At the same time, but the crazy

Chapter 486 Lucy
"Ah—a monster! You're a monster!!"

Katsuo Tanaka clutched his deformed right arm, his once proud face contorted with fear, now filled with horrified disbelief and the terror of seeing a ghost!

His two henchmen were so frightened that their legs went weak and their faces turned as white as paper.

They couldn't understand what David had done, or why he could destroy the advanced prosthetic body in an instant.

"Run! Run!"

Tanaka Katsuo practically tumbled backward, no longer caring about his dignity as a "superior person," he just wanted to get as far away from this "trash" whom he had just trampled under his feet as possible!
A little further away!
The three arrogant rich kids, who had been so cocky just moments before, now looked like stray dogs, shoving each other and fleeing the scene in a panic, disappearing around the corner of the corridor.

"..."

David stood still, ignoring the three who had fled.

He looked down, staring incredulously at his fist.

Is this... the force that causes the magnetic field to rotate?
That strange feeling that suddenly surged through my whole body, that tingling, electric-like sensation...

This was the first time he had used the power that Uncle Zhang Qi had mentioned...

He just instinctively threw a punch... and shattered Tanaka Katsuo's seemingly awesome "Kuai Arm 400".
This is... amazing!

He was just a poor student who couldn't even afford basic prosthetics!
It's incredible that it can destroy a high-level cybernetic body with just its fists...

He clenched his fist tightly, and the violent power seemed to have subsided.

Only a faint aftertaste remained, along with a slight feeling of fatigue from the excessive exertion.

It’s incredible…

But the surreptitious skin remaining on his fist, belonging to Katsuo Tanaka's prosthetic body, reminded him with uncanny realism that what had just happened was not an illusion!

He really... possessed an incredible power!
He touched his aching abdomen and looked at the school's tightly closed gates.

In its current state, it's definitely impossible to get in.

And... he didn't want to go in anymore.

That place never belonged to him in the first place.

Rather than going back to face those hypocritical faces and cold rules, it's better to...

David turned and left Arakawa Academy.

He wandered aimlessly through the streets of Night City.

From the bright, clean business districts of Heywood, filled with hovercars and elites, to the chaotic, crowded working-class neighborhoods of Santo Domingo, where the air was thick with the smell of cheap fuel and sweat.

The towering company tower, like a cold, behemoth, overlooks the people struggling to survive below.

In the alleyways along the street, a homeless man, dressed in rags, huddled in a corner, his eyes vacant.

On the holographic billboard, glamorous models promote the latest luxury goods and implants, standing out starkly against the dilapidated surroundings.

A paradise for the rich, a hell for the poor.

This is Night City.

He saw the corporate dogs in suits hurrying around, their faces bearing professional fake smiles, but their eyes hiding fatigue and anxiety.

He also saw thugs with gang tattoos and fierce eyes on the streets and alleys, who could break out at any time in order to fight for territory and resources.

This city... is like a huge, bizarre vortex, drawing everyone in without their control.

This was his first time examining the city...

Finally, exhausted, David boarded the ring subway.

The carriage was packed with all sorts of people—silent, noisy, numb—each carrying their own stories and weariness.

The train weaves through the steel jungle of the city, with neon lights flashing past the window.

He leaned against the cold carriage wall, feeling the vibrations of the train. The image of his mother lying in a pool of blood kept replaying in his mind, as did the doctors' cold conversation, Tanaka Katsuo's arrogant face, and... that indescribable force from just now.

Can he really... change anything?

In this messed-up world?
“Zhang Qi… Uncle…”

David was somewhat confused, and in a voice only he could hear, he whispered the name that gave him strength.

no respond.

The carriage was still noisy.

not here?
Just as David was about to give up in self-deprecation, a voice, calm and gentle, rang directly in his mind.

The voice didn't belong to anyone in the carriage, yet it was crystal clear. "You called me?"

David was jolted, his pupils contracted, and he instinctively turned around.

I saw Zhang Qi's figure...

"Can this world... this world... still be changed?"

David licked his dry lips, lowered his voice, and spoke more to himself.

"It's difficult. The company controls all resources, and their power even surpasses that of the so-called government."

Law, order... in the face of absolute capital and technology, are nothing but worthless pieces of paper for decoration.

Zhang Qi was taken aback, not expecting that David had called him out to ask him such a question.

After a moment's thought, he answered.

Just as he said, this world is beyond saving.

"But that's on the condition that there is no external intervention..."

At the end, Zhang Qi suddenly changed his tone.

Without external intervention, relying solely on the world itself... would be almost impossible.

"External force...?"

Is this why you exist in this world?

David paused, remembering why Zhang Qi had appeared here last night, and asked in return.

"That's right~"

Zhang Qi nodded.

"I...I really...have that power? The power to change all of this?"

David took a deep breath, somewhat incredulous.

He recalled the punch that had shattered Tanaka's arm earlier; though powerful, it was far from enough to change the world.

Katsuo Tanaka's prosthetic body is only a civilian-grade prosthetic body; the company's military uses far more advanced weaponry...

"The seed of power has been planted. The rotation of the magnetic field is the power of the mind and the manifestation of the will of the strong."

When you make up your mind, risk everything, and want to change things, nothing in this world can truly stop you.

Remember, David Martinez, your destiny... is in your own hands.

Zhang Qi replied.

The moment he finished speaking, Zhang Qi vanished.

David stood there, stunned, repeatedly pondering Zhang Qi's last words.

Fate...is in our own hands?

determination……

Can he really... do it?

Just as David was feeling a surge of emotions, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a white figure out of the corner of his eye!
She was a girl who was too beautiful for him to bear, wearing a black fitted leather jacket underneath and a white off-the-shoulder jacket on top.

What's even more surprising is what this girl is doing.

The girl stood behind a man in a sharp suit who looked like a mid-level manager in the company.

He casually tossed his hair and caught the chip that popped out of the company's neck slot as if nothing had happened.

After getting the items, the girl began moving towards his carriage, dancing her way through the crowd. Along the way, she obtained two more chips using the same method.

Is this... a hacker?

David quickly turned to look out the window; he didn't want to get into any more trouble.

However, to his surprise, he could feel the girl's presence approaching him.

Hmm? Did I become the target? Why?
David was stunned for a moment, until he saw his own reflection in the car window and then he realized what was happening.

He was wearing Arasaka Academy's uniform, which meant he was rich...

(End of this chapter)