Lin Mo wasn't sure if his little speech had actually worked.
At one point, David even cluelessly asked what "fortune-telling" meant.
So Lin Mo took the opportunity to introduce him to the concept of cultivation and fantasy worlds. Drawing on his extensive reading back on Blue Star, he managed to completely bamboozle David with tales of "my fate is mine, not heaven's" and "thirty years east, thirty years west."
In a cyberpunk world, this kind of knowledge was certainly ahead of its time, but for someone who had never been exposed to such stories, it stirred something deep in David's heart.
Now, David sat there staring out the window, completely dazed.
After all those heavy-hitting words, he hadn't said a single thing in response. That alone showed Lin Mo had struck a nerve.
Words hold power—when your words cut into someone's soul like a blade, you have to give them time to process the wound.
So Lin Mo let the silence settle, withdrawing his gaze and looking forward again.
Like the calm after a storm, the car now sat in a heavy, contemplative atmosphere.
David's head was down. His eyes were vacant, his foot tapping anxiously. Lin Mo's words echoed in his mind.
—Are you living for others, or are you living for yourself?
The question had been cutting. It struck a chord inside him, reverberating deep in places even he hadn't explored.
Instinctively, he wanted to dismiss it all as nonsense. After all, what did they have between them? At best, they were decent classmates—maybe friends if you stretched it.
Who the hell was Lin Mo anyway? A rich kid trying to empathize with someone like him? Please.
David's adolescent defiance boiled up. He wanted to argue. But as he mentally flipped through the pages of his own life, he realized… dammit, Lin Mo might have a point.
He'd been carrying his mother's expectations for as long as he could remember. Her praise for his talents had always filled him with pride. But it was always a mix—on one hand, her warmth and encouragement; on the other, bullying and ridicule at school.
Maybe Lin Mo was right. Maybe he was just living out the path his mother had set for him. Maybe she really was the only person who'd ever seen anything worthwhile in him…
But then again—was it her recognition that led him to Arasaka Academy? Or had he enrolled just to earn that recognition?
David sank deeper into his seat, softer than anything he had at home. Lin Mo said nothing, giving him space.
Eventually, David lifted his head, glanced at Lin Mo, and quietly asked:
"Is that... really so bad?"
Hearing the question, Lin Mo let out a silent sigh of relief.
"I never said it was bad. But the question is still the same: are you living for others or for yourself?"
"You told me once that your mom wanted you to graduate and work at Arasaka. That's fine. Every parent wants their kid to succeed."
At this, Lin Mo paused, thinking briefly of his sister—the one who pampered him without limit.
"But think about it: if you're only living to fulfill someone else's dream, can you really be happy? And will the people you care about be truly happy?"
"Why not?" David frowned, displeased by the question.
Just because some of it made sense didn't mean he was about to drop his whole worldview over one heart-to-heart.
"Alright, let me ask you this—has your mom ever said something like 'I want you to become this or that'?"
"She once said… she wanted me to stand at the top of Arasaka," David muttered.
Lin Mo chuckled and nodded.
"Classic mom dream, huh? But let me rephrase it: would you be willing to use Arasaka Academy as a stepping stone, working your ass off, selling your soul if needed, all to stand at the top of Arasaka like your mom wants?"
"Hell no. That'd make me just like Zheng Nan and his crew," David replied in disgust. "If my mom hadn't made me go to school, I'd have dropped out and gotten a job already."
"Exactly. That's why I'm saying—you're a kid who's used to living for others. You're numb, and you're not as mature as you think you are," Lin Mo said, grinning.
David glared at him. You're the same age as me, man. Who died and made you Buddha?
"Okay, different question then. Let's say you made it—one day you're standing at the top of Arasaka Tower, looking down at everyone who ever looked down on you. Would you be happy?"
David went quiet. He pictured it: himself, standing proud at the peak, the world beneath him.
A smile crept across his face.
"Yeah. I'd be happy."
"See? That's what living for yourself looks like," Lin Mo said with satisfaction.
"And imagine if it was you who punched Zheng Nan that day instead of me. Wouldn't you have laughed out loud?"
"…Yeah!" David clenched his fist unconsciously.
"What if you bought a house someday—one you earned with your own hands, not because your mom mapped your life out. Would you be proud?"
"…Yeah."
"And if—"
...
Lin Mo kept the questions coming. And David's eyes—once dull and lifeless—began to shine. He no longer looked indifferent or like a kid pretending to be grown-up.
Lin Mo paused.
If I pull out the business card now and start talking about the workshop's future, wouldn't that just make me some shady boss tricking kids into under-the-table gigs?
He chuckled silently and pushed the thought aside—for now.
"Apathetic. Pretending to be mature. That's the life you've lived, David. That's why you drown yourself in Black Dream. You pretend to be grown-up, following your mom's every wish. You never learned to adapt or think for yourself."
"She wants you to rise to the top of Arasaka. But maybe what she really wants is for you to succeed in life. And instead of asking whether her dream makes sense, you just blindly follow it. If that doesn't change, you and your mom are headed for disappointment."
Was Gloria right to gamble everything just to get David into Arasaka Academy? Lin Mo wasn't going to judge.
It's what any loving mother would do—bet everything so her kid can have a future.
But this was Night City. Here, the odds of success were not in your favor.
Best case scenario? David gets a job at Arasaka, ends up a low-level employee, maybe burdened with some weird debt. If he's lucky, maybe he climbs to middle management.
And the internal company politics? Forget it.
Worst case? He fails. And the simulation had already told Lin Mo what that looked like.
It was a bad gamble, plain and simple. The kind only a desperate mother would make.
The "from rags to riches" story? Rare. Even in the game, it existed only in a few legendary side quests.
Like that one NPC—Maiko Maeda. She clawed her way up from sex work to power. If her story was made into a book, it'd be a full-on cyberpunk Cinderella tale.
Lin Mo decided it was finally time.
He pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to David.
"Anyway, regardless of what you were before, I hope you'll change."
"You're still not the person I had in mind. But legends don't just happen—they grow. I won't give you too much help, but I'll give you a chance."
"David Martinez, I formally invite you to join my team. What do you say?"
Lin Mo locked eyes with him.
If David said no, Lin Mo was done. After all, Night City was full of other promising people—like Jackie, or even V. Solid from day one.
David blinked. He looked down at the card.
Yup. Right there: "Lin's Garbage Disposal Workshop."
What the hell. After all that passion? It's still a trash gig. He couldn't help but laugh.
Still, something inside him had shifted. It felt like he'd just faced a mirror for the first time in his life.
A seed had been planted. Whether it would grow—well, that was up to fate.
But for now, they were definitely friends. And he had no reason to turn Lin Mo down.
"Your crappy little garbage workshop—if I don't help, who will?"
David's teen spirit flared. He smiled defiantly and took the card.
Up until now, his mom was the only one who'd believed in him.
But now… it seemed like someone else did too. Someone his age. A friend.
"Pfft. You think I was serious about the garbage stuff?" Lin Mo sighed. "Take a closer look at the card—peel off the outer layer."
David blinked, examining the card.
At first glance, it looked like cheap plastic. But it was oddly heavy.
He scraped the surface with his fingernail, and sure enough—the outer layer came off.
Beneath it?
A gleaming golden core.
-
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