Roland returned to his familiar office, ran his hand across the desk, and sat down in the main seat. Over the past month, he had only been back in Night City for a few days at the start; after that, all his time had been devoted to Agas City.
Fortunately, the effort had been worth it—at the very least, the flow of Blue Essence had become far more stable.
He began going through the recent events and the intelligence that had piled up.
"Hmm… The Mox's expansion… They've had some friction with the Tyger Claws? Still, both sides are holding back. Probably because of the people standing behind them…"
Roland flipped through the Mox's files. Following his instructions, Elizabeth had pushed outward into neighboring areas, bringing in some fringe drifters and starting fixer operations.
The Tyger Claws, on the other hand, had been trying to suppress the Mox's growth. But they knew the Mox had PROJECT Corporation behind them, so they didn't dare go too far. The Mox, however, weren't nearly as polite—there was bad blood already.
Thankfully, Elizabeth chose restraint. She didn't launch any major operations against Tyger Claws turf and instead turned her attention to the Maelstrom.
With the NCPD—now running upgraded gear—tilting the scales, the Mox took over part of Maelstrom's original territory, officially kicking off a feud between the two.
All things considered, the gangs hadn't had any major incidents. Everyone was keeping themselves in check.
As for the corporations—after the hit they'd taken last time, Militech and Biotechnica decided to clean up their image. They started running charity campaigns and investing in public infrastructure.
Militech led the charge; Biotechnica was more or less forced into it—pressured by Militech.
After all, the incident had only happened because of Biotechnica. But in a world where megacorps control public narrative, Biotechnica didn't care much. Time erases most memories. And besides… no matter how bad the press gets, people still need to eat. They can't stop eating, right? As long as they eat, All Foods factories remain unshakable.
They'd just have to endure being scorned for a while—nothing more. Which was why Biotechnica had no desire to contribute.
Militech, however, was different. They needed public goodwill badly, for their own reasons.
Arasaka didn't say anything about it—Militech was only recovering lost reputation.
If Militech tried to push their influence in Night City any higher, then Arasaka might not be so indulgent.
After finishing all the documents, Roland slowly rubbed his eyes. The feeling was back—the exhaustion.
No surprise there. Life in Agas City had been far too easy. Aside from Hammos Industries, no one could even put up a fight. And Hammos Industries had been half-ruined from the start, so things had been comfortable for him.
But now that he was back in Night City, he had to clash with megacorps again… Roland felt tired already.
Still, he forced himself to look at another file—information on Lucy and the Night Corp.
He'd sent people to investigate because he genuinely wanted to know whether the current Night Corp was still the Night Corp… or if it had already become an AI-run conglomerate.
But clearly, they found nothing.
The Night Corp was deliberately hiding relevant data. And of course they were—if something like that came out… whether it remained the Night Corp or not, it definitely wouldn't survive afterward.
"Lucy…"
Roland stared at the youthful face in the photo. Lucy had likely just begun her life as a drifter. He already liked her character a great deal.
He wanted to meet her in person—not for any ulterior motive, but simply because she was Lucy.
"Boss, I'm here. You needed me?"
Vilet walked in wearing a custom PROJECT combat suit, glancing at Roland curiously.
Snapped out of his thoughts, Roland shifted his gaze to her and nodded, signaling for her to sit.
"Right, Vilet. The modifications tailored for you are ready. Now it's time for you to choose."
"I already made my decision from the start."
Vilet didn't hesitate—her tone was direct.
"Good. Then come with me."
Roland gave a slight nod and headed into the hidden chamber.
The process was the same as Kiwi's. After Vilet lay down and fell unconscious, he inserted the chip into her slot.
But before Roland had even settled in to wait, streams of data wrapped around Vilet's body at incredible speed—and in the next instant, everything vanished. So fast that Roland barely processed it.
He almost blurted out a question mark. Kiwi's installation had taken a short while, but Vilet's… how could it be this fast?
"Host, the Judgment mainly uses biological cybernetics and gene modification. She has very few mechanical cyberware implants, so the process is relatively quick."
Roland glanced at the energy gauntlet on Vilet's arm, confirming the modification was complete. That was enough—no need to meddle further. He stepped out and left Kiwi with instructions to wait for Vilet to wake up.
Then he got into the car and headed straight to Jig-Jig Street.
...
"Oh? I truly didn't expect someone of your status to visit in person. Please, sit."
Wakako looked at the young man in front of her with a hint of surprise, but didn't hesitate. She slowly stood, picked up a tin of tea leaves, and began preparing tea.
"This is a bit too formal. I only came to ask Wakako-san a few questions."
Roland quickly reached out, stopping her movements, then sat across from her.
"You flatter me too much with that title. I'm hardly worthy of it. Still, this old woman has some abilities. Whatever you need, just say it."
With a gentle smile, Wakako paused and looked at Roland.
"I need to meet this child."
Roland took out a photo of Lucy and handed it to her.
"Oh… no problem."
Wakako accepted the photo, studied it briefly, and nodded. A trace of curiosity flashed in her eyes. As for why he was looking for this poor girl…
She had never been the type to pry into others' business.