Outrun - Cyberpunk LitRPG

The man glared back at her, before shaking his head and taking another drag of his bottle. “Whatever.”

I waved the data slate to the group. “You uh- you have somewhere larger I can put these images up? I’ll walk you through what I noticed.”

“Chek chek.” Iris reached forward for a remote on the coffee table, but before she could a screen slowly started to rise out of the floor. It was a massive piece that probably cost several weeks worth of rent. “Thanks, Luna.” Yep, definitely the girl.

I flicked the images up to the screen and walked over to it. “Okay,” I pointed to the Hawks milling about the wreckage, “it's obvious the Hawks were there.”

“Right. That’s the angle every team in town is moving on.” Iris leaned forward and rested her chin on her knuckles.

“Because it's the obvious answer. The Hawks most likely don’t have whatever it is you’re looking for though.” I spoke with confidence. Fake it till you make it, Shiro!

River fiddled with another bottle. “We figured as much…”

“Why?” Iris asked.

Kaynis, the werewolf, answered before I could. “Because the bounty would already be collected. It’s still out there.”

I pointed to the side of the drop pod at the cut-off Raijin logo. Barely any of it remained, and what was left was blocked by the Hawks. It was incredibly hard to spot without foresight or someone pointing it out. “This was a Raijin Industries drop pod, though I would hazard a guess and say this is a red herring.” I moved my hand to the dead guy slumped in the pod. “I have no idea who-”

“Nathos,” Kaynis said. “He is- was an Edgerunner nicknamed the King of Death. He was said to be able to put a bullet through a cricket’s leg from fifty miles out if things were set up right. More active across the pond, but he was feared in his short operating period.”

Nathos. I need to remember that. Chances were extraordinarily high that I got the interface from him right before he died considering the circumstances. Coming here was already paying off in more than one way.

I looked at the image for a moment before pointing to a mere half-erased pencil sketch of a line. It was impossible to spot and blended in perfectly with the nearby lines tracing the dunes. This is where I would make my money, and hopefully some good faith with this team. “Do you see this line?”

Iris spoke. “Yeah, windlines are quite common on the dunes.”

“Except this isn’t a wind line.” I zoomed in a bit more. The tread had been entirely covered up already, and only the bare minimum shape remained. “I’ve been in the outskirts a lot, and I’m a hundred percent sure this wasn’t caused by the wind. It's too straight and uniform, and look at the slight way it dips into the sand.

“It looks like someone beat the Hawks to the crash site.” I motioned to the Hawk's predominant tracks, which had yet to be covered by up. “A m-motorcycle based on the track, and heading to the city.” And now to throw in a red herring. “Maybe the Neo-Jokers? They’re the biggest go-gang around. Could also be a Fang.”

And now, I need to make it a bit believable. “Chances are though, it's someone not in a gang otherwise the bounty wouldn’t still be up.” And add some extra spice. “Whoever took it most definitely got rid of the briefcase though. No reason to keep it, and it would only add suspicion. Do you know what’s in the-”

“Yes.” Kaynis used a tone that told me not to ask.

“Right… well then look for whatever was stored in the briefcase, not the case itself. Sorry, that’s all I can definitively say. There isn’t a lot to go on.” I shrugged. “Maybe get a Netrunner to check the cams and see if anyone was out and about that night. It’ll be incredibly difficult, but twenty million is well worth it.” That was risky. I hid the briefcase as best I could on the way in that night, but I still could’ve been spotted.

Now to give myself more breathing room. “Check the AE3 stations first, maybe. It takes a lotta fuel to get out and back, so the person probably had to refuel at some point…” I never refueled, so the only chance of being caught is through the cams.

Kaynis stood up, his digitigrade legs propping him up far taller than he had a right to be. “And yet you’ve given us a hint we overlooked. None of us spotted the track. Iris will send you the money-”

“Brother.” A feeble voice spoke, instantly causing the werewolf to lock up. I glanced over at the source to see the frail girl pointing towards the window. Now that her Kaynis wasn’t blocking my view, I could see she was maybe a couple years younger than me. Thirteen or fourteen, though she was incredibly weak looking to be the big bad wolf’s sister.

Luna… was it a coincidence that her brother was a wolf exotic? It was probably an alias, the same as Iris’s Mesa Moonlet. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if the team had a Netrunner in their back pocket that could make all the aliases real considering their level. I really need to look up Polar Moon when I get the chance.

I glanced out the window, instantly spotting a speck on the horizon as it rapidly moved in towards the port. In mere moments, an absolutely gargantuan ship with a flat surface pulled fully into the bay, blocking most traffic. A fleet of ships escorted it, each marked with the shield and spear symbol of Sentinel Corp. Dozens, if not hundreds of flyers were flying off from the surface of the massive ship as others landed. It seemed the Sentinel Corp Phalanx Supercarrier has arrived.

The boat was about as intimidating as I expected it to be when I first heard of it. Definitely could cause a lot of damage if the corporation were to enter the Third Corporate War that people all around the world dreaded.

That wasn’t the source of my growing unease though. No, that was solely reserved for the other goliath of a vehicle pulling into the area. A ship a third smaller than the Phalanx was the sense of unease. Although it was smaller, the ship had the great advantage of flying in the sky.

I recognized the thing from Raijin propaganda. It was Raijin Industries’ Raiju, their flying fortress. The thing was roughly shaped like a massive stealth bomber from years long since passed, and yet had the sleek and strong body of a massive creature. Four ‘legs’ held propulsion drives that kept it in the air.

Great. Just great. Now there were two behemoths moving enough assets to wipe the city off the face of the planet just because of the research notes. The research notes, I might add, that were currently hiding in probably the least secure place in the world; behind the lining of my fridge.

Kaynis growled as he approached the wall of windows. “As if one superpower moving in wasn’t bad enough…”

“They shouldn’t start a war, at least. Not with BosSpace’s OP still in commission.” River said as he joined the werewolf at the window.

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean they won’t start a cold war…” Kaynis glanced back at Luna before shaking his head.

Iris tapped me on the shoulder. “Probably best to head home, choom. And uh- maybe look at getting better security? I’ll send over the Rayn in a bit.”

“Yeah.” I nodded at the group before heading out to the door. The servant stood there and immediately perked up as I approached. I couldn’t wait to head home and hit the sack.

I stretched out my spine and rubbed my hand over the loose bandage wrapped around my arm. Pulling off the wrap of bandages, I found the wound to be entirely healed. There wasn’t even a scar or mark on the flawless skin.

I ate a quick meal, set the canteen to water, and then returned to my bed as I was pulled into the pavilion space. I had two Perks to pick from: Criminology and Tech. The flickering flames over both shelves shed light far better than the moon leaking through the paper walls of the pavilion.

I moved over to Criminology first and looked through it. Criminology was… an interesting Skill. From what I gather, it relates to investigation heavily; everything from checking rifling marks on bullets to using law enforcement databases to look up files. It was very similar to Perception, so I was quite curious how Perks would line up. After digging through the scrolls, I finally settled on one that looked interesting.

「Cue - Everything has a cue, and you’ll be able to see through them.」

It wasn’t as overpowering as some of the other Perks I had seen, but I was incredibly aware of how deceptive people were. Hopefully, I would be able to look through such deceptive acts better. I carried the scroll over to the easel, and it unfolded automatically just as the others had.

The painting was a cartoony rendition of an ancient oriental gambling game of some kind. A table sat up on a balcony of some kind of pavilion with the moon’s light providing a gentle ambiance. There were two men and a woman sitting at the table with cards in their hands and golden chips laid out. One of the men put his card down as if folding, while the other couldn’t hide a look of elation on his face. The woman was trickier to read. She had a business-like smile on her face that didn’t show any emotions, though she was done in the same friendly cartoon style.

It was so well done as if I was sitting in the poker room myself. I could even almost hear the laughter-

“Ahahaa! You finally admit defeat, friendos!” A snide, prideful voice that made me want to punch the speaker came from across the table.

I looked around in a moment of confusion, realizing I was sitting on the balcony of a restaurant wearing the same ancient attire as the other three. I looked down at my hand, feeling mounting horror as my cartoonified body shifted under my hand. My actions were far more animated than usual, and I felt incredibly nauseated at the incongruence between my mind and body. What the hell was happening?

「Win.」

I bolted upright on my mattress, adrenaline kicking my heart like a horse as pure joy raced through my entire being. I had done it! After what felt like years of playing poker with cartoon caricatures, I had finally won! I beat every contestant, everything from grizzled war veterans to talking animals. It had been a cartoon hell, and with every lost hand I had to read almost child-like picture books with various cues, but I had finally won! I was back to flesh and blood!

In the next moment, my glassed throat brought me back down to reality as I crookedly moved and summoned the canteen from the shadows. As I rapidly gulped down the contents, I thought about my situation. Perhaps I should look into getting one of those Netrunner pods that keep Netrunners alive for weeks on end. I wouldn’t have to worry about myself while I was in the pavilion that way. Ah, but it was too much money… Netrunner stuff wasn’t cheap.

I could always scale down and get something else. I think Medtech makes portable cryo systems that aren’t too expensive… would it even work if I were in a cryo system though? And I would need someone else to pull me out of it once it was over. Okay… how about something far simpler: an IV. They were quick and easy, and would solve my dehydration issue… maybe when I had some more money.

I took care of myself as best I could before returning to the pavilion. I still had another Perk point and two Skill Points I wanted to spend before doing anything else. Tech’s shelf sat in front of me, covered in dozens of scrolls. I instantly zeroed in on one. It was too good to pass up, especially in my situation.

「Eidetic Schematic - Never forget any blueprint, schematic, or plan.」

I threw the scroll onto the easel without a second thought. The scroll unraveled to a massive shelf with a bundle of blueprints covering it from floor to roof. Or rather, to the endless abyss above that served as a roof.

I blinked and was back in my room. I waited for a moment, expecting a rush of power or something, but nothing came. A second passed as the headache from dehydration came back. It intensified, turning into a full-blown migraine as I twisted and turned on my bed, grabbing at my head.

Fire flowed through my brain cells, searing my nerves as I felt a chunk of my brain change. Pure, eternal agony traced through every bit of my head, suffusing the nerves as I let out a soundless scream. Then, the pain rapidly faded and I collapsed in a sweaty mess onto my mattress.

It took a while before my mind returned enough to move. I shakily gathered my bag, threw on my clothes, and grabbed my hand-held radio before heading out to my bike. Rain slowly drizzled, smacking into my jacket as I straddled my bike. I felt weak all over as I sought the peacefulness of the Outskirts.