In this Night City, everyone had to desperately earn money to survive.
Early in the morning, as soon as the sky brightened, the thugs selling Illegal Pills, the vendors at Breakfast Stalls, and even the Homeless men who spent their days blissfully giggling in cheap braindances, all began their busy routines.
The alleyways near the Afterlife bar were bustling with such activity.
In the gray alley, strewn with Empty Plastic Cans and Shredded Newspapers, various stalls were bustling, attracting a good number of people, including some office workers in cheap suits.
Since this Chinatown was mainly inhabited by East Asian communities like Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese, these stalls sold East Asian breakfast foods such as Pan-fried Buns, Noodles, and even Steamed Buns and Fried Dough Sticks, exuding a strong East Asian cultural vibe.
However, amidst this dense and complex crowd, there was one person who stood out.
This person wore a replica Red Japanese Armor, was male, of East Asian descent, around thirty years old, with a rough beard encircling his jaw, cold, penetrating black pupils, and dense black hair tied into a high, defiant ponytail.
Most notably, the man had two katanas tucked into his waist, one with a Black Scabbard and one with a Purple Scabbard, tied to his left side.
With weapons on him, he naturally made others wary; people seeing this Monstrous Figure hastened their steps, leaving his Tea Stall unattended.
This greatly troubled the vendor, but intimidated by the man's presence, he dared not speak, only gritted his teeth, hoping this silent, strange customer would leave on his own.
This person was none other than Akechi Mitsuhide, one of Berry's two "Epic" cyberware from two days ago.
A Chassis naturally doesn't need to eat; if it did, it would at least be batteries or oil, certainly not the tea in front of him.
Mitsuhide sat in front of the Food Cart, occasionally bringing the tea to his lips and taking a sip. Of course, he couldn't drink it, but merely moistened his lips, doing it for show.
Berry certainly didn't have too much time to waste, operating the Chassis to just sit around.
He was waiting for someone, for a guy who had been chasing after him.
So, the shop owner should be grateful that this guy wasn't here to cause trouble, and didn't directly follow the script of the Town Guardian.
However, looking at the other party's trembling hands as he brewed tea, bravely enduring his discomfort, the anxiety was no less intense.
Mitsuhide was waiting for the person he was waiting for to appear; he would just sit here until that person showed up, he didn't believe they wouldn't.
But, the person he was waiting for didn't arrive; instead, some uninvited guests seemed to have shown up.
"Hey, Bruce Zhang, it's time to pay your share today!"
Several boorish voices came, belonging to a few Gangers carrying guns and clubs.
The newcomers, like the shop owner, although their faces were painted with gaudy tattoos, could still be seen to be uniformly East Asian.
And in Night City, East Asian gangs usually only included the Tyger Claws.
In fact, seeing the large, prominent "Tiger Claw" tattoos on the bare chests of these guys, clearly visible so as not to be overlooked, one knew these guys were from the Tyger Claws, and the leader, with a muscular physique and an Alloy Katana slung over his shoulder, was swaggering proudly.
Chinatown didn't have a fixed gang, but the Tyger Claws often patrolled here, collecting protection money and occupying some venues; at least, their hands were intended to extend into this Chinatown.
"Oh! Brothers, brothers!"
Just like ordinary people, the vendor immediately bowed and scraped upon seeing the Tyger Claws, bowing and smiling apologetically, extremely subservient.
He had already noticed these gun-and-club-wielding guys passing through the stalls earlier, and now, enduring the bitterness, he humbly submitted.
Night City wasn't without laws, but it wasn't just the Night City Council that wanted to set rules; the streets had their own rules.
For vendors like these, if they wanted to make a living here, they had to pay a share to the gang, and that gang was the Tyger Claws in front of them.
As for the NCPD Officers, they turned a blind eye to this, as they also had a share of the money.
The meager pay from the police station was barely enough for them to survive.
In such circumstances, one had to find their own way to live.
For example, colluding with both sides, collecting protection money, and so on—wouldn't the money just come?
That's how the rules were played; as for these exploited common people, who the hell cared?
"...Brothers, you see, I haven't sold many meals this morning. Can I owe today's share and pay it all tomorrow?"
The vendor's face was bitter, his hands and feet moving stealthily. Although he was afraid, to the point that his feet were trembling, he still voiced his request.
There was nothing he could do; he simply had no money in his pocket. Business had been bad these past two days, especially this morning with this strange customer, no one dared to come to him, so he really hadn't earned any money.
As for not paying, he absolutely dared not; Knives, Whips—the gang had plenty of ways to deal with people, and he didn't want to try them.
But even being so subservient, it still displeased the Tyger Claws, whose brows furrowed, about to erupt.
"Stop your damn nonsense! Rules are rules. If you want to make a living here, you have to follow our rules!"
If they dared to delay the protection fee today, wouldn't they just refuse to pay tomorrow? They must think they can defy the heavens.
The Tyger Claws had plenty of ways to deal with these people. As long as they took a few hits from the clubs, these guys who claimed to have no money could always magically pull out the cash they insisted they didn't possess. They were all very familiar with this routine.
So, facing the vendor, the leading Tyger Claw flashed the katana in his hand. The blade gleamed, making it easy to imagine how fragile flesh was before it.
It must be said that these societal scumbags were quite skilled at oppressing ordinary citizens. Sure enough, this move immediately intimidated the vendor.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll pay, I'll pay!"
The vendor frantically searched, digging through several pockets multiple times, and handed a scattered wad of bills to the Tyger Claws.
The Tyger Claws, having gotten the money, swaggered away, leaving the vendor behind with a worried expression.
Common folk are always timid until they are threatened to the extreme.
Akechi Mitsuhide watched all of this silently.
"A cruel life, isn't it?"
"Heh..." The vendor shook his head without speaking.
"In that case, let's settle the bill."
Akechi Mitsuhide put down the tea he had barely touched, stood up, and incidentally left a thick wad of cash on the table.
"Uh, customer, this is too much."
The vendor looked up, seeing so much money on the table, and raised his head in disbelief.
"It's a tip."
Akechi Mitsuhide said no more, the clanking of his armor accompanying him as he rose and left, abandoning the bewildered vendor.
He didn't understand how sitting there for half a day had interfered with anyone else's business.
Mitsuhide had no tradition of acting righteously, but he also had no tradition of losing money. Now that he had spent a large sum, he needed to make it back elsewhere.
As for the targets, he had already chosen them while drinking tea.
"...I say, is it really that interesting to brandish a blade against people who cannot fight back?"
Deep in the alley, several Tyger Claws who had finished collecting protection fees around the block were about to leave when a voice came from the shadows.
Following the voice, Akechi Mitsuhide's figure stepped out of the darkness, revealing his full form.
"It's that Monstrous Figure from the stall earlier."
Among the Tyger Claws, one sharp-eyed person recognized the Monstrous Figure wearing the armor.
"It's you..."
The leader, who was shirtless and carrying a katana, frowned, sizing up Akechi Mitsuhide, especially the blade at his waist.
"What, you want to play the hero? I'm telling you, this is our territory. If you don't want to lose your life, get lost right now!"
The Tyger Claw leader didn't waste words, grasping the katana in his hand and spitting out a vicious threat.
"Hmph, people like you aren't fit to touch a blade."
Looking at the few snarling, wild-dog-like figures before him, Akechi Mitsuhide laughed out loud as if finding the situation absurd.
However, his mocking laughter was immediately interpreted by the Tyger Claws as a provocation.
"Fuck you, you superstitious piece of shit! Get him! Cripple him!"
Seeing their boss give the order, the Tyger Claws smiled cruelly and raised the pistols and clubs in their hands.
They weren't afraid of people resisting. In fact, those who resisted were the best teaching material for educating the weaklings. Once a skinned, bloody corpse was left piled up on the street, no one would dare defy them again.
The leading Tyger Claw raised the katana high, preparing to slice open the opponent's toy-like armor.
It was a joke. A katana made of alloy, paired with a cyberware arm capable of three times a normal person's strength, could cut a motorcycle in half, let alone the opponent's ridiculous, superficial armor.
But, seeing the opponent draw his blade, a sharp glint flashed in Akechi Mitsuhide's eyes.
A loud drawing sound rose, accompanied by a swing of the blade as loud as a dragon's roar, and sudden screams and blood instantly erupted.
Blood streamed down the sharp blade of "Jue," leaving not a single spot behind.
Before him, the katana clattered to the ground. The Tyger Claw leader stared in horror at the bloody gash across his chest, opening his mouth to scream.
"Ah!!!"
His efforts to cover the wound were futile, because the massive gash, running diagonally from his exposed chest down to his abdomen, had nearly sliced him in two.
The Tyger Claw let out one final, powerful scream, then crashed to the ground, collapsing into his own pool of blood.
This was the charm of cold weapons. With a firearm, a bullet piercing the flesh leaves a person without the strength to even scream. But a magnificent blade like this allows a person to watch their own blood spurt out in streams and die amidst cries of terror.
Bad children are disobedient like this; they must accept such a lesson.
To feel one's body gradually grow cold and weak amidst the pain and blood, followed by a spiritual calm, crying like a tender infant, completely opening one's heart in the process, washing away the sins accumulated in this chaotic world.
Ah, the teachings of Mother Nature, they are truly beautiful.
This is the love Mother Nature has for her creations.
Berry, controlling things from behind the scenes, almost felt a sense of calm sorrow akin to pity.
Next, she manipulated Akechi Mitsuhide to look at the other terrified Tyger Claws.
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