[M's Mansion – North Oak]
The morning sunlight slashed through the tall windows like golden scalpels.
M sat barefoot in a silk-black robe on his villa's terrace, sipping a dense, bitter cup of real espresso. His eyes weren't looking at the view of Night City's glittering chaos.
They were scanning through market dashboards, floating in holograms before him.
Hundreds of them.
He moved his fingers like a maestro, shifting screens with gestures. Graphs of Zetatech, Militech, Biotechnica, Kang Tao, Petrochem, Orbital Air, and Arasaka rotated like a carousel of corporate greed.
"Everything here... is blood turned into stock options," he muttered.
M's supernatural mind—the result of Intelligence: 10—was churning at inhuman speeds.
In his past life, he had read every forum post, obscure lore wiki, and lore-dump on Reddit. He remembered every fictional future earnings forecast, the rise and fall of corporate empires—even the glitches in Cyberpunk 2077 players joked about that led to stock price dips in the lore.
Now that memory was a razor.
He remembered:
Kang Tao's Q4 collapse due to the bad public testing of the Smart-Rifle X.
Petrochem's lunar refinery leak that would soon be exposed, driving their stock to the floor for two weeks before it rebounded.
**Zetatech's merger with lesser-known "Synapsys Biotech" that would later cause a surge.
He started placing calculated positions using offshore encrypted brokers, ensuring nothing was directly traceable to his identity.
"Fifty million to start," he whispered.
Stock breakdown:
Zetatech (ZTK) – 8MBuy before Synapsys merger – expect a 60% jump in 4 months.
Petrochem (PTC) – 7MShort position based on the upcoming leak – sell in 9 days.
Orbital Air (OAC) – 6MInvest in the suborbital cargo relaunch division – huge contracts to be revealed in a month.
Militech (MLC) – 12MBuy low now – it will surge after the Northside conflict breaks out.
Kang Tao (KT-Sec) – 10MShort-term sell after the prototype rifle reveal goes wrong. Reinvest after the crash.
Biotechnica (BTC) – 7MTargeting their agricultural line after the Night City drought starts.
Miscellaneous tech startups – 2MFor safe diversifying and AI algorithm training.
All were set on auto-sell triggers according to remembered spikes or dips. Timing was key.
"With this… I won't just stay rich. I'll own the game board."
M closed the displays with a flick of the hand, smirking.
That's when he heard soft, rushed footsteps behind him.
[ Mansion Study]
"M… can I please ask for a favour.... ".
He turned in his chair slowly. Gloria Martinez stood at the doorway, still pale, weak, but alive. Dressed in a soft robe, hair brushed back. Her eyes were wide with worry.
"Gloria?"
"I..... I know you said to rest, but I haven't been able to reach David. He's my son, please. He hasn't called, not even a message. Something's wrong, I know it."
M placed the espresso cup down gently, voice even.
"Alright," he said. "I'll look into it. Go lie down. I'll handle this."
She paused. Looked like she wanted to say more. But M's tone left no room.
She nodded once and left.
DING.
[System Notification – Mission Received]Edgerunners Arch – Mission 2: Help David and secure his future.The more stable and prosperous his life becomes, the greater the reward.
M snorted and leaned back in his chair.
"I keep saying I'm not a hero…"He chuckled to himself. "But damn, these rewards are lucrative."
[Hours earlier – Lucy's Apartment]
"What do we do with him, Maine? choom?".Pilar's cybernetic fingers tapped against the table.
David stood tense, arms crossed, with Lucy behind him—eyes unreadable.
Maine, towering and scarred, stood up from his chair. Muscles flexed under his jacket.
"He's got the Sandevistan. Gloria was my friend. But this? This is business."
"She's dead," David snapped. "Died in some corpo hit-job accident—two days ago."
The words hit Maine harder than any punch. His face hardened, but his tone dropped.
"Shit…"
Pilar flicked his cigarette away, annoyed.
"Still don't explain why he's twitching in our chair."
David gritted his teeth—and activated the Sandevistan.
In a blur, he disappeared from view—
—then reappeared with Pilar's cig in his hand.
"Borrowed this," he said. And slipped it back in his Pilar's lips.
The crew fell into stunned silence.
Even Maine's eye twitched, then curled into a smirk.
"Kid's got something, I'll give him that."
David turned to Lucy.
"I trusted you."
"You shouldn't trust anyone", she replied softly.But he didn't answer.
[Back in Arroyo – Gloria's Old Apartment]
David sat on the ratty old couch, hunched forward, hands over his face.
He felt broken. Empty. Betrayed.
Knock. Knock.
His eyes narrowed.
"What now…"
He opened the door.
And standing there, tall, confident, sharp-dressed in black and gold—
—was M.
"So," M said coolly, stepping in like he owned the place. "You're Ms. Martinez's son."
David narrowed his eyes.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Call me M. I knew your mother. I must say you're… a bit of a disappointment."
"The fuck did you just say?"
The tone, the look—David cracked.The Sandevistan flared, and in a blink, he lunged at M with a wild punch—
Only to find himself midair, flipped like a rag doll, his arm twisted, chest pressed to the floor.
He didn't even see how M even moved from where he stood.
"Lesson number one," M said, pressing a boot lightly on David's shoulder."Weak people don't get to be angry. They die faster if they get angry".
David groaned.
M reached down and helped him up.
"Now that that's settled... your mother's alive. And she wants to see you."
David blinked.Everything in him froze.
"What…?"
[Outside – Night City Streets]
The Aerondight S9 Guinevere purred like a beast.David stood by it, eyes wide, awestruck.
"Is… this yours?"
"Get in."
The doors lifted open. Gold trim. Black leather. Engines hot.
As the doors hissed shut behind them and the city lights raced past in blurred neon—
David still hadn't said a word.