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One hour later, the fifty sets of cyberware frames that had filled the workshop had all been fed into the fabrication bench.
The room was empty again.
Except for the five brand-new cyberware frames suspended quietly in the center.
They were only the lowest grade, White tier, but they still radiated power: cold, heavy, and intimidating.
These were the five Source-series frames Rook had just built.
When he walked out of the workshop, he saw Lucy dressed for a night run.
His interest rose immediately.
“Lucy, want me to come with you?”
“Obviously.
Why else would I be waiting for you in the living room?”
Lucy gave him a sidelong look, then pulled him out of the duplex.
…
[System Notification]
System Cache detected within 100 meters.
Standing inside the elevator, Rook froze at the sudden prompt.
The system had not warned him when he came up during the day.
Then, as the elevator descended, a second prompt chimed.
[System Notification]
System Cache detected within 10 meters.
This time, Rook frowned.
They were moving straight down, and somehow getting closer to the cache.
Then realization flashed through his mind.
He quickly switched the elevator’s destination to the underground parking garage.
The moment the doors opened, he saw it.
A faint blue System Cache rested on top of the Herrera Outlaw GTS they had bought that day.
‘What the hell.’
Buying a car and getting a cache with it was a first.
Blue cache acquired.
Rewards
– Cyberware installation technique chip (Blue tier)
– Cyberware installation operating table (Blue tier)
– Operating system chip improvement technique chip (Blue tier)
‘Interesting.’
Rook hummed softly, collected the rewards, and quickly returned to street level with Lucy.
…
“I’ve noticed something,” Lucy said as they jogged down the street.
“Since moving into that duplex, you’ve spent most of the day buried in the lab.
That’s not good.
You need to come out and move.”
Rook ran beside her while she lectured him.
Somehow, after barely a day together, the two of them had fallen into the easy concern of lovers who had been together for years.
Of course, that did not stop them from stabbing at each other with words.
“I’m all for exercise,” Rook said, teasing her without thinking, “but you should understand something.
My stamina and endurance are exceptional.”
He did not realize how the words sounded until they were already out.
Lucy, naturally, refused to lose.
“Behave.
Don’t forget you’re still a virgin.”
They bickered their way through the run and returned to the duplex.
But without crossing that final line between them, they only said good night and returned to their separate rooms.
…
The next morning, Maine’s crew and Jackie arrived outside the duplex early.
With Lucy calling for him, Rook finally dragged himself out of bed and let everyone into the living room.
After a quick wash, he hurried downstairs, entered the workshop, set up the cyberware installation operating table, and went back to the door.
“Maine, you’re first.
Everyone else, wait in the hall.” Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Rook knocked on the workshop door and called out to him.
“Yes, Mr.
Mercer.”
The big man stood.
His body actually trembled a little, clearly from excitement.
“Why so nervous?
This is just the first generation of the frame.
It is not as powerful as you’re imagining.
At most, it can only go fifty-fifty with Adam Smasher.”
Rook clicked his tongue and let Maine into the workshop, then shut the door.
Maine saw the five cyberware frames hanging inside at once.
Each one gave off a faint, cold gleam.
At Rook’s signal, he lay down on the operating table, barely able to contain himself.
…
“Relax.
You won’t feel anything anyway.
When you wake up again, you’ll realize your current body is garbage.”
Rook took one cyberware frame and began separating it into parts as he spoke.
Maine lay there, watching his back.
After hesitating for a long while, he finally asked.
“Mr.
Mercer, can I ask what this frame does?”
Rook let out a soft laugh.
Holding the anesthetic, he turned and sat in front of Maine with a mysterious smile.
“Maine, I chose this one specifically for you.
It has a very fitting name.”
“Source Frame: Juggernaut.
It is only the first generation, but remember this: in Night City, no one will be its match.”
Then Rook drove the anesthetic needle into Maine’s neck without hesitation.
He took out the cyberware installation technique chip, inserted it into the slot at the back of his neck, and began implanting the first-generation Juggernaut frame into Maine’s body.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.