Cyberpunk: I didn't cheat.

Unfortunately, David's attempts to save face were in vain; neither side was willing to give him face.

David had no choice but to tell everyone to calm down. He activated Sianwistan, took Lucy's cigarette, and then teleported back to his original spot. After showing it to everyone, he put the cigarette back in Lucy's hand and teleported back to his original spot again.

David's nose started bleeding. He wiped it off casually and then spoke to Mann and his group.

"The doctor said that ordinary people can only use it two or three times a day, but I used it nine, no, ten times today, so I can join you and make money for you. Now, please put down your guns!"

Vito was a little confused. Fearing that David had been scammed, he followed to check on the situation.

As he got closer, he heard the voices of Mann and his gang. He then placed a small gadget by the door to attract their attention, while he secretly slipped through a ventilation vent and went into the bathroom.

Vito charged forward, gun pointed at him. He thought he knew Night City was corrupt, but he didn't expect it to be this corrupt. David had been scammed and was now forced to sell himself to pay off his debts. What the hell was going on here? Was there no law at all?

Mann and his group were taken aback by David's prosthetic body; it seemed the kid was truly a good match for it. Mann was also ready to accept David's terms.

Kovito's actions made them tense up again.

"Hey! Don't come any closer!"

Vito cursed, "Damn it, a bunch of punks! David and Whitey just made contact and you want him to sell himself to pay off his debts? You guys have a death wish!"

Mann was puzzled: "I only want my prosthetic body, I don't want this kid to sell himself."

Vito continued cursing, "Then why the hell did you send that white-haired guy to seduce David? It's just about sleeping together, it's not like you can't get rid of the prosthetic body, why the hell did you make him pay back the money!"

Lucy blushed slightly and yelled, "Shut up! I didn't sleep with him! Put down your guns now! Let's talk this over!"

Vito also said, "It's time to really work things out."

The two groups packed up their gear and sat facing each other. Vito made a mental call to David, telling him to call Anwaystein if anything went wrong.

"Okay, tell me what happened."

Mann explained the whole story.

Vito smiled.

"That's it? It's just a S.A.S ...

Vito's outrageous remarks shocked everyone present, and they all guessed that this guy was either Arasaka Yoriyuki or a cyber madman.

"What are you talking about? This is a military-grade cybernetic body!"

Vito realized that this Night City was more real, quite different from the one in the game, and so he said.

"Sorry, I forgot about that. And then, is this the only requirement for military-grade? I'll pay you back how much you paid."

Vito had just shut down the shady clinic and made a lot of money. Vito was the most stern father of the unscrupulous doctor.

Before Mann could speak, David spoke first.

"No, Vito, I can work for them to pay off the debt. I want to take Mom away from Night City on my own. Vito, you can't keep helping me like this. I'm not useless. I can help you and Mom!"

Vito thought for a moment, nodded, and then turned to look at Mann.

"So, is this condition acceptable to you?"

Looking into David's determined eyes, Mann felt the atmosphere shift from Night City to a Japanese anime. He knew he'd be out of character if he didn't agree now, so he said...

"Sure, but newcomers have to score 82%, that's the rule."

Vito nodded again.

"Sure, that's the price for mercenary groups. I heard from Old Wei that if you return that short and powerful Ghostly Sorrow to David, I can modify two guns for you as David's membership fee. Also, White, uh, Lucy, please return my locator to me."

"A locator?" Lucy asked, puzzled.

"That puppet chip."

Lucy took it out and handed it to Vito, puzzled, and asked.

"How did you turn the puppet chip into a locator? And why didn't I detect it?"

Vito took the chip and put it in his pocket, replying, "The first chip was real, but the one I gave you later had something added to it. I don't think you'll scan it anytime soon."

After talking with Mann, Vito determined the position of Mann's team: small but complete, with average combat strength, not yet at the level of those who came before.

"Okay, I have a commission for you. There are no middlemen. You get everything. You need to bring David along on this mission. You can divide the money among yourselves. There's a deposit, and the full amount will be paid after the mission is completed."

Mann became interested and gestured for Vito to continue.

"There was a cleaning crew gang, their leader was called Dorf, but I've already taken him out. My intelligence indicated that the gang had over thirty members, and I've already eliminated more than a dozen. But I like to finish things off completely, so I'll find the rest and eliminate them all, making sure they're all accounted for!"

Mann conducted a risk assessment and learned that these scavengers did not have any advanced prosthetics, so he quoted a price according to the market, and Vito readily transferred 10% as a deposit.

"I hope you act quickly and stop just trying to scam my deposit."

Mann smiled and said.

"Don't worry, we're not Indians!"

Vito had them exchange contact information with David and was about to lead David away when David said he had something to ask Lucy. Vito shrugged and left the room with Mann and the others.

The tall, short-haired woman introduced herself.

"I'm Dorio, are you a weapons expert?"

Vito replied, "I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I can take them apart and modify them according to the blueprints to create something new."

How much does it cost to modify a gun?

Vito hadn't thought about that, he asked.

"It depends on what you want to modify it into. If you have enough materials, I can modify it into a high-end version that can penetrate heavily armored enemies."

The group chatted casually, and Vito gained a deeper understanding of the members of Mann's team. Meanwhile, David was looking at Lucy, wanting to ask her some questions but unable to bring himself to ask them.

The two stood face to face for a minute, but David still couldn't get the answer to why Lucy had lied to him. He could only sigh and turn to leave, but Lucy called out to him.

"David, I hope your mother recovers soon."

"Thanks."

Apartments in the Santo Domingo Valley area.

When David got home, he found that Vito wasn't there. He was leaning back on the sofa, fiddling with the gun Vito had given him.

He had the chance to pull out his pistol today, and with S.A.S.'s help, he could at least escape, but he just couldn't bring himself to take that step and shoot a living, breathing person.

He began to reflect on the past few days. Vito's appearance had changed his life. Without him, he wouldn't even be able to get into Dr. Vito's clinic. His family had already gone bankrupt just from sending Gloria to an unlicensed clinic.

His desire to work and earn money wasn't just empty talk. In Night City, he didn't really want to become a legend; all he wanted to do now was protect the people around him.