Chapter 92: David's Thoughts

"Bang!"

"Whoa—ahhh!"

David's body convulsed violently on the couch, nearly losing control as he instinctively reached up to rip off the braindance headset.

The immersion of black-market braindances was just too intense—so much so that David nearly lost the ability to distinguish between illusion and reality.

As the images before him faded and his senses gradually returned, David found himself drenched in cold sweat, finally remembering what he was doing.

He wasn't James Norris—he was David. David Martinez. Right now, he was helping out a ripperdoc he knew by pre-testing the content of a black-market braindance before it went on sale.

This was practically routine for David, who, as a half-braindance dealer, had to sample every new batch before distributing it to his classmates at Arasaka Academy. It made sense—he was the best test subject to determine the quality of a BD meant for street kids.

But this time, the BD hit way harder than expected. The aftereffects were so strong that David still hadn't fully recovered.

"Beep beep."

A notification chimed in his neural interface. The ripperdoc was calling.

"So? How was it, David? This BD was pulled fresh from the brain of a cyberpsycho less than two hours after his death. What's the experience like?"

"Damn, Doc, this BD is insane!"

"Hahaha! The real genius is the editor, JK. He's top-tier when it comes to unrestricted content like this."

"To be honest, my head's spinning. I feel like I might throw up."

"Yeah, total synchronization with a cyberpsycho will do that to anyone. Well, before you puke, why don't you try the next one?"

"Nah, Doc. I'm done for today."

David refused the offer, rubbing his temples as he messaged back. "I saw some familiar faces in that cyberpsycho BD. The shock's kinda intense—I need to process it."

"Calling it quits this early? I had a surprise lined up for your next BD. But hey, familiar faces? What, you saw someone you know in the crowd of NCPD officers just standing around? What a lucky guy—got to be an extra in a real cyberpsycho showdown."

"Yeah... something like that. Anyway, I need a break, Doc."

After cutting the call, David exhaled deeply. The suffocating pressure he'd felt during the BD finally began to ease up.

Then, he clutched his head.

If only it had been just a random cop in the background. The problem was, the people he recognized weren't extras. They were the main characters of the BD.

This... this wasn't normal, was it?

The scenes from earlier that afternoon replayed in his mind—how those guys from another class approached him about dealing BDs together, how they gave him money and took him to a fancy restaurant just to get him on board.

And yet, in reality, Karl—the guy who had been sitting across from him at lunch, making small talk—was the same guy in the BD, calmly commanding the NCPD to stand by while he and his crew took on a cyberpsycho head-on.

This was beyond surreal. Was he still in a BD right now?

Thinking about it, only two hours had passed since they parted ways. The ripperdoc had said this was a fresh BD from just two hours ago...

Did that mean Karl and his crew had gone off to fight a cyberpsycho the moment David left?

And if things had gone just a little differently, would that have meant he would've been right there with them, staring down a cyberpsycho?

That possibility seemed slim. But just considering it made David's heart race with excitement.

He had watched every single cyberpsycho incident recorded in the BD archives. He was one of the few kids in Night City who truly understood the horror and power of cyberpsychos.

And now, after witnessing Karl's team take down a heavily augmented, military-grade cyberpsycho with such ease—David felt something stirring inside him.

A feeling called admiration.

A man, even if only once in his life, has fantasized about becoming the strongest in the world. The strength Karl and his team had displayed was practically synonymous with power—it had fulfilled David's deepest fantasies.

So there really are people like this in the world...

David glanced at the Arasaka Academy uniform lying beside him.

Tomorrow—tomorrow he would see Gaius again. When that time came, no matter what, he had to ask Gaius about his experience fighting a cyberpsycho. As someone who had just experienced it firsthand through a black-market braindance—who had essentially fought half a battle alongside Gaius—David was dying to know what it actually felt like to face a cyberpsycho in real combat.

Would he be nervous? Would he be afraid? Would he feel pressure?

For the first time in his life, David felt anticipation about going to Arasaka Academy.

In that oppressive, suffocating school that rejected people like him, David Martinez had finally found a glimmer of light to look toward.

But speaking of school...

David suddenly remembered something. The shock of watching that braindance had been so intense that he had completely forgotten to tell the ripperdoc that he needed to order a bulk supply. But Gaius had said he could deliver the goods anytime within the week, so there was no need to rush.

Right now, what mattered more was washing his uniform.

After eating at the luxury restaurant today, he had zoned out for a while and accidentally spilled a bunch of soup on himself.

For full-fledged students at Arasaka Academy, the uniform wasn't particularly expensive—they purchased it and it was theirs to keep. But because of financial circumstances, the number of uniforms a student had depended largely on their family's wealth.

David only had one uniform, with no backups. If it got dirty, he had to wash it immediately and make sure it was dry before the next morning.

Several times, David had shown up to school in casual clothes because he didn't have a spare uniform, violating school regulations. Every time, the AI teacher would remind him to pick up a new uniform, but getting one required payment. In the end, nothing ever came of it.

David had never even considered telling his mother about this problem. As long as he washed and dried it overnight, he could wear it the next day. He just had to be careful.

"Beep—insufficient balance. Drying cycle stopped."

The washing machine in his apartment shut off.

"Mom forgot to pay the bill again..."

David sighed as he stared at the pile of soaking-wet clothes inside. This wasn't new—power outages and unpaid utilities were a regular part of life.

At least he caught it now, at night, instead of waking up to a wet uniform in the morning. That meant he had a whole night to wring out the water and find a way to dry it manually.

If this were any other day, he wouldn't have had a choice.

But today was different.

David still had the 10,000 eddies Gaius had given him. Gaius had told him that any profit made from selling the braindances was his to keep—his only responsibility was making sure he bought enough to establish a reputation.

Looking at the balance in his account, David did a quick calculation. Even after purchasing everything Gaius required, he would still have over 5,000 eddies left.

Without hesitation, David deposited 100 eddies into the washing machine.

"Whirrrrr..."

As the machine roared back to life, David Martinez found himself, once again, marveling at Gaius' generosity.

Forget 10,000 eddies—just this 100 eddies alone was more than what he could make in a whole week selling black-market braindances for the ripperdoc.

The cut he got from the ripperdoc had always been painfully low...