cyberpunk: Travel to 2075

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Growing into a Man...

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With a soft unlocking sound, the door to the scavenger suite opened slightly, just enough for Karl to peek inside.

The first room was a lounge where two scavengers lay engrossed in a brain dance wreath. The subtle sound of the door unlocking didn't disturb their immersion.

Karl pushed the door open cautiously, ensuring it was wide enough for one person to slip through without making a sound.

"There are landmines," Karl noted, pointing downward. The scavengers were more cautious than expected. David, observing from the side, spotted the two bio-sensor mines near the entrance. These would trigger if any living thing crossed the threshold.

"So, they put the lounge as the first room. I thought it was to deal with potential NCPD inspections, but it seems more like a distraction," Jack commented, eyes fixed on the mines. He glanced at the scavengers in the distance, both completely unguarded, immersed in their brain dances.

"I'll handle it," Karl said. A monofilament wire extended from his wrist, and with a swift motion, he connected it to the control port of the sensor mine. Normally used for remote access, this port now became Karl's entry point for disabling the mine.

Handling such volatile devices with a monofilament wire was risky, but Karl was skilled. In under a second, he had disabled the mine. "It's done. I've blocked the trigger. As long as we don't detonate it, even if one of the scavengers tries to activate it, they won't realize it's disarmed. Though, I doubt these scavengers have that kind of sophistication. Just to be safe, don't touch it."

"Understood," Jack and Oliver confirmed over the comms.

"Understood," David echoed, his voice steady despite the tension.

With the mines neutralized, Karl led the way into the suite, monitoring the area through his hacked feed. "Stay alert and move slowly, David," Jack advised as he followed Karl inside, with David in the middle and Oliver bringing up the rear.

David's heart pounded as he carefully stepped over the deactivated mine, acutely aware of how close he was to triggering it by accident. He took a deep breath to calm himself and moved forward without incident.

"Not bad, David. You handled that well," Oliver praised over the comms. "You're doing better than I did my first time out."

David's face lit up with a grin, feeling a rare sense of accomplishment. Praise wasn't something he often received, making Oliver's words even more meaningful.

"Come here, David," Karl called, standing next to a scavenger immersed in his brain dance. He handed David a knife. "You're probably not strong enough to break his neck, so use this. Stab his neck artery. Don't worry about making mistakes—I'll cover his mouth."

David took the knife, his mind spinning. He had expected to use his pistol, but now, faced with a knife and a living target, his resolve wavered.

"Don't hesitate," Karl urged, placing a reassuring hand on David's shoulder. "This scumbag was involved in the murder of three children, the oldest only twelve. Their bodies were gutted for parts. One of them was from your hometown, Santo Domingo. Think of the parents who held their empty children, sobbing. Think of the streets you grew up on."

Images of his own past, of blood and loss, flashed in David's mind. He understood the necessity now.

Taking a deep breath, he gripped the knife tighter and moved swiftly. The blade sunk into the scavenger's neck, accompanied by the faint sound of Jack snapping the neck of the second scavenger. The first scavenger spasmed, struggling for a moment.

"Again," Karl instructed calmly as he blocked the scavenger's attempt to alert his comrades. "No mercy."

David pulled the knife free, his hands steady despite the blood that sprayed onto him. With calculated precision, he plunged the knife again, this time finding the artery.

The scavenger's body went limp, life ebbing away. David's expression hardened, his gaze cold and determined. He had crossed a line, but there was no going back.

Oliver, watching closely, sent a message over the comms. "Congratulations, David. You're a man now."

In Night City, when does a boy become a man? Is it when he kills his first enemy, or perhaps when he first experiences intimacy or fires his first shot? No. It's when he decides to protect those around him, to stand firm against the darkness.

On an unremarkable day in December 2075, David Martinez grew from a boy into a man, determined to shield those he cared for.

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