Escaped Cyberpsychotic

"This is fifteen hundred, apart from the advance and the money we already split."

The job had paid six thousand, meaning each of them got two thousand. It was more than most Night City workers earned in a month, but for mercenaries like Carl, Oliver, and Jack, it was nothing special.

After buying some alcohol and hot food on the way, the three returned to Oliver's room and resumed the meal that had been interrupted earlier.

"We did a lot today. I'm dead tired. I really don't know how those Corpo Dogs who work twenty hours a day keep it up."

First Maelstrom, then the Scavengers—after everything was done, Carl really did feel a little tired.

"I heard some Corpo Dogs have an organ in their brains removed. After that, they just need stimulants and other drugs to work nonstop for twenty-four hours."

As Jack spoke, he tossed a bottle of soda to Carl.

"Little Coco Cola, love in every sip~"

"Don't gross me out. I don't like this cola."

Carl caught it, then disgustedly tossed it back. His throw missed, and it happened to smack Oliver in the head beside Jack.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, sorry."

Carl's body had not undergone much modification, so mistakes were inevitable when he was tired. In that regard, he truly could not compare to people with mechanical limbs. Some factory workers could fall asleep, yet the chips in their heads and the prosthetics on their hands would keep them working.

"What time is it?"

Rubbing his head, Oliver asked Jack, who was sprawled on the couch drinking beer.

"Eight thirty. The night's still young. Want to watch a movie?"

Jack stuffed a skewer of chicken drenched in sauce into his mouth. Chewing the soft chicken, he said in pleasant surprise, "These chicken skewers taste so authentic. Sure enough, other than Japantown, only City Center has good ones."

"Authentic?"

Carl eyed the sweet-and-sour chicken skewer in Jack's hand suspiciously. After hesitating, he took one, speared off a piece with a toothpick, and put it in his mouth.

His face twisted.

"This thing can't be called authentic, either in flavor or texture."

"Not everyone has eaten real chicken like you, Carl. These days, ninety-nine percent of Night City hasn't eaten real meat. Of course the texture is fake. To us, this is authentic."

Eating the soft synthetic chicken, Jack watched Carl reluctantly swallow a piece and thought for a moment. "It's not good for you to keep eating vegetarian food. Since you're used to real meat and can't get used to this stuff, why don't we find some smugglers from the Badlands and see if they can bring in some real meat for you?"

"That'd be expensive, wouldn't it?"

Carl picked up the carton of fries and started eating again. He was tempted, but the price made him hesitate.

"Actually, it's not too bad."

As someone from Santo Domingo District, which was close to the Badlands, Oliver knew the local prices well. "A chicken costs about a thousand eddies, while a pig costs five thousand. Of course, that's just the price of the meat itself. It doesn't include the commission or bribes, and there's no guarantee the animals will arrive alive. Even if they die, though, they'll receive basic preservation."

"A thousand or five thousand just for the meat... That actually sounds acceptable?"

Carl realized he did not find it expensive, but when he thought about it, a synthetic fried whole-chicken meal in Night City only cost eighteen or twenty eddies. A fiftyfold price difference was actually outrageous.

"We can afford it, of course. But for ordinary people, a month's wages might only buy one real chicken. And then there are checkpoint inspections, the cost of hiring Badlands nomads, and all that. In the end, you might spend more than a thousand eddies and still not get it in your hands. That should give you an idea why real meat is so rare in Night City."

Oliver explained, "Pork is actually easier than chicken. Because of the avian flu outbreaks in the past, Night City regulates poultry very strictly. The customs bribes are expensive too. If you're really interested, I'd recommend getting real pork."

"Then if I wanted a whole pig, roughly how much would it cost? I mean everything included, even the bribes."

"Ten thousand eddies should get it here safely."

Ten thousand eddies.

Carl only had around fifty-two thousand eddies in total right now. In other words, all the money he had earned through hard work could only buy about five pigs.

Corpo Dogs as generous as Blanca were rare.

"That much money could buy some pretty decent cyberware."

Jack clicked his tongue at the price.

"The meat we lose when we get cyberware installed isn't worth as much as pork."

As Oliver spoke, he took a bite of a synthetic-meat burrito. "So, Carl? If you want it, I can find a way to contact people over there. Or you could try getting used to this synthetic meat that can still be considered 'real meat.'"

"Oliver, Jack, don't you two want any real meat?"

Carl had already decided to spend the money. As a mercenary, he could not let himself suffer when it came to food. Before that, though, he wanted to see whether Oliver and Jack were willing to pitch in and buy some together.

"The raw materials for synthetic meat are things like worms and locusts. By the time I found out, I'd already been eating it since childhood. My taste buds are used to it. If I actually ate real meat, I might be like you with synthetic meat and not be able to get used to it instead. I'll pass."

Oliver had no plans to buy pork, but Jack was interested.

"I'll buy some meat too. Oliver, can they bring over real corn and stuff from the Badlands? I want to try making tamales."

Tamales were a traditional Mexican food, indispensable during festivals like the Day of the Dead, weddings, and birthdays. They were also one of Jack's favorite dishes. However, the tamales he had eaten in the past were basically made with synthetic meat and cornmeal. Now that he had a chance to try authentic tamales, there was no reason to pass it up.

"Then I'll contact the people over there later and tell you the exact price when I know it."

As Oliver said that, he looked up at the television and discovered that the Kabuki cyberpsychosis incident in Watson District, which had been reported while they were out, now had a new follow-up report.

'The cyberpsychotic vanished before the Psycho Squad arrived. Residents in surrounding areas, please remain alert.'

Carl and Jack were drawn to the report on the television as well.

"Vanished... How far is Kabuki from here?"

Jack frowned.

"Thirty minutes on foot."

That was Carl's answer.

He had walked back to the apartment from the Industrial Park through Kabuki earlier that day, so he knew from experience.