Sitting in the car after leaving the villa district, V chatted with Silverhand.
"You think this'll work?"
"You mean using his hand to track Evelyn through that Arasaka guy named Leon Black?" Silverhand chuckled, "I wouldn't count on it."
"Really?" V lowered her head, deep in thought. For a brief moment, she considered telling Qiaochuan directly that Evelyn was with Leon, but her instincts told her to back off. If Leon realized he was being used, he might not hesitate to kill her.
So instead, she chose a more subtle route—try to pressure Leon into relocating Evelyn, which would open up a chance to strike.
"If you ask me," Silverhand muttered, "we should just sneak in and grab her while he's not around. Why waste time playing games?"
"He knows all of us," V countered. "If the rescue fails and we leave a trace, I can escape. But what about Viktor and Jack? If they get hurt because of me, what's the point?"
Silverhand fell silent. Her words struck something buried deep in him. If he had cared more about the people around him back then… would he have lost so much?
"Fine," he finally said. "You're done with your part. Now it's my turn."
He never did hesitate. Reconnecting with old friends, then blowing up Arasaka Tower again—that was Silverhand's idea of closure.
---
Meiquan District, southwest coast.
Inside a crumbling skyscraper's abandoned parking structure.
Metal sheets had been used to partition the place into makeshift rooms. A bonfire burned in the middle, casting flickering light that fought back the cold.
This was Nomad territory—home to society's forgotten: the elderly left behind by families, washed-up gangsters, ex-corp employees, homeless youth.
They had different stories but one thing in common: Night City had thrown them away.
"So warm~"
The soft, eerie voice sliced through the air.
More than a dozen Nomads huddled around the fire instinctively reached for their weapons, staring into the shadows.
A man walked out. His clothes weren't expensive, but they were clean and neatly pressed—an instant contrast to the grime-covered survivors around the fire.
Leon Black.
"Relax," he said with a calm smile. "I'm just here for him."
He pointed to a man lying near the edge of the circle, back turned, silent.
"If you don't mind… step outside and give us a moment. Otherwise—don't blame me if things get ugly~"
The Nomads stiffened, hesitating.
A young man stepped forward. "May I ask what you want with him?"
Oh? Polite?
Leon tilted his head toward the speaker. In Night City, manners were rare unless someone had been to school—or had a gun in their face.
The young man was short, dressed in a yellow jacket with a tidy punk haircut. He didn't belong here—not quite.
"What's your name?"
"David. David Martinez," he answered firmly, standing tall.
Leon grinned. "Good! Spirited."
He saw something rare in David—youth and drive, still unbroken by the city.
"You've been to school?"
"Arasaka Academy student," David replied.
"Then why are you here?"
Corporate academies were lockdown zones. Students weren't allowed out before graduation—unless…
"I, uh… snuck out." David rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. His mom worked herself to the bone just to pay for tuition. It wasn't enough, so he occasionally snuck out to earn extra cash.
"You snuck out on your own?" Leon's eyes narrowed slightly, drifting to a figure standing behind David.
The figure shifted subtly, hiding deeper into the shadows behind him. An oversized black hoodie concealed her face.
"Interesting~" Leon smirked. To escape undetected from Arasaka Academy required serious hacking skills.
He asked, "Want to make some money?"
"Huh?" David blinked in confusion.
"I need someone investigated. Take the job, and I'll give you a 20,000 eddies deposit."
"Twenty thousand?!"
David's eyes lit up. Before anyone could warn him, he nodded eagerly. "I'll do it!"
"Good. Leave your contact number. I'll send you the mission details later. But one more thing—after this, leave the area. Friendly advice: go far."
After exchanging info, David motioned to the others, and they quietly left. None of them were interested in dying for the new guy. A solo with corporate energy this strong… it screamed danger.
Leon, meanwhile, turned back toward the slouched middle-aged man.
"Give me the legendary gear," he said, eyes calm. "And I'll spare you."
"You think—I will?" the man growled.
A loud static hum vibrated in the air as the man suddenly turned. His cybernetic eyes burned red from overheating.
"Low-level cyberpsycho," Leon muttered, raising his left hand. "Let's not waste time."
"Shinra Tensei."
BOOM!
The concrete shook. Dust exploded into the air.
Over a hundred meters away, David and the others paused mid-run, turning to look back at the crumbling building now engulfed in smoke and debris.
"Such power…" David muttered in awe. Even with his Sandevistan, he was impressed.
"Of course. That's Leon Black," said a soft female voice behind him.
"Lucy, you know him?" David asked, turning to her. "Is he really that strong?"
Lucy shook her head. "Not personally. But I know about him."
"What's his story?"
"To get promoted, he eliminated Arasaka's entire newly formed Seventeen Squad…"
"What?! Doesn't Arasaka care?"
"No. On the contrary—they admired him."
David was stunned. "You mean—?!"
Lucy nodded grimly. "The mission assigned to them was simple: Only one may survive."
---
Back in the parking lot...
The cyberpsycho's mangled body lay twitching, reduced to a torso. Only one red, mechanical eye remained—blinking in fear.
Leon walked over calmly, examining a piece of tech he'd pulled from the body.
"Not much of value," he muttered, inspecting the Xinglu Division Type-3 optical implant—an old but still legendary model with thermal scanning, data analysis, optical shielding, and an extra module slot.
It was a relic. A once-premium product from Xinglu Division's early black-ops experiments.
Even if it was "antique," an item like this could never be sold openly in Night City. The black market was the only option.
"No wonder Zeta Technologies isn't hunting you down."
Leon smirked. The implant hadn't come from Zeta, so they likely didn't care if someone took him out. If anything, they'd prefer it.
"You're not… from Zeta?" the mutilated man croaked.
Leon shook his head. "Nah. I just like recycling old furniture."
The man blinked in confusion. He didn't understand. Leon didn't care.
The item was secured. It was time to leave.
Leon raised his right hand.
A plume of fire surged out, engulfing the man in seconds.
No screams. No ashes left behind. Just silence.
He glanced at his watch. Three minutes. "Hmm… slacking."
He sighed and looked up at the moon breaking through the cloud cover.
"I'm really not used to this without Lena Fox."
Word on the street was that the real elite—the untouchables—now lived on the moon. Maybe, someday, he'd get to see it.
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