Devil in Night City (Cyberpunk) (Patreon)

Chapter 2: Gifts from the Jungle

The sweet release of unconsciousness unfortunately didn’t come like I had first expected. Instead, all that happened was that I was launched like a missile into the nearest wall. I only blacked out for less than a second before the pain kicked in and I woke up again with a pained groan as my body hit the ground.

Lifting my head a bit, I wasn’t even surprised when the car that had hit me just kept going like nothing had happened. The cute girl I’d seen pulled her head out of the window and shouted at me.

“Sorry about that, choom!”                           

I grunted in return. I really wanted to flip her off and tell her to shove her apology up her ass, but I was too busy trying to figure out how the fuck I was still alive and whether I was about to spend my last moments bleeding out on the street.

‘Alright, let’s take this one step at a time. Feet?’ I thought, and let out a pained sigh of relief when I managed to wiggle my toes.

‘Check. Cool. So the good news is I didn’t break my legs, and the fact I can still move them means there’s no major spinal cord damage. Now for the arms…’

With some effort I moved my right arm first, then tried the left and winced in pain.

‘So other than my left arm, everything seems good. Now I should really get up off the ground. The smell is getting too much to handle and I don’t want anyone getting curious.’

With a pained grunt I slowly pushed myself up and got off the ground.

Unsurprisingly, no one had really paid me any attention or seemed worried about me at all. The moment the few people who had been watching saw me get back up, they lost all interest and continued on their way.

This city after all was full of cyborgs and it wasn’t strange seeing someone walk off after being hit by a car if their chrome was good enough. More so since that was a small car and wasn’t going at full speed.

Wincing, I looked down at my left arm after carefully removing my jacket. I inspected it and was relieved that no bones were sticking out, nothing was bent the wrong way, and none of my fingers appeared to be broken.

Now that I looked at it more closely, other than a big purple bruise on my arm, nothing really seemed to be wrong with it. That confused me to no end. You would think that after getting hit by a fucking car full-on, a broken arm would be kind of expected. Especially since I didn’t have said cybernetic implants like everyone else.

Blinking in confusion, I thought about it for a moment and, out of curiosity, pulled up my System. My theory was confirmed.

‘It seems that just before impact I unconsciously accepted the new upgrade to Super Strength. That’s probably what saved my ass from being turned into red goo.’ I mentally noted for future reference that I could accept upgrades, and maybe even new abilities, with just a thought.

“Tsk. I really hope it’s just dislocated.” I muttered, feeling another jolt of pain as I put my jacket back on and kept walking.

After all, even if I wanted to get it looked at, I still had no fucking money. And nothing, absolutely nothing, in this city was done for free. Especially when it was extremely obvious I wasn’t from around here.

Any shit doctor would immediately try to take advantage of me if I went in for a check-up.

‘I really hope that monk has some answers since I could really use some good news right now.’

=====

A While Later

I had been complaining, definitely not whining, a lot since I got here, but I was really starting to realize what a fucking hassle it was to not have the convenience of technology at my beck and call like I was used to.

I would never take my cell phone for granted ever again. I was hoping I could get one fairly soon.

It was a pain in the ass getting by with only verbal instructions and what little I remembered from the game, but after a few hours my destination was finally within sight.

Making my way toward it with a still-dislocated shoulder, at this point that was the only thing that made sense since nothing felt broken, I came to a stop when I saw another drop point up ahead.

Drop points served as a mixture of vending machines where you could buy things anonymously (or as anonymously as you could in Night City), drop off items for missions (I still didn’t know if that was even a thing here since this wasn’t a game anymore), and a place where you could literally sell all your junk.

I had managed to stop myself from using one so far because I didn’t have a neural implant and I didn’t know how they functioned. But with my shoulder dislocated, or so I guessed, there was no avoiding it anymore.

If I was lucky I might be able to buy a stimpack, or Bounce Back as they were called here, the standard healing item in settings like these.

If they worked the way I remembered (and I had no reason to believe they didn’t, this being the future and all despite how shitty it was), then this could be my chance to heal my wounds.

Squaring my shoulders, I walked up to it and, like a complete caveman, started messing around with it, poking and prodding until I got the hang of it. Luckily it was a touch screen I could interact with physically, and most importantly, I saw a place where I could insert my money shard.

“Sweet. It’s not so hard to use after all. I also might have found a way to recharge my shards.” I muttered with a smile when I saw the sell option on the screen.

Navigating to the consumables section, I breathed out a sigh of relief when I found what I was looking for, then checked the price.

“Fifty eddies for a single stimpack, huh? Might as well get two.” I muttered. With only a bit of reluctance I inserted my money shard, watched the money get taken, and then heard something drop.

Looking down, I saw a small tray I could open. Inside were the two items I had bought.

I pocketed one, then held the other up and tried to read any instructions. Nothing. Disappointed, I rolled my left sleeve up with my right hand, brought the stimpack down over the skin of my arm, and with another small breath pressed the button.

I waited a moment, expecting to feel some kind of prick from a needle or something, and became confused when I felt nothing of the sort.

Thinking I hadn’t done it right, I was about to try again when I winced. A loud crack sounded and I bit down on my fist to stifle the scream that wanted to come out as a hot sensation flooded my shoulder.

The feeling lasted for several moments before it gradually faded. I slumped my shoulders… then blinked when I realized I could move my left hand freely again.

Deciding to experiment, I tried moving it around and was pleased to see it respond normally.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” I exclaimed happily, rolling my shoulder and feeling it pop and properly settle as the pain finally disappeared.

“Now if only these things could regenerate like in the game, then I would be golden.” I muttered, bringing the now-empty stimpack up to my eyes and shaking it. Empty. “Oh well. Guess I’ll find the answer to that question eventually.”

Pocketing the empty gadget into my pocket with the other one, I continued on my path, crossing the street and arriving at the park.

Shoving my hands into my pockets, I started walking while mentally appreciating the sight of green again. It did wonders to cover some of the foul smell of the city as I kept my eyes peeled for anyone who might look like a monk.

The dude wasn’t hard to find in the end. He stood out like a sore thumb, even more than I did, with his bald head and orange clothes.

Calmly walking up to the guy who was currently praying or meditating, I came to a stop in front of him and politely coughed into my hand to get his attention.

“Excuse me, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” I asked as politely as I could. Not too polite, of course, or I’d get taken advantage of in this city.

The man opened his eyes and looked up at me from where he was kneeling on the ground. He blinked behind his huge round orange glasses as he slowly took me in. As he did, I immediately went on guard when I saw a look of recognition enter his eyes and he smiled at me.

“Good morning, stranger. I must say that it warms my heart seeing someone still pure and uncorrupted by civilization.”

I almost wanted to scoff the moment he called me pure, but I just managed to stop the instinctive reaction and forced a smile onto my face.

‘Pure? Me? Pft. Fat chance.’ I thought, inwardly rolling my eyes before considering it a bit more. ‘Oh… he’s probably talking about me not having any cyberware. That makes more sense.’

Ignoring the strange recognition from before, I relaxed my slightly tense shoulders and got on with what I was here to do.

“Thanks, I guess. Anyway, as you can probably already tell, I’m new to the city and I was wondering if you could answer a few questions about how to get by without any implants.” I asked calmly, looking at his glasses a bit curiously when I noticed a wire at the back leading into his shirt.

“Of course, of course. In fact, I’ve been waiting for you.”

That raised my alarm again. He reached into his shirt and I stiffened at the movement before relaxing when he pulled out a futuristic-looking phone that seemed mostly made of glass, along with an extra pair of glasses almost identical to his own. He held them out to me.

Being wary as fuck now, I obviously didn’t accept them. Instead I looked at the man with clear caution in my voice and stance.

“Waiting for me? What do you mean by that? And how much?”

“Hahaha, there’s no need to be wary, young friend. Someone just handed me this with the instructions that a young man with your physical attributes would be coming by to pick it up. As for the payment, that’s already taken care of.” The man waved it off, still looking as chill as ever.

That definitely made me raise an eyebrow as I fully took in his words. After all, I was literally someone dropped here from another world, and the only person who knew that fact was the asshole R.O.B.

‘Could this be their doing?’ I thought for a moment. The more I considered it, the more it made sense.

The R.O.B. who brought me here seemed like a hands-off kind of guy/girl/being for the most part. They hadn’t just immediately given me my cheat power until I did something first, sort of like a tutorial quest or something.

There was only one way to find out, and I couldn’t really afford not to accept without knowing how much these things cost. I was pretty sure they were expensive.

“…Alright. Thanks, I guess.” I said a bit reluctantly as I took them off his hands and pocketed them for now.

“Of course. I was only completing my part of the favor after all. Now, let me show you a few tricks I learned.”

The still-unknown man spent the next few minutes giving me the basic details of how to get around without cybernetics.

Thankfully it was simple and to the point. Anything else I could always learn on my own.

“Well, that’s everything. I wish you luck, young man. If you ever feel like reconnecting with nature after being in the jungle of the city, don’t forget that places like these do exist.” The man, who I was going to call Chill Monk Dude from now on, finished before going back to his praying.

“Thanks for that. I’ll definitely keep it in mind.” I muttered as I turned around and walked away, having nothing else to really say.

Opening up my Agent, it only took me a couple of seconds to get used to it since it was quite similar to a cellphone from back in my world. I made sure to connect my new glasses to the Agent like the monk had instructed, then placed them on my face.

Focusing on a fallen pizza box that had roaches crawling all over it, I smiled when they displayed the name of the pizza.

“That’s handy.”

Curious, I searched the Agent for any kind of message that might have been left behind. Sure enough, I had an unread message from an unknown sender that read:

[Use it well. You might find some goodies spread around the city like this if you know where to look.]

‘Yep, this proves it.’ I thought with some relief. At least now I knew who had done this. This also means I’ll have to be on the lookout for anything that stands out if their words are to be believed.

“Hah. Well, it seems that’s my biggest problem handled.” I muttered with a smile as I walked forward, making sure to squish and kill as many roaches within reach as I could.

[Usurper Activated! 4 Cockroaches killed]

[Choose ability to Usurp]

·           Strong Lungs – Can hold breath for up to 30 min.

·           Super Speed – Can run up to 200 mph once you pick up momentum.

·           Radiation Resistance – Can withstand small amounts of radioactive fallout that would normally kill humans.

·           Disease Resistance – Strongly resistant to all forms of disease and some poisons.

I almost did a spit-take as I read the abilities I could Usurp. On pure impulse I chose all of them… only realizing right after what I’d done. I immediately gritted my teeth and braced myself, waiting for the pain to come.

No pain came, though. Even after waiting a few minutes nothing happened, so I resumed walking as my heart raced, thinking about my new abilities and why I hadn’t felt any pain this time.

“Maybe it’s the scale. Since I was a regular human before, it took some effort to change my body. Now that I’ve been strengthened, similar changes are done more easily.” I wondered to myself. It was the only explanation I could think of.

Leaving that aside for now, I pulled up my System and looked at my new information, feeling immensely pleased that it was no longer blank like yesterday.

Host: Lucius Grimlaw

Age: 20 years old

Abilities:

·           Super Strength – 15 times that of a normal human.

·           Pressure Resistance – Withstand pressure five thousand times heavier than yourself.

·           Vibration Tracking – Pick up sounds coming from the ground and vibrations through your feet.

·           Strong Lungs – Can hold breath for up to 30 min.

·           Super Speed – Can run up to 200 mph once you pick up momentum.

·           Radiation Resistance – Can withstand small amounts of radioactive fallout that would normally kill humans.

·           Strong Immunity – Strongly resistant to all forms of disease and some poisons.

Current Mission:

Main Mission: Make your name known enough to be forever cemented in legend in Night City. How you do it is your choice — just make sure that, at the very least, you get a drink named after you.

Looking at the list of abilities, I felt a chuckle rise up and freely let it out as a feeling of euphoria took over my whole body.

“He… hehehe… hahahaha~”

I threw my head back and laughed freely, uncaring of the eyes turned my way.

‘This feeling is even better than sex!’ I thought happily… then immediately took it back. ‘Well, almost as good as sex. A good second.’

Now that I was no longer a weakling, wasn’t it about time for me to start making a name for myself and work on that main mission? Because I sure as hell thought it was.

It was time to cause some chaos. And what better gang to make a name for myself against than the ones who already thought of themselves as animals — the ones where strength was everything that mattered.

“Now… where was Pacifica located again?”