While Alex was enjoying the embrace of his favorite ‘gremlin,’ Falco calmly drove the van, keeping a low profile. If they were stopped, they’d look like regular people on a camping trip. Alex, deep in thought, pondered whether Tanaka might hold information that would lead him to the right person. His intuition hinted that someone from the Arasaka family was behind all this. But acting directly now would be dangerous—eliminating one of the Mechanical Man’s key aides could provoke an unpredictable, large-scale response.

«What’re you thinking about?» Rebecca’s playful poke to his nose broke his thoughts.

Alex smiled, poking her back, causing a mock-irritated yet endearing look on her face. But his curious companion wasn’t backing down, insisting on an answer.

«I was wondering if Tanaka has the information I need, or at least a lead to the right person,» Alex replied, gently massaging her cheeks.

Rebecca, used to his tenderness, squeezed his cheeks in return, stretching them sideways. «And if he doesn’t?»

«Then it’s on to the next on the list, and we’ll be kidnapping more Arasaka executives,» he replied calmly, enduring her «attack» without a fuss.

Rebecca nodded, then, with her usual straightforwardness, began questioning his plans for dealing with the Mechanical Man. Lucy, noticing the couple whispering, approached and gently nudged Rebecca aside, settling on Alex’s lap, signaling she wanted to be in the loop too.

«So, what will you do if Tanaka turns out to be useful?» she asked, peering into his eyes with interest.

Alex considered his limited options. To win, the Mechanical Man needed a physical form, and only then could they actively move against him. Fighting him directly now risked destroying the entire world. If this were an empty world full of deranged beings, Alex wouldn’t hesitate to destroy it for victory. But this world was still alive, with its own timeline. The only option was to lure the Mechanical Man into a trap while G.I.R erased his consciousness.

Lucy sighed softly and pinched his nose, «You’re lost in thought again and not explaining anything.»

Realizing he’d gotten distracted, Alex decided to share his plan with the girls: prolong the fight while G.I.R deleted the enemy’s mind. Rebecca immediately began firing questions about what might happen during the battle.

Alex explained that he envisioned two possible outcomes: either the Mechanical Man would throw everything into attacking G.I.R, or his consciousness would try to resist in the digital space. Either way, they’d need to protect G.I.R and prepare for the unexpected.

Kiwi, who had been eavesdropping, couldn’t hold back and approached the group. Recent events weighed heavily on her mind, and though she’d only faced this threat yesterday, she was determined to survive and resist the terrifying god trying to destroy their world. Noticing her approach, Alex invited her to join the conversation with a wave.

With Lucy and Rebecca watching her with mild amusement, Kiwi joined the discussion. Alex briefly summarized the conversation for her, and she immediately began contemplating how to defend themselves if someone attacked G.I.R in the real world, not just digitally.

«We need to be ready for that,» Alex frowned slightly, «because there could be ordinary people caught under his control. And I have a feeling they won’t be savable.»

Alex understood that he couldn’t be a hero to everyone or save those infected. The corruption tainted not only the body but also the soul; even if he found a way to cleanse it, they’d be different people, unable to return to their former lives. The girls shuddered, realizing that even in death, these people would know no peace—only chaos and ancient entities devouring them. Hearing their concerns, Alex reassured them that he had already placed protections on each group member’s mind and soul.

The van finally arrived at the base, and everyone relaxed, seeing they hadn’t been followed. But as soon as they opened the door, all eyes turned to Tanaka, who lay bloodied and leaving a pool behind him. No one wanted to touch him, and the girls unanimously decided that Alex, as the one responsible for his state, should carry him inside. Alex grimaced, feeling a bit betrayed, but when he noticed G.I.R curiously nudging Tanaka, an idea came to him.

«G.I.R, help our guest get home,» he said with a broad smile.

G.I.R nodded silently and grabbed Tanaka’s pant leg, dragging him across the floor. Tanaka’s head thudded against the van steps, then onto the ground. Pilar couldn’t hold back his laughter, watching the little robot unceremoniously pull the grown man. Alex, grinning playfully at the girls, followed G.I.R, who was doing his best to haul Tanaka inside.

When the whole group stepped out of the van, they saw a trail of blood leading toward the building and laughed as they followed it. Meanwhile, G.I.R had made it to the stairs, where Tanaka’s head thumped against each step on the way up.

«G.I.R, you don’t have to pull him all the way to the second floor,» Alex called, stopping the bot before Tanaka lost any more teeth.

G.I.R obediently let go of the pant leg, and Tanaka rolled down the steps, his face hitting each one with a dull thud. Alex couldn’t help but laugh at G.I.R’s antics. The rest of the group, who’d just walked in, joined in as they witnessed Tanaka’s tumble down the stairs.

«Am I seeing things, or did he lose a couple of teeth?» Falco asked, glancing at Tanaka lying awkwardly on the floor.

Without a second thought, Alex approached Tanaka and opened his mouth to check if his teeth were still intact. Sure enough, a couple of front teeth were missing, with some others chipped. Alex looked over at G.I.R, who had an innocent, clueless expression as if he hadn’t done anything wrong. Shaking his head, Alex turned to the group with a wry smile.

«Not just a couple. He’s definitely going to be spending a fortune fixing half his mouth. Poor Tanaka didn’t stand a chance,» Alex chuckled, barely holding back his laughter.

Hearing Alex’s comment, the group looked over at Tanaka, whose mouth was still open, showing the missing front teeth and a trickle of blood on his lips. This triggered another round of laughter. Alex released Tanaka, closing his mouth to prevent further damage, and discreetly healed him a bit to stop the bleeding before they could get all the information they needed.

«Not a big deal,» Main laughed. «This bastard’s loaded. He won’t go broke replacing a few teeth with some gold ones.»

Alex smirked and nodded, realizing Main was right. He’d met gangsters before who’d gotten themselves gold and even platinum jaws, though he found it silly. Still, it was better than those blindingly white teeth that practically glowed in the dark. Grabbing Tanaka by the leg, Alex dragged him into a far room and settled him down so that G.I.R could extract data from his head. The others followed.

Placing Tanaka on the floor, Alex called G.I.R over, pulled a cable from the bot’s body, and connected it to the back of Tanaka’s head. Now, all that was left was to wait for the dog to finish downloading the information.

«There we go, just a little patience now,» Alex said, stepping aside.

The group nodded and headed to the living room to wait. Alex sat down and checked the latest news to see if there were any suspicious events. Other than occasional bouts of cyberpsychosis among the population, there wasn’t much. It reminded him of the beginning of a zombie apocalypse: random outbreaks of aggression, attacks on bystanders… The only comfort was that in this city, almost everyone had a weapon, even kids, so people could defend themselves and sometimes even make a profit from such incidents.

«So how long until G.I.R’s done?» Main asked, snapping Alex out of his thoughts.

Alex looked up from his phone, calculated quickly, and replied, «About half an hour, maybe less. He doesn’t have to worry about frying his brain in the process, like a regular Netrunner would.»

«Choom, I’m still amazed by your robo-dog,» Main admitted with admiration. «I can’t imagine how you built it, but it’s something else.»

Alex only smiled, knowing that G.I.R was the result of a blend of magic and advanced technology, made from materials capable of withstanding the temperature of a solar core. Originally, he was designed as a protector for Gloria, but over time, he’d become a reliable ally. Alex was even considering creating an upgraded version of G.I.R for family protection—a prototype called MIMI, which could ensure safety in his absence.

The group continued discussing G.I.R, marveling at his unique abilities.

«Just bypassing Tanaka’s defenses would’ve taken me way longer, not to mention downloading the data,» Kiwi remarked, fully agreeing with the others.

Everyone nodded in response to Kiwi’s words.

«At least I’m glad this crazy robot’s on our side. I definitely wouldn’t want to be his target. Watching how G.I.R deals with enemies once was enough for me—I don’t want to end up as minced meat from this mad robo-dog’s attack,» Pilar shared.

The rest of the group nodded along, except for Lucy and Rebecca, who had spent enough time with G.I.R to know everything he was capable of. The group had been shocked the first time they saw G.I.R and the weaponry he carried, but after some jobs involving him, they realized this robo-dog was quite ruthless and dangerous. They even suspected that this could reflect Alex’s own nature, thinking he might be just as brutal. After the last demonstration, it only confirmed their suspicions.

Unlike G.I.R, though, Alex hid his ruthless side well and didn’t show it openly. When he did, it was only when no one was around, so no one knew just how brutal he could be. Hearing the conversation shift from G.I.R to himself, Alex decided not to listen and wanted to step outside to smoke and plan his next steps.

«Keep chatting; I’m stepping out for a smoke,» he said, waving a pack of cigarettes.

Without waiting for a response, Alex stood up and went outside to smoke. Even if no one minded smoking in the house, he preferred to avoid it indoors. Under the gaze of the entire group, he stepped out into the fresh air to enjoy a cigarette. As soon as Alex set foot outside, Kiwi joined him, wanting to ask a few questions. Meanwhile, Lucy and Rebecca exchanged mischievous glances. Rolling her eyes, Kiwi decided not to justify herself to them and silently followed Alex.

«Who would have thought even our cold Kiwi would succumb to Alex’s charms?» Main said with a smirk.

Lucy and Rebecca looked at Main, wanting to throw something at him to make him stop talking nonsense. But it was Dorio who delivered another smack to Main for his inappropriate comments. Main looked offended at Dorio and wanted to argue, insisting he was right.

But Dorio clenched her fist and said it was Alex and Kiwi’s personal business. Main countered that he was the leader and had every right to tease others, which earned him another smack and a threat from Dorio that she would borrow Alex’s stick.

Main immediately deflated and looked at Dorio pleadingly, continuing to persuade her not to take the stick from Alex. The group watched with amusement as their leader found himself in a predicament, fearing retribution from his girlfriend.

Outside, Alex lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag, and opened the latest news, trying to find patterns in the locations where outbreaks of cyberpsychosis had occurred. However, all the incidents happened in different parts of the city, involving a wide range of people, from the homeless to high-ranking members of society.

Upon closer examination of the elite victims, Alex noticed that many of them were corporate employees, and while the connection between them seemed weak, they all shared one commonality: they were either Netrunners or conducting research. Among the victims were Arasaka employees, all working in labs on the lower levels.

Alex concluded that ordinary people likely fell victim to random or experimental attacks aimed at creating «cyber-zombies,» while corporate employees were treated as expendable resources, their fates dismissed as manifestations of cyberpsychosis.

He realized that corporations, including Arasaka, were conducting similar experiments, but Arasaka likely held the key to these events. If he could capture one of the scientists working in these labs before they went insane, it might shed light on what was happening.

Formulating a plan to capture one of the researchers who might still be alive, Alex noticed that his cigarette was nearly burnt out while he was deep in thought. Feeling a presence behind him, he turned around and saw Kiwi.

«Need something, Kiwi?» he asked, lighting another cigarette.

Kiwi hesitated for a moment under his gaze, unsure how to ask him for help. Alex patiently waited, giving her time to gather her thoughts. Finally, she looked at him and explained why she had come out.

«You know the fixer from Haywood called Padre, right?» Kiwi asked, looking at him.

«Yeah, I know him. Do you need something from him?» Alex raised an eyebrow, seeking clarification.

Kiwi nodded and explained her request:

«I heard that Padre helps with children’s shelters. So I wanted to ask you to find out if he could help relocate some kids to one of the shelters he manages,» she voiced her request.

Alex asked Kiwi to tell him more about the situation with the shelter so he could better understand what she needed. Kiwi began by sharing that she had grown up in that very shelter and sent most of her earnings to support the children. This revelation surprised Alex; he had never imagined that such a closed-off and distrustful girl like Kiwi could care about a shelter that had left a mark on her life. He had always thought she came from a poor family, but it turned out her childhood was spent in a shelter.

According to her, the shelter located in Atlanta was in even worse conditions than Night City. Under the protection of the Valentino gang, the children could at least feel somewhat safe, not fearing that someone would burst into the shelter to kidnap or rob them. «Night City is still Night City, but even here, life would be better for them than in Atlanta,» Kiwi said with a hint of sadness.

Seeing this new side of Kiwi, Alex realized that her coldness was merely a mask, a result of a difficult life full of disappointments. In a world where trust could only be placed in a select few, caution had become her only means of protecting herself and those she cared about.

«Padre has money that he doesn’t know what to do with, and he often directs it toward supporting children. I think if I tell him about your situation, he’ll agree to help. If not, we can take Falco’s van and transport the kids to Night City ourselves,» Alex said with a light smile.

Kiwi’s mask dropped, and a rare, warm smile illuminated her face. She thanked Alex for his offered help, but he quickly dismissed it, saying he hadn’t done anything yet to deserve her gratitude. He then offered her a cigarette, and as she accepted it, Kiwi began to share her life story in the shelter and her early steps before arriving in Night City.

Her life story was not one of heroic triumphs, but rather a simple journey filled with struggles for survival. Due to illness, she couldn’t find steady work and took on any small jobs until she started learning Netrunning with the help of a caretaker from the shelter. Over time, her skills improved, and she took the place of the previous Netrunner on Main’s team.

«Heh, her name was the same as mine,» Alex chuckled when he heard that the girl was called Sasha.

Kiwi looked at him in surprise, not understanding how their names could be similar. Alex explained:

«In Slavic countries, Alexander isn’t shortened to Alex, but to Sasha. So, in a way, she’s my namesake,» he replied with a smile.

Surprised, Kiwi had never heard of such an interpretation of the name, and Alex jokingly explained a few more variations of diminutives and nicknames. Their conversation gradually shifted to more personal topics, and the atmosphere between them softened.

«What does your name mean? I know many names have different meanings, but what does yours mean?» Kiwi asked, looking at him attentively.

«My name, Alexander, comes from ancient Greek and means ‘defender of humanity,’» Alex answered, smirking. «Although in some translations, it also means ‘warrior’ or ‘manly.’»

Upon hearing his response, Kiwi paused for a moment and then suddenly burst out laughing. Alex looked at her in surprise.

«It’s just… it’s funny. Here I am standing next to the Demon King—the embodiment of evil in legends—and his name means ‘defender of humanity,’» she said, trying to catch her breath.

Upon hearing the reason for her laughter, Alex’s mind briefly froze, and he began to laugh too. He had never thought about it that way. The situation was indeed amusing—how someone who was supposed to be evil in various mythologies bore the name of the Defender of Humanity. But he started to wonder if he truly deserved to be a defender of humanity, given that his motives were often selfish.

He agreed to help restore the timelines only because he would be traveling to different worlds anyway. As for Nyan-Nyan and her avatars, his reason was also selfish: to protect his family and nothing more. Saving people was merely a consequence of his actions and nothing beyond that.

While they laughed, Kiwi and Alex continued chatting about various things, and he shared his plans to travel to other worlds. Kiwi immediately joked that his true goal was to glorify the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Alex didn’t argue, saying it was inevitable and that one day, this deity would be known across many worlds.

In the midst of their conversation, Main came out to inform them that GIR had completed the hack of Tanaka’s data and that all the necessary information was now in their hands. Alex and Kiwi exchanged glances and hurried back, hoping that Tanaka would have useful information to further their mission.

To be continued…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep