“Hey, do you think the boss is in a bad mood today?” A Maelstrom ganger leaned against a rusted metal railing, nervously scratching at the chrome plating on his neck.
His companion snorted.
“How the hell should I know?
Maybe he hasn’t snorted enough SynthCoke today.” The first ganger laughed.
“Then why don’t you bring him some?” “Screw that.
Why don’t you do it?” The two men exchanged grins.
“Heh.
I’m giving you an opportunity.” “Yeah?
Then I’d have to be an idiot to believe anything coming out of your mouth.” Suddenly, the first ganger frowned.
“Hm?” “What?” “I thought I heard something.” The second ganger rolled his eyes.
“You’re imagining things.” “No, seriously.
I just upgraded my audio receivers yesterday.” He looked toward the warehouse entrance.
The night air felt strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
The second ganger opened his mouth to continue arguing.
Then— Pfft!
A sharp sound cut through the darkness.
His eyes widened.
Blood spilled from his lips.
For a moment, he couldn’t understand what had happened.
Then he looked down.
A blade protruded from his chest.
The first ganger froze.
His friend’s blood splashed across his face.
His mind went blank.
Fear.
Shock.
Adrenaline.
Pure survival instinct.
Everything merged into one overwhelming command.
Draw your weapon.
Now.
The ganger reached for his pistol.
Too slow.
Swish!
A flash of silver crossed his vision.
Something heavy struck the ground.
He looked down.
Half his pistol lay at his feet.
Beside it rested half of his hand.
Pain exploded through his nervous system.
His scream never came.
Swish!
Another silver flash.
The world suddenly spun.
His vision rotated violently.
Then he saw something impossible.
A headless body.
His body.
It collapsed to its knees before falling forward.
The final thing he witnessed was a dark figure charging into the center of the Maelstrom compound.
Then everything disappeared.
— David Martinez shot upright on his couch.
“Holy shit!” His breathing came fast and heavy.
Sweat covered his forehead.
Instinctively, he grabbed his neck.
His pulse raced beneath his fingers.
Even though he knew it wasn’t real, the sensation lingered.
The fear.
The adrenaline.
The rush.
It felt completely authentic.
Slowly, that fear transformed into excitement.
David’s eyes sparkled.
The power displayed in the recording was unbelievable.
The speed.
The precision.
The confidence.
It was the kind of strength every kid in Night City secretly dreamed about.
A crackling voice suddenly came through his comms.
“Hehehe…” David instantly recognized it.
The neighborhood ripperdoc.
“So?” The doctor chuckled.
“Pretty good Braindance, right?” David nodded enthusiastically.
“Pretty good?
It’s amazing!” The excitement in his voice was impossible to hide.
“Where did you even get this?” The doctor laughed.
“Got lucky.” David immediately knew that was a lie.
The doctor continued.
“Remember that big Arasaka operation against Maelstrom recently?” David blinked.
“Yeah.” “One of the dead Maelstrom guards had a Braindance recorder installed.” The doctor sounded proud of himself.
“So I pulled it out before anyone else could.” David’s eyes widened.
“Seriously?” “Seriously.” The doctor laughed again.
“The funny thing is, I didn’t even have to clean it up much.” “Top-quality recording.” “Pure gold.” David couldn’t disagree.
The perspective from the doomed Maelstrom ganger made everything feel terrifyingly real.
Especially the ending.
The final few seconds still haunted him.
That impossible sword strike.
The lingering awareness after decapitation.
The strange sensation of witnessing death itself.
It was horrifying.
And fascinating.
“The guy moves like a monster.” David stared at the paused frame on his screen.
Victor Vermilles stood surrounded by bodies.
The image looked less like reality and more like a scene from an action movie.
The doctor laughed.
“Right?” “That final death sequence was practically art.” David reluctantly nodded.
As disturbing as it sounded, he agreed.
The silence lasted for a moment.
Then David frowned.
“Wait.” “Won’t Arasaka come after you for this?” The doctor immediately responded.
“And that’s why I haven’t sold it.” David sighed.
“Then why let me watch it?” The doctor burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!” “You worry too much.” “A guy like Victor Vermilles isn’t going to waste time hunting some random ripperdoc over a single recording.” He paused.
“At least not if nobody causes trouble.” David wasn’t entirely convinced.
Still, he ended the call.
The apartment became quiet once again.
David leaned back against the couch.
His eyes drifted toward the city lights beyond the window.
Then toward the frozen image on the screen.
Victor Vermilles.
Arasaka executive.
Corporate elite.
Monster with a sword.
David clenched his fist.
Then he threw a punch into the air.
“Hah!” The strike was clumsy.
Weak.
Nothing like the movements he’d just witnessed.
A few seconds later, he collapsed back onto the couch.
The fantasy faded.
Reality returned.
No matter how exciting the Braindance had been, his mother would never allow him to pursue that kind of life.
And honestly?
He wasn’t sure he wanted it either.
The danger felt very different when it wasn’t happening inside a recording.
David sighed.
“Better finish my chores.” Then something suddenly occurred to him.
“Oh.” His eyes widened.
“The uniform.” Immediately, he jumped off the couch and rushed toward his bedroom.
Tomorrow was the opening ceremony for Arasaka Academy.
His first day.
His future.
Inside the closet hung a pristine academy uniform.
It remained sealed inside its protective packaging.
Neither he nor his mother had touched it since it arrived.
They were both terrified of accidentally damaging something so expensive.
David carefully placed his hand against the package.
His reflection stared back from the transparent surface.
The memory resurfaced instantly.
His mother’s smile.
The pride in her eyes.
The envy from the neighbors.
The Arasaka representatives personally delivering the uniform.
For Gloria Martinez, it represented hope.
For David, it represented responsibility.
He tightened his grip.
“I can’t let Mom down.” — Meanwhile.
Far above the streets of Night City.
Victor sat inside his office reviewing reports from the Maelstrom operation.
The final files were uploaded to Arasaka’s internal network.
Only then did he look toward Canris.
“Is tomorrow’s speech prepared?” Canris nodded immediately.
“Everything’s ready, Boss.” Victor leaned back in his chair.
“Good.” “There is one more thing.” Canris hesitated briefly.
“Several board members from Arasaka Academy want to meet you.” Victor chuckled.
“Of course they do.” He wasn’t surprised.
After all, he had graduated from Arasaka Academy himself.
Now he was returning as a powerful executive.
The board members would be eager to build connections.
Political games existed everywhere.
Even inside schools.
Victor shook his head.
“I’ll have to meet them eventually.” Canris nodded.
“That’s probably unavoidable.” Victor picked up a glass of water.
“Anyone important among them?” “Actually, yes.” Canris opened his datapad.
“One of the lead researchers from the Cyber-Kong project.” Victor paused.
The name sounded familiar.
Canris continued.
“I paid attention because Adam Smasher is apparently scheduled for future testing.” Victor raised an eyebrow.
“Adam still hasn’t arrived?” “No.” Canris shook his head.
“Apparently he’s tied up with another mission.” Victor nodded thoughtfully.
That made sense.
Adam Smasher wasn’t exactly known for being available on short notice.
He was Arasaka’s most dangerous weapon.
His attention was expensive.
Victor rested his chin against his hand.
“The Cyber-Kong project…” His memory resurfaced.
According to previous reports, the project originally focused on developing a universal exoskeleton platform.
Mass production.
Military deployment.
Large-scale battlefield application.
Yet now Adam Smasher was involved.
That meant something had changed.
Significantly.
Victor looked at Canris.
“What do you know about the project?” Canris immediately raised both hands.
“Boss, you’re asking the wrong person.” “I’m just security.” Victor laughed.
“Fair enough.” Canris visibly relaxed.
“Anything else?” Victor thought briefly.
Then nodded.
“Have Brandt coordinate with Counter-Intelligence.” “Understood.” Canris left the office.
Silence returned.
Victor stared out at Night City’s neon skyline.
The Cyber-Kong project intrigued him.
If only Adam Smasher could operate it effectively, the project had obvious problems.
A weapon that couldn’t be mass-produced had limited strategic value.
It couldn’t strengthen Arasaka’s military as a whole.
It couldn’t become a profitable commercial product.
Still…
A slow smile appeared on Victor’s face.
Sometimes flawed projects contained valuable opportunities.
Blueprints.
Technology.
Research data.
Any of them could become useful.
Victor opened his status interface.
Current Points: 5032 Part of that total came from Maelstrom.
The rest came from rogue AIs destroyed during recent Blackwall dives.
The number wasn’t bad.
But it wasn’t enough.
Not yet.
Victor leaned back in his chair.
He needed more opportunities.
More field operations.
More story-changing events.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
His expression turned thoughtful.
“Strange.” One particular name had been missing from his notifications.
A very important name.
V.
So far, no missions had appeared.
No special triggers.
Nothing.
Victor tapped his fingers against the desk.
“Too early?” Or perhaps they simply hadn’t interacted enough.
Either way, he suspected that would change soon.
And when it did…
Night City’s future would begin moving toward its inevitable collision course.
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