Filmon and V looked at the guards in front of the side garage of the building.
Though Excalibur probably wouldn't be there, it would lead to the workshop where the prototype was most likely to be.
Filmon felt much safer knowing the literal main character was helping him on this endeavor. He'd played the male version on all of his cyberpunk runs. Looking at the woman now though, he regretted his teenage ways and wished he'd done a gender-bend run instead.
"V, can you tell me anything about the people in night city?" Filmon asked, looking at the woman as she watched the guards, waiting for the perfect time to tug him along.
V, despite her clear rough past, was very trusting. Or maybe she was able to read someone's character well. Whatever it was, their relationship status was pretty high, considering they'd known each other for less than 3 hours.
{Valerie}
Relationship: 62
Mood: High
Info: Born in Night City, V was raised by the streets. She naturally gained enough experience to read people and judge them off that.
Dominant Trait: Main Character
Level up to be able to see locked data!
'Huh, yeah those cigarettes are not supposed to be used like she does huh...'
"The people of night city?" V said, glancing at him for a second before refocusing on the guards. "Well, they're all assholes. Every single person, if possible, will try and stab you in the back. If they can't they befriend you to control you as much as they can..."
V started to talk more and more, and Filmon listened intently, hanging on to every word.
"Hey, what the fuck are you two doing here!" A guard yelled, holding up his large gun and pointing it right at Filmon's head.
"Huh..." Filmon said quietly, holding his hands up slowly as he tried to think of what to do next.
V was still as well, the other guards weren't looking their way, then... Maybe.
'Snatch.'
Filmon blinked and the gun was gone, sitting comfortably in his hands, pointed up at the guard.
"Huh?" The guard said, stepping back before V jumped him, knocking his head against the ground and knocking him out.
"What was that? Never seen any cyber tech that did that," V said, looking at him curiously before looking back to the garage.
They had a path.
Filmon didn't answer her question. Instead, he gave her the weapon and ran toward the garage, his footsteps not making any noise. Probably due to his [Sneak] skill.
He stopped outside the door and waited, listening to the guards talking inside.
"Seems we have some intruders in the facility, boss wants this to be as discreet as possible, find 'em and kill 'em," A woman said behind the garage door.
"Looks like the team was found out, maybe... Do we have a rat?" V said, holding the gun as Filmon smirked behind his shoulder.
(The day before)
"Rayfield huh? The source of all the cars I like in the game..." Filmon said as he walked up to the building, immediately being stopped by a guard.
"I don't think there were any tours today kid, go on back-"
"Nah not here for a tour," Filmon said, interrupting the guard. "I'm here to help your company thrive since it would be a shame for your rivals to get that new car y'all are cooking up..."
The guard looked surprised, letting go of Filmon and stepping back.
"Herrera?" He asked as Filmon smiled.
"Well, it would be foolish to out the people who hired me without hearing Rayfield's offer... Of course, if I don't get one that little Excalibur will probably never release under Rayfield..."
'Take the bait.'
The guard hesitated, he was clearly surprised that Filmon knew so much about the project. However, he couldn't just trust a random kid's words, right?
Looking into Filmon's eyes, however, the guard realized he did believe him, if the boy was lying he was a damn good liar...
"Fine... I'll escort you to the CEO, she happens to be in today... How lucky..."
Filmon nearly let out a breath of relief, but he kept calm and collected as the guard said a few words to his buddy and led Filmon into the facility.
They didn't do much sightseeing, walking directly to the office of the CEO.
"Who is it?" A man asked from behind the door.
"A visitor is claiming to have some news for you regarding our most current project Miss Rayfield," The guard replied, glancing at Filmon.
Suddenly the door opened, revealing a man in a disheveled suit being pushed out of the room.
"It seems I have some business to attend to, thanks for stopping by," A woman said, winking at the man as she looked at the guard and Filmon.
"So, what is this all about?" The woman said, looking at them both. She was quite beautiful in Filmon's opinion, but the fully cyber arm she had threw off her image a little.
"Ms. Rayfield, I presume?" Filmon said, holding out his hand, flashing his best 'Work with me' smile.
He used to have to convince companies to use their unused plots of land for illegal business for the family, so it wasn't his first time talking to a CEO of a company.
She took his hand and shook it firmly. "And you are?" She asked, looking at him suspiciously as his eyes bore into her own as he slowly shook her hand.
"I need your help." He said, letting go of her hand and stepping into the office, leaving the guard standing alone as Ms. Rayfield looked at him before shutting the door, deciding she didn't need any security.
"I guess it would be more appropriate to say you need my help..." Filmon said, looking around the office.
It was quite bare, there was a picture of a man cutting a ribbon on one wall, and then just a desk with a computer sitting on it.
"I'm not here much," The woman explained as she took a seat at the desk, looking at Filmon. "So what do you mean exactly? Why would I need your help?"
Filmon smiled, his heart beating faster. He realized he'd never felt this way before, it was all starting to feel as he had hoped, just like a video game, and he couldn't help but smile.
"You have an amazing brand, your name is among the highest in the world for luxury vehicles... And your new project will quite possibly be the greatest model you've ever released... However," Filmon paced as he talked, only looking at the CEO when it was necessary.
He stopped, looking her dead in her eyes as his words and flattery drew her in.
"However..." He repeated, "That brand is in danger."
Rayfield squinted her eyes, her demeanor changing from flattered to confused. "What do you mean? Why would the Rayfield name be in danger?" She asked seriously, clearly believing everything Filmon had to say.
He knew he'd always been a good liar, but he felt as if the game multiplied his skill.
"I mean that it's in danger due to others... I want to tell you, but what's in it for me?" Filmon asked, looking at the woman with a small smile as she thought in her chair.
"You want payment for the information? What if it's useless to me?" She shot back, crossing her legs and trying to maintain the dominant side of the conversation.
"Well, if it was useless to you then I wouldn't even be here, I guarantee this information will save your company, otherwise you'll be forgotten and beaten by your competitors... Of course, if you don't want help then-"
"I never said that... I can tell you aren't lying, what's your price? I will decide if the information is worth it after you tell me..."
Filmon smiled.
"Well for starters I need a credcard with at least 50,000 eruobucks on it, and..." Filmon tapped his chin. "Your best vehicle, besides the current Excalibur of course."
Ms. Rayfield widened her eyes. "How do you?" She said, stopping as Filmon put a finger to his lips.
"That's just a taste miss, if you agree to that small payment, well... It will be better for you, you'll see..."
Rayfield looked at Filmon for a bit, the unwavering man in front of her. She wasn't sure what to think, was this information worth that? The 50,000 dollars was nothing, but Rayfields best vehicle?
That brought her to another question she had. How did he know about Excalibur?
"Fine," She said, standing up and holding out her hand as Filmon let out a breath of relief. "I accept your terms..."
(Present)
V and Filmon snuck in through the air vent, flopping down into the garage.
"Not the cleanest break-in, but it works," Filmon said, looking at V on top of him as she looked around the room.
"Geez, you gonna get off, or would you like to stay on top a little longer? Not that I'm complaining but time is ticking," Filmon said with a laugh as V hurriedly jumped off of him.
'How cute,' He couldn't help but think.
V reminded him of his girlfriend in his world, and that was dangerous. Just because he had some otherworldly power didn't mean he should abuse it. He didn't want to become the same as people he hated, and being unfaithful was possibly the worst crime he could ever commit.
Sure he hadn't dated her long, but if he just went around sticking his dick in anything that moved, how could he ever say he had morals?
Filmon instantly got rid of those thoughts though, it wasn't the time for them. Inetas, he pulled out the pistol he had stole and looked around with V.
As he suspected, Excalibur wasn't in the garage, but something he needed was there, much to his surprise.
"So they just leave blueprints in their maintenance garage?" Filmon said, looking at the papers. "Then where's the actual vehicle?"
"If it's not here, then the prototype is probably finished... Maybe they have it under their stadium?" V suggested.
Filmon was about to agree before the lights of the garage turned on, the sound of guns cocking causing Filmon and V to freeze.
"Freeze!" A man said, raising his rifle.
"Sir, I found the intruders, they're in the south maintenance garage," The guard said as Filmon and V looked at each other.
They nodded, rushing the guard quickly as the man yelled, letting shots off.
He missed.
"Well, I'm sure several guards are on their way here now," Filmon said shaking his head.
"Let's go, their showcase is on the 14th floor," V said, looking at a wall poster.
Filmon nodded, looking down at the unconscious guard.
*Pop*
Filmon let a shot off, hitting the guard straight in the skull, killing him instantly before turning back to V. "Alright, let's go."
/Hidden Quest complete/
First Kill
Objective: Kill for the first time.
Reward: [Bloodlust- E] {Inventory} 100 Sp
The elevator opened, and Filmon and V rushed out, seeing two guards standing by the door.
"Wha-" One of them began to say before Filmon and V rushed into them, pushing them over the railing and letting them fall to the ground.
"One more floor, stupid elevator couldn't just stop at the 14th?" V complained as she let some shots off, hitting an unsuspecting guard.
"Intruders!" A guard yelled from above them, jumping down from the higher level and landing safely, his gun pointed right at Filmon.
[Snatch]
The gun disappeared, as well as the man's clothes, both of which appeared in Filmon's hands.
'It's all about intent huh,' Filmon thought before V quickly killed the guard.
"Almost there Filmon!" V yelled, snapping out of his thoughts as they rushed up to the 14th floor.
A guard stood by the door, no weapon in hand, but his arms opened up to reveal two large rifles. "Halt."
Filmon cursed, raising his arms slowly as V did the same.
'How come you couldn't have given me some combat shit...' Filmon complained as the man laughed.
"I knew it," The man said, looking at Filmon in glee. "I told Ms. Rayfield something was wrong with you, no cyberware, yet you wanted to tell her you were working for people to take the Excalibur? What a joke, I bet Herrera company isn't even in on this, let me guess kid... You wanted to try taking the car?"
Filmon finally realized who the man was. He had been the guard to escort him to the ceo's office. It looked like he hadn't been as dense as Filmon had hoped.
"Fuck off," Filmon said, pointing the gun at him.
But he was too slow to pull the trigger. Instantly dozens of shots were let off by the guard.
"Huh?" Filmon said, looking at his body, seeing it was completely fine. "You missed."
"Hah..." V fell to her knees, her rifle sliding across the ground as Filmon saw blood coming out of her mouth.
World Stability has dropped to 55%!
'Huh?'
"Seems I didn't miss fucker, now-"
Filmon cut the man off with three shots straight to his skull. He had the money to get some guns built into his arms, but grafting some armor into his head clearly wasn't his priority.
"Fuck," Filmon said putting his hand to his head.
/Urgent Quest Triggered/
Save V
Penalty: Destabilization of World-489221.
Reward: ?
"What the fuck is this?" Filmon asked, looking at the message.
V was lying on the ground, holding her stomach and moaning in pain.
"I'm sorry, I fucked up," Filmon said as he quickly dropped to her side and looked at her in shock, not knowing what to do.
World Stability 42%!
When a world reaches 0% stability, the world will be terminated by the Omnigods!
'Omni what?'
The guards were coming up the stairs, looking confused as to why the intruders were just standing there.
"Hey uh... stop right there," One of the guards said as he raised his gun.
Filmon reacted instantly, firing back and hitting the guard, causing him to fall backward, hitting several others as he fell.
"Alright, let's go V, you have to hang in there for just a bit... I suppose you don't have insurance?"
Filmon burst through the stageroom door, seeing the Excalibur prototype gleaming on the stage, clearly, they were getting ready to announce its existence soon.
"Almost there V," Filmon whispered as the guards burst through the door, shooting at him as he ran as fast as he could toward The Excalibur.
Filmon got hit a few times before finally reaching the car.
"Ugh, fuck," Filmon said, grabbing the handle and opening the door, throwing V into the back as he slid into the driver's seat.
"Damn it! I should have known it was a trick!"
Filmon slammed his foot down on the gas as Ms. Rayfield walked in, yelling as she shot the car with a small pistol.
But there was one problem. It wasn't moving.
"Fuck!" Filmon said as he tried to start the engine. No dice.
"No! No! No!" he shouted as he banged on the dash.
'Fuck, I forgot Cyberpunk has this advanced bullshit,' He thought as the guards surrounded the car.
"Well well, looks like we've caught ourselves a thief." Ms. Rayfield said, standing in front of the car and looking at Filmon with a triumphant grin.
World Stability 36%
V lay unconscious in the back of the car. Filmon couldn't believe how badly he messed up. He wanted to give up and go back to his world, the game was getting too hard.
"Step out of the car now!"
Filmon clenched his fists.
'But my family? What will happen to them if I refuse to play the game?' Filmon thought as he opened the car door.
'I'd do anything for them.'
[Bloodlust] Activated 30s
Filmon rushed out of the car, grabbing Ms. Rayfield by the neck and squeezing down, killing her instantly and throwing her limp body to the side.
28 seconds remaining
Filmon rushed a guard as they all started shooting. Several bullets hit him, but he couldn't feel it. Only one thought was in his mind as he grabbed the guards, tearing them apart.
'Kill'
Filmon turned, knocking a rifle away and shooting with his pistol, quickly moving on to the next.
15 seconds remaining.
Filmon slammed into another guard, grabbing him by the collar and twisting his body until the guard rolled over his shoulder and slammed into the hard metallic surface.
Three shots to the head killed the guard.
5 seconds remaining.
Filmon flashed back to the car, grabbing Ms. Rayfield as he looked at the dash, he had noticed it earlier, the reason the prototype wouldn't turn on.
A fingerprint scan.
He pressed her hand against the scanner, smiling as the car booted up.
Pressing on the gas, Filmon lurched forward, crashing into several guards who tried getting in the way.
World Stability 22%!
"Don't worry V... We won," Filmon whispered to himself as he saw Ares and the crew burst through the doors, watching the Excalibur smash through the windows.
With a quick middle finger, Filmon activated the flight mode, flying into the sky with V dying in the backseat.
/Quest Complete!/
...
"Ugh..." V groaned as she stirred awake, her body aching. She looked around the small room, it was clear she was at a Ripperdoc's place, but where?
"Oh you awake? Cool," Filmon said, standing in the corner of the room, looking tired as he looked through the system.
"What happened?" The woman asked as Filmon closed the game, looking up at her with a halfhearted smile.
"Well, I managed to get here in time, and you survived, Charles was kind enough to operate on you can give you some upgrades... Don't worry about the price, he's pretty affordable."
A man walked into the room, as if on cue, and went immediately to V. "Yes, the boy has already paid for your treatment and armor graft, as well as his treatment and little arm's..."
V simply raised an eyebrow at this, not saying anything. She felt the change.
"What happened after I got shot?" V asked, sitting up as the doctor looked at her, checking to make sure she was truly stable.
Filmon sighed softly before explaining everything that had happened after she went down.
"I see..." V said, sitting quietly before looking at Filmon seriously. "Thank you, I owe you one," She said with a smile as he couldn't help but smile back.
"Yeah you can buy me some dinner or something," Filmon said with a wink. He looked down at him arms, they looked the same, and they felt the same, but he was now ten times more deadly.
V laid back down, closing her eyes and quickly falling asleep again.
'Hah, this game is crazy...' Filmon thought as he looked at all the 'Quest Complete' messages.
/Quest Complete/
Excalibur
Difficulty: F
Objective: Steal the blueprints for the upcoming Excalibur Aerodyne vehicle.(Complete)
Objective 2(Bonus): Find the Excalibur prototype and steal it.(Complete)
Reward: 150k Eurobucks, 100 SP, Bonus- {Vehicle: Excalibur}
/Quest Complete/
Save V
Penalty: Destabilization of World-489221.
Reward: [World Dataset chip]
'Huh...'
status
Name: Filmon(Favored by God)
Age: 18
Lvl: 1
Job: Thief
Str: D+
AGI: D
DEX: F
CHA: A
Money: $162,456
SP: 200
Skills: Parkour(D-) Slight of hand(F+) Sneak(D)
Abilities: [Snatch], [Eye on the prize] [Snake's Tongue] [Divine Mind] [Divine Lungs] [Bloodlust-E]
Attachments:
[Mantis Blades-E]
Vehicles:
[Rayfield Excalibur(Prototype)] [Rayfield Caliburn]
'My strength went up a whole letter huh? Cool,' Filmon thought, the likely reason was his new mantis blade attachment.
They were the easiest to conceal, and when he went back to his world, he wouldn't need to explain a bunch of crazy attachments and upgrades.
He also noted that they had a rank, just like his skills.
'Does that mean the cyberware I add to my body has the potential to grow? Unlike the actual game...' Filmon thought as he closed the system.
"I added that chip you bought as well, you'll fight like a black belt in Muay Thai, Jui Jitsu, and Japanese Goju Ryu, this includes all their weapons. The smartlink is installed fine as well, You spent that 50,000 better than I would have at your age kid, but I'm cheap," Charles said as he walked back into the room, looking tired from the long procedures he'd done the past two days.
"Hah, this game is funny," Filmon whispered, ignoring the man's words as he looked at the new message.
You have Leveled up!
Due to your level up, the game has updated!
Title Function, Party Function and [Inventory] have been turned online. [Rayfield Caliburn], [Rayfield Excalibur], [World Dataset Chip], and all money has been placed inside [Inventory]
'Title and Party Functions? I guess it would be a lot less shitty to travel with people... I wonder what the titles will do... I suppose that inventory is just like in games... But who do I travel with?' Filmon looked over at the sleeping V, a sharp pain in his chest as he thought to his girlfriend.
'Ah Lydia, it's going to be a while till I get to see you isn't it?' He thought as he slipped into unconsciousness, his body finally giving in to his exhaustion.
...
A day later, V and Filmon were all rested up and ready to leave the ripperdoc's residence.
"It was nice working with you Filmon, if you ever have a job going on just give me a call... I might take a bit of a break though," V said as they walked the streets.
"Oh, alright sure, I'm sure we'll see each other again anyway," Filmon said, sighing a bit as he smiled.
Here he was in Cyberpunk, and the main character of the world was standing right next to him. Who better to travel with? Who better to have at his side?
Yet he hesitated. He didn't know her that well, this world was Au from the game. V was cool and all, but Filmon didn't feel like putting himself in that situation. If they traveled together he knew it would only be a matter of time before he decided to make a move on her, and with his charismatic skills, she'd probably accept that advance.
'I'll just let her do her story, there's plenty of people here in Cyberpunk I could use, no need to just ask everyone just because they're fine... Fine as hell, bad as shit...'
Filmon shook his head, his thoughts betraying him.
"What do you mean you're sure we'll see each other again? With the way you're moving, you'll be dead by next month," V joked, walking forward a bit as Filmon slowed down.
"What do you mean? I could never die before I take you for dinner," He said, one last flirty line before turning the opposite way. "Later V, you have my number, don't be a stranger..." Filmon looked back and smiled. "It was nice working with you."
With that, they separated, and the first friend Filmon had made in the world slipped through his grasp.
'It's probably for the best anyway, alright Game, what's next!"
Filmon regretted uttering that sentence as he looked at the game, the quest message flashing in front of him as he sighed.
//Quest Unlocked/
Choose your Path
Difficulty: N/A
Objective 1: Begin Your own Business in Night City and become a corpo, building a huge corporation to back you as you continue your heists on the world's top ranked people.
Objective 2: Begin your own crew on the streets of Night City, taking on jobs from Fixer's, earning street cred and money in the process.
Objective 3: Leave Night City and set off to become bastard of the badlands, a nomad known among all nomads as one of the greats.
Restriction: Can only choose one objective to follow.