"Boss, we didn't find that kid. Huh? What's this?"
"If I left it to you idiots, he would've gotten away long ago. Move, tie this kid up."
The man called Boss rolled his eyes and snapped at his crew.
David didn't resist. With this many people around, there was no point trying anything.
"Hey, listen. You can't really do anything to me. Just let me go. I promise I won't report you."
"Hah."
The man sneered and ignored him, absently touching his cybereye as he thought about which clinic to visit later for repairs.
David let out a quiet sigh. He genuinely wanted to settle this peacefully. If his mom realized he hadn't left this place for so long, she would definitely call. And if he didn't answer...
"Sigh…"
Smack!
"Ow, you...!"
David glared angrily after getting slapped on the back of the head.
"What 'you'? Acting all dramatic with that sigh? If I wasn't worried about damaging your Cyberware, I'd have finished you off already."
He raised his fist as he spoke.
"Knock him out. We're taking him to the Scavengers."
The man waved his hand. He clearly planned to dump this problem onto the Scavengers. After all, they never asked where Cyberware came from when they stripped it.
As for whether David's family might call for help, they just needed to avoid Surveillance Cameras on the way.
"Move."
David's heart sank. This was the worst outcome. These guys were clearly planning to pass the trouble onto the Scavengers.
He stopped hesitating and immediately made a call for help.
"Shit!"
The man's pupils shrank when he saw it. Without thinking, he struck David in the neck, knocking him out, then quickly reached over and manually cut off the call.
"Hurry up! Get him to the Scavengers now!"
His voice was tense. He had no idea whether that call had actually gone through.
...
"Ms. Martinez, your son initiated a PROJECT emergency call but did not receive a response and disconnected shortly after. A security patrol unit will be dispatched immediately to the corresponding location. Here are the service charges... User identified as a relative of a corporation employee. The usage will be deducted from the allowance."
Gloria had just finished a job and was about to rest when she received the alert. In that instant, she completely lost her composure.
"What?!"
After a brief moment of panic, she forced herself to calm down.
It was only natural. In a city like Night City, David was everything to her. Everything she did was for him. If something happened to him...
"Pull up David's location now!"
"Yes."
A map of Night City quickly appeared in front of her. A red dot was moving rapidly across a district, starting from the skyscraper where they used to live.
She noticed it, but had no time to think further.
"How long until the security patrol catches up?"
"Less than thirty seconds."
"Good…"
Only then did Gloria finally relax slightly. Her body went weak as she pressed a hand to her forehead. Since joining PROJECT, this was the first time her emotions had swung this wildly.
On the streets of Night City, a white Thorton was speeding through traffic, weaving dangerously between vehicles and drawing curses from all directions.
But the driver did not care.
Maybe others could afford to gamble on whether that call worked.
They could not.
In the trunk, David had already regained consciousness from the jolting ride. With the throbbing pain in his head and the dark, cramped space, he quickly figured out his situation.
"These mercs really are… unbelievably stupid…"
He adjusted his position to avoid hitting his head again.
And honestly, his complaint was justified. They neither ensured he stayed unconscious nor tied him up. It was carelessness at its finest.
Being kidnapped by this group honestly felt ridiculous. Back in the virtual training world, he had already taken down plenty of mercs like these.
They originally had their own vehicle prepared, but since the situation changed, they decided to get clever and grabbed a random car from an underground garage.
For them, this kind of thing was routine.
"Target locked. They're about to enter a gang-controlled zone. Do we intercept?"
Inside an armed AV, a squad of fully equipped PROJECT security personnel sat ready.
Normally, operations like this would be handled by nearby security robots and tracking drones. This level of deployment was not standard. This was a special case.
The man in black exoskeleton armor who spoke turned toward the woman seated at the center, waiting for her decision.
She wore a purple combat suit with Cyberware, covered by white and magenta exoskeleton armor, with a hood and energy goggles.
It was V, equipped with the Justice Template.
"No need. Let them go for now. The target's condition is stable, so there's no rush. Let's see if we can draw out something bigger."
"Understood."
The team member nodded and disabled nearby security alerts, allowing surrounding robots to continue normal operations without interfering.
Meanwhile, David checked his rescue status. Seeing that assistance had already been dispatched, he let out a breath.
Then he immediately started worrying again.
Not about the Scavengers.
About his mom.
...
Screech!
With a sharp braking sound, the white Thorton drifted to a stop in front of an old building. The sudden stop earned David yet another hit to the head.
"Tch… damn it…"
He clutched his head and cursed under his breath. Did they have any idea how important a high-value brain was?
"They've stopped."
"Good. Move in. No need to keep anyone alive. They're nothing but trash."
"Understood."
...
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