Morning never brought true silence to Night City.
Massive holographic advertisements continued flickering beyond the apartment window.
AVs swept between the towering corporate skyscrapers, while the streets below filled with workers, mercenaries, vendors, gang members, and exhausted night-shift employees.
The sun had risen, but the city still moved like a machine incapable of shutting itself down.
Lena Hale slowly opened her eyes.
She stared at the unfamiliar ceiling and remained still for several seconds.
For a brief moment, she thought she was back in the Badlands, sleeping inside a temporary nomad camp or squeezed into the rear seat of the Thorton Galena.
Then she remembered.
This was their apartment.
H10-01.
Valerie lay beside her, leaning against the edge of the bed and still half asleep.
Sharing a bed had never seemed unusual to either of them.
During their years with the Bakkers, sleeping close together had often been a matter of survival.
The Badlands were filled with raiders, hostile wildlife, sandstorms, and desperate travelers willing to kill someone for fuel or clean water.
Having someone beside you meant there was another pair of ears listening for danger.
Over the years, it had simply become a habit.
Lena reached out and nudged Valerie’s shoulder.
“Wake up.
It’s morning.”
Valerie opened one eye, checked the time through her Kiroshi Oracle Optics, and ran a hand through her disheveled hair.
“You aren’t planning to accept another gig on our first morning here, are you?”
Lena sat up and stretched.
“Rent doesn’t become free because we just moved in.
Besides, we need to keep improving.”
Valerie gave her a helpless look.
“You really don’t know how to rest.”
Before Lena could answer, an incoming call appeared in her vision.
[WAKAKO OKADA]
Valerie immediately became more alert.
“Looks like yesterday’s little incident has already spread.”
Lena accepted the call.
Wakako’s mature, composed voice came through the connection.
“Good morning, Lena.
I hope I’m not interrupting your rest.”
Lena checked the time.
“We just woke up.”
Wakako chuckled softly.
“Young mercenaries tend to adapt to Night City faster than ordinary people.”
She paused.
“I’ve already heard what happened inside Megabuilding H10.”
Valerie leaned against the table and raised an eyebrow.
“News travels that quickly?”
“I still have many friends among the Tyger Claws,” Wakako replied.
Lena was not surprised.
They had moved into the building and immediately humiliated five Tyger Claws in front of dozens of witnesses.
It would have been stranger if the story had not reached Wakako.
“What do you want?” Lena asked directly.
“I heard your crew performed well on Padre’s contract.
As it happens, I have a job available.
I thought you might be interested.”
Lena enabled call sharing so Valerie could hear everything.
“Tell us about it.”
“There is an abandoned automated-equipment factory in North Oak called Impala Automatics.
The company collapsed years ago, and the facility was gradually forgotten.
Recently, however, I received information that someone had restored its power and resumed operations.”
“What kind of operations?” Valerie asked.
“That is what my client wants to know.
I sent a three-person netrunner team to investigate.
All three were killed by automated security systems less than twenty minutes after entering.”
Lena frowned.
“Serious defenses, then.”
“Very,” Wakako replied.
“Several months ago, a man calling himself Dr.
Koch took control of the factory.
He hired technicians to maintain the machinery, power grid, and security systems.
Most of them know nothing about his research.
They receive their money, complete their shifts, and avoid asking questions.”
“What is he building?” Valerie asked.
“A Militech heavy combat robot.”
Wakako’s voice became more serious.
“My client wants the research data.
Retrieve it, and you will receive fifty thousand eddies.
I will manage the consequences and suppress any investigation that follows.
Anything else you find inside the factory is yours to keep.”
Lena’s eyes narrowed slightly.
However, Night City had a simple rule.
The larger the payment, the greater the chance of dying before collecting it.
“That doesn’t sound like a minor gig,” Lena said.
“There are no truly minor gigs in Night City,” Wakako answered calmly.
“I’ve sent you everything I know about the facility.
Contact me when you decide.”
The call ended.
A mission marker appeared on Lena’s map, followed by the factory’s security records and partial layout.
She synchronized the files with Valerie and forwarded a copy to Jackie.
[MISSION LOCATION: IMPALA AUTOMATICS]
[DISTRICT: NORTH OAK, WESTBROOK]
[AUTOMATED DEFENSE TURRETS: 4]
[PTERODACTYL DRONES: 6]
[R2 SECURITY ROBOTS: 8]
[ON-SITE PERSONNEL: 12]
[MILITECH HEAVY COMBAT ROBOT: 1]
Lena enlarged the factory layout above the table.
“Security robots handle patrols and direct combat.
The turrets protect the fixed entrances, while the staff maintain the power and manufacturing systems.”
Valerie studied the floor plan.
“If Wakako’s information is accurate, the workers aren’t combatants.”
“Not deliberately,” Lena said.
“But every one of them is connected to the factory’s operational network.
If someone sees us, they could trigger an emergency protocol and activate every machine in the building.”
The factory was effectively a mechanical fortress.
Valerie’s Yinglong would be devastating against drones and security robots.
Its electromagnetic smart ammunition could disable cyberware, disrupt electronic systems, and track moving targets through crowded industrial corridors.
Lena considered crafting another Yinglong for herself.
She opened her system inventory.
[AVAILABLE ITEM COMPONENTS]
[TIER 1: 44]
[TIER 2: 76]
[TIER 3: 12]
She had enough materials to craft a Tier 2 Yinglong.
However, Lena did not immediately confirm the construction.
Her attention shifted toward her operating system.
[ARASAKA MK.II CYBERDECK — TIER 2]
A second Yinglong would solve the immediate problem, but upgrading her cyberdeck would improve every future mission involving security networks, hostile netrunners, cameras, turrets, drones, and combat robots.
With a more powerful system, she could deploy advanced quickhacks faster and maintain control over more targets.
Programs such as Short Circuit would become far more effective against the factory’s automated defenses.
There was another consideration.
If the system’s salvage rules applied to machinery, Impala Automatics could provide an enormous number of item components.
Robots, turrets, drones, and industrial equipment should all contain usable materials.
The factory itself could pay for her next round of upgrades.
Lena made her decision.
The Yinglong could wait.
Her cyberdeck took priority.
She opened the upgrade interface, only to frown when she saw the requirements.
Cyberdecks were far more expensive to improve than conventional implants such as Subdermal Armor or general body augmentation.
[CURRENT EQUIPMENT]
[ARASAKA MK.II CYBERDECK — TIER 2]
[UPGRADE TO TIER 3]
[REQUIRED: TIER 2 ITEM COMPONENTS ×75]
[FUTURE UPGRADE TO TIER 4]
[REQUIRED: TIER 3 ITEM COMPONENTS ×75]
Lena rubbed her forehead.
The price was brutal but understandable.
A cyberdeck was not an isolated piece of hardware.
Upgrading it required rebuilding the neural interface, expanding the data-processing core, improving heat management, and replacing portions of its underlying architecture.
Each tier allowed the system to process more complex quickhacks and maintain additional programs simultaneously.
Lena stared at the component requirement and remembered playing the game in her previous life.
Back then, item components were merely numbers displayed inside an inventory.
After clearing a gang stronghold, she sometimes ignored valuable components because collecting them felt like a waste of time.
Now, those same components determined how quickly she could become stronger—and whether she survived her next job.
Complaining would not change anything.
“If we clear Impala Automatics, I should recover most of what I’m spending.”
Her expression became firm.
Lena selected the upgrade.
[CURRENT CYBERDECK]
[ARASAKA MK.II CYBERDECK]
[UPGRADE TARGET]
[ARASAKA MK.III CYBERDECK]
[COST: TIER 2 ITEM COMPONENTS ×75]
“Confirm.”
The Arasaka Mk.II Cyberdeck began transforming inside her body.
A wave of pressure passed through Lena’s head.
Installing ordinary cyberware involved altering flesh, bone, or muscle.
Upgrading the cyberdeck was different.
The system rewrote portions of her neural interface and reorganized the internal data-processing modules connected to her brain.
New processing cores came online.
Data channels were rearranged, corrupted fragments were erased, and the cyberdeck’s underlying architecture was rebuilt around a more powerful framework.
The entire process lasted only a few seconds.
Then the pressure disappeared.
Lena blinked.
Nothing about the room had physically changed, but her perception of the surrounding network was noticeably clearer.
Nearby access points responded almost instantly.
Devices that previously required several seconds to identify and analyze now appeared with their network architecture already organized before her.
The difference was not spectacular.
It was comparable to replacing the processor in an old computer.
During basic tasks, the improvement might seem minor.
Under the strain of a complicated breach or an active firefight, however, the gap would become decisive.
Lena reviewed the updated specifications.
[ARASAKA MK.III CYBERDECK]
[RAM CAPACITY INCREASED TO 17]
[DATA-PROCESSING SPEED INCREASED]
[MULTIPLE-TARGET MANAGEMENT IMPROVED]
[QUICKHACK COMPATIBILITY EXPANDED]
“Not bad.”
Against Impala Automatics’ mechanical security force, the improved cyberdeck gave her another powerful advantage.
Valerie watched her carefully.
“You upgraded something.”
It was not a question.
Lena smiled.
“My cyberdeck.”
“Just now?”
“Just now.”
Valerie shook her head.
“I’m beginning to understand why Viktor looks exhausted whenever he examines you.”
Lena ignored the comment and opened Wakako’s contact page.
[CONTRACT ACCEPTED]
[CREW: LENA HALE, VALERIE, JACKIE WELLES]
[OBJECTIVE: ACQUIRE HEAVY COMBAT ROBOT RESEARCH DATA]
She sent the confirmation.
Wakako replied almost immediately.
[GOOD.
CONTACT ME AFTER RETRIEVING THE DATA.]
Lena closed the message and turned toward Valerie.
“Call Jackie.
Tell him to come over.”
Valerie opened a shared channel.
Jackie answered after several seconds.
“Hey, amigos.
You found another gig already?”
“We’re hitting an automated factory in North Oak,” Lena said.
“Before we leave, pick up a few things.”
“How many things?”
“Enough to fight a private robot army.”
Jackie was silent for a moment.
“I’ll bring the Galena.”
The three reunited shortly afterward and began preparing for the operation.
They purchased additional ammunition for the Yinglong, Overture, Lexington, Omaha, and La Chingona Dorada pistols.
EMP grenades were divided among their belts, while spare medical supplies were stored inside Jackie’s vehicle.
They also packed silencers, tactical knives, encrypted communications equipment, and several Short Circuit quickhacks designed specifically for mechanical targets.
Valerie sat at the table and inspected her Yinglong.
Her Smart Link connected without issue, while the newly installed Recoil Dampening System responded to the weapon’s projected firing pattern.
“The smart targeting is stable,” she said.
“The recoil buffers are working too.”
Jackie loaded both golden pistols and secured them inside their holsters.
“So, what’s the plan?
Sneak inside, steal the data, and leave before the machines wake up?”
Lena studied the map of Impala Automatics once more.
“That would be the clean version.”
“And the other version?”
Lena closed the factory schematic.
“Every robot in the building wakes up, and we take the entire place apart.”
Jackie grinned.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
Their first contract from Wakako Okada had officially begun.
And waiting inside Impala Automatics was not merely a stolen research file, but an entire factory filled with machines Lena’s system could potentially turn into power.