"What? You're giving me the car?"
After parking the hovercar on the rooftop of the apartment building, Karl called Kenichiro to ask where he should return the vehicle—only to be told, "Just come back. The car's yours now."
He was momentarily stunned.
So the ten-day return deadline… was never about the car? It was just your way of reminding me to be back in time?
Seeing Karl caught off guard, Kenichiro responded in his usual calm and flat tone:
"You should consider buying the penthouse. If anything happens, having rooftop access to a hovercar will let you respond quickly. Ground transport is still far too inefficient."
"Oh… right."
Karl replied reflexively. Before he could say anything more, the call disconnected.
Kenichiro clearly had other things on his plate. Now that Karl had reported back, he had already returned to his own business.
"Rich boss problems, huh…"
Karl muttered, then headed downstairs to find Jack, Oliver, and the others, who were still helping V look for housing.
"Guess I'd better let them know the hovercar's officially part of our squad's gear now."
The group had been mid-discussion about which apartment to rent, but once Karl shared the news, all eyes widened. Their rental question was answered on the spot.
"Let's just rent both of the top floors," Oliver suggested. "One for daily life—kitchen, entertainment, maybe a pool table—and one for sleeping quarters. There's more than enough space to divide into private rooms. Plus, if we take both floors, we get the rooftop for the hovercar."
Karl and Jack both agreed.
They were always together anyway. Compared to cramming into a single unit, having two entire floors would be more comfortable—and more fitting for a crew of their level. It also added a decent layer of security.
"Won't renting two whole floors be crazy expensive…?"
V raised the obvious concern. He'd already heard from Oliver that even a single unit in this place cost a thousand eddies a month. Two full luxury floors plus a private landing pad? Could he really afford that?
"Don't worry," Karl said. "Once you run a few gigs with us, rent won't be an issue. We'll split it anyway. Jack, can you check the total price for both floors and the rooftop pad? I'll see if T-BUG wants to move in too."
At this point, Karl didn't think much about money. He'd just been handed a hovercar worth well over ten million eddies on the secondhand market. Rent wasn't even a blip on the radar.
What mattered more was getting T-BUG's input.
For a netrunner, physical security was just as important as virtual defenses. Plenty of runners had been taken out in real life before they could even log in. If T-BUG moved in with them, Karl could finally stop worrying about someone kicking in her door mid-hack.
"Me, huh…"
T-BUG gave it some thought. She'd been saving up to one day buy herself a quiet island and retire in peace. But if she shared rent with the team, the cost would be completely manageable.
The truth was, working with Karl's crew made money so fast it was almost surreal. At this rate, she could probably retire within a few years. Spending a bit now to make sure she lived long enough to enjoy it? Yeah, that made sense.
Her only hesitation?
She was the only woman—and living with a bunch of guys, even with private rooms, might get awkward.
Awkward… but with these guys?
"Count me in."
She'd known their personalities long enough to be comfortable. Sure, she didn't know V very well yet, but the others?
Oliver ran his mouth all the time about "big sisters" and "past glories," bragging about how many women he'd seduced—but 90% of it was obviously just bluster.
Jack had Misty. No issue there.
And Karl…
Karl was, frankly, something else. Compared to Oliver, who occasionally turned to braindances to scratch an itch, Karl didn't even seem to have any urges.
The guy once had a Christmas Eve "date" with a Militech executive, and he literally came home with takeout to share—nothing else. Not even a hint of intent.
From a teammate's point of view, T-BUG appreciated that. From a woman's point of view… Karl was kind of a lost cause.
Any street rat with half a brain would've milked that date for all it was worth. Corporate sugar mama? A golden opportunity. But Karl? All he cared about was the food.
Either he genuinely had no interest in women, or…
He was just scarily good at drawing the line.
Given the number of messages he got daily… maybe Karl, not Oliver, was the real player.
As T-BUG's mind drifted, V, after a moment of hesitation, also nodded.
He still didn't have a clear idea of how much he could earn with Karl's team. But he valued friendship. In Night City's wasteland, Karl and the crew were more than just friends.
They were family.
And family sticks together.
Besides, there were plenty of rooms. Everyone had space—just like tents in a nomad camp.
Two floors? That was just a vertical clan camp.
Once everyone was on board, the moving plan went into full swing.
Karl and Oliver canceled their next-month leases, and the crew asked the building manager about renting the top two floors.
To their surprise, maybe because the penthouse had sat empty for a while—or because of Karl's reputation—the manager offered a great deal:
30,000 eddies a month.
Split five ways?
Only 6,000 eddies each.
Totally manageable.
.
.
.
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