Interdimensional Scientist, Starting from Cyberpunk

Only three mercenaries were left: Lucas, Anna, and the Hardcore Uncle.

The first two were captured by David on the night of the raid, and the last one was caught earlier by Burger King's group.

Lucas and Anna's identities had been clarified, but Hardcore Uncle's remained unclear—

That was until Leo received the intel from Bryce:

This man had participated in multiple border conflicts between the EEC and the Soviet Union. Compared to urban mercenaries, he was closer to a battlefield mercenary.

This highlighted the difference between the rest of Europe and special cities like Night City.

Their conflicts often happened at the borders, and those who were just strong in combat ended up doing more of this kind of work.

Only mercenaries who were quick, sharp, efficient, and capable of completing special missions could barely make a living in the cities.

Since Leo had captured him on Martin Luther Avenue, he'd been held in this tiny basement for almost a week.

He was sustained only by an automated injector that delivered just enough nutrients to survive, essentially in a state of starvation.

Because Leo had used hacking to disable him, his neural implants had been damaged, causing occasional brain fog when he tried to think.

When he heard the door open, he froze and suspiciously stared at it. But when he saw Anna and Lucas tossed inside, his heart sank.

It was over. They were wiped out.

Leo looked at the last three surviving enemies, feeling a hint of emotion:

If these mercs had been more efficient in their teamwork, things might've played out differently.

Did the mercenary group really have no chance?

Of course not. In fact, they'd had many chances to win.

Starting with the Dewdrop Inn heist—if they had only wanted to take out Morton, they would've succeeded already.

But they got greedy and tried to ambush Burger King, too. The result was that the fight escalated too quickly; the Sixth Street defectors and Hardcore Uncle inside the building didn't last even thirty seconds.

If their temporary commander had decided to carry on with the ambush, one of the Burger King trio would've been heavily injured at the very least.

Even if they had chosen to retreat at that point—if they had retreated together without revealing their backup plans—they still would've had room to maneuver.

Unfortunately, they chose the worst possible move at every turn, and their chances of success kept dropping.

In the end, they were just too amateurish. This team had probably been hastily pulled together by Muramasa and Masamune, and the "captain" clearly had no authority over the others.

They were all mercenaries from different parts of the world, with similar reputations and skill levels. Just one or two moments of disagreement caused serious consequences.

Hardcore Uncle stared blankly as Leo shut the door—there was no one else behind him.

"J-Just the two of them survived?"

"Yeah. You three might not've been the strongest in that group, but you're definitely the luckiest. Congratulations."

Leo clapped his hands and sat down across from Hardcore Uncle, arms crossed:

"We're all mercenaries here, so I'll cut to the chase—how much do you know about your client?"

"Not much." The man shook his head, a trace of fear in his eyes.

Even if they hadn't respected each other, there were no rookies in that temporary team—they were all seasoned veterans.

And yet only three survived?

Damn, this guy plays for keeps.

Just thinking about it gave him chills. A specific memory seemed to pierce through the brain fog and snap him to clarity.

He quickly added, "All I know is that his name is Masamune, and he promised me a really sweet gun—the one you guys took."

"That's it?"

"That's it." Hardcore Uncle gave a pitiful shake of the head and a bitter smile. "F***, if I'd known this was gonna happen, I never would've taken the job."

Trying to prove his intel had some value, he started recalling details of his time in Night City.

"I got here two weeks ago. Didn't know the city, didn't have a fixer.

The first job I was offered was from SovOil, but I think they'd been watching me since I crossed the border—cyka.

I don't know how it is around here, but I wasn't about to take a gig from strangers in a new city.

I figured I'd make a name for myself first, find a fixer, and that's when Masamune found me.

He sounded Japanese, offered a fat payout, and promised me a sweet pistol—in advance.

Who could say no to that? I figured I'd do one job with him, and then… well, you guys happened.

Bro, I seriously respect you guys. We're all mercs—was it really necessary to go that hard?"

"I took the gun. Got any loose change in your account?"

[Transfer: +13,042 Eddies]

[Balance: 23,042 Eddies]

Hardcore Uncle obediently sent the money—clean, no questions asked.

Leo thought for a moment. He wasn't planning to kill them all.

After all, they were mercs. The fight was over. There wasn't really any personal grudge.

Speaking of grudges—

Leo suddenly asked, "None of the dead were close friends of yours, right?"

Hardcore Uncle hesitated. He sensed danger, as if he said yes, this mild-looking young man might send him to join the others on the spot.

But after thinking it over, he chose honesty. "Uh, not close friends, no… but I did know one of them, if you're sure he's dead—the sniper."

Hm?

Leo raised an eyebrow.

Hardcore Uncle continued, "His real name was Simon Koskinen. We weren't friends, fought each other a lot. But I'll say this—he was the most stubborn sniper I've ever met, a foul-tempered Finn."

"So you entrusted your life to your old rival?"

The big, broad-shouldered man chuckled—not bitterly this time.

It had a kind of… strange, masculine respect.

"I hated that bastard just as much as I trusted him to cover me." Then his tone dimmed. "Too bad. Looks like I lost this time. If I'd just held on a little longer…"

If he had held on, things might have been different.

So this was a worthy opponent after all. Honestly, Leo had doubted the sniper's professionalism due to how reckless he was.

But now, it all made sense: the sniper had an equally complicated attitude toward this old rival.

He, too, had believed Hardcore Uncle would pull through.

Leo asked one final question: "He seemed to have killed some high-profile targets. Do you know what that was about?"

"I do." Hardcore Uncle nodded. "Some noble ran over his daughter in the street and walked free after a private trial.

So he took matters into his own hands—it took a long time to even figure out who the killer was. I think that noble had a wife too, but he missed her."

"How do you know all that?"

"One time, we fought at the Finnish border. Chased each other through the snow for 14 days. I killed his employer's guy; he killed mine.

No one got paid, so we called it even—figured if we didn't get back to a ripperdoc soon, we'd both die.

On the way back, we were bored, so we talked."

Hardcore Uncle paused, then asked, "So… how'd he die?"

"Fired three shots. I caught him before he could fire the fourth."

Hardcore Uncle chewed on that, then slowly said:

"Then I've got no complaints."

[Bryce: The car's here.]

Leo gave the three one last look.

"Well then, that's the end of it. I can refer you to a few fixers.

But don't forget—Night City isn't like other places.

And you all owe me a favor."