Chapter 33: A Favor

"Hey, tell me, kid, do you even know how to craft anything? Damn it, how many times has it been? Can you still not grasp this simple principle?"

"Can I just look at the manufacturing specs?"

"Shit... I regret not charging you tuition."

"..."

Pilar’s chair slid to the side. He rested his head in his hands, staring at Lin Yue with a look of pure exasperation.

Lin Yue looked at the pile of junk in front of him, his head spinning. Even his advanced calculus classes hadn't been this grueling. If he had known this would happen, he would have studied engineering—at least then he’d know how to craft things instead of getting chewed out by a tech expert.

"Shut up already!"

Rebecca, clutching her pistol, raised a fist in protest from the living room, then fired a shot into the wall of Pilar’s room.

Pilar didn’t lower his voice one bit. "I’m teaching this idiot how to do his job, alright? Do you have any idea what that’s like?"

Lin Yue shrunk his neck back as he looked at the bullet hole in the wall. *Good grief, she actually fired?*

But thinking about it, it wasn't really a problem. When Pilar had asked Rebecca to pay for David, she had shot his prosthetic arm. The tech expert’s first reaction had been: *Damn! The new gear is bulletproof...*

It seemed their sibling bond was indeed quite solid.

"Think about the battery part again. I’m going to go get something to eat." Pilar stood up, used his long prosthetic arm to adjust his "trajectory," and walked out of his room with a look of utter disdain.

Being a tech expert wasn't easy.

Lin Yue’s gorilla arms cradled the components. If one ignored his intelligence stat of 10, he looked as awkward as an unevolved ape. But he had to learn; after all, in Night City and Dogtown, knowing how to craft things could solve a lot of trouble.

Take weapon mods, for example. The ones sold outside weren't cheap, and sometimes they were out of stock. Building them himself meant lower risk and lower costs—why wouldn't he do it?

His gaze drifted to the few grenades Pilar had left on the corner of the table, and Lin Yue’s teeth ached.

If he tried to craft those, they’d probably blow up in his face!

Putting those thoughts aside, Lin Yue refocused his mind and dove back into tinkering with the "Hungry Ghost." The benefits of this thing were too great; since it reduced charge time, he had to get it done no matter what.

Materials were scarce, yet Pilar had insisted Lin Yue get to work without any hesitation, not caring about the cost at all.

Well, the money for the materials was Lin Yue’s own, after all.

Pilar leaned against the doorframe, smoking, holding a slice of "Tofu, Tuna, and Pineapple Pizza"—a delivery that was also paid for by Lin Yue.

He watched Lin Yue’s back in silence, seemingly lost in thought, then shook his head.

Lin Yue, fully immersed in his work, didn't notice Pilar’s gaze. He was pushing himself, building one step at a time, testing it on the platform Pilar had programmed, and only proceeding if everything checked out.

He also had to guard against short circuits; he had already ruined plenty of materials because of that.

"Is he not eating?"

Rebecca had a braindance wreath around her neck. It was a rare day off, and she was going to make sure she relaxed properly.

"Keep that cigarette butt away, you jerk. You're going to smoke yourself to death."

Rebecca kicked the cigarette out of Pilar’s hand, but he didn't get angry. "The kid’s got the makings of a tech expert. When I first started touching this stuff, eating? I didn't even want to take a leak—"

Rebecca gave a cold sneer. "That's why you got an artificial kidney."

Pilar crossed his arms. "The first time I cobbled a gun together, it exploded after a single shot."

"But I was still so excited. At least it proved I could make something. The Corps does the design, but eighty percent of the manufacturing specs in Night City are things us idiots dismantled and pieced back together ourselves."

"Sometimes we even share them for free. What would a nag like you know about it?"

Rebecca rolled her eyes and went back to the living room, throwing herself onto the sofa.

Lin Yue smiled at the comment. The self-cultivation of a tinkerer and a geek—the spirit of free internet sharing lived on!

Pilar wiped the grease off his hands, sat back in his chair, and pulled a pile of things from the drawer to tinker alongside Lin Yue.

He’d show this kid what a real tech master was!

Few buildings in Dogtown had windows, yet they were drafty and let in light. By evening, the table was bathed in a fiery orange glow, and Lin Yue looked at the crude "Hungry Ghost" in his hands with immense excitement.

"I actually made it?!"

Pilar let out a snort from the side, feet propped up on the table, hands behind his head, gesturing with his chin.

Lin Yue’s gaze shifted and he saw the brand-new Hungry Ghost on the table.

"..."

The difference was plain to see.

He didn't know where Pilar had gotten such high-quality components, but the accessory he’d made looked exactly like the ones in the game—seamless and perfectly fitted to the weapon.

Pilar reached over, took the accessory from Lin Yue’s hand, and tossed it into the bin behind him with a look of disdain.

It was fine; Pilar saw the admiration and awe in Lin Yue’s eyes as he stared at his masterpiece.

*There’s no helping you. Even if I gave you the blueprints, you still couldn't craft it right!*

"Take a look at my treasure. Don't be shy."

Pilar lit a cigarette as he spoke.

Lin Yue picked it up, and his optics immediately read the quality information.

[Hungry Ghost] Tier 5...

+4 extra zoom, -30% sway. Its stats were vastly superior to the thing he had cobbled together.

"It's yours."

Lin Yue didn't react at first. "Huh?"

"I said, it's yours!" Pilar looked nonchalant. "You really wanted this, didn't you? Your sniper scope isn't nearly this good."

Lin Yue didn't know what Pilar was up to.

As it turned out, Lin Yue had overthought it.

"In Night City, what’s the hardest thing to repay? It’s favors... You had the guts to jump out and take a bullet for my little sister, and since you paid for the materials, it’s yours."

Lin Yue’s wallet was indeed five thousand eddies lighter, but the value of this piece was probably near five thousand already.

He hadn't really lost anything, and he’d even gotten the crafting techniques for free.

He felt like sending a couple of big rockets to this eccentric guy in the black leather coat with the long arms!

"Next time you want to learn or build parts, pay the tuition! If you’ve got enough money, just bring me the specs and materials for what you want, but once you use it, it’s mine. Understand?"

Lin Yue nodded like a bobblehead.

He held the Hungry Ghost, feeling incredibly happy.

Pilar curled his lip. "Damn, another idiot who looks at a gun like it's a sex doll. You’ll be lucky to have a woman in your life, you're hopeless."

Lin Yue asked, confused, "Aren't you the same?"

Pilar nodded. "Yeah!"

This eccentric tech guy jumped up, clenching his long prosthetic arms and rubbing them together.

"I can do this all day~"

"Once you're into tech, when you can channel your thoughts into the manufacturing specs you've dreamed of and let your hands do the work! Who needs a woman?"

*Man...* Lin Yue felt that the tech guy really did have something special about him.

But Pilar had said one thing right.

In Night City, favors are the hardest to repay. V had said that in the game, too.

That jerk Paco stole the generator, and no matter who V asked for help, those favors were V’s... Sadly, young people didn't understand that, nor had they been burned enough, so they played a good hand into a disaster, eventually even joining the Scavengers.

"Thanks."

Lin Yue picked up the Hungry Ghost, attached it to his Kyubi, and raised the gun to look out the window. Sure enough, new gear was better; he could see every detail of the people across the way...

Pilar shielded his eyes from the sun and noticed something unusual, too.

"Let me take a look?"

Lin Yue watched as Pilar stared through the scope, grinning like an idiot at the girl across the way, and felt utterly speechless.

"..."

[Character "Pilar" affinity updated]

[Affinity: 30]

[Reward: Technical Ability +3]