Cyberpunk Patriarch

50 + chapters available in patreon🎉🎉🎉

Special offer available just check it out.

----------------------------------------------------------

In reality, none of the companies in Night City could be considered good, and perhaps there were no truly good companies in the world at all. This was also true for Kangtao Technology.

Don't be fooled by the fact that they offer their employees gold membership with the Trauma Team. The catch is that you have to work for the company for 50 years to qualify. If you leave before that time, you're required to repay every penny the company spent on you during that period.

What's worse, this world is different. Although Arthur was intrigued by the Dragon Kingdom, he wasn't quite ready to form any immediate attachments. The reason he chose Kangtao was simple—Kangtao had the smallest influence in Night City and kept a low profile.

Night City was primarily controlled by two colossal companies: Arasaka Group and Military Technology. Before the end of the Red Era, Arasaka had provided reconstruction funds for the City of Industry, and since Night City was located within the Bald Eagle Empire, Military Technology's influence here was significant. However, these two behemoths were so massive that they could take whatever they wanted from you without consequence.

In contrast, Kangtao, though capable of competing with both Arasaka and Military Technology, wasn't so powerful that it would just take everything from you. It was a fairer option—one that wouldn't be as ruthless, at least not at first.

Victor paused for a moment, thinking, and then nodded. "Kangtao, it's indeed a good choice."

Arthur agreed, knowing that climbing the corporate ladder was inevitable in Night City. Whether you were a cyberpunk or an average citizen, big companies controlled your life. That was simply the way things worked in Night City.

Arthur turned to Jack, who was standing nearby. "Jack, do you have a car? How about giving me a ride somewhere? I can introduce you to a few people along the way."

Now that Victor had spoken, for Lao's sake, Arthur didn't feel it was right to leave Jack to figure things out alone. Jack was a newcomer, and without a guide, life in Night City's cyberpunk underworld would be extremely difficult.

The reason? Middlemen would never give good jobs to those without experience or connections. Even though cyberpunks were disposable in Night City, with a bit of time, they could develop relationships, and people preferred to work with those they knew. Newcomers would always get the worst assignments—missions that no one else wanted to take. These tasks were usually dangerous, volatile, and often suicidal.

But with the right mentor, one could skip over this rookie phase and avoid the worst jobs.

Jack grinned. "Brother, you're Lao's friend, and that makes you my friend too. I'm happy to give you a ride! You know me, Jack—I love meeting new friends."

Arthur followed Jack, the chip still in his hand. Victor called after them, "Be careful on the road."

After a short while, Arthur sat behind Jack on his motorcycle as they headed toward the Turbo Bar.

"Hey, brother, I've been meaning to ask. Do you really know my mother? And is your relationship with her… well, not so great?" Jack finally asked, unable to hold his curiosity any longer.

Arthur chuckled and shrugged. "It's not really a big deal. A few gang members came by your mother's bar to collect protection money. My temper was a bit short back then. One grenade, and bam, nearly blew up the Wild Wolf Bar. That kind of got me on your mother's blacklist."

Jack's forehead broke out in cold sweat as he heard this. "Are you serious? You just threw a grenade over some protection money? If I were the bar owner, I wouldn't let you back in."

Arthur just grinned, clearly unbothered.

Before long, they arrived at the Turbo Bar. Jack looked up at the sign and couldn't help but compliment it. "What a good name! Just hearing it makes me excited."

Arthur's eyes scanned the crowd until he spotted Pyrrha, who was performing a delicate craft among the patrons. Pyrrha had replaced his golden hand with something new, more flexible, like the tongue of a little girl from Twisted Street.

Arthur walked over, casually grabbing a bottle of beer from Maine's table. He popped it open and took a swig before grabbing another bottle and tossing it to Jack.

"Arthur, you bastard," Maine grumbled, his voice tinged with anger. "You dare show your face here after all the chaos you've caused? Our hacker's holed up at home, refusing to go out. We can't take on any jobs now, all because of you! And I bet you didn't do that to Lucy, did you?"

Arthur raised his hands in mock surrender. "I didn't do anything dishonorable like that."

With that, Arthur tossed the chip he had been holding to Maine. "Here, this is a gift for you. After you try it, make sure you write me a 10,000-word review on how it worked for you."

"10,000 words? You've got to be kidding!" Maine shot back, but the tone was playful, not genuinely upset.

Maine reached for the chip and began to inspect it. But at the mention of the 10,000-word report, he immediately threw it back at Arthur. "Good grief! The prosthetics I'm wearing are for killing people, not writing reviews. And 10,000 words? I don't even know if I've written that much in my entire life."

Arthur didn't wait for Maine s reply. He took the chip and immediately connected it to Maine s brain-computer interface. With a press of a button, the chip activated, and Mann instantly agreed to all the terms.

He sat back, a look of relaxation washing over him as the burden weighing down on his mind seemed to vanish. It was as though a mountain had been lifted off his soul. His thoughts were crystal clear, as if he had been reborn and hadn't undergone the painful and invasive prosthetic surgeries.

"How about it, brother? Pretty good, right?" Arthur asked with a smirk. "To be honest, if you don't want it, why not give it to me? I'll toast to you!"

Jack, who had been observing Maine's reaction, added cheekily, "Yeah, if you don't want it, I'll take it. I'll make sure to show you some proper respect!"

Arthur laughed, taking another sip of his beer. "You know, if you don't want it, you can always return it to me. This is a prototype—crafted by the legendary mechanical genius, Mr. Arthur. It's a piece of history, a collector's item."

Arthur went to press the button next to Maine s brain-computer interface to remove the chip, but Maine quickly reached up with a huge hand and covered his temples, stopping him.

Maine smiled and said, "Look at you, Arthur. We've always dreamed of something big—like being able to read, write, and attend Arasaka Academy to reach the peak of life. Sure, we can't get into Arasaka Academy anymore, but writing you a 10,000-word review? That's more than enough!"

----------–––--––-------------------------------

Visit our Patreon for more:

patreon.com/Samurai492