A broken corpse rolled inside. The damaged hood made it clear that it was one of the robbers from moments ago.
"Looks like something happened," someone said.
This was Night City. Carl let out a quiet sigh, and together with Oliver and Jack Welles, he drew his gun in perfect unison.
"Boss, leave the stuff here. We will come back to pick it up in a minute."
Carl said this as he walked toward the door. He was not sure what was happening outside, but Oliver's car was parked not far from the entrance. If the car was damaged, they would have to carry everything back on foot.
Looking through the shattered doorway, Carl saw a street that had fallen into chaos. In the middle of the road, a large blond man with a pompadour haircut and sunglasses was firing a "Militech MK.31 Heavy Machine Gun" nonstop at a truck that had been stopped in the street. Closer to the shop, two familiar bodies lay by the roadside with hoods over their heads, Eurodollar scattered around them, and bullet holes covering their bodies, making it clear the robbers from the Braindance Shop had run into very bad luck.
"What is going on here?"
Jack Welles leaned over to the door to look outside as well. After seeing the scene, he quickly pulled back inside. "Heavy Machine Gun. What kind of mess is this?"
"My car!"
Oliver saw that his car door had a clear bullet dent, like it had been hit by a stray round from the truck's direction. His eyes reddened the moment he noticed the damage. "That was my birthday gift from my sister!"
"So what do we do?"
Carl had already tightened his grip on his weapon, and his left hand moved to the Grenade he had picked up from Maelstrom. "Do we wipe out both sides?"
With a Grenade on hand, he felt confident even against people wearing Subdermal Armor like the Maelstrom members before. On top of that, Jack Welles was carrying a Crusher.
"You are way too aggressive."
Oliver was not about to kill people over a dented car door. The guy holding a Heavy Machine Gun and whoever was trading fire with him near the truck were not easy targets, and this much trouble was something he could tolerate. They had heavy weapons and could force the issue, and Oliver considered himself a reasonable person.
"Too aggressive?"
Carl felt he was being quite restrained. Compared to people who talked about killing entire families and cutting off all future trouble, he thought he was already conservative. There was even that old saying about not liking to kill whole families, but still doing it anyway.
The gunfight outside ended faster than expected. As the people who had jumped from the truck's cab exchanged fire with the blond man, another group that seemed to be on his side had already moved behind the truck. The first to fire was a black mohawk man using a mechanical arm to spray bullets from a Copperhead.
Right beside him was a pale, short girl with green twin-tails, holding a pink "M-76 E Omaha" pistol. With their support, the truck's crew who were trapped in the middle lasted less than three seconds before collapsing to the ground and never getting back up.
"Maine!"
After dealing with the people by the truck, the green-haired girl waved at the big man. "It's all taken care of!"
"Rebecca."
The blond man called Maine nodded at her from a distance, then turned to the mohawk man. "Pilar, hurry up, find the goods and we are out."
"Got it."
Watching the three of them move efficiently toward the back of the truck, Jack Welles spoke up. "Looks like they are mercs too, just like us."
"Then there is nothing more to see."
Carl turned back to grab his Braindance and Braindance Headset. "Do you want to fix your car first, Oliver?"
"It's fine. I can fix a dent like that myself. Let's go see the apartments first."
While they were talking, the shop owner finished packing up the Braindance and ran outside. He picked up the Eurodollar near the bodies, since it all came from his shop and he was not about to leave it behind.
After Carl and Jack Welles squeezed back into the passenger side and Oliver started the car, the merc team led by Maine also got what they wanted from the truck. As they pulled out, Oliver's car passed right by the truck.
Maine glanced at the passing car without much interest. Carl, sitting in the passenger seat, took a longer look at him.
That guy's Subdermal Armor was no joke if he could stand in the open street and trade fire for that long. The thought flashed through Carl's mind and disappeared just as quickly. This small incident was not worth much attention.
Oliver drove all the way to the megabuilding without any further trouble. They smoothly contacted the apartment manager and began discussing the rental details. The megabuilding belonged to a company, and the manager was just an employee, but he was just as strict as any landlord when it came to fees.
After listing a long set of terms and reminders, Oliver and Carl each rented an apartment for 1000 Eurodollars per month, on the fifth and fourth floors. Oliver wanted to be neighbors with Carl, but there was only one unit left on the fourth floor, so he had no choice but to live upstairs.
The apartments came fully furnished, so they could move in with just their bags. Of course, company-managed apartments were never generous for free, and every convenience came with conditions attached.
"Private phone line, 10 Eurodollars setup fee, then 0.75 Eurodollars per minute. TV, 50 Eurodollars deposit, then 1 Eurodollars per hour of use. There is even a vending machine in the room. Wow, they really bring the business right inside."
Carl walked over to the vending machine and spent fifteen Eurodollars on three bottles of Mini Cola. He tossed two of them to Jack Welles and Oliver. He did not like Mini Cola, but the machine had no other cola, so he had no choice but to put up with the bitter taste.
"How does it feel, Carl?"
Jack Welles lay back on the sofa. This was his first time in an apartment like this.
"Overall, it's livable."
"Just livable?"
Oliver had not gone to check his own room yet, but since both units had the same layout, seeing Carl's place was basically the same. He was a little surprised by the casual answer.
"After I became independent at eighteen, I have never lived anywhere better than this."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-four. You asked me that the first time we met."
"I forgot."
Failing to afford a 1000 Eurodollars a month place even after six years on your own was pretty rough. For Carl, moving into a place like this on his second day after arriving here felt like nothing to brag about.
Still, that was how it was. Looking at Oliver and Jack Welles sprawled on the sofa like lazy fish, Carl opened a can and took a sip. His story in 2075 had finally begun.
"Glug."
"So sweet."
"I'm bored."
Carl sat at the bar of Wild Wolf Bar and complained to Jack Welles's mother, Mrs. Welles. "We can't get any Contract, Mrs. Welles. If this keeps up, we're going to starve."
"No need to rush, Carl."
Mrs. Welles smiled and set down a plate of French Fries. "Isn't it nice to have free time? Try my newest version of French Fries."
"Oh, the one you said had pepper salt on it!"
A moment ago Carl had looked worn down, but the sight of French Fries brought him back to life in a second. From the other seats at the bar, Oliver and Jack Welles both watched with helpless looks.
Their small team had been together for a week, taking five scattered jobs during that time. Because of that, they had come to understand Carl's personality much better. If Oliver and Jack Welles had to sum him up, they would both use a Chinese phrase that Carl himself had taught them.
"Looking for trouble for no reason."