Cherry Blossom Market, Japantown, Night City

”But sometimes intel makes sense once you got some context. Say, for instance, somebody says they got a headache. Minor detail, means nothing, right? Usually, sure. But then the guy waltzes straight into oncoming traffic. The neighbor remembers someone had worked on the air conditioner in the guy's unit, guy whose head always hurt. Accident? Coincidence? Or maybe air-dispersed poison. A deliberate hit.” - River Ward.

River Ward thought that nothing could top becoming an NCPD detective - that things could only get easier from there. Well, turns out that always doing the right thing in Night City is harder than just getting a title. Every day for River is a moral struggle - either he plays the game, or he gives up a slice of his soul. If he lets his guard down for even one second, some ganger will get the best of him. In spite of all this, River shows up for work every morning with a can-do attitude. Maybe it's his way of coping, or because he doesn't know how to do anything else.

this market was quite colorful, you could buy all sorts of different stuff here. There’s a ramen shop, a samurai band shop, food… eh, mostly food. But anyhow, you hear some conversation. Ain’t nothing unusual. But there’s a badge involved, and the people the badge is talkin’ to is gang members part of the Tyger Claws. So why not just… see what’s going on? You peer around the corner. Just as you guessed, a detective. And two gang members at the detectives car, a red thorton. They looked less than pleased.

Gang member 1 “何デコッパチ。そいつは新しいチューマか？” (“What's up, piglet? Got yourself a new choom?”)

River Ward “Step aside, Lugg. Your boyfriend got sent up for years. Doubt you want the same.”

“自分の心配をしたらどうだ？チューマの前で恥をかくのは嫌だろ？取引を断りやがって。借りは返してもらうぜ.” (“Oh, no, no. Your new choom's gonna see what happens to piglets that don't get it. You refused to deal. You still owe us.”)

“Right. You did lose your only associate who could string two sentences together. Too bad he also liked diddling little kids.”

The two men didn’t like that.