Cyberpunk Patriarch

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"Maybe I should hire you as a tutor for our Adecado. This is the first time I've seen Panam completely speechless," Sol said with a bit of schadenfreude, watching Panam's scowl deepen.

To be honest, Sol had grown fed up with Panam's antics. Every time she caused trouble, he was the one who had to clean up the mess. Panam always had a reason for her actions, as if everything she did was justified, even when it clearly wasn't.

Arthur shook his head, not sharing in Sol's amusement. "Forget the tutor idea. I don't need someone aiming a gun at my head every time I open my mouth."

Arthur had no interest in being part of a wandering band of misfits. He was focused on bigger goals—fighting the big corporations and fighting for the people of Night City.

"To be honest, I'm more interested in dismantling corporate power," Arthur continued. "You know, poach employees from their factories and shorten the workweek by five minutes. That's how you save the people of Night City."

The idea was more about playing the system than directly confronting it, but it was the best plan Arthur had at the moment.

Sol rolled his eyes but smiled at the absurdity of Arthur's plan. "Actually, we still don't know what's in those boxes. Maybe it's a fake d**k used by military tech execs?"

Scorpion, standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh, and Arthur nearly spat out his beer. But the truth was, if they didn't know what was inside, they had to investigate.

Soon after, Arthur sat in the Thunderbolt and arrived at the wanderers' temporary camp. The sight that greeted him wasn't pretty. The homeless people here wore tired expressions, some nursing injuries. The overall atmosphere was grim.

Arthur glanced at Panam beside him. Her head was lowered, lost in thought. Sol led Arthur to the back of a van, opening the door to reveal several boxes, each stamped with the Military Tech logo.

"We haven't opened them yet," Sol explained, giving the boxes a pat. "We figured if we opened them, we might be asking for trouble. We're thinking about selling them on the black market in Night City. Arasaka might be interested in these kinds of things."

The sound of Sol's hand on the boxes was dull, indicating they were well-packed with some kind of cushioning material.

Arthur crouched down in front of them, inspecting the combination locks. He clicked his tongue. "You guys really went for high-end goods, huh?"

Sol nodded. "It's definitely high-end stuff—probably from a military tech lab. Might be some prototype weapon or an experimental smart robot."

Military Tech and Arasaka were not just small-time players; they were titans. These companies were involved in everything from prosthetics to firearms, from robots to military vehicles. Their reach was vast, and anything coming from them was bound to be valuable—and dangerous.

Arthur eyed the combination locks and pulled out his phone, dialing Lucy's number.

"Hi, Lucy, it's your boss," Arthur said with a grin. "I've got several boxes of military tech in front of me. Any chance you can tell me what's inside?"

"Arthur," Lucy's voice crackled through the phone, full of frustration. "I really need you to listen to me. Your cyberpsychosis is out of control. You should be getting treatment, not getting yourself involved in this mess!"

Arthur sighed, rubbing his temples. Lucy had a point, but Arthur wasn't about to back down. He had plans, and they didn't involve getting sidetracked by his mental state.

"You've already been fighting the Voodoo Boys today. Then you went head-to-head with some Terrorist Mobile Team woman. You've got the Animal Gang breathing down your neck. Now you're focusing on military tech? What's next? Arasaka? Biotechnology?" Lucy continued, her words flying at him in rapid succession.

Arthur winced, hearing the familiar machine-gun-like cadence of her speech. It was like she was scolding him, and while he didn't mind, it didn't help his headache.

Lucy wasn't wrong. The conflicts with the Voodoo Boys and the Animal Gang had all been part of the fallout from his ambition. But none of it had anything to do with the stolen tech in front of him.

"Come on, just help me out here, and I'll make it up to you," Arthur said, trying to negotiate.

Lucy wasn't convinced. "What's with all the 'repaying favors' talk? If you get caught by the corporations, don't come crying to me. Just connect your personal link to the terminal."

Arthur grinned at the familiar line. "Alright, alright," he muttered, connecting the data cable from his wrist into the terminal on the box.

The instant he connected, streams of data flashed before his eyes, followed by warning signs from Military Tech's security systems. But before the firewalls could react, Lucy hacked through them with impressive speed.

"Done," she said with satisfaction. "You're in."

Arthur opened the box, and inside, he found another smaller box—typical of Military Tech's penchant for nested security. He sighed. Was it just him, or did Military Tech love their Matryoshka dolls?

After shaking his head, Arthur carefully opened the smaller box inside, pressing the switches on both sides.

Just as he did, Lucy's voice came over the line again. "Arthur, you're in deep trouble now. The box contains research and technical data from Biotechnology. It's about a new generation of antibacterial drugs, and they've already moved into human trials."

Arthur froze. "So it's some cutting-edge research?"

Lucy's voice was tight with concern. "Yes, and it's a full package of data ready for commercialization. This was stolen from Biotech by Military Tech through corporate espionage. It was supposed to be delivered straight to Military Tech's headquarters, but it looks like your homeless friends intercepted it."

Arthur cursed under his breath. "So now I'm tangled up in corporate espionage."

Lucy continued, "Yep. Both Military Tech and Biotech are after that data. And by the way, I checked the Military Tech network. You're about to be on their wanted list. They don't have your identity yet, but you better make this right quickly."

Arthur let out a long breath. He was in deeper than he thought. The stolen boxes weren't just valuable; they were a ticking time bomb, with the attention of two massive corporations now focused on him and the wanderers. He didn't have much time to figure out how to get out of this mess.

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