getting hit is unlikely, as well as a touchscreen on the forearm.

Whomever got this arm must've thought this would be their go-to for daily use and work. And judging from the wear on it, it must've lasted a good while or was put through hell in short order. You shake your head, pitying the arm rather than the person it used to be attached to.

That makes you pause. Since when did you consider mechanical objects better or more deserving of pity than some people?

…oh, yeah. When you first came to Night City.

You shake your head and turn to the limb. Well, anyway, time to work your magic and turn junk into treasure. You reach for a tool when a shadow falls over you, and you turn to find Kiwi looking down at you.

"…yes, Kiwi?" you blink.

"Oh, no, don't mind me." she tells you. "Keep working, Pete. I just wanna see for myself if you can crank out another miracle."

"Well… okay?" you shrug. "I'll have to warn you that it's gonna be boring."

"I'll be the judge of that." she tells you. "Now work."

You take the arm apart, inspecting each part and using your know-how of chrome to take out the unnecessary parts to make room and lighten the limb as much as possible.

Wiring and hydraulics are stripped out and lightened as much as possible, leaving only the bare minimum needed to make the limb function. Then you put it back together little by little, reassembling the arm and noting the difference between the limb from before and now.

Lighter, without sacrificing structural integrity and function. Hmm… maybe you should remove the top display screen and the unnecessary armor plating for a little more weight clearance… yeah, you probably should. Shouldn't even take too long anyway-- a screwdriver and yanking of some wires… viola. Now even lighter.

That done, you turn to the other available chrome and think. What could you fit in the resulting space that you've freed up int he limb you'd been modding?

Your immediate thought is a gun. But you dismiss that and turn to something else. With a sigh, you take the bits of metal that Vik gave you and get to work putting them together before attaching it to a simple deployment system.

"…what's that?" Kiwi asks. "Some kind of… umbrella?"

"Nope-- though it can work like that in a pinch." you shake your head. "I'm making a shield."

"A shield? A chrome-mounted deployable shield?" Kiwi repeats. "Sounds a lil' dirty, doesn't it?"

"Dirty? What does that have to do with this?" you blink at her.

"O-Oh, no, not like it's lewd or anything. Dirty means 'low-tech', Pete." she explains. "Stuff like a deployable shield was phased out decades ago by sub-dermal armor. Cuz why use a shield when your body's armored to begin with?"

"Ah, yeah, that's true." you nod. "The truth is, I just… don't know what else to put on this arm, so I went with a shield. Proof of concept and all." you shrug. "Maybe when I figure out how to make something like-- I dunno, energy shielding I'll revisit this, but right now I'm doing this to make sure it can even be done in the first place."

You finish assembling the shield and start installing it into the arm.

"That it's possible to streamline a piece of chrome and customize it personally-- to give it more stuff to do besides looking nice and functioning well." you shrug. "Also, think of the revenue it can bring!"

"Heh. Thinkin' about the eddies already. Spoken like a true Night City Native." she grins. "Glad to see you're adapting, Pete."

"Yeah." you hold up your creation as you finish making it-- the shied deploying and collapsing at the mere flex of a wrist. "Can't stay a bennie forever."

(gain MK.0 ParkerTech Cyberarm w/ Shield mod, increase revenue potential from small gigs, unlocked new Science options, unlocked new small gigs)

While Kiwi marvels at the arm you've made as well as the new shield mod you installed, you spot the MK.0 Cyberdeck. You pick it up and look over the old schematics for it that you put into the dataslate.

There's a voice in the back of your head, niggling at you to do something with it. You see the parts in MK0 that you could improve and streamline with the knowledge you now have after so studying for so long.

You glance at Kiwi as she opens the cyberarm and starts fiddling with something inside.

She's not watching. Good.

With a quirked lip, you take your tools and get to work on the Cyberdeck. The internals you swap out for the smaller but no less capable parts that you've made through your efforts to downsize and customize circuitry.

With your newfound design philosophies, you further streamline and eke out a little more efficiency while removing any more unnecessary parts.

Slowly, steadily, the familiar feeling of your focus tunneling and the world muting reaches you as you get lost in your work.

When you snap back out of your trance, you find that… not a lot of time has passed. Barely half an hour.

Kiwi is still fiddling with the arm, squinting at something only she can see-- likely doing some kind of netrunner stuff that you aren't entirely privy to. Which is fine; you're not that good with computers. Yet, anyway.

You turn to the cyberdeck in your hands and find that it's taken on an entirely new form. Rather than the boring 3D rectangle with drab grey color scheme, it's taken on a look that's reminiscent of something much more… suited for your tastes.

It's hexagonal now, and about half as big as the palm of your hand. The interior is further divided into six quadrents-- two to handle RAM, two to handle buffer size, and two for storage. It's big enough to hold 6 quickhacks, 3 in each quadrent, and is just capable enough to hold the Webslinger MK.1.

There's also a neat little emblem on top of it, one you somehow made in the throes of hyperfocus.

…it's actually pretty preem-looking. You're impressed yourself.

"Huh. Okay, this isn't half bad. I definitely see plenty of room for improvement." Kiwi notes, and you see her set down the arm. "You could probably… what's that?"

You grin at her.

"…I don't like that grin Pete-- what is that? Did you pull another techincal miracle out of your butt again Pete while I wasn't looking for thirty minutes Pete?"

(gain MK.1 Spyderdeck, unlocked new Science options, unlocked new Personal options, increased revenue potential from Small Gigs, unlocked new Small Gigs)

Kiwi kicks you out and tells you to go get some air for a while or at least until she's able to figure out how well your latest cyberdeck performs.

"I call it the Spyderdeck, by the way." you tell her.

"Just get out of here already, shoo." she tells you, half-focused on the gadget you've made. "Don't come back until you learned your lesson or something."

You don't even find it in you to argue, knowing full well she's not even listening to you when her eyes are glued to the shiny new cyberdeck you've made. So when the door closes, you sigh and head out looking for something to do.

…

…you don't find much.

Sure, there's tons of vendors and shops all over the place. And you spy some people looking like they're eager for some fun and 'fun'. But you turn away from all of them-- simply uninterested.

Instead, you find a deserted alley with a few big dumpsters loaded to the brim with rubbish and radiating a stink that takes you back to your first day in Night City. With a deep breath, you climb in and start looking-- shoveling through garbage and rubbish for treasure.

You've never done this before in your old world, because you had no reason to. You had friends and family who would support and help you get the things you'd need for whatever it was you were going to do. But not here, not in Night City.

…maybe Kiwi and Vik would help, but you're reluctant to go to them. They're good people and you trust them, but they have enough on their plate-- no need to trouble them further.

You have to learn to be self-sufficient now. There's no two-ways about it.

And besides, it's kinda fun. Who knows what treasures people would just throw away?

"Oh wow, a whole arm?" you yank it out. "And with synthskin too! Nice!"

(gain 461 Material)

Two hours later, you return to Kiwi's apartment and knock on her door. She opens it, sees you, and smiles. Then she sees your stuff and gawks.

"Kiwi! Look what I found!" you hold up your bag, brimming with the treasure you've acquired during your dive. "Good chrome! And even one with synth skin still-- ack!"

"You went dumpster diving? Pete, what the fuck?!" she hisses. "Was anyone looking at you? Any cameras?"

"N-No! No, I made sure to check before and after I went in!" you assure her. "And when I went back here, I made sure to take the routes with the least amount of people or cameras! Then I made sure to cover my bag and act all natural-like!"

"And the stink?" she asks, tugging you along as she marches to the bathroom. "How'd you hide the stink?"

"How could I hide the stink? I just took the route with the least witnesses!" you tell her. "No cops, no cameras, no people looking-- I'm in the clear! honest!"

She takes your bag and tosses it inside. Then she starts stripping you.

"W-Whoa, hey!" you protest. "Kiwi--!"

"It's not like I haven't seen what you've got under those clothes before." she snorts, rolling her eyes. "C'mon, get in there-- I'll make sure you're clean."

You grumble through the burning blush on your face even as you enter the bathroom naked-- your clothes thrown into a waste bin to be washed later. Kiwi steps in and takes off her clothes, and you swallow as you take in her naked form; as beautiful as she was when she gave you that 'lesson'.

She chuckles and turns you around, sitting you down as she gets the shower head. Hot water cascades down your body and you immediately start scrubbing and washing.

Kiwi kneels beside you and produces an unmarked bottle. She pops open the top and squirts it all over you.

There's no scent and bubbles, and the contents of the bottle were much smoother and watery than any body wash you've used. But it's much more effective in removing any stink, immediately washing out the stench of garbage and who know what else from your body.

"Okay, I'm getting I'm in need of another bennie lesson." you say. "What and or why is dumpster diving so risky and why are you worried so much about the smell?"

"There's tons of reasons, Pete. Mainly to keep NCPD from following." she tells you. "The dumpsters are all owned by the city-- meaning, you're essentially stealing from it."

"…you can steal garbage?" you gawk. Kiwi snorts.

"Technically, you could be steal Corpo secrets that managers and execs throw into the disposal chute. That's the main reason." she tells you. "Another reason is you getting a dead body's fluids all over you, and getting yourself incriminated in an investigation accidentally."

"…okay, I hadn't thought of that." you nod, realizing your screw up. "But given how high NC's crime rate is, you'd think the NCPD wouldn't have the time or resources follow my trail."

"Normally, that'd be the case." Kiwi nods. "But you can't be too sure. And you don't want to be arrested by NCPD, Pete. The horror stories I've heard…" she shakes her head. "Just don't."

You swallow nervously and nod.

"Once you're all clean, you're gonna help me point out and clean up the trail you left to my place." she instructs. "Just to be extra safe."

"Sure, okay." you nod, glancing at the bottle she has. "We'll be using that?"

"Yeah." she nods. "Its the same kind of cleaning agent crime scene cleaners use to remove stains and smells. It works on people as well as crime scenes." she pauses. "Just… don't use it on your hair. It bleaches."

"Speaking from personal experience?" you smile. Kiwi laughs.

"Shut it, gonk. I got some muck in my hair from a job and decided to use it on my hair. Got me looking like a joytoy for a few weeks." she shakes her head. "But at least the bleaching thing isn't permanent, so there's that."

"…I dunno." you turn to her with an appraising look. "I think you'd look great with white hair. Not by much, but still."

"Gonk. Where did this confidence come from?" Kiwi laughs, playfully pushing you. "I blow you once and suddenly you're acting like you know what you're talking about."

"I guess I'm a quick learner." you grin at her. "And it helps that I had a great teacher."

She smiles at you and pulls you into a hug. You laugh.

"Sooo," you say. "How'd the Spyderdeck do?"

"Oh, it did great! The reload time for the Quick-Hacks was about as fast as some of the middle-tier stuff that the Corpos sell." she nods, eager. "And the Webslinger MK.1 is actually usable from it now!"

"Right?" you grin. "Not sure if you can test it out here though…"

"Not here, no. I'll probably try it out when I do another job-- see its effectiveness and all." she shrugs. "But it looks pretty promising as it is. I've said once but I'll say it again-- you do good work, Pete."

"Thanks." you beam. "I try not to get too complacent and all."

"A good work ethic." she tells you. "And you really should consider selling it outright Pete-- you'd make a killing here."

"I will, I will." you promise. "Maybe not immediately, but I will."

"You better. Too much potential just sitting there untapped." she snorts.

"I'll need time to polish it, bring it up to snuff. Make sure it's worth selling and before going out to do that." you shrug.

"You can do it now, you gonk." Kiwi tells you. "Your stuff is already preem as is. You'll make a big profit doing what you already do-- you just need to make that first step." she pushes herself flush against you, breasts against your back. "And if you need incentive, I might give it to you~"

You pause, actually considering the off before shaking her off.

"That's nice of you Kiwi, but I don't need that." you tell her.

"Huh." she blinks, looking at you. "You… actually mean that. Wow, Pete."

"What? Is that really so impressive?" you blink.

"No… well, okay, a little." she admits. "You're still a kid all told. I remember being ruled by my hormones when I was your age, eager to slammit on or stuffit when I could." she sighs. "Things change. People change."

"…what brought this on?" you ask, blinking. Kiwi shakes her head, laughing ruefully.

"Nothing you need to worry your little head about." she tells you. "You've got a good thing going, so keep at it. Eventually, you'll hit it big."

"Right. Yeah, I will." you nod. "And when I do, I'll need someone to help run my NET defenses. Maybe a runner with years of experience under her belt."

"Hah! If I'm not zero'd by then, I'll gladly apply." she laughs.