Chapter 337 c

Chapter 337 c

2-in-1-chapter

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Lucy thought Leo would agree right away.

But instead, Leo stayed silent, a thoughtful expression on his face.

The truth was, Leo had considered Vik—but Vik had been the first person he crossed off the list.

“What’s wrong, Leo?” Lucy asked, noticing his hesitation. “If it’s about compensation, I’m sure that as long as you sit down and talk with Vik properly, he wouldn’t mind.”

The Rocky Ridge base was still under construction, wages for Panam and her crew had to be paid, and Leo was preparing to recruit another twenty to thirty people. The expenses were enormous.

Lucy assumed Leo was worried about Vik’s price.

“It’s not that,” Leo shook his head, realizing she had misunderstood. “The truth is
 you know Vik used to be a legend. Now he’s retired, living a peaceful life. I keep wondering if disturbing that would be right.”

Vik was a good man.

A kind of man Night City didn’t deserve.

That was why Leo had struck him from consideration first—because he didn’t want to be the one dragging Vik back into the life he had already walked away from.

“So that’s it
 yeah, I see what you mean.”

Lucy hadn’t thought of it that way before. Now, considering it, she realized he had a point. She’d been so focused on Leo’s difficulties that she had overlooked Vik’s own wishes.

To outsiders, working for a proper organization with a steady, generous paycheck seemed obviously better than running a grimy basement clinic.

But for Vik himself? Maybe not.

With his skills, he could have landed a cushy position at a major corp long ago—manager, department head, something like that.

But he chose not to.

To him, a quiet life might be worth more than any salary.

Lucy bit her lip, a little unwilling to accept that.

In Night City, maybe there were better medtechs than Vik—but none who inspired such absolute trust. None they all felt they could truly rely on.

Letting that go seemed like such a waste.

“Leo, I agree with you
 but don’t you think we might be making that decision for him? For all we know, maybe he’s not that satisfied with his current life. Why not just ask him directly? Even if he refuses, that’s better than sitting here guessing, isn’t it?”

Her words struck Leo like a sudden beam of clarity.

So, with Lucy’s prompting, Leo went back to Afterlife, bought a good bottle of liquor, and when the Delamain cab arrived, headed with her to Misty’s Esoterica.

As they stepped out of the cab, Lucy gave Leo a playful wink. “I’ll have Misty read my tarot. You go talk to Vik.”

“Alright.”

After greeting Misty, Leo slipped out the back door with the bottle in hand, down the steps into Vik’s clinic.

The dim, somber space looked the same as always. Vik sat at his desk, eyes fixed on the same boxing match he had probably replayed hundreds of times.

“Well, if it isn’t the famous Leo. What brings you here today? Feeling unwell?”

“No,” Leo lifted the bottle, “just looking for someone to share a drink with.”

“That’s good then.” Vik adjusted his glasses, glanced at the label, and raised his brows. “That brand’s pricey. Looks like you’re really making it big these days, being able to afford something like this.”

Leo waved it off. “It’s nothing.”

Vik fetched two clean glasses, set them on the desk, and opened the bottle. He poured one glass, then paused before the second, glancing up at Leo.

“Wait—you even drink? I thought you were a cola-only type.”

“I don’t like alcohol, but it’s not like I can’t drink. I’ve been of age for a long time.”

Taking the bottle, Leo poured his own glass.

“Well, just don’t push it. No sense wrecking your health.”

“One glass won’t kill me.”

Leo lifted his glass and clinked it with Vik’s.

“To your health.”

“And to yours, kid. These days, health’s worth more than anything.”

Vik drained his in one gulp, smacked his lips, and nodded. “Good stuff.”

Then he noticed Leo’s expression twisting.

“Not used to it?” Vik chuckled.

“Not at all. How do people even like this stuff?”

Laughing, Vik took Leo’s glass, rinsed it out at the sink, dried it carefully, and then pulled a cold bottle of cola from the fridge.

“If you don’t like it, don’t force yourself. Here—this one’s on me.”

Leo gladly took it. Cola in place of liquor—it went down much smoother.

He picked up the bottle of liquor again, ready to pour Vik another.

But Vik waved his hand.

“Go on, tell me—what brings you here?”

Leo set the bottle down.

“You noticed already? How did you figure it out?”

“I heard from Jackie,” Vik said. “You’re the head of Aurora PMC now, running a private military company. If you’d dropped by just to chat, I’d be surprised. Still, your visit alone does wonders for the image of this little clinic of mine.”

Leo raised a brow.

“I didn't know you could talk like that—you sound just like a corpo.”

“Back when I was in Tokyo, I dealt with plenty of them. I picked up their way of talking, thought it was interesting, so I studied it a bit.”

Leo ran his fingers slowly along the rim of his cup.

“Since Jackie mentioned it to you, you must know my company is a private military contractor—we take jobs that involve fighting and killing, so
”

Though he had said “so,” Leo hadn’t figured out how to continue. He poured himself some more cola, pretending to clear his throat, but in truth buying time to think—

And then Vik slapped his thigh.

“I agree.”

This time it was Leo’s turn to freeze.

“What did you say?”

“Kid, you think this is my first day on the job?” Vik chuckled, the lines of age etched on his face but carrying a warm smile.

“I know why you came. I know you couldn’t quite say it—but it doesn’t matter. I agree.”

He was old now, long retired from the game, and had seen through a lot of things. Once, he’d been known as The Ripperdoc Plague Doctor, a name people had feared. But that was long gone, buried among legends.

Now, he was just an old man tucked away in a cold basement, scraping by doing cyberware work for the occasional client.

Leo bringing a fine bottle of liquor to see him—what else could it mean but an invitation to come out of retirement?

That Leo couldn’t put it into words—that was normal. If he had come with smooth talk and a silver tongue, Vik would’ve refused outright.

He wasn’t agreeing for the money.

He was agreeing because he recognized the worth of what Leo was doing.

He wanted to help. To lend his strength to Leo’s cause.

“I thought you’d
”

“Thought what? That I’d turn you down?”

“Yeah. After all, you’ve been retired, washed your hands of this life.”

“You’re right,” Vik sighed. His eyes swept over the trophies displayed on the shelf.

“Back then, I chose to bow out while I still could. I didn’t become some legendary figure, but I had more than ten steady years. I didn’t have to worry about being shot in the street, or stabbed in my sleep.”

“As a ripperdoc here, I don’t make much. This basement feels like a tomb—cold, like I’m slowly rotting away. But at least this life isn’t hateful. It’s dull, but it’s peaceful.”

Listening patiently, Leo grew more confused.

“If you like this life, and you know why I came, then why agree?”

Vik met his gaze squarely.

“Because I want to help you, kid. Just like when Jackie first brought you into this clinic—you were willing to spend your money to give Jackie and V the best cyberware.”

“May those with kindness in their hearts always find warmth in this world.”

Leo’s chest tightened, his eyes burning slightly.

Before he could respond, Vik laughed.

“Sorry, I’m getting old—too much rambling. But let me be clear: I’ll join your company, but don’t treat me like some servant. Otherwise, I’ll come right back here and keep this little dump running.”

Leo nodded. He knew Vik’s mention of money wasn’t about greed—it was giving Leo a step down, a way to make this easier.

But Leo couldn’t allow Vik to feel underappreciated. Vik might not care about money, but Leo refused to shortchange him.

“Don’t worry. Benefits and pay—you’ll have everything you should.

And I’ve thought about your salary: one hundred thousand a month, with the position of Chief Medical Officer. Any other doctors or nurses I recruit will work under you.”

Panam and the others were at thirty thousand a month.

Vik’s salary would be one hundred thousand.

Of course, any future hires wouldn’t get that much—probably thirty to fifty thousand, never more than fifty.

One hundred thousand was a salary reserved for Vik alone.

Vik’s eyes widened, nearly jumping out of his seat.

“One hundred thousand?”

But instead of excitement, his expression showed concern.

“Can you really afford that much? I was only joking, you don’t have to take me seriously. You’re just starting out—everything costs money, and you still need to carve out your turf. I don’t want to be the reason you go bankrupt.”

As Vik knew, doctors with a salary of one hundred thousand did exist—but they were usually the personal physicians of the ultra‑rich, pulling commissions from billionaires while also working at private hospitals.

His reaction left Leo deeply moved.

In an age where most people thought only of money, finding someone who genuinely cared about him was rare.

And Leo felt lucky—fortunate that he still had people like this by his side.