Old Friends, Friendly Price

Being in a gang for two and a half years makes you a veteran. Gunner wanted to take out Morton, but Morton wasn't new to dealing with people like Gunner, who had only been around for two and a half years.

Why put Gunner in this area, in a place with so many of Burger King's businesses?

It's nothing more than a way to let the newbie fend for himself—if you can collect protection money from Burger King's territory, then you're something.

That's the biggest hurdle for any underling trying to move up: even if he's more capable than the boss, there's a bunch of loyal guys, and the boss has resources that the underling doesn't have access to until he's at the top. Until then, he's out of the loop on the information and the connections.

But Leo vaguely remembers that in the game Cyberpunk 2077, Gunner did indeed rise up.

Maybe being reckless has its advantages—sometimes it catches people off guard.

Besides, the game didn't have Burger King, did it?

Sergeant Morton: "What? Speak quickly if you've got something to say."

Burger King: "One of your guys, Gunner, is collecting protection money from me."

Sergeant Morton: "Just kill him as an apology. That idiot's always going on about raising the rank cap, wanting to be a general or something. Doesn't he know the law of the ancestors can't be changed? I told you he was trouble."

Burger King: "You're mistaken; now's the time for your bidding war. It seems your work with the company is upsetting a lot of people in the gang."

Burger King: "I don't really care, but this kid seems pretty reasonable."

Leo kicked Gunner on the ground. The guy had already woken up but was pretending to be unconscious.

When he was kicked, he awkwardly got up and scratched his head.

Damn, he'd run into the living king of hell—and it wasn't even like he'd collected from this guy!

He had just scoped out some places like the Lamar Armory and the factory market, hadn't even gone inside.

Leo continued, "Alright, quit pretending. You guys need to stop fighting—people are going to die over this, get hurt, and the streets will be filled with bullets and grenades. Life will be unlivable."

"I've got some dirt on you. If I let it out, I doubt you'll keep your position as the boss very long."

He glanced at Gunner. "Fair, right?"

Gunner cursed in his mind, Fair?

"I'm just here to collect protection money, and you call my boss and force us to turn on each other?"

How could someone be so shameless?

"Fifty thousand eddies."

Gunner gave a number.

Better to save his life, let the dirt out if need be.

Burger King: "The bid here is fifty thousand."

Sergeant Morton: "You're a clever bastard, alright. Sixty thousand."

Gunner: "Seventy thousand!"

Sergeant Morton: "Eighty thousand!"

Gunner gritted his teeth: "A hundred thousand!"

Sergeant Morton: "One hundred and ten thousand."

Gunner's face went pale: "One hundred and forty thousand!"

Sergeant Morton raised an eyebrow: "One hundred and fifty thousand!"

Gunner said nothing, but a fierce light shone in his eyes.

Jackie slapped him across the face, and Gunner fell into a sleep as peaceful as a baby's.

Leo adjusted the audio data he had collected from Gunner, sent it to a server in another world, and processed it with AI synthesis technology.

"Two hundred thousand!"

Sergeant Morton's face grew serious: "Two hundred and ten thousand!"

Leo stroked his chin: "Two hundred and sixty thousand."

Sergeant Morton was shocked: "Three hundred thousand! I'll pay three hundred thousand!"

Leo gestured to Jackie.

Bang!

The sound from La Chingona Dorado's gun was low and deep. The bullet entered Gunner's brainstem, severing his spine and exiting through his body.

Gunner collapsed like a pile of sludge, leaving behind a grotesque mixture of body fluids on the cabinet.

"Deal. The disobedient underling has gone to the heavens, Sergeant. Recently scored a big payday, huh? So much money?"

On the other end of the phone, Sergeant Morton had just jumped up from his chair and taken a few steps when he felt something was off.

He grabbed a chip from his desk and inserted it into the chip slot.

[Welcome to ZetaTech AI Voice and Image Recognition]

[Analyzing audio...]

[The audio appears to be synthetically generated. Please exercise caution.]

Sergeant Morton pulled the phone away from his face and ran his hand over his forehead, growling, "Damn it! Fooled by those three idiots again!"

His roar startled everyone around the card table, and even the guards outside glanced in.

After venting, he returned to the call. "Why the hell?"

Burger King: "Why? Pay up and avoid trouble. Isn't this just old friends checking in on you? No need for the insults."

Sergeant Morton sighed: "Fine. The money's transferred. No more calls."

Transfer: +300,000 Eddie

Account balance: 310,000 Eddie

Leo quickly stopped him. "Hey, wait, you got any sex doll chips? Or high-end behavior chips? Programmable ones."

Sergeant Morton scratched his head. "Programmable ones, no. But I've got some shooting chips. I'll send you the model."

[Skill Chip: Deadshot]

[Description: Contains data for common military sniper rifles, compatible with various hand and eye implants. Grants sniping proficiency with built-in long-distance ballistic prediction calculations.]

[Manufacturer note: Sniping is a skill. Don't over-rely on chips. Any losses are your responsibility.]

[Price: 8,000 Eddie]

[Skill Chip: Firepower Mastery Model 7]

[Description: Contains data for common assault rifles and machine guns, compatible with various hand and eye implants. Comes with a recoil spread prediction device. Paired with the right implants, it reduces recoil impact.]

[Manufacturer note: In the past, recoil control was tricky. Now, just one Firepower Mastery chip, and you can be a firearm expert!]

[Note: For automatic recoil suppression, use compatible prosthetics. Minimum configuration: Luo-Ji G-Series.]

[Price: 5,000 Eddie]

[Skill Chip: Swift Kill Expert]

[Skill Chip: Violent Shooter]

[...]

Pretty decent stock, to be fair.

But the price…

Burger King: "Sergeant, we're old friends. How about that price?"

Sergeant Morton felt a headache coming on—who the hell is your friend?!

Sergeant Morton: "Take it or leave it. You won't find these goods anywhere else."

Burger King: "Alright, give me one of each. Can you cut me a deal?"

Sergeant Morton: "Total is forty-two thousand. I'll knock off two thousand."

Burger King: "Twenty thousand."

Sergeant Morton: "You're one stingy bastard—are you just here to mess with me? For this small order, this little money, you're haggling with me?"

Burger King: "Times are tough. How about thirty thousand?"

Sergeant Morton: "..."

Transfer: -30,000 Eddie

Account balance: 280,000 Eddie

Sergeant Morton: "I'm hanging up."

Burger King: "Alright, call me if anything comes up."

Sergeant silently hung up the phone: Better if you don't.

He sighed, sat back in his chair, and muttered, "Gunner was a good kid. I still remember when he joined a year and a half ago, scurrying around like a monkey, poking into everything."

"And his first time picking up goods—looked like a fool. But he was honest. How'd he end up like this?"

"Night City turns people into monsters. Two and a half years, and it can turn a man into a ghost!"

Across the card table, a man in a sweater cautiously added, "Boss, you've got it wrong. Gunner joined a year and a half ago!"

"Huh? So who joined two and a half years ago?"

"Me!"

The guy threw his cards onto the table.

The atmosphere froze; all four men at the table stopped, holding their breath—

"Damn it, Flavio, how are you winning again? Let's keep going!"

Morton cursed, tossing his cards onto the table as well. The little underling, Flavio, cheerfully gathered up the chips.

Everyone's having a good time. All smiles.

Splitting the money.

Money is just a number—it briefly passed through Leo's account and then was gone.

1,000 left for Leo. 270,000 split evenly—9,000 for each man.

Still owed 1.56 million. This debt was being paid off fast.

V gave Leo a satisfied pat on the shoulder. "Good job making money, little Leo. Sis likes guys like you."

"Go, go, don't call me little Leo—that's such a dumb name—wait, where is she?"

"Looks like she fainted and hasn't woken up yet."

Leo looked over to where Tina had fainted.

Right at that moment, Tina opened her eyes. In her daze, she saw Gunner's body slumped against the cabinet, dead in the most gruesome way.

The bullet from the La Chingona Dorada had massive kinetic energy, breaking his spine and penetrating through his body, leaving the wound looking like a mess of shredded flesh.

She trembled and shifted her gaze, only to see Leo and the other two looking right at her.

"Ahhhh!"

Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted again.

"...Give her some adrenaline."