Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 38: The rumors.

"Alright, let’s get this over with so you can finally leave me alone."

Dante wasn’t thrilled about what they were doing, but it was too late to back down. He needed to give the wannabe hero something so she would get off his back and, if possible, get some more Gold for all his trouble.

They picked a random coffee shop for their discussion, mainly because he needed some caffeine in his system to stay awake, and sat at a table a little removed from the rest.

"First, tell me about the rumors you heard."

Liliana sat opposite to him staring at a paper cup in her hands, a trail of steam rising from it. She closed her eyes, sighed, then forced herself to take a gulp.

"A while ago..." She began. "I was dragged to this fundraiser by my parents. This one in particular was attended by a lot of officials and real estate investors. From what I gathered, they’re planning to continue the construction of Vanguard."

"Oookay, and how is that related to our problem?"

Dante couldn’t care less how the elites plan to expand the city; he already knows it’s just a massive money laundering scheme, seeing how they keep pumping resources into the district every couple of years it was clearly a failed project from the start.

"One of the attendees was the director of Gaia’s manufacturing plants here in Neo-Vatra. I heard him talk to the Police Commissioner about repeated attacks on one of his facilities. In each one, the perpetrators were able to overcome the security team and deal significant damage. The police did an investigation and found out it was done by Enhanced Individuals."

Surprisingly, the girl didn’t have just some rumors but detailed info from a credible source. Still-

"Just because the incident was caused by EIs doesn’t mean they were Genomes, you know?"

Liliana shook her head.

"Two of the perpetrators were already caught. Both were former employees who worked at those facilities and neither had bionic implants that could do that kind of damage." Pausing, she sipped from her cup. "The strange part is, they also didn’t have any genetic enhancements. If the security staff hadn’t recognized them during the attack, they would have gotten away with it."

"... I see..." Dante thought for a moment then asked. "Those two, they came from Factory Town?"

"Yes," Nodding, Liliana reached up and adjusted the beanie on her head, looking a little uncomfortable wearing it. "The police suspect that the other attackers came from there as well, that’s why-"

"That’s why it was so stupid of you to go there." Dante interrupted.

Liliana was left with her mouth agape while he raised his cup and took a slow sip from it.

"Did you ever consider how your actions would influence the investigation?"

Disgruntled factory workers weren’t anything out of the ordinary—finding one who enjoyed their job was an impossible task. Some of those workers got their hands on superpowers and decided to get some revenge, and since they were in the same position as Jason, it was unlikely that they had done so through the same channels as the elites. The powers disappeared after a while as well. That was enough to point to Catalyst as the likely cause of the sudden outbreak of EIs.

"The police are already investigating the incident," Dante said. "They have the numbers and expertise. If there is anything to find they will find it. If they don’t, then there is nothing to be found."

"You know that’s not true." Liliana retorted. "I don’t want to speak ill of them, but... the police aren’t very reliable."

"I couldn’t agree more, but you’re missing one thing." Narrowing his eyes, he pierced her with a sharp glare. "The victims this time are some of the world’s most powerful corporations. Whenever it’s like this, the cops will always be on their A-game."

Gaia was Radmir’s top biofuel producer, as well as one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers, and with genetic enhancements being involved, the matter concerned Eidolon as well.

The cops existed for the sole reason of ensuring the masses don’t cause trouble for the people running those megacorporations, and now that it happened, they will use every resource available to them to ensure this case is resolved.

"What if... what if they’re too late?" Liliana argued, looking a little distressed. "They aren’t well equipped to deal with Genomes. People might get hurt!"

"No shit." Dante chuckled.

"This is serious!"

"Of course it is. Why do you think I didn’t want to get involved?"

The only reason he was still going along with her game was his urgent need for money. Otherwise, he would have stayed as far away from that mess as he could.

"Well, putting all of that aside. Did you hear anything that confirms Catalyst is being distributed in Factory Town?"

"I just-"

"Anything other than your intuition and the users being from that area."

"... no, that’s all I had..."

Neo-Vatra was a big city. One of the biggest in the world. Such places tended to get tribal over time, with each part developing in a way that separates its residents from the rest of the city. This aspect becomes more prominent when one looks at the underworld.

Gangs and criminal organizations have territories where they do their business, and straying from the areas they control usually leads to bloody wars. If she had known that much, Ms. Hero wouldn’t have struggled that much with finding an explanation for why she had her eyes on Factory Town, but turns out she was just following her intuition and nothing more.

"Earlier you asked me what I saw inside that building, right?"

Liliana had hung her head in shame, but when he mentioned the reason she refused to let him go, her excitement returned as she looked up at him with wide eyes. freeweɓnovel.cøm

"That place was what we call a Joyhouse." Dante went on, ignoring the sparkling eyes gazing at him. "You can look up what that means later. Anyway, I went there to search for someone and, well, congratulations, your intuition was correct."

"You mean..."

A smile slowly spread on Liliana’s face and some red found its way to her cheeks.

"The one who caused that incident and collapsed the building was a Genome," Dante said. "And he likely has Catalyst to thank for his powers."