Chapter 3

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 Night City is a city that chases dreams.

 Gloria Martinez is no exception.

 Her dream was for her son to graduate from Arasaka Academy and then join the Arasaka Corporation, eventually reaching the pinnacle of Arasaka.

 She always believed that this path was the brightest future.

 For this dream, she spared no effort, using her meager salaries and frugality to support her son, David, in his studies at Arasaka Academy.

 She also always believed that her child was the smartest and best and that her hard work would be rewarded.

 She was willing to use her own fire to light the pathway to David's dream of entering Arasaka.

 However, what happened today doused her dream's flame with cold water.

 She was diligently searching for a new part-time job in the Heywood district when she unexpectedly received a notification from Arasaka Academy.

 Her son was being ordered to leave school!

 She had to give up finding a new job and rush to the school to deal with this matter.

 Only then did she learn that her son had installed an unlicensed, black market software upgrade for his Braindance headset, which ended up infecting the academy's online educational network with viruses during a remote class session.

 The entire online education system crashed, and the Braindance headsets of other students were burned out and malfunctioned.

 Faced with the Arasaka Academy principal's argument for expelling her son, she could only humbly plead with them and promise to compensate in full.

 After getting the principal's agreement...

 Gloria took her son David from the Arasaka Tower and drove away.

 She drove steadily on the elevated road.

 Despite having told him repeatedly...

 She had instructed David to upgrade to licensed software, but problems still arose, and he nearly got expelled.

 She knew David was trying to save money, and crashing the school's online network wasn't intentional, but she couldn't help bringing it up.

 "I told you to get that Braindance headset upgraded."

 David couldn't face his mother, admitting his mistake in helpless acknowledgment.

 "It was my fault for going to the ripperdoc."

 Gloria's tone became strict.

 "You acted on your own, and now we have to pay ten times as much."

 Faced with his mother's pressing words, David could only look out the window, hiding his helplessness.

 "I'm sorry..."

 "If you wanted to apologize, you shouldn't have done this in the first place!"

 "When I first asked you, you said we didn't have the eddies, so..."

 "That was before payday; of course, we didn't have stacks of cash lying around at home!"

 She felt that her intentions and efforts were completely unappreciated by her son.

 "And stop shaking your leg!"

 Hearing his mother's scolding

 David sighed helplessly.

 The disconnect with his classmates, the heavy burden of family poverty, and his mother's earnest expectations weighed on him like mountains.

 He wanted to break free from this quagmire, so he tried to express his truest thoughts, though not hopeful for success.

 "Actually, I've been thinking..."

 "Thinking about what?"

 "I could take a break from school, try to find a job or something."

 "What are you even saying?!"

 Gloria's emotions surged even more.

 "Mom, you know we really can't afford the system's repair costs."

 David still looked out of the car window with furrowed brows, his foot subconsciously shaking again, but he persisted with his words.

 "Besides, I never really fit in at the academy."

 "Mom doesn't understand."

 "As a poor person, no one will take me seriously."

 "No matter how hard I study, I can't become like them."

 "And I don't want to become like them."

 Silence.

 The car was filled with silence.

 Actually, Gloria's deepest hope

 was for her son, David.

 to graduate from Arasaka Academy and successfully join Arasaka Corporation.

 To ascend to the high ranks of Arasaka.

 Not having to work as hard as she did every day, struggling even for the most basic living.

 In Gloria's eyes, David deserved a brighter future, a better prospect.

 And this brightness and future meant joining the Arasaka Corporation!

 She didn't really blame David for installing pirated software; what she cared about was that David was being expelled from Arasaka Academy.

 Everything she did was for David to graduate from Arasaka Academy successfully.

 David was young and had not experienced the harshness of society, which is why he naively thought that any job was better than studying at Arasaka Academy.

 Big mistake!

 Gloria understood deeply that joining a big company in Night City was the best prospect, and attending Arasaka Academy was the shortcut to joining Arasaka Corporation.

 Arasaka Academy not only provided the highest quality education but was also attended by the children of many Arasaka executives, which could all be potential pathways to the Arasaka higher echelons.Entrance to the Circle and Connections.

 In fact, David understood his mother's painstaking efforts equally well.

 But studying at Arasaka Academy not only failed to integrate him into the circle of children from Arasaka's elite, but it also made him the subject of their bullying and ridicule.

 He couldn't see his future, friends, or friendship at Arasaka Academy.

 The ostracism from his classmates targeted him purely because of his background.

 After a while.

 Gloria choked up.

 The feeling of being wronged and uncomfortable swelled and clogged in her heart like cotton candy.

 "What have I been working for all this time?"

 "I've been working myself to death just so that you…"

 "But now…"

 "What do you think I've been doing all this time?"

 Gloria was nearly crying, all the earlier blame and dissatisfaction now turned into tears.

 David couldn't help but turn to look, and when he saw his mother's eyes shimmering with tears, he was startled.

 His mother, always so strong and independent, was crying!

 This was the first time he had seen his mother cry.

 "You're so smart and talented."

 "That's why I've worked so hard to earn money and nurture you."

 "If you don't want to go to school anymore"

 "What am I supposed to do?"

 Gloria was driving, tears streaming down her cheeks.

 She wasn't sad for herself, but for David, born at the bottom, unaware of how dark his future could be.

 She didn't want David to do the same lowly jobs as herself, or even take risks doing illegal things.

 David didn't know how to comfort his mother and could only capitulate again.

 "I shouldn't have said that."

 "I'm sorry, don't cry."

 At that moment, a black business sedan and a pink SUV were closing in from behind them, on either side. The two in the car were completely unaware of the looming danger.

 Gloria knew that David needed comfort more at that moment, and no matter how much she was hurt, she needed to cheer her son on.

 "I know you don't fit in at school, I know how your classmates treat you because I've gone through the same."

 "That's why we have to prove them wrong!"

 She raised her hand and pointed upward.

 "I hope you work hard to become elite, to climb to the top of the Arasaka Tower!"

 Mentioning this dream reignited a fire of hope in her eyes, her pupils filled with anticipation for a bright future.

 Gloria turned her head to look towards David.

 "I know you have the talent, you can definitely do it!"

 David seemed accustomed to the dream his mother spoke of and just sighed lightly, leaning irritably in his seat.

 "That's easy for you to say."

 "Hm?!"

 David suddenly realized that at some point a heavy machine gun had appeared by the window, aimed right at his window!

 "Mom..."

 Before he could warn his mother.

 The heavy machine gun, through the window, began to crazily fire at the black business sedan on the other side, and terrifying firepower was unleashed in an instant!

 All David could do was watch helplessly as countless bullets whizzed past, shattering the car windows and doors.

 "Damn gangs shooting it out!"