Cursed Edgerunner Chapter 20 (Patreon)

It turned out that money did make the world go round, even in this RWBY world. Though not to the extent of Night City. But I didn't have any problems finding an apartment whose manager took a little bribe to get me in that very same day.

"Whelp... Living the damn dream. Got my own apartment, got a decent little bank account, and can be a himbo whenever I want. Why the hell should I go back to the Cyberpunk world filled with curses?" I said as I relaxed on my couch.

I just stared up at the ceiling above my head for a good long minute before I spoke again. "Ok fuck it. I am bored; time to go kill another child trafficker or something." 

With a harsh kicking motion, I threw myself off my couch, and I idly wondered as I felt my scroll shift in my pocket. 'With how much wealth that Weiss has... How likely is it that she is going to look into me?'

But another shrug left me as it's not like they could track me across another universe after all.

So with a crackle of energy, I jumped through the portal back to the Cyberpunk universe. As I was just raring to find some trouble at this point. Maybe that desire had something to do with plowing the usually so careless Yang.

As I came out of the portal, I resynched with the Net of Night City, and I saw I had several messages waiting for me.

After sifting through my 'contacts' list, I paused at recognizing one of the new people who had messaged me. "Oh? Regina, that fixer who was trying to fix people who had cyberpsychosis, got a commission for me?"

Looking through the commission, it was rather simple, and I couldn't help a small smile at seeing how Regina clearly did her research on me.

The commission clearly outlined how she knew I wasn't just a hired gun who killed everyone in their path for no reason. I did let people without serious crimes live and turn them in as live bounties.

And she had a contract for me to capture someone strictly ALIVE and not dead. A fraudster who, stole a high-end 3D metal-grade printer from a crew who likewise hijacked a Kiroshi shipment.

The high-end printer, which was meant to print the insanely complicated parts for Kiroshi's eye implants, was something that Kiroshi's own security forces were hunting for. And Regina obviously wanted the sweet payout on the bounty for it's return.

Something seemingly only accomplishable if someone caught that fraudster.

With a hum, I took the picture and details of one Takeda Yomimoto. Said fraudster who was a failed-out reject from an Arasaka Net Watch program who was labeled as being a decent hacker.

And I then took those details to ping through all of Night City's cameras that were attached to the NCPD. Using the NCPD's much thinner immediate security around its data delivery between it's servers and the cameras themselves to gather the data on my own end.

"And why hello, Takeda... Hmm, you are the Cloud's right now." I muttered with a raised eyebrow as I saw that Takeda's file in the NCPD now as of three hours ago had an additional automated note for being 'possibly' involved in voluntary human trafficking for the Tyger Claws.

But the Clouds... I wasn't going to take a shit right on the Tyger Claw's front door by jacking someone inside of their Dollhouse. Those Tyger Claw's gangsters won't be the bottom-of-the-barrel scabs I dealt with previously.

They would actually have some implants of note and, most importantly... There may be some Curse User's with actual training and strength running the joint as its guardian.

Fighting a sorcerer straight up wasn't in my best interests obviously.

So, with knowledge of where my target was. I got onto my whip and headed on over to Megabuilding H8 over in Japantown.

'Time to just relax for now... I need to wait for him to 'finish' his fun over in the whore house and get him on the way out.' I mused helplessly. As I really hoping this guy wasn't going to be the type to just go to sleep after his fun.

And while I just waited for time to pass I looked over the other public bounties as after turning in so many public bounties on people with the NCPD. My security line was updated allowing me to see higher bounties.

'Well, well, well... This isn't a Sukuna vessel but still it's close?' I muttered as my face twitched at reading something very fucking weird.

Apparently WW2 went basically the same here in this timeline. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Mussolini was killed by communists. Oh and in this world Hitler's side quest for occult nonsense ACTUALLY paid off as he went the Sukuna path sorta in making phylacteries.

But instead of turning twenty fingers into his phylacteries, he made it so his entire body and soul became a phylactery based on the number of people killed in his concentration camp. So, occasionally, when people died up extreme suppression, the curse of Hitler will arise and transform into another phylactery.

And when said phylacteries are consumed... The shadow of 'hate' would fill the target. Driving them utterly mad and being flooded by cursed energy. Most of the time the eater would just go completely mad.

Because the negative emotions of countless people who died in said camps and Hitler's own madness wasn't so easily consumed. But, sometimes people did keep... A 'measure' of their sanity.

'Hmm. I can't help but wonder. This bullshit has Kenjaku's hands all over it. Turning all the negative energy around the death and labor camps into a giant-ass curse has his name all over such nonsense. Maybe he wanted to use it as fuel for his culling games?' I mused as I looked at the bounty.

Said bounty was a higher-ranking Scav who was linked up with some bandit-style nomad clan outside the city. Who had a habit of going out and working with said bandit clan's to commit mass killings against other nomad clans. Groups that no one would care if they were lost.

After a good bit of reading about other bandits and psychos in this damned city whose crimes were very much worth death. A loud rumble rang out as my target in his oversized Hummer-style ride drove by.

And as I waited a moment to pull out and follow... I coudn't help a facial twitch as I saw his license plate literally read. [SmlMySht] Yup I was going to break this guy's nose before I turned him over.

AND I was going to steal that car as well.