How to unlock the Ryujin optional mission Managing Assets in Starfield

In narrative games, you typically aren’t always sure just how your choices may impact the story later. Starfield doesn’t quite go the extra mile that pure narrative games do, but there are some hidden pages to discover. The Ryujin Industries questline, for example, contains an optional mission called ‘Managing Assets’, and it’s not easy to unlock in Starfield. But it’s worth it. The mission allows you to possibly meet an old “friend” and tie up some loose threads.

Ryujin isn’t the only faction to feature a secret quest. A major decision at the end of the UC Vanguard questline can open up a series of mini-quests after the faction story is complete. Of course, it all depended on whether or not you did a certain thing. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? But that’s what I’m here for. Let me be your guide… with this guide.

Pick the right answer to unlock the Managing Assets mission in Starfield

If you want to unlock the optional Managing Assets mission in Starfield, you must lay the foundation for it in an earlier Ryujin quest. You unlock Managing Assets during the mission ‘Guilty Parties’, in which you must track down an accused mole.

There are several steps to follow, starting with you speaking to Imogene’s assistant, Yuko. She tells you that Imogene was last seen hanging out with the Seokguh Syndicate and hunting them down will bring you closer to her. And here’s where things get sketchy, as per the norm in Neon Core. The syndicate has ties with the city’s administrator, Benjamin Bayu. You learn this either from Yuko via the Neon Street Rat perk dialogue option, or through Dalton. Either way, speaking with Bayu becomes an optional objective in the mission.

Go meet with Benjamin Bayu. You’ll find him lazing it up as usual at the Astral Lounge in Neon. Walk in and take the elevator up to the VIP section, where you’ll find him alone. Strike up a conversation. It doesn’t matter what you ask him, as all options consist of you requesting access to the syndicate. When he asks why he should do that, tell him to “bring it up with Dalton.” Angry, Bayu tells you he’ll do exactly that and ends the conversation. Once the chat is finished, that’s all you need to do to unlock the optional mission. Managing Assets is playable after you finish a couple of quests, including Guilty Parties.

Managing Assets – Mission start and guide

Following the completion of the mission, ‘The Key Ingredient’, Ryujin’s CEO, Masako, pulls you aside to discuss your recent breach of protocol. Apparently, your unwillingness to follow procedure with Bayu has put you and Ryujin into his crosshairs. To make amends, you must complete a task for him: Eliminate a former agent.

It’s been some time, but do you remember Tomo Higashi, the disgruntled former Ryujin employee from the first mission? Well, if you spared his life during ‘Back to the Grind’, you find him as your target in Managing Assets. If you killed him earlier, then your target becomes a random agent.

Clearly, it’s better if you spared Tomo’s life at the start of the questline. Your first chat made it clear that Ryujin didn’t like leaving loose threads lying around. Reconnecting after so long is far more impactful than it would have been with some nobody. Tomo is hiding out in The Well of New Atlantis, Jemison. Frankly, it’s a good spot for a person with crosshairs on their back to retreat.

Now that you’ve tracked Tomo down, he naturally assumes you’re there to wipe him out. And he could be right, but that’s up to how you approach the conversation. You can spare him again if you wish. One option lets you demand 3,000 credits for you to keep quiet about his survival, or you can tell him to scamper off and pretend to be dead. No matter the choice, you’ll return to Ryujin and report that this particular issue is no more. Dalton awarded me with three digipicks and 1,500 credits for the job.

What you decide to do with Tomo doesn’t matter too much in the end. If you kill him, he’s out of the picture and you can start the next quest after speaking with Dalton. However, any companion you bring alongside won’t agree with your wanton murder of a man who’s just trying to escape. Extorting money from him also isn’t taking the moral high ground, but you do end up with a fatter wallet. Either way, it’s one of the faster quests you can complete, and you may have missed it completely. That just shows you it pays to break the rules.