[TN:Just quiety posting Wednesday and Thusday chapters goodbye]
The three of them were still driving a standard-issue Mackinaw supplied wholesale by Arasaka.
The legendary Mackinaw was still waiting on parts for modification. The temporary replacement they'd used earlier had been blown up by Iron Hand, and Sherman once again had to cover the reimbursement.
Fortunately, thanks to Arasaka's endless vehicle purchases, reimbursements like this came easy—Sherman had practically become the top sales rep at the company because of it.
The streets were lined with parked cars—all tough, second-hand rides. With a strong enough scanner database, you could even spot clear signs of modification.
Top-tier mercs always had a tech support team. Even the most badass lone wolves needed that kind of backup—otherwise, a little tampering with their gear could've killed them long before they made a name for themselves.
It was obvious all these vehicles belonged to outside mercs—expendable gear, really.
If he had the time, Leo would've loved to take the cars apart and see which companies made the mod parts.
But most of the windows had one-way film—you couldn't see inside from the outside. For all they knew, the cars might be packed with people.
Techies had this habit: finding a dark, unnoticed corner to quietly scan the surroundings.
"You guys know how badass Boa Boa Weyland is? I heard he rode a cyber-dolphin and used a monomolecular katana to slice open a Petrochem submarine. Dude's basically a demon-slayer on Earth."
"Sounds fake." V shook his head. "Have you even seen a dolphin? Who rides a dolphin? Sounds like someone's made-up flex."
"What? You've seen one?"
"I have!"
V puffed out his chest proudly.
Driving, Leo scanned the street. "Man, parking's really tight today."
The car crawled forward, moving past the jam-packed streets.
"Tight? If it's tight, stop looking," V said, pointing to the sidewalk ahead. "That spot over there looks roomy enough."
[Rogue: You here? Got a spot saved for you inside. Pull in.]
"Can you follow some traffic laws? We're not maniacs." Leo noted the license plates of nearby cars while steering into the alley leading to the club. "Rogue saved us a spot. We'll park inside."
"Hold up." Jackie leaned forward from the back seat. "Leo, tell us—did Weyland really ride a dolphin or not?"
"Fake."
V looked triumphant, but Leo continued, "Dolphins are usually used as sentries. For mounts, they mostly use whales—typically humpbacks and killer whales."
"Huh?" V blinked. "What's that? Never seen those before."
"Huh?" Jackie echoed. "You've seen dolphins?"
Leo made sense—he could believe he'd seen dolphins. But V? Why was she acting like she had, too?
V suddenly got that look people get when they have a rare Mew card and their friends want a copy. She smirked proudly. "Limited-edition Mew. I'll make you a copy. It's pretty sick."
"Oh, Mew? How many?"
"Just one."
The car eased into the lot. Right next to their spot was Rogue's Quadra Type-66—clearly a VIP-only parking space.
One of Rogue's guys moved the sign blocking the space, motioning for them to park there.
As soon as the car settled into the spot, the hidden hackers and tech experts lurking nearby all turned their attention toward them.
They had basic intel: a Mackinaw parked in a VIP space? That screamed big fish.
But this Mackinaw didn't look as tough as the legends claimed.
There were clearly more people than usual outside the club. Before stepping out, Leo scanned everyone around—
Without exception, they were all rare types of cyberware you didn't often see in Night City.
The moment the doors opened, all eyes became even less subtle. People crouching on the ground, leaning against walls, doing drugs, tuning up their implants—all paused what they were doing.
Black, white, Asian—even people whose skin changed color in real-time—Night City was always a melting pot of appearances, but the arrival of this group added even more color to its "aesthetic diversity."
Not just visual variety—gear variety too. Flamethrower elbows, gun-arms, blade legs, extra arms…
Some seemed to show up just to catch a glimpse of the famed "Burger King Squad." After seeing them, they got in their cars and left. But most stayed, hungry for more intel.
Mercs blocking the path stared at the trio, then slowly parted to let them pass. Their gazes followed them down the steps—
[V: I feel like a damn celebrity.]
[Jackie: These are the out-of-towners? Gotta admit, they've got a look.]
[Leo: Gonna request a new cybereye after this—my processor's overheating.]
[V: Approved. Credit limit's 100K.]
[TN:LOL V looking for any way to increase Leo debt]
Just as they started down the stairs, the voice of rock king Kerry thundered through the hall, his electric guitar screaming—
"C—can you feel it!"
The music was louder than usual today.
They descended the familiar steps. The cramped space was packed, and under the pounding music, you could just barely hear the sound of an argument.
"What kinda nightclub won't let people in? I think you're just a big dumb meathead with shit for brains!"
The front of the Afterlife Club was blocked—most people were just watching the drama unfold.
In front of bouncer Emmerich was a man nearly entirely built from white and silver cyberware. He was hunched slightly, silver-blue eyes glowing eerily under the corridor's neon lights, staring up at him.
The man wore no shirt, and his implants gleamed harshly under the lights.
Behind him stood a man and a woman with matching silver-white aesthetics. The woman was even more muscular, while the guy had a similar build to the first man.
Clearly, this guy wanted to force his way into Afterlife.
The club's official policy was "everyone's welcome," but in truth, Night City had its own rules. If you were a merc, you needed a fixer's referral to get in.
Emmerich shook his head. "If you don't say who sent you, I can't let you in."
"Huh? I came here to find work. How the hell am I supposed to tell you who sent me if I don't have a job yet?"
"You can wait outside. No need to go in."
"Wait outside?" The silver-haired man repeated the phrase mockingly, exchanging glances with his companions in disbelief. "Us—wait outside?"
"Bahahahaha!"
The three burst into manic laughter. Suddenly, the silver-haired man was right in front of Emmerich in the blink of an eye—
His head nearly touched Emmerich's neck. His mouth parted, revealing jagged, shark-like teeth.
"You got a death wish?"
Emmerich's expression didn't change, but his internal implants were already powering up.
"Where the hell you from, yokel? If you don't have the creds to enter, then get the hell out of the way!"
"…Huh?"
The silver-haired guy turned around. The one who spoke was V.
Unlike these flashy cyborgs, V and Jackie's modifications weren't obvious. They were dressed properly too.
The silver-haired man laughed, pointed at Emmerich, then at V. "They can go in, and I can't?"
Emmerich nodded.
The guy suddenly started laughing like he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. Holding his head, he let out a crazed chuckle.
"Heheheh…"
The music reached its climax amidst the man's laughter, as rock king Kerry's nuclear vocals exploded:
"Hear my call, I'm chippin' in!"
Suddenly, the silver-haired man and his companions launched their attack!
Zing!
His arm suddenly shot out a row of high-frequency vibrating spikes, neatly arranged along his forearm—looking just like a chainsaw!
As the blades extended, his arm burst into an exaggerated flash of electricity, nearly blinding V!
This was a vicious trick: the man's speed was so fast that normal people couldn't even react. Anyone capable of keeping up with such speed had to be equipped with neural enhancement modules.
And those modules, while accelerating reflexes, also amplify all sensory input—
So an intense light flash would overstimulate the optic nerves. If the opponent had cheap cyber-eyes, the light-sensitive components might be overwhelmed by a sudden surge of current.
When all these factors come together, it could cause momentary nerve pain—just enough to freeze the opponent for a split second!
Which would be all he needed. With an uppercut, the chainsaw would easily tear open V's chest, and his fist would slam into her jaw, sending her exploding backward, guts spilling everywhere.
It was a move that almost never failed.
Unfortunately for him, while V's eyes might not have been top-tier, her Sandevistan wasn't like any normal system—it was run by an AI.
Her vision suddenly went pure white, while her other four senses sharpened drastically. Through them, she mapped out the attack's trajectory in that bright world.
Her Mantis Blades shot out, and her movements didn't hesitate for even a moment!
Their speeds were actually about the same, but the silver-haired man was locked into his preset attack route—he struck first and fast, but had little room to adjust.
V, though reacting later, didn't hesitate the way he expected.
She took a subtle step back, lowered her body, and let the vibrating blade graze just past the tip of her nose. Her right Mantis Blade caught his other arm's blade mid-swing—then she lunged!
Splurt!
Her blade stabbed into his gut and slashed upward toward his right shoulder!
Splat!
A mix of fluid sprayed out, splattering across the entire wall!
Mechanical parts and fragments of bone flew out and clattered to the ground, making sharp metallic sounds.
Thud.
The man collapsed to his knees. V flicked her blade clean and retracted it.
The whole thing took only one second, so when the other two companions had just reached Jackie, their boss was already a shredded mess.
But they couldn't stop!
The muscular woman threw a punch at Jackie. Just as everyone expected a tough, even fight, Jackie lunged forward right into her punch!
Boom!
Their cybernetics clashed with a shudder—but while Jackie's components just vibrated slightly, her entire arm twisted grotesquely mid-air, completely wrecked!
The last guy was frozen in shock. He dove to the ground to dodge Jackie's grab, skidded across the floor, and raised a pistol while sliding toward Leel—
Bang! Bang!
Two heavy smashes—his legs and remaining arm were crushed by mechanical arms, nailing him to the ground!
The fight lasted less than ten seconds, and the entrance to Afterlife was already littered with blood, oil, broken bones, and scattered parts.
"Aaaaahhh!!!"
The man on the ground screamed in terror. The woman, her arm ruined, dropped to her knees, despair replacing her once cold, stoic expression.
As for the silver-haired leader kneeling in a puddle of his own fluids, his color-changing pupils had lost all light. His organs dangled out from his sliced-open body, spilling through the wound.
A mechanical arm lifted from his corpse, casually picking up the pistol.
Leel looked at the gun and said to them,
"Technically, since you all pulled weapons, I should send you straight to the morgue.
But hey—Night City is a welcoming place. Take your brain-dead buddy to a ripperdoc. Who knows? He might survive."
Only the muscular woman still had one functional arm and could move. Clumsily, she shoved her leader's guts back into his body, slung him over one shoulder, and helped the other companion up.
Under a sea of pitiful stares, she limped away in shame.
Emmerich nodded at Leel, stepped aside, and gestured for the trio to enter.
As they walked into Afterlife, V muttered with disdain:
"Survive? More like get torn apart by scavengers."
Jackie nodded in agreement:
"Even if someone kind finds them, they'll be living off tubes the rest of their life. Pobrecito."
Some bystanders, after witnessing all this, quietly left the passageway—
Clearly, if you want in, you follow the rules.
Time to find a gig.