Time: Midnight, 12:00 AM.
Location: MaxTac Headquarters.
As the person at the center of it all, Roqi felt a mix of frustration and novelty.
In his previous life, Roqi had always been a good kid—he'd never seen the inside of a detention center. Everything he knew came from rumors and pictures online.
But in this life, he'd apparently skipped straight past basic detention.
MaxTac didn't have any cells—after all, they weren't exactly fond of taking people alive—but today, Roqi was enjoying what could only be called their "VIP treatment."
Then again, considering the kind of chaos he'd stirred up, maybe it wasn't all that surprising that MaxTac had made an exception.
It was a shame, though. No iron bars, no harsh moonlight, no cold shackles. Otherwise, Roqi might've busted out a heartfelt rendition of "Tears Behind Bars."
"Hello? Ohayo? Hola? Nihao?"
He was currently sitting in an ordinary interrogation room—just a table and a chair, the bare bones of solitude. It made him feel oddly hollow.
The only upside? Mower hadn't been separated from him. She was sitting quietly nearby.
His voice echoed down the empty hallway. No one responded.
The whole building was eerily silent, as if they were the only ones there.
"Damn, this is boring. I was expecting waterboarding or electroshocks, but this feels like waiting at a clinic." Roqi yawned, thoroughly unimpressed with MaxTac's hospitality.
"Listen…"
Mower didn't complain about his restlessness. She sat silently, listening intently.
Roqi perked up his ears.
"…?"
He heard nothing. He glanced at her with confusion.
"It's the sound of a hover engine," Mower replied, eyes closed.
Faint but distinctive subsonic vibrations, growing louder by the second.
"Huh. That's weird."
Roqi pressed his ear to the wall. After a moment, he too caught the sound she was talking about.
"Are they flying off?"
They'd been under soft lockdown for a while now, and the MaxTac agents had pretty much forgotten about them, going about their business without even sparing them a glance.
There wasn't even a guard posted outside. The door was standard-grade—not the kind to hold back anyone with a strength-enhancing implant, let alone someone like Roqi.
But busting out of MaxTac HQ was a death wish. Just six of them showing up earlier had made Roqi surrender on the spot. If a few more freaks like that crazy woman popped up, it'd be game over in seconds.
The threat level alone was enough to keep most of Night City's residents glued in place, even without the door.
Just when Roqi was starting to doubt his existence, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the hall.
The door creaked open.
A man stepped in—and Roqi's body broke out in goosebumps instantly.
It was as if the air temperature dropped a few degrees.
It didn't. Roqi knew that. It was just his body reacting on instinct.
The man had a hardened face, calm steps, and eyes like icy pits. He took a seat opposite Roqi, expressionless.
"…Hah."
Roqi forced a smile, but he knew it must've looked awful.
This man radiated a terrifying level of combat prowess.
He couldn't put it into numbers, but he recognized the aura. He'd seen it in people like Adam Smasher, Oda, Goro Takemura, and that insane woman from earlier.
It was what people called "presence."
Maybe it was the posture. Maybe it was the confidence or the cold, restrained power. Or maybe it was the kind of implants only the best killers could afford. But mostly, it was the eyes. You couldn't fake that.
Roqi knew: if he looked directly into those eyes, he'd lose.
He was a decent merc at best. This guy? Either a killing machine straight from a war zone or a monster who'd clawed his way to the top through blood and bodies.
Of course MaxTac was full of monsters like this.
Mower beside him was already in full combat readiness, muscles and implants tense and coiled.
"Relax. I'm not here to interrogate you," the man said, waving a hand casually.
But even his casual gestures oozed threat. Every movement was a warning not to try anything stupid.
"Or do you think you can get out through that door?"
Roqi instinctively glanced at the door.
So close… yet it suddenly felt miles away.
He's messing with my head.
Roqi bit his tongue, trying to snap out of it.
He couldn't afford to lose control of the conversation.
This was power play—pure and simple.
"I'm Master Yi. Vice Commander of MaxTac. Leader of Team One. Pleasure to meet you."
Yi's tone was calm—not arrogant, not dismissive. Just… composed. But somehow, every word carried weight.
Roqi: abba abba abba…
Yi: "Roqi. Age 20. Chinese descent. Former Nomad. Current mercenary. Associates: Rogue, Regina, Sebastian. Known friends: V and Jackie Welles. Suspect in multiple major incidents including the Konpeki Tower heist. Home address…"
Roqi: abba abba abba…
Yi: "Mower. Age 21. Born in Nevada. Former Militech 'Butter Knife' Special Forces Lieutenant. Deserted. Current mercenary. Close ties to Roqi…"
Roqi: abba abba abba…
Yi continued: "Charges include: destruction of corporate assets, assassination of corporate officials, massive economic damages, first-degree murder, possession of illegal military-grade weapons…"
Roqi: abba abba abba…
"If I hand you both over to the NCPD, how many death sentences do you think you'd get?"
Yi finally stopped reading from the retinal feed and stared straight into Roqi's soul.
"Guess the rumors are true. MaxTac and the NCPD don't get along."
Roqi stopped playing dumb. He shifted into a more comfortable pose.
If they wanted him dead, they would've shot him on sight. No need for an elaborate escort and personal chat with a top-ranking officer.
So, he had a bargaining chip.
"You know what I'm getting at," Yi nodded.
"Then what do you want? I'm just a broke merc. What help could I possibly offer you?"
Roqi avoided direct eye contact—eased the pressure a bit.
He looked chill on the outside, but his mind was in overdrive.
Was it the relic? Did they want Arasaka's tech?
Was it about the convoy attack on Militech? Some connection to Rockman Technologies?
Did Saburo Arasaka's murder have ties to this?
Dozens of high-level secrets flashed through Roqi's brain—but Yi's next words caught him completely off guard.
"Join MaxTac. Or die."
The calmness in his tone made it worse.
There were no threats, no offers, no deals. Just… fact.
Roqi believed him. Say "no," and the next moment he'd be begging for a second chance with his teeth on the floor.
His brows slowly furrowed. His face grew colder.
This wasn't what he expected.
He'd been ready to spill some secrets in exchange for survival—but apparently, that wasn't the deal here.
"Why?" Roqi asked.
"We're understaffed," Yi answered flatly.
"You guys always recruit like this?"
"Correct."
"For real?"
"No reason to lie."
"You know, not many people are this straightforward when talking about cooperation." Roqi chuckled, finally believing this wasn't a joke.
"You think this is business?" Yi raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Let me put it another way."
He looked Roqi dead in the eye.
"Bend the knee. Buy your life."
The room instantly dropped several degrees again.
"I hate this feeling," Roqi muttered after a long silence.
"So… you're refusing?" Yi asked one last time.
"…No. You win."
Roqi sighed, shoulders slumping. "Might makes right, huh, Officer?"
After a whole second of deliberation, he gave in.
He didn't know what was coming next, but refusing would've been a one-way ticket to the afterlife.
"So, now that I've agreed, at least tell me what's next. Biotech experiments? Hell week bootcamp?"
He looked at Yi, who had stood and was already leaving.
From entry to exit, the entire conversation had lasted five minutes, but it felt like an eternity.
"Testing," Yi said simply.
As he disappeared down the hallway, Roqi remembered the rumors surrounding MaxTac.
That sometimes, when cyberpsychos were captured alive, they were secretly modified and recruited.
Well, apparently, the recruitment part was true.
Despite their infamy, MaxTac wasn't as chaotic as people thought. They had a strange kind of order—a pure, relentless pursuit of power in the name of law and safety.
"Only a few qualify. That's why we're always short-handed," Yi explained, as if reading Roqi's thoughts. "This place isn't a resort. It's hell—for maniacs seeking redemption."
"Redemption?"
Roqi echoed the word, his eyes narrowing.
"Follow every order. Obey every rule. Step out of line, and you won't survive the trials of hell." Yi looked back. "Until then, someone will always be ready to kill you."
"…Great."
Roqi and Mower resigned themselves to their new reality.
"Is everyone here recruited like this?"
"They say only the insane would join us," Yi smirked. "It's not exactly true—but it's not wrong either."
A chill swept through the room.
After a long silence, Mower finally spoke.
"There's something… off about him."
Relieved yet uneasy, her voice carried weight. She'd fought MaxTac before—never understood them. Now, it felt far worse than she'd imagined.
Madness didn't always look like barking lunatics. Sometimes, it was silent, patient, hidden behind a composed smile.
"When you stare into the abyss," Roqi murmured, "the abyss stares back."
"This is a game of 'Red Light, Green Light.' If you can't face the abyss, it'll consume you."
"We all need something to hold on to—some belief. Otherwise, death isn't far behind."
Roqi sighed. "They may be crazy, but at least they believe in something—law, justice. That's more than you can say for most of Night City."
"So… we're one of the crazies now," Mower said.
She remembered the soul-deep pain of her implant failures—but her face stayed calm.
"Then let's be crazy. Everyone's got cyberpsychosis these days anyway."
Roqi shrugged, grinning. "Some go nuts and act like idiots. Others go psycho in style. If I'm gonna be insane—I want to look damn cool doing it."
"That," Mower nodded, "I agree with."
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