"Mr. V… you don't like it?"
When he didn't react for a few seconds, Sandra's smile faltered, disappointment flashing across her face.
Vash snapped back from his thoughts, "It's not that I don't like it. It's just… this is too valuable."
Sandra shook her head, "Not at all. Mr. V, merc work is dangerous. I believe the Lightning Core will boost your capabilities a lot."
At this point, refusing would just be rude. Vash accepted the mod.
"Thank you, Miss Sandra."
The moment it was in his hand, Sandra's expression brightened, pleased in a way she didn't bother to hide.
Right then, the Delamain she'd called rolled up to the curb.
"Mr. V, I have to go. Let's meet again another day."
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After parting with Sandra, Vash rode his Kusanagi CT-3X back to Sunshine Estate.
The second he got home, he disappeared into his workspace and started tearing into the new toy.
"Friday." He called, pulling the Lightning Core from the Militech case, "Analyze this mod. I want the full design process — how they built it, and why it works."
「Mr. Vash, Friday is at your service.」
Friday's voice chimed in, and a pinpoint cloud of nanoparticles blossomed into view, flowing over the Lightning Core like liquid light.
「Analyzing… Comparing… Organizing technical data… Optimizing technological singularities…」
「This chip is a material-radiation confinement product, converting part of the input energy into a new medium to amplify related functions. It involves high-precision integration technology, material fission technology, material recombination technology…」
The Mark L had been one of Tony Stark's proudest suits — Iron Man's main battle armor in his later years. Beyond raw performance, its onboard AI carried a library of cutting-edge engineering.
With Stark's tech base behind it, breaking down 2077-era hardware wasn't difficult.
Before long, Friday laid out the Lightning Core's manufacturing steps, operating principles, and potential optimizations. Vash listened while jotting notes with a pencil — old-school, on paper.
He wanted to build his own cyberware mod.
After all, 2077 was an era where even a smart fridge had source code. Weapons? Implants? Of course they did. Given a chance, Vash preferred being self-sufficient.
And this brand-new Militech mod Sandra had handed him was the perfect reference sample — good enough to reverse-engineer, good enough to improve.
"Friday." Vash said, "Log the research objectives. I don't just want a simple buff. I need the released energy to bind to nanoparticles, and whenever we're tuning materials, every relevant parameter has to be optimized. Also — design a dedicated integrator for storing and releasing energy for my custom implants."
He laid out the concept in a steady, methodical cadence.
「Based on Mr. Vash's requirements, I have generated ten proportional models and am optimizing and comparing them. I will integrate the best solution. Estimated time: three days.」
Friday really was absurd — drawing models, iterating, and benchmarking like it was breathing.
Vash also understood this wouldn't be quick, "No rush. If I only want to replicate the Lightning Core's effects, how long would you need?"
「If Mr. Vash provides the necessary materials, it can be completed overnight.」
That answer was precise enough to shape a plan.
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The next day, both Dexter and Evelyn reached out — careful, discreet — asking about the status of Vash's "implementation". After all, since he'd refused their mission plan, all they could do was probe.
Vash's response didn't change: wait. If they wanted to interfere, they could find someone else.
As if. Nobody else in Night City wanted to hold that hot potato.
Vash couldn't care less about their feelings. No one was going to disrupt his pace. It was just a few Maelstrom scumbags — timing didn't matter.
After meeting Jackie, the big guy went off to keep training with his Gorilla Arms. Vash, meanwhile, placed a call.
"Who is this? How did you get my contact?"
The holo connected. A woman with a sharp, mature edge filled the screen — Militech's senior operations manager, Meredith Stout.
Vash said evenly, "I'm Dexter DeShawn's merc. I'll handle the Flathead problem everyone's sweating over. But first, I want to talk Maelstrom."
Meredith's expression tightened. Corpo instincts kicked in fast, "You're telling me the Flathead is with Maelstrom?"
Vash: "Yeah. In Night City, outside of cyberpsychos, who else is dumb enough to mess with corporate property?"
It was just reality. The city's gangs could tear each other apart all day, but against a megacorp they were gnats. Most of them weren't suicidal enough to touch corporate goods.
Of course… Maelstrom, chrome-obsessed and half-cyberpsycho on a good day, was the exception.
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
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That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)