Invitation

Oliver panted, staring at the corpses strewn all over the ground before him, unable to believe he had actually survived this gunfight. Bullets had whizzed past his head several times, each time he had been lucky enough to have his head not be in that exact spot. He had been incredibly fortunate.

However, this was also thanks to someone else's help. If it hadn't been for the sudden arrival of additional personnel halfway through the fight, he would have been slaughtered by the constantly pressing Maelstrom scum.

"Still one alive, huh?"

Oliver's body leaned weakly against the cover as he heard a rather young voice. Following the sound, he saw an Eastern face that matched the voice perfectly.

Only one person? And at this age, eighteen, or maybe nineteen?

At this age, he would still be an ungraduated student in Arasaka Academy, which specializes in training corporate dogs. Even in the street gangs of Night City, it was a bit too early.

"A beardless mouth is unreliable," Night City didn't have that exact saying, but there were similar proverbs. At least Oliver's Sixth Street Gang would never accept anyone under twenty. Old-timers hated being burdened by rookies.

Oliver sized up Karl's face, pondering his identity.

Was he Chinese, or Japanese? If he was Japanese, would he be a Tiger Claws guy? Watson Kabuki District was Tiger Claws territory. Did he intervene because of the conflict between the Tiger Claws and Maelstrom?

As Oliver pondered, Karl walked up to him, pointing a Lexington at his head.

"Name."

Having witnessed the other person's firing speed and marksmanship, Oliver, not planning to resist, honestly answered, "Oliver."

"Age?"

"Twenty-four, gang member."

"Affiliation?"

"Sixth Street Gang."

"Purpose?"

"Maelstrom might have hijacked our goods. We came to ask, and ended up fighting these cyberpsycho freaks."

"I see."

Karl said something Oliver didn't quite understand, then extended his hand to him.

"Hand it over."

"What?"

"Your gun."

Was he planning to capture him as a bargaining chip for the Tiger Claws? Seeing how he had also attacked Maelstrom earlier, was he perhaps seeking cooperation?

Honestly handing over his gun, Oliver cooperated. Then he realized that the person had no intention of paying attention to him anymore. This person wandered around the corpses, occasionally squatting down to pick something up from the ground.

Fourteenth one.

Muttering to himself, Karl, who had grabbed a bag when he left the stall, counted as he filled the bag with handguns and euros. After beating people up, looting the spoils was a matter of course in Karl's eyes, but it made Oliver a little scared.

Judging by the way this guy is looting, he's probably not with the Tiger Claws, but some kidney-snatching Scavenger.

Scavengers in Night City were a group of ruthless people who treated humans as commodities to be sold. They liked to target civilians and lone gang members, attacking them to plunder money, organs, and cyberware. Karl's looting behavior was somewhat similar.

However, Oliver's newly raised concerns were slightly relieved when he saw that Karl had no interest in cyberware and didn't plan to dissect the corpses.

Thinking about it carefully, a guy with such accurate and fast marksmanship like this one probably didn't need to be such a low-level scum... But this looting was a bit too meticulous and serious.

Seeing Karl even flipping through people's hair to see if there was any money hidden inside, Oliver couldn't help but stand up and walk to Karl's side. As a matter of course, as Oliver approached, a gun was pointed at his head.

"Something up?"

Not turning his head, Karl said as he was busy. His harvest was okay. These guys weren't rich, but these odds and ends added up to be about three thousand euros. He would have to count the exact amount later.

"Um... if we don't run, the NCPD cleanup crew might be here soon. It might not look good if we're still on the scene then."

"We?"

Hearing Oliver's words, Karl temporarily stopped looting. He turned to look at this Sixth Street Gang member with blond hair and a small mustache on his chin, and said, "I'm not a gang member. I'm just a civilian who got caught up in your mess, unable to even have a peaceful meal. I don't need to worry about the NCPD."

Civilian?

Which civilian could take a Lexington, which was so common that he didn't even bother to use it, and blow the heads off more than a dozen Maelstrom guys? The cyberpsycho freaks in Maelstrom always liked to modify their heads with cyberware. The meat content of their heads was extremely low. Being able to accurately send bullets into their brains by grasping the gap between metal and flesh, that kind of marksmanship was definitely not something a civilian could do.

In Oliver's mind, he had an accurate guess about Karl's identity.

This guy was probably a mercenary, and a lone wolf at that.

Listening to the increasingly close siren, Oliver thought for a moment and said, "Then consider it a reward for saving my life. You were disturbed during your meal, right? If you don't mind, how about I treat you to a meal at a nearby restaurant and wash your face while we're at it?"

Oliver's gaze focused on the blood gradually congealing on Karl's face.

"Eating is fine."

He had looted enough. Karl looked at the bag that could no longer hold any more handguns and didn't mind being treated to a meal.

"But it has to be vegetarian."

A ruthless killer who eats vegetarian?

His lips twitched, but Oliver responded quickly.

"Sure, I saw a Chinese restaurant on the way here. They should have some vegetarian options."

With that, Oliver looked at the ground littered with the corpses of his Sixth Street Gang comrades and sighed.

He would have to tell his old man about what happened here later. Everyone who came was dead, and he was the only one who survived. No matter the reason, he had to give the gang an explanation. And regarding the Maelstrom, he would have to suggest that his old man and the others discuss it thoroughly.

Those lunatics had gone too far with their looting. The Sixth Street Gang didn't want to invade other gangs' territories, but that didn't mean they were weak and easily bullied.

They were a gang mainly composed of retired soldiers. How good could their tempers be? Maelstrom would definitely pay the price for this!

But before that.

Oliver had to properly treat the lone wolf who had helped him. He would remember the life-saving grace.