MHGA Chapter 192: David's New Cyberware
"Urrrrrghhhhhhh!!"
Inside a small, hidden clinic in Night City, a surgery was currently underway.
David lay facedown on the operating table as his most trusted ripperdoc worked on installing the Sandevistan into his body.
Because no anesthetics were used, David had no choice but to bite down hard on the surgical mouthpiece prepared on the table—enduring the agony of having his cyberware re-implanted purely by grit and willpower.
After taking a Recovery Potion, David's flesh had completely regenerated, forcibly pushing out all his previous cyberware. So this surgery wasn't just about re-installing the Sandevistan—it included putting back in the basics like his cybernetic eyes and other foundational implants.
Jotaro Kujo, biting his finger nervously, watched from the side as David's limbs were cut apart and replaced with metal parts. Though he wasn't particularly squeamish about blood, the sight of perfectly healthy body parts being carved off to make way for cybernetics… that, as a man from the 20th century, he just couldn't wrap his head around.
And the fact that David went through all of this without anesthesia—that took guts. Joseph Joestar was honestly impressed by the guy's resolve.
"Haah… you've got guts, kid. Just look at you, letting me install something as unstable as a Sandevistan straight into your system."
Doc gave David a pat on the back once he finished the operation. "It's done. Try moving a little. You'll probably bleed some."
"Thanks, Doc." David pushed himself up with one arm from the operating table. "Really. Thank you."
"What the hell are you thanking me for?!" Doc snapped. "Tell me where you got that freaky-ass potion that pushed all your chrome out! You know how hard it is to recognize someone without cyberware? You'd be unidentifiable without that metal!"
"That's not why I'm thanking you," David turned his head to look at Doc. "It's because… well, never mind. I can't really explain it."
In that doomed future, this ripperdoc had been one of the very few people who'd kept David grounded until the end.
David had thought their relationship was purely transactional—but to think that one of the people who'd still remember him at the end… would be him.
"How the hell did you even get your hands on a Sandevistan, huh?" Doc squinted at him suspiciously. "You didn't raid an Arasaka or Militech lab, did you?"
"No."
David pulled himself off the table, unsteady on his feet.
Blood seeped from his arms, back, face, neck—all the areas where his new implants had been installed.
"I just realized I had to change. There was no other way," David said, placing a hand on his freshly implanted cyberware. "In this hellhole called Night City…"
"Cut the speech!" Doc interrupted. "Start talking. What the hell actually happened?"
"I…" David began, "I joined a Gathering."
"There, the Guildmaster gave me a kind of potion that restores your body. That's all."
"Oh come on! You think you can pay me back for installing a Sandevistan with just that?!" Doc snapped.
"I got it," Joseph Joestar quietly raised a hand.
He placed a small bottle filled with a light green liquid on the stand next to the operating table.
"Recovery Potion – G Rank," Joseph said plainly. "Even if someone's down to their last breath—so long as they're still alive, this stuff will bring them back."
He had debated whether to give Doc a standard potion or a specially mixed G-Rank one.
But considering how decent Doc turned out to be in the end, he opted for the G-Rank version.
"G, huh?" Doc held the bottle up to the light, inspecting the liquid. "Weird-ass name. This one of your company's experiments? You sure it's really that good?"
"Wanna test it out, David?" Doc turned to him. "Don't worry—I'll put your cyberware back in after."
David's face twisted. No way he was going through another no-anesthesia surgery.
"It hurts like hell, you know…" Joseph grimaced. "What, you want me to chop my own arm off just to prove it?"
"No need." Doc gave Joseph a once-over. "In Night City, someone with no implants is already rare enough—and today I met two. One of 'em even someone I know."
"No-name medicine, huh… Whatever. Anyone who walks into this clinic doesn't need guarantees anyway."
He didn't even give anesthetic—figures he'd be fine with mystery drugs too.
"If someone can actually use this kind of stuff and still die… then yeah, they probably had it coming."
"Doc, keep this one for yourself." David steadied himself and looked at Doc. "You'd better make it out of Night City alive."
Leaving those words behind, David staggered off the table and headed outside.
Joseph gave Doc a quick nod before chasing after him.
"Talk about dramatic exits…" Doc grumbled, watching them go. But after glancing at the Recovery Potion G, he silently placed it on the clinic's supply shelf.
"In just a day or two… the kid's changed this much? What kinda gang did he even join…?"
As David and Joseph stepped out of the clinic, a notification popped up in their HUDs:
[Kairo Retsu]: David! Joseph! Come to the intersection of Bradbury Street and Brawn Street! There's a fortune-teller shop here! Meet up! I've got a friend to introduce! Plus, we need to discuss our next steps.
"Hah?" Joseph raised an eyebrow. "Guildmaster? Has a friend here? Hah?!"
"Eh?" David was equally confused. "Wait… could Hunters already come to Night City before?"
"No way! I'm one of the first batch of Hunters from the Gathering!" Joseph clutched his head. "Then what even is that place?!"
"Uhh… I've never been either," David added, puzzled. "But we can grab a cab now. I've got cyberware again, so I can actually pay for rides…"
[Kairo Retsu]: Hurry up! Kazuma and I are getting our fortunes told! You guys should try too! Misty's readings are dead-on!
"So who the hell is Misty?!" Joseph looked more bewildered than ever.
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