MHGA Chapter 191: Good Bro Jackie
"So why are we all sitting around playing a single-player game together?!" Kazuma complained. "No wonder there are multiple endings! So it is a single-player game! Why didn't you tell us that earlier?!"
"Cut the crap! Cyberpunk is huge! The game doesn't even cover the whole setting! There's the tabletop RPG, the novels, all kinds of stuff… You think I have the energy to explain all that one by one?!" Kairo Retsu replied, while copying Cyberpunk 2077 onto each PC. "It's ready to play!"
"It really is kinda weird… so many of us sitting here just to play a solo game," Naofumi Iwatani muttered.
"Haven't used a mouse and keyboard in forever," Rakuro Hizutome said excitedly. "So this game's Night City is the same Night City we're heading to for the assignment, right?!"
"Yeah. Right now in the actual world it's 2076, and this game takes place in 2077…" Kairo gave a simple explanation. "A few hours should be enough for us to get through the early quests…"
"Games are always more fun when you play together!" Kairo gave a thumbs-up. "Though the optimization sucked, it was full of bugs, and I was a total sucker for preordering it… it's still a solid game in the end."
With that brief intro, the Hunters sat together and began customizing their characters.
Tanjiro and Laios, both of whom had never touched a computer before, awkwardly fumbled with the controls.
Meanwhile, Naofumi and Kazuma fondly operated the PCs they hadn't used in ages.
Once everyone finished customizing their V and picked their backstories, they all dove into the game.
Despite the three different origin stories, all paths eventually led to V befriending Jackie and teaming up as mercs—becoming somewhat well-known in Night City.
Jackie, with his cheerful and straightforward personality, left a strong impression on all the Hunters.
Then came the mission to steal the Relic biochip. V and Jackie infiltrated Konpeki Plaza and successfully obtained the chip—only to witness Arasaka Saburo and his son Yorinobu in a fierce argument, ending with Yorinobu strangling his father to death.
While escaping, V and Jackie came under heavy fire. Jackie suffered a mortal wound, and the Relic's protective case was badly damaged. To preserve the chip, V was forced to slot it into their own head. But upon escaping the plaza, Jackie succumbed to his injuries—and V was promptly shot in the head by fixer Dexter DeShawn.
That triggered the chip, awakening the digital consciousness of Johnny Silverhand in V's mind.
"Jackie! Jaaaackie!!!" Kazuma wailed, clutching his monitor. "My good bro! You died so tragically! You were so much more reliable than that Kairo guy…"
"Oi! What do you mean more reliable than me?!" Kairo lunged at Kazuma and put him in a headlock. "You little punk, trying to rebel now?!"
Despite the scuffle, the Hunters had gained a basic understanding of Night City, and had gotten a mock firsthand experience of its culture and chaos.
"Night City really is a mess…" Laios voiced his thoughts. "If it weren't for the assignment, I don't think I'd want to live in a place like that."
"Watching how people live in that city… it makes our world feel way better!" Rakuro added. "Thank goodness things didn't go in that direction."
To him, Night City just didn't vibe at all.
It was one thing if it was just a game.
But realizing that the city in the game was actually real—that they could go there in person, and that all those awful and disturbing things truly existed… it left an uneasy feeling in his heart.
"I think I get what Guildmaster Kairo meant," Shirou Emiya said, guiding V through the chaos of the city. "If you spend too long in that place, your mindset will get darker."
"There are multiple endings to the game, but… I won't spoil anything," Kairo scratched his head. "Anyway, our investigation mission will take a while. It's not like tracking leads is easy."
"We'll get to know the world little by little through the game."
As Kairo was talking, a sudden realization struck him. "Wait! David's world is set in 2076, right?!" He smacked his palm. "That means Jackie's still alive and kicking!"
"I gotta go see my bro!!" Kairo leapt from his seat. "I know where to find him! By 2076 he's already dating Misty—so we just go to Misty's shop!"
"I want to go too!" Tanjiro stood up. "I want to meet Jackie-san as well!"
"Me too, me too!" Rakuro raised his hand. "I wanna see what Night City feels like! And I want to meet Jackie!"
"Why do you guys sound like fans going to a concert?" Naofumi deadpanned. "I'll pass. I still want to see what happens next in the game."
"Same here," Shirou nodded. "Johnny Silverhand seems like he's… hard to get along with…"
"Hehehe… hehehehe…"
Just then, Kairo's eyes caught Kazuma in the corner, wearing a very suspicious grin as he stared at his screen.
"?"
Kairo quietly crept up behind him—and saw exactly what he feared:
Kazuma was repeatedly interacting with sexbots in Jig-Jig Street, spending all his in-game money on "encounters."
Of course it was degenerate Kazuma…
"Ahem!" Kazuma noticed Kairo and immediately closed his screen, then tried to cover it up. "Ahem! I also want to go to Night City. Not for anything weird! Just to, you know… properly explore what it's like…"
"You…" Kairo gave Kazuma a judging look. "You're such a closet perv…"
"Lies! I was just emotionally moved by the chance to meet my bro Jackie, okay?!" Kazuma protested. "No more talking! Let's go already!"
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