Chapter 2: An Invitation from a Merc Crew
So, Rhys had been dropped into the world of Cyberpunk 2077, but he hadn't landed in the middle of the main event. He'd zeroed in the year 2070.
The current timeline was June 2075. That meant V's legendary tear through Night City was still almost two years away.
In five years, Rhys had adapted to his new life. Of course, he'd been completely freaked out at first. Waking up in a world with more guns than people would do that to you. Seriously, what the hell was with this place?
You see a household of two people, but they've got five guns stashed away. What are you planning on doing with all that iron? Breeding them?
Night City was a sprawling, densely packed chrome coffin. Last year's official corpo report claimed a population of six million, but factoring in all the undocumented souls, Rhys figured it was easily over seven million.
The number of firearms in circulation? Way, way higher than that.
Bottom line: Night City was dangerous, chaotic, and completely unpredictable.
It was just like the "Body Lotto" broadcast every morning—a daily tally of the previous night's casualties. The moment you stepped outside, you were living on the edge. The quiet life was a pipe dream. You could get your head blown off just walking down the street. No one knew if they'd see tomorrow, or if death would get to them first.
Tearing the cheap wrapper off a piece of candy, Rhys popped the salty-sweet thing into his mouth and strolled into the main area of Lizzie's Bar.
"Rhys, you finally decided to crawl out? I was starting to think you were gonna live the rest of your life as a basement rat," a Mox guarding the storage room entrance called out. She had long, beautiful blue hair and a sharp, pretty face. "And about Susan... don't take it too hard. She's got a mountain of shit to deal with every day. Sometimes she's just gonna blow a fuse. Anyway, Korna's over there waiting for you."
She was dressed in the Mox's signature revealing style, with black fishnets covering her long legs. She gave Rhys a friendly wave with her baseball bat.
"Marina, lookin' good. Is that a new synth-skin?" Rhys said with a grin.
"Wanna try it out? I customized it myself with top-shelf material. Feels even better than the real thing."
With a playful swagger, Marina walked over and draped her arms over Rhys's shoulders. She used two fingers of her free hand to pull down the collar of her top, her voice dropping to a seductive whisper. "I got some other parts upgraded too... the kind that glow in the dark."
Rhys's mouth twitched. He took a step back from the teasing. "I'd be game to try, but are you sure you'd be okay with it?"
"Tch, better not. If Rita found out, she'd dismantle me piece by piece," Marina clicked her tongue, then patted Rhys on the shoulder. Her tone became sincere. "But for real, Rhys. It's good to have you back with us."
"Don't get all sentimental," Rhys said, faking a shiver. "I'm heading over."
"Go on, go on! Hey, you wanna come over to my place after our shift? I'll show you my glowing... assets," Marina called out with a laugh.
Rhys just rolled his eyes, flipped her the bird as he walked towards the bar, and was answered with another peal of laughter.
The dance floor lights pulsed erratically. Weaving through the clients looking for a good time, Rhys pulled on a cap, tugging the brim down low. He shoved his hands in his pockets and made for the bar.
"Over here, Rhys," Mateo the bartender called out from a distance.
"Korna's in the back room. She brought a few guests," Mateo said, then added after a thought, "Susan's in there too."
"What? Chewing me out once wasn't enough, now she's bringing Korna in to lecture me?" Rhys grumbled, annoyed that Susan was there.
"Doesn't look like it. The chooms Korna brought are mercs. Susan's in there as backup, to keep things level." Mateo explained. "You know how it is. You never know when one of those edgerunners is gonna go psycho."
Rhys just shrugged and slipped past Mateo into the private booth.
The music was much quieter in here. The first person Rhys saw was Korna. Her yellow hair was tied in a ponytail, her face clean of any cybernetic seams, and she was wearing a blue hoodie. She was sitting on a large sofa, talking to a mountain of a man next to her.
Hearing him enter, everyone in the room turned to look at Rhys.
He took off his cap, revealing his handsome face.
He scanned the room. Besides Susan and Korna, who he knew, the rest were strangers.
There was a man who had to be over two meters tall, wearing sunglasses with white hair and a beard. A woman who was built like a tank, pure muscle under a jacket with nothing underneath.
And then there was a petite woman with a cute, almost doll-like vibe and a black bob cut—
She was sitting in the corner, focused on a laptop on her thighs. When Rhys entered, she glanced up, revealing a pair of huge eyes, long lashes, and pink eyeshadow. Two empty slots on her cheeks were puffing out small clouds of smoke.
Rhys's jaw tightened. He recognized them in an instant.
Before he got dropped into this world, the anime Edgerunners had been a massive hit. Even with the corps trying to lock it down, you could always find a cracked data shard if you knew where to look.
A name instantly surfaced in his mind—Maine's Crew.
"Come, sit," Korna said, a warm smile spreading across her face as she beckoned him over.
Susan, sitting on Korna's other side, shot Rhys a glare. He glared right back. But despite his annoyance with Susan, he obediently walked over to Korna.
After all... when Rhys first arrived in Night City, Korna was the one who found him. The Mox had just been formed back then, before Susan was the leader. In those days, their mission was to help anyone on the bottom rung, no questions asked. Not like it was now.
If it hadn't been for Korna, Rhys wouldn't have survived a single day. A lost kid with no one to watch his back is prime hunting ground for ripperdocs.
So even now that he was strong, he still respected Korna deeply. And like Rita said, Susan... wasn't all bad. She was a good leader. She wasn't targeting him personally; everything she did was to make sure the Mox could survive and grow.
As soon as Rhys sat down, Korna turned to the big man beside her. "Maine, this is Rhys. The one you were looking for."
"For real? This kid doesn't look like he could take out three Tyger Claws," the big man, Maine, said, taking off his sunglasses to get a better look at Rhys. His voice was full of surprise.
"Let's see here... basic Kiroshi optics, a biotech OS that's a decade out of date, hands have some minor recoil compensators... holy shit, is that a subdermal weave a kid could get installed?"
"Hold on, are you messing with me? This little thing took out three Tyger Claws?" A trace of anger crept into Maine's voice.
What a joke.
Even the lowest-ranking Tyger Claw goon was more chromed-up than this kid.
Maine, a true believer that chrome was power, immediately turned his doubt on Korna.
Hearing Maine's outburst, the small hacker in the corner looked up again, her hands never stopping their dance across her keyboard. Amusingly, her head was still puffing smoke, like a literal steam-head.
"Watch your tone, merc," Susan, who had been quietly observing Rhys, suddenly snapped. She uncrossed her legs and sat up straight, her gaze fixed on Maine. "This is Lizzie's. I don't give a damn what you've done on the street or what your rep is. You don't bring that street-rat attitude in here. Or are you looking to start trouble with the Mox?"
Susan's voice was ice. The Mox might not be a major player, and she was always telling her people to keep their heads down, but they weren't afraid of a fight.
"Maine," Dorio, the muscular woman, said his name softly.
Maine held up a hand. He might look like a brute, but he was sharp. He knew he was on someone else's turf. "Easy, I'm just sayin'."
"But I think I've got a point. Who's gonna believe a kid like this could zero three Claws?"
Maine looked at Rhys, his voice hardening. "And another thing, it's not like he's our only option."
"Alright, Maine," Korna interjected. As the Mox's primary "fixer," she knew exactly how mercs like him ticked. Every edgerunner starting out thinks they're special, destined to become a legend in Night City. But reality always hits them hard. Some break and become just another cog in the machine. Some get back up, but they learn their limits and start acting professional. And some... they just go full cyberpsycho.
What else could you expect? Life as a merc wasn't some comfy desk job.
"Rhys, show him something," Korna said, looking at him.
Rhys sighed. To be honest, he still had no plans to become a merc, no desire to make a name for himself. "Do I have to go?" he asked Korna.
"It's a good opportunity for you. A decent payday, and a good word from an experienced crew."
Korna waved her hand dismissively, then leaned in. "I know you're worried, but right now... you really have to go. We can't handle the pressure from the Tyger Claws. Our relationship with them has always been tense, but this time they're looking for an excuse to start a real war. You can't be seen with the Mox for a while. But you know, we're still family."
"Is this Susan's idea?" Rhys asked, glancing at her.
Maine listened quietly, a sharp intelligence in his eyes that didn't match his brutish exterior.
"My idea? My idea is for you to stay home and not cause me any more goddamn trouble!" Susan snapped. She slid a credchip onto the table, pushing it forward with two fingers.
"Here's one hundred and twenty thousand eddies. It's everything you've earned from side jobs over the years. Take it and get lost. I don't want to see your face for a while. Just looking at you pisses me off."
"You know, could you try talking to me with a slightly better tone?" Rhys said, looking at Susan. Just as Rita had said, Susan had always looked out for him. Rhys knew it, but their conflicting ideals always put them at odds. "Have you forgotten who the strongest combatant in the Mox is right now?"
"Strongest? You think Anna would agree with that?" Susan sneered. She placed a pistol on the table and pushed it towards Rhys. It was a pink-painted handgun with a small-caliber frame.
"An Omaha?" Maine's eyes lit up. He glanced at his own hacker. "The Lizzie's variant. Calls itself a pistol, acts like a shotgun. A real preem piece of iron."
Maine leaned back, wrapping an arm around Dorio. "So, now, are you gonna show me what he's—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
His pupils contracted. He stared, mouth agape, at the handsome young man who was now in his face, one foot on the table, body coiled like a spring.
Because the muzzle of a pink Omaha was pressed firmly under his chin.
"Is this enough?" Rhys asked quietly, his voice calm as he held the gun steady against Maine's jaw.
"At this range, I can definitely put a hole in that chrome chin of yours, don't you think?"
Korna and Susan watched the scene unfold without a change in expression.
Dorio, however, shot to her feet, and the hacker in the corner sat bolt upright.
"Wait!"
Maine raised a massive hand, stopping Dorio. He tilted his head back, moving it away from the gun's muzzle, and then he started to laugh. A deep, booming laugh.
"Now that's more like it! A guy who can zero three Tyger Claws has to have some fire in him, right?"
Maine extended his large hand. "Let's start over. The name's Maine. I'm the leader of this crew."
Rhys lowered the gun. "Rhys. Just a gopher for the Mox."