Chương 102: Chapter 97 - Odd Encounter

After putting away the last of the dishes, I sank into the living room couch, letting the softness of the cushions ease me as I mulled over just how I'd go about getting Rina's contact ID from Valeria. Resting my feet on the coffee table, I let out a small sigh.

"There's more than just a few issues with this plan," I murmured, drumming my fingers thoughtfully. First and foremost, I could not risk burning the good will I'd built with Valeria over this, under any circumstances. I'd bled, sweated, and practically grovelled my way to get to where I was with her. Right now, it seemed like she was starting to see me as someone worth investing time and resources into—not just some wayward problem child like original Sera seemed to have been.

And I'd worked too damn hard to blow that on a whim. So far, this tentative truce with her had meant some pretty big perks, including access to some of her resources. The Arkion Dojo visits were a major example. I still didn't know the full extent of her reach or what exactly she even did at EtherLabs, but the fact that she'd managed to get me into a dojo class with someone as prominent as the Thomas Laken? That kind of pull wasn't something just any corpo-drone could swing; far from it.

So if I wanted to keep up my momentum with the System, there'd come a time when I'd have to lean even more on Valeria's resources; and earlier rather than later, too. So, a misstep here—especially for something as unclear as reconnecting with an old friend or the uncertainty of figuring out what had happened to original Sera—could end up costing me a lot more in the long run.

I couldn't trade a solid, semi-reliable but real asset like Valeria's backing for a shaky, unpredictable connection or the long-shot potential of getting some kind of intel. That trade just didn't make much sense. Additionally, if there was anything I knew for sure about Valeria, it was that getting on her bad side… was not something I'd like to repeat; ever. I rubbed my temples, thinking through the options, ' So, how do I play this, then…?' The first rule here was clear: Don't piss off Valeria. But beyond that?

The path was murky at best. I considered trying to appeal to Valeria's corpo-side, framing my interest as professional curiosity about my past to avoid similar situations down the line. But that felt like walking into a minefield. If she even got a whiff of me slipping back into "old patterns," it could spell trouble. Risky business, to say the least. Then there was the idea of being upfront and specific —telling her that I wanted to connect with a JOI-girl. But that raised its own set of red flags.

Valeria would definitely want to know why, and saying it was for some long-term corporate strategy would sound hollow. I hadn't shown any interest or taken steps toward that direction so far. It'd be too obvious, too sudden. And if she got overzealous about the idea of me heading down a corpo-path? That could open a whole new can of worms.' But would that actually be so bad…?' I wondered. If my read on Valeria was right, she'd probably jump at the chance to mould me into a proper corpo-heir.

If I started seriously hinting that I was actually interested, she'd almost assuredly funnel her resources into making sure I was prepared. That would mean lessons, connections, and more opportunities to pick up new Skills and train a whole host of them at once. Not too shabby, in theory. The issue that I saw with that, though, was commitment. Once I took a step in that direction, there wouldn't be an easy out. Valeria definitely didn't strike me as the type to let her investment slip away without a fight.

If I accepted her resources and the grooming that came with it, I'd be tied to the corporate world for a while, potentially deeper than I'd like.' Could I even manage that? Would that be worth it in the long run?' I leaned back, chewing on the thought. It wasn't just about the immediate gain but the scale of what it might cost me down the road. A gamble with some serious stakes. Theoretically, there wasn't anything stopping me from diving into that world.

The corporate ladder in a cyberpunk dystopia was, surprisingly, one of the safer routes to take. Sure, it came with its fair share of headaches, but you were generally protected—corporations hated their assets being damaged, after all. The salary was decent enough to live on, and if you had the stomach for being cutthroat and strategic, there was room to climb up the social ladder. But that, much like everything else in this world, came at a steep price as well.

Corpo life was a trade-off with freedom, demanding your time, energy, and often your sanity. Endless hours, potentially mind-numbing desk work, and having to smile through the soul-sucking rituals of office politics. The very thought made my skin crawl.' Not a complete no-go, but definitely not my first pick,' I thought, sighing heavily. I let my mind run in circles over the pros and cons, as well as potential alternative avenues to approach Valeria on the topic of Rina's ID for what felt like an eternity.

Eventually however, I realised I was just burning through time without finding any real answers.

"I'll revisit this mess later," I muttered, getting up from the couch and turning on my heel to head to mine and Gabriel's room. Just as I took my first step, however, the sound of the door opening made me freeze mid-stride. Oliver stepped into the apartment, his eyes landing on me as he paused, clearly not expecting to find me hovering in the living room. We stared at each other for a moment before he raised a brow and cracked a small, awkward smile.

I was more than just a bit surprised to see him, considering that he had been so busy at work recently, that he had barely even come home to crash at night; much less be early enough to catch either me or Gabriel still awake.

"Uh… hey there, Sera," he said, closing the door behind him. His voice carried a hint of surprise.

"Didn't expect to see you just… standing there like that, I guess. You good?" I nodded, shifting my weight a bit awkwardly.

"Yeah, just... thinking, I guess. Didn't expect you to be home this early." The words came out a little sharper than I intended, but I wasn't exactly brimming with warmth where Oliver was concerned, not after the whole NeuroCorpse mess. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking more worn out than usual. The circles under his eyes seemed deeper, and his usually well-kept hair had taken on a dishevelled, stressed-out look.

"Yeah, it's been a long day. Work's been... Well, you know how it is," he said with a tired chuckle, trying to bridge the gap that had been widening between us. I crossed my arms, trying to keep my tone casual.

"Work issues still kicking your ass?" His eyes flickered with a hint of amusement before returning to that prior exhaustion.

"Kicking my ass is an understatement, if anything. But… Yeah, pretty much. FluxGear HQ sent over quite a number of runners recently to try and gather as much intel as they can about this whole issue; the loss of their first one is not sitting well with them—can't blame 'em, really… Lots of work to try and provide everything they need, while also trying to keep things sane. It's messy."

Oliver sat down at the kitchen table, pulling out his late-night dinner; a stall-bought box of fried rice—or so I pretended it to be; ignoring the fact that the rice was strangely bumpy and decidedly too bug-looking for my tastes. I decided now was as good a time as any to broach the topic that had been nagging at me.

"I… I wanted to ask you something, is that alright?" I tried to keep my voice steady, masking the underlying tension.

"Of course," he replied, perking up just a bit. Maybe he thought this was a step toward normalcy, an olive branch of sorts; maybe it was. I hesitated at first, unsure of how to broach the topic, but figured that Oliver was a good dry-run for when I had to confront Valeria about it, then pushed forward.

"It's about my old friends. Before the incident. Specifically... Rina." His brows shot up in surprise. He didn't quite mask the initial shock, but it quickly softened into something more contemplative.

"Rina... right." He sighed, running a hand over his face.

"I suppose it makes sense you'd ask about them. You were... surprisingly close, despite everything."

"Everything?" I pressed, my tone still guarded but my curiosity getting the better of me.

"Yeah," he said, eyes darting as if searching for the right words.

"Rina was—well, you know what she did for work. Valeria and I weren't exactly thrilled with that part of your life. But Rina was... She cared about you. That much I can't deny. Not something any father would ever be mad about, really." He paused, studying my face as if trying to read my reaction.

"I guess it's only natural for you to want to reconnect or at least understand that part of your life, right?" I nodded slowly, trying to keep my expression neutral even though my mind was already racing. This could be the opening I needed.

"Yeah, it's just... bits and pieces of memories don't tell me much. I want to know more, maybe even understand what happened to me; but I don't actually have her contact ID, or even know where to start. My old link, and the data on it, is with Valeria—" I stopped, watching as understanding dawned on him. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"She's protective," Oliver said, his voice weighted with something between frustration and understanding." Too protective, at times." I let out a scoff before I could stop myself, the sound cutting through the air awkwardly. The second it escaped, I regretted it, bracing for the reaction. Oliver's eyes narrowed, but not in anger—more like he was disappointed.

"Valeria is very protective. She's complicated, sure, and some of her choices… Yeah, they're tough to swallow, especially for you. But everything she does, it's to keep this family safe. You and Gabriel mean everything to her, even if it doesn't always look that way. You can trust me on that."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, eyes glued to my hands as if they'd suddenly become the most interesting thing in the room. I hadn't meant for my feelings to slip out, not when I was trying to stay strategic and composed. Whatever reasons Valeria might have had, I had serious doubts that NeuroCorps'ing your own children had any real positive merit in the grand scheme of things, outside of "force them to obey". I took a breath, forcing my Ego to the forefront to maintain control and wash out those thoughts.

This wasn't the time to let emotions cloud what I was aiming for. I needed information, not an argument. The last thing I wanted was for Oliver to pull back now when I was getting closer to potentially learning about stuff that I needed. Oliver sighed, softening a bit as he shook his head.

"It's not a big deal, Sera. I'm not exactly surprised, given your history with her. But… well, I was hoping that maybe, after the coma, things could get a little more cohesive around here." He paused, as if realising he was veering off track, and waved the thought away with a tired smile." Anyway, look, I know Valeria's approach can seem... intense. But she's been digging, really digging, to find out what happened to you that night. She's used quite a few resources to figure out how you ended up so close to…"

He trailed off, glancing away briefly, the memory of my near-death still raw.

"But so far, nothing concrete has come up." I kept my face neutral, but hearing that she'd tried and failed made me even more determined to play along that angle.

"I appreciate that she's been using resources and all, but there's one angle I doubt she's even considering," I said, keeping my tone steady, though I felt my pulse pick up until my Ego kicked in and forcibly calmed it back down again.

"The way you talk about her and your opinions on Rina's job, tells me she probably hasn't even tried asking people like Rina or any of the JOI girls in the area if they've heard anything." Oliver's brow furrowed, clearly weighing his next words.

"Sera, those girls... They're not exactly the type of people who'd want to cooperate, let alone get involved in something like this. And honestly, they might not know anything, or they could even mislead you for their own reasons too."

"True," I conceded, keeping my gaze steady on Oliver.

"But if there's even a chance that Rina—or someone like her—might've seen or overheard something, isn't it worth checking out? And hey, Valeria doesn't have to get her hands dirty here either. That's my whole point. I can reach out to Rina, get back in touch, maybe even chat up a few people with her and see if anything useful comes up. Isn't it better to have some kind of clue about what went down? You know, the thing that almost got me killed? Beats leaving us all in the dark, doesn't it?"

I knew I was laying it on thick, even pulling out the "I almost died" card, and I didn't miss the way that line made Oliver visibly flinch, a clear flash of discomfort crossing his face. He paused, clearly caught in a tug-of-war with himself, then sighed.

"I just don't want you getting your hopes up, alright? And, to be real with you, Valeria's resources are a lot more involved than… Well, one person asking around; no offence." I shrugged, keeping my tone relaxed but steady.

"I get it. But come on, you think Valeria or one of her people are about to stroll into a JOI club and start grilling people and actually expecting any real answers? I don't even need all my memories to know that JOI girls wouldn't tell corpo-suits anything without a very good reason being presented." Oliver let out a long, heavy sigh, the kind that seemed to carry the weight of a dozen silent arguments. It was the sound of him accepting that I wasn't going to back down.

"Alright, here's what we'll do," he said, sounding like he was already regretting it.

"Valeria's planning to be home for dinner on Friday, so you can bring it up then. I'll try to nudge her in that direction, but…" He paused, eyes narrowing as if a new thought had just settled in, one that solidified whatever line he was about to draw.

"But I'm only agreeing to get you Rina's ID. And let's be clear—I'm more than happy that that Luca guy is out of your life, and I plan to keep it that way. Valeria wouldn't even entertain the idea of handing over that criminal's ID, not in a million years; so don't bother trying." The sudden steel in his voice caught me off guard. I couldn't remember the last time I'd heard Oliver speak with that much conviction, or really, any conviction at all. It was like watching a new side of him crack through the surface.

The way he spoke about Luca, like the guy was a walking storm cloud, told me there was absolutely no wiggle room here. And, honestly, I was fine with that. Tracking down Luca was the last thing on my to-do list. After everything Gabriel had let slip about him and original Sera's history, staying far, far away sounded like the smarter move anyway. The news that Valeria would be home for dinner—the same day I had my meeting with Vega's Operator contact—sent a chill straight through me.

Dinners with Valeria ranked pretty low on my list of "favourite ways to spend an evening."

"Deal; only Rina," I said, holding out my hand to seal the agreement. To my surprise, Oliver's stern expression softened, and a smile broke through. Before I could question it, he shook my hand and added, "You know, as much as you and Valeria don't always see eye to eye, you're more alike than you realise."

"Huh?" was all I managed. He just chuckled, leaving me hanging, and smoothly switched topics.

"Say, Sera… how are you feeling, really? It's been, what, about a month since we brought you back from the hospital? You've been exploring the Megabuilding, hitting your stride again—and putting on some impressive muscle, by the looks of it." He paused, giving me a once-over that felt more like a concerned father and less like a casual check.

"But I have to ask… are you actually okay? With all of this? The memory loss, the changes, living here?" I blinked, caught off guard by the unexpectedly deep line of questioning. Oliver wasn't exactly the type to go for heart-to-hearts—or at least, that's what I'd thought up until now. His questions weren't just in-depth; they were strangely specific, especially that last one.' Living here…?' I repeated in my head, puzzled. What was he getting at with that?

"I'm doing fine, really," I said, still running through my thoughts, trying to figure out if there was something I was missing.

"The memory loss is… well, it's annoying sometimes. But it's hard to feel the absence of something when you don't even know what it is you're missing, you know? Like, I can't exactly miss friends if I didn't even know I had any to start with, right?" Oliver's smile faltered a bit, like he was trying to keep it together but couldn't help the twinge of sympathy that crept in. Still, he stayed quiet, letting me speak. I decided to just be upfront with the rest. No point in skirting around it.

"And living here? I mean, I'm not sure what you're hoping to hear. You guys could stand to dust-off and vacuum around the apartment a bit more; it wouldn't kill anyone to do a little cleanup now and then. But other than that, no complaints. I guess it'd be nice to have my own room, so I don't have to bunk with Gabe—" I rambled off the list of minor inconveniences without much thought, but I stopped short when I noticed Oliver's expression hadn't changed.

He was still looking at me, but there was an intensity in his eyes that told me I was off the mark. He was searching for something deeper, something I hadn't touched on, and I realised with a jolt that my answers weren't quite scratching the surface of whatever he really wanted to know. Oliver then chuckled, giving me a sheepish shrug.

"Thanks for being honest, Sera. I'll see what I can do about keeping things a bit cleaner around here. Though, between you and me, I doubt much will change with how work's been lately; sorry to say. This whole issue's got me so tangled up I'm practically living there as it is…" He paused, glancing around the apartment as if seeing it through fresh eyes.

"To be fair, we'd barely had a chance to get comfortable here ourselves before…" He trailed off, his gaze flicking to me and then away, as though he'd said more than he meant to.

"Before the whole coma thing, I take it?" I asked, testing the waters.

"Yeah," he nodded, a slight hesitation in his voice.

"We weren't exactly settled yet, you know? Place still doesn't feel… Well, it doesn't quite feel like home yet." He offered me a smile, but it was edged with something unspoken, something he wasn't ready to put into words.

"But you're doing well, I think. Seems like you're re-settling pretty quickly. That's good… Very good."

"Yeah, I mean… I guess it's easier for me to settle when I don't remember anything else, I guess." I laughed a bit, but Oliver's face didn't quite soften the way I thought it might. Instead, he nodded, looking almost thoughtful, like he was taking mental notes.

"Right," he said, his voice a touch quieter.

"It's just… look, don't read too much into my questions. I just wanted to check in, see how things are feeling for you here." He looked around the apartment again, his gaze lingering on a few odd spots—areas where things were still a bit bare, like they'd been filled in last-minute.

"If anything's bothering you around here, or there's anything you're missing, just say the word." I frowned, unsure what he was getting at.

"It's fine, really. Some more space would be nice; like I said. But really, it's fine. Gabe's not horrible to room with," I shrugged, trying to keep it light, but his eyes tightened, like he was focusing on every word.

"Of course, of course," he said, nodding almost to himself.

"Just curious about how the recovery's coming along, you know? Nothing more." His tone was casual, but I could feel there was something beneath it, something unspoken that made the conversation feel completely off. He clearly wasn't just asking out of concern. He was being strangely cryptic, maybe even a little guarded, which was completely outside the norm for Oliver. But with nothing concrete to go on, I decided to hold my tongue, watching him for any more hints instead.

"Well, anyway," Oliver said, the warmth returning to his voice as he shifted back to his usual self, "don't let me keep you. I'm just going to grab a bite and crash for the night; got another round of runners coming in at dawn, so it'll be another short rest for me." He offered a weary smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"It was nice catching up, Sera. Stay safe, alright?"

"Yeah, you too, Oliver. And thanks," I replied, my voice carrying more casual confidence than I felt. He nodded once, his expression settling into a familiar blend of exhaustion and quiet concern before he turned his full attention to the fried "rice" in front of him. The soft clinking of the utensils and the low hum of the fridge filled the space as I turned away. I crossed the short distance to the room Gabe and I shared, my mind still looping around the strange conversation with Oliver.

'What was up with him today? And what did he mean by "living here"…?' The more I replayed it, the weirder it all felt. It was the kind of cryptic talk I'd expect from Valeria, but Oliver? Not so much. I made a mental note to ask Gabe about it the next time we had a proper chat. Maybe there was something in the family's past that I was missing completely, some context that would make Oliver's questions make sense. But for now, I needed to stop chewing on all the thoughts inside my head before I drove myself crazy.

It was going to take days, maybe weeks, for any of the things I had learned today to make sense, and I had more pressing things to focus on. With a sigh, I sank onto my bed, grabbing my deck and making myself comfortable. Before diving into my work, I did a quick end-of-day check on my account. [=== Account: Seraphine Vildea ===] [Credits: 533 {c}]"Sheesh…" I muttered with a grin. That was more Creds than I'd ever seen in one place for myself. Vega and Mr.

Stirling had both come through with their payments—450 Credits for the weapon sale and another 120 for data collection—which meant I finally had a little nest egg. And 533 credits? No matter how you sliced it, that was a lot of cash for someone like me. Gabe's words from earlier floated through my mind, about how long it had taken him to save up 570 credits for that SPG-01 shard. The basic ramen boxes at Mr. Shori's went for only 3 Credits each, so theoretically, I could buy 177 portions now.

The thought of lying on this very bed surrounded by a mountain of ramen boxes made me giggle. But, of course, that wasn't what this money was for. I needed it if I was serious about upgrading myself and ensuring Jade was equipped to handle a real mission.

The idea of putting her in danger didn't sit right with me, but the reality was that she might be my best bet as a partner going forward, especially for anything that required leaving the Megabuilding—whether it was the final data-collection task or some other Operator job. Jade had a well-travelled air about her, much like her sisters, and there was a decent chance she'd been outside the Megabuilding before.

Spending some creds to ensure she was better equipped and maybe even liked me a bit more felt like a solid investment. Plus, keeping her safe would keep Vega off my back, and avoiding a hit on my head seemed like a more than reasonable plan. I still needed to put together a proper Operator kit, too. Things like a grapple, rope, lightsticks, anti-flash glasses, lockpicks, and a small toolkit—useful, lightweight items that could fit into my backpack without slowing me down.

'Oh, and duct tape. Can't forget about duct tape,' I thought with a smirk, mentally adding it to my shopping list. Altogether, those items shouldn't eat too much into my budget, leaving enough credits to pick up anything Jade might need, or anything that I might stumble across, when we went out shopping. But all of that could wait until after the Operator meeting. That was priority number one.

With those thoughts neatly squared away for later, I powered up the deck and dove back into my coding project, ready to get lost in the familiar rhythm of it all for the next eight-or-so hours…