33. e-drugs
7 years was a long time.
The first two years were busy adjusting, but after that he earned decent credits with military implants and natural resourcefulness. I moved out of a moldy cellar into a three-room villa, installed a multi-purpose Android Sigma, and bought a pickup truck that still works. Now, he has settled down as a full-fledged citizen of A-044 City.
“Isn’t that enough?”
“It is not. People’s driving force is the desire to improve. It’s called ambition in the old words.”
Leonard rested his arms on the back of his chair and rolled a lollipop with his tongue. Jake, the ‘broker’, took a sip of a flavored food called coffee.
“No matter how much you think you’re going to open a store…”
The broker smiled, imagining Leonard from the ‘junk shop’ or Leonard from the ‘noodle shop owner’. It reminded me of our first meeting 6 years ago, so it was even more so.
“I wouldn’t know if it was an abandoned house in the suburbs, but 10,000 credits is no match.”
“9,600 credits.”
“Then no more. You can’t even get a loan from a bank, and it’s funny how you get loans from gangsters.”
“If I just hit the jackpot…”
“I will go out on the street. Oh, it was a good relationship.”
Leonard had that degree of self-control. I straightened my posture and chewed the candy.
“I don’t mean to buy it right away. It means slowly preparing for old age. How long can you not be a solver?”
“Are you thinking of going back home?”
When Leonard’s expression turned bad, the broker quickly shook his hand.
“If you stick to it, it’s your hometown. cancer. Even if you laugh at Sodom or whatever, it’s a good city, right? So, where are you going to open your store? Let’s get a quote or something.”
Leonard’s facial muscles returned to normal.
“If you look at it realistically, it would be a junk town. For now, I’m thinking of 18th Street, and business is…”
Leonard cleared his throat a little.
“I’m thinking of opening a hotel.”
“…hotel?”
The broker’s face turned grim.
“Did you see the beggars in Junk Town using lodging facilities?”
“So there is a possibility. Set up a bar on the first floor, set up slot machines, pool tables, and dart boards, and use the second and third floors as guest rooms.”
“Only 10,000 credits?”
“The beginning is feeble, but the end will be prosperous.”
The broker was dumbfounded and just laughed. Leonard expressed his aspirations steadfastly.
“Right now, 18th Street is mostly empty. I don’t even care about Blast and Tiger Claw. Is now the time to invest?”
“It means that it is a beggar neighborhood that even gangsters give up. Well, it’s the top of the hill, so the view is good.”
“It is very noisy. Find a place first. I’ll arrange the credit.”
The broker murmured, ‘I’ll need at least 200,000 credits…’ and emptied the cup. Salted potatoes and fake coffee, but I got a good meal. Even if it’s nothing to say in return, I left information.
“Did you go to the Aktion area?”
“It did. because of whom.”
“Hum. Hum. that’s unavoidable Things are different now, so be careful.”
“why? Did the prisoners of Orange Penitentiary do a mass breakout?”
“Let’s make some sense.”
If that happens, the FAP will have to go all out. The broker was fed up with imagining the worst in A-044 City. It wasn’t that much, but it did require attention.
“According to my sources, the number of psycho cyborgs has been increasing recently. Isn’t there anything good about dealing with a madman who doesn’t even get credit?”
Leonard’s auditory sensor sounded like he could deal with it if it was credited.
@
The broker’s information was true.
The regular channel broadcasts gags at the level of ‘A-044 City, a happy paradise on earth’, but the pirate channel dealt with psycho cyborg crime in depth. Of course, the real in-depth information was on the darknet.
Leonard has been accessing the network black market via an illegal port for the first time in a while. Unstandardized advertisements and unknown information rushed into Brain Chip. Leonard put the constantly spawning windows to a corner and gathered some information.
‘Psycho cyborg, 28th street, Action gang, electronic drug…’
Various sources appeared that could not be seen under corporate surveillance. Psycho cyborg crime increased as shown in pirate broadcasts. Going back in time, it was similar to the time when Jack Turner’s gambling den on the second floor was overturned.
‘Look at this?’
There were several related search terms, but one stood out except for one that Leonard was familiar with.
‘Snowball?’
It is an electronic drug that appears as a new product every year, but this one has a plausible name. At least it was better than Skullbreaker or Melting Spirit.
‘The contents aren’t like that.’
Plant drugs and electronic drugs have the same basic operating principle. It stimulates brain cells to promote hormones such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. The only difference is that e-drugs are dozens of times cheaper. On 17th Street, which was occupied by the Volcano gang, you could buy an electronic chip with your snuff money.
‘Drugs are not without fault… but implant companies are also at fault.’
In the old days, an addict who would only sway while drooling or giggle like an idiot used uncontrollable violence due to a malfunctioning implant. Let alone wringing out more than functional power, it didn’t stop until it was completely destroyed. Naturally, the higher the percentage of implants, the higher the probability of becoming a psycho cyborg.
Leonard briefly watched the battle between net users promoting the effect of Snowball and net users warning of the dangers of Snowball, and searched for sources that said the rate of psychosis increased after Snowball’s release.
“Mr. Leonard? Mr. Leonard?”
The quest for knowledge was interrupted by offline interference. Max shook Leonard’s leg. Leonard was annoyed and swung his right hand.
“I am busy. Go and play.”
“What are you busy doing while blanking out? Calm down. A guest has arrived.”
The ninth floor of 11-1 Street was Leonard’s house and the fixer’s office. Most of the time, I get work through a broker, but sometimes, very occasionally, I come in person or a broker sends me. Sigma checked the front door camera and nodded.
“It’s Mr. Jagged Jaw.”
“Take it out.”
Perhaps it was a leak, I pushed the doorbell and knocked on the door. Ding-dong! bang! Ding-dong! Boom-Boom!
Max smiled and opened the front door. I guess he thought it was a joke. Or a traitor who was bribed with a bag of potatoes.
“Hey, Max, how is your daddy?”
“It’s not my dad, it’s my older brother.”
“You are not my brother.”
Leonard turned off the interface and reluctantly stood up. Perhaps it was because of the disapproval of the whole body, the protruding jaw immediately explained.
“Today I came as a real guest. called a client. client.”
“Then take the broker and come back.”
“Uh huh, is this between us?”
“If you’re going to serve potatoes or canned food, let’s settle the short period.”
Shouting chin sat across from the living room, saying something like ‘You’re a friend who doesn’t like talent donations’. ‘Didn’t I ask you to come in?’ Leonard said shyly. Haja Sigma brought coffee. The president’s authority was at the bottom. After taking a sip of coffee, Jugeotchin said.
“10 pieces of canned food before the Great War…”
“Get out.”
“And 1,150 credits! No, 1,155 credits! All my property!”
That was enough to hear the story. His metal jaw twitched as Leonard gestured for coffee.
“I’m going to ask the company public security if it’s possible, but the situation is urgent, so I’ll have to leave it to the fixer man.”
“It usually is.”
“My brother came out of the detention center a while ago…”
“…how many younger brothers do you have?”
“yes? No, that’s not the point.”
He held out his palm to tell him not to interrupt. Leonard shrugged to continue.
“I mean, even if he has a few accidents, he’s pretty diligent. He works hard at the store and often brings credit. It’s because I met the wrong friend when I was young… Oh, anyway, he’s a really good guy, except for his anger.
“If you go to a place like that, the original taste will go away. My temper is getting dirty, and I don’t care about soaking people…”
“I didn’t mean it that way, but the real taste went away.”
I had to interpret it in a junk town way.
“drug?”
“You seem like a very toxic guy.”
@
The younger brother’s name was Tom Weiser. Judging by the surname, it was not a real brother, but a street relationship. I was confused as to whether he was a good man or a hukou when he willingly gave up his entire fortune for such a younger brother. Personally, I didn’t dislike the Hoja rotation.
“It must be the Volcano gang.”
Half of the e-drugs in Junk Town belonged to the Volcano gang. Even the Twins couldn’t catch up with their technique. said Max, pulling out his chest rig and putting it on.
“You don’t like fighting gangs, do you?”
“Because you don’t have to fight for this.”
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Jugeotchin’s request was to catch Tom Weiser, not to eradicate electronic drugs in Junk Town. Unless Tom, a fiend, is a VVIP customer of the gang and cannot give it to him, he will not bother to stop Leonard with blood.
“It’s not a feeling, it’s a feeling, but I think it has something to do with what’s becoming an issue these days.”
Max was delighted as he took the shotgun ammo.
“Are you Shining Star?”
“…what is that 20th century drink like name?”
“Eh? You don’t know Shining Star? You’re the hottest rock-singer these days!”
“Some kind of rock singer is like an idol… it’s not. no.”
A venerable line from BC, ‘things these days…’ I muttered and forgot.
“I’m going to collect information as well, so don’t be mean and just stay still.”
“Ah, you’re not Shining Star.”
“That’s just…”
Leonard put on his coat and checked his tools. A revolver, a knife, a cell phone, a car key, and even two memory chips were perfect.
The main area of activity for the Volcano gang was 17th Street. It was an elevated area called Junk Hill, or Gabji Doom, and it was the cheapest slum in Junk Town. Not only the Twins gang that occupied the main street, but also the Blast gang, which rips protection taxes, and the Tigerclaw gang, which leads prostitution, didn’t covet this place. It was only natural to become the hideout of the Volcano gang, who were making memory chips in their closets.
“Is there a gang?”
Max wondered as he looked at the shacks close together. It was the wisdom of the slums to save heating costs by reducing gaps so that they would not be blown away by rain and wind. It wasn’t particularly great.
“You made a good name for it.”
“What?”
“It occupies the highest section of Junk Town and is hunched deep underground.”
“Oh, so it’s Volcano?”
Leonard pulled over at 17-7. A homeless man putting waste materials into a dark drum and making a fire glanced at it. It’s a homeless fashion that can be seen everywhere, but I couldn’t fool Hexagon’s eyes. Without looking around, he strode closer.
“Have a guest.”
Max never knew how many weapons could be hidden in the homeless rags.