Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 464: Get Out.

A couple dozen people watched as a large bowl tilted, their eyes wide with disblief. The hands holding it went down, placing it on the counter. Behind that counter, a small old woman stood with folded arms, the wrinkles on her face made deeper by the frown she wore. When the youth holding the bow grinned at her, that frown got only deeper.

"Hoo! That was hot!" He exclaimed after wiping his mouth.

"You really went and drank it all." Nobara clicked her tongue.

"Couldn’t do it last time, but now." Dante tapped his belly. "Nothing can stop me."

The price of enjoying spicy food was the hard time your stomach gives you later on, but Dante didn’t need to concern himself with that anymore, all thanks to his NutrimaCore Complete Series XI.

The implant was an entire digestive system, except it lacked the problems that came with the natural organs. It takes the food one ingests and extracts the nutrients from it, then discards what remains. No digestion problems, no food poisoning, and no torture session at the toilet after eating the world’s spiciest noodles.

"Hah! Where is the fun if you’re just gonna cheat?" Clearly not amused Nobara turned away, about to walk to the kitchen.

"Hey, my tongue and mouth are still normal, you know?" Dante chuckled. "It’s not like I hadn’t tasted it at all."

He could’ve turned off his pain receptors entirely, but what would be the point then?

"You leave the hospital, and that’s the first meal you get?" Suzuka grimaced. "Maybe just like torturing yourself."

When she put it like that, Dante couldn’t stop himself from taking the matter seriously.

"No," He shook his head. "I wouldn’t have been addicted to REDs if I enjoyed suffering."

"You aren’t convincing anyone with that argument."

Life seemed to return to the shop at some point as Dante and the others chatted. Every now and then, he would hear people whispering about the Red Demon, but he didn’t it bother him.

"By the way, old hag," he turned to the stool on his right. The one with Jonah’s name on it. "I know things have been busy lately, but... surely Mr. Johanson could spare a few minutes for a meal, right?"

Dante was sure that a big portion of those problems were caused by him the other day. He wanted to apologize to the old officer the next time they meet, but it might be a while before then.

"Jonah..."

Nobara cast her gaze down, and her expression darkened. It was difficult not to notice the sudden change, so Dante immediately guessed that something had happened. He was about to ask when the door suddenly slid open.

The shop immediately went silent as all eyes turned to the entrance. Three men stood there, all of them wearing the same blue uniform. Nothing stood out about the two in the back, but the one in the front, Dante recognized him well.

"Oh-oh! We are in luck today!" A short, big bellied man walked in. "It has been more than a week already. We thought you would never show up."

Glancing at Nobara, Dante sighed and turned in his stool.

"Officer Nara." He said. "Shouldn’t you be lying off the noodles for a while?"

"I don’t eat the cheap stuff, kid." Said the pudgy officer. "We’re here for something else."

"And that is?"

Grinning to his ears, Pedro Nara took out his badge, holding it for all to see.

"Dante Sokolov, you are under arrest for suspicion of committing multiple homicides, in addition to the possession of illegal weapons and..." Looking him up and down, his grin widened. "And the possession of illegal bionic enhancements."

Dante turned to Nobara again, silently asking if that man is retarded. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case.

"Alright, boys! Take him in!"

Whatever he was expecting to happen when he gave that order, it surly wasn’t his subordinates just standing there and doing nothing. The grin quickly vanished from his face, and anger soon took its place. Turning to the other officers, Nara fixed them with a glare.

"As I said, take him in!"

The other two pursed their lips and turned to Dante. Seeing their difficult expressions, it was clear this show wasn’t their idea.

"It’s alright." Dante got up, "I’ll come with you."

"Boy..."

Seeing the frown Nobara gave him, Dante shrugged and gestured to the pudgy officer with both hands.

"Just... don’t cause more trouble, got it?"

"Yeah, I will be back in a minute."

"Ha! That’s gonna be a long minute, then!" Nara scoffed. "You’re going straight to county jail!"

Dante walked over to the two taller officers and held his hands out, letting them cuff him. He was then led out of the shop as people watched.

’Volcan?’

[Yes?]

’Ghost Mode isn’t active, is it?’

[No.] His resident AI replied. [Would you like me to delete recordings of what happened?]

’No, let’s not d that.’

People had been staring at him even before he got to the noodle shop—surely more than a few had shared his location and some photos they took without permission. Under such circumstances, going ghost would only make him look more suspicious, especially now that the authorities are looking for a guy who’s described as a ghost who can’t be caught on security cams.

Dante got into the back of a police car. Nara took the passenger seat while one of the other officers sat behind the wheel. The other one followed in a different cat.

"You aren’t very smart, are you?" Nara cackled. "Walking around as if nothing happened. It’s like you’re asking to be caught."

The pudgy officer continued throwing insults, but Dante didn’t listen, watching the building pass by through the window. The police station was only a few megacomplexes away from Nobara’s shop, so only after a few turns, it cam within sight. Spotting it through the windshield, Dante heaved a long sigh.

"Stop the car."

His even voice spread silence inside the car. Nara glanced at him through the rearview mirror, then scoffed. Dante closed his eyes and heaved another sight.

"I said..." he looked into the rearview mirror. [Stop the fucking car.]

His voice echoed, not inside the car, but directly inside the heads of the two officers. The driver slammed the brakes, and the tires screeched as they skidded on the asphalt.

Nara’s body jerked forward a before slamming back into his seat. His head whipped back a moment later.

[Keep your eyes forward.]

A chill rolled over the two officers, and they followed the order without thought. Nara realized that right away, but when he saw the eyes reflected in the mirror, he was overwhelmed with the urge to keep his gaze lowered.

Dante raised his hands and snapped the chain of the handcuffs. He then pinched each cuff and tore them off his wrists as if they were made from paper.

[You... aren’t very smart, are you, officer Nara?]

A faint clang could be heard as the twisted cuffs fell.

[I got a question for you.] Dante said, looking into the rearview mirror. [You say I’m a suspect of homicide and other things. What gave you the idea?]

The pudgy officer opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. Dante didn’t press him, and he eventually managed to utter the words.

"We... we have eyewitnesses..."

[You don’t say...] Pausing, Dante leaned back into his seat and rested his arms on the back. He turned his head to the right, pretending to look at the street. [These eyewitnesses, do they have evidence to prove their claims?]

"... No..."

[No? You mean nothing?]

"..."

[That’s starnge... Say, officer Nara. Why do you think that?]

"..."

[In this day and age, it’s practically impossible to avoid being filmed. I mean, people’s eyes are cameras now.]

"..."

[It would take a lot of effort to erase footage captured normal surveillance systems, but people’s OAMs?] Facing forward once more, Dante looked at the pudgy officer. [You would have to get into the heads of everyone who saw what happened and remove it one by one.]

Nara knew. He was aware. People in these parts generally didn’t snitch on each other, but when money is involved, there was no shortage of people looking to open their mouth. The problem was the footage. Not a single one of the people who claim to have seen what happened had a recording of the incident. Some swore that they had filmed everything, but there were no files. Not a single second of the Red Demon doing what he did.

[To me, this sounds like a case of mass hallucination.] Dante said. [Don’t you agree, officer Nara?] 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

That question demanded answers, and Nara knew he didn’t have time to come up with one. As cold sweat soaked his body, he searched his mind for an answer. The terror he felt pushed his anger down along with what little pride he had, and as if the scene at the noodle shop didn’t happen, he plastered a smile on his face and spoke.

"Now that you said it, it’s strange there are no video recordings of what happened!"

[Right?] Dante raised an eyebrow, smiling as well. His smile vanished a moment later, and his brows dropped. [Now, here is what will happen.]

Nara gulped despte himself.

[You will make this disappear. I don’t care how you do it. I don’t want to hear anyone looking into it. Understand?]

"Y-yes!"

[And you will go back to the noodle shop and tell everyone it was all a mistake.]

"Yes..."

[Good.] Turning his gaze to the street once more, Dante said one more thing. [Now, get out.]