Cyberpunk - Badland Madman [Cyberpunk 2077]

"Been a while, choom! Your optics were nova, never had cleaner chrome. Best deal of my life, straight preem… eh, what's this stink you got going?"

Cypher watched the freak-looking Maelstrom walk into his little shop corner. He'd normally greet back, but this time he maintained silence. Dum Dum didn't come alone, after all. No, he had a female Maelstrom with him.

Cypher recognised her, but couldn't remember her name. She had short spiky hair, ugly-looking classic Maelstrom optics that covered the upper half of her face, and four glowing red dots there. Her chest had visible cyberware, the same for her entire abdomen. Her arms were, he was sure, those were mantis blades.

"This the gonk you keep singing about?"

Dum Dum nodded strongly, smiling. "Yeah, that's the choom. Seven-day warranty on all used chrome he pushes. He fixes 'em himself."

Finally, Cypher spoke. "What're you hunting for? I just snagged a couple Sandevistans and some Gorilla Arms. But you're already rocking mantis blades, so I won't recommend those."

The woman nodded and looked around at his shop. Cypher was just trying to remember her name the whole time. He knew she was an important figure, just not how big.

"What's the boss Brick need from my choom here? If it's chrome, he's loaded, got the biz," Dum Dum added, unreasonably boasting.

Brick? That's the current Maelstrom leader, isn't he? Then this is… Patricia?

He finally remembered. This woman was Brick's lieutenant, the current leader of Maelstrom. Though he wasn't sure if she really was the lieutenant at that point.

"Zip it, Dum Dum," the woman barked and dragged a nearby office chair to sit. She faced Cypher and asked. "You the name from Obsidian?"

Cypher nodded, cursing his luck. If only he had another day, he'd have that chain ready to speak with Atlas mentally.

"What's a corpo exec sniffing around here? Ain't got better work?"

"I'm a freelancer, not on their payroll. I don't work for the company. What d'you need?"

"You spec ops?"

"..."

This paranoid bitch.

"Spec ops? I wish. I'm buried in debt, and I sure as hell wouldn't be parked here if I had the eddies. So what're you after? Got chrome that needs patching, busted chrome you wanna dump, I'm your guy. Need some second-hand junk, I'm your guy—"

"Shards and iron, military-grade. You crack the ICE on them?"

Cypher thought for a moment and nodded. "Depends on the size. Got any samples?"

The woman, who hadn't even given her name yet, took out a shard from her jacket and handed it to Cypher. He didn't have any slots on his body, so he used a physical slot connected to his terminal. It removed any possibility of him being harmed.

Besides, it wasn't as if he was going to do the work. This was Atlas's domain. And sure enough, Atlas spoke directly to his ears through the glasses.

[The shard is Militech property. It appears to carry the key code granting master access to a squad of Militech armed vehicles. The ICE is standard in scale. I can break it, yet I see why most netrunners would struggle. However, the higher question is why it was delivered to you. You are a techie, not a netrunner.]

Cypher just nodded, unable to talk.

[There is a possibility that the cyberware you sold to Dum Dum exposed tampering within the core software. Even if unintended, it may have revealed your capabilities to them. Or they are simply testing every capable techie they can reach. I'll investigate this matter personally. For now, you should feign an inability to resolve it. I'll place a Trojan inside to trace its location and every system it touches from this moment forward. I recommend directing them toward Omnissiah instead.]

Cypher understood the plan Atlas came up with right away. Omnissiah didn't exist, but by using Maelstrom, Omnissiah would become a real name. A legendary netrunner living in secrecy.

"Militech, huh?" Cypher acted, frowning. "Yeah, no. Can't do it. I'm a tinkerer, not a whatever-this-is guy. It's miles outside what I know. I hope it works out for you, though."

He took the shard out of the slot and handed it back to the woman. As expected, she got up, scoffing.

"Move it, Dum Dum."

Cypher reclined on his chair, waiting before landing his next words. "Hang on a sec, I can't pull it off, but I know a fucker who can."

Patricia stopped in her steps and turned back to him.

Ah? Desperate? Let me guess; Brick doesn't know? Trying to impress the boss?

That was the only logical explanation to Cypher.

"Who is it?" she asked, showing less hostility.

"Some dude, or maybe not, I got no clue. Calls himself Omnissiah, talks like he's got a stick up his ass, like some medieval grandpa. Anyway, he's into challenges, cracking tough ICE and junk. Shard should be easy work for him."

[I shall remember that insult, Cyph.]

Cypher hid a smile. Banter with Atlas was somewhat fun.

"How do I find him?" Patricia asked.

Cypher shrugged at that. "No clue. I got lucky last time. Hit a couple of netrunning forums, mention Omnissiah and fat paydays. If he likes you, he'll show. But you didn't hear it from me, cool? I don't wanna end up toasted."

Patricia just nodded and walked away. Dum Dum stayed and waved at him first, however.

Eventually, Cypher was left alone to think and freely discuss the matter with Atlas. "I don't buy that she came only for me. Feels like Dum Dum brought her along. She was desperate to break the shard. Atlas, track their movements for now. Also, from here on, I'm knocking prices down for all Maelstrom."

[Why?]

"I just realised that I got you, and there's a gang packed with chrome junkies out there. I'm gonna sell my secondhand cyberware to them, and you'll install an untraceable trojan on them. I want a backdoor you can hit anytime. Having a Maelstrom-sized gang on tap? We'd be set."

[An interesting idea. Gangs like Maelstrom should not exist. They are a rot in this society, a creation of excess. But I believe you need not go that far. I can take over their systems whenever I desire. It's only a matter of gentle or forceful entry. For now, I'll begin tracking the Maelstrom gang and this shard's origins.]

"Do that. I'm gonna go eat."

####

Militech Offices, Night City,

"Glorious! Beautiful! This is fantastic! Such a great mind. Shame Militech lags in claiming such talents. Useless, all of them!"

Meredith Stout stood at attention, dressed in her usual uniform, but she was nervous. She was always nervous near this man. She kept her jaw tight, eyes focused. The machine was humming, a fully finished Moisture Vaporator, as the blueprints specified. Director Goldstein was in the middle of admiring it.

"Report, Agent Stout, have you established contact with him? Has he accepted our offer? We will purchase his Obsidian if he desires. Quote him billions, no, stocks! Yes, a mind like his performs optimally with proper motivation."

Meredith felt her heart race in nervousness. Her life literally rested in this old man's hands. "No direct contact yet, sir. I attempted to size up his capabilities and reached out to him indirectly. We had him take a Militech shard loaded with one of our strongest ICE. He slotted it into his terminal, and nothing occurred.

"The ICE was supposed to respond subtly when read, but it stayed quiet. He then redirected my contact to an unknown netrunner called Ommnisiah. He says this Omnissiah can break any kind of ICE, even Arasaka."

"And what do you think, Agent Stout? Who is this Ommnisiah?"

"I…" She wasn't fully sure, but she had to answer. "I believe Cypher Blackwell is Omnissiah as well, and he's maintaining a second identity to hide his netrunning."

Meredith wasn't sure because it was too much. This Cypher Blackwell had already proven himself beyond compare with his inventions. And to imagine that he was also a world-class netrunner… it seemed impossible. The man was also so ordinary in ways, in vices, especially.

"Exactly!" Director Goldstein clapped. "This fruit keeps getting sweeter. I must have him, I must speak with him. Militech lacks visionaries in this era. Prime intellects! We need Cypher Blackwell to secure Militech's future, and that secures NUSA as well. Well done identifying his netrunning capabilities."

She nodded and remained silent.

"Look at this!" Director Goldstein jabbed a gloved finger at the Moisture Vaporator. "This is a revolution! An invention that changes the world. This is the mind we are trying to recruit. I have clearance from the top to do everything necessary to have him. And I mean everything!"

Meredith gulped, wondering just how high 'top' meant. Executive Director? CEO?

"Yes, sir. I will widen the scope of my operations. My division is preparing a psychological evaluation of Cypher Blackwell. When we understand his preferences and aversions, I will personally step in and deliver him to you."

"I heard he likes women?"

Meredith noticed Director Goldstein's sharp eyes on her. The man didn't look at her body, just her face. He had never looked anywhere but her face, as if only his goal mattered; the rest didn't exist in his eyes.

"Yes, that is a fact we know, sir."

"You are not unsightly to look at, Agent Stout, even to my old eyes."

Meredith's jaw tightened. While she wasn't new to this side of corpo life, she'd done it before to climb the ladder. But never before had she been ordered to sleep with someone as a part of the job. And she preferred to at least have the ability to refuse.

"I understand, sir," she replied.

"Do whatever it takes to bring him over, Agent Stout. We have been issued a blank check. Failure was never an option, but now it is… deadly."

Meredith nodded. That was all she could do. Neither could she leave Militech now, nor refuse their orders, as both roads led to a painful death.

Soon, she was dismissed from the impromptu meeting and left the secret room she was never supposed to look at. The more she knew, the worse it got for her.

And this damn eye!

She cursed under her breath once she was alone, her one hand reached for her right eye that felt hotter than it should.

####

Cypher stayed at Misty's place for two days, giving her all the loving she needed, and also worked on a lot of cyberware, inserting a backdoor to everything. Gloria also made a delivery; her team of EMTs was only growing.

Vik was happy as his list of clients kept growing, thanks to all the top-tier secondhand chrome Cypher provided. Both of them made money, and even Gloria made good money. It was a win-win for everyone.

When the new itch came, he was alone in his shop in the middle of the night. Since Atlas had already produced over a thousand Microbots, Cypher didn't need to be at home all the time to start with whatever itch he'd get. He could have Atlas start the work.

But this time, when the itch came, he felt more confused. Was this even a tech? How was it a tech? And didn't it already exist? It was 2077, after all.

"What is it, Cypher?"

"..."

"I'm coming home. I'll tell you when I get there. Gotta buy something first." Cypher got up, grabbed his car keys, threw some tools in a box, and drove to Lake Farm. He made a stop on his way, however, buying a few more things.

When he reached home, instead of heading in, he glanced around the outside. The place looked far cleaner. All the filthy garbage spill was gone.

Then he opened the door and stepped inside his home and…

He walked back out, looked left and right, making sure he was at the right place. He walked back inside and noticed how the space and structure were the same, but the interior was different. Far better than before.

"Atlas? You did this?"

Surprising Cypher, a real hologram appeared in his kitchen area. It wasn't advanced, but the shape and features were clear, only all-blue in color.

"I did, Cypher. I hold that a mind functions best when its dwelling feels like a home. Clean, warm, and welcoming. Therefore, I performed modest renovations as is fitting."

"Modest? This is fucking luxurious!" Cypher barked and walked around.

The sitting area had a much better L-shaped couch, a coffee table, and the kitchen looked nicer. The bedroom was even better. The shitty cabinets were gone, the window was bigger, the bed looked cozy, and the best part was a workstation against the wall. And finally, the bathroom had a mirror, at last.

After taking his tour, he slouched down on his new couch and looked at Atlas' hologram. "Early for a Christmas present, but thanks, buddy."

"I'm pleased that you liked it. Now, what new itch have you received?"

Heh, sounds impatient.

Cypher grabbed his duffel bag and took out a metal box. He opened it and revealed threads and needles.

"A sewing kit?" Atlas asked.

"I know. Caught me off guard as well. It's a fashionable bulletproof suit that can stop high-velocity rounds. The best part is that it looks like simple clothing."

"A fashion piece. The timing is optimal, Cypher. We will mass-produce these in the factory we are acquiring."

"Yeah… Wait, we're buying a factory? I don't have that kind of money, Atlas."

"I am aware, hence I'm consolidating the funds remaining on the Old Net. Soon, I will establish a global bank, and you shall be the first to take a loan from it."

"..."

I'm too dumb to understand what he's doing, aren't I?

"Atlas, explain it to me like I'm a five-year-old."

"Acknowledged, calibrating to your cognitive level. Explaining as to a one-year-old now."

"..."

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[A/N: Itch Name - John Wick Bulletproof Suit

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Check out Cypher X Panam, Cypher X Misty, Cypher X Gloria NSFW ART, and advance chapters at [email protected]/MrPlotThickens Or Subscribestar.adult/mrplotthickens

Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 6 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 24-26 NovelFire chapters.