Victor's Clinic.
"Hello, Miss Nina, is there something you need?" Viktor asked, answering the phone while tidying up his surgical tools after completing a chrome modification.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm? I see… Alright, got it. See you tomorrow, then."
Click~
Hearing the call end, V sat up and asked curiously, "What did Nina want?"
If Jack was V's brother in life and death, then Doctor Viktor was her reborn parent. When she first drifted onto the streets, he was the one who gave her food. He was also the one who introduced her to Jack and let her get chrome modifications on credit. Their relationship was close—V trusted him without reservation, and Viktor, in turn, treated her like family.
So when someone like Nina—someone V didn't trust—suddenly reached out to Viktor, her instincts went on high alert.
"She said a mayoral candidate has a strange illness," Viktor explained, stretching his arms as he continued cleaning. "She couldn't figure it out herself and wants me to go take a look with her."
"A mayoral candidate? With a strange illness?" V raised an eyebrow. "Don't people like that usually have a team of private doctors? Why bring in two civilian medics?"
"I don't know. That's what she said. We'll see once we get there." Viktor gave her a quick glance. "By the way, keep an eye on how your new frontal cortex chrome adapts. If you notice anything off—dizziness, headaches, weird feedback—stop using it and come to me immediately."
"Got it, Viktor," V replied, nodding as data flooded her vision.
When she'd taken down the Voodoo Boys last time, she'd realized how far behind she was in terms of network capabilities. If River hadn't found someone to help with data analysis, they would probably still be chasing leads. So, as soon as she got back, she asked Viktor to install a frontal cortex chrome. It wasn't going to make her a netrunner, but it would let her track energy sources, tap into surveillance feeds, and perform basic intrusions.
By now, V had reached a solid sixty percent chrome conversion—officially a big player on Night City's stage.
Unlike in the game version of events, V's body ran on the Relic operating system. This made it impossible to install certain upgrades, like neural chrome or a traditional operating system. She lost out on two entire chrome slots—but she gained something else.
Immunity.
Typical chrome had network serial numbers, which meant hackers could track, overheat, or overload them with malware. Most victims never saw it coming. But V's setup was experimental. It had no serial number, no accessible network protocol. It couldn't be hacked.
Add in the dual-consciousness effects of the Relic, and her neural bandwidth was ridiculously thick—able to absorb huge amounts of information and resist most data attacks. Ordinary hackers couldn't touch her. Unfortunately, that same instability meant she couldn't become a hacker either.
"I'll be fine," she said, then paused. "Let me know if you hear anything about Evelyn, okay?"
"I will," Viktor promised, already reading her thoughts. "But right now, what you're doing is important. Focus."
Post-op monitoring and checkups were handled by Nina these days. Viktor hadn't been to the institute again, but as the former lead surgeon, it wouldn't be hard for him to ask about a patient's condition if he needed to.
---
Nighttime. Kang Tao Cargo Factory.
A group of men in orange security uniforms stood at the gates, guns at the ready. Their eyes fixed on the approaching figure.
"Who are you?!" the team captain barked, raising his weapon.
"Mercenary," the man replied calmly. "Designation 4399."
"Hold on." The captain radioed his superior while the man walked up casually to one of the personnel and greeted him. "Mr. Anders, good evening. Been a while."
"You know me?" Anders Hellman frowned. The corporate suit and transparent glasses made him look more like a professor than a tech exec.
"Of course," the mercenary smiled. "I'm assigned to escort you on this mission."
"You're alone?" Anders asked, visibly doubtful. "Escort missions usually come with full teams."
"I'm enough."
The captain double-checked his credentials. "Your ID checks out," he admitted, "but remember, this is a corporate security op. You're not in charge here. No acting without orders."
"Understood," the man nodded. "No problem."
With that settled, the team—six Kang Tao operatives, two combat robots, Anders Hellman, and the lone mercenary—boarded the AV.
The merc, Leon Black, found a random seat, stretched out his legs, and pulled out his phone to play a game. AAA titles now ran smoothly on devices smaller than his hand—something he always appreciated in the new tech era.
"Captain Lin," a young operative named Shuya whispered, "Who's this guy? So full of himself."
"A mercenary added by the higher-ups," Captain Lin replied. "Personally appointed by one of the directors."
"A director?!" Shuya gasped. "That's next-level. I've only ever reported to Intelligence."
"If you kill enough people," Leon chimed in from nearby, eyes still on his screen, "you'll get to meet the suits too."
"Huh?! You speak Chinese?" Shuya asked, surprised.
"What, do I not look Chinese?" Leon smirked. "Technically I'm an American citizen, but my mother tongue is still 'a-b-c-d~'"
"Haha! I like your humor," Shuya laughed. "What a coincidence."
"Yep. Always nice to run missions with family," Leon replied, flicking through game menus. "See? I'm even relaxed enough to play on my phone."
"That's because our special forces are elite!" Shuya said confidently. "Nothing's going to go wrong!"
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The AV jolted violently.
The lights cut out, alarms screamed, and the craft began to tip downward—plummeting from the sky like a broken toy.
"Well," Leon smiled, casually putting away his phone. "Guess someone just jinxed us."
Shuya grabbed the overhead bar, her face immediately turning serious as she braced for impact. Two operatives moved to shield Anders Hellman, ready to act as meat shields if necessary.
"We've been hit by an EMP!" the pilot's voice screamed through the intercom. "All engines, comms, and network functions are down! We're in free fall! Brace for impact!"
Outside the AV's reinforced window, they could see sparks bursting from overloaded control panels. Flames licked the sides of the fuselage as key systems fried themselves mid-air.
"Gotta admit," Leon murmured, recording the scene, "that's kinda beautiful."
He planned to show the video to Lena Fox when he got back—she'd appreciate the dramatic visuals.
"Captain! Should we deploy emergency parachutes?!" Shuya yelled, raising her voice over the alarms.
Captain Lin shook his head. "No! Too risky. At this height, jumping might get us killed faster."
They were descending fast—but not so fast that it would be fatal for augmented operatives like them. Deploying the parachutes in chaos might tear them apart instead of saving them.
The AV spiraled, crashing through low-hanging scaffolds and smashing into the ground with a deafening roar.
BOOM!
Debris exploded outward. Sparks flew. The interior lights flickered erratically. For a moment, no one moved.
Leon sat up first, brushing a shard of plastic off his jacket. "Not bad. A little bumpy, but I've had worse."
Combat robots reactivated first, their systems rebooting faster than human implants. They scanned the area with mechanical precision, targeting any threats that might emerge from the shadows.
One of the soldiers groaned, rubbing his neck. "Still alive?"
"Yeah," Shuya grunted, checking her sidearm. "Still kicking."
Anders looked like he might puke. "What the hell was that?!"
"EMP," Leon answered, standing up and stretching. "Tactical sabotage. Somebody doesn't want you to reach your destination."
The comms were still down, but the team quickly switched to silent hand signals. Formation reset. Targets reassessed. They had no choice but to complete the escort on foot..
Leon looked up at the flickering lights in the distance, then back at the others. "Let's move."
They were in enemy territory now.
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