Lucy blinked, finally snapping out of her thoughts.
A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she shook her head, unsure if she was laughing at herself for zoning out or at David's strange behavior.
Then, without hesitation, she took a step forward.
And sat down beside him.
Now closer, she took a moment to really study him.
Black hair, just long enough to brush against his eyebrows.
Deep brown-black eyes, intense yet strangely warm.
Standard Asian features, yet somehow strikingly well-defined.
Maybe it was the shifting lights from outside the train windows, but for a split second, Lucy found him...
Surprisingly pleasant to look at.
At the very least, he didn't have the same cold, dead-eyed look as most people in Night City.
"You ever met me before?" she asked, her voice casual but curious.
David nodded—then immediately shook his head.
Lucy raised an eyebrow before letting out a light giggle.
"You talk kinda weird."
The corners of her eyes curved up as she smiled, her expression playful yet unreadable.
Still, she didn't push for an explanation.
This was Night City, after all.
Who had the time to care about things that weren't related to money?
But just as she was laughing, her blue eyes flashed red.
David instantly knew what she was doing.
He sighed, shaking his head with a wry smile.
This girl really had a hundred tricks up her sleeve.
One second, she was chatting and laughing.
The next, she was hacking into his information without hesitation.
Lucy, of course, wasn't just a street thief.
That was just her side hustle.
A top-tier netrunner.
With just a glance, she could scan a person's cyberware, history, financial records—anything worth knowing.
And as the scan completed, her smile faded slightly.
Her expression shifted into pure surprise.
The guy sitting across from her...
Not a single implant.
Not even a basic neural link.
A total "preem" human.
Lucy narrowed her eyes.
"You don't have any cyberware?"
David nodded. "Nope."
David shrugged. "I'm afraid of pain."
Lucy frowned. "There's anesthetic, y'know."
"Still hurts afterward."
"...Then just upgrade to better pain dampeners."
For a moment, she didn't know whether to be amused or frustrated.
She had never heard anyone in Night City give such a dumb-yet-logical excuse for not having cyberware.
She shook her head with a helpless smile, then stood up, stretching.
"Listen, guy," she said, flipping her short hair back with a casual flick of her wrist.
"You're not cut out for this city. If you wanna live, you should leave while you still can."
David just watched as she turned away, casually strolling toward another train compartment.
Lucy stopped, glancing back over her shoulder.
David leaned back against his seat, arms crossed.
"How about we work together?"
The idea was so ridiculous that she actually doubled over laughing.
Between breaths, she managed to ask, "What exactly do you think we can 'cooperate' on?"
David pulled out a small credit chip from his pocket.
Lucy raised an eyebrow.
"You do the legwork. I handle the goods. We split the payout—thirty-seventy."
She burst out laughing again.
"Hahaha—oh, man, you're killing me!"
She wiped a nonexistent tear from her eye.
"I don't know if you're joking or just crazy."
Grinning, she leaned in, gently poking his forehead with a slender finger.
"Hey, did you go cyberpsycho without even installing cyberware first?"
Lucy shook her head, still amused.
"Do you even know what happens if you get caught stealing chips in Night City?"
David shrugged. "I'm guessing it's not a free pass to the VIP lounge?"
"Try getting flatlined."
Lucy crossed her arms. "Listen, I don't have time to play with you. I got work to do—"
She turned away again—
But before she could finish her sentence, David casually held up a different credit chip.
"Then how about this?"
Lucy glanced at it—and scoffed.
"That's just a platinum chip. I've got one myself."
She waved dismissively.
But halfway through her sentence—
Her hand shot to the chip slot behind her ear.
Her platinum credit chip was gone.
Her pupils shrank as realization hit.
"Wait—THAT'S MY CHIP!!"
She never even noticed him take it.
Lucy was a netrunner.
A top-class pickpocket.
She had stolen from the best, outplayed the smartest.
This completely unmodified human—
Had just stolen from HER without her even realizing it.
David twirled the chip between his fingers with an easy smile.
"Still think I can't cooperate with you?"
For the first time in a long time, someone had genuinely surprised her.