Arrived at the Place

"Did you guys pull off a big job this time?"

In Viktor's Ripperdoc clinic, Viktor casually asked while tending to Jack's wounds.

"You could say that. A Corpo Dog job, almost got ourselves killed."

Jack said, "Sold the guns and stuff, and after splitting it, we each got about forty grand. The Maelstrom stuff doesn't fetch a good price, but we kept a Crusher Shotgun."

"Good thing you made it back alive."

Viktor took out a tubed suture device and pressed it against Jack's hand. With a click, the wound was sealed. Viktor, having finished the final touches, patted Jack's uninjured arm and stepped back, walking to his chair and sitting down. "All done. Take some pneumatic injectors with you when you leave. Next time something like this happens, give yourself a shot. It'll help a lot."

"How much for the treatment and the pneumatic injectors, Vik?"

"Consider it my celebration for you completing a big job. It's on the house this time."

Viktor casually waved his hand at Jack, who was trying to pay, and at Karl and Oliver, who were waiting nearby. "Just give me more business in the future."

Ding.

Viktor started watching his seemingly endless boxing matches on the computer again.

"Thanks, Vik. I'll bring some food and drinks next time, and we'll have a couple."

Jack moved his shoulder, and after finding that he could move freely, he walked towards Karl and Oliver. "Alright, let's go celebrate this job going smoothly."

"Any restaurant recommendations?" Oliver asked. "I'm not too familiar with the Watson District."

"There's a good Japanese restaurant in the Kabuki District. How about we go there?"

Jack said, looking at Karl, seeking his opinion.

"Japanese food?"

Karl hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, it's been a while since I've had it. We can give it a try. But isn't the Kabuki District all about people playing each other? Are there really good restaurants there?"

"Those guys gotta eat something after they're done playing, right? Don't worry, that Japanese restaurant is really good, although I haven't really eaten any authentic Japanese food myself."

With Jack's strong recommendation, the three got into Oliver's car and drove towards the Kabuki District. On the way, they discussed how they were going to spend their forty thousand eddies.

Forty thousand eddies in Night City is more than the entire family assets of at least ninety percent of the population. Even among mercenaries, very few can save up that kind of money. Most mercenaries live from day to day, spending their commissions soon after they get them. And even if they can save money, it's rare for them to reach a sum of over ten thousand eddies.

The strength and equipment of low-level mercenaries might not even be as good as those of ordinary Maelstrom members.

Jack was the first to figure out how he wanted to spend the money. "I'll probably save about ten thousand to buy a car or motorcycle. The other thirty thousand, I'll go to Vik and get some Subdermal Armor. The armor on that Maelstrom psycho we ran into today, even the Copperhead couldn't penetrate it. If I get myself a set, I'll be badass."

The reason Jack wanted to spend money to get a new set of Subdermal Armor from Vik, instead of thinking about bringing back the dead Maelstrom member and pulling out her cyberware to install on himself, was firstly because Jack was a man with Mexican blood. Although Mexicans often talk about death, they respect it very much. Doing something to a corpse after someone dies wasn't Jack's style, and it would feel like a Scavenger. He hated those kinds of bastards the most.

Secondly, the cyberware from other people had basically been adjusted by a Ripperdoc. Secondhand cyberware was difficult to match to the body, and even if it matched, there would be various problems, and it could even trigger Cyberpsychosis. It really wasn't necessary.

Cyberpsychosis was a mental illness triggered by the feeling of strangeness that the human body felt after cyberware was installed, a feeling that didn't belong to one's own flesh. People like this often became dangerous and crazy due to the overloaded or extreme breakdown of cyberware. Even the NCPD couldn't handle Cyberpsychosis. In Night City, these kinds of mental illnesses were specially handled by another group of people. Jack didn't want to become one of those people just to save money.

Regarding Jack's spending plans, Oliver was a bit curious about what kind of car Jack was saving ten thousand eddies to buy. "Ten thousand should be enough for a regular used car, right? What kind of car do you want to buy, Jack?"

"At least a four-seater, right?"

Jack said, feeling his body squeezed together with Karl in the passenger seat. "At the very least, it has to have more seats than your car."

"Tch, my car is originally for picking up chicks. What's wrong with you two big men sitting in it? Besides, this car is worth twenty-nine thousand eddies used."

Hearing Jack complain about his beloved car, Oliver retorted, which was met with Jack's questioning.

"Picking up chicks with this Nomad's van?"

"The girls in our Santo Domingo district are more practical."

"Come on, I've seen the girls in Santo Domingo. Your place is wasteland to the east, constantly blown by sand, with rough skin but all kinds of demands. The girls in our Heywood are hot, passionate, and honest."

"I think the girls in your Heywood are too loose. Say a few words and they'll get in the car and go home with you."

"Alright, you two."

Watching the two of them arguing and getting more and more agitated, almost squeezing him into a pulp, Karl stopped their pointless comparison and brought the topic back to the original track.

"Instead of comparing this, Oliver, how are you planning to spend the money?"

"Me?"

Oliver thought for a moment and said, "First, I'll rent an apartment. Sleeping in the car or in hotels isn't a long-term solution. Then I'll get some cyberware installed. Can't really survive as a mercenary without good cyberware. Then, as you guys said, I'll see if I can try to become a team medic or a sniper. Oh yeah, Jack, I'm planning to find an apartment to live in in the Watson District. Do you have any recommendations?"

"The Little China megabuilding. The rent there is alright, and there are cheap restaurants nearby, so it's convenient to eat."

"That place."

Oliver remembered that it was the place where he and Karl met, and he had some impression. Thinking of this, he looked at Karl. "Karl, what about you? What are you planning to do?"

He remembered that Karl didn't have a place to live either.

"I'll go take a look too. If it's okay, I'll live there too. It's convenient to be close. As for the money besides the rent, I haven't thought about it yet, but I should go look for a good handgun to get, anyway, the Lexington has to be replaced."

Chatting all the way, following the navigation, the three arrived at their destination.