"It's a pleasure to meet you too, kid."
Vik extended his hand toward Jhin, who gave it a firm shake.
"The Devil's Boxing Club—I've always admired the fighters who come out of that place,"
Jhin said with a smile.
"Oh? Didn't expect you to know about that."
Vik looked genuinely surprised.
"Yeah, I used to enjoy watching boxing matches. But ever since boxing got tangled up with Cyberware, it lost its charm. Might as well watch the Animals go at it instead."
Jhin dragged over a nearby stool and sat down.
"Sounds like you preferred things more natural back then."
Vik chuckled, picked up his surgical tools, and walked toward Jackie.
"Alright, Jackie, you can close your eyes now—unless you want to watch me open up your stomach."
"Fine, fine. Just… be gentle with whatever's inside me."
Jackie nodded, shut his eyes, and threw in a joking remark.
"Oh right—if you ever need inhibitors, come find me. I can still get you the good stuff."
Vik suddenly remembered and turned toward Jhin.
The offer caught Jhin off guard for a moment, then he let out a soft laugh.
"Thanks, but no. I know my own condition well enough. I don't need inhibitors."
"Is that so…"
Vik nodded and released a barely audible sigh. In his mind, Jhin already knew his body was failing and had simply given up on treatment.
"Your condition? What, are you in bad shape or something, Jhin?"
Rebecca asked.
"No. My body is perfectly normal."
Jhin shook his head slowly, signaling that wasn't the case.
Rebecca still looked suspicious, but didn't push further. Since he didn't continue, it meant he didn't want to talk about it.
Lucy, listening quietly on the side, studied him. Her impression: an incredibly skilled netrunner, and a strange mix of madness and calm coexisting in one person.
"Such an extreme level of cyberware modification…"
Lucy thought to herself. His appearance reminded her of Adam Smasher in the Arasaka facility.
Adam Smasher's monstrous cyberware load came not only from natural talent but also from Arasaka's top-tier tech—custom implants and the highest-grade Cyberware Inhibitor.
Those minimized every side effect, letting Smasher operate at absolute peak.
So… could this man also come from a corporation?
Lucy considered it possible—but also unlikely. Even among the outcasts, there were monsters. Some with talent surpassing even Adam Smasher's.
Morgan Blackhand—Night City's legend. Lucy didn't know much about him directly; she mostly heard snippets from others. People only brought him up when talking about Johnny Silverhand.
But in truth, Morgan Blackhand was the one who held Adam Smasher back.
A nearly unaugmented man taking on Adam Smasher head-on… Imagine how terrifying he'd be with top-tier implants.
Or he might become weaker—if his strength was rooted in that exceptional natural body. The human body… it's strange, isn't it?
While Lucy drifted through her thoughts, Rebecca, Pilar, and Jhin had finished talking.
"So," Jhin said, "I'd like to invite you all to form a team with me."
Pilar stared blankly. The fame gap between them and Jhin was astronomical. Joining him offered them almost nothing. So… why ask?
Then Pilar looked at Rebecca—and instantly thought he understood.
Jhin saw Pilar's expression and, knowing how his brain worked, immediately realized the ridiculous misunderstanding forming.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I just think your group isn't afraid of the corporation."
"What do you mean by that?"
Lucy finally spoke.
Jhin glanced at her.
"This Cyberware on me—you can tell. It's not cheap."
Not cheap was an understatement…
Vik, having finished the surgery, thought this silently while applying a ring of healing agent around Jackie's wound.
"I used to be a corporation test subject. So I assume you know what I intend to do."
"You want to take on a corporation like Arasaka Corporation? That's impossible."
Lucy's voice carried a mocking bitterness—aimed at Jhin, and also at herself.
Jhin met her gaze.
"If you don't even try—if you leave nothing behind of your existence—then you might as well die. Exit this sh*t-covered world completely. Maybe that's the only real freedom."
Lucy fell silent at that.
Jhin turned toward Pilar and Rebecca. Jackie joined them then.
"Didn't expect you to be so determined, brother. I accept your invitation," Jackie said.
"Jack!"
Misty immediately cried out. Going against a corporation wasn't a joke.
"No need to stop me, Misty."
Jackie shook his head. Once he decided something, he stuck to it. Call him stubborn—that's who he was.
"Just don't leave your gun with me again,"
Rebecca said, stepping forward to playfully punch Jhin's hip, her hand slipping behind her back. Hmm… kind of firm.
"Since Rebecca agreed, I've got no reason to refuse. Consider it paying back the life debt,"
Pilar shrugged.
Everyone's eyes then turned toward Lucy.
Lucy lowered her head. After a moment of silence, she nodded lightly.
She couldn't keep running forever. She had to face her fears eventually.
Maybe… this was her chance.
"You really don't need to worry. Given your current situation, I'm not taking you into direct conflict with the corporation. That'd just be sending you to your deaths. I'll help you grow stronger first."
Seeing Jhin's situation stabilize, Roland temporarily handed everything on that side over to the AI. He had corporation affairs to handle—and new intel to process.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser