Starting from Night City

If he were well-informed, he'd be packing his bags and running by now.

For Kirk, his good days were still ahead.

Compared to the Vortex Gang, that huge problem, the debt Peppy owed was nothing.

As long as the Vortex Gang existed, Kirk would absolutely never dare to show his face again.

By then, even if he really dared to go to the Wolf Bar again, it wouldn't be Peppy asking him for an extension, but rather he would be the one begging Peppy not to report him to the Vortex Gang.

On the way back, Su Xiao asked Jack to find him an apartment.

Constantly living in Jack's garage wasn't ideal.

Jack's garage had no windows, and with the garage door shut (given Night City's abysmal public safety, you couldn't afford to leave it open), it was stuffy and hot.

And with so many people crammed into the small garage.

Anyway, he had some money on hand now, which should be enough for a few months' rent.

"It's okay if the apartment is old, but I want a higher floor, and it needs to be clean. I don't want to live with trash."

Night City was full of skyscrapers. If you wanted a good view, you had to live on a higher floor.

Otherwise, opening the window would reveal a view completely blocked by the neighboring and opposite buildings, like the Kowloon Walled City. How depressing would that be?

"Sure, it's a small matter. Leave it to me."

Jack readily agreed.

Then, he said with a bitter expression.

"Uh, about what I said before, about losing the bet..."

Su Xiao seemed unconcerned, "Jack, we were just joking. You didn't actually take it seriously, did you?"

"So it was a joke, hahaha, that's right, Su, you're really good at joking."

Although Jack also felt that Su Xiao wouldn't actually make him eat his computer, he had proposed it himself. If he went back on his word, wouldn't that be embarrassing?

Now that Su Xiao had voluntarily said it was a joke, a huge weight was lifted from Jack's heart, and he immediately felt much more comfortable.

"One more thing."

"Go ahead."

Jack was in a great mood now.

He even started humming a Mexican folk song.

Let alone one thing, even three or five things, if he, Jack, so much as frowned, he'd consider himself defeated.

"Do you know where I can get materials and parts for making guns?"

"Fixers have them, but they won't sell you materials and parts if they don't trust you. If you don't go through a Fixer, there are other channels to get them, but the risks and prices will be higher."

Jack asked curiously, "But why are you asking?"

"Nothing, I just want to make more money."

Chapter Twenty-Four: Who Are You Calling Rare? Who Are You Calling Rare!

"Damn it, how could this happen?"

After receiving the call from his driver, Kirk quickly packed his bags and fled his home.

The driver he hired was an honest man.

After he was caught, he secretly called Kirk to warn him when the border guards weren't paying attention.

Kirk immediately realized something was wrong.

None of the gangs in the city were easy to deal with.

But if there was one gang you absolutely shouldn't offend, the Vortex Gang would be at the top of the list.

Like the Tiger Claws Gang and the Sixth Street Gang.

Offending them might result in decapitation or a bullet to the head.

While you wouldn't survive, at least you'd die quickly.

The Vortex Gang was different.

These guys were insane and loved to experiment on people.

They were the cyberpunks of cyberpunk, true modification fanatics.

If you fell into their hands, they wouldn't let you off easily, and they wouldn't even kill you casually.

They would implant cybernetics into you.

Don't expect these implants to be genuine products bought from a Corporation.

They were all knock-offs or second-hand cybernetics sourced from the black market, or even from Scavengers.

It's not just installing too many military-grade cybernetics that turns someone into a cyberpsycho.

If you install knock-offs or pirated versions, you can still trigger cyberpsychosis due to the low quality of the inferior cybernetics themselves and their incompatibility with your body.

Kirk didn't want to face any bloodshed, let alone become a cyberpsycho.

He had no choice but to quickly get out.

Just as Su Xiao predicted, he couldn't even bother with Peppy's debt. The Vortex Gang was the real big trouble he had to deal with now.

"You're not planning on being a mercenary anymore?"

"No, I just want to develop a side business."

When he was still with the Buckle Family before.

His "Firearm Maintenance" skill had already

reached LV5.

It not only instilled a vast amount of repair knowledge but also included knowledge of firearm assembly.

This covered all kinetic weapons and a good number of tech weapons.

Tech weapons, in particular, use electromagnetic energy to propel all-metal projectiles to extreme speeds, capable of piercing cover or walls.

These weapons can't be bought at supermarkets or convenience stores.

You can only get them at specialized weapon shops.

The exorbitant price goes without saying.

But if you have the materials, parts, and a gunsmith.

It could save a lot of costs and yield astonishing profits.

Su Xiao shared his idea with Jack.

"You know how to build guns? All of them?"

"I can build kinetic weapons as long as I have the parts and materials. For tech weapons, I can build all except those with overly complex structures like the 'Achilles' and 'Cat Mat'. I'm not familiar with smart weapons yet."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Xiao saw V and Jack looking at him with shocked expressions.

It wasn't that V and Jack hadn't seen much of the world, but rather...

People who can use guns are everywhere in Night City.

But people who can build guns are much rarer in Night City.

And someone like Su Xiao, who can even handle tech weapons.

That's rare among the rare.

Extremely rare.

"So what do you plan to do? Open a gun shop?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you, isn't it?"

The fact that his brother had hidden unknown skills like this deeply shocked Jack.

After a brief moment of shock, Jack calmed down.

He earnestly treated his brother's affairs as his own and began to think.

"Materials and parts, those can be found through Fixers."

"But I don't know any Fixers in the city, not a single one."

Jack patted his chest. "Don't worry, you still have me. Father and I go way back."

"And me," V winked at Su Xiao, "I know Father too. I can put in a good word for you with him."

"Oh right, I almost forgot, you're also one of the 'Children of Heywood'," Jack touched his topknot. "Then let's go together, Father will have to give us double the respect, hahahaha—"

All three of them burst into laughter.

"But if you want to open a gun shop, it's troublesome. You need to register with the NCPD, go through procedures at City Hall, and finally apply for a sales permit from the weapon manufacturers."

"We don't need to deal with weapon manufacturers, I'm not planning on stocking their guns."

Jack's expression turned serious as he emphasized again.

"You do. Su, you need to obtain a sales permit from whichever manufacturer's guns you sell, otherwise, it's an illegal shop. Anyone can report you, and you'll end up facing either the weapon manufacturer's security forces or the NCPD..."

"The NCPD is fine, they'll at most fine you and order you to close for rectification. But if it's the weapon manufacturer's security forces... you definitely don't want to meet them."

Su Xiao's head started to ache just listening to it.

He rubbed his throbbing temples.

"It's that troublesome?"

He hadn't been in Night City for long, but he saw weapon shops everywhere on the streets.

There were even guns sold in supermarkets and convenience stores, so he thought selling firearms would be simple.

"And that's not all... To open a gun shop, you need a place, right? Good locations mean expensive rent; cheap places have bad environments and poor customer traffic, plus they get robbed."

"Besides, in Night City, no matter what business you're in, you have to pay taxes. Aside from the city hall and NCPD, you also have to pay protection fees to the local gangs."

Su Xiao frowned.

"Jack, if that's the case, isn't it very difficult to open a shop in Night City? Then what's the deal with all the gun shops, stores, and stalls in Night City?"

"Su, you've only been in Night City for a few days, so it's normal that you don't know."

Jack knew Su Xiao would ask that.

"Most of the people you see doing business have struggled for most of their lives and finally managed to save up some money to open a shop."

"Then there are those who inherit the family business. Their parents owned a shop, and when the children grew up, they continued to be the shopkeepers."

"Have you noticed? Although shops are everywhere, these people are all in difficult situations. Most of them can only rent stalls in poorer areas with lower safety standards because the rent is cheaper there."

"More importantly, in this Night City, has anyone ever reached the pinnacle of life by doing legitimate business? I don't think so."

"The father owned a gun shop, and the son takes over when he grows up; the mother runs a small supermarket, and then the daughter takes over."

"At the end of the day, they close up shop and return to their rundown apartments, or sometimes they just sleep in the shop."

"Have you seen any of them buy a villa in North Oak by doing legitimate business? I don't think so."

"You can't get into North Oak, a recognized wealthy district, by opening a shop or setting up a stall."

"Why can't they get in? Is it because ordinary people who work from dawn till dusk aren't working hard enough?"

"Of course not. It's because after the NCPD, city hall, weapon manufacturers, and local gangs take turns collecting various fees, there's not much left that actually goes into their pockets."

"This is why, even though they work hard and are diligent, they can never leave this land."

At the same time.