Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System
Chapter 193: Don’t Do Anything Stupid.

Chapter 193: Don’t Do Anything Stupid.

"Dante," Victor pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes tightly squeezed as if a vicious headache was assaulting him. "Tell me you aren’t serious about this."

"Hey, you think I’m the kinda guy who pulls jokes like this?" Dante retorted. "Just give him a chance. See what he got."

The day after their emergency meeting, Dante called the fixer and asked him to hold another one. Because of that, the heist crew was once again gathered in the meeting room on the second floor of the Golden Hummingbird. Since they came straight from the hotel, Rose was wearing a dress, purple, of course, while Kirk had a black suit on. Mr. Pike had a suit on as well, but since that’s what he usually wears, nothing about him seemed different.

"Is this your guy?" Kirk asked with a frown, his arms crossed as he stood by the wall in the back.

"I don’t know about this, Dante." Said Rose, her head still resting on his shoulder. "And why is he covered in bandages?"

"I believe that age does not matter when it comes to talent, but this is far too much." Mr. Pike shook his head. "I hope you are certain of his skills, Mr. Dante."

All five were looking at the empty wall used as a projection screen, or to be more precise, they were looking at the brown haired boy standing in front of it.

Finn was a nervous wreck. Though his swollen face had recovered a little, it still looked black and blue. Dante could tell he was feeling self-conscious because of it, but something told him it would have been the same even if the brat was in peak condition.

"Go on," He gave him a nod. "Show them what you got."

Staring at him for a moment, Finn seemed to gain a semblance of composure, his eyes glinting with determination. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the empty wall. The lights went out just then, and the hidden projector came on.

~[ ]~

Dante was in quite the bad mood after leaving the Bowl of Fortune. Nobara hadn’t joked about serving him nothing but plain rice that night, and though she relented a little, the only extra he got was some sliced pickles.

Finn, on the other hand, got to enjoy the old cook’s hiyashi chūka. The dish was from the summer menu so Dante didn’t care to try it in this cold weather, but he still felt jealous seeing the brat getting pampered while he had to dine with a single bowl of white rice.

"The bandages should be water proof so go ahead and take a shower." He said. "I’ve done the laundry just yesterday so you can pick something to wear from that pile."

As he wanted to have a proper talk, in addition to keeping an eye on him, Dante had dragged the boy back to his apartment. He found himself unable to remember the last time he had someone over, and since he only used the place to sleep and shower, it didn’t have a lot of things to accommodate a guest.

Not that it mattered. The guilt he had felt after the beating he gave him was already gone so Dante didn’t plan on being a generous host.

"I... think I will leave it for the morning," Finn said. "Not in the mood for a bath."

Seeing the uncomfortable look on his face, Dante felt his eyebrows twitch. There was nothing strange about feeling uneasy when staying in someone’s house, especially if that someone beat you to a bloody pulp just a couple of hours ago. Still, Dante felt that the brat was getting some really weird ideas. Ideas that would get him another beating if he dared to voice them out loud.

"Well, suit yourself."

Shrugging, Dante went about making some coffee then sat down. Though he didn’t seem like a coffee fan, Finn accepted the cup he was offered and sat at the table across from him. After a few silent minutes, Dante reached behind his back and took something out of his Storage. Placing it on the table, he slid it toward the boy and watched as his eyes went wide.

"You can have it back. Just... don’t do anything stupid, okay?"

The item was the Blue Berry, or the Blue Night as the boy calls it. Though it fit his tastes just right, holding on to it was starting to leave a bad taste in Dante’s mouth. Juggernauts were rare, but he was sure he could get a new one some other time.

"You... you’re giving it to me?" The boy asked.

"You don’t want it?"

Finn stared at him for a moment then slowly reached for the bulky gun, likely wondering if the whole thing was a trap. The beating he got was because of a gun, after all.

"I took out the bullets, just so you know." Raising his cup, Dante took a sip then added. "And don’t even think of pointing it at me next time."

Nodding repeatedly, Finn held the Blue Night and stared at it, turning into a statue and barely moving for several minutes. Eventually, Dante grew tired of the silence and decided to ask a question.

"You erased my link to your NIM and Exocore. How did you do it?"

Lifting his gaze, Finn stared at him for a moment then frowned a little.

"Well, it’s not that difficult if you know where to Dive." He said. "It took me some time to find it, though. Never thought you would alter some of the default OS files."

"Making it difficult to find was the whole point," Dante said.

Of course, he had no idea what OS files are or how to hide links in them. All he did was repeat a question his resident AI wanted to ask.

[He sure is a skilled Diver.]

’Yeah, yeah, we already know that much.’

"I have a question." Like a student asking for permission, Finn raised his right hand and waited, only speaking when Dante gave him a nod. "How... how did you get me to the roof?"