Outrun - Cyberpunk LitRPG

I sat at Big Mike's, the neon lights reflecting my appearance. The brightest sign on the street flickered and went out. The momentary darkness turned the window into the perfect reflection. It'd been a while since I looked into a mirror. I'd changed quite a bit.

The childhood fat had long faded thanks to my enforced diet of Silage, though I was finally starting to fill out more with my recent eating habits. I could still see a few of my bones poking out, but It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been. Muscle? Heh- like I'd ever get any of that.

There were other changes, of course. As others had pointed out to me, my dark hair was far more… luscious? It had a sheen to it that was reminiscent of a model, though not quite to that extent. That sheen caught the neon ambiance, twirling it like a painter had flicked paint all over my hair.

Ever since I got the interface - more specifically Fox's Grace, I suspect - my appearance had done a one-eighty. I wasn't a flawless beauty or anything like that, but I'd noticed the changes. They were subtle, though they just kept stacking up.

If I put a bit more effort into my appearance and diet? Could probably blend in with the sculpted faces of corporate execs without a hassle. A bit worrying, to be honest. Beauty was a dangerous thing to possess. Especially considering my home didn't have the best security.

Even my skin had turned almost flawless, the small scars and blips from puberty completely vanishing into smooth skin- err, almost smooth skin. The jagged scar splitting my left brow down to my cheek was as present as the day I lost my eye. Even Quick Healing couldn't touch it. Ugh- just looking at it made me think of that bastard.

A day had passed since I chatted with Granny Smith. I already sent Uncle Ezra a request to look up Edward Smith. All of that? Brought me here, actually. I was just waiting for them.

Really, I should've known when the request popped up in my interface. This wouldn't just be a simple one-and-done type deal like I hoped it to be. Be way too easy for something as valuable as a Skill Point reward…

Mira and my uncle entered the restaurant and made a beeline for me. They both had rather serious looks on their faces. It was an oddity- for Mira, at the very least. She was never serious. The few times she tried to look like this? Failed spectacularly… she was nailing it now though. She didn't even reach for the food when she sat down. By far the scariest part.

"So…. What's this about?" My leg started bouncing to dissipate my nerves. It didn't work. Only seemed to make it worse. They didn't even offer a greeting.

Uncle Ezra sighed and ran a hand across his buzz-cut head. After a moment, he flicked open his coat subtly, revealing a scrambler. He didn't activate it though. "Where'd you hear about him?"

"Edward?" That didn't bode well. "My neighbor's grandson."

"Why are you looking for him?" He asked. Unease rapidly grew within me. The fact Mira still hadn't spoken rubbed me seriously the wrong way. Mira was never silent.

"My neighbor wanted to know if he was still alive..." I glanced over the two. Uncle Ezra pulled the strap of his bag off, leaving it in the chair.

He cocked his head, staring at me for a moment with a seriousness I seldom saw. He tilted his head this way and that for a moment before sighing again. Some of the seriousness melted away. "I'm glad you're moving on to investigations."

"Chek… well, it pays better." Investigating stuff was probably less dangerous than breaking into somewhere too… maybe.

Uncle Ezra ran a hand down his face. "Officially? Edward Smith went AWOL off Blitz Base ten years ago."

I ran a hand along my backpack as I thought about what he said. I packed it full of equipment before I left. Just in case. Something about the phone call made me feel like something was off. "He's dead?"

"I can't speak much more on the matter. It's best if you drop this, Shiro." He stood abruptly without his bag, seemingly forgetting that he brought it. "I'll see you at home later tonight, Mira."

Mira smiled for the first time in the entire meeting, which took a bit of weight off of my shoulders. Maybe the situation wasn't so bad? "'Course, Pa'. Safe travels."

"You too…" His expression suggested a weight to those simple words, one that carried a much deeper meaning. He tossed her the keys. "I'll take a cab back. Have fun with Shiro."

Then he simply walked off. I watched him leave, trying to piece together what was happening. I must've bitten off way more than I could chew. Why the cloak and dagger? Was he under watch? Their reactions- it was possible.

I sat there in a confused mess as I tried to piece together what was happening. Nothing was making sense, other than the fact I had definitely bitten off more than I could chew. Something was obviously going down.

Were we under watch? It would make sense considering their reactions. Then why not use the scrambler? Maybe we didn't want them to know that we knew? "Mira?"

Stolen novel; please report.

Mira grabbed my hands, entwining them with her own. "Hey, bestie… I found this new arcade. I'm headed there next. Want to check it out? It might be in a dangerous area."

A final chance for me to back out. And a warning. But she said so herself, Mira was headed to the 'arcade' anyway. No way I could leave her out to dry. And that Skill Point was calling my name. "Nova! Your car?"

"'Course!" She smiled and grabbed a slice of burger, acting as if nothing was going on. It wasn't hard to slip into normality as we had lunch together. We were just two friends eating a meal, nothing suspicious. Nothing weird.

It wasn't until we were driving towards Ichiban in the car, which just so happened to be filled with guns, that Mira spoke more freely. "You've dug us into a hole this time, Shiro."

"Just what in the hell is going on?" Nothing made sense. Rather, I didn't want things to add up the way they were. As it stood, this might be quite the dive off a cliff.

"Edward Smith- he had his file under a heavy lock and key. 'Course, Pa' bypassed that, but in doing so became tagged by the mainframe." So that's what this is all about? That didn't seem so bad. As if sensing my thoughts, she continued. "Pa's high up, you know. So high up that it would take a General to pull such a thing."

"Fuck." How the hell was this all connected to something so big? This was just supposed to be a simple look around, not- not all this.

"Yep! Anyway, Pa' is under watch for the time being… he suspects a cover-up. If there's one thing he hates, it's dirty laundry. Especially with the potential connection to Fedra. Just so happens he misplaced the file for Edward." She handed me the bag.

I pulled out the file and read through it. It was short, too short. There were two files, the first simply stating he went AWOL. The other? A bit more informative. He was MIA for the past ten years… probably dead.

It all happened on something called Operation Aperitus. The operation was a massive scouting trip into the Underground—which was a massive array of tunnels, caves, and ancient abandoned systems below the system. "Operation Aperitus?"

"Doesn't exist." She glanced up at the rearview mirror with a frown. "Hence the suspected cover-up… Pa' kindly asked me to help you 'play around at the arcade'. He's worried someone might come ask you questions."

"Why not send in a squad or something?" That seemed the best way to get to the root of us.

"Suspects he'd get court martialed by whoever buried Operation Aperitus. Won't even be able to dig into anything without solid evidence. 'S where we come in." She glanced up, this time drawing my attention.

Insight had been tingling the entire time, though I finally gave it some attention. We were definitely being followed. I spotted the 'undercover' vehicles with just a glance. They were too… uniform? Too clean compared to the others around. "You see them?"

She glanced up and adjusted her mirror slightly. "Yeah. We'll lose them in a bit… Any other questions, Shiro?"

"Why does he want us to look?" Why bother? Sure it was a conspiracy, but so what? Conspiracies weren't all that rare.

She sighed, sounding genuinely sad. "Two hundred troops vanished with him. Half as many quick promotions. That doesn't just happen. We'll give some families closure, and potentially pull out some rats. Like I said, he suspects a Fedra conspiracy."

Nothing in the world could be simple, eh? Hmm… if Uncle Ezra was credited with the takedown, he'd be fast-tracked for promotion too. Even more a reason to do my best and make sure this goes smoothly. Who knows? I might even be able to get some stuff out of this too?

As for Fedra? Absolute terroristic bastards. Taking them down a peg would be nice. They were the largest enemy of our nation, the FSA. The Free—or Fallen as most people mocked it—States of Arkhanikas put quite a large focus on Fedra. For taking down one of the splinter-cells? They offered a bunch of rewards.

'Course, this was all dependent on Fedra actually being involved with Operation Aperitus. Hopefully, this wasn't an old black op. We'd be likely to find ourselves never waking up rather for stepping on someone's toes than being congratulated. "He's sure it's a rogue operation?"

Mira glanced at me through the corner of her eye. "Yeah. Paperwork would've been cleaner, and sealed with much higher authority otherwise. Also happened to line up with some stuff he's been investigating for the past couple years."

I leaned back in the chair, eyeing one of our tails. "We're a bit underqualified for this?"

"Not as bad as you think. You're good at sneaking around, and I'm a damn good shot, so it shouldn't be too bad." She shrugged lightly. "And he can't send a proper merc team or troops without leaving a paper trail. We're his only option."

"Got any Fang stuff?" Mira asked me.

"Some." My shirt and pants under my tech-jacket practically screamed 'Fang's' for one. I had the Fang bandana stuffed into my bag, too.

"Nova! Saves us a walk." Mira pulled into a parking garage just down the street from Ichiban. One of the Fang only ones. Our tails, unsurprisingly, drove right by us. Probably headed to find some other parking space. Good luck with that. This was Ichiban, where parking was harder to find than completely legal operations.

I tied the bandana around the rear-view mirror. Should be enough? I looked back- damn, that was a lot of guns. A lot more than it first looked like. "We expecting a fight?"

"Are you not?" She shot me a strange look and reached toward the back. She grabbed several knives, SMGs, and a pistol. Just as quickly, they vanished under her coat. Likewise, she tossed on a plate carrier.

"Fair." The Underground wasn't exactly a peaceful place. Going down there? It was more so a question of how long rather than an if. Yeah, it was quite the volatile place. And there was the chance of actually seeing Fedra soldiers.

"Think you could hold these?" Mira stuffed a briefcase into my arms and popped it open. It was full of-

"Why the hell do you just drive around with these?!" The case was full of explosives. Mostly grenades, but there were some other ones.

"Chill, chum. They have a safety." Mira shot me a look. "And it's not like they're hard to get."

"That's not the point!" I crammed the briefcase into my bag. How was it that I ended up with all the boom?

Mira nodded her head to the back. "Take whatever you want."

I stuffed some stuff into my various pockets. Mostly auxiliary ear, though I was impressed by the sheer variety back here. It was practically an armory in its own right. I was almost scared to think what might be in the trunk. At least Uncle Ezra wasn't sending us in unequipped.

Among the things I grabbed, the most interesting was a spool of micro-wire. It was a super thin wire that was difficult to spot and non-reflective. Perfect for traps and rappel lines.

"Here." Mira tossed me a plate carrier. It took a bit to get it on under my shirt jacket, but would offer some protection, at least. "Ready to go?"

I looked in the back one more time. "When you are?"

"Then let's go check the arcade, bestie!"