For advance 40+ chapters patreon.com/TranslationGod?
The conversation went smoothly.
No tense standoffs. No scheming back-and-forth.
Simple: Ethan, representing his "boss," discussed wages with the employees. He also mentioned tomorrow's meeting with the local fixer—strength in numbers.
Ethan made a quick call on the spot. Hands confirmed: as long as these people didn't start shooting or setting off bombs in the streets, Barghest wouldn't keep hunting them.
As for future Dogtown access—that required a talk at Heavy Hearts.
How Hands negotiated with Barghest, Ethan had no idea. But this trip cost him "a bit" of money.
Mr. Hands insisted on saving face. Rather than push too hard and risk him throwing down his cards and running, Ethan was willing to give him this much.
Tension and release. Ethan knew when to push and when to ease off.
Hands was just putting on a tough front for dignity. Ethan didn't want things getting ugly, so he'd bought a protective charm for this little crew.
But in reality, Hands had already lost the initiative. Ethan was just boiling the frog slowly.
"Today cede five cities, tomorrow cede ten, and thus obtain one night's peaceful sleep—"
Clearly, Mr. Hands of Night City, California, didn't understand the wisdom of ancient sages from Ethan's world.
Rebecca contentedly sipped her cola, one hand draped over Ethan's shoulder as he sat.
She'd noticed his changed appearance and declared him a "new friend." The slightly chatty girl said whatever came to mind, even doing a playful self-introduction with a goofy voice:
"I'm Rebecca~ Nice to meet you!"
Rambling about nothing in particular. Dogtown's awful atmosphere had nearly suffocated her.
Maine and Dorio could only watch from the side as Rebecca chatted freely with Ethan.
"Good?"
Ethan was getting thirsty watching her drink.
"Burp—would be better if it weren't expired. Want a sip?"
Ethan looked at the glistening bottle rim. Rebecca's yellow-pink cyber-eyes were full of anticipation—
"You drink it. Bought it for you."
Ethan figured Rebecca matched his expectations pretty well. Seemed carefree but thought a lot internally. Easygoing on the surface, but never dropped the ball when it mattered.
"Mr. Ethan, so the fixer just now took twenty thousand eddies?"
Dorio crossed her arms. She was worried about the bill—even if Ethan's boss paid, that didn't mean they wouldn't owe.
Ethan nodded. "Dogtown gigs and under-the-table work—Hands pretty much runs it all. No choice. We haven't gotten established in Pacifica yet."
"Oh, right."
Ethan cut off Maine before he could speak.
"Don't worry about the money. Investment from the boss for recruiting you."
Twenty thousand! Twenty fucking thousand! Ethan's heart bled. If Hands hadn't been so insistent on saving face—threatening to walk away and demanding more—Ethan would've squeezed harder.
But pushing too hard might make the guy bolt. Ethan had his own frustrations.
Hands hadn't mentioned his wife once. Someone like that was terrifying.
Ethan silently gave himself another warning: always watch for Hands' retaliation. Smart people only think about comebacks when they're losing...
But since transmigrating, Ethan finally felt like he had some foundation.
V's side didn't count. The company demanded results, and he couldn't guarantee V wouldn't settle scores if he screwed up.
For now: borrowing corporate resources. The "Cole" identity was the best gift the company gave him.
After all, V was bold enough to follow Jenkins in plotting against Abernathy. Her guts were even bigger.
Rebecca tossed the empty cola can aside. "First time I saw you, I thought you looked alright. But your name's weird—your family's not from North America, huh?"
Everyone except Ethan looked uncomfortable.
Clearly Rebecca had forgotten she was the one itching to fight Ethan before.
Ethan was about to answer when new information popped up in his vision.
[Characters "Rebecca," "Maine," "Dorio" — Affinity Updated]
[Affinity: 20, 10, 10]
[Rewards: Reflexes +1, Cool +2, Body Perk Tree Unlocked, +1 Bonus Perk Point]
A massive pale-gold skill tree unfurled before Ethan's eyes. Skills that belonged exclusively to the legendary V were now displayed before him, clear and real...
Then, as if giving him just a glimpse, the golden skill nodes began fading to gray.
He needed to allocate points himself.
Ethan's expression was priceless.
Holy shit!
Happiness came so suddenly. He still wasn't sure what was happening.
The crew noticed his glowing eyes and assumed he was on a call with his boss. They waited silently.
Cyber-divine intervention? Supernatural? But this world was still about cyberware modifications, right?
Ethan had a quirk: he always wanted to understand the unknown.
First, he realized this perk panel apparently required certain character milestones to unlock.
Like Rebecca's affinity update.
Second, the first skill in the Body tree was [Steel Heart, Iron Courage]—which seemed to have some connection to Rebecca's future iconic gun, Guts.
Third, this skill tree was probably a program. Invisible to others. Many perks required specific cyberware to activate. That explained everything...
The Body perk tree was actually solid. The left branch mainly affected shotguns and machine guns. The right branch was blunt weapons and brute strength. The center column was most important.
That line affected [Health], [Recovery Rate], and [Item Healing] during combat.
Ethan guessed the program quantified his body's condition into numerical values.
These perks combined with cyberware and combat hormones to keep his vitals stable.
"Still need more chrome to fully unlock these perks."
Ethan thought to himself.
Understanding this, Ethan began allocating points without hesitation. But soon he noticed a problem.
After putting points into [Steel Heart, Iron Courage] and 3 points into [Vigor], he had no perk points left...
So the question was: how do you get more perk points?
Based on his understanding, attribute points increased with levels—every three levels granted attribute points.
Now, three perk points were already spent.
The extra one came from character affinity accumulation—meaning future points would likely depend on this path.
A real challenge for Ethan.
The so-called [Legend Cultivation Panel] had invisibly connected him to these future legends.
Anything related to his personal strength, Ethan took seriously. So he wasn't opposed to building connections with these legends.
Watching Rebecca fiddle with her big gun nearby, rambling about getting back to Watson for real food—way better than the garbage in Dogtown—
Ethan found himself thinking about certain things.
If their life trajectories are fixed like destiny...
Would I just watch them die?
Ethan didn't know if the future would unfold as expected.
He shook his head. Life was fragile. People were fragile.
Undeniably, once you formed a bond with someone, the destined ending often meant another stab to an already-scarred heart.
Still, Ethan believed in human agency—even if he was just a speck of dust in Night City.
Live well in the present.
That's what matters most.
Right?
PLZ THROW POWERSTONES.
300 , 500 , 1000 for each milestone 1 Bonus Chapter.