"What? You don't have any implanted chip receivers or an operating system? And you don't even have a phone?"
Inside the restaurant, Oliver widened his glasses in disbelief at Kai's words, staring at him as if he were some kind of freak.
He had initially planned to use the money from his account to repay Kai for saving his life, but to his surprise, Kai told him that he had no online account, no cybernetic implants, and not even a basic operating system that could support a chip.
"Even vagrants don't live like that anymore. Even monks, who refuse cybernetic implants, at least carry external receivers or phones to collect donations. But you… Are you a 'pure organic?"
"Not exactly. You can just assume that my past environment didn't expose me to these things. Explaining it in detail would be a hassle. Do you know a way I can install an operating system?"
"Of course, any ripperdoc can do it. If you ever want to upgrade yourself and add some implants, that's no big deal either. It's just a matter of when you get exposed to it. I'm just surprised you've gone this long without it."
"I want to find a ripperdoc right now."
Having finished his bowl of chilled Chinese noodles, Kai sipped on a ridiculously sweet "NiCola." To be honest, he wasn't a fan of this overly sugary soda.
"Give me a moment," Oliver said, his eyes flickering as he accessed information. "I'll check if there's a reputable ripperdoc nearby. If we were in Santo Domingo, I could find you four or five options easily. But this is Watson, and I'm not too familiar with this area… Oh, found one. Viktor Vektor. That name sounds familiar… Hmm, his clinic is less than a hundred meters from here. Wanna go?"
Viktor?
Hearing the name, Kai already knew who it was.
[Viktor is a ripperdoc in Night City, running a clinic in Little China. He was rumored to have a history of working as an underground doctor.]
Ah, an old acquaintance.
Kai had some impression of Viktor from the intel he knew. In the year 2077, Viktor was the ripperdoc for the protagonist, V. If he was good enough for the protagonist, then his skills were surely trustworthy.
"Let's go now."
"Don't be so hasty! You don't even know the way!"
Seeing how his new acquaintance, who had just saved his life and seemed to get along well with him, was so impatient, Oliver quickly caught up and led the way.
As they walked, he explained the pricing of cyberware.
"Don't worry. My sister is a ripperdoc, so I know all about pricing and quality. Your money is more than enough to get a military-grade OS. You'll still have enough left to buy other stuff. If this ripperdoc charges too much, we'll just walk away. With me around, you won't get ripped off. Getting an OS installed is easy—any ripper can do it. If they're all overpriced, I'll take you to my sister. She'll give you a fair price."
Kai was silent for a moment before asking, "Do you always talk this much?"
"It's just that you saved my life, and I feel like we get along. Honestly, I spent a whole week with the 6th Street gang, and I felt suffocated. They kept preaching about military discipline and rules—so damn annoying. Compared to that, hanging out with you feels way more comfortable."
"Your orientation's normal, right?"
"What the hell? I come from a traditional American family—I don't mess with that weird stuff. I'm straight as hell, man. I've even had two ex-girlfriends."
Maybe his personality had been repressed by the 6th Street gang's rigid structure, but now that he had finally gained freedom—thanks to his entire team getting wiped out—Oliver seemed unable to stop talking.
"Sigh… I'm probably gonna get an earful when I go back. I already reported the situation to the gang, but no matter what, I'm the only one who survived. That means I'll be blamed by the families of the dead. The higher-ups will probably kick me out under pressure. Out of respect for my father, they won't kill me, but I'll probably get exiled from Santo Domingo. But honestly, I'm sick of 6th Street. This is a good chance to break free from my family's control and do something on my own."
"Even though it wasn't your fault? You fought hard and took down a bunch of enemies, and they're still kicking you out?"
"Our deputy squad leader was a spineless, gilded idiot. He died quickly, but the gang still has to give 'Wild Willie' a symbolic replacement for his missing balls."
"Wild Willie?"
"One of 6th Street's veterans. The dead guy was his nephew. I just found out while we were eating—talk about bad luck. First mission, nearly died, and now I'm getting dragged into this mess."
Despite his complaints, Oliver was smiling. Then, he nudged Kai with his elbow.
"Hey, man, what do you think? I'm about to be penniless and homeless. Since I owe you my life, wanna team up? Maybe become mercenaries or something?"
"I think a meal was enough to repay that debt."
Kai's voice was calm, but he was actually interested in Oliver's suggestion. "But I don't mind teaming up as mercs. I don't really care either way. You're a local, so having a familiar face around would make jobs easier."
"Then it's settled, bro. We'll form a legendary sharpshooter duo—you handle the shooting, and I'll handle looting the bodies?"
"I think your marksmanship isn't bad either."
"Yeah, but not as good as yours."
Oliver grinned, then suddenly realized something important. "Oh yeah, I've been calling you 'bro' this whole time, but I don't even know your name. What should I call you?"
"Kai. Just Kai. First name, last name, same spelling either way. No need to flip it. But actually, I just thought of a codename. Since we're gonna be working together, you can use that instead."
"A codename? Oh, I get it—like Johnny Silverhand, Morgan Blackhand, or Adam Smasher, right? Makes sense. Solos need a badass alias. My name's common as hell, so I don't really care, but what's yours? I'll remember it."
"It's just a simple pair of letters."
Thinking of the protagonist's alias, "V," Kai smirked at his own name.
"Call me KK."
"KK?"
"It's a name that fits me. My name is Kai, so K makes sense as an initial."
"Oh, I see."
Of course, that was only part of the reason.
For Kai, the deeper meaning behind "KK" was something only he understood—hidden within the phonetics of Chinese and Korean.
KK, when read as '卡卡' in Chinese, had a similar sound to a word in Korean.
A word that meant 'Your Excellency'… 'Supreme Commander.'
[TN: Kai 凯 also mean Trumph or victory its why I choose it instead of fucking Karl]