"Hey, V, over here."
"Long time no see, Jackie. What have you been up to lately?"
V sat down beside Jackie and asked with interest. On the street, ads were playing nonstop—Moore Technologies' Berserk Cyberware, along with PROJECT Corporation's newly released cyberware models.
Various talk shows followed, with people from all walks of life weighing in on the two corps' products.
V was already more than familiar with all of it. Lately, the ads from those two corps had been absolutely everywhere—there was no way not to know.
"V, I'm telling you, you won't believe this—I joined Jhin's crew. At this rate, it won't be long before I've got my ticket into the Afterlife!"
"Damn, Jackie. Didn't expect you to take off this fast. But how'd you even get in? Someone like him shouldn't be short on teammates."
"Maybe we just clicked. Who knows."
Jackie shrugged, clearly not planning to share what they'd talked about that day. He trusted V, sure—but the fewer people who knew, the better.
"Still, you should watch yourself. Who knows what kind of crooked plans someone like that might be running."
"Relax. Your brother's not some brainless meathead."
Jackie thumped his chest confidently.
"Haha, good. Then here's to you becoming a legend."
V bought a drink and raised it toward Jackie.
"Thanks—cheers!"
...
"Sir, these are the corporation's recent sales figures."
Roland nodded to the employee standing before him, took the report, and waved him off.
At present, PROJECT's primary revenue still came from security contracts and robot sales. Weapons and ammunition brought in similar numbers to robotics, followed by therapeutic drugs—mainly sold to Trauma Team and various security firms.
Last came PROJECT's cyberware. It currently accounted for only a small portion of total revenue, which was understandable. They had only just entered the cyberware market, and most people were still watching and waiting.
From Roland's perspective, though, if PROJECT cyberware ever saw widespread adoption, the Scavengers' business would probably take a serious hit…
To reduce side effects and improve compatibility, cyberware had to be carefully tuned for each user.
Ripping implants out and slapping them into another body without proper safety measures would drastically increase the risk of cyberpsychosis. And those safety measures…
For now, Roland had no intention of making them public. He was planning to open a hospital next.
So if more people started using PROJECT cyberware, wouldn't that indirectly raise the entry threshold for the Scavenger industry?
After finishing his review of the corporation's status, Roland turned to the intel Elizabeth had gathered recently.
Still no news about Sasha.
Which meant she most likely hadn't arrived in Night City yet…
Roland had, however, already looked into her mother's situation. Her mother was indeed dead.
After her death, Sasha and her sister, Stella, had taken the savings their mother left behind and moved away. No one knew where they'd gone.
As for Sasha herself… Roland didn't know much about her. Though, admittedly, her looks did hit right where it hurt—so… ahem.
And in the original timeline, her fate had been pretty miserable.
She'd jumped from the top of the Biotechnica building with critical intel, hoping Maine and the others would pass it to a TV station for exposure. Instead, it ended up with News Channel 54.
The result was obvious.
Not even a ripple—she vanished into Night City without a trace.
...
On a street somewhere in Night City, a girl in a purple hoodie stood staring up at the Biotechnica building, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
She soon turned and walked away.
She had always felt her mother's death wasn't that simple, and she wanted answers. But for now, she wasn't acting.
First, she still didn't know what role Biotechnica really played. After all, after her mother died, they had given her and her sister a sum of money.
Second, her netrunning skills were still too weak. Even if she wanted to break into Biotechnica's systems, she simply couldn't.
Fortunately, she could use what netrunning skills she had to take on simple gigs and earn some eddies—enough to pay others to keep teaching her.
She'd also met a few other netrunners online. Even so, everyone kept their guard up. No one shared real addresses or identities.
"I wonder how my sister's doing lately…"
As she walked, Sasha's thoughts drifted to her sister. She'd never really been able to stop worrying about her—Stella was a bit… simple-minded.
That was why Sasha never brought her along when dealing with dangerous matters. Instead, she encouraged her sister to learn new skills, to see if she could find something safer to do.
All Sasha wanted was for her sister to live a normal life.
Today, she was just out buying a few things—no other purpose. And she'd also heard rumors that the Mox were looking for someone who looked a lot like her.
Because of that, she'd been wearing clothes that covered her face most of the time. She didn't think they were looking for her specifically, but when trouble might be involved, it was better to stay cautious.
After checking her surroundings, Sasha stepped into a convenience store and began picking out what she needed. As she moved toward the checkout line, a heated argument suddenly broke out ahead.
"Hey! Are you buying something or not? If not, get the fuck out and stop messing with my business!"
The figure in front of the shopkeeper kept his head lowered, showing no reaction at all.
"Damn it, I'm talking to you!"
When the man still didn't respond, the shopkeeper's anger flared. He reached out and grabbed the other person by the collar.
Clack!
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
Sasha's pupils shrank instantly, and she dove behind a shelf.
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the store. Red and white splattered across the floor. The shopkeeper's eyes dangled grotesquely from what remained of half his head.
"Ahhh!!"
"It's a cyberpsycho!"
"Run!"
Panic exploded through the store. The cyberpsycho, seemingly irritated by the noise, raised his arm. A cannon port opened in his palm, and he began slaughtering everyone inside without discrimination.
Sasha held her breath, not daring to make the slightest sound, terrified he might notice her.
Before long, the store was drenched in blood. The thick stench spilled out into the street, and the massive disturbance quickly drew attention. Someone outside had already called the police.
Carefully, Sasha peeked out, staring at the cyberpsycho standing motionless among the bodies.
Just as she began to think it only reacted to sound, the cyberpsycho suddenly snapped its head around—
—and locked eyes with her.