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Chapter 224 c
🕑 Added 2025-05-14 15:00:12 +0000 UTCChapter 224 c
A small crowd had gathered nearby to watch the commotion.
“Hey, man! You trying to double-cross me? Why are four bags missing from my share?”
“I took it out of Pablo’s cut. Not happy? Go ask him yourself.”
“I can’t find Pablo, so I’m asking you. Right now, it’s you I can’t settle with. I could pave the road with your guts, but that still wouldn’t get me my money.”
“Oh? Feeling tough, huh? Come on then, I’ll help you loosen up, punk!”
Both men drew their pistols and fired simultaneously—and dropped to the ground at the same time.
Only then did the onlookers scream and scatter in panic.
But the fight was already over.
Whether it was a matter of accuracy or just bad luck, both had struck each other’s vital points and died on the spot.
Leo shook his head.
Honestly, street shootings and brawls like this weren’t unusual in Night City.
It was exactly the kind of chaos the megacorporations welcomed—
the worse the public safety, the more it highlighted the value of private security services and weapons.
After all, their corporate plazas and the North Oak district were heavily guarded by NCPD and corporate security teams.
Riots and crime hardly reached them.
Okada Wakako’s pachinko parlor was located on Jig-Jig Street.
Leo only walked a few minutes before arriving at her shop.
He ignored the people sitting outside playing pachinko, pushed aside the curtain made of plastic slats, and stepped inside.
The back room was Wakako’s office—small, but refined, a textbook example of how the Japanese made efficient use of tight spaces.
When she saw Leo enter, a sharp glint flickered in Wakako’s eyes.
“Leo. A rare guest.”
Leo took a seat across from her. “What, not happy to see me?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Wakako was in the middle of a call, but she wrapped it up quickly and hung up. “Still, I imagine you didn’t come just for small talk.”
“I’ve always said, age brings wisdom. You haven’t lost your edge, Wakako.”
“Spare me the flattery. If you’ve got business, get to it. It’s better that way—for both of us.”
Wakako clearly wasn’t thrilled by Leo’s visit.
They weren’t enemies, but they weren’t exactly friends either.
“Then I’ll be direct. I know you recently helped a Braindance crew recruit a new actress. I want their contact information. If you have an address I can visit, even better.”
Wakako slowly removed her glasses and placed them on the desk.
“Leo, this is putting me in a very difficult position.”
In Japanese culture, avoiding trouble for others is a virtue. So when someone says they’re “troubled,” it’s actually a strong expression—
the equivalent of an American saying, “You’re being a real pain in the ass.”
But Leo wasn’t Japanese. And Wakako wasn’t a full-blooded Japanese either—she was Japanese-American.
So…
“Cut the act. We both know if the price is right, you’d sell them out in a heartbeat.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Leo.”
“I’ll give you ten thousand eurodollars for their info. No one else will know.”
Wakako shook her head firmly.
“Twenty thousand.”
She said nothing, only smiled.
“Fifty.”
BAM!
Wakako slammed both hands on the desk and stood up.
“You insult me, Leo! People trust me to help solve their problems. You think a bit of cash can buy me that kind of betrayal?”
Leo raised his hands in surrender.
But there wasn’t a hint of frustration on his face.
“My bad. I misjudged you, Wakako.”
She slowly sat back down, her expression softening into a smile.
“But I do have a very interesting Braindance. Fifty thousand eurodollars—it’s a bargain. Want it?”
“Interesting? How interesting?”
“You’ll see. Be sure to check the edges—there’s something worth finding.”
With that, Wakako pulled out a Braindance chip packaged in a little pink case shaped like a parasol and slid it across the table.
Leo looked at her.
That same sly smile never left her face.
Damn old fox.
She wasn’t giving him a single handle to hold onto.
Leo took the chip, thanked her, transferred the fifty thousand, and turned to leave.
“Leo.”
He figured Wakako was about to ask for more.
But she simply said, calmly:
“Do it clean. I don’t want anyone knocking on my door.”
Leo paused at the threshold.
He glanced at the small Buddhist shrine inside the shop.
“Don’t worry. The Buddha is merciful. I’ll make sure they all get sent to where they belong.”
—
Outside Jig-Jig Street, on the road near the entrance,
Judy sat in the car, eyes glued to the alley, growing more and more anxious.
The moment she saw Leo step out, she lit up.
“There he is.”
Leo got into the passenger seat and shook the Braindance chip in his hand, marked with the Scav skull-moth logo.
“Got it.”
Judy breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank god. Let’s get started.”
“You’re the editor—you understand this better than I do. It’s all yours.”
Judy didn’t reply.
She tore open the parasol-shaped pink wrapper and slotted the chip into the BD wreath.
“Keep watch for me.”
When someone was immersed in a Braindance, they became completely unaware of their surroundings. That’s why Judy had her editing room in the basement of Lizzie’s Bar.
“Relax. We’ve got your back.”
Only then did Judy put on the BD wreath.
—
A few minutes later, Judy pulled off the headset.
Her face looked awful.
“Here. Drink some water.”
Leo handed over a bottle of mineral water.
Judy unscrewed it and drank a few sips.
Her complexion improved slightly.
“I just don’t get it. Why would anyone want to watch something like this?”
“What did you see?”
“A netrunner. He got caught by Scavs. They forced him to cross the Blackwall.”
Lucy’s expression changed immediately.
“Cross the Blackwall? What do you mean?”
Judy didn’t know Lucy’s background— all she knew was that Lucy was the netrunner in Leo’s crew, nothing more.
Seeing Lucy suddenly tense up, Judy chalked it up to professional nerves. She didn’t overthink it.
“Just what I said. They were making the netrunner cross the Blackwall. Or rather, it was the people bankrolling that BD team—those clients—they wanted to see what’s on the other side.”
Lucy shivered.
On the far side of the Blackwall, inside the Old Net— There was nothing worth seeing.
