Chapter Twenty-Five: Why Only Thirty Percent? / Chapter Twenty-Six: Tactical Goggles, Activate! I Saw You Waste Your Ultimate

A modified Nomads vehicle passed through the border checkpoint from the northern part of Night City.

"Is here okay, little girl?"

The white-haired girl nodded, stepped out of the modified vehicle, and said, "Here is fine. Thank you, how much is the fare?"

McCoy waved his hand.

"No fare needed. We're heading into the city on business anyway. We just saw you on the road and gave you a ride along the way, so it's no trouble. Be careful out there, little girl. Night City isn't what you think it is; this is a city that eats people."

McCoy assumed that this white-haired girl had come to Night City driven by the desire to achieve the American Dream here.

Yet what he didn't know was that the white-haired girl had other hidden troubles.

Compared to the places she used to live, Night City might actually be safer-at least until Arasaka's people tracked her down.

Chapter 25: How Is It Only Thirty Percent?

They returned to the Wolf Bar.

They drove the car into the garage first.

The three of them entered the bar afterward to grab some food.

In the corner on the second floor of the bar, the three of them ate and chatted.

V bit her straw and came up with an idea.

"Su, I have a suggestion. Actually, there's no need for you to open a gun shop yourself. You can completely cooperate with Padre."

"Aren't you looking for Padre to help with your materials and parts anyway? Then it's better to just do a one-stop shop and let Padre take charge of the sales for you as well."

"Although this might require giving Padre a bit more of the profit, it can save you a lot of frustrating trouble. What do you think?"

Jack, sitting beside them, also agreed and said, "This suggestion is good, and Padre is a pretty reliable fixer. At least in all the years I've known him, I've never seen him abandon or betray anyone-provided that you don't betray him."

"Then can you help me ask him right now?"

"Wait a moment, I'll call him right this second."

Jack put down his chimichanga.

A glow lit up in his eyes.

After a short while, Jack ended the call.

"Padre agreed, but he has a proposal."

"What proposal? Let's hear it."

"After selling each piece of tech weapons, the money earned will first have the cost of materials and parts deducted, and the remaining money will be split thirty-seven."

Before Su Xiao could speak, V said with some disappointment, "How is it only thirty percent?"

The price of tech weapons was unlike kinetic weapons.

It was much higher.

However, with only a thirty percent cut, wasn't that a bit low?

Judging by V's understanding of Padre, Padre shouldn't be the kind of person to do that.

"V, you didn't understand my meaning. Thirty percent is Padre's, and Su takes seventy," Jack grinned widely. Padre valued Su Xiao highly, which meant that he, as a brother, also shared in the glory. "Padre said to treat it as making a friend."

"Right, I almost forgot to ask, about how many tech weapons can you assemble a day?"

Su Xiao didn't answer immediately, pondering instead.

The complexity of tech weapons far exceeded that of kinetic weapons.

There were still quite a few gunsmiths in Night City who could repair and assemble kinetic weapons.

But anyone who could mess with tech weapons was definitely as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Otherwise, the major gangs would have long since abandoned kinetic weapons and refitted their entire personnel with tech weapons.

As for smart weapons, those were gods fighting among themselves.

Look at the manufacturers capable of producing smart weapons; every single one of them was a top-tier existence.

The structure of tech weapons was more complicated than that of kinetic weapons.

The manufacturing speed was slower.

Su Xiao figured that if he could guarantee two hours of his time each day,

he could probably manufacture around five of them.

"Five? I remember seeing in the weapon shop that even the cheapest tech weapon sells for twenty thousand. You can make five a day, wouldn't that..."

Jack's eyes went straight.

No wonder the old saying always went that comparing people to others would kill them, and comparing goods to others would make you want to throw them away.

Little mercenaries like them who had no reputation made only a few thousand eddies on a gig.

And that still had to be split among three people.

Look at Su Xiao.

His daily income would be that much.

And he didn't even need to fight for his life; he could comfortably lie down and make money.

Seeing that Su Xiao and Jack had reached an agreement,

V, who had just returned from the restroom, sat back down, looked at Su Xiao, and said,

"Su, it looks like you don't even have neural slots. Have you not implanted any cyberware, nor undergone any body modification?"

Hearing V's words, Su Xiao instinctively touched the back of his head.

Although the Buckle Family's gunsmiths weren't great, the ripperdoc's skill was truly extraordinary.

The gunshot wound he suffered when he first arrived in this world had now completely healed.

Not even a scar was left behind.

Su Xiao shook his head: "Sorry, I don't like that feeling."

V and Jack looked at each other in dismay.

"But if you don't even have the most basic neural slots, that's going to be very troublesome."

In the year 2077, cyberware had long since become a commonplace everyday sight, just like smartphones.

No matter how poor a person was, they would find a way to install at least a 1st-generation implant.

Even though the latest models of implants had now been updated and developed to the 4th generation,

and the 1st generation had long since been completely phased out and eliminated.

Yet for those poor people who even struggled with food and clothing, a 1st-generation implant

remained a very cost-effective choice.

As for pure humans like Su Xiao who resisted cyberware modification, they certainly existed as well.

Those were the cyber monks who sought the path of soul ascension.

The monks believed that the emergence of cyberpsychosis, which plagued the entire society today,

actually stemmed from the loss of flesh and blood.

The human soul and flesh complemented each other and were indispensable.

The soul required the nourishment and sustenance of flesh and blood.

If the body gradually became cyberized, it would cause the soul to suffer until it slipped into the abyss of madness,

which was the birth of cyberpsychosis.

"Why don't I go buy a phone tomorrow."

"Buy what phone? If you really don't want to install an implant, it'd be better if I just got you a pair of AR Glasses."

Current AR Glasses could be regarded as a miniature phone.

Making holographic calls and sending text messages were merely the most basic functions.

Functions like transferring money and sending digital red packets had also been achieved long ago.

Additionally, they also served dual purposes as neural slots and personal links.

Basically, as long as you had a pair of AR Glasses, the difficulties encountered in daily life could be readily resolved even without installing implants.

Some people might ask, since that was the case, why did so many people still go to install implants instead of simply using AR Glasses?

Actually, it was very simple.

The price of AR Glasses was extremely ungracious.

A single pair cost tens of thousands of eddies.

It was already on par with basic military-grade cyberware.

Yet its purpose was merely used to replace the most basic implants.

With such low cost-effectiveness,

it was somewhat akin to placing a ten-thousand-dollar Herman Miller ergonomic chair, a two-to-three-thousand-dollar Ergohuman ergonomic chair, and an ordinary rattan chair together for people to choose from.

Most people would choose the latter two.

It wasn't to say that Herman Miller wasn't good, but after all, that exorbitant price tag was right there, and the threshold was simply too high.

With an investment of ten thousand yuan, many people would choose to build a new computer or buy a phone rather than spend it on a chair.

AR Glasses were thus insulated from the lower strata of society.

Of course, things like AR Glasses were never meant for the lower strata to begin with.

They were merely toys for the rich.

In the following days, none of the three of them took on any more gigs.

Jack focused on Su Xiao's affairs, running back and forth.

V was in charge of logistics.

She could always deliver delicious and hearty food and drinks to Su Xiao and Jack whenever they were hungry or thirsty.

Su Xiao, on the other hand, stayed in the garage manufacturing tech weapons using the tools, parts, and materials sent by the priest's subordinates.

Just as V and Jack had said.

The priest was a very reliable fixer.

He settled Su Xiao's share on a daily basis and never delayed payment.

He even had the priest learn from Jack that Su Xiao needed a pair of AR Glasses.

He directly had his subordinates bring them along when delivering materials and parts.

Chapter 26: Tactical Goggles, activate! I see you missed your ultimate

These AR Glasses were silver-white throughout and exuded a strong sense of high technology.

After getting his hands on them, Su Xiao couldn't wait to put the AR Glasses on.

Beep beep beep-beep beep beep-

A ringing sound that only Su Xiao could hear sounded.

A small box popped up in his field of vision.

The caller ID showed Jack Wells.

After connecting, Jack's voice clearly traveled into his ear.

"Hey, Su, how is the priest's little gadget?"

"Not bad, pretty good."

Worn on the bridge of his nose, he could barely feel any weight.