Chapter 94: Thief

At 8:10 AM, the first class ended. Right on time, Gaius Brutus walked out of the classroom.

After a day of getting familiar with things, most of the other exchange students had at least learned some of their classmates' names. But Gaius Brutus, the one student who bolted out of the classroom the second class was over, was particularly memorable.

To the other exchange students, skipping the opportunity to review the lesson material during break was an enormous waste.

Did he not care about the 10,000 eddies his parents or guardians had spent on this opportunity? Did he have absolutely no ambition to improve himself?

Getting to experience Arasaka Academy was a rare privilege—one that could even serve as a stepping stone into the Arasaka Corporation. Even if someone wasn't lucky enough to catch Arasaka's attention, just having this elite education on a résumé would make finding work on the streets much easier. Even if they ended up hauling cargo at the docks, they could confidently demand higher wages.

But Gaius? He was wasting this opportunity.

And he knew it.

For the average Night City street rat, spending 10,000 eddies to study at Arasaka Academy was a golden ticket. Wasting it would be shameful.

If Gaius were truly some poor kid from Heywood, he'd treasure this chance.

The only problem was—he wasn't Gaius.

He was Karl.

There was nothing wrong with working hard and studying. But the knowledge being taught at Arasaka Academy wasn't something Karl needed to waste effort learning.

The lessons on "workforce optimization", which were really just sanitized lectures on how to oppress workers more efficiently, were useful for understanding corporate tactics. Karl memorized them out of curiosity—but diving deeper? Spending time learning how to exploit people more precisely and steal credit from office rivals? Yeah, no thanks.

Inside Arasaka Academy's faculty office, several administrators watched the classroom surveillance feeds.

Only one student had left—Gaius Brutus.

One of them adjusted the cameras, zooming in to focus on the lone departing student.

"Gaius Brutus—a street dealer likely attending Arasaka Academy to sell black braindance. Have his evaluations been completed?"

"Yes. He has some utility. According to biometric data from yesterday's afternoon class, most male students showed decreased stress hormone levels. His presence has a calming effect, which is beneficial for Academy management."

"Then... should we allow his activities?"

"Proposal approved—until the end of the exchange program."

"After one month, we will cite him for selling black braindance on school grounds and penalize him under Academy regulations—Section 3, Clause 6, Line 7. His earnings will be confiscated, and he will be fined. He will also be permanently banned from all Arasaka facilities."

"Are we drafting the penalty notice now?"

"Add a clause—if he willingly surrenders his sales network and hands it over to us, we will waive the fine and only confiscate 95% of his profits."

"Should we officially write 95%?"

"Adjust the details. Officially state 50%. Then, we'll negotiate for another 45% under the pretense of 'helping him out' and 'pleading on his behalf'."

"We get forty-five?"

"Forty goes to the higher-ups. We take five and split it between us."

"Sounds good to me."

Inside the monitoring room, the faculty staff watched Gaius walking through the halls on the security feed. In their eyes, he was already a guaranteed payday just waiting to be cashed in.

To maximize their "extra earnings," none of the staff aware of this scheme would stop Gaius over the next month. In fact, they'd actively turn a blind eye to his actions.

After all, who didn't like a little extra cash in their pocket?

"Those Arasaka corporate dogs running the academy are probably already scheming how to take my money."

Through his text comms, Gaius messaged Jack and Oliver:

"I spent all of yesterday testing the waters. Still no warnings today. At Arasaka's level of efficiency, that's as good as a green light. We're clear to start bulk purchasing. David already sent me a full list of contacts for braindance and black-market BD suppliers this morning—I'm forwarding them to you now."

Jack: "Got it. I'll head out with Oliver after he gets his new eyes from Vik. You also wanted kitchen supplies, right? We'll grab those too. Stay sharp at the academy."

Karl: "I will. No way am I getting careless on Arasaka's turf. Also, don't forget the meat. I'm making red-braised pork tonight—if you want a taste, don't forget it."

Jack: "Not a chance. You've mentioned it at least three times. I won't forget. Been looking forward to it."

Karl: "It's one of the most classic pork dishes. There are plenty of other ways to prepare it, but I don't trust most of the ingredients I'd need for those. This one keeps things simple."

Jack: "I get it, Mister Gourmet. Speaking of food—Vik's been getting harassed by a few Scavs lately. Since he refuses to buy ripped implants off fresh corpses, they've been threatening him through email, saying they're gonna take him out. Vik says he can handle it, but I think we should deal with it anyway—even if we don't get paid. What do you say?"

Karl: "Trash needs to be cleaned up. Don't ask me for approval—just pile them up somewhere out of sight. Consider it a pre-dinner workout. Send me their email address—I'll trace it while I'm in class. We'll take care of them tonight after school. Fast and clean. No delays—I don't want dinner getting cold."

Jack: "I'll send it in a bit. Oh, hold up—Oliver's surgery is starting. I gotta keep an eye on the door in case some dumbass decides to walk in."

Karl: "Alright, hit me up later."

Karl closed the comms.

He was about to make his rounds, checking in with the students who had placed BD orders the day before to let them know their goods would arrive tomorrow or the day after.

But then—someone blocked his path.

A girl with azure blue hair, a single ponytail, and violet cyber-eyes stood in front of him.

Karl recognized her immediately.

She was the one he had "accidentally" bumped into yesterday—the girl who had an Herrera Outlaw GTS keycard on her. Originally, Karl had planned to befriend her as a slow and steady way to integrate into Arasaka Academy.

But after discovering how eager the male students were to help him out, he had dropped that plan by the afternoon.

Why waste time winning over one girl when a whole crowd of guys were practically handing him insider information for free?

So why was she the one approaching him now?

Karl, slightly curious, lowered his gaze to meet the girl's.

At 180 cm (5'11"), he towered over her by a good 20 centimeters (8 inches).

The girl stared straight into Karl's face—her violet cyber-eyes flickering.

Then she spoke a single word.

"Thief."

Not exactly the friendliest of greetings.