Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 523: Serial Killers

Dante had a reason for coming back to Red Hill only a day after he went there with Riot. Well, it was his original reason, even if his focus had shifted to Catalyst after coming across those pseudo-Genomes.

Rose was going after illegal brothels. More specifically, she was after places that provided underage girls to their sick customers. If he truly saw through her plans, then his purple-haired friend was likely going to attack another one of those places in the following days.

Dante spent enough time on the streets to learn that Black Skull runs most such places. Even then, he was still shocked when he learned of the true extent of their sick business. What didn't surprise him was that the authorities hadn't done anything about them all this time.

If not for his plans and circumstances, Dante would have started a massacre by now. Those reasons were starting to become less relevant by the second, so his struggle to remain on track became more difficult.

"So, are you going to tell us what kept you busy all this time?" The hostess, Courtney Rottenmeier, asked in a familiar tone. "And don't say work. That excuse is starting to get old."

She held up an expensive-looking bottle of alcohol and poured some of its contents into James's glass.

"What else would I be busy with besides work?" He replied, smiling as he brought the glass to his mouth. "Things haven't been going well in the last few months. In fact, they seem to be getting worse and worse."

James Cartmen. Third son of Jerald Cartmen and scion of the Carts Group, one of the bigger private equities in Neo-Vatra that has a lot of investments in Red Hill. He was a twenty-five-year-old with a face worthy of magazine covers, Radmir born white skin, and wheat blond hair.

Everything from the way he dressed to his demeanor spoke of his status as an upper-class asshole, but someone with really good eyes for those things could tell that he was playing the role a little too well.

"Tell me about it," Courtney said, leaning toward the young man with a glass in her hand. "Not only do we have these mutants popping out left and right, but there are also serial killers in town as well."

"Serial killers?" James raised an eyebrow.

"Some of my acquaintances have been targeted as of late. From what I have heard, their end was quite unpleasant."

Taking a sip from his drink, James stared at its surface, then turned to the hostess, smiling subtly.

"Is that why you invited me today?" He asked. "Hoping I would draw out this serial killer?"

"Don't be silly. If it were that easy, we would have caught her long ago."

"Her?"

"Some of the victims had been loyal customers of a different club," said the hostess. "That club had been attacked only yesterday. The workers survived, and according to them, a cute brunette had been the one who did it all."

"A brunette, huh?" James took another sip. "I doubt someone capable of what she did would make the mistake of showing her true appearance."

"If that were a disguise, then we might be in trouble." The hostess let out a chuckle. "Who knows when and where she's going to strike next. She might even be in this room with us as we speak."

Death was indeed in the room with them, but it wasn't who they were expecting. Dante stood in a corner and listened absentmindedly, his eyes scanning the room.

Heavenly Bliss was a high-class establishment providing a variety of services, so a private room wasn't out of the ordinary. Still, Dante didn't feel like it was the place where all the illegal activities took place. There were a lot of guards around, and though there was a section that seemed like a small stage, it was entirely desolate.

Dante began to worry that they were only going to talk for the rest of the night. Just as he began to ponder where he should leave and search the building more thoroughly, the conversation took an interesting turn.

"The mutants you mentioned before," James said. "Do you have anything else to share about them?"

"Not much, I'm afraid." The hostess replied.

"Are you sure? From what I heard, a certain drug has been making the rounds."

"Nothing new about that."

Silence fell, and each of them seemed to focus on their drink. The topic didn't change in that time, and after a while, the hostess seemed to drift back to the earlier point.

"Maboi, mind if I ask who is looking for this info?" She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Is it James Cartmen, or…"

"Don't worry, this has just been a curiosity of mine," James replied. "The only ones I would forward that info to are potential clients, if you are interested, of course."

"I see…" Bringing the glass to her lips, the hostess paused, as if savoring the fragrance of her drink and nothing more. A few seconds later, she placed it down and stood up. "We have talked about nothing but depressing stuff. This is your first visit in some time. Let's leave the serious talk for another time and go have some fun."

James stared at her for a long moment, then let a smile form.

"You just read my mind."

Finishing his drink in one go, he got up and offered the hostess his arm. The two of them walked to a door different from the one they had come from, but none of the guards followed them. Dante figured that that was his cue, so he moved to follow them. However, just as he reached the door, he stopped right in his tracks.

'... Volcan, I'm not seeing things, right?'

[I was about to warn you about it,] His resident AI replied.

As he wanted to keep this a covert infiltration mission, Dante made sure his Absolute Awareness was always active, and the range stretched to its limit. That allowed him to see where everyone was positioned, even if he wasn't looking in their direction. Because of that, he was able to see a lot of things he wouldn't have noticed otherwise, and one of those things was the invisible threads sealing the door those two had just passed through.