My Cyber Psychosis is Task Prompt-Chapter 459 - 289: Decision

The Sugar Bean Man squeezed out of the passage and slowly straightened up in a more spacious place.

His figure blocked the light above the bar, and he looked down at John in the shadow he cast.

[I feel like I’m about to fight a boss, brother. If you hadn’t held back, I’d have already drawn my gun and shot.]

Sora could feel the pressure from the other side.

This was no ordinary shop owner.

"To run a shop alone on Sakura Cross Street, especially with a business involving both the underworld and the legitimate world, you’d need some serious skill."

John muttered to himself.

The Sugar Bean Man’s head tilted ninety degrees.

The mosaic face showed an expression of doubt.

"Are you okay?"

He asked.

"Not at all, no one in their right mind would come here."

John flipped his wrist, revealing a reddening countdown.

"My body is starting to lose sensation again, it’s serious, I need that drug from last time!"

"Alright, here’s the figure."

The Sugar Bean Man quoted a high price.

John paid without hesitation.

The other seemed to expect this; without preparation, he directly took out a new syringe from beneath the bar.

[Drug: Anningle (Blue)]

[Manufacturer: Unknown]

"You’re not fooling me, are you?"

John frowned.

The Sugar Bean Man pushed the item forward.

"I have great confidence in my goods, and I know their duration well. As long as you’re not dead, you’ll definitely come back."

"How long does it last?"

"Until you hit the graveyard."

The Sugar Bean Man switched expressions.

The mosaic mask looped a crying action.

"Farewell, John. If anyone comes to collect your body, remember to have them drag you back here."

He bowed.

John didn’t respond, picked up the drug, and returned to his car.

The pump syringe stabbed into his body.

A bitter taste instantly surged up his throat.

John’s drug resistance truly wasn’t enough.

He felt his heart pass through his throat, bouncing in his head, his body decomposing into colorful lines, convulsing like lightning, dissolving into the driver’s seat, seeping into the leather...

[John, John!?] 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Uncertain how long it had been, Sora’s voice pulled his descending consciousness back to reality.

"F#ck!"

John lay on the steering wheel, gasping violently for a long time.

[You nearly died from an overdose, but the good news is, this stuff actually did work, and I can feel again!]

Sora’s connection was restored.

It proved true.

Black market dealers indeed have unexpected means.

Those [special services] and [rare goods] hidden in city corners aren’t for street rookies.

Reputation is the ticket, a key that can accumulate value.

Kenshi Sora, whose connection was restored, took control of the body.

They drove around aimlessly in Sakura Cross Street.

Sora shook off the low spirit.

It wandered like a player with a login headband, roaming the virtual world built by the game.

John let it roam, his mind on something else.

The Sugar Bean Man was also a result of his task choices.

If he had made the wrong choice at the morgue and fought completely, the Sugar Bean Man would have died by his hand, and now, with his body collapsing, he would have lost one means of recovering.

This is the cost of choice.

But before that?

Among all the mission options that flashed by, was there a decision that could affect his survival?

[Mission Objective Update]

The new text interrupted John’s thoughts.

[Contact the middleman. (Not Achieved)]

John still remembered that he promised Kenshi Sora a job to try out a gun.

He rummaged through the contacts, asking.

"You’ve seen the situation in the city. The Eastern People and the West District are fighting fiercely. Which side do you want to help?"

John was near death, unafraid to offend anyone.

[You think I would feel more belonging to Sakura Cross Street, hesitate to pull the trigger at those speaking Japanese? You’re overthinking it, brother, just choose the force you’re familiar with!]

"OK."

John pursed his lips.

His gaze slid over each name.

Oulos won’t do.

Raphael doesn’t want to.

John hesitated over Mr. Vito’s name on the West District contact list.

The Black Gold Gang’s Godfather was busy, and because of Angelica, he didn’t really want to deal with him either.

Finally, he called Bone Shards.

[Contact - Ethan Ratliff]

The best choice for a business transaction.

The other side answered slowly.

[Bone Shards: If it weren’t for the big stir you’ve caused, I wouldn’t even want to take this call.]

"I want to take a clean and neat job."

John added.

"The kind that involves shooting, get it done and it’s over, no follow-up trouble on my head."

[Bone Shards: Although I don’t know why you suddenly had an epiphany to contribute to the West District, it’s perfect timing. There’s something I can’t handle right now, I’ll cover the bullets, pay you market price. For details, go to Jilead.]

"I don’t want money."

The phone call, which was about to hang up, paused for two seconds.

[Bone Shards: Speak.]

"If I disappear for a while, you have to help take care of Gerry’s restaurant. Don’t forget, the West District fresh market was my doing, bridging the gap for you and the farmers."

[Bone Shards: Bold of you to name your price.]

The person on the other end exhaled smoke, contraband didn’t add any warmth to his words.

[Bone Shards: I refuse, let’s not beat around the bush, if you vanish for over a week, I’ll assume you’re dead. The gang will reclaim the assets in our territory, that’s the rule, no exceptions.]

"Fine."

John wasn’t naive either.

The dead have no bargaining power; the chips and debts in reality fall on the living.

He stated his real purpose.

"Then at that time, you have to give Gerry and Maya a lifeline, consider it as my advance payment for buying life."

[Bone Shards: What if I break my promise?]

"Friends of the Wanderer will retaliate for me, not worth it. Better to just get it done smoothly."

[Bone Shards: Deal, go ahead.]

The call ended.

John needed to earn a safety net for his employees.

He laughed at himself.

"Life is so exhausting; a Lone Wolf shouldn’t be considering these things."

[Don’t be like that, good brother. Your employees will be incredibly loyal. If they knew, they’d work themselves to death for you, business booming... Even mercenary work will have volunteers...]

Sora started rambling in his mind again.

John wasn’t convinced.

[Mission target update:]

[Meet with Jilead. (Not achieved)]

Bone Shards wasn’t a professional mediator.

He was a top tier manager in the Black Gold Gang, street status similar to Mr. Vito.

On the road, John introduced this employer to Sora.

There were things he couldn’t quite understand, only knowing that power was being restructured within the Black Gold Gang.

Jingke Heavy Industry was the financial backer behind the scenes.

Bone Shards had company support, leading the gang war, having an advantage on the power level.

Mr. Vito’s prestige was very high.

His influence even surpassed the West District.

As they spoke.

The Jurassic Armored Vehicle crossed the city again, arriving at familiar Dan Street.

John passed the familiar square steps.

He looked up in the car, adjusting the angle, momentarily unable to recognize the apartment blasted open by Internet Surveillance.

New food stalls had set up at the steps.

Black Gold Gang lackeys loitered in front of the apartment building.

Their muscles weren’t very developed, prosthetic bodies were ordinary too, the firearms for defense were [Rongju] and [Kanmer], even the golden accessories representing the gang’s features were sparse.

"Jilead was originally one of them."

John withdrew his gaze, recalling.

He originally belonged to Mr. Vito’s side, was one of the bottom street thugs, responsible for patrolling the apartment, using the name of the Black Gold Gang to stop some violent incidents.

As they spoke...

The armored vehicle stopped at the side door of the Bolago Club.

There was another building here.

Not top luxury, but grand enough in scale.

[Eden City - Habitable Rental Company]

The Black Gold Gang controlled the rental business in the West District, and a small part of the property sales, this building in front was where they openly managed related industries.

John walked through the entrance with security checks and bodyguards.

Tiles clicked lightly underfoot.

Three elevators required authorization to access, and in the large flat on the forty-fifth-floor top floor, pushing open the wood-colored security door, one could see the manager of Habitable Rental Company.

The leather seat turned around.

Jilead removed his cigar, stood up to greet.

"John, hahaha! You’re still alive!"