"Boss, just leave the stuff here, we'll be back for it soon."
Kai said this as he walked toward the door. He wasn't entirely sure what was happening outside, but Oliver's car was parked not far from the entrance. He had to check on it—if the car was damaged, they'd have to carry their stuff and walk back.
Peering through the shattered door, Kai saw chaos unfolding in the streets. In the middle of the road, a burly man with slicked-back blond hair and sunglasses was unloading a Militech MK. 31 Heavy Machine Gun at a truck that had been forced to a stop.
Closer to Kai, on the side of the street, lay two familiar corpses. Both wore masks, their bodies riddled with bullet holes, surrounded by scattered eddies. Judging by the wounds, these were the same robbers who had just hit the Braindance shop—but they seemed to have been caught in someone else's crossfire.
"What the hell is going on?"
Jackie moved up beside Kai, taking a glance outside before quickly pulling back.
"A heavy machine gun? This is getting ridiculous."
"My car!"
Oliver's eyes widened as he spotted his car outside—specifically, the noticeable bullet dent on the door. From the angle, it looked like it had been hit by stray rounds from the shootout around the truck. His face darkened.
"That was a birthday gift from my sister!"
"So, what's the move?"
Kai gripped his weapon, his left hand casually reaching for the grenade he'd picked up from the Maelstrom gang earlier.
"We taking out both sides?"
With a grenade, even armored enemies like those Maelstrom freaks wouldn't be a problem. And Jackie still had that Crusher shotgun on his back.
"You're way too aggressive."
Oliver wasn't about to kill over a dented car door. The guy with the machine gun and whoever was shooting back were clearly dangerous. Better to let this one slide.
After all, when someone has heavy weapons, they can be reasoned with—and Oliver was a reasonable guy.
"Too aggressive?"
Kai didn't think so. Compared to some of his fellow mercs who loved wiping out entire bloodlines, he was already pretty reserved.
Wasn't there a saying? "Who says we like to kill entire families? Did I kill his entire family?"
The gunfight outside was wrapping up fast. As one of the truck's crew tried to escape from the driver's seat, a second group—who seemed to be working with the blond gunner—flanked from behind.
The first to open fire was a mohawked man with a cybernetic hand, wielding a Copperhead SMG. Right next to him, a short, pale-skinned girl with green twin-tails, dressed in flashy pink, brandished an M-76E Omaha pistol.
[TN: REBECCA!]
Between the two of them, the truck crew didn't last more than three seconds before dropping lifelessly to the pavement.
"Maine!"
The twin-tailed girl waved at the blond man.
"All clear!"
"Rebecca."
The blond gunner—Maine—gave her a nod, then called to the mohawked man beside her.
"Pilar, grab the package and let's move."
"Got it."
Watching their smooth operation, Jackie commented,
"Looks like they're mercs, just like us."
"Then there's nothing more to see."
Kai turned back inside, picking up his Braindance headset and package.
"Want to fix your car first, Oliver?"
"Nah, I can patch this up myself. Let's check out the apartment first."
As they spoke, the Braindance shop owner rushed out, picking up the eddies scattered around the bodies. That was his money, after all—had to take it back.
By the time Kai and Jackie squeezed into the passenger seat, Oliver had started the car. As they drove off, Maine's team retrieved their loot from the truck and prepared to leave.
Maine barely spared a glance at the passing vehicle. But Kai, from the passenger seat, took a second look at him.
That guy's subdermal armor is no joke… standing out in the open like that, exchanging fire for so long.
The thought flickered through Kai's mind before fading. This wasn't important.
Oliver drove them to the Megabuilding, where they met the apartment manager and negotiated rental agreements.
The Megabuilding was corporate-owned, and the manager was just another employee. But when it came to fees, he was as ruthless as a landlord. After a pile of paperwork and warnings, Kai and Oliver each secured an apartment for 1,000 eddiess a month—Kai on the fourth floor, Oliver on the fifth.
Oliver would've preferred to be next door to Kai, but only one fourth-floor unit was available.
The apartments were fully furnished, but nothing comes free—not in a corporate-run building.
"Private phone: 10 eddies initial fee, 0.75 eddies per minute. TV: 50 eddies deposit, plus 1 eddies per hour. And... holy shit, they even put vending machines inside the rooms?"
Kai walked over, spending 15 eddiess on three NiCola bottles, tossing one each to Jackie and Oliver.
He wasn't a fan of NiCola—too damn sweet—but the vending machine had nothing else. Probably some kind of exclusivity deal.
"How's it feel, Kai?"
Jackie sprawled on the sofa, relaxing for the first time.
"It's livable."
"Just 'livable'?"
Oliver, who hadn't checked his own unit yet, was surprised at Kai's lack of excitement.
"I haven't lived in anything better since I went independent at 18."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-four. You asked me this when we first met."
"Forgot."
Six years, and Kai hadn't been able to afford a 1,000-eddies-apartment? That was rough.
Kai, who had been here for two days, didn't feel particularly accomplished about it.
Still…
As Oliver and Jackie lazed on the couch, Kai cracked open his NiCola, taking a sip.
His 2075 had officially begun.
"Glug."
"Damn, that's sweet."