Chapter 297: Dimensional Exploration
Dorio crossed her thick arms, her heavy body like a wall. She added in a muffled voice, "Those workers... are more desperate than the most miserable homeless in Pacifica. The homeless can at least find a corner to rot in on their own. There, they are born as screws in a machine, tightened until they die, and then thrown away as scrap metal."
Valerie, who hadn't spoken much, finally opened her mouth. Her voice was calm but possessed a penetrating quality, the analytical tone unique to a former corporate elite. "When I was at Arasaka, I encountered some deductive models regarding the final form of a megacity."
She paused, as if comparing cold databases with vivid memories. "Now that I have seen it with my own eyes... Night City, if the corporate council is allowed to devour everything without restraint, if technology races towards control and exploitation for hundreds of years, if the classes are completely locked and the bottom class piles up like trash... then, its final destination is probably the exact Hive City we just saw."
Her words plunged the lounge into a brief silence.
This analogy was too precise, and too terrifying.
Night City was already the extreme of chaos and oppression in their understanding, and the Hive City demonstrated the even more despairing endgame this model could reach on a temporal scale.
"Damn," Jackie spat. "Hearing you say that makes going back feel a lot less joyful. We fought with our lives on the line, is it just to prevent our home from turning into that kind of hellhole?"
"At least we know now how bad the worst can get." Maine broke the silence, his tone firm. "Moreover, we have the possibility to change some things."
He was referring to their enhanced bodies and the further support they might obtain from Ryo.
The topic then shifted to the "dimensional exploration" Ryo mentioned last.
"Going to another world..." Falco pushed up his sunglasses, the lenses reflecting the sheen of data streams. "Will there be deviations in fundamental physical constants? What if there are pure energy-state lifeforms... or if time itself flows differently? That would be a huge joke."
His tone carried the curiosity and prudence unique to a tech geek.
Rebecca's eyes lit up immediately. She slapped her thigh, making a light metallic clink. "Fuck yeah! Another world! There's bound to be big guys we've never seen before to blast! Maybe even some good local specialty gear! Think about it, if we can score some exclusive weapons or black tech from over there... damn, wouldn't we walk sideways in Night City? Whoever we don't like, just whip it out and give them an otherworldly surprise!"
She was already immersed in the fantasy of blasting her rivals to ash with unknown weapons.
Pilar twisted his long neck uneasily, his voice trembling a bit. "Give it a rest, Rebecca... I just hope it's not another hellhole like this, having to risk our lives at every turn. What if... what if it's a somewhat normal world? At least let me get a peaceful sleep without worrying about being dragged away by some monstrosity while I'm out."
Jackie sat up abruptly, his commercial instincts instantly activated, his eyes shining like scanning eurodollars. "Hey! Why is everyone thinking about violence? You're thinking too small! Think about it, what if that world has local specialties, like... fruits that give you an eidetic memory when eaten, or fucking naturally glowing gems you'd never see in Night City! We bring back a few crates, open a shop in Vista Del Rey or Charter Hill, exclusively selling 'Otherworldly Curiosities.' Isn't that a fucking monopoly? Faster money than robbing a bank!"
He had already started mentally calculating the potential profits and the costs of bribing various factions.
Valerie calmly interrupted their fantasies, her voice like a bucket of ice water. "The unknown also means an equal level of risk. Since the Magos entrusted this mission to us, it means he has evaluated its value and is well aware of the dangers involved. We can't just crash in like headless flies. Reconnaissance, equipment adaptation, emergency extraction plans... these must all be in place before departure. Missing even one could leave us stranded there forever."
Her mindset had already switched to the standard Arasaka high-risk mission assessment mode.
Maine listened to the noisy discussions of his team members, his rugged face expressionless, but his eyes were deep.
Returning to Night City meant temporarily bidding farewell to this universe filled with steel prayers and eternal war, and returning to the metropolis woven with neon, cyberware, and cold capitalism—a place they both hated and knew intimately.
But this time, they were no longer the street mercenaries struggling to survive in the cracks as they once were.
Extradimensional enhancement technology flowed within their bodies, more brutal combat memories were etched into their bones, and they carried the mission of expanding territory for that Mechanical Magos on their shoulders.
This was both an unprecedented opportunity—a springboard out of the mud pit of Night City—and a representation that they would be drawn into an even deeper, more dangerous vortex.
He looked at his team members—the restless Rebecca, the shrewd Jackie, the nervous Pilar, the steady Dorio, the tech-focused Falco, the shadowy Mower, and the calm Valerie.
They were still the same bunch who crawled out of the cesspit of Night City, but indeed, something had quietly changed after experiencing the flames of the Forge World and the darkness of the Hive City.
The road ahead was unknown, the fortunes unpredictable, but at least their team was still together, and they were harder, more ruthless, and could endure more than ever before.
He looked at his team members, these partners who struggled out of the streets of Night City with him, who had now transformed into warriors capable of battling terrifying entities in the depths of the Hive City.
The road ahead was unknown, but at least, they were still together, and much stronger than ever before.
"Alright," Maine stood up straight, interrupting everyone's daydreams. "Before we go back, there's still work to do. Everyone perk up and finish the testing tasks assigned by the Lord Magos. And then..."
He looked at the metal door of the lounge that symbolically isolated the inside from the outside, as if he could pierce through it to see the distant, bizarrely colorful Night City. "Then, we go home. To prepare for the next 'business trip'."
Everyone's expressions turned serious as they nodded.
Returning to Night City was not the end, but a new starting point.
The dimensional exploration mission was like a door about to open. Behind it might be endless opportunities, or lethal traps.
But regardless, they had stepped onto this path. There was no turning back, only continuing forward.
The discussion in the lounge gradually died down, replaced by a solemn anticipation of the future and the determination to silently accumulate strength to face the unknown.
Either way, they were now doing at least much better than those mercenaries on the streets of Night City.
(End of Chapter)