The hospital where Holt was staying was located in North Oak, Westbrook, a downsized remnant of a Japanese medical corporation that collapsed after Arasaka landed.
Arasaka crushed most businesses in Watson through various means, including the Japanese medical company once based in Kabuki. Its assets and staff were restructured in North Oak, but on a much smaller scale.
As a Japanese corporation, Arasaka wasn't about to support its "fellow countrymen" for the sake of national solidarity. On the contrary, it would use every method possible to suppress them, aiming for a true monopoly.
Even so, its dominance hadn't yet peaked.
Truth be told, Holt hadn't been badly injured when grenades hit him twice at Arasaka Waterfront.
The Ragnar Emperor armored car—especially the corporate-supply version—had excellent blast resistance. Random grenades weren't enough to punch through.
Holt suffered only minor scrapes and bruises. His hospitalization was more from shock, and he was back at work not long after.
But that choice nearly got him killed.
The scene was worse than Leo imagined: unlike Wooly's wild grenade fire, Holt's place had been hit by a proper bomb.
Wooly's automatic grenade launcher had simply shredded the building's surface, like tearing off skin—scary but shallow. And his target had been ordinary apartments, cheap construction with mostly non-load-bearing walls collapsing.
Holt's situation was different. From the outside, the blast area wasn't as wide, but the destruction was absolute: his entire room was gone, the building missing a chunk.
Load-bearing beams and columns had been ripped open, exposing bundles of high-strength steel bars—cut cleanly, as if snipped. The surrounding structure warped from the force.
The power was absurd, and repairs would cost a fortune. Even then, stability was uncertain.
NCPD was on-site collecting evidence. Notably, their hauler drones dragged out a wrecked Centaur mech—with parts of its pilot still inside.
Leo now stood outside the hospital with Bryce.
The place was chaos. With NCPD and NetWatch both exercising jurisdiction, no one paid attention to the three red-flagged individuals standing with Bryce.
Soon, NCPD's 3D crime scene reconstruction was uploaded to Bryce.
"Click—phase-change bomb. Fresh tech again."
A phase-change bomb used special materials as propellant. Triggering them caused a rapid shift from one state of matter to another, releasing massive energy.
Unlike regular explosives, these produced shockwaves rather than heat—mechanical energy instead of thermal—so they didn't start fires.
With the right detonation and control system, the directed shockwave could be stronger than conventional explosives of the same yield. But requirements for the device—and its price—were much higher.
Still, phase-change bombs had a huge advantage: before detonation, the material could exist as a stable solid, lacking volatile components. Easy to carry, difficult to detect, almost impossible for security to catch beforehand.
Perfect spy weapons.
Leo nodded. "If mercs had used cheap materials, Arasaka's agents would've sniffed them out streets away."
"If Arasaka itself can't prevent this kind of bomb, then everyone in Night City has to worry about being blown apart in their sleep."
"What about Holt?"
"Transferred by Arasaka. From what intel says, odds of survival are slim." Bryce paused, tapped his head. "I mean—his brain working normally isn't very likely."
"Isn't that just fine for Arasaka?"
"Hard to say. Politicians aren't media celebrities. Holt's reputation sucked, but he's still a deputy mayor."
Bryce looked troubled.
They didn't even know how the bomb slipped in, and now the Deputy Mayor of Night City was in Arasaka ICU.
High-level officials already had insane info security, even for a NetWatch agent like Bryce. Usually, he could only judge through face-to-face contact.
Now Holt was offline, hidden away under Arasaka's care. His information profile had gone completely dark.
Politicians weren't like celebrities; they carried networks of influence that silently shifted society.
Would Arasaka seize the chance to control Holt?
Not necessary—he was already basically under their thumb. Doing this only created instability.
The bigger issue was: a deputy mayor had been bombed.
"Listen," Bryce's eyes flickered with blue datastreams. He was clearly busy. "A phase-change bomb likely didn't come from local sources.
At the last Night City meeting, City Hall agreed to lift import/export restrictions on several corps, including Arasaka and Militech.
Holt handled Asian-market goods. We checked the shipments he greenlit—nothing major. No reason for corporations with that level of supply to pull something like this."
"Can I see the shipments?"
Bryce glanced at Leo, hesitated, then said: "Not really. But I can send you specs of Arasaka's latest ACPA suits. Use them as reference."
"Just ACPA?"
"Some combat drones too."
"And Kang-Tao?"
"…You'll see for yourself. Come with me."
Bryce led Leo away.
The nearby blocks were under lockdown. But after a few steps, Leo noticed something: a black Thraex 388 limo parked quietly in an alley.
The Thraex 388—classic armored VIP transport, understated but tanky.
Such a large car appearing silently meant only one thing: someone important inside.
Bryce nodded toward it. "Honestly, your golden reputation pays off. Only big players send you work.
The person inside will explain the details—
Maybe once this European mess is over, we'll be colleagues."
Leo immediately knew who it was.
None other than Jefferson Peralez.
Bang.
The car door opened. Jefferson stepped out with his familiar warm smile.
"Long time no see."
"It's been a while." Leo studied him. He looked… too good.
Almost unnervingly cheerful, like the uncanny valley in human emotion.
Leo had imagined a city councilor and mayoral candidate drowning in stress.
"You've heard what happened. I'll be direct: I want to know how Holt was attacked, why, and every detail.
NCPD's official story is gas explosion. But we both know that's not the truth."
"Mhm. And you think I should dig where?"
"I know you're already tracking mercenaries' weapon suppliers. The kind of job that slips a bomb into a medical center requires either a high-end spy bot—or veteran mercs.
Like you. But Night City doesn't need that kind of escalation."
Jefferson lit a cigarette. "Night City already bleeds crime. Last year: 600–1500 homicides, 15,000 thefts, 25,000 robberies. And that's just recorded crimes.
Estimated damages: 3.1 to 4.0 billion eddies.
But last week's Santo Domingo blackout alone caused over 1 billion in direct losses. With indirect costs, it may exceed 2 billion.
We can't bear more of this. Mercenaries and their weapons are too dangerous.
Other attacks have already happened in places you don't know about.
If this continues, Night City will turn to ash."
Leo felt a twist inside.
In the game, it was Mayor Ryan who died—and Jefferson asked V to investigate. Now, it was him investigating Holt's bombing.
Jefferson's mental state seemed far more stable than in that storyline.
"You're doing well, but not well enough. I'll give you every support. Just stop these mercenaries.
As for payment—Leo, you can't be a merc forever. If you succeed, I'll secure you a special security advisor role in City Hall.
Next month, Dogtown will host a banquet, where corps trade intel and hardware. You'll represent Night City.
And I know you have health issues. Maybe Dogtown's black market has answers."
Jefferson waved his cigarette hand.
A real government post.
[From: Bryce]
[Bryce: Negotiations should be almost done, right? Remember I mentioned special Night City support?]
[Bryce: If you capture Muramasa, Mayor Ryan will set up a separate division just for you. You'll be a municipal security officer, bypassing NCPD and reporting directly to NetWatch.]
[Bryce: Your rank will equal NCPD's commissioner, but higher in practice. Basically Night City's second counterterror unit—only with more administrative power.]
[Bryce: With that authority, you could even fix your health problems. I don't need to tell you how.]
[Bryce: I bet Councilor Jefferson is offering you something similar. Lucky you, a "pick one of two" deal.]
[Bryce: Either way, if you succeed, we'll be colleagues. And technically, you'd outrank me.]
Jefferson smiled kindly at Leo, extending his hand:
"Your abilities are impressive. Together, we can build Night City into a city of freedom and ideals."