Chapter 1 – Game World
Night City, New United States of America – 2077
"The day has finally come," Ash murmured, staring at his reflection in the cracked mirror.
Who would've thought that playing a game could lead to full-on transmigration? Really? Just like that?
But after nearly two decades of surviving in Night City, he'd long since stopped asking why. There was no going back. And what was coming next would shatter whatever peace this city still pretended to have.
"Hey! Kid! Move!"
A deep voice interrupted his thoughts. A towering, two-meter-tall Black man in a sleek black suit and perfectly styled hair smacked Ash on the shoulder, clearly annoyed that he was hogging the only working sink.
Typical of someone from the Animals—a brutal gang known for their obsession with muscle mass and physical dominance.
Corporate lapdogs like this guy deserved to be put in their place.
Ash's expression, moments ago reflective, turned cold as steel.
"Get your filthy hand off me."
His voice wasn't loud, but it cut like ice. The man's smirk faded into a sneer.
"You got a death wish, punk?"
Without hesitation, the behemoth swung a meaty fist at Ash. A single blow, he thought, would knock this scrawny corpo type halfway to the morgue.
That's how Animals operated—talk less, hit more.
Unfortunately for him, Ash wasn't just anyone.
Bang.
The sound was dull but final. Ash didn't dodge. He turned and caught the punch with one hand. The man's confident grin vanished into disbelief, quickly replaced by agony.
Ash squeezed.
CRUNCH.
The man's wrist twisted in an unnatural angle, bones snapping and flesh splitting like overripe fruit.
"AAARGHHHH!"
Ash released the shattered hand, letting it drop like garbage. Calmly, he pulled a silk handkerchief from his jacket, wiped the blood from his fingers, and said coldly:
"Not everything in this city is yours to touch."
Then he tossed the bloodied handkerchief into a nearby trash bin and walked out of the filthy public restroom without another glance.
---
Outside, the city was alive.
Towering buildings loomed over both sides of the cracked street, their walls plastered with holographic ads and neon graffiti—an ever-shifting canvas of electric dreams and corporate lies.
> "Militech – The Choice of Warriors." "Kang Tao – Welcome to the Smart Life." "Arasaka's Latest: Relic. Immortality is Just the Beginning." "Biotechnica Breakthrough: CHOOH2 Yield Increased Again!"
The flood of megacorp ads was endless.
Beneath the lights, a chaotic mix of pedestrians roamed—punks in spiked jackets, engineers in grease-stained uniforms, tech addicts muttering to themselves. A few high-end AVs zoomed overhead, ignoring traffic laws, while motorcycles and modified cars ripped down the street below. Fully autonomous Delamain cabs whizzed past on schedule.
On either side of the road, chrome-flooded ripperdoc clinics displayed cyberware implants in their windows like candy. Street food vendors peddled neon-colored snacks, and the hum of old-school guitarists blended with the background noise of a city that never shut up.
Night City—romanticized tech dystopia and brutal playground of the ambitious.
Ash took it all in, knowing full well that this version of the future was only real for those who could afford it.
"Hey, Ash. You okay?" asked a soft voice beside him.
"I'm fine." Ash turned, his serious look melting into a faint smile.
"You're overthinking again, Yui," said Takumi Kai, a sniper from Arasaka's Tokyo division. He hefted his sleek Type-A Arasaka kinetic rifle and grinned. "Come on. Boss Ash doesn't go down that easy."
Back when he first joined the crew, Kai thought he'd walk all over the 'locals.' That illusion shattered in under a week.
Sandayu Oda just rolled her eyes at him. She was worried, but not enough to argue—because Ash had saved her from the Six Street Gang's Red House. From that moment on, she'd decided to follow him anywhere.
"Where to next?" asked Yue Tanaka, the demolition expert of the squad. A man of few words and fewer expressions, his voice was as heavy as his build.
"Didn't Boss say? We report in," Arasaka Yuto muttered with a yawn. "Nova Li's still not back though. How long does it take to jack a ride?"
Right on cue, a six-wheeled Militech Willett 600 roared into view, drifting to a smooth stop in front of them. The passenger door slid open.
"Talking shit again?" Nova Li, golden-haired and dramatic as ever, took the lollipop from her mouth and glared at Yuto.
"How the hell did you hear that?" Yuto blinked. "Comms are off."
"I didn't have to hear it, sweetheart. You're predictable."
She leaned out, voice dripping with mock concern. "I don't get what Ash sees in you. You can't lift, can't shoot, can't drive. Arasaka nepotism much? Oh no, don't cry, baby boy. Mommy's here~"
"You—!" Yuto was stunned speechless.
Ash clapped his hands to get their attention.
"Alright, enough. Mission's done. Drop the goods. Meet at Afterlife later."
"Long live Boss Ash!" Kai cheered. As a lover of pleasure and freedom, he was already thinking about drinks.
"Ugh, that bar again?" Yuto muttered. "We make bank. Why not somewhere classier?"
"You'll understand the value of money when you grow up," Nova Li said with a sigh, dramatically aged by Yuto's nonsense.
"That's it! Come down and fight me!"
"You come up."
"No—you come down!"
"You come up!"
Watching the childish argument spiral, Ash gave Yue Tanaka a nod. The big man calmly grabbed Yuto by the collar and dropped him in the passenger seat like a sack of rice.
"Let's move."
Ash followed, stepping into the heavy transport as it roared back into the chaos of the city.
---
Meanwhile, at Konpeki Plaza...
"I don't feel good about this," V muttered to Jackie, nervously adjusting her collar.
"Relax, chica," he replied, equally tense. "We're robbing Arasaka, not buying coffee."
V—a street kid turned merc—and Jackie, a seasoned Heywood bruiser, had become close friends after a few gigs. Today, they were running the biggest job of their lives: infiltrating Konpeki Plaza to steal something valuable enough for Dexter DeShawn to stake his rep on.
Getting past the front desk had already been nerve-wracking. Corporate scanners nearly blew their cover, but V managed to talk their way through with some fast thinking.
She hated working jobs this high-risk—but the payout, the rep? Too tempting.
Inside their suite, Jackie popped open his briefcase. Out unfolded a spider-like black bot—Flathead, a Militech special.
"Ready?" came T-Bug's voice in their ears.
"Let's do it." Jackie linked the Flathead's feed to his laptop and began.
V sat cross-legged on the floor, steadying her breath.
One wrong move and they were dead. But if they pulled it off?
They'd become legends.