Chapter 59: Slick Chesson

"The Manufactury." The name sounds like a factory, but in reality, it's a trade market. On the surface, it looks like a marketplace, but really, it is just a marketplace. They sell snacks, clothes, shoes—pretty much everything you can think of, even guns. Oh, right, in Night City, you can't use the word "even" to describe a market selling guns. It should be said that the goods here are pretty comprehensive. "That's the place. The person you're looking for is Chesson, standing at the back of the market, wearing a tactical vest, and sporting a pair of tactical sunglasses. You won't miss him. His store has nothing but some recycled second-hand electronic junk. Don't be fooled; all his goods are in the warehouse, and they're super expensive. Only those in the know would buy from him." Archie parked the car at the entrance of the Manufactury. Turning right after exiting the market and walking a bit further, you'd reach the Watson Street subway station, where several Sixth Street Gang members were stationed. Good thing they didn't take the subway; otherwise, they'd have to fight their way back. "So how do you know all this?" Leo asked. "Uh, heard it from the big guys. They say this guy can get any kind of gun, even stuff like the Quasar and RT-46 Burya." The Quasar is a tech pistol, and the RT-46 is a tech revolver. In the 2077 world, tech weapons use a kinetic energy source system completely different from traditional gunpowder-based firearms, typically employing electromagnetic rails. These rails give the bullets immense destructive power—just like the Nekomata—all of them are high-power weapons. The two guns Archie mentioned, though both are pistols, have armor-piercing capabilities. While they're not as tightly regulated as the Nekomata, they're certainly not something an ordinary person could easily acquire. Leo stroked his chin and said, "So this guy's connections must be pretty solid. Can he get a Sadaara?" "Dunno, I've never bought one," Archie shrugged. "I guess he could, but there should be plenty of people in the city who can get a Sadaara. It's just that not many people buy them—the gun's powerful, but if you're a newbie, you might only ever fire one or two shots in your lifetime—because you simply can't control it." "Well then, let's go ask—Jackie, you stay in the car. You're too conspicuous. If anything happens, call us." "Roger that." Leo and V shut the car doors with a quick snap. Archie walked ahead of them, while Leo had to pretend to be sick, using some makeshift light-blocking gear to help V, who was playing the role of someone with more severe symptoms, into the market. V couldn't help but chuckle, "This is hilarious, you're helping me? Watch out, don't let big sis crush you." Leo muttered under his breath, "I told you to act, not actually fall on me!" Joking aside, V's cyberware easily made her 20 kilograms heavier than before. Even a slight lean was enough to make Leo feel the weight. But the effect was convincing; Leo almost lost his balance and nearly fell, leaving Archie dumbfounded— "Are these two really sick?" At the entrance of the Manufactury, several Sixth Street members were standing guard. Seeing the trio approach, one of them shouted, "Hey, what are you doing?" Archie waved his gun, "From outside the city—about to die, came to buy supplies." He then promptly transferred 500 eddies to the shouting guard. "Ugh, stay away from me. Let them hurry up, buy their stuff, and get lost." With that, they let the trio enter. Archie muttered, "Money talks." Inside the market, people were bustling about, and the situation seemed better than expected—most ordinary folks didn't seem too concerned about the illness, or maybe they just didn't know what it was. But they were definitely keeping their distance from others. Information is abundant in this world, but most valuable information comes with a price—it's part of the trade. People don't trust rumors on the net, but they do sense that there's something terrifying lurking behind them. Information is everywhere, yet ignorance is still prevalent. As they passed through the market, Leo noticed a crowd gathered at a drug vendor's stall. Suddenly, Leo asked, "Archie, do you know what illness your mom has?" Archie shook his head, "No idea." "Then how did you know to use the medicine sold by Sixth Street?" "I'm not stupid. A bunch of people at my mom's factory took time off, and people said it was just a cold, but I didn't buy it— Recently, Sixth Street started selling a special medicine, just for internal use, so I figured it must be the cure. This is Santo Domingo; if something works, Sixth Street would use it themselves first. So, I quit my job as a mover and joined Sixth Street, secretly saving up money to buy the medicine. At first, my mom called me an idiot, but I'm glad I bought it—several of her coworkers have already died." Most people thought Sixth Street was just trying to make a quick buck: "Why buy medicine? Just drink more hot water!" Leo nodded slightly, realizing that this kid actually had some brains. V, curious, asked, "I thought people here liked Sixth Street—for maintaining law and order, fighting the NCPD, that sort of thing." "Yeah, right. Only an idiot would believe that. Sixth Street... uh, they're alright." Archie stopped himself mid-sentence, realizing that this wasn't the place to discuss such sensitive topics. The three of them arrived at the back of the market, where Archie found a corner to stand and nodded towards a direction, signaling the other two to look over. "I'll stay here and watch. You two go talk to him." "Got it." Chesson's shop was tucked in a corner of the building, and just as Archie described, this guy didn't look like an arms dealer at all, except for his combat gear. He was surrounded by a bunch of junk. As Leo approached, Chesson noticed him and V and called out from a distance, "Hold up, this isn't a drugstore. The pharmacy's inside!" V lifted her coat slightly, revealing the barrel of her gun. "Oh, okay, okay." Leo leaned on the counter, "Do you know who we are?" "Mm-hmm," Chesson nodded. "Sixth Street is furious, and Rosanna shut down her shop. How did you scare that woman so badly?" "Do you want to find out?" "Uh, no thanks. Here's the thing, you guys seem pretty friendly, like businessmen, so let's cut to the chase." Leo nodded, signaling Chesson to continue. "Look, I'm only in a partnership with Sixth Street—no deep ties. It doesn't matter who's in charge, as long as my rent doesn't go up. Is that too much to ask?" Leo shrugged, "Not at all." "Great, if that's the case, I'll support whoever wins. I'm just a gun seller, but Sixth Street is still alive. I'm different from Rosanna; my supply lines and warehouses are guarded by Sixth Street. I pay, they protect. As for my suppliers and clients... let's just say, my sources are special. If you try to scare me like you did with Rosanna, I won't stop you from getting yourself killed. As for my clients, they're all rich mercs and big shots in Sixth Street—you'll still have to deal with Sixth Street." "That makes sense." Leo nodded on the surface but thought to himself that this guy was actually much smarter than Rosanna. He made his money from his sources and clients, unlike Rosanna, who was almost too close to the nomads. Rosanna needed a fortress to protect herself, but Chesson didn't—his fortress was his social network. So... Leo slowly said, "In that case, I'll just kill you right here." Chesson's confident expression faltered, and he saw V preparing to act on Leo's command— "Wait, wait, wait! I've got a new proposal!" Leo raised his hand, signaling V to pause. Chesson was sweating bullets—he knew Leo wasn't joking, and that his subordinate had no hesitation in following orders! Damn it, a lunatic! If he couldn't get his way, this guy would rather kill him on the spot! Damn it, with all the rent he paid and all those connections, Leo didn't care at all! "Listen, listen, I've got some info. Sixth Street hired a beast of a guy, a full-body cyberware freak. I heard they bought him a ton of gear. You can check it out! If you take down that cyber monster, Sixth Street's investment goes down the drain! You can check the surgery records at the Pacifica pier. I'm not lying, I swear!" "But... what's in it for me?" "I know you went after Rosanna to offload some hot goods. Trust me, I can handle it without any trouble! And, and I can get you corporate weapons—Militech, Arasaka—I can get them all! Oh, and Rosanna also told me to tell you: if you take out Sixth Street, she's willing to work with you too!" "So you forgot?" Leo asked, looking at the slippery dealer with interest, "Alright, Chesson, I'm not a madman. I just didn't like your attitude. You want me to take care of that cyber monster—you're obviously trying to guide me into that. Being a middleman is fine, but not paying anything in return is a bit much, don't you think?" Chesson cursed internally. How did this guy figure that out? His panic wasn't entirely fake because he assumed Leo would naturally start asking for more information under his guidance. But instead, Leo acted like he was ready to kill him, and it didn't seem like an act at all! "Fine! I'll give you the entire profit from this deal, just to make friends." Chesson gritted his teeth and swallowed his pride. "No need for that. According to street rules, a 60-40 split is fair; we take 40, you take 60. That makes it a normal contract." Leo smiled as he extended his hand to Chesson. Chesson could only shake hands—it's better than getting nothing, right? But as soon as their hands clasped, Leo swiftly plugged his personal link into the socket at the back of Chesson's neck. The move was so subtle that it looked like two old friends shaking hands and then giving each other a quick hug. "You fuc...?" Chesson tried to shout but was silenced by V's menacing presence. "Relax, I'm just installing a communication backdoor. Don't worry, it won't harm you. Consider it a friendly reminder to avoid playing any tricks." A communication backdoor? For a hacker, having a communication backdoor installed means the other party can send anything into your system at will! Chesson felt utterly defeated. "Alright, don't look so down. We'll meet at the Pacifica pier in 30 minutes. You can have a doctor remove the backdoor there. I think that's fair." "You..." Chesson wanted to say something but realized Leo was right. No matter how the process unfolded, the outcome was actually not too bad. Although it wasn't as ideal as he had hoped, after experiencing the ups and downs of life and death, he found it hard to stay angry about the result. But on second thought, this also meant he was now under Leo's control. So Chesson suddenly asked, "Are you from a corporation?" "Nope—not even close. Never worked for one, really." Chesson opened his mouth but found all his questions were already answered. Yet, for some reason, he just couldn't believe it. "...I won't go to the Pacifica pier. I'll find someone to remove the backdoor myself in three days. Is that okay?" "Sure." Leo nodded agreeably.