2077: V really knows how awesome he is

Humanity has been reduced to a mere double digit, and the rest are all dogs or even worse than dogs.

Joanne Koch clenched her fists, then relaxed them, and then clenched them again.

The most painful time is when the wound is torn open. Joanne Koch thought she was healed, but she wasn't.

A thousand words swirled in my mind, but finally condensed into one sentence.

"What do you need me to do?"

V laughed: "Keep in touch with me and keep me updated."

"And you."

“I’ll find something on Abernathy’s hands and then hand it over to Michiko. I’m sure she’ll love this dog-killing knife I’m giving her.”

"How long do you need it?"

"Three days."

"Is there enough time?"

"Delay brings change."

What if we can't find it?

"Then just assassinate Abernathy, that's what she taught me."

"But didn't you say that Miss Michiko doesn't like this?"

“She may not like it, but did you see her make a move against Abernathy? As long as I kill Abernathy, I will be Michiko’s only confidant. She won’t touch me until she finds a replacement. Abernathy has a lot of advantages, but I also have the advantages she has. I can do what she can do. If she wants to play openly, I will play openly with her. If she wants to play dirty, I will play dirty. If she can’t kill me, then I will kill her.”

V said, enunciating each word clearly, "This is how corporate dogs operate."

Early in the morning, V walked the streets, hiding in the crowd, her eyes glowing blue, erasing all traces of herself from the internet while reading messages from Joanne Koch.

"Lieutenant James Norris went on a killing spree in the company plaza, resulting in the deaths of 32 NCPDs and injuries to 104 others. He was diagnosed with cyberpsychosis and was shot dead on the spot by the Terrorist Mobile Unit. His remains were... collected by REO Meatwagon?"

"Isn't it obviously problematic to entrust a soldier whose body is covered in military prosthetics to a civilian medical facility for care?"

V read the materials sent by Joanne Koch and made up her mind.

It's no wonder she complained; REO Meatwagon is simply too poor. It was originally a public hospital from the old days, but with the rise of trauma groups and the widespread availability of prosthetics, wealthy people completely abandoned this outdated medical service.

For a long time, REO Meatwagon's main business was civilian healthcare. These medical personnel, dressed in yellow reflective jackets, drove ambulances through the streets of Night City, initially enjoying a glamorous lifestyle. However, as capitalism intensified, the income and living standards of ordinary people plummeted. In an almost fully automated society, ordinary people didn't even have the right to be exploited by capital; their lives were less valuable than the ethanol-B2 fuel used in the ambulances. Naturally, REO Meatwagon's business declined sharply.

By 2076, REO Meatwagon was struggling to survive. How poor was it? Well, every yellow uniform jacket from REO Meatwagon had a built-in biometric monitoring device and tracker to collect the wearer's biometric data. But because of its poverty, REO Meatwagon didn't even dare to turn on the jacket's network function. It could only secretly extract the data via wired connection when employees hung the jackets back in their closets after get off work.

But this very company took in Lieutenant James's remains.

Lieutenant James's top-of-the-line gear could practically buy the entire REO Meatwagon!

This was done simply to cover up the truth and facilitate operations.

REO Meatwagon is located in the northern part of Watson District, and the fact that it doesn't enter the industrial area is the last vestige of its dignity.

V took the subway and got off at Medical Center Station. He easily infiltrated REO Meatwagon's territory and found Lieutenant James's body in the morgue on the third basement floor.

The other man had a large hole in his skull, and half of his brain tissue had evaporated. Judging from the several black, sharp objects near the wound, he died from a DB-2 Sadara technology shotgun produced by Rostovich.

This is because only this electromagnetic shotgun did not use conventional buckshot, but instead used sharp "small steel nails".

Opponents argue that Sadara's bulkiness and weight would cause many inconveniences in practical use, while supporters believe that Sadara's firepower is enough to make up for everything.

The Violent Terrorist Mobile Unit belongs to the latter group. They have repeatedly stated in public that Sadara could even defeat the most thoroughly cybernetically modified cybernetic psychopaths. Everyone thought they were being paid by Rostovich, but now it seems that what they said was true.

As for V's assessment of Sadara—God, without equal.

They are cheap, easy to operate, and readily available. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't control the powerful recoil of his prosthetic body, V would definitely get one for himself.

Unfortunately, what was yesterday is still here, but everything has changed.

This is a perfect example of how unpredictable life can be.

V sighed softly, pulled his personal connection cable from his wrist, and plugged it into Lieutenant James's neural slot.

The expected cleanliness made it seem as if Lieutenant James was just an ordinary new American soldier.

Well, I never intended to get any important information from the chip anyway. V hid in the shadows of a corner and began to wait quietly.

Since they were able to send Lieutenant James's body to REO Meatwagon, it must have been for the purpose of disposal. The mastermind behind this will definitely send someone to clean up the mess; all I need to do is be patient.

About two hours later, at seven o'clock in the afternoon, a figure sneaked into the morgue.

coming!

V remained silent.

The person was a young woman, not very tall, with brown hair in a single ponytail, delicate features, and wearing a yellow REO Meatwagon uniform jacket.

She flipped Lieutenant James over so his back was facing up, and then skillfully disassembled it. Even in the poorly lit morgue, it didn't affect her speed at all. It was clear that this wasn't the first time she had done this. In less than half an hour, she removed a military-grade prosthetic body from Lieutenant James's spine, which was none other than the "Seanwistan" that V was so wary of.

The woman's face lit up with joy. She quickly placed S. Anvestain into a pre-prepared sterile bag, tidied herself up a bit, and then left the morgue as if nothing had happened.

V followed silently.

She was playing the long game; she wanted to see who this woman would hand over S.A.W.S. to.

As a result, after following them all the way, the other party actually came to a school, one that V was extremely familiar with.

Arakasaka Academy.

V felt a mix of emotions.

She graduated from here.

Chapter 16 Welcome to Hell, David Martinez

Has Abernathy already extended his reach into Arasaka Academy?

This was V's first reaction.

Her second reaction was...wonderful!

The students of Arasaka Academy are the reserve force for Arasaka employees. Controlling the students of Arasaka Academy means controlling the employees of Arasaka. Over time, the entire Arasaka organization will be filled with Abernathy's people. At that time, she will truly be second only to Abernathy.

As expected of Abernathy, he really thinks far ahead.

V mentally gave his opponent a thumbs up, while also saying he had learned something.

Once she kills Abernathy, she can replicate the same trick.

The woman with the single ponytail went straight to the principal's office, which further confirmed V's guess.

Abernathy has really played a very clever game of strategy, managing to get direct access to the principal.

V found an empty room, locked the door, and hacked into the entire surveillance network through the corridor cameras, easily obtaining real-time audio footage from the principal's office.

She had assumed the two were handing over Sianwistan, but surprisingly, the woman with the ponytail and the principal didn't mention it at all. Instead, they discussed the woman's son's violation of school rules.

Such incidents include using pirated software that causes school equipment malfunctions, arguing with classmates and engaging in malicious fights, etc.

Is it a code word?

V was completely confused.

Just as she was planning to use computing power to forcibly break through the conversation, there was another knock on the principal's office door.

The principal called out, "Come in!" and the door was pushed open.

A male student named Arasaka with a rooster-motif hairstyle walked in awkwardly. He first called out "Principal," and then reluctantly called the woman with a single ponytail "Mom."

Fuck!

V cursed inwardly, "Isn't that David Martinez?!"

The protagonist of The Edge Walker is that silly boy who physically climbed to the top of the Arasaka Tower.

So this woman with the single ponytail is David's mother, a poor woman named Gloria Martinez, whose actions are all part of the "plot," and who has wasted her time.

V's memories of her time as a "player" are hazy; she can only recall some things after actually seeing them. Now, seeing David and her mother, the memories of the Outer Walker are fully activated.

Damn it, my stomach is starting to hurt.

V relaxed her surveillance of the principal's office; she had no time to listen to the petty squabbles of elementary school students fighting.

The Edge Walker is a good work, and every character is very vivid, but that's about it.

V would sympathize with their plight and would lend a hand if he had nothing better to do, but he has no intention of getting involved now.

The most important thing right now is to solve her own problems. She's just a corporate employee, not a saint, and she can't sacrifice herself for others.

We can let Gloria go, but we must get Sianwistan back.

If Lieutenant James was an assassin sent by Abernathy, then the equipment he used should provide some clues.

A moment later, Gloria and David left the school and drove onto the ring road. V hailed an ARCH Nazaré motorcycle from the side of the road and followed them.

She already had a plan for how to retrieve S.A.R. Stein; now all she had to do was follow along.

Out of boredom, V hacked into Gloria's car and tried to listen for any other information through the car's microphone.

Gloria scolded her son as she drove, "Didn't I tell you to upgrade from a legitimate internet provider?"

David looked out the window: "I'm sorry, it was my mistake to go to the prosthetic doctor to buy the black software."

"Your unilateral decision has caused us to have to pay ten times the amount in compensation!"

"sorry."

"If you're going to apologize, you might as well not do it in the first place."

“When I asked you at first, you said you didn’t have any money. I just wanted to save some!” David shouted.

“That’s because it’s not payday yet. Of course, our family can’t always have money sitting idle in our hands!” Gloria shouted back.

The carriage fell silent.

After a moment, David spoke.

"mom."

"what?"

"I want to take a break from school and look for a job or something."

Gloria was stunned: "What did you say!"

"We simply can't afford the compensation!" Now that the topic was up, David let loose and roared in frustration, "I'm bullied all the time at school! That college is completely incompatible with me! We're poor, no matter how hard we try, we can't be respected. No matter how well I study, I can never become like them. Do you even understand that?!"

The carriage fell silent again. V, who hadn't been interested in these mundane family matters, found herself listening intently at some point.

why?

It's probably a resonance.

The mother and son began their conversation again.

"Then what have I been working for? I've worked so hard for you... but now..." Gloria tried her best to appear strong, but her voice betrayed her tears: "You're so smart and talented, always ranking first in your grade, that's why I work so hard to earn money and support you. What am I supposed to do if you don't want to study anymore?"

David stared at his mother in shock as a tear slid down her face; it was the first time he had ever seen her cry.

“Mom…I…” David clenched his fists where his mother couldn’t see him: “I shouldn’t have said those stupid things. I’m sorry. Don’t cry. I will continue to go to school.”

"Ha!" Gloria laughed through her tears, but her smile betrayed a heartbreaking truth: "Mom knows how they treated you, because I went through the same thing. That's why we have to prove them wrong, to show them that we can succeed too!"

Gloria pointed a finger upwards, her face full of anticipation, and said, "My son, David Martinez, is a talented man. One day he will become an elite, stand at the top of the Aragaka Tower, and live a happy life thereafter. David, don't give up, Mom believes in you, you can do it!"

“Ha.” David couldn’t help but laugh: “You make it sound so easy.”

But I will try my best, and I will definitely not let you down!

Although the words were not spoken aloud, the mother and son understood each other through their eyes.

V was moved by the warmth between the mother and son, and also by their shared fate.

Because she remembered what was going to happen next.

Sure enough, not long after, David and Gloria got into a fight among the animal gangs and were involved in a serious car accident. Their vehicle overturned, and David was trapped inside but was not seriously injured. However, Gloria was thrown out of the car and fell into a coma, her life hanging in the balance.

All that was beautiful vanished in an instant. This is Night City, this is 2077.

Oh, sorry, it's only 2076 yet.

V parked his car on the side of the road, hacked into a vending machine, opened a can of beer, leaned against Nazaré, and started drinking alone.