I parked in a small lot just off of Saint's Plaza. It'd been a while since I was here last, but it all still looked the same. Some things never really changed, I guess. There were still people hawking their wares, and buyers stumbling about from one street stall to the next.

A storm covered the sun above, only letting thin beams of light shine through. A hot breeze, carrying with it the toxic tang of the ocean, blew over me. Up above, the cathedral looked positively radiant today. The small beams of sunlight splitting down to reflect off its ancient bell gave it an almost divine presence.

I pulled uncomfortably at my t-shirt, already starting to feel sweaty. The KSS Fused Panel ballistic armor I got from Mira didn't help matters. It bound me tight, making the heat feel all the more stifling. At least I had some protection just in case things went wrong.

I cut through the massive street market and used the cathedral as a guiding hand to locate Yukoto Matrix. It wasn't long till I entered a significantly less busy section and spotted its sign.

The man behind the counter was the same as last time. His piercings seemed to reflect the dim lighting into my eyes. "Welcome in. Looking for something in particular or just browsing?"

"Um- chek?" I glanced at the pinned note on my HUD and brushed my hair out of my face. I'd already made a list of stuff I'd need for my plan. "Looking for a cyberdeck and a… rootkit?"

"No problem, chum. What kind?" The guy's eyes started to glow faintly. A terminal on the counter lit up, showcasing an extensive catalog.

I glanced through it for a moment, reading the entires. Eventually, I settled on what I wanted. "Softwork Q-10."

The man behind the counter went into the back room, letting me look over the specs and design of the Q-10. To be honest? It was a shitty little deck. Super low-end, though quite cheap.

It only had room for three macros. To put that into perspective, my phone had room for five. Three of which were dedicated to anti-spyware stuff, and one for the Blue Crusade Backdoor. It was horrendously weak, but could act as a medium to interface with a device.

'Course, I could interface by myself with my jacks. The deck would act as in between with whatever I needed to jack into though. It was a safety precaution that would give me a few seconds to jack out if something went wrong. Or, at least, that was the idea. The first level of Net hadn't been all that clear.

I could also go for an internal deck like most runners. They ran at substantially faster speeds since they were literally jacked into the body, but ran the cost of getting fried. Dunno if I'd ever go for that. Regardless, I was happy with the external deck.

And! And it looked pretty cool! Although it wasn't impressive specs wise, Softworks knew how to design their stuff. It looked like a leather bound book, and was meant to hang from its wielder's hip like some kind of nerdy wizard's tome. How could I not love that?

The guy returned with the deck and put it down on the counter. "Anything else?"

"The Alpha-Tres Rootkit." It was a weak program that'd give me a backdoor. Only had three administrative actions before risking exposure. It also required a physical installation, which… Well, it wasn't great. Cheap though. And cheap was the name of the game.

Still, even for it being a cheap program, it cost four hundred Rayn. That was four times as much as the deck had been. I checked my wallet, feeling the burn. I'd be down to three hundred Rayn after this… but this job would be more than worth it if everything went well.

While I waited for him to retrieve the program, I looked through the rest of the shop's list. There wasn't anything too crazy. Most of the stuff didn't get past five hundred. If I wanted something rarer or higher-end, I'd either need the connections or hit up a Night Market. Oh- wait- a Night Market would also require connections.

"Here ya' go, chum. Five hundred. Want some virtu-goggles, a pick, and some chips too? Complete the package? I'll give it all to you for six hundred." The man held up a pair of techno-looking goggles.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Right… forgot about those. Might as well get some now on discount. They were required for anything Net related unless I got an AR augment for my eye. I flinched, staring at all the Net stuff. "Chek."

I paid him, watching my Rayn flood away. I was hoping to get out of here for only four hundred… I only had enough money in my account for some food now. Ugh- this sucked. Back to skimming pockets just to eat, I guess.

I grabbed my new stuff and headed out of the shop-

Flashing lights and a loud siren ground the entire Night Market to a halt. A Medevac LRAT crashed down onto several stalls without a care, completely totaling them. And it wasn't just a small area either.

The LRAT, used by Medtech's Medevac teams, was shaped like a short bus. A heavily armored short bus that was capable of tanking several rockets without an issue. Like most flyers, it had four propulsion drives where tires would've gone. Several turrets all across its body twisted and turned threateningly, warding off any potential aggressors.

The hatch on the side of the Medevac popped open and Shock Troopers poured out. They instantly went to work, clad in heavy techno-looking armor covered with glowing red crosses. Rifles were up, pointed at the surrounding crowd and watching for any sign of danger.

"Back away!" The Shock Troopers forcibly cleared out space around an elderly woman, pushing back any onlooker that happened to be caught in the way.

Two medics, similarly clad in heavy armor, spilled out with a stretcher and raced to the woman. The elder was on the ground, rolling and twitching fiercely. It took both of them to fully restrain her and keep her down.

They jabbed her with a needle, injecting some kind of medicine. She immediately went limp. Then, just as quickly as they came, they loaded her up on the stretcher and carted her back into the LRAT.

The turret on the top of the bus-like armored flyer pivoted threateningly toward a man that approached too close. He immediately backpedaled, vanishing into the crowd. The Shock Troopers gave one last look before loading back up into the flyer.

Sirens blared once more, and the flyer took off. It vanished over the tops of buildings, flying off toward Medtech's corporate hospital in the Corporate Quarter. And, of course, they offered nothing to the people whose stalls and merchandise they absolutely totaled. Such was life, I guess.

Once they were gone, I walked around the market, grabbing various mechanical parts that I'd need for my plan as well as a leather-bound journal and parts. I wanted to get this done as soon as possible so I could get some furniture.

I got back to my bike laden with bags of metal and plastic bits and bobs. I had burned my last two hundred Rayn on various parts and devices, mainly an ADF remote system. So much for 'reserved for food'. If I didn't already have enough prepacks to finish out the month, I'd be quite concerned about eating.

Stealing food was… well- I tried not to. I could, 'course, but I didn't like it. Better steal something else to sell so I could buy food… I did see the conflict…

The drive back was less calming than usual. The increased Sentinel and Raijin presence set me on edge the entire time, and I wasn't the only one. It was only a matter of time before something happened and someone was pushed over the edge.

Halfway there, I realized I was going in the wrong direction. Muscle memory took over and I started heading back to the Ryu Container Yard rather than my new apartment. It'd take some getting used to considering the last seven years of my life had been spent in the shipping container.

Thanks to that screw-up, it was nearly night by the time I reached home. The elevator made getting back up to my apartment a breeze. It was nice not having to take the stairs for once.

A refreshing meal of a ramen-flavored prepack awaited me before I settled in and pulled out my new Softwork Q-10 deck. I didn't do anything other than boot it up, set passwords, and install the Alpha-Tres Rootkit management software. Now I just needed to connect to a device and I'd be set.

Nothing complicated- rather, nothing complicated on my end. The program and how it all worked was super far above my head, but I could at least understand the concept and how to run the scripts.

Unfortunately, I still had yet to get furniture, so I had to work off the small kitchenette's counter. After I got my deck situated, I gathered up my tools—thank you Uncle Ezra and Mira—and brought over every scrap I bought as well as the crappy SMGs.

It took a bit to find all the right pins to pull, but eventually, I disassembled the SMGs. Both of them laid out in front of me in a chaotic disassembled mess. Yeah, this was my decision for them. Scram 'em for parts. I had other weapons that were better. They were just taking up space.

A bit of a waste to just kill the SMG like this, though it did put the tortured graffiti guns out of their suffering. Rest in peace.

Anyway, the parts, mainly the firing pin and the trigger assembly, were what I needed. I pulled out the other stuff I bought at Saint's Plaza and scattered them across the kitchenette's counter. Most of it was scrap I may or may not use, but some of it had been a targeted purchase, such as the ADF system and some hydraulics.

While I was in a disassembly mood, I took the chance to take apart and clean up my Rhymer S-32 and SB-17. As they say, 'take care of your gun and it'll take care of you.' I hadn't properly cleaned them, so now was as good of a time as any.

It was nearly midnight by the time I settled down on the floor for… bed? Did that still work if I didn't actually have a bed? Did people who sleep in hammocks call it 'going to hammock'? Hmm… Regardless, I laid down for floor. No- that just sounded wrong.

While I waited to feel tired enough for sleep, I sketched out my plans for tomorrow. After a while, I fully slipped into a fitful sleep.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.