"Welcome back!" K

AaA opened his eyes to find it was already noon the next day. The blinding sunlight from the simulated windows on the wall dragged him out of bed. Barely making out a blurry figure, AaA was startled, instantly devoid of any sleepiness, and quickly pulled out the hidden gun from his waist. However, as he recognized the visitor, he forcibly halted his hand, which was halfway to pulling the trigger. 

It was his friend, K. K was lounging on the sofa facing the bed, smiling warmly at AaA. K and AaA had known each other since their time in the Birth Factory. 

"How many years has it been since we last saw each other?" AaA placed the handgun back into its hidden holster, slowly moved to the edge of the bed, and sat down. He casually picked up an e-cigarette from the bedside table, took a greedy drag, and nonchalantly tossed it towards K. It was more of an exclamation than a question.

K simply watched AaA's movements. Compared to his astonishing speed in drawing his gun, his crawl to the bedside was pitifully slow. The room was engulfed in an odd silence for several minutes until the flying e-cigarette broke the rare quiet of the bustling city. K caught the e-cigarette but merely set it aside. 

"I don't smoke," K said, still smiling, and then slowly added, "Smoking is bad for your health, and you shouldn't either."

"What isn't more harmful than smoking these days? Open the door, and the air outside contains substances far more detrimental than smoke," AaA retorted. "K, still out of step with the times, seemingly bears no marks of cybernetic modifications on his body. His ideas are even more outlandish than those of people who streak and masturbate on the streets."

"It's been about thirteen years, I guess. I still remember you were the best among us," K seemed a bit melancholic, his golden pupils slightly unfocused as he stared at the floor, scanning the room's clutter—dirty clothes, crushed drink cans, and unfinished cigarette butts.

"Being the best student means nothing! Not even worth dogshit. I have dual PhDs in Mechanical Engineering and Data Analysis, less valued than a dog. Just another interchangeable part," AaA's initially angry tone grew quieter as he spoke, eventually turning into resignation. "I'm bankrupt. I'm considering scavenging."

After a moment of silence, AaA suddenly blurted out a statement that shifted the awkward atmosphere. He moved from sitting on the bed to lying down on it, then suddenly turned to K, who was still seated on the sofa.

"So, what brings you here?"

"I thought you'd never ask! I was beginning to think you'd go on endlessly about how the company ditched you or something," K sprang from the sofa like a grasshopper. "Of course, I came with a formal reason. I was worried you'd decline if you had a job, but now that you've been fired, it's actually great," he said while pulling out a holographic projector from his coat and tossing it onto the floor. Hearing these schadenfreude-filled words, AaA resisted the urge to shoot the person in front of him, thinking the person couldn't escape anyway, so it might be okay to listen before acting.

The projector flickered a few times before emitting a dazzling light, displaying several small scenes in three dimensions. "We've got a big job. Someone hired us to blow up a warehouse belonging to Digital Demons. It was through an intermediary, so their identity is unknown, but I suspect it's a rival gang, either Chrome Skulls or Circuit Breakers," K excitedly shared, unable to stop himself from hopping off the sofa.

"It's just blowing up a gang's warehouse; what's so surprising about that? Plus, I'm not part of your team; why involve me?" AaA asked, frowning slightly.

"Your language is filled with the corporate dog's superiority over us, the lower class. This is one of Starlight City's biggest gangs, controlling a tenth of the city's underground transactions, aside from corporations. They don't need to look at anyone's face. Do you still think you're one of them? A web celebrity once cursed them online, and the next day, their naked corpse was hung up on their apartment building. They don't need a reason to kill you," K's face remained joyful as if making a harmless joke, ignoring AaA's expressionless face and fixed gaze, and continued.

"Though they are terrifying, this job pays a whole $50, not just any printed money from the old days, but smart encrypted currency. It could buy a hover supercar (sorry, but I don't have the capability to create a real currency system, so don't mind how much purchasing power $50 has).

 However, our last mission was a disaster, and our hacker fried his brain. I want to invite you to join our team. I can offer you $20," K proposed.

AaA laughed upon hearing this, then shook his head. "What's up?" K appeared puzzled.

"It's nothing. I just didn't expect you to say that to me. I'll think about it. Just so you know, I can help, but I won't join your team," AaA said, shaking his head slightly.

"In that case, I can only offer you $15," K replied, blinking.

"No, $20," AaA firmly refused.

"How about $16? I have to consider the other team members too. The extra $5 is because they agreed to allocate it to you to get you on board."

"$19, that's my final offer. This is Digital Demons we're talking about. What if I get hunted down? I'm taking a big risk here."

After some haggling, they settled on $18. "Fine, I'll join this mission," AaA agreed, turning his head away from his initial anger and slowly revealing a smile, unaware that K wore a similar expression behind him.

"That's settled then. I'll report back to my companions," K's previously focused eyes seemed to drift off as if he was chatting with someone.

Soon, K finished the conversation and said, "I'll send you the address. Let's meet up at noon tomorrow to discuss and give you the advance."

"Take care on your way out~" AaA whistled, standing up to see K out. "Aren't you going to invite me for a drink after all these years we haven't seen each other?"

"Take care on your way out~" Repeat by AaA. With the door open, the quiet room was suddenly filled with noise, and a stench hit them, a mix of industrial and household waste, and today, even sperm. It dragged them back from the comfort of solitude into the familiar cyberpunk city. "Always this smell, I swear it's going to shorten my life, and I'll die young," K complained somewhat irritably.

With the door closed, silence returned to the room. 'K is truly unique. In this city, nobody knows whether they will see tomorrow's sun, and no one really cares; they just enjoy life to the fullest. Yet here he is, worrying about air quality reducing his lifespan, rarer than an 18-year-old virgin,' AaA mused, standing up and pulling out a set of equipment from under the bed. He then opened the workshop door and lay on the workbench. 'Time to dust off those old skills.'"

As the workbench began the modifications according to the preset blueprints, AaA fell into reminiscence...