Cyberpunk: I didn't cheat.

"Hey! Mom! What's wrong? The CPD is blocked, where did you go?"

"I'm alright, David. I was rescued by a kind person. Come here..."

"Watson District Victor Prosthetics Doctor is on the move!"

"You've come to Dr. Victor Prosthetics in Watson District. He's right here."

Gloria was very weak, and in order not to disturb the patient, Vito withdrew from the match. He also didn't watch the boxing match inside; instead, he chatted with Vito in the back alley.

"It's another old story of a company turning its back on its employees. Night City is full of man-eating demons."

Vito handed old Vito a cigarette, offering him comfort.

"On the bright side, at least there is no racial discrimination in Night City."

Old Vito was amused by Vito's lame joke. Night City indeed had no racial discrimination. Since people's prosthetic bodies could change their skin and gender at will, Night City no longer had any messy discrimination. There was only one kind of discrimination, which was class discrimination.

“You’re a strange person, Vito. You have qualities that most people in Night City don’t have.”

"Oh? What?"

"Kindness and compassion."

"Come on, Old Wei, I've already killed at least ten people today. They don't think I'm kind."

"Hahaha, that doesn't count!"

"Oh, right, Old Wei, I have some money now. Can you recommend a few brands to me? I need to get my lungs and stomach replaced first. The air quality in Night City is just as bad as the food."

The two chatted for a while when a boy in a college suit ran over and asked them a question.

"Excuse me, is this Dr. Viktor's shipment?"

Old Wei replied, "Yes, you are Mrs. Martinez's son, aren't you? She's exercising and is still a little weak."

“Okay, thank you.” David was about to go inside when Vito stopped him.

"Did you get into a fight? You look all dirty. Go wash up first before you go in, so your mother won't worry."

David paused for a moment, then found a place to wash up, took a good look at himself in the mirror, and only then did he walk into the sports hall.

"I didn't realize you were such a thoughtful person, Vito."

Vito lit a cigarette and sighed.

"Family ties are priceless, may love bring you peace of mind."

David stayed for about half an hour. Gloria couldn't go home today; she had to stay with Old Vie for a temporary hospital stay. Old Vie asked Misty to take care of Gloria.

David found Vito, bowed deeply to him, and said, "Thank you for saving my mother. Please come home with me, and I will give you a gift as a token of my gratitude!"

Vito refused, saying, "I'm fine with going home with you, I happen to have nowhere to stay. No need for a gift, but I'd like to stay at your house for a while, is that alright?"

David quickly replied, "Of course!"

The two got into Vito's bread truck.

On the way, Vito asked David.

Which company do you work for?

David was puzzled as to why Vito asked that question. He replied, "I'm not working at the company yet. I'm a student at Arasaka Academy."

Vito asked doubtfully, "Arasaka has an academy? I thought you were from the company because you were wearing a suit. What can Arasaka Academy teach? How do you bow to Saburo Arasaka?"

David was somewhat surprised that Vito didn't know about Arasaka Academy, he replied.

"They teach a little bit of everything, but mainly hacking techniques."

The two drove all the way to David's house. Vito asked David to help him carry the boxes into his house so he could deal with the cleaner's car and prevent it from being used as a tracking device.

"Could you help me carry this box upstairs for a bit, then come down and get me? I need to take care of the car first."

"Ok!"

David unloaded the box from the car. The box was heavy, and the contents rattled as he walked. He carried the box to the front door and saw the sign that said "No Entry for Overcrowded Houses."

"grass!"

David kicked the door hard, but he had no choice but to carry the boxes downstairs to wait for Vito.

After a while, Vito got out of the Delaman taxi.

"Thank you, old man!"

"You're welcome, thank you for choosing Delaman!"

As soon as Vito got out of the car, he saw David sitting on the ground and asked, "Have you been waiting long?"

David shook his head and said it hadn't been long. Then David carried the box and led the way, looking hesitant to speak the whole way.

When they reached the door, David said apologetically, "The rent is overdue, so the door is locked. But we can take another route, though we'll need to open the box and pass the things in one by one."

Vito laughed.

"It's okay, I'll transfer the rent to you, just open the door."

Vito immediately transferred the money. David opened the door first, and Vito said.

"How about I stay in your room and you stay in Mrs. Martinez's?"

David nodded quickly.

Vito carried the box into David's room; he couldn't wait to start the experiment.

David then retrieved the Sianwistan prosthetic body that Gloria had told him about from the room, intending to give it to Vito as a thank you.

Chapter 9 The Two of Us

David knocked on Vito's door.

"Please come in."

David brought the Sianwynstein in, and before he could say anything, he was stunned.

Vito was seen quickly disassembling submachine guns; the box he had been carrying earlier was full of weapons.

"What's wrong? Is there something you need?"

As Vito spoke, he disassembled the Shigure and Guillotine submachine guns into weapon components. The role of Project Twenty and Intelligence Twenty was greater than he had imagined; he could gather some weapons himself.

David, recovering from his shock, held up the prosthetic body and spoke.

"This is a token of our gratitude; please accept it."

Vito looked up and saw it was a spinal prosthetic. After scanning it, he discovered it was a special military-grade S.A.W.S.S. prosthetic. He handed the prosthetic back to David and said.

"This Sianwaystein works really well; it saves a lot of time. You can take it and install it; I don't really need it right now."

After saying that, Vito started gathering his things again.

David said hastily.

"Sir, you must accept this. You saved my mother. This is just a temporary token of my gratitude. I will definitely repay you in the future!"

Vito didn't seem to mind. He said, "Just call me Vito. I'm already happy to have a safe place to stay. No need for thanks. Tell me about yourself. Did you get beaten up today?"

David had no choice but to leave Sianwistan behind and tell Vito about how he had blown up the academy system yesterday by using a pirated upgrade, and how he had been brutally beaten up by Kazuo's kung fu chip at Arasaka Academy today.

Vito sighed after hearing this: "That kid really deserves a beating, but he was right about one thing: you shouldn't have spent so much money to go to Arasaka Academy."

David thought so too.

Vito continued, "I'm not saying your mother's idea is wrong. She wants you to use Arasaka Academy as a springboard to get out of the bottom. It's a good idea, and it could change your family's situation a lot if it happens."

Ding!

Vito disarmed a grenade, and the sound of the firing pin snapping open sent a chill down David's spine.

"But your family can't have any accidents. You and your mother can't even have a toothache, otherwise the Night City system will kill you. Uh, the concept of being killed is that if you can't afford a certain expense and your finances run into trouble, then you will experience a chain reaction. Your family's situation will take a sharp turn for the worse. You might be fine in the morning, but by night you'll be homeless."

David began to think.

Vito continued, "I know someone who became the second-in-command of the Arasaka Counterintelligence Department in Night City. But his superiors made him take the blame, and he lost everything while he was at a bar. Luckily, he doesn't like having prosthetics, otherwise his parts would have been taken away by Agent Arasaka."

Vito began assembling a pistol using weapon components, saying as he did so, "So my suggestion is, oh wait, this can be improved with some things, uh, my suggestion is, you install that S.A.S ...

Vito had prepared a new standard pistol that could fire larger bullets. He fiddled with the bolt and nodded in satisfaction.

Vito said, looking at David who was deep in thought.

"I can lend you the money for your surgery. Just remember to find a reputable hospital."

After much internal struggle, David decided to get the Sinwistan implant, which Gloria stole from a cybernetic psychiatrist when she was at the Trauma Corporation. David had experienced it in a dream, and the prosthetic body was extremely powerful.

David took the prosthetic body and left the house. He didn't dare go to Vito's place. If Gloria found out that he had a prosthetic body and was going to drop out of school, he would definitely be scolded by Gloria. He didn't want to see Gloria's tearful face again, but he had to do it. Just like Vito said, he would get the prosthetic body installed and leave Night City.

Vito must have never seen Cyberpunk Edgewalker in his past life, otherwise he certainly wouldn't have suggested David do that.

Vito is currently modifying bullets. This crafting interface is far more sophisticated than the games Vito plays. He can now modify things without using machine tools, which is practically a bug.

Vito also noticed that he could manufacture prosthetic capacity chips, but the materials required were much more abundant. He wanted to buy a computer to see if the raw materials were sold online.

David sought out his old acquaintance, the doctor, to install the Sianwisten prosthetic. The doctor told him that this kind of prosthetic wasn't something that could be installed just anywhere; it depended on the fit. However, the doctor could install it for David for free, on the condition that if David died due to a mismatch, the Sianwisten would belong to him.

David agreed. He couldn't keep using Vito's money forever; his family already owed Vito a huge favor. Now that he had installed the Sinwistan, he had to make money as soon as possible to repay Vito's debt and take his mother away from Night City.

"I'm back!"

When David got home, Vito had just finished preparing the bullets and was getting something to eat when he saw David wearing his mother's trauma company jacket, which was stained with a large pool of blood.

"Didn't you go see Old Wei?"

David asked, "Vito, how did you know?"

Vito smiled.

"Old Wei won't let you get into this bloody state. Let's go find a doctor to stop the bleeding, and while we're at it, let's grab something to eat. I'm so hungry I could eat a whole bowl of awful fried noodles."

At Vito's insistence, David found a doctor to properly treat his wound, and the two sat down at a wonton stall to eat and chat.

"Vito, are you a mercenary, one of those edge-walkers?"

Vito frowned as he swallowed a vegetarian wonton.

"Not yet. Are you busy tomorrow? Are you going to your mom's?"

David ate with relish, he replied.

"I'm going to drop out of school tomorrow and then beat that damn Sheng Nan up!"

Vito ordered two small bottles of Coca-Cola.

"And then?"

David was stunned.

"Then, uh, then go home, then find a job."

Vito handed the Coke to David and said.

"Life isn't a movie; it won't end when you're having the most fun. If anything happens after you beat that kid up, call me. I'm going to Old Wei's place tomorrow to get a few prosthetics installed."

David took the Coke, feeling that Vito was taking care of him like a father.

Vito began to speak.

"Don't look at me like that. Your eyes seem to say, 'Oh my god, this handsome man looks just like my father!'"

"Hahahaha, get lost, Vito."

David and Vito walked home chatting and laughing after finishing their wontons. Then, he seemed to catch a glimpse of silver hair. He thought he had seen it a few days ago, but like the previous days, it was fleeting.

While he was still in a daze, Vito had already walked quite a distance ahead, and David could only hurry to catch up with Vito.

Chapter 10 The Boy