By the time Roqi finished laying everything out, the room was full of bewildered, disbelieving faces.
Jackie rubbed his forehead and exchanged a "what-the-fuck" glance with Misty, who stood behind him.
T-Bug stammered over the comms, too stunned to speak properly.
Viktor was deep in thought, frowning hard as he tried to make sense of the theory.
"You're saying your PDA's carrying a terrorist?" V asked, eyes wide like saucers.
"The great Johnny Silverhand, fearless anti-corp rebel," Johnny corrected proudly.
Roqi let out a helpless laugh. Johnny's smugness was honestly contagious.
"That's why I need to find Anders Hellman," he explained. "He designed the relic. He has to know something useful. Think about it—a chip that doesn't just store dead data, but revives a fully conscious digital soul. That means the relic isn't just some rich person's toy to talk to the deceased…"
"It's the key to immortality."
Immortality.
An idea as alluring as it was dangerous.
But was it something within reach for people like them?
For centuries, kings, emperors, and the ultra-rich had gone mad chasing that dream. Even now, if such tech existed, only a rare elite would ever have access to it.
"Do you remember why Yorinobu Arasaka stole the relic from the lab in the first place?" Roqi asked V.
"To sell it to Militech? As part of rebelling against his old man?" V tried to recall what he'd seen in the braindance.
"That's probably part of it." Roqi nodded, then pulled up the third message he'd secretly captured in Yorinobu's suite at Konpeki Plaza, along with its reply:
Subject: Relic
From: Ronald Kiefer
To: Yorinobu Arasaka
Following up on our previous cooperation… If your side is serious, then yes, we're interested. To move forward, we'll need a working prototype that demonstrates the tech functions as described.
Only question is... why?
From: Yorinobu Arasaka
To: Ronald Kiefer
Subject: Re: Relic
Mr. Kiefer, if you understood economics, I'd tell you that the era of zero-sum competition between top-tier corps is over. I simply aim to restore the natural order.
But since you're merely a rep, not an economist, I'll say this: I have my reasons, and that should be enough.
Don't test my patience. Just send your most trusted agent to Konpeki Plaza.
—Yorinobu Arasaka
The conversation was cryptic, but told them a lot.
"You're telling me Yorinobu's anti-corp thing was real?" Jackie said in disbelief. "He ditched being Arasaka's golden boy to run some gang called Iron... Iron Dragon? That's serious? No lo creía!"
That reminded Roqi of something.
"Jackie. It's Steel Dragons, not Iron Dragon. Get it right. 'Iron Dragon' sounds lame as hell."
Roqi facepalmed.
"Close enough, bro. Hehe."
"Well, he definitely did rebel against his dad," V muttered. "That part's not in question."
"He killed him. Suffocated him with his own hands," T-Bug deadpanned. "Anyway, anything else jump out?"
"Saburo once said Yorinobu was handing over Arasaka's crown jewel to the West," Roqi pointed out. "And look at Kiefer's response—he was so intrigued by what relic could do, he questioned the guy's motives."
"Only a megacorp could afford tech like that," Roqi added. "Militech, Biotech, NightCorp… the list goes on. Even if relic only partially works, they'd make a killing."
"Militech's the likeliest. They've been Arasaka's rival for years," he mused. "But honestly, it doesn't matter."
"Corpo wars are corpo wars," Johnny muttered. "Same tyranny, different logos. World's still a goddamn mess."
"Then why would Yorinobu want to sell relic? Just to fund his rebellion? Or to hurt Arasaka from the inside?" T-Bug asked. "Would something this small even matter to a company that big?"
"Maybe he was broke," Jackie suggested, thinking literally. "His dad froze all his accounts. The spoiled heir suddenly becomes a caged bird. Might've needed the cash."
Roqi propped his head on his hands and sighed. "Well, he's not broke now. Owns half of Arasaka. Yay. All that's left is to play power games."
But was it really that simple?
This wasn't just any tech. It could be a stairway to immortality.
He eyed the relic slot on the PDA. He didn't dare yank it out.
Who knew what it would do to Johnny? Better safe than sorry.
As for Yorinobu and his twisted motivations, Roqi was done trying to understand him.
"So you wanna crack the relic's secrets and find a new buyer?" V asked. "What happens to him?"
He meant Johnny, of course.
"This deal's way beyond us. Without a megacorp's muscle, we'd get chewed up and spit out," Roqi said, waving a finger. "I'm not selling the relic. If anything, keeping it is a liability."
"I've had a bad feeling about it from the start," he added. "Storing it on a PDA isn't safe. If enough people come sniffing, T-Bug won't be enough to keep us protected. But Johnny's stuck inside. Pulling him out now might kill him."
"Not like I haven't died before," Johnny grunted. "But yeah, being trapped in this digital prison with nothing but your study files? Fucking hell."
Roqi laughed out loud.
Of course a guy like Johnny Silverhand would never tolerate being boxed in.
He'd fought against corps, fate, and even himself. And now? He was forced to be someone else.
"I still don't know who's behind Evelyn," Roqi continued. "Or what they want with relic. If they find out we have it, they'll come for it. And they won't ask nicely."
He met everyone's eyes.
"I can't let that kind of risk hang over us."
He leaned against the cold tile wall, exhausted.
"Night City… for all its opportunities, danger's always the entry fee."
"Don't be so bleak," Misty said gently. "If things get hard, we'll face them together."
"Yeah, mano."
"...Yeah. You're right."
Roqi breathed deeply, letting the chill settle in his lungs, easing the tension.
"Still—more planning means fewer surprises."
It was a lesson he'd learned the hard way in this hellhole of a city.
"Planning ahead is always smart," Viktor nodded. "But don't let it kill your spirit."
"I won't."
(???)?
Roqi grinned and flashed Viktor an OK sign.
"So, Hellman or Evelyn?" V asked. "I vote we start with Evelyn."
"Agreed," Roqi nodded. "She was scheming to ditch Dexter last night, and now she's gone. Still no word?"
"Nothing. Straight to voicemail, every time." V hung up yet another failed call.
"Everyone involved is either dead or missing…" Jackie shivered. "I'm not afraid of bullets—but this spooky silence? Shit gives me chills."
"Before anything else—we need to solve the eddies problem," T-Bug cut in.
V still owed Viktor a huge sum: for cyberware, surgery, upgrades… everything. Viktor never asked for it, but everyone knew the debt was real.
T-Bug's own dream of buying a villa and living off the grid? Gone.
And Jackie? His dreams of being a legend and showering his mom in cash were toast.
And Roqi… was even worse off.
"I still owe Regina a chunk," he said quietly.
Being a merc didn't mean you were rich. Not unless you were at the top.
The Matthew Effect applied here too—unless you were someone like Morgan Blackhand, you were just cannon fodder.
This Konpeki job had been a gamble.
High risk, high reward—if you won. But if you lost? You ended up broke, homeless, and being hunted.
Roqi shuddered.
My BoBo Chicken speaker... (sniff)
"Huh? When was this?" V blinked.
He vaguely remembered giving Roqi Regina's contact. Didn't expect him to owe her money.
"What happened? Need help?"
"No, nothing serious." Roqi smiled and patted V's shoulder. "Anti-air missiles, free silencer, getaway van. That kind of firepower doesn't come cheap."
"Oh, and some intel on Arasaka. But that part's minor." He chuckled. "Honestly, Regina's impressive. Even in Watson, under Arasaka's radar, she managed to get her hands on military-grade toys. Respect."
"Whew. Scared me for a sec." Jackie wiped his brow. "If you'd pissed her off… man, she's got a temper. Even in Heywood, people know not to mess with her."
The mood lightened. The suffocating weight of Arasaka eased a little.
"Jackie, what did Moer say to you before she left? Can you tell me exactly?" Roqi asked, concerned.
Still no word from her. It worried him.
She was strong—but strength didn't solve everything.
"She said she had 'personal matters' to take care of," Jackie recalled. "She looked pissed. I didn't ask."
Personal matters…
Moer's personal life had probably never been separate from Militech.
Roqi's expression darkened.
She was a top-tier special ops soldier. Her life had been nothing but war for the company.
If she was dealing with "personal" matters... that couldn't be good.
He tried calling.
No answer. Just like Evelyn.
"Still nothing." Roqi shook his head. His face gave nothing away.
"Alright, you try Evelyn. I'll go look for Moer."
He stood, nodded to the crew, and walked out.
V and Jackie offered to come along, but he declined.
Out on the streets of Night City, under neon signs and the hum of the grid, Roqi moved quietly, head down, deep in thought.
He hadn't known Moer long, but saving each other's lives built a bond you couldn't fake.
He wasn't the kind of guy who used people and tossed them aside.
Helping someone up just to drop them again—that wasn't his style.
Moer wasn't a saint, but she was honest. She had a clear sense of loyalty and payback.
That was rare.
Night City had everything. And yet, nothing.
What was that quote again?
A city is where millions live together in loneliness.
Thoreau. The guy who wrote Walden.
Yeah. Pretty accurate.
Especially for a place like this.
"Where are you…?"
Roqi kicked an empty can.
Clink, clink, clink... It rolled away into the dark.
.
.
.
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