Cyberpunk: I'm Not a Scavenger - Chapter 81: The Shrine (Patreon)

The elevator doors opened, and Lucy entered the experimental workshop beneath the base.

Several identity checks stood between the elevator and the workshop. Beyond the airlock lay a short glass corridor.

Countless fluorescent tubes shone behind the glass walls. Surely they didn't need that many just for lighting?

When Lucy finally entered the workshop, the sight before her felt almost surreal.

Several industrial-grade 3D printers hummed throughout the spacious underground facility. Robotic arms moved at dizzying speeds, assembling one component after another.

Nearby, automated machine tools carved intricate precision components amid sprays of coolant.

With Pantheon and the auxiliary AI coordinating everything, the vast workshop ran in perfect order, like some enormous living beast.

"Just how much has this guy been working on behind our backs?"

Lucy grumbled, though an unconscious smile tugged at her lips.

She passed through the production area and reached the central laboratory. She knocked lightly, then went in when someone answered.

Pantheon stood before a massive workbench, a specially designed experimental cyberware attachment fitted to his arm. He held his head in one hand, brow furrowed. Judging by his expression, his research wasn't going well.

He looked up at the sound of the door. The moment he saw Lucy, his frown disappeared.

"What's the matter, Miss Netrunner? Missed me already?"

Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Says the guy who's been so secretive lately he can't even be bothered to come home."

For once, Pantheon had no comeback. Fortunately, a call came in before he had to find one.

"Good afternoon, King."

Wakako sat in her tea room with a freshly brewed pot of tea before her.

"Your reputation keeps growing. Even an old woman like me has benefited from it."

Pantheon grew wary at once. There was something behind her flattery.

"Spare me the compliments. You didn't call just to catch up, so let's hear it."

Wakako set down her teacup, an unreadable look crossing her face.

"Lately, something hasn't felt quite right within the Tyger Claws.

"Taki Kazo used to show me a reasonable amount of respect. These days, though, he's stopped paying this old woman any attention. I wonder what's changed.

"He and several other senior Tyger Claw hardliners keep visiting the Japanese shrine at Milagro Terrace. I have no idea what they’re doing there."

Pantheon raised an eyebrow. Were they plotting something against him?

Wakako studied him for a moment before speaking pointedly.

"I'd like someone to slip inside that shrine and find out what's going on. Better still, plant a few hidden listening devices or some surveillance software."

Pantheon could already tell the matter probably concerned him. After all, he'd destroyed their Glitter Workshop not long ago.

"I'll take the job."

Pantheon paused and gave Wakako an amused look.

"But there's something I'd like to ask you."

"Go on. I can indulge a little curiosity."

In the projection, Wakako took an unhurried sip of tea and smiled toward the screen.

"What do you think of Taki Kazo, the current leader of the Tyger Claws?"

Even Lucy, standing nearby, listened more closely. No one in Night City was better qualified than Wakako to judge the leader of the Tyger Claws.

Wakako's expression didn't change. She sounded as though she were judging someone with no connection to her.

"He never considers the consequences. He flaunts that yakuza attitude of his and acts far too recklessly. Even my former husbands were better than him."

Pantheon smiled. He understood her meaning.

After the call ended, Pantheon turned to find Lucy looking at him knowingly.

"Looks like Wakako has plans of her own."

"Heh."

Pantheon ran his fingers through Lucy's hair.

"Wakako's tied to the Tyger Claws. There's no separating them now.

"But all she's ever cared about is her own interests. If Taki Kazo breaks her rules to pursue his own power and ambitions...

"She won't hesitate to use me to get rid of him."

"So what are you going to do?"

Lucy looked up at him, curious about his answer.

"Depends on what Taki Kazo does next."

Pantheon grinned.

"Wonder what sort of surprise they've prepared for me?"

...

North Oak was easily the nicest part of Night City, home to prominent corporate executives, hedge fund managers, bankers, and other wealthy elites. The shrine at Milagro Terrace stood on a wooded hill in North Oak.

Night had fallen. From the hillside, the lights of Night City stretched out in a spectacular panorama.

Kusanagi motorcycles, a Tyger Claws favorite, crowded the shrine's parking lot around a handful of luxury cars.

Two burly guards watched the entrance closely, refusing to let anyone in or out.

Pantheon parked beyond the security cameras' view and deployed a new spider from the trunk. It was a reconnaissance model adapted from a T.I.M. hunting spider.

It carried an advanced electrostatic climbing system, optical camouflage, and silent movement modules. Under cover of darkness, it could all but disappear into its surroundings.

The spider scaled the shrine's wall without a sound and slipped inside. Pantheon watched through its shared visual feed. Tyger Claws filled the courtyard, corridors, and even the gift shop.

They wandered around carrying standard-issue Arasaka weapons, looking entirely at ease. Almost every jacket bore the embroidered words "Unrivaled Under Heaven."

Pantheon gave a derisive snort but said nothing.

The spider moved farther in, evaded the rooftop sentries, and headed for the nearest room. The door opened by itself despite no one being nearby. Fortunately, nobody noticed the strange sight.

The temperature inside was considerably lower than outdoors.

Clinging to the ceiling, the spider advanced past several servers bearing Arasaka logos. It had found the shrine's server room.

Two netrunners in Arasaka uniforms occupied top-of-the-line netrunner chairs. Data cables ran into the backs of their heads, suggesting both were deep diving.

So Arasaka was involved too.

Pantheon considered the implications, ideas racing through his mind. Perhaps this operation would offer more than one opportunity.

The spider crawled to a server port and plugged in using the physical connector on its abdomen.

As far as Pantheon was concerned, the elaborate ICE firewall those two had built was only good for intimidating amateur netrunners. He bypassed the ICE without setting off an alarm and planted a virus inside.