After finishing today's work, Song So Mi dragged her utterly exhausted body toward her quarters.
The empty corridor was lit by cold, sterile lights. Song So Mi felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness—but even more terrifying than loneliness was death itself. Each time she crossed the Blackwall, it left deep scars on her. The data turbulence never stopped tearing apart her heavily cyberized body, and redundant fragments of corrupted information triggered system crashes and forced reboots every few days.
Song So Mi understood this with brutal clarity:
She was going to die.
Through her connection to the Blackwall, she had gained access to the Old Net, but the Blackwall's power had also backlashed against her. Her days were numbered.
She wanted to live. No matter what, she wanted to live.
She could effortlessly breach megacorp networks and extract the most classified secrets. She could inflate her bank account with whatever number she pleased. Yet when it came to the simple act of surviving, she was utterly powerless.
What should she do?
Song So Mi walked toward the end of the corridor, where her quarters were located. A nearby light was broken, leaving that stretch of hallway shrouded in darkness—like an abyss.
Suddenly, she let out a muffled groan.
Her body began to tremble uncontrollably. Her fingers spasmed, and a violent wave of nausea surged up her throat. She doubled over, retching—but nothing came out.
"Ugh… ah… help…"
She collapsed to the floor in agony, crying out for help, even though she knew no one could save her.
She crawled with difficulty, propping herself up against the wall, forcing her breathing to slow, trying to stabilize her heart rate. It barely helped. Another spike of pain slammed into her brain. She screamed, clutching her head, her eyes bloodshot as if they might start bleeding.
At first, Song So Mi thought this was another Blackwall backlash—but now she sensed something different.
The pain caused by the Blackwall was cold, alien, and twisted. This, however, felt like someone was twisting her skull with a pair of pliers.
Suddenly, a system notification flashed across her cyberoptic.
[WARNING! System intrusion detected!]
Song So Mi was stunned. Gritting her teeth through the pain, she immediately deployed her personal ICE—but the intruder moved through her defenses as if strolling through their own backyard. Her ICE didn't react at all, smiling and ushering the intruder inside like a friendly neighborhood guard welcoming a homeowner.
"Fuck!"
She cursed under her breath, realizing too late that a backdoor had been planted in her system.
A second notification appeared.
[Synchronizing. 96%… 97%… 98%… 99%… 100%]
The pain eased slightly, though her body still twitched from time to time. Her cyberoptic continued to flicker with persistent visual noise.
A woman squatted down in front of her—a face known to everyone in the world.
"V!"
Song So Mi spat out the name.
V smiled elegantly. "Relax, Song So Mi. You'll be fine. Take a deep breath. Count to ten. Or chant a prayer."
"Does… that help?"
"From personal experience?" V gave a thumbs-up. "Absolutely fucking useless."
"Fuck you—you're messing with me!"
"I'm just doing to you what someone once did to me." V folded her arms and leaned against the corridor wall. "Your nervous system took a hit it couldn't handle. That's why you've got rapid heartbeat, cold sweats… just endure it. It'll pass."
"Someone did this to you?" Song So Mi snapped bitterly. "Then that person is a real fucking asshole."
V laughed. "Good insult. I like it. Say a few more."
"Tch." Song So Mi wasn't a kid—she had no interest in verbal sparring. "What do you actually want? To kill me?"
"No. I'm here to save you." V raised an eyebrow. "You've got a ticking time bomb in your head, right?"
Song So Mi froze, then panicked. "What are you doing?! Shit—don't touch my buffer! That's full of—"
"—corrupted data clusters caused by Blackwall backlash," V finished calmly. "I deleted everything I could and installed a simplified Aegis ICE. It's something those idiots in the Voodoo Boys reverse-engineered from the Blackwall. Same lineage, more or less. It should mitigate the impact and make things easier for you."
Song So Mi did feel better. The constant heaviness and cold she lived with had noticeably eased.
She checked her buffer and asked in disbelief, "You calculated the core units of those corrupted clusters. Where did you get that kind of processing power? Are you connected to Night City's super-servers?"
"I wish. Unfortunately, this kind of connection doesn't have the bandwidth for massive data exchange. So I had to rely on my own processing power."
"You mean… your own brain?" Song So Mi rejected the idea instantly—then, seeing V's calm expression, realized she wasn't joking. She was shaken for the third time. "Fuck… you're not a rogue AI, are you?"
"If I were a rogue AI, your Blackwall connection would've triggered alarms already," V replied. "I came with sincerity. Stop testing me."
"Sincerity?" Song So Mi sneered, waving a hand at V—only for it to pass straight through her. "You left a backdoor in me, hacked my system, interfered directly with my brain as a consciousness construct projected onto my retina—and you call that sincerity? Why don't you come in person and talk?"
"Then give me the address," V said with a grin. "I guarantee door-to-door service."
Song So Mi choked on her words.
As Myers's trusted agent, she knew V had publicly declared her intent to kill Myers. There was no way she dared reveal the location of this secret lab.
She had no doubt that the second she spoke the address, V would storm in and blow Myers's head off right in front of her.
Imagining that scene…
For a brief moment, Song So Mi actually felt a strange sense of anticipation.
She quickly shook it off. Myers couldn't die. Myers controlled the most advanced technology in the NUSA—she could cure her. As long as she was willing.
"Fine. I'll take the loss," Song So Mi said at last. As a FIA agent, her rhetoric was sharp; once she sensed disadvantage, she immediately shifted gears. "Talk. What do you want?"
"I want Myers dead. I need you as my inside agent."
"Impossible!" Song So Mi refused outright.
V didn't panic. "The payment is your cure."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"You saw what I just did—deleting corrupted clusters isn't impossible. It just requires absurd levels of processing power." V raised a finger and pointed upward. "Do you know where humanity's largest computing center is? On the Moon. The Crystal Palace Cloud Sea Base. It was humanity's launchpad to the stars, equipped with the world's most powerful server arrays. Coincidentally, Arasaka 2077 is part of the Cloud Sea Program—and I happen to be the one in charge of Arasaka 2077. Others don't have access. I do. If you work as my inside agent, I'll take you to the Moon for treatment once it's done."
Song So Mi's heart skipped a beat.
She was tempted.
She had considered the Cloud Sea computing center before, but it was impossibly distant for a low-level agent like her. Even when she managed to make contact through sheer persistence, she was dismissed outright with a single line: Bring us a rogue AI in exchange for server access.
Where was she supposed to get a rogue AI?
There were plenty beyond the Blackwall—but she couldn't capture one.
The Little Polaris Project under Dogtown had caught one, sure—but even Myers couldn't get her hands on it, let alone her, a mere "Songbird."
Now V's words reignited her hope.
After a long hesitation, she asked carefully, "How do you prove you're not lying to me?"
"I can't," V smiled. "You'll have to gamble."
Song So Mi stayed silent for a long time. Finally, she clenched her teeth.
"Federal Emergency Management Agency, Underground Research Facility No. 7. Address: 200 Pennsylvania Avenue, Sublevel B7. There's a secret subway spur connecting to the Washington Metro. The access point is the second accessible restroom on the left side of Union Station. Unlock code: 5848. Internal use only. You can ride it straight in."
V was stunned. "You sold Myers out completely."
"For survival," Song So Mi said firmly, "I can sell out anyone."
On that point, V believed her completely.
In her previous life, Song So Mi had sold her out too—just as she had sold Song So Mi out in return.
That was how it was. Bottom-tier wage slaves should've banded together and stabbed the assholes above them, instead of tearing each other apart.
V reflected for a second, then refocused.
"Thanks for the intel. I'll keep it as a contingency."
Song So Mi blinked. "You're not just storming in and killing her? That'd be simpler."
"Simple, yes—but I'm not a terrorist. I may be the world's number-one solo, but I'm not alone. I'm responsible for Night City."
"So you're a world-class solo who isn't solo. What does that make you?"
"World's number one—minus the 'solo,'" V replied. "Still number one."
Song So Mi was speechless. "Has anyone ever told you you're arrogant?"
"No," V shook her head. "They just know how badass I am."
Song So Mi's mouth twitched. She wasn't used to V's dominance—but as a teammate, that dominance was incredibly reassuring.
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Simple. Give this to Myers. Say you hacked it. You've been attacking Night City's networks for days without results—if you come back empty-handed much longer, she'll probably dock your pay."
"I only failed because Night City has an insanely good netrunner. If it weren't for her, I'd already—wait." Song So Mi froze. "That hacker… don't tell me it was you?"
V shook her head. "Not me."
Song So Mi sighed in relief. One person having god-tier combat ability and god-tier netrunning would've been absurd.
Then V added, "It was one of my cyber-avatars. About seventy percent of my processing power. You know I'm busy—meetings every day. I can't stay online all the time waiting to flirt with you."
Song So Mi's mouth twitched violently.
V hurried to console her. "Holding your own against my avatar means you're already incredible. Seriously."
Song So Mi ground her teeth. "You're really bad at charming girls."
"Who says? I have a girlfriend," V shot back—then asked, "Do you?"
Song So Mi's face went pale with rage.
Romance was a lost cause. She switched back to business.
She glanced at the data and gasped. "The Little Polaris Project?"
"Passwords and digital authorization are included. The real成果 is buried beneath Pacifica."
"You're luring Myers to Night City?"
"Exactly. There, she'll meet with an 'accident.' Night City will express its deepest regrets."
"Dirty politics."
"An eye for an eye. Learned it from Myers. That cyberpsycho incident last time—that was your work, right? So this time, I'll make a cyberpsycho too. And give Myers two missiles of her own."
Song So Mi felt V's terror once more.
Not just her power—but her attitude.
When V decided to kill someone, she meant kill them dead.
"Myers is cautious. With you as a threat, she won't risk going herself."
"I've prepared for that," V said calmly.
"How?"
"You don't need to know. Just mention Reed at the right time."
"Reed?!" Song So Mi's pupils shrank violently.
Solomon Reed was her mentor—almost a father figure. Eight years ago, she had personally sold him out, after Myers promised her freedom in exchange.
For survival, she truly could betray anyone.
Which meant Myers had truly never spoken a single honest word.
"Reed… how is he now?" Song So Mi couldn't stop herself from asking.
"He was captured. He's in prison."
Song So Mi exhaled in relief. "Prison's good. Prison's good. For Reed, that's the best ending."
Only someone who had endured unimaginable pain could say such a thing.
"That's all. We'll be in touch."
V's consciousness vanished.
Song So Mi reviewed the Little Polaris Project data again, just to make sure it hadn't been a hallucination.
"Tch. Either I'm being played—or a bodhisattva just showed up."
Even so, she followed V's instructions.
During her next intrusion into Night City, she submitted the data V had given her. Myers was ecstatic—her voice even turned noticeably gentler.
"Songbird, you've worked hard. Don't worry. I'll mobilize the full power of the NUSA to cure you!"
In the past, Song So Mi would have been deeply grateful. Now, she felt nothing.
She had stopped believing Myers a long, long time ago.
"We must obtain the results of the Little Polaris Project. Once we have that captured rogue AI, even V will be powerless!" Myers was practically intoxicated with excitement.
Song So Mi seized the emotional fluctuation perfectly. The moment had come.
"But the Little Polaris Project is in Pacifica, Night City. Going now would be extremely dangerous."
Myers said firmly, "Great rewards demand great risks. We must obtain that rogue AI at any cost—even if it means war!"
A lunatic.
Song So Mi cursed silently, then said aloud, "That would provoke severe consequences. The NUSA could face international backlash—just like Arasaka did."
Myers stiffened, recovering a sliver of rationality. Not out of patriotism, but because her ambitions and achievements were all tied to the "Unification of the NUSA." Unless it was life or death, she couldn't afford to lose that foundation.
"We finally got the authorization and passwords—are we just supposed to watch?" Myers seethed.
"Well… maybe…" Song So Mi began, then stopped.
"Then say it!"
You asked for it.
"We could reactivate Reed. Let him investigate first."
Myers froze, then her eyes lit up. "Right! Solomon Reed is still in Dogtown—I'd completely forgotten. Good idea, Songbird. You really are my lucky charm!"