Chapter 54

Read many more (at least 15) future chapters at patreon.com/FFAddict !

The next day dawned cool. David got up early, swiftly changed into his academy uniform, and as usual prepared to head to Arasaka Academy. In the living room, the holographic TV was broadcasting the Channel 54 morning news. "Last night, a severe traffic accident occurred on the elevated highway in the Westbrook Valley area. According to on-site reports, the perpetrator was a counterintelligence employee of Arasaka Corporation named Carter Smith." "Suspected to be a cyberpsycho episode, he slaughtered four pedestrians with a thermal katana on the street and was dealt with by the Arasaka Special Services team on the spot. Currently, we are unable to make contact with Carter Smith." "Following two consecutive attacks by cyberpsychos with ties to the company..."

The news then displayed a personal ID photo of Carter Smith. David was surprised by the news and hurriedly called out to his mother Gloria, "Mom! There's been a cyberpsycho from Arasaka! From the counterintelligence department!"

Gloria, hearing David's shouts from the living room, walked out from the bedroom covering a yawn, her simple pajamas crinkled but clinging to her shapely figure. Perhaps it was due to the little alcohol she had drunk the night before, but it had been a long time since she had slept so deeply and so well. As for David's compensation, she had already gathered enough money. That night at the dinner with Tang Yu, it was only the clothes that cost a bit, with the item gifted to Tang Yu being the most expensive. As for her long-tailed red dress, it was rented, costing her less than 400 Eurodollars for the night; not a lot, but it still hurt to spend.

After receiving a small resignation subsidy from the public medical center and settling the pending sanitation bills, she managed to put together the compensation money. She had transferred it to the academy's finance office yesterday, so David could go to school with peace of mind. Hearing David's call, Gloria walked into the living room, rubbing her bleary eyes and watched Channel 54 news. "Yesterday, a violent explosion occurred on the twenty-third floor of a high-rise apartment in Westbrook, resulting in the death of a woman in her sixties who lived alone. The NCPD currently treats the explosion as an accidental event."

David prompted her to watch the previous news story. Gloria gestured to rewind the projection TV, and learned about the cyberpsycho attack on the elevated highway, with the main character in the news being Arasaka Corporation's employee Carter. She was somewhat shocked after understanding that an Arasaka counterintelligence employee had suddenly turned into a cyberpsycho, especially since there had been a cyberpsycho attack in the company's plaza not long ago.

Gloria watched for a while, then frowned, turned off the TV with a backhand sweep, and urged David beside her, "Don't worry about these things; they have nothing to do with you. Go to school now. You've already taken a day off, and it wouldn't be good to be late again!" Reluctantly, David dressed quickly, grabbed his takeaway breakfast, and set off. 

After watching David leave, Gloria returned to the living room, turned the news back on, and watched it several times more before switching to the WNS news channel. Sure enough, the same news was broadcasted, except WNS defined Carter Smith's transformation into a cyberpsycho as a result of privately installing advanced combat implants leading to neurological damage and loss of control. The reason he killed four people was that these individuals, as gang members, provoked Carter first.

Gloria had too little information. Due to her previous job in emergency medical transportation, she was quite sensitive to sudden deaths. Moreover, the fact that Carter Smith was from the counterintelligence department caught her attention; there might be a certain connection to Tang Yu. She pulled up Tang Yu's contact interface. Looking at the 'familiar' name in the contact box, she hesitated to make the call. After pondering for a while, she decided against it. Since the dinner at Yu Jin's, Tang Yu hadn't contacted her again. "Mr. Tang must be busy with the morning shift right now."

Gloria wasn't sure if Tang Yu's invitation was still valid, but she felt uneasy about asking. 

All she could do was wait.

She slumped on the sofa, with a vacant look in her eyes.

Having held several jobs simultaneously in the past, she hadn't gone to work since the car accident.

"Ah, it's been a long time since I've had this much downtime."

"I feel somewhat uneasy... Never mind..."

"I shouldn't rush to find a job just yet. It would be more awkward if I received an offer but didn't have the time after having agreed." 

After some contemplation, Gloria decided to go back to bed and catch up on sleep, yawning as she returned to her bedroom.

At that moment, 

David, as usual, took the train and prepared to get off at the company square station.

Following the crowd, he slowly approached the exit gate when his gaze suddenly shifted towards Tang Yu, dressed in a crisp suit, heading to the same exit.

David instantly felt nervous, his demeanor becoming frantic. This was the first time he had encountered Tang Yu without Gloria by his side.

For some reason, David always became inexplicably jittery upon seeing Tang Yu, the man who had once saved him.

Perhaps it was because he didn't want to be indebted to Tang Yu, or maybe he felt inadequate in his presence, or it could be the latter knew too much about his secrets.

"Damn, why would a high-level executive from Arasaka be taking public transport!"

David didn't have time to think; he looked around quickly, wanting to switch to another exit to avoid him.

Before he could escape, someone called out to him.

"David, you're up early for school."

David stiffened and turned around with a forced smile, "Good morning, Mr. Tang."

Tang Yu saw David's lethargic appearance and thought maybe Katsuo Tanaka had been picking on him again.

"Are you having trouble getting along with your classmates at the academy?"

David, fearing that Tang Yu would bring up the incident in the restroom at Out of Juice, didn't want such an embarrassing experience mentioned openly.

"No, no, everything's good. My mother has already settled the compensation fee with the academy."

Tang Yu nodded.

They exited the transit station one after another and headed towards the same destination, Arasaka Tower.

Seeing that David seemed disinterested, Tang Yu didn't pry further. Teenagers tend to be sensitive.

However, after a while, David, who was hanging his head low, muttered, "Mr. Tang, I saw on the news today that something happened to an employee in the counterintelligence department."

Tang Yu was already aware of Carter's situation: "Yes, he worked under me for a while. But a single misstep in the company can be a fall into the abyss. Why, has this changed your view of the company?"

David looked up at Tang Yu, who continued to walk with confidence and asked with some concern, "Does this incident involve you?"

Tang Yu stopped, looked down at David, who wasn't very tall yet.

He looked at David slightly askew and smiled, "What if I told you that Carter Smith died because of me?"

David, stunned by Tang Yu's question, stood frozen, looking at his benign smile, his expression incredulous.

"This..."

Seeing David's dramatic reaction, Tang Yu burst into laughter, "Just kidding. He got himself killed; it's not much to do with me."

Tang Yu shifted his gaze to the distance, Arasaka Tower standing like a towering black giant.

"David, this is Arasaka, the place you might join in the future. Have you really thought it through?"

Tang Yu gave David a pat on the shoulder, then walked towards Arasaka Tower on his own.

David was left standing there, somewhat disheveled by the wind...