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In the year 2070, after the smoke of the Unification War had cleared, the New United States announced its withdrawal, declaring it would no longer interfere in the affairs of Night City. Around the same time, a new bar quietly opened above this vast underground space—an ideal location for concealment. Its purpose? To serve the wary, anxious citizens of Dogtown.
It all felt a little too perfect. A little too coincidental.
So coincidental that it made you wonder—was any of this truly by chance?
Let's consider an alternative explanation:
If the New United States' official forces had to pull out of Night City, wouldn't it make more sense for them to leave behind a few embedded operatives? Sleeper agents, hidden in plain sight?
Was this one of those situations?
Karl had only come to this bar because Maine and his crew invited him—and just happened to run into someone suspicious. Could she be one of them?
The more he thought about it, the more the red flags piled up.
Maine and the others were outsiders in Dogtown. The bar they used as a base had to be a location frequented by other outsiders too, a place buzzing with intel. Otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen it to operate out of, nor would they have been able to gather the information they needed to take out Faraday. In short: this seemingly unremarkable bar was a hub for outsider intelligence exchange.
If you're choosing a spot to gather intel in a city, what's the best position to take?
The answer is obvious: become a bartender.
Bartenders interact with all sorts of people every day. Just by paying a little attention and listening closely, they can pick up more information than any average street informant.
Take Claire at Afterlife, for example—when Arasaka's Hanako arrived in Night City, Claire had already heard whispers and relayed them to Karl. That alone showed the unique information-gathering power of bars.
"Here are your drinks, gentlemen."
The blonde bartender had finished mixing the rest of the orders. With a swift push, one drink after another slid across the counter toward Jack and the others. Then, she looked at Karl—his glass still empty—and flashed a bright smile.
"Want me to make you another one?"
Karl raised his eyes and studied her more closely. Dogtown's resident database wasn't directly linked to the NCPD's system in Night City, but this woman was originally from the city. That meant her records were available.
Her name: Daphne.
Daphne was a beautiful name. In Greek mythology, she was a laurel nymph—a symbol of dawn. In the myth, Apollo, the god of light, was hopelessly in love with her and chased her endlessly. While Apollo wasn't technically the sun god, he was still associated with sunlight. His pursuit of Daphne was like the sun eternally chasing the dawn.
A poetic image. Karl—often likened by his friends to a manic, chaotic sun—found himself fond of the name.
Sadly, he doubted it was real.
They say when someone hides their true identity, the alias they choose still reflects something meaningful. A name like "Daphne," symbolizing dawn… maybe it hinted at someone longing for an end—or a new beginning.
"You've got a lovely name, Daphne."
Instead of answering her question about another drink, Karl casually addressed her by the name in her file.
She froze—just for a second.
Then she smiled again, brushing off the moment. "Ah, so you've heard of me. I was planning to introduce myself and get you to come back more often, but I guess that won't be necessary."
As she spoke, she looked away from Karl—and subtly lowered one hand toward her waist.
KK knows my alias? Did he look into my file? Why would he bother investigating someone he just met? Is he just that cautious?
Still, even if he did check, it's fine… That record's fake—it'll only show the cover story. All he'd learn is that I used to work retail at a clothing shop…
But as she was thinking, she noticed Karl's gaze.
Even though she had used a visual avoidance technique taught in her training—one designed to deflect suspicion from customers—Karl's eyes were locked on her.
More specifically, on her neck and chest.
Her chest bore visible cyberware modifications. Around her neck was a snug beaded necklace, pressed close to the skin. Beneath the beads, faint traces of further modification could be seen—subtle enhancements that seemed designed to fit something tightly along her jawline and facial structure.
Shit.
The moment she realized Karl was inspecting her implants, Daphne's heart skipped.
Some time ago, Militech had offloaded several prototype cyberware units—deemed unfit for general deployment—to the 6th Street Gang. Among those was a particular model that had shown surprising potential when used by KK, which led to renewed development.
Arasaka had refined it into a chip-based variant, but its origin was:
"A behavioral mimicry template? No… probably one of those advanced facial camouflage shrouds," Karl said, half as a question, half in admiration. "It doesn't require subdermal work. Instead, it uses optical projection and subtle muscle reconfiguration to alter appearance. Impressive tech."
Then he added with a piercing gaze, "If you don't mind… can I see your real face? Just think of it as…"
His stare was sharp—like it could burn through her disguise.
"…a small, selfish request of mine."
No time left.
Realizing she had been compromised and would be fully exposed at any moment, Daphne—who already had her fingers on the grip of the pistol at her waist—moved to act.
She tried to keep her expression neutral, activating her Sandevistan—
—but someone was faster.
A hand closed around her wrist. With a quick twist, her joints dislocated, and her grip failed.
The gun she had barely started to draw slipped from her fingers, caught by a single hand.
In one seamless motion, the magazine was ejected, the chamber cleared. She didn't even have a chance to react—V, closest to her, had already disarmed and disabled her weapon.
"No need to get violent. Let's talk first, yeah?"
V calmly set the neutralized weapon on the bar. The rest of the squad stood, closing in from three angles.
"Or," Karl added with a faint smile, still seated, "you could try to run. I won't stop you."
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🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless
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