The device I wanted? It was basically a small hinge. There was more to it than that, 'course, but that's what it resembled. The idea came to me after looking at the blueprints for Aythyrn City's power infrastructure and how each building got electricity as well as Node access.

Nodes were… complicated. They were the sophisticated center of a secure grand local network spanning a city. In layman's terms, they roughly made a large circle. Outside the circle, no access to the Net without specialized equipment. Inside, yes access.

There was 'course more to it, but I never paid much attention to Nodes and Net blitzed by them. To fully understand how they worked and what made them different, I'd have to dive into history, the K-10 Convention, and the Dawn of DarkNet. That was a rabbit hole of complicated events I didn't really care for.

Simply put, they were essential. Every city that had a Node was protected by the full might of every corp. Nodes were the only time every corporation agreed to protect something altogether. 'Course, it was a mutual benefit, but still.

So, to access the Node, every building was built with an access point, usually in the same spot as the rest of the infrastructure. Here's where my idea comes into play. Step one was to get down to that access point, and then mess with specifically Ajay Insurance. Most likely, they'd call in their IT company to fix their Net issues. That's when I'd strike.

The device I worked on started from a simple hinge. I placed it down, grabbed one of the firing pins from the disassembled SMG, and tack-welded it to the hinge using an arc-tacker and auto-darkening shades from my toolbag. Since the thing emphasized versatility, it made for a terrible welder. I'd need to buy one in the future if I wanted to make a weld that would last, but it would have to do for now.

Learning every process in several different environments had been a serious pain in the ass when leveling to Tech five. Especially considering I had to repeat it with several different types of machines from top of the line to bottom. I still wasn't a master, but I was decent enough to get by as long as they weren't stress-tested.

After that, I attached a micro hydraulic cylinder to the thing. The idea was the hinge would move down, causing the firing pin to hit the wire and interfere with Ajay Insurance's connection from a distance.

It took a while to disassemble the ADF remote system, but eventually, I managed to get it all into parts. Then I hooked up the receiver to the micro hydraulic cylinder and connected the remote antenna to my deck. With the addition of the antenna to my deck it looked like my 'tome' came with a 'pencil'.

Then came the extraordinarily tiring attempts to program the remote system and get everything to work. I spent way too long on it, eventually deciding to just give up. For now, at least. I could come back when I was feeling better.

I dropped my tools and strapped the ballistics vest back on. My tech jacket covered it up, as it did with the rest of my gear. With that taken care of, I headed to Big Mike's to take a break.

— — —

I skimmed some pockets before selling the ill-gotten loot to a nearby pawn shop for enough Rayn to enjoy a nice burger at Big Mikes. It was about an hour after I entered the area that I finally walked into Big Mike's.

Business seemed quite slow today. There was a group of corpos enjoying lunch off to one side and a man and a woman with cheerful smiles on their faces on the other. The duo, in particular, stood out thanks to their smiles, which was quite a rare sight to see non-drug induced.

At least, they didn't look like they were high. Neither showed the typical ticks I would associate with the common drugs, though the man did occasionally wince and rub at his left chrome arm. Maybe just a happy couple? Weird.

I motioned to Big Mike, put in my order, and then headed for a table of my own at my usual spot. That put me just behind the duo. While I waited for some food, I got on my phone and shifted through a catalog of public schematics. With Eidetic Schematic, doing such a thing would eventually prove to be invaluable as my knowledge base grew- I hoped. At the very least, it was a nice time waster.

Most of the schematics were old-world patents that had gone out as the governing bodies started to fall, so they were typically obsolete. Still, a bunch of them had root ideas and concepts that were the basic building blocks for more modern technology. It also helped me conceptualize how some things worked.

Occasionally, I'd come across a more modern blueprint of parts of chrome or weapons, but they were few and far between. They typically belonged to corporations that had gone under and their assets either seized or stolen, so nothing was super advanced. Still, it might prove useful one day.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Big Mike stopped by my table and set down the platter of the mega burger. I lightly reached for a slice of it, feeling the warmth of the fresh cooked food under hand. Before I knew it, I was already half way through-

"Argh!" A scream came from right behind me. A heavy hound followed a moment later. I flinched back, hand dropping to my Sidewinder. My eyes tracked everyone one in the room, eyeing a potential attacker-

The once cheerful man spazzed out of his booth, collapsing to the floor. His chrome arm went haywire and randomly swung around. The woman tried to help, only to be knocked harshly over the head by the rogue chrome. She collapsed to the side, blood leaking through her hair.

The man's entire body locked up, and his arm slammed the floor hard. He even hit himself repeatedly hard enough to tear his clothes open. Desynch? Some kind of stroke?

After a moment's hesitation, I grabbed my bag and dug through it for my tools. Tech just started getting into the more complicated stuff like chrome with the latest levels, though my knowledge was basic at best.

While I was looking, I heard one of the corpos laugh hollowly. "Wonder if he has insurance?"

Once I found the stuff I was looking for, I moved to the guy who was struggling against himself on the ground. I pulled her back just in time to dodge another flail. "Call a Medevac?"

"W-we can't afford one-"

"ARRGGHH!" She was cut off as the man started screaming in agony once more. His entire face turned red with the exertion from his arm.

"Just- just help me hold him down then," I ordered her.

With an objective to focus on, she started to come out of her daze. The woman immediately flopped onto the man, trying to leverage her body weight to keep his arm down and stop him from rolling around. It wasn't working till I jumped onto him too, and together we held his arm mostly stable.

I moved quickly, looking over the chrome arm. It was a cheap civilian model that looked like a knockoff of a knockoff. It was scrapped together with multiple other pieces as evidenced by the several different corporate marks across it. Definitely a scrap piece, probably built form scavenged junk

I looked over the arm. If only I had a way to quickly scan it and find what I was looking for. Every time he moved, his arm slammed into my stomach. It was only a matter of time before I had to abandon ship.

I found the access port on the bottom side of the upper arm, located just shy of the guy's armpit. I tore off his bright green shirt to get better access before getting to work. It was difficult getting the panel open with his constant flailing, especially considering they were typically designed to only be opened by a Medek, but I managed. Not like it had military grade protections.

The panel popped open, allowing me access to the arm's hardware underneath the protective casing. Circuit boards and wires were everywhere in a half-assed mess with chords just hanging about. Nothing was secured, just dangling everywhere. Components sat half-embedded in their usual slots, not fully fitting since they came from other bits of chrome.

Not only did I have access to the hardware, but I also had quite a bit of room to see where the arm connected to the flesh. It was a little sickening to look at as blood poured into the circuitry. Unfortunately, it was too dark inside to get a perfect view without the help of a light.

I wasted no time comparing the insides to the dozens of other pieces of chrome I had seen on the public schematics and the few ones in the learning space for Tech. My knowledge could be defined as shoddy at best, but after a minute I narrowed down my options and started to mess with some of the cords.

After a couple of moments, I disabled the right one and the arm entirely locked up, ceasing all attempts to twitch and move about. The man instantly went slack, though the trouble wasn't over yet. The inside of his chrome still had blood pouring into it in droves.

I rifled through my bag looking for medical supplies, but unfortunately, I left it all at home. I made a mental note to pack some the next time and stuffed his shirt into the chrome to block some of the blood flow. "Take him to a hospital."

A look of deep shame crossed the woman's face, one twinged by desperation. "W-we can't. I-it'll just throw us deeper into debt."

I glanced down at the man's face, still twisted in pain. I could understand her concerns. These days being in debt wasn't as simple as trying to pay it back. Depending on who they owed money to, they could legally be forced into something akin to slave labor.

Heck, even most hospitals would repo any chrome they had to make back some of their money, and hospitals were damn expensive. There was a reason I always went to Nael instead of one. Even just that wrist surgery that Nael did for me would've broken my bank at a hospital, and probably with half the skill.

I handed her the bloody panel. "Look. Take him to the Absolom Clinic. It's in a bit of a shady place, but the Medek there will help you out. He's good people."

"Okay." A bit of fire entered the woman's eyes, driving off the desperation. "I d-don't know how to thank you."

I waved it off and returned to my booth. "Just go."

The woman picked up the man and started to cart him out of the door. I looked down at my hands, blood from the man staining them. I tried to wipe it off, but it just wouldn't come off. I felt a sick feeling in my gut. I looked down at the towel slowly being stained with blood and slowly wiped at my hands, having a brief flash of blood splattering across my face-

I shook myself free and stood up. My appetite had fled me. I packed up what was left of the burger and sent a look around the place. I couldn't help but notice the completely apathetic looks of the corporate drones as they just continued with their meals. I couldn't exactly blame them; that was just how life was in the big city.

Big Mike walked out from behind the counter with cleaning supplies and headed for the blood. He stopped me with a bulky hand just before I could pass him. "Next time, on house."

"Thanks." I gave a small nod to the man and walked out onto the neon streets of Aythryn City.

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