Allen was sitting with his arms crossed, frowning with his eyes closed as he tried to regain his composure.
The moment he opened his eyes, he was ready to deal with all the bullshit.
They were no longer outside. They had returned to Afterlife, a place filled with blue and green lights that made it look more like a club than a bar. He had taken a seat in the center of one of the private rooms.
Looking to his right, Allen saw Rebecca leaning against his shoulder, followed by Pilar, who shamelessly reclined with his hands behind his head.
On the left was Maine, looking at him with a mocking smile as if he were enjoying the situation. Next to him was Dorio, who seemed very annoyed by the whole situation. Finally, there was Sasha. The girl stared in disbelief, not knowing what would happen next.
[You're fucked! Hahaha!]
Amanda – Who would've thought it would end like this?! Haha!
Tony – You're still in time to run. Haha.
Akeno – Ufufu, just accept your fate~
The situation had ended in the most ridiculous way possible.
Maine lost, so he joined Allen's crew. Of course, Dorio and Sasha did too, while Rebecca and Pilar were already part of it. And the worst part was that Allen himself had no idea he even had a crew until now!
"Hey, are you sure?" Allen asked, frowning at Maine.
This man was approachable and, to a certain extent, a talented leader. He didn't seem like someone willing to follow someone else.
Maine laughed and slapped Allen on the shoulder.
"Hey, hey, are you going to take back your words after all that? Hahaha!"
Allen wanted to argue that everything had been Pilar's fault and that he had never intended to absorb Maine's crew. However, it was obvious that Maine knew that, yet he was still playing along.
"Well, don't bother him," Maine said before his smile became dangerous. "After all, if I had won, I would've forced you to join mine."
Allen thought for a moment, but no matter how many ways he looked at it, he knew this was the only acceptable outcome. He wasn't going to leave Rebecca, but he also had no desire to follow someone else's orders.
Maybe these actions would divert the plot a little, but wasn't that the same in every world?
"And..." Dorio said, looking at Allen, "What do we do now, Boss?"
Allen could hear the reluctance in Dorio's words, but that was normal. Who the hell would trust their life to a stranger?!
"You three already know what we're involved in, right?" Allen asked.
Maine scoffed, "Yeah, Pilar told us. You stole several hundred thousand Eddies' worth of weapons from the Valentinos for 6th Street. The latter wanted to kill you and use you as scapegoats, but they failed, and now both the Valentinos and 6th Street want you dead... Hahaha, we're fucked!"
"Something like that," Allen said. Pilar's story was wrong—it was all his fault—but what did it matter?
Unable to take it anymore, Dorio punched Maine in the stomach.
"This isn't something to laugh about! Who the hell gets on the bad side of 6th Street and the Valentinos at the same time? Practically a third of Night City wants us dead!"
Sasha visibly trembled in her seat, clearly frightened.
"I'm sorry, it was my fault," Rebecca said, interrupting everyone.
Maine, Dorio, Sasha, and Pilar opened their eyes as if they had just witnessed the resurrection of Christ.
"It was all my fault. I disappeared for several days, and my stupid brother sought help from the gangs to find me. Those bastards took advantage of that, and now we've dragged you into this, so I'm sorry."
Everyone's jaws dropped.
Rebecca had apologized?!
That petite bitch who was constantly swearing, that crazy girl who loved shooting and would empty a magazine at the slightest provocation?! This girl, who would rather die than lower her head, had apologized?!
Allen smiled and hugged Rebecca, making her blush.
"It's true that this is our fault. I'm sorry, but rest assured that I won't take you to your deaths. Since I'm responsible, I'll do the job right."
Allen's gaze was filled with confidence and certainty, but also focus and serenity. At that moment, everyone realized that they couldn't judge Allen by his age. He truly seemed like someone they could trust.
"That being the case, it's time to make things clear and establish our actions from now on," Allen declared.
A holographic map of Night City appeared in front of everyone.
...
...
Allen thought for a moment before speaking. "Right now, all of Santo Domingo and Heywood are off-limits. There are more than eight thousand gangers who want our asses, so we won't take any jobs in those areas. Pacifica is below both of them, so that's off-limits too. Of course, there isn't much interest in that godforsaken place anyway, where even the corporations and police rarely go."
"That leaves Watson, Westbrook, and City Center for us to work in..." Rebecca said.
"I see. At least it's not an immediate problem. The major gangs wouldn't send too many people into someone else's territory, although we can expect a few hitmen to come after us," Dorio commented.
"Yeah. Besides, we need to move those weapons," Allen declared.
"This..." Sasha raised her hand. "We can't return the weapons to the Valentinos. I mean, even if the hostility is irreparable, they won't hate us quite as much."
"Pilar," Allen said.
"Well, I didn't have time to waste, so I stole a truck, loaded it with explosives, crashed it into their warehouse, took the weapons, and killed about twelve people. Hahaha!"
Allen glanced sideways at Sasha. The girl, knowing what had happened, became embarrassed. There was no going back now.
"Then who do we sell them to?" Maine asked. "Tiger Claws, Maelstrom, Animals... Oh, we could sell them on the black market, or even to the nomads..."
Allen remained silent. "Tiger Claws isn't a bad option, but they aren't short on weapons. I don't know if we'd get a good price."
"What?" Maine's eyes widened.
Rebecca laughed. "Looks like someone got into character~"
Allen ignored her and continued. "The nomads distrust everyone, and I don't see them having many resources. On the black market, we'd not only get a poor price, but we'd also have to wait to receive the Eddies. My first choice would be Maelstrom."
"Hey, those lunatics?" Maine exclaimed.
Allen's gaze took on a shrewd look. "Yes. Because people see them as unstable and dangerous, few do business with them. Not only could we sell them at full price, but we could also gain an unexpected partner."
Those present fell silent. Every word Allen said made sense and was convenient, but it was unorthodox. People normally avoided Maelstrom, and he wanted to become their partner?!
"Are you sure?!" Pilar asked.
"Yeah. In fact, we're going now." Allen smiled, leaving everyone speechless.
....
The new crew left Afterlife under the gaze of many people. Allen's performance had attracted a lot of attention, and once word spread that Maine now worked for him, his reputation would begin to grow, something essential for any merc.
At the entrance was a van alongside the luxury cars. It turned out to belong to Maine.
Everyone got in, with Maine driving, Allen in the passenger seat, and Rebecca sitting on his lap. The rest were in the back.
"The weapons are in our apartment," Rebecca said.
Maine had his doubts, but he also knew the benefits. If they sold them close to full price, they would make at least two hundred thousand Eddies. That was roughly the profit from six to eight jobs.
"Boss," Sasha said from the back, "Can we stop by Kabuki Market?"
"Just call me Allen. And if we can stop there, I assume you're going to see Yoko Tsuru," Allen said.
"Oh, you know her?" Sasha immediately laughed awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I had forgotten."
Allen's impression after defeating Maine had made her forget that he was a Netrunner like her. Of course he knew about the EdgeNet shop in Kabuki.
"I haven't been there, but I did my homework before coming here," Allen said, smiling.
Sasha smiled as well. Apparently, the new leader wasn't that difficult to deal with.
Rebecca snorted jealously and moved her hips to "get revenge" on Allen, to which he whispered something in retaliation that embarrassed her.
"Tsk, it hasn't even been an hour, and you're already seducing Sasha too?" Maine teased.
"Huh?!" Sasha exclaimed incredulously from the back, becoming embarrassed. "That's not true!"
"Hahaha, my Lil bro is quite the ladies' man. Just look at how he tamed that wild gremlin!"
Rebecca looked at her brother, and he trembled, knowing he would get another beating once they got off.
When they arrived, the atmosphere became quite Oriental, with Japanese signs and the aesthetics of some of the shops.
Maine stopped in the center of the market.
The market itself had a unique design. It was a circular three-story building surrounded by several streets, with one of the floors located below ground level like a circular pit. Many shops were located there.
The EdgeNet shop was on the upper floor. Cyberdecks, connection chairs, bathtubs, headsets, scanners, and all kinds of tools for Netrunners were sold there.
"So I'll go there, ask for a chair, and support you from the Net?" Sasha asked Maine, but he smiled and shrugged.
"Sorry!" Sasha realized that she now had to ask Allen about those things.
"Don't worry, Sasha," Allen laughed. "Nobody gets used to it immediately."
Rogue – Ah! Allen, go see the developer room!
"...!" Allen blinked.
MJ – That's true... but does that place actually exist?
In the game Cyberpunk 2077, behind a garage door in Kabuki Market, there was a password-protected place that could be entered.
Inside was a screen where you could see the names of the developers while Johnny Silverhand played the guitar. However, it was a fourth-wall-breaking Easter egg, not an actual location within the world.
"Wait, Sasha," Allen said, stopping the girl who was already leaving. Allen then walked, under everyone's gaze, toward the stairs leading to the lower level of the market.
Rebecca followed Allen without hesitation, since she had also seen the Chat. The others exchanged glances before following them as well.
Sasha hesitated, but she also followed the new boss, Allen.
When they descended to the lower level, it was filled with all kinds of shops, including a weapons store. But Allen ignored it and headed toward the back. There was a closed storefront with garbage bags in the corner and a drunk man trembling at the entrance.
Allen shook his head and took out a couple of Eddies, tossing them to him. The drunk laughed before taking the money and staggering away.
Physical money also existed in this world, but it was rarely used. Normally, it was only used in clandestine deals to avoid leaving traces.
Maine looked at the garage door. "What are we doing here?"
Allen shrugged and walked toward the access panel. "I don't know yet."
'Rogue?'
Rogue – The code is 605185.
Allen entered the code and opened the garage door. As it rose, it revealed the interior. There was a small hallway that led to the left, toward a couple of steps descending into a large room.
Everyone's eyes widened when they entered.
"Shit!" Pilar exclaimed, but they all had the same expression.
In the game, this place contained nothing. It was merely a secret room put there by the developers, but here it was real, and it had to serve a purpose.
On the left wall were two shelves containing weapons and several ammunition boxes. What was incredible was that some of them were Tier 3, and a couple were even Tier 4.
On the right was a high-end connection chair and a private server. Sasha gasped. Although it was from an older generation, this equipment was something only corporations like Militech and Arasaka could afford.
In the center, Allen walked forward. There was no computer, only a guitar, a silver arm inside a display case, and a portrait of Keanu Reeves.
"Shit, that's him!" Maine gasped.
"Of course." Allen smiled.
This wasn't an Easter egg, but a hideout belonging to Johnny Silverhand!
Once everyone except Sasha had equipped themselves, they climbed into the van and headed to Northside, where they picked up the weapons from Allen's apartment. Once that was done, everyone prepared to head toward the heart of Maelstrom territory.
The Totentanz nightclub!
....
On the way, everyone was in a good mood. Who wouldn't be with new toys?
"Shit, these smell brand new!" Pilar laughed while holding his pair of Militech M-10AF Lexington pistols.
– Militech M-10AF Lexington
Origin: Militech
Rarity: Epic (4)
Condition: New
[The bullets have a chance to ricochet. Be careful with friendly fire.]
Price: 3,000.
The Lexington wasn't an expensive or difficult-to-obtain pistol, but being Tier 4 made it valuable, several times more valuable than the ones most people used.
"Don't lose them. That's sixteen months of rent," Rebecca teased.
Allen chuckled. He hadn't expected his knowledge of the video game to be useful in this world, but now that he knew it was, he was tempted to start looking for Cyberpunk's iconic weapons. Most of them were legendary quality, but what defined them was that each one was unique.
'No, I need to stay focused,' Allen thought.
"Allen!"
Sasha appeared beside him on a holographic screen. She looked extremely happy.
"What's up? Enjoying the new toy?"
Sasha nodded, blushing. "You have to try this chair. It's like driving a sports car after riding a bicycle. There's no comparison! I could probably even break into Arasaka's servers with this! Haha!"
"Yeah, but don't do it," Allen scolded her.
In the original story, that was what killed T-Bug, the Netrunner who helped V infiltrate Arasaka Tower.
"I know, I'm not stupid~."
"I hope so," Allen said, knowing that this girl had broken into Biotechnica, which ultimately caused her death. He didn't trust her words.
"Hey, now that we're here!" Maine said with a serious expression.
In front of them was a huge abandoned warehouse. Skulls with three or more red eyes had been painted everywhere, giving it a sense of technological horror and dystopia.
Emperor – Adeptus Mechanicus...
Rick – It took you long enough to express your opinion. Haha.
In the world of Warhammer 40K, there was a group that, like Maelstrom, worshiped the idea of shedding their humanity, and the Emperor, who defended the purity of humanity, would despise these men and women who voluntarily deformed their bodies.
In fact, many wondered what the Emperor thought of this world, where basically everyone had implants in their bodies.
Emperor – It's true. I don't like this world, and I would rather not look at it, but in the end, it's not my world. I've learned from Allen to accept the differences between this world and mine, so I have no opinion on the fact that even Allen chooses to use... implants.
Tony – Oh, and what if they were in your world?
Emperor – They would be executed immediately!
The Chat laughed. It was a strange feeling, but everyone had grown accustomed to the differences between worlds. They didn't criticize Allen for being a pirate in a world of pirates, or for being a hero in a world of heroes, and of course, this time, when he was practically close to being a criminal, they wouldn't do so either.
It's part of the experience. As Allen says, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
'Thanks,' Allen thought, then focused his attention on the Adeptus Mechanicus of this world.
In front of the warehouse/club were a dozen Maelstrom gangers, all with visible and flashy implants. Not a single one of them had kept their original eyes; they had replaced them with ugly optics, red lenses, or metal-plate visors.
It seemed like shedding a large portion of your face was a requirement to join them.
When the van approached, everyone went on alert. This was the heart of their territory. If a conflict broke out, a hundred of these guys could arrive within minutes.
Once again, this wasn't a game. There was no enemy limit. Hundreds of gangers could arrive given enough time if they saw their leader was in danger.
Despite the risk, Allen chose to sell the weapons to Maelstrom, and this was because of one man.
Declan "Brick" Griffin.
In the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, the violent Maelstrom gang had neither a democratic nor lasting leadership. Its leaders changed constantly through betrayals, coups, and assassinations.
By Maelstrom's lunatic standards, Brick was considered a relatively sensible, pragmatic man who kept his word. He preferred doing business and honoring established deals, such as the purchase of the Flathead robot from Dex DeShawn, rather than resorting to senseless violence. He was still heavily modified and dangerous, but he could be reasoned with more traditionally.
"Are we really here?!" Maine asked incredulously.
They were only average mercs. Dealing with gang leaders was extremely dangerous, and they normally wouldn't do it.
"Don't worry. Just let me do the talking."
As Allen spoke, a ganger who was more machine than man approached them.
"Hey, what do you want here, merc?"
"Business, so put your toy away." Allen smiled coldly. Without saying anything else, the van's door opened, revealing the Valentinos' weapons.
The Maelstrom ganger, who looked like he could become a Cyberpsycho at any moment, looked at the weapons and then at Allen.
"Let them through." The ganger gestured, and everyone lowered their weapons. He then seemed to call someone before walking away.
Allen wasn't surprised. He knew that many people didn't want to do business with Maelstrom, and that was precisely why they wouldn't reject someone so easily.
That, and considering that among all the former leaders of this gang, the most reasonable of them all happened to be in charge right now.
"Well, let's enter technological hell."
Allen got out of the van with everyone else.
===
A/N: It seems like the Emperor is becoming more tolerant; I hope this doesn't mess up Warhammer 40k too much