Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System
Chapter 194: Bitter.

Chapter 194: Bitter.

For a moment there, Dante didn’t understand what the boy meant, and when he did, panic almost showed on his face. Pretending to be calm, he sipped more of his coffee and did a little thinking. Eventually, he fixed him with a stern look and said.

"Some questions aren’t meant to be asked, and some aren’t meant to be answered."

Of course, Dante wasn’t going to tell him about Type 8-3 and how he had used it to locate his position and open a portal under him. It had been a reckless move on his part, chosen due to the lack of time and options. Infiltrating the nightclub would have been quite difficult, and even if he managed it without getting caught, the brat could have sunk into deeper trouble by then.

[There is this saying I heard in one of my games.] Volcan said. [A secret is no longer a secret once two people know about it.]

’Good thing we aren’t going to tell him, then.’ Dante thought aloud.

The brat was already asking questions so it was only a matter of time before he links the dots and figures things out. Killing him would ensure that doesn’t happen, but that was only a temporary solution.

The only way to avoid any trouble that might come from his secret being exposed would be to make it so that it wouldn’t matter. Once he gets strong enough to use Volcan without any restrictions, he wouldn’t have to care if others knew about what he’s capable of or not.

As expected, the boy wasn’t convinced by Dante’s reply, though he didn’t press the matter. The silence lingered between them for a while until he decided to ask another question.

"What you said earlier, were you serious about it?"

"What are you talking about?" Dante raised an eyebrow.

"The Daggers," Finn frowned. "You said you’re going to take them down."

"Hm? Oh, right. Of course!" Dante nodded as if he had just remembered. "That’s the plan."

Staring at him with the same look, Finn said one word: "Why?"

Though he knew it would come eventually, Dante didn’t really know how to answer that question. Or rather, he felt that his intentions for going after the gang weren’t legit, and maybe outright foolish compared to someone seeking revenge.

"Nothing serious, really." He shrugged. "I just need a whole lot of money, and the bastards are loaded with bionics."

"You... you are a Ripper?" Finn asked.

"I’m many things," Dante replied.

Casting his gaze down, Finn seemed to wander through his thoughts for some time before returning with another question.

"Isn’t that, like, really dangerous?"

"Look who’s talking." Dante snorted.

"No, seriously," Finn shook his head. "How do you-"

"You don’t have to worry about that." Dante cut him off. "I would have started working on it right away, but I’m kinda busy with another job."

"You work for Viktor, right?"

"Yup."

As he sipped from his cup, Dante noticed that the brat hadn’t touched his until now. Catching on to what he was thinking, Finn quickly grabbed the cup, giving the dark liquid a complicated look before taking a sip. His bandaged face shriveled the next moment, disgust painting it as he struggling not to toss the cup.

"Sorry about that. No sugar in this apartment."

Dante barely held back his smirk, continuing to drink his bitter coffee to show that he wasn’t affected in the least. He had to move to the next point, however, so his expression turned serious right away.

"Say, how would you like to make twenty million?"

Finn looked up with a start.

"We’ve been working on this big gig lately, but..." Choosing his words carefully, Dante went on. "Our Diver was forced to drop out, and we need a new one."

With each word he heard, the confusion on Finn’s face only grew.

"You... you want me to take their place?" He asked. "I... don’t think... I never worked on something that big..."

"Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you to take on the job." Before the brat could ask, Dante clarified himself. "I just need you to play the role."

"... what?"

"I already got it all under control. You just need to come in and pretend that it’s all your doing."

As if struggling to understand, Finn kept furrowing his brows.

"So... you don’t want anyone to know you’re the one who did it?" He asked. "Why would you do that?"

Placing his cup down, Dante leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table.

"Listen, kid. You are a skilled Diver. I know that, and Victor knows that, too. But what about me? I’m a solo merc who only knows how to use his fists and gun. That’s what people know, and that’s how I want to keep it." His eyes narrowed into a sharp glare. "Do you get it?"

The change in his tone caused the boy to straighten, and after a moment, he nodded repeatedly.

"Good." Leaning back into his seat, Dante went back to his coffee. He thought that he got the point across, but not long after, he was hit with another question.

"But... wouldn’t it be better to show them what you can do? I mean, you can get more jobs that way, and better pay, too."

"Didn’t I just tell you I don’t want them to know?"

"Well..." The boy lowered his gaze and spoke in a small voice. "I... I really don’t want to lie to Viktor..."

"... Oh, you don’t have to worry about that," Dante said. "There is no way Vik would fall for it."

"... huh?"

"Yeah, he’ll see through it right away. I haven’t told him anything yet, but... well, you could say he already has an idea of what I can do and just pretend he doesn’t. You should learn from him. It might help you stay alive."

"Then... I still don’t get it." Finn said. "If Viktor already knows, what’s the point of having me play along with your plan?"

"The others don’t know, though," Dante said. "And it’s better to bring in a new amazing Diver than to reveal that I’ve been one all along."

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