Even the tough guy Jackie seemed to have had enough of the daily grind, as he was completely out of commission the next day. The fact that he'd called instead of just sending a text meant he was seriously wiped out.
During their conversation, Nate learned that Jackie had given most of the previous day's 110,000 Eddie cut to Mama Welles, which had been a huge help in keeping El Coyote Cojo afloat.
Digging deeper, it seemed there had been some trouble when Jackie left the Valentinos. To settle things honorably, Mama Welles had dipped into her own savings to pay a substantial "severance" fee to the gang. This had left both their living standards and the bar's finances on shaky ground.
While Mama Welles was overjoyed at the sudden windfall, she was also deeply worried, fearing they'd crossed a dangerous bridge. Well, it was true that earning 110,000 eddies in a single night was undeniably high-intensity hunting…
Even with the Militech "Apogee" Sandevistan allowing Nate to clear each gig in about five minutes, Jackie had apparently been stressed trying to keep up and avoid friendly fire while Nate zipped around at high speed.
That was a point Nate needed to reflect on. This wasn't the game where you could ignore friendly fire; this was reality now…
Not that a punny Rank 2 or 3 goon's bullet to the head would even scratch him, but still.
He'd made sure to turn off the Sandevistan's 'Kerenzikov' perk that emitted an electromagnetic pulse on deactivation. The collateral damage from that would be insane. Worse than that, though, was the creepy girlish laughter he started hearing after consecutive uses.
For a moment, Nate genuinely thought he was succumbing to cyberpsychosis.
'Maybe I should switch between the Sandy and the Kerenzikov more carefully instead of spamming it. Probably won't actually make me snap, but still…'
Well, with his day suddenly wide open, Nate decided to move the bulk of his belongings into the apartment he'd bought in the H4 Megabuilding.
The furniture he'd ordered online was scheduled to arrive around noon, so he figured he'd get done what he could before then.
Nate knew from experience that the longer you put this stuff off, the more annoying it gets. Seizing the day, he started chucking his mattress, pillows, and other essentials into his inventory, making for an effortless move.
It was all over in about three hours…
Whether it was due to his Body attribute being maxed at 20 or the ability to place items directly from his inventory, he'd even managed the online delivery boxes with ease, finishing the job way too quickly…
'Now I can live here from today, but what should I do?'
"…That's right. When you move in, you're supposed to greet the neighbors above, below, and to the sides. And for that, you need 'moving-in soba'… Time for online shopping again."
Striking while the iron was hot, he went to the premium Japanese food specialty site favored by Arasaka employees and boldly ordered 24 servings of the top-rated, 5-star, 100% natural Shinano Soba. He requested it to be packaged as six separate sets of four servings each.
Who was he going to give them to besides the immediate neighbors? Well, some were for himself, of course, and for Jackie. Knowing Jackie, he'd undoubtedly share his remaining three servings with Mama Welles, Viktor, and Misty. 'Absolutely no doubt about it.'
It was all-natural, after all.
So what if it costs 12,000 eddies?
It was 24 servings.
No one would mind… right?
The delivery was scheduled for tomorrow. 'It's 2077 after all'. The logistics network wasn't just limited to rail and air; there was even interstellar cargo transport.
'Surely they wouldn't ship mere soba noodles via space freight… right?' Nate thought.
-- David Martinez's Perspective
One evening, the intercom buzzed. When his mother opened the front door, he saw a woman he didn't recognize standing there, holding a package wrapped in what looked like a furoshiki cloth.
She had platinum blonde hair and four purple eyes—a beautiful woman you wouldn't forget once you'd seen her.
Eavesdropping from nearby, David gathered she had just moved in next door yesterday.
He remembered the neuro-booster junkie who used to live there, skipping out a few days ago, making their usual racket, but he never expected someone like this to move in right after.
When he glanced toward the woman talking with his mother, their eyes met, and she smiled at him. He instantly looked away, his face probably turning red.
After a moment, she handed the package to his mother and returned to the apartment next door.
"Mom, what did she give you?"
"Ah, this? Well… It's apparently a Japanese tradition. When you move in, you're supposed to give 'soba' noodles to the neighbors above, below, and to your sides."
"Huh~. Sounds like a hassle of a tradition."
"Well, we got to benefit from that weird tradition, so no complaints… Let's see now… Wha—!?"
His mother let out a startled shriek as she opened the furoshiki. She was so shocked that she stood completely frozen. 'What's going on?'
Peeking from the side, David saw a box made of natural wood with some kanji written on it. He'd seen kanji in Westbrook's Japantown, so he had a translation app installed. He focused, and the kanji flickered in his vision, converting to alphabet.
"Let's see… 'Sincerely Made,' 'Shinano Soba,' 'Made in Japan,' 'Premium Grade,' 'No Additives,' '100% Natural Ingredients,' '4 Servings'…?"
What did 'Sincerely Made' even mean? Even translated, Japanese was complicated and hard to understand.
"T-This… this is real natural food…?! This is bad, isn't it? If we eat this, will Arasaka kidnap us tomorrow or something…?!"
His mom started muttering worriedly…
Sure, in all his life in Night City, he'd never once eaten real natural food, but was it really that shocking?
"C'mon, Mom. It's just food, right? Why are you so surprised?"
"David… You just don't understand how crazy this is. Listen, I've never seen the real thing either, but this is the kind of prestigious food even Arasaka employees use as gifts for their superiors!"
"Hey~, I don't get all the complicated stuff, but I get that it's amazing food."
"No, you really don't understand. This… this costs about 2,000 eddies for four servings."
"2,000 eddies… 2,000 EDDIES!?!?"
"See? I told you. To just casually give away such expensive food… Just who is this Nate person…?"
First, they had a dangerous neighbor, and now an even more dangerous one has moved in…
'Am I even gonna live long enough to become an adult?' David thought.
For dinner that night, they ended up eating the soba noodles.
His mother brought out a pot and, following the instructions, boiled the soba and prepared the servings.
They ended up having to look up a video on how to make it properly, but it was surprisingly fun, doing something like this together for the first time.
The taste of his first-ever real natural food was indescribably delicious. It made him realize just how chemical-filled and synthetic the flavor of everything he'd eaten until now had been.
'I might not be able to eat crappy food anymore...'
"One bite of this is probably worth, like, 100 eddies…"
"Don't, David. You'll make me want to go sell it at a shop right now."
"Yeah… You're right, Mom. Sorry."
They decided to save the remaining two vacuum-sealed servings for a special occasion.
If they ate something like this too often, they'd probably never be able to stomach normal food again.
So this is what they mean by a 'happy nightmare.'