Chapter 81 - 77 If you cannot see (please continue reading ~)

Gloria, lying on the bed, didn’t know what to say. She was so anxious that she wanted to scream.

But she was even more afraid that this unknown hacker would doom her and David.

David found a hacker to threaten the doctor?

Why did David have a gun, and... kill someone?

Gloria’s mind was a mess, but she understood that all this was definitely because the doctor had evil thoughts.

Then she thought with a self-mocking grin: serves me right.

She worked as an outsourced municipal cleaner for NCPD, primarily handling corpses.

Not everyone could afford or even buy Trauma Team memberships. Her job was to clean up these poor souls’ bodies.

A large part of the corpses were street thugs or mercenaries, often fitted with valuable prosthetics—so she struck a deal with this Red Shirt Mental Hospital.

She would transport the bodies here for processing, and on the way, she’d disassemble the valuable prosthetics from them. Once they arrived, she didn’t care what the hospital did with the corpses.

As a partner, the psychiatric hospital would provide her with the minimum medical insurance package for free—so David had to carry her across the entire Saint Domingo to this hospital on the easternmost side.

Because David knew his family was poor, with no money, and only had insurance at Red Shirt Mental Hospital.

But now, after she got hurt, her longtime partner revealed their fangs.

Gloria desperately tried to get up, but the anesthetics were still potent.

She could only pray that Lille was not a Scavenger.

"You... who are you?"

"David’s classmate."

"Huh?"

"That’s not important. What’s important is, without me, you’d be dead again."

The current David was not the weakling Lille once accepted—he tolerated someone like Acido, who had no talent for implants and was useless in a fight.

But he couldn’t accept a kid who couldn’t even pull the trigger when his most beloved relative was dying.

Honestly, he wanted to add a capable member to the team. A mature David was undoubtedly qualified.

Yet David... he was the type to only grow after sacrificing a loved one—it’s not like he could sacrifice himself, right?

As for saving Gloria, Lille suddenly felt it might be because her relationship with David was very much like his past self and his mom.

The difference was, he didn’t grow up in Night City, and his academic career was far more successful than David’s—David’s mom died early, forcing him onto the streets; Lille didn’t have that experience.

The similarity was... Lille felt his mom’s death had something to do with him.

Forget it. Consider it a good deed—for David’s future, it’s still up to him.

"... Mrs. Martinez, you know, human growth can basically be divided into three stages—the first stage as an adult is a drowning dog."

Gloria was stunned, not knowing what Lille was trying to say.

Lille continued: "The difference between an adult and a minor is that an adult knows their situation; they know what to do to survive as a drenched dog instead of fantasizing that it’s not rain but just high humidity.

The second stage is the wolf; a demonic beast of survival relentlessly chases you, growing more terrifying as you become stronger. To face the increasing survival pressure, you start to run, hunt, and fiercely rip off the largest chunk of meat from the prey’s body."

Gloria’s head was buzzing.

She saw Lille’s face—this was the person who ambushed the Cyberpsycho on the highway.

Could he be losing his mind too?

"... The third stage is the lion; a lion keeps its eyes on its prey on the horizon, seeing nothing else.

It releases all its stored energy, chasing from dawn to dusk—either dying or becoming a drenched dog again.

Both you and this kid need to grow up. Night City isn’t heaven, and Arasaka Academy isn’t some dream factory. Arasaka Tower... is just a taller tower."

After speaking, Lille left the psychiatric hospital.

Gloria let out a long sigh—what was that?

Dog, wolf, and lion?

Had this guy read one too many fairy tales?

After a while, Gloria managed to sit up from the bed, and David suddenly woke up: "Mom!"

David, who was unconscious, felt like he had a nightmare—in the nightmare, Gloria died, and then... there was nothing else.

Just emptiness.

"David!" Gloria struggled off the bed but stumbled, landing right beside David on her knees.

"Mom... thank goodness." David’s eyes were empty, but he suddenly felt at ease.

Suddenly, a text box appeared in his visual system, showing the words Lille had just said.

He had only heard of dogs, wolves, and lions, but Lille’s words gave him a different kind of insight.

What kind of person would ignore the ubiquitous dangers and still feel they were on a bright and broad path?

Maybe it was his true self—a drenched dog.

"... Mom, I don’t belong in Arasaka Academy. I want to drop out."

"David..."

"Mom, I’m serious—if it wasn’t for my luck, we would already be dead—we spent all your money on my education.

But we stress every day about living, can’t afford Trauma Team insurance, and any thug with a gun can end our lives.

Think about it, every meeting we have might be our last.

Focusing solely on the dream Arasaka Academy sold while ignoring the real world, you can’t survive."

At this point, David paused, looked at his mother, and seriously said:

"Even if one day I could stand on top of Arasaka Tower, it would mean nothing if you couldn’t see me."

Gloria was stunned, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She bent down, covering her face: "I’m sorry... David."

David smiled—although the anesthetic effect hadn’t worn off, he still tried to smile.

"Don’t cry, Mom."

...

"Where did you go? Jack and I waited for half an hour!"

As soon as he arrived at the Lone Wolf Bar, Lille saw V, arms crossed, looking like a bomb ready to explode.

Lille scratched his head: "Nothing much, just ran into an acquaintance of Acido’s. His mom almost got taken apart by Scavengers, so I lent a hand."

"An acquaintance of Acido?" V looked over suspiciously, even getting right up close.

"Uh... actually, a classmate from Arasaka Academy."

"Classmate..." V sneered, "Impressive, our weakling hacker in the team can help now, even took down a Scavenger."

Lille spread his hands: "Come on, let’s get in the car. We still have to see the Kantao people—what’s with the new hairstyle?"

V had a new hairstyle.

He used to have a side shave, now it was short hair.

Not only was the hairstyle different, but it was also dyed in a stunning blue-purple-pink gradient, making him look less fierce and more stylishly sharp.

V proudly tossed his hair: "On that lousy viper drive home, the metal scraps on the car cut it a few times. When fighting James, a bit got sliced off, so I just decided on a shorter style. Looks good, right?"

Jack gave a thumbs up: "Absolutely, top-notch."

Lille clicked his tongue in wonder: "You’re something else. I thought the first thing you’d do was pick a new implant or car, but you went for a hairstyle?"

V grabbed Lille’s head, left arm around his neck, right hand drilling into Lille’s head.

"You. Just. Can’t. Compliment. Me. Like. Jack?"

"Wrong, wrong!!"

Lille frantically patted V’s arm, while Jack watched, laughing, as the trio passed by Misty’s Esoterica.

Misty saw this and also laughed.

Jack, who used to roam alone as a lone wolf, now had companions he could trust.

Jack noticed Misty laughing, stopped, and scratched his head looking at Misty:

"Um, the Tarot cards were quite accurate. What did we draw last time? The Chariot..."

"The Magician, Death God, and Chariot—Jack, what can your head remember?"

Misty laughed softly, gently tapping Jack’s head.

However, the height difference between them was too significant, needing her to get very close.

Jack instantly became even more awkward: "I... I can remember lots of things, Misty. I mean, do you want to go for a ride? When I get a new car."

"Sure, just don’t forget."

"Of course!"

Lille, still locked in V’s grip, waved: "Thanks, Misty, the last Tarot reading really helped—can you let go now! You’re going to break my neck!"

V showed no mercy: "That’s what you get for running your mouth—don’t worry, Misty, if Jack forgets, I’ll remind him first thing."

Jack chuckled: "We’re heading out; you gotta wait for me, okay? It’s a promise!"

"It’s a promise~ I’ll be right here, not going anywhere. Now, follow your good brothers."

Misty watched as the three drove off, with Jack, having the whole back seat to himself, rolling down the window to wave at her.

She used to think Jack was cheerful, but whenever he went out and returned, she felt he was suppressing something.

Now, she could tell that Jack was genuinely happy.

Maybe that’s a child of Haywood.