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Chapter 329 c
🕑 Added 2025-07-23 16:52:20 +0000 UTCChapter 329 c
2-in-1-chapter
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Finally, after a long pause, River smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll consider it. But how much will you pay me? If it’s too little, I’m not interested.”
“€1,000 a day—€30,000 a month. How about it? Fair enough, right?”
“So much?” River was stunned.
When he had worked at NCPD, his monthly salary had only been about €4,000—and that was with exhausting overtime and constant conflict.
Jumping ship to a private company, and his pay would increase by nearly ten times?
River couldn’t help clicking his tongue in disbelief.
No wonder so many of his former colleagues, after leaving NCPD, chose to work private security.
Was running a company really this profitable?
Or was Leo just saying this to keep him happy?
“Can you really afford to pay that much?” River asked.
What he really wanted to ask was: “Where the hell do you get that kind of money?”
But asking that outright would sound like prying into someone’s private affairs—or rather, not privacy, but trade secrets.
Business was war. Trade secrets were the most closely guarded core of any company—and absolutely not something to be shared with outsiders.
Moreover, asking directly would easily give people a bad impression, so River chose this relatively more tactful phrasing.
Even though River had asked tactfully, Leo knew exactly what he really meant.
In fact, River’s concern was understandable.
In Night City’s brief history—shorter than that of the United States—there had been many legendary figures.
Johnny Silverhand, Morgan Blackhand, Andrew Weyland, and so on…
Some of them had fought in wars themselves, hoping to awaken the masses through rock, calling on people to rise up against the corporations.
Some appeared to be lone legends, but behind the scenes maintained close cooperation with Militech.
Some tried to change things, but failed, leaving only a memento in a public cemetery and an epitaph carved into a tombstone…
There was no doubt they were all Night City legends. Even the drinks they loved in life would later be renamed after them, to be venerated by those who came after.
But even so, it was meaningless.
In the eyes of the corporations, all people were nothing more than potential working ants.
So-called legends were simply larger ants.
History had proven that becoming a legend changed nothing; it could not alter the world.
Therefore, their path had been wrong.
Leo’s approach was simple: fight corporations with corporations, use their own methods against them.
He also understood that Night City was saturated with entrenched corporations—every slice of the pie and every market had already been carved up by the old giants.
He couldn’t grow and expand freely here; he would be constrained at every turn.
That was why he had set up his company at Rocky Ridge, developing from outside the city, following the strategy of “using the rural areas to encircle the cities.”
Leo smiled: “You don’t need to worry about salaries. That’s my problem to solve. Just tell me whether you’re in or not.”
River closed his eyes, torn between hesitation and commitment.
If it were anyone else making such a generous offer, there would be no doubt they were a scammer.
But Leo was different.
Even though their collaboration hadn’t been long, River had a very good impression of him.
As a detective, River had met all kinds of people in his work. It might sound like mysticism, but River could smell the difference between people—the scent of deceit, lies, crime.
On Leo, he didn’t sense any “deception,” “lies,” or “crime.”
So he decided to trust him.
“Alright, I’m in. But I’ll need to wait until this matter with my nephew is over. Sorry, Leo—until Randy is safe, I can’t focus on anything else.”
Leo had no objections.
“No need to apologize. I understand completely. And since you’ve decided to join me, we’ll solve this together.”
“You’re my employee. As your boss, protecting my employees is my responsibility.”
With another key person joining his team, Leo was pleased.
In combat, River might not compare to a professional mercenary, but his strengths lay in investigation and detective work.
Perhaps Leo’s company didn’t need such skills right now—but that didn’t matter.
A good boss always plans ahead.
“That Yawen… she looked awfully unhappy. Do you think she might sell us out?”
River shook his head. “We’re friends, after all. I don’t think she would.”
Leo quipped, “Friends? From the way you two interact, you seem more like enemies.”
River laughed heartily. “We used to date. After a while, we realized we weren’t suited for each other and broke up.”
“I’ve moved on from that relationship, but Yawen hasn’t. Ever since, she’s held a lot of resentment toward me.”
“I know I could’ve phrased things better back at the lab—but please understand, I was in a rush. I couldn’t stop thinking about Randy…”
Leo sighed. “Randy has a good uncle. If he gets home safe, he should kneel and thank you.”
River shook his head gently. “That won’t be necessary. I just hope Randy can turn his life around, start fresh. If he can get back on track, then everything before can be left in the past.”
“As for Yawen, don’t worry too much. And if things really fall apart with her, I’m not afraid—I have leverage on her too.”
Leo could guess.
He didn’t know the details, but judging by their conversation, River had probably helped Yawen get into medical school.
Precisely because that was a murky favor, Yawen had flown into a rage when River brought it up—angry not just because of their relationship’s cracks, but also because he held that leverage.
If River decided to expose that, Yawen would be finished.
She had worked her way up from the bottom, so she treasured her current job. If she was kicked out now, she would be ruined for life.
Still, though River could control Yawen with that leverage, the problem was…
“Do you think, under these circumstances, Yawen would still help us?”
River was unconcerned. “We fight, but we always make up… I’ll tell you the rest over drinks sometime.”
Since River said so, Leo didn’t ask further.
“Just buy me a meal next time. No need for drinks—I don’t like alcohol or tobacco.”
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River’s sister, Joss, lived with her three kids in a trailer park on the outskirts of Santo Domingo.
As soon as they arrived, Leo felt the poverty and desolation in the air.
These people couldn’t even afford a house in Santo Domingo—they could only live here, and their poverty spoke for itself.
“Alright, we’re here.”
The NCPD almost never patrolled these remote places, and there were no parking lines, so River pulled the car right up to Joss’s door.
Joss’s family had two mobile homes: one for her and Randy’s younger siblings, the other for Randy himself.
A mobile home, as the name suggests, is a house that can be towed by a vehicle.
It sounded high-tech—but in reality, it wasn’t.
Even in 2023, most mobile home owners in America were relatively poor.
If it was just about liking freedom, there were better alternatives: a camper van would be more convenient, faster, and easier.
In truth, the typical use of a mobile home was to park it in a place like this trailer park—a slightly upgraded version of sleeping on a park bench or pitching a tent in a park.
River sighed, “I used to come here every weekend… but that was a long time ago.”
“Why?”
River scratched the back of his head. “Too busy, too tired, or sometimes I just didn’t want to come… honestly I can’t really explain why.”
In front of Joss’s trailer was a small yard with several parasols and tables and chairs.
But there was no one sitting there.
Even inside the trailer, the lights were off.
Leo looked at River and asked, “No one home?”
“No… ever since Randy went missing, she hasn’t even gone to work. She just stays at home waiting for news every day.”
Leo followed River into the trailer, and as they neared the kitchen, they heard a tired and anxious woman’s voice making a phone call.
“Yes, yes, I know I just went to the NCPD earlier today, but it’s evening now… I thought maybe you’d have found some clue about my child by now.”
“Still nothing? Alright… but if you hear anything, please, notify me immediately, okay? I’ll be at home, waiting for your call at any time. Thank you.”
In the kitchen, a woman whose exhaustion was impossible to hide put down the phone. She glanced up at River and Leo, stunned for a moment, and then said:
“River, if you’re here, it’s either business or you have news about Randy—otherwise you wouldn’t have come.”
River introduced Leo. “Joss, this is Leo.”
Joss turned to look at Leo.
“Leo… something’s happened to my Randy, hasn’t it?”
Back in the car, River had instructed Leo not to tell Joss the truth about Randy’s kidnapping, so Leo simply shook his head in silence.
“You don’t know, or you can’t say?” Joss pressed.
River found a chair and sat down, but then, as if compelled by some invisible force, he began speaking frankly—despite having told Leo earlier not to reveal the truth.
“Joss… I… I don’t know how to say this. Randy… Randy was kidnapped.”
As expected, Joss froze for a moment, then immediately panicked.
“Kidnapped? He’s still alive, right?” Seeing River stay silent, Joss grew frantic. “River! Say something!”
When River was cornered by his sister’s barrage, Leo stepped in.
“The man who kidnapped Randy has already been caught by the NCPD. He was shot and is now in a coma at the hospital.”
Joss immediately turned on Leo. “Then where’s Randy?!”
River could tolerate his sister’s reproach against himself, but when she turned on his employer, that he could not allow.
As Randy’s uncle, River felt deeply guilty about the boy’s disappearance.
He had said so himself outside: he used to visit every week, but then he stopped.
Ever since Randy vanished, River had blamed himself.
Maybe if he had come more often, Randy wouldn’t have ended up like this.
That was why he silently accepted Joss’s accusations.
But now that she was turning her anger toward Leo, River had to speak up.
Not just because Leo was his employer—but also because Leo was there to help.
It was already a lot to trouble someone for help. To then take out one’s frustrations on them… that would be truly unreasonable.
“Joss… we’re still looking for him…”
“Looking?!” Joss cut him off without catching his meaning—or perhaps she understood perfectly but simply wanted someone to fight with. Faced with her empty home, she was on the verge of breaking down.
Leo could understand her emotions, but he still said calmly, “Stop giving River a hard time. Fighting won’t solve anything.”
Joss raised her voice immediately. “He’s my son! You have no right to tell me what attitude to take!”
Leo sneered.
“You still remember he’s your son?! River is Randy’s uncle—not his father. He dropped everything to help you find your child, and this is how you treat him?!”
Joss froze.
Leo’s words made sense—and left her unable to argue.
“You—”
Leo cut her off sharply.
“Don’t you ‘you’ me! Let me tell you something, Joss. I understand exactly what you’re feeling right now. The pain of a mother who has lost a child—I’ve seen it, and I empathize.”
“But my willingness to help a mother find her child does not mean I’ll tolerate a shrew using me as a punching bag!”
Joss fell completely silent.
“I—”
Leo gave a cold snort and continued.
“‘I’ what?! If you think I’m wrong, go to any NCPD precinct in the city, and try treating the officers the way you just treated River—see if they’ll care.”
“You’d better get this straight, Joss: your child is missing. If you want people to help you, then act like it—not like everyone owes you something.”
Watching Joss, like an over-inflated balloon about to burst, River quickly intervened.
“Leo, thank you for speaking up for me—but please, leave this to me. Could I ask you to step outside for a moment? Please.”
Seeing River’s face written with clear, desperate pleading, Leo nodded and stepped out of the kitchen.
Once Leo was gone, only Joss and River remained.
Joss’s face was flushed with embarrassment; she didn’t speak, just stood there.
The air was heavy and silent.
