Gloria was sitting in front of the vanity screen, using a brow trimmer to carefully touch up her eyebrows.
She had put on a bit of light makeup today because she was planning to go out and look for a new job.
After several days of proper sleep, much of the weariness and exhaustion around her eyes had faded.
Gloria set down the trimmer, lightly patted her cheeks in front of the mirror, then tried her best to force a smile.
She had already spent several days waiting at home, but the news she wanted had never come, so she felt it was more important to find work first.
She had only just managed to save a little money, and all of it had gone to Arasaka Academy to cover the damages David had caused.
There were still rent, utilities, food, clothing, and all kinds of living expenses ahead.
Ever since leaving the public medical center, she did not have much time left to cushion herself.
Gloria took that yellow work jacket down from the hanger.
The cuffs and collar had faded and worn a little.
The jacket was sturdy and durable. Once the old company logo was removed, it could easily pass as an everyday work jacket.
She smoothed the creases out, slipped it over her shoulders, threaded her pale slender arms through the sleeves, then gave it a shake. It still fit loosely and comfortably.
"It's a little old, but as long as it's practical, that's enough."
After getting dressed, Gloria was about to leave when she suddenly received a message.
She turned the aperture of her artificial eye to check it.
Mr. Kai?
Her breathing tightened slightly as she opened it.
"Mr. Kai is coming here again?"
She had not expected Kai, who had not contacted her for several days, to suddenly ask to meet today, and to choose her home as the place.
The key point was that he would be here in half an hour.
That caught Gloria completely off guard. The foot she had just stepped out with immediately pulled back inside.
She turned around and realized the apartment was still a mess. The table, the sofa, the floor, everything looked untidy.
Some of her private clothes had just been taken out of the dryer and were still piled around her bedroom.
She panicked.
Gloria held a hand to her forehead and thought for a moment. Replying to Kai first was the important part.
"Got it, I'll wait for you at home."
The words appeared on screen, but she immediately felt something was off. It sounded strange.
She hurriedly deleted it and replied with only two words.
"Got it."
After sending the message, Gloria rushed back inside and started cleaning up as fast as she could.
The last time Kai had come over, David had been sick, so she had not had time to prepare anything.
Now David was already at school, and she was at home alone. If the place was still such a mess, it would make her look ridiculous in front of an outsider.
Gloria did not want to leave Kai with a bad impression.
Especially after agreeing to that matter at Embers, she felt more and more off balance whenever she faced him.
A corporate executive.
The man who saved her life.
Possibly even the future benefactor who might support her.
The extreme imbalance in their positions had forced even someone as strong and independent as Gloria to soften her attitude.
Her thoughts were a mess. She shoved all the clothes into the wardrobe in one sweep and shut the bedroom door.
She cleared the trash from the living room and quickly wiped down the sofa and the table.
Then she went back to the vanity screen and checked her face again, making sure she looked at least presentable.
After that, she headed downstairs to greet the guest who was about to arrive.
Standing below the megabuilding, Gloria kept looking up and down the road.
Several Arasaka company sedans passed by her, but all of them drove straight past without stopping.
Then, in the distance to the right, she spotted a somewhat familiar figure.
A full black suit.
A steady stride.
Completely out of place with the street fashion of Santo Domingo.
Street culture saturated all of Santo Domingo. It was rare to see a neatly dressed corpo walking around on foot here.
As the figure drew closer, Gloria confirmed it really was Kai. Unlike last time, he was wearing black-framed glasses now, which gave him a touch more refinement.
Gloria took the initiative and waved to show him where she was.
Kai noticed the fiery red ponytail and the bright yellow jacket and recognized that it was Gloria waving at him.
The two of them quickly met up.
Gloria smiled a little awkwardly and explained, "Mr. Kai, this was really sudden today. I don't have anything at home to properly receive you with."
"If you don't mind, we can go somewhere else and talk."
Kai had already been here once before, so he headed straight toward the building with ease.
"No need to spend extra money. I came to see you about something important."
"At this hour, David still hasn't gotten out of school yet, right?"
Gloria nodded. "David eats lunch at the school cafeteria and only comes home after classes end in the afternoon."
"Good. Then let's handle the important matter first. It's urgent."
The two of them went back up to the apartment. Kai took a brief look around. It had not changed much since the last time.
He walked over and sat down on the sofa, then turned his head and saw Gloria taking wine glasses out of a cabinet.
"No alcohol. Let's talk business first."
Hearing that, Gloria hurriedly stuffed the glasses back in, shut the cabinet door, and sat down on the sofa across from him.
Kai directly took out a tiny data chip and handed it over.
Gloria straightened slightly and accepted it with both hands, trying to stay as polite as possible. Seeing that his expression was calm as usual, she relaxed a little.
"Check what's on the chip first."
Gloria inserted the tiny chip into her neural interface, and the related information appeared in her artificial eye.
[Name: Riley Hein]
[Identity: Valentinos gang member]
[Content: Went missing eight days ago. Last seen in Watson the night before...]
Gloria finished reading the contents quickly, and her expression turned serious.
"A Valentinos member, last seen in Watson. If nobody can reach him, then he may have been abducted. Could Maelstrom be involved?"
Kai explained, "That's one possibility. The commission is simple: find Riley Hein."
"The Valentinos have already spent several days looking for him. They searched through the Net and sent people out on the ground, but they still haven't found any leads."
"It's not convenient for me to handle this directly. I want you to solve it."
As he spoke, Kai transferred thirty thousand eddies into Gloria's account.
After receiving the operational funds, Gloria had not expected her partnership as a fixer to begin just like this.
Simple.
Clear.
Direct.
She recovered from her surprise quickly. "Understood. What's the deadline?"
"As soon as possible. Whether he's alive or dead, I want an answer."
In truth, it would have been easy for Kai to use Arasaka's resources to investigate this.
The reason he was handing it to Gloria was mainly to give her a chance.
A chance to prove herself.
If she could seize it, then she would show that she truly had what it took to become a real fixer.
There was another reason too.
Using corporate resources would leave a formal record behind.
This was a private favor from Jack, and Kai had no intention of drawing the attention of certain people inside the company.
So giving it to Gloria was exactly the right move.
After accepting the job and the operational funds, Gloria solemnly promised she would do everything she could to complete the commission.
Kai knew Gloria already had some connections.
Thanks to her previous identity as an emergency medical technician at the public medical center, and through reselling cyberware, she had already met people like Maine and other edgerunners.
But a real fixer was not just someone with contacts.
Fixers had territory, status, and recognition.
If Gloria wanted to formally step into that world, she would need the people in it to recognize her.
And for her first appearance, Kai intended to give her the kind of stage a fixer ought to have.
(End of Chapter)
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