Jack tightened his grip on the Tsutomu Pseudo-weapon. He wanted to throw this golden immortal 'great weapon of mass destruction' away, but it didn't feel right...
Because at this moment, he was squatting behind a ubiquitous street trash can, staring blankly with a bewildered expression at the scene before him...
A group of punk youths were fighting with weapons, and a young man with blonde hair was holding his own against three opponents.
He reached into his pocket, grabbed something, and threw it, scattering lime everywhere...
"The simple folk of Night City... I bloody... love this city!"
Despite his exclamations, Jack didn't forget to retreat two more steps from the trash can, leaning further back against the wall... to avoid being splattered by hot blood later.
The situation had already devolved into an inextricable melee.
As an ordinary person whose physical reaction time probably wasn't even 3, Jack certainly didn't want to rush out and engage in a passionate shootout or club fight with these lunatics.
A gentle breeze brushed his face at night, and the neon lights of Night City were always so enchanting!
As Jack quietly waited for the battle to continue, the pleasant sound of police sirens echoed from the street.
The hot-blooded youths in the midst of their fight seemed to finally realize something was wrong.
Under Jack's gaze, the two sides went from passionate engagement to breaking up in no more than thirty seconds.
The brave young man with blonde hair, even as he turned to flee, didn't forget to pick up an empty soda bottle from the ground and hurl it.
"Clang~"
...
Jack got up and stretched his legs. Squatting for too long had caused some poor blood circulation, leaving him numb and tingly. After at least a minute of relief, he picked up the Tsutomu Pseudo-weapon, ready to leave.
After all, this was the only self-defense weapon Jack had tightly held onto since he transmigrated!
The commemorative value it represented was truly extraordinary.
At the same instant.
A cold, emotionless steel hand naturally landed on Jack's shoulder.
It caught Jack, who was trying to sneak away.
"Where are you trying to go?"
"..."
"We are NCPD. We suspect you were involved in a gang fight. Immediately put down your weapon and show your hands, otherwise, we will consider it an intent to assault an officer and will use legitimate force in retaliation!!"
This was something Jack had not anticipated at all.
Having transmigrated to the simple folk of Night City, he hadn't even finished his first bite of hot gossip, and now it felt as if the gossip had landed squarely on him.
'This is so damn unlucky...'
Jack raised his hands, the merciless iron hand gripping his shoulder with immense strength, causing him great pain. He grimaced and replied:
"Officer... may I ask you, have you ever seen someone involved in a gang fight use such a vicious 'great weapon of mass destruction'?"
The NCPD officer nodded gravely:
"Hmm... I have! Especially brutal ones."
Jack: "..."
...
The next morning.
Jack, who had been detained overnight without any interrogation, found the officer who had brought him in yesterday.
Just as he was about to ask what breakfast was... he was thrown out.
Jack looked at the bustling street before him, feeling his stomach rumble with hunger. He just wanted to find a place to eat breakfast quickly.
However, Jack had only walked two steps, feeling weak from hunger, when he saw a group of people furtively waving at him, with somewhat ill-intentioned smiles.
Strangers in Night City enthusiastically greet you?
Who are they trying to fool? He wasn't some clueless newbie!
Jack knew the deterrence of the Scavengers in Night City and had no intention of paying them any mind, but these people came towards him anyway...
Jack vividly remembered the leader of the group—it was none other than that extraordinarily brave young man with blonde hair, who could hold his own against three opponents without falling behind!
"Holy crap!"
Jack, who had been feeling weak, instantly felt energized, wanting to turn back to the NCPD processing center.
In the blink of an eye.
Jack's shoulder was once again gripped. He wobbled, unable to shake off the young man with blonde hair's hand.
"Is hooking arms the main greeting in Night City now...?"
"..."
"What is it?"
The punk young man with blonde hair was clearly stunned for a moment; his brain didn't process it quickly.
"What, do you need something from me?"
Jack said, adopting a 'what-the-hell' attitude, his eyes occasionally darting towards the NCPD main entrance behind him.
The implied threat was clear: 'Look, do you Scavengers really want to make a move here? This is the main entrance of Night City's violent law enforcement agency. Even if you're all in the same gang, you should at least be careful!!!'
"..."
"Oh, my Jack, Jack, what are you talking about!"
"Our Destiny Church benefited greatly from your presence and morale boost yesterday, which is why we never fell behind... Although it was wrong of us brothers to watch you get taken away by the NCPD, you can't just pretend not to know us now!"
"..."
Jack's head was buzzing now. So, he really wasn't wrongly arrested by the NCPD yesterday!
This treatment, this encounter... if someone told him in a moment that he was the leader of the Scavengers...
Then he would probably run away immediately.
As for surrendering, would such a concept even exist in Night City?
Jack rubbed his temples helplessly, his face uncomfortable, and he wasn't faking it.
"You just called me Jack, right? Seeing how sincere you are, let's go, we'll eat first. Also, what's your name? I was brutally interrogated by the NCPD all last night, and my brain isn't working well now, I can't remember at all."
"Jack, you've suffered. I can't believe these NCPD officers would be so brutal. How dare they treat you like that, it's truly despicable. When I become stronger, I'll definitely get revenge for you!"
"...So what's your name?"
"I'm Ben! Little Ben! Ben Gestalt!"
"Jack, you are the current leader of our Destiny Church. We owe everything we have today to you. When we get back, the brothers are counting on you to check their Cybernetics. As for eating, how about we go to a place and call a few girls to help you relax first? You look really unwell right now..."
Jack looked up at the hazy sky, his mind full of confusion: 'He knows I'm not feeling well and still wants to take me to find girls; this kid must have been kicked in the head by a donkey...'
'But from his words, I can gather more information. From the current situation, I'm likely a Ripperdoc. This is a technical job, and they're counting on me to help inspect Cybernetics.'
'Wait... how do you repair Cybernetics??'