"Hey, Vic, can these two still be used?"
In Old Vic's cyberdoc clinic, Riku plopped two spinal implants onto the table.
"Whoa, talk about a yabai extraction method."
Vic strolled over, eyeing them with surprise. The blood-smeared implants looked fresh as hell.
He didn't ask where they came from—professional courtesy. It's how he'd kept his shop running all these years.
Clients don't spill, he doesn't pry. Some even try to overshare, and he'll shut that down quick.
He's long retired from the street life, just wanting to be a quiet cyberdoc, no trouble.
"No choice, Vic. None of us have your skills. It was an emergency, so we went full gorigori," V said, shrugging helplessly. She'd been as careful as she could—those were eddies on the line!
"They're good. Main parts are intact. Fix 'em up, and they're usable."
Vic gave them a quick once-over, delivering an answer that made V grin ear to ear.
"Whose make? What model? How much can we get for 'em?"
V's reflex was to appraise the loot, even if they weren't selling. Gotta know the value.
"Zetatech, Type 3. Their Type 1 and 2 are for the masses, but Type 3? Black market, you're looking at tens of thousands of eddies. Regular folks can't afford this."
Vic said it casually. With enough cash, the black market had everything.
Type 3 outperformed the lower models by a mile—straight-up military-grade.
That said, Zetatech's Sandevistan tech couldn't touch the big dogs like Militech.
Compared to Dynalar's cyberoptics specialty, Zetatech's stuff was decent but not top-tier. Their drone line was their real ace; everything else was broad but not refined.
"Sugee, not bad!"
V nodded. No surprise—gear stripped from a corpo dog agent was bound to be her priciest "junk" yet.
"This Kerenzikov's kinda low-end, though. I'll take it off your hands for 6,000. Fixing and reselling it won't make much profit."
Vic picked up the Kerenzikov, giving a fair quote. Only a cyberdoc like him could move this stuff.
"Deal."
The trio had no objections. Vic wasn't the type to rip them off.
"Vic, can you check my subdermal armor? Think it's fixable?"
Riku hopped onto the surgical table, confident Vic could work his magic.
"Let's see."
Vic started the table's scanners, analyzing Riku's body.
"You—"
He stopped short, spotting the clean cut through the subdermal armor at Riku's neck. What the hell sliced his head clean off?!
"Just a little scratch. No biggie."
Riku brushed it off calmly. He knew he couldn't hide much from Vic, who probably knew his body better than anyone.
Cough, cough!
V and Jack nearly choked. A little scratch?! His head got yeeted, dude!
But thinking about how Riku just screwed his head back on and kept going… maybe it was just a scratch?
"…"
Vic stayed silent, his mind reeling. What kind of monster is this guy?!
Riku's body data had spiked since his last visit—his growth rate was straight-up buzama.
Vic could only imagine the crazy karma tied to a bio-modded freak like this. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
"Fixed. Small issue, no charge."
While musing, Vic's hands moved fast, patching the clean cut with ease. No sweat for him.
"Thanks, Vic!"
Riku sighed in relief. Good thing it was fixable—saved him a fortune.
Otherwise, he'd be rocking a scarf in broad daylight to hide the damage.
"What's the plan for this Sandevistan? Keeping it or selling?"
Vic picked up the Sandevistan, cleaning it before starting repairs, tossing the question out as he worked.
"Riku, you want it?"
V glanced at him. He'd soloed that corpo dog, so he got first dibs.
"Nah, I'm good. My mods are minimal—can't handle that thing."
Jack waved it off. He was old-school: just enough mods to get by, relying on raw muscle and sharpshooting.
"I'll take it."
Riku didn't hesitate. He'd been eyeing a Sandevistan forever.
With a bag full of Kenryū's cutting-edge blades and now a decent Sandevistan, his combat power was about to level up—cho kakkoii.
"Come back tomorrow. I'll pull an all-nighter to get this baby fixed."
Vic nodded, diving into his work. Looked like a rare late night for him.
"Don't overdo it, Vic. And don't install it backward tomorrow."
Riku teased with a grin, earning a middle finger and a "I ain't that old" from Vic.
The trio said their goodbyes and piled into the Thorton. The vibe in the car was quiet.
"Got questions?"
Riku leaned back in the rear seat, knowing V and Jack were dying to ask.
"Can you talk about it? Or is it off-limits?"
V turned from the passenger seat, eyes sparkling with curiosity. She was all in to hear this.
"You wouldn't get it even if I explained. Just stresses you out."
Riku threw up his hands like a little bear. Even he couldn't fully explain how some of his powers worked.
"Then just tell us what you can do."
Jack cut in. No need to overthink the unexplainable.
"As you've seen, I've got crazy vitality. Head chopped off? No problem. And this—you can think of it as some bio-tech construct."
Riku summoned his Kage Ookami. The shadow wolf materialized in the car, curling up in the back. Good thing the Thorton had space, or this beast wouldn't fit.
"Sugee… can I touch it?"
V's eyes lit up at the majestic Kage Ookami. Its look was straight-up kakkoii.
"Go for it. It's tame—won't bite."
Riku chuckled, petting the wolf. V followed suit, stroking it with a satisfied grin.
"Too cool."
Jack whistled. They didn't get it, but that didn't matter.
Everyone in Night City's got a story. Riku's was just a bit more hen than most.
The Time-Stopping Sword Saint takes his first step!
(End of Chapter)