chapter 101

After the two scavengers in the lounge were dealt with, the remaining five scavengers didn't last long against Karl's team. It took about two minutes from the time they entered the door to finish everything.

"You'll need a good wash before coming to my place later," Karl remarked, looking at David, who had fired four shots in the battle, killing two scavengers in total, including the one he had knifed earlier. "Now I get why Arasaka always likes red and black clothes—turns out bloodstains aren't too noticeable."

"Did I really... do it?" David asked, breathing heavily, the scent of blood filling his nostrils.

"Of course, you did it, David," Oliver said, slapping him on the back hard enough to almost knock him over. "You did great. You've earned yourself a good meal of braised pork."

"I'm the one who'll be cooking, so don't act like you did all the work," Karl grumbled before turning to David. "How are you holding up? Can you still eat?"

"I'm fine," David said, adapting quickly. "I didn't read Black Chaomeng for nothing."

"Good. Keep the Kenshin. I'll recommend a gun store on your way to school that offers discounts if you buy four boxes of bullets at once. When you get a chance, practice reloading and aiming at a shooting range. Killing one person with four bullets is a bit wasteful."

"Four bullets for one kill—David's shooting skills are already impressive," Jack commented as he searched the scavenger's suite. He found nothing valuable except for some second-hand junk prostheses. At the computer, he flipped through their email records. "It's definitely them. They didn't even delete the threatening emails they sent to Old vic. There are records of their kidnappings here too."

"This might make it easier for the NCPD to locate the victims' families," Karl said, sending a message to Johnson before handing a bag to David.

"What's this?" David asked.

"I picked up a scavenger's gun during the search. It's not great, but you can sell it at a weapon store for some pocket money," Karl replied. For Karl and the others, the money from selling such a gun wasn't much, but it was suitable for David, who was just getting started.

"Can I?" David asked, surprised.

"You killed two out of the seven people, more than me. There's no reason to be embarrassed," Karl said, placing the bag in David's arms. "Just don't let your mom find out. She's worked hard to send you to Arasaka Academy and probably hopes you'll stay out of street stuff. You've learned enough for now. Just keep practicing at the gun store when you can. We don't have much more to teach you."

Of course, that wasn't entirely true, but Karl said it anyway. David's family wasn't like Oliver's or Jack's, steeped in the gang culture of Night City. It was better for him not to get too involved in mercenary life.

David heard the underlying message—that this would be the last time—and couldn't help but compare his acceptance here to the rejection he faced at school. Deep down, he yearned for the mercenary life Karl and the others led. But he also knew this would be the last time, because of his mother's hard work and hopes for his future.

"I understand," David said, nodding.

"But you're still welcome at my place for a free meal anytime," Karl said, patting him on the shoulder with a smile. "I don't mind friends dropping by. It's a good chance to test my cooking skills."

"Yeah," David replied, nodding again as the sound of approaching sirens signaled the end of their pre-meal exercise. Now, it was time to collect their reward.

"Mr. Johnson," Karl said, briefing Johnson on the situation and handing over a small flyer he had picked up.

"Old William's Hot Dog?" Johnson read the flyer, puzzled.

"Two residents handed us this while we were dealing with the scavengers. The picture looked good, so I thought I'd recommend it," Karl explained.

"Recommending something you haven't even tried?" Johnson asked.

"Since they didn't make any noise to disturb us, we might as well return the favor," Karl said. He was about to invite Johnson over for some meat after work when Jack's voice interrupted from a distance.

"Karl, we've got a problem!"

"What's wrong?" Karl asked, heading over to find David and Jack standing by his car, with Oliver looking visibly upset.

"A car thief tried to break in while we were upstairs. They didn't get away with the car, but they slashed all our tires," Jack explained.

"Seriously?" Karl inspected the car, finding clear signs of a rushed break-in attempt. "After all this, we get hit by a car thief?"

Jack, who had done his fair share of car thefts in the past, shook his head. "It's ironic, really."

"Well, it's annoying, but..." Karl trailed off, noticing Oliver's grim expression. "Looks like we'll have to take the subway home today."

"If I catch that thief, I'll hang him up and beat him with my belt," Oliver muttered, clearly the most attached to the car. Street life was one thing, but messing with him was another matter entirely.

Karl accepted the situation with a sigh, turning back to Johnson. "Mr. Johnson, could you stay here while we call for a repair? We need to get back early."

"No problem. After what you've done for us today, this is nothing. Go ahead," Johnson said, glancing at David's blood-stained uniform. "He could use a shower, too."

"Thanks, we appreciate it," Karl said. Before they left, he had David change into an Arasaka uniform he had stored in the car. "It's not a perfect fit, but it'll do for now. Take the bag of clothes and wash them at my place."

David, now holding two bags—one with the gun and the other with clothes—followed Karl, Jack, and Oliver to the subway.

As they stepped onto the platform, David caught a glimpse of something white out of the corner of his eye.

For advanced chapters upto 170+ available

patreon.com/Thereator

Daily 3+ chapter update available