Cyberpunk: I didn't cheat.

If we're talking about any major changes in Shinmei, the streets of Night City definitely deserve a mention.

The two bodies were collected in less than an hour, emptied in less than a day, and canned and put on the shelves in less than a week.

This is the efficiency of Night City, which is incomparable to any remote city. Leaving perfectly good meat on the street to breed maggots is, in Huang Silang's words, giving away all the good white meat to maggots. What a waste!

Oh, by the way, this chapter is sponsored by Whole Foods Canned Foods. Whole Foods factory canned food is made from real meat dripping with blood, a famous brand in Night City!

When Vito got home, he found David still awake, sitting on the sofa in a daze.

"What? Don't the kids in Night City need to sleep?"

David retorted, "I'm not a child anymore, Vito!"

"Alright, alright, Lord Night City doesn't need to sleep?"

David remained silent; he didn't want to respond to Vito.

Vito lit a cigarette and used a small cocoa can as an ashtray.

Cough cough cough cough!

David coughed again upon smelling the smoke.

Vito looked at David, then at the cigarette in his hand, then stubbed it out and asked.

"Is there a problem with your lung prosthesis?"

David replied, "I don't have a prosthetic lung, it's fine, Vito, you can smoke, I'll just open the window."

Vito lit his cigarette again, took a deep drag and slowly exhaled, then leaned back on the sofa.

"Ah, this is so refreshing after drinking, David. How do you tolerate the stench of Night City without a lung prosthetic?"

David opened a small can of Coke for Vito and said.

"I grew up in Night City, so I'm used to it."

Vito shook his head and said.

"Remember to switch to another one once you make money. Night City won't give you any gifts of poverty. Your lungs might already be acting up."

David nodded and asked.

"Vito, do you think I can take Mom away from Night City?"

Vito flicked his cigarette ash: "Of course you can. You have the ability now, and with a few years of growth, you'll definitely be able to do it."

"But I..."

"Stop doubting yourself. I asked around among the friends I met tonight. Arasaka Academy is the top school in Night City. Your grades are also good. Although you dropped out, you still have the ability to go up to the top of Arasaka Tower one day."

"Mom said the same thing, but..."

"Don't be impatient, David, let me finish. But one day you'll find that companies are ruthless and cannibalistic. Once you join Arasaka, you'll find that everyone around you was once considered the most talented person by others. And as you move up, you'll find that the people sitting in the office with you are all so-called geniuses. At that point, you can't climb any higher without relying on talent."

"Then, what will we rely on?"

"By using ruthless methods, you become a corporate dog wagging your tail at the Arasaka family, baring your teeth at others, and chewing on their bones. Then you'll find that it's easier to conquer the Arasaka Tower than to do all this lousy stuff."

"..."

David couldn't help but wonder if he would become mentally ill if he lived this kind of life.

"The company created countless slums, and then recruited children from the slums to train as their soldiers. The children who went in didn't hate the company; they just felt like they'd won the lottery. Look around, David. The company and the powerful are trying to use money to build a new feudal society, turning back the clock of history. I think some people would love to turn Night City into a slave society, turning all the lower classes into their livestock."

"Johnny Silverhand is an idiot who detonates a nuclear bomb in the city center, but he did all the things he did all day long, he rebelled against the company. So, David, when you don't have the ability, you can look at things closer and smaller, but when you become different one day, you have to think about the city. With great power comes great responsibility."

David was stunned. Vito had become as aggressive as Johnny Silverhand from the legends, which made David feel a little uncomfortable. Just as he was about to ask more questions, Vito had already fallen asleep on the sofa.

David smiled helplessly.

"Okay, let's talk about it tomorrow. I haven't said a single word about what I need to say yet."

The next day, David was woken up by a phone call from the principal of Arasaka Academy. He knew it was about him hitting Katsuo. He waved and hung up, then drifted back to sleep.

David slept for another hour or so before being woken up by the phone again. This time it was Mann calling, and David immediately sat up and answered the call.

"Hey, Mann, time to get to work?"

"Yes, David, I sent you the address. Come here and meet the other team members first. I'll talk to you about the mission after you've met them."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

David got dressed, put on his mother's jacket, and went out of the room to find Vito eating pizza.

"Want one?"

"No, I thought you would get up later. You drank a lot last night."

Vito rubbed his head.

"Yes, I'm still feeling unwell."

There's something...

There's something...

The two spoke in unison, with Vito modestly declining.

"I'm not in a hurry, you go first."

"Regarding what you said last night, Vito, could you tell me the part you didn't finish?"

Vito recalled for a moment and then said.

"Oh, that's just the 'Listen to me first' part that drunk men love to hear. Just listen to it and don't think about it too much."

"I'd like to hear the rest of the story."

"Let's talk about it next time I'm that drunk."

"Alright, Vito, what are you going to say?"

"Your mother knows you didn't go to college."

"What?!"

Vito took a sip of his cola and said, "Gloria called me this morning to ask if you were home. Apparently, your principal called her to say he'd give you a scholarship, and that he'd forgiven you for hitting your classmate. Now he wants you to go back to the academy for classes."

"But why didn't Mom call me?"

"After I answered the phone, I told her that when a sweet cake falls from the sky, you should check if there's a fishhook behind it. Your good grades didn't happen overnight. You messed up the system and they still want you to pay the full amount of compensation as soon as possible. Now you've hit a classmate from a powerful family and your luck has turned around. What kind of good thing is that?"

"What did Mom say?"

"She thought about it and also felt something was fishy. We analyzed it and concluded that it might be related to the S.A.W.S. prosthetic body, so we unanimously agreed that you don't need to go back to class."

David smiled happily.

"That's great, thank you, Vito."

"You're welcome. Be careful. I've heard about Mann from Gloria too. He's not a bad person. You can definitely gain some experience in their team. Gloria can go home in a week. You can pick her up then. I'm looking for a place to live and some work these next few days. The cost of living in Night City is really damn high."

"You don't need to look for a place, Vito, you just..."

"It's fine for me to stay here for a while. I'll be coming into contact with a lot of people with their own things in the future, so it won't be very convenient for me to stay at your place anymore."