Probably Stolen - Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim

In a towering space station split by wealth and corruption, your business runs on merchandise with flexible origins. You’re a former scavenger who secured a storefront thanks to a generous loan and questionable timing. Now rent is rising, factions are watching, and most of your best margins live in legal gray zones. You never really know who’s on the other side of the counter. Today’s customer could be a security fisher for evidence, a revolutionary seeking leverage, or a fallen elite testing your usefulness. Every sale is a gamble. Approve it, refuse it, report it, or look away; someone is always taking notes. Reputation buys access and protection, but it also paints a target on your back. On this station, every client is a potential profit and a potential trouble. Start as a gunsmith, chemist, water merchant, fence, farmer, or from absolute rock bottom. Every product line has its own profit curve and its own way of ruining you, weapons bring inspections, chemicals bring addiction, water brings liability, contraband brings raids. Some trades need heavy machinery and permits, others just a good hiding spot and a straight face. The better the margins, the worse the consequences when something goes wrong. You’re not choosing a theme for your shop, you’re choosing which kind of trouble you’re willing to monetize. Every item you stock carries its own risks. Cigarette packs need visual inspection before resale. Water must be tested and filtered. Weapons require permits and modifications. Profitable chemicals rely on closely guarded recipes. Rare items need proper appraisal to avoid overpaying. You can cut the product’s quality, relabel counterfeit products as genuine, or fence discounted, stolen goods if you believe Security won’t reach you. But beware, there’s always the mob justice. Suppliers overstate value, customers push their luck, and contraband often comes with issues you only notice after the deal is done. Your margins depend on how well you assess what’s in front of you. Misjudge the item or the person selling it, and you absorb the cost. Keep the rent paid and you can start thinking bigger. Expand your operation, run multiple businesses, and unlock new merchandise and production opportunities. But rent keeps rising, and confiscated stock or a bad deal can leave you struggling to make the next payment. Every purchase needs to earn its keep A sentient AI chip went rogue and took its hosts with it. Augs look like everyone else ... until they don't. Stay