Determined David

Leo was certain that the person behind Hiroto was Jotaro. The key was figuring out where to capture him while also dealing with Cloud Peak and finishing off the network surveillance job.

To achieve this, Leo needed to extract as much information as possible about the criminal group from Hiroto's memories—Jotaro's location, his connection to Cloud Peak, and more.

Anna and River drove toward the police station, leaving Leo with a large group of people.

First, he had to make arrangements for the siblings, Evan and Martha. Leo turned to them and asked, "What do you both do for a living?"

Evan raised his hand. "Hardware engineer—mainly specializing in braindance equipment. I used to provide equipment to... those bastards."

"Where did you get your supplies from?"

"The Mox Gang. A guy named Hal. We were more like business partners."

"And you?" Leo looked at Martha. "What's your occupation?"

"I freelance for DTR Logistics. I handle deliveries using my own vehicle and have some connections at the docks."

DTR Logistics, short for Decker, Tanaka, and Rogers, is a logistics giant in North America, with a fleet of levitating ships for transoceanic transport. One of its shareholders is particularly notable: MetaCorp, a company founded by a nomad family.

Leo thought for a moment before saying, "Are you open to working outside the city? If you're out of work, I can arrange for you to join the Aldecaldos—the nomads outside the city."

The siblings exchanged glances and nodded.

Martha said, "I can work anywhere. I'm not picky."

Evan echoed, "Same here."

"Alright then, you'll head out of the city. Wait here; the Aldecaldos will arrive soon."

After that, Leo turned to Evan again. "Evan, this is your second chance. Don't waste it."

Evan nodded vigorously, like a chicken pecking at grain, and pulled a small bag from his pocket.

"This contains all my knowledge from working on braindance equipment, my network access credentials, my room's password—basically everything I have. You can use my credentials for hacking."

Martha also handed over a chip. "Because of this idiot, I don't think I'll be returning to Night City."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "But if I use your credentials, it won't just be a Night City issue; the network surveillance will trace you too."

"Let them." Evan forced a smile. "I'm a criminal anyway."

Martha nodded in agreement.

Clearly, the two were terrified. After such a harrowing day, most ordinary people would lose hope in the city. Life among the nomads, by contrast, seemed appealing.

Setting aside the siblings, V said to Leo, "What do you think of this Evan guy?"

"There are many ordinary people like him in this world. Concepts of good and evil are too distant for them—survival is their priority."

"You're surprisingly compassionate." V sneered. "If it were me, I wouldn't help people like him. Saving his life would be enough."

"No problem with that." Leo shrugged. "But most people lack absolute good or evil stances. The middle ground is the majority, often swayed by those with strong viewpoints."

"If you don't want to climb to the top only to find yourself replacing the people you despise—sitting on the golden throne they built—then perhaps helping such individuals is worth it. We can use technical talents like him."

"You sound like a politician spewing nonsense. Just make your decision; no need to justify it to me. So, what's next?"

"We head to Evan's place and use his address to hack into the NCPD network."

Leo stepped outside to find David's gang battered and bruised, with a wrecked van beside them.

Seeing Leo, David struggled to stand upright and asked, "Boss, can I join the next operation?"

Lucy, nearby, covered her face in dismay.

"What's your reason?"

David carefully organized his thoughts before speaking. "I... met someone really strong on the way here. I want to beat him with my own hands."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "So, you're a battle junkie?"

"There's more. I used to deal in illegal braindances back at Arasaka Academy. I want to uncover the truth behind them."

Maine patted David on the back. "Don't forget the most important reason: in Night City, you've got to make a name for yourself. What better way than following the boss?"

To be honest, Leo figured his group of three was more than enough for the job. Still, having underlings wasn't a bad thing—there'd surely be more tasks in the future.

"Fine, but you're all in terrible shape right now. Go see a ripperdoc—get fixed up. Once at the clinic, connect me to the system. I'll also check your implants."

Leo's group of three visited Evan's place and retrieved a large stash of braindance equipment. To Leo's surprise, Evan's inventory was far richer than expected.

Braindance recording equipment captures signals from various regions of the brain, converting them into electrical signals. This determines the tiers of braindances.

The lowest-tier braindances record only visuals, followed by audio—sufficient for most people to get hooked.

Tactile braindances are moderately priced but widely used. Complete tactile systems aren't cheap.

Higher tiers include olfactory and gustatory systems, which are incredibly complex and demand high precision—rare and premium items.

Within each category, there are high-end options, like tactile systems capable of precise thermal differentiation or olfactory systems able to analyze chemical compositions.

Evan even had a military-grade olfactory modulator among his equipment.

The modulator came with documentation, detailing how someone found a Militech recon drone in the Badlands and brought it to the Mox Gang's Hal for decryption. Hal collaborated with Evan to crack it.

Hal made a fortune from the endeavor, but Evan hesitated to hand the tech over to the Tiger Claws, leaving it stored in his warehouse.

Among the stash was an immersive braindance editing suite. Slightly modified, it could function as a fixed-access pod with built-in cooling systems.

Leo's recent research, along with the newly acquired Raven micro-control adapter, found immediate use as he started retrofitting the equipment.

"So, we're just your bodyguards now?" V quipped, sitting on a couch surrounded by machinery and the scent of industrial fluids.

"This place isn't bad. Evan has good taste," Leo said, settling into the pod. "Yes, stay alert. If we mess up, we might encounter the MAX-TAC team, so be cautious."

"What if they show up?" Jack asked. "You had me scare that cop earlier—I was worried about blowing our cover."

V scoffed. "What's there to fear? Scare them first. The NCPD doesn't have the authority to mobilize MAX-TAC. I doubt they'll come for us."

"True," Leo agreed.

Jack smirked. "Alright, I'll bet 50 eddies MAX-TAC shows up anyway."

"Don't jinx it. I'm entering cyberspace now." With that, Leo sent himself a quick message.

[Leo: Don't move recklessly this time. I'll find work for you.]

[á: Roger that! I'll follow orders!]

The real world dissolved into streams of electricity and flickering data. The digital realm replaced all of Leo's senses.