Cyberpunk: Monster Hunter of Night City

At 1 AM, a yellow Galena g240 led a black Mackinaw into Coronado Farm. After winding through a shantytown, they finally stopped in front of a low-rise building.

Alex Knight opened the car door, got out, and surveyed the surroundings: weeds, trash, and waste oil barrels. It looked like another abandoned construction site.

But wasn't this the Mann Squad's base in Edgerunners, the place where David first stole a car and came to?

How intriguing.

The scenes from the anime overlapped with the real-life setting.

This transmigration truly broke through multiple dimensional barriers.

Still wearing his hat and mask, Alex walked to Gloria's car, leaning casually against it, and addressed the red-haired woman inside:

"Sister Gloria, when is Mann coming? We've been here for over an hour."

Gloria leaned back in the driver's seat, eyes closed, not wanting to engage with Alex. When they first met, he called her 'madam'; now he directly called her 'sister.'

In any case, she had no intention of getting out before Mann arrived. Of course, she wasn't afraid of Alex; she simply didn't want to deal with this bothersome kid.

Though her time with Alex was just a brief conversation,

Gloria realized he genuinely just wanted to contact Mann through her for a commission.

His demeanor was unexpectedly gentle; he didn't get angry even when she rebuffed him.

She couldn't grasp how he knew so much about her work privacy.

Alex leaned boredly against the car, looking up at the night sky, mostly obscured by tall buildings.

The city's neon lights were too dazzling; not a single star could be seen.

Ah~ ha.

He yawned; he was a bit sleepy. The Alex in the other world had already climbed into his sleeping bag.

Clarity and chaos coexisting—it was truly wonderful to experience both sensations simultaneously.

Suddenly, Alex, leaning against the car, shivered as if an electric current passed through him, sensing someone peeking at him from behind.

Relying on the keen intuition from his 7 points of Spirit, Alex turned to look at the low-rise building behind him.

He saw the camera hanging under the eaves had turned towards him, a red light glowing in its dark lens.

"Heh, it seems they've arrived.

Want to gather some information first? Then who is the person behind the monitor now?!"

Outside the abandoned construction site's wall, Sasha disconnected from the network, opened her eyes, and exited the camera's view.

Mann, seeing her wake up, asked, "Did you find any information?"

Sasha shook her head.

"It's strange; no biological signals were detected, nor any cybernetic models scanned. Not even a pistol signal was detected. From head to toe, not a single chip was registered. He's as clean as a moving, humanoid stone."

In the Cyber World, almost all things were digitized.

Through optical instruments or cybernetic eye scans, one could see much invisible to the naked eye. Even clothing microchips revealed basic info like manufacturer and materials.

Such a situation, where nothing was detectable, was unprecedented for her.

"Then let's go in. Since he came alone, he must have confidence. Ordinary people wouldn't dare deal with people like us."

Mann said, restarting the car and driving into the squad's base.

In the open space before the building, Alex watched the three get out of the car, first scanning them with his Truth Eye.

**[Mann]**

- **Age:** 33

- **Identity:** Cybernetic Mercenary

- **Cybernetic Coverage:** 54%

- **Description:** Leader of a cybernetic mercenary squad, values talent, fair, just, and deeply trusted by his team.

- **P.S.:** Dreams of becoming a big shot but cares more for comrades than fame.

**[Pila]**

- **Age:** 26

- **Identity:** Cybernetic Mercenary

- **Cybernetic Coverage:** 32%

- **Description:** A foul-mouthed brawler.

- **P.S.:** Enjoys verbally harassing others; might get shot someday.

**[Sasha Yakovleva]**

- **Age:** 23

- **Identity:** Netrunner

- **Cybernetic Coverage:** 51%

- **Description:** Beneath a semi-mechanical shell, a passionate heart beats.

- **P.S.:** Beautiful girls are always 18! Interesting souls shouldn't fade away.

Mann, Pila, and Sasha! Rebecca and Dorio weren't here.

Mann, who hadn't yet succumbed to cyberpsychosis.

Pila, who hadn't yet been killed by cyberpsychosis.

And this lovely cat-girl next door.

Alex shifted his gaze from Sasha's black bob haircut.

Gloria saw Mann arrive, got out, and greeted him.

"Mann."

Nodding at Gloria, Mann looked at the masked client and got straight to the point.

"I am Mann. What's your commission, and what's the reward?"

"I'm truly sorry, but the money I have on me right now is only enough for gum. I'll have money to pay once you complete the first commission."

Alex replied helplessly; being penniless in a capitalist society was tough.

"What? Kid, are you messing with us?!"

Pila stood next to Mann, swinging his long arm, annoyed. He thought this was a big shot, only to find out he was a pauper.

Sasha didn't speak, just curiously watched this mysterious person with no signals. Her netrunner methods were useless on him.

Mann, however, remained calm and continued, "What's your first commission?"

"See that Mackinaw behind me? Appraise its price and help me sell it," Alex said, pointing to the car.

Mercenaries did all sorts of odd jobs.

From small tasks like border smuggling and escorts.

To large ones like stealing corporate secrets and extracting people from Scavenger dens.

As long as there was profit, mercenaries generally took the job.

Alex couldn't resolve the car's information issues himself, and he didn't have much money. Selling it for cash to buy supplies was better.

"Pila. You go."

Mann instructed Pila to check the car's parts for intactness and any systems like owner info or electronic locks.

"Alright, I'll check." Pila walked over, opened the Mackinaw's door, and sat inside, using a personal link from his palm to connect to the data slot under the steering wheel.

Though not a netrunner, he had some mechanical skills.

After a brief inspection.

"Vehicle parts are intact. It's ownerless, with heavy bulletproof armor. Modification style looks like Wanderers' work."

Pila finished checking and returned to Mann.

Mann nodded.

The car was fine, so he quoted a price to Alex.

"A new Mackinaw is 60,000 euros. Yours, being secondhand, is at most 40,000. But with heavy armor, the buyback price is between 45,000 and 48,000 euros." Mann estimated.

"Just give me 40,000 euros. You can take the car; its sale price doesn't concern me. Consider it commission payment."

Alex didn't care about a few thousand euro difference. He wanted starting capital to quickly help his counterpart in the Hunter World escape his predicament.

"Alright." Mann agreed.

Earning a minimum of 5,000 euros in quick resale profit—only a fool would refuse.

Moreover, it wasn't necessary to sell to a dealership. Some colleagues in the underworld preferred modified pickup trucks that were sturdy, powerful, and cargo-capable. Selling at the original price of 60,000 was possible.

Who doesn't like a bulletproof small truck? This vehicle could save lives at critical moments.

"First commission settled. Transfer the money to Gloria; she's my intermediary."

The red-haired woman was about to speak but was interrupted by Alex.

"Now for the second commission."

Alex lifted his hat and removed his mask, revealing a head with no cybernetic implants. He calmly looked at Sasha.

"Help me get a resident identity to move freely in Night City, Sasha. With your skills, this should be easy."

The four were surprised to see Alex, showing no signs of cybernetic modifications.

Gloria now understood why Alex knew so much, yet needed her to contact Mann, and why he wanted money transferred to her.

Without a brain-computer interface, information couldn't be sent in Night City, let alone having an electronic account.

"You're from outside?"

"Awesome, brother, how have you lived without a brain-computer interface?"

Mann was unsure of Alex's origins. A pure 'natural' was rare.

Environmental degradation meant society's bottom would modify organs; otherwise, stepping outside meant death.

A pure flesh body—a privilege only the elite enjoyed.

They could afford Biotechnica's advanced organ modifications, extending lifespan.

Mann sent messages in the squad channel, gathering 40,000 euros, transferring it to Gloria.

Sasha circled Alex, tiptoeing.

"No wonder no signals. Sasha thought you shielded them, but you have no implants; a pure natural."

"A resident identity is tough, but Sasha can use a disappeared person's identity chip, rebranding it with your appearance and name.

The NCPD won't detect issues, letting you operate in Night City, but you need a brain-computer implant to read chip info."

Sasha scanned Alex's body data, returning to Mann.

"Alright, I'll handle the implant. Identity info is yours, Sasha. I'm Alex, and payment for the second commission is in the Mackinaw's truck bed."

When Alex finished, Pila rushed over, ripping open the tarp, revealing two stiff corpses beneath.

"Damn, dead bodies." Pila yelled.

The atmosphere tensed.

"Don't worry. I picked these up on the way. They're wanted criminals with NCPD bounties.

Though bounty prices look ridiculous, their cybernetics must be valuable."

Alex maximized the 'novice gift pack' reward.

In the Cyber World, recycling and selling secondhand implants was a legitimate industry.

Unlicensed black market doctors sold or bought secondhand implants from corpses.

Sasha scanned the corpses with her cybernetic eye, nodding to Mann: "They have NCPD criminal records. Maelstrom scum, valuable implants."

"We'll take the commission. Before dawn, you'll be a Night City resident, enjoying citizen rights."

Mann adjusted his sunglasses, agreeing to Alex's commission.

Picked them up? Only a fool would believe that.

The car was likely the Ghosts', now both car and corpses were spoils.

Who was this person?!

A pure natural, venturing into the Badlands, killing two heavily augmented individuals.

"Then, a pleasant cooperation. Notify Gloria with any news."

Alex finished, ran to the G240, opened the passenger door, and got in.

He wanted to find a place to sleep.

"What are you doing?"

Gloria opened the car door, seeing Alex reclining the seat, lying down, her face exasperated.

"Going home with you, of course. All money is with you, and I'm unregistered, so I'll stay at your place."

"I don't have spare rooms."

"I can sleep on the sofa; I don't mind."

"Sister Gloria, no, Sister, you don't want David to know…"

"Alright, shut up."

"Got it."

Mann and the others watched the car lights disappear around the corner, speechless.

"This person… he's a bit off. Does he trust us that much?"

"Sasha feels like he knows us, like he's very familiar."

"What a strange person!"

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