Chapter 7

I spent the next couple of days tinkering, using my newfound Alchemical Powers, combined with my Omnidisciplinary Science Capabilities, my Mechanicus Chemistry Knowledge, along with my Mechanicus Human Augmentation Knowledge, and the knowledge of how to make Vivifiers to their full effects when combined with the Beta Acid I'd nicked. The ultimate end result was a chemical formula that would enhance a normal, Athletic Human beyond human physical limitations without the need for Cybernetic Augmentation.

With my already Peak Human Physiology, plus my beyond-bleeding-edge Chrome? I could be an actual superhuman, maybe the first capable of the sort of feats of Strength that Full Borgs can pull off without being a Full Borg myself. Speaking of the Chrome, I wanted the full suite of Enhanced Chrome that I was tinkering up installed first before I boosted myself with the Serum. I had a theory that I might be able to fistfight Adam Smasher if I could do that with good odds of winning.

To that end, I tinkered with the Scarab Bone Sheathe, Subdermal Armor, and Reinforced Bionic Tendons that Vik had given me to work with as well. Utilizing my Scraphounding and Reclaimer Abilities, along with my Omnidisciplinary Science Capabilities to take the Chrome apart to see how they ticked, reverse engineering it, and injecting my Mechanicus Knowledge to refine the designs. It was the same process I'd done for the Sandy, Kerenzikov, Newton Module, and Adrenaline Booster. By the end, I had designs that were capable of outperforming anything on the market.

With that done, I set my Autofactory to fabricate two versions of each of the new Chrome Implants and sat down to go over my messages. I missed a series of selfies from V and Jackie, apparently, the two had gone down to the Grand Illusion in the City Center. It was one of the few Nightclubs that survived the Night City Holocaust and the Time of the Red, and while the nearby Afterlife had taken the reins as the hangout for Solos and Fixers after the destruction of Club Atlantis, the Grand Illusion was a place for Medias, Rockerboys, and other such types to hobnob.

Once or twice a month they even pulled in a big headliner like Kerry Eurodyne or the Cartesian Duellists. Tonight was one of those nights, apparently, as I could see Tainted Overlord on the stage in some of the photos. Jackie was a lucky pendejo, I'll give him that. At least so long as he didn't blow all his eddies on tickets. That sort of Gonk Move would be just like him, I had to admit.

Of course, that wasn't the only message I got. I also got one from Tio Padre, apparently, he wanted us to hit the rest of the Sixth Street Satelite Drug Production Facilities. There were some preem eddies in it for us if we did too, another twenty-grand apiece plus whatever we could swipe from Sixth Street. Half in advance of course, conditional on us taking the job. I sent back that I'd talk to Jackie and V about it and would get back to him when I had with an answer.

Flicking off the detes to Jackie and V with a question of whether or not they were in, I grabbed a burrito from the hotwired machine and flicked through my other messages. I didn't expect Jackie or V to get back to me before tomorrow, given the time those two seemed to be having. Most were junk, though I had one from Vik asking me if I wanted a sponsor for the next Night City Boxing Tournament scheduled to happen in another few months. Apparently, he'd heard what I'd done with the Tyger Claws and figured I was a good horse to back in that race.

I wasn't sure if I'd be here long enough for Beat on the Brat, but I figured there wasn't any harm in agreeing. If I was, then I was. If I wasn't, then there wasn't anything I could do about that and there was no point worrying about it. Jackie and V would still be around to pick up the slack unless they got zeroed in the meantime, so it'd probably all work out in the end. I flicked over my acceptance to Vik, along with letting him know I'd have more preem chrome for him to install, plus extra for him to sell, as agreed.

With that, there wasn't much else to do but wait for my Autofactory to finish fabricating. Figuring that I ought to grab some rack time while I could and that I'd probably get responses to my messages in the morning along with my new Chrome, I crawled into bed and went to sleep.

I was once again pulled into a dream by Vulcan, though this time, it wasn't the usual glimpse at Aleksander Yurinov. No, this time, I got a glimpse at something more insidious. As I slept, I was pulled into a dream involving the inner workings of Arasaka Research and Development.

What I saw would make me want to install my new Chrome and get my Super-Soldier Serum injected as quickly as I could. . .

XXXX

Anders Hellman sat at his desk, tweaking the coding of the Relic Chip Version Two-Point-Oh. He frowned as he did so, speaking into a recording device as he narrated his thoughts on the latest tests.

"We've now confirmed the chip will not activate if implanted in a host on the verge of death. Unfortunately, we're still having issues with the stability of engrams after implantation. Something about being in a body with enough variance from their own causes the mental faculties of engrams to degrade rapidly. In order to prevent engrams from degrading to Rogue AI status, some level of similarity to the Engram's prior body must be maintained. The question is just how much similarity is needed. Will it require a full genetic match or will just a partial do? If so, how partial can the match be? Questions are being asked from on-high and I do not have the answers just yet." Frowned Hellman.

Anders Hellman sighed as he stopped typing, pushing his glasses up to his forehead as he rubbed his face. Gazing at his terminal, Hellman sighed before switching off his recording device and saving his coding process on his terminal.

"I need a break. Coming at this with fresh eyes later can only help." He muttered.

As I watched Anders Hellman get up from his desk and grab a coffee from the machine on a nearby table, I wondered why Vulcan was showing me this scene specifically. Sure, the Relic Chip was central to the plot of the Game whose world I was currently in, but that didn't mean as much as you'd think, especially given that Aleksander Yurinov was a more pressing concern. It wasn't until Hellman sat back down and pulled up a folder labeled 'Personal Project' that I took real notice. Flicking open the folder on his terminal, I saw him pull up somewhat retouched footage of our fight with the Tyger Claws.

"His Synaptic Rate must be through the roof for reflexes like those. That's beyond even our current best models of Sandevistan and Kerenzikov to match. Our current models of Full Body Conversions would be more appropriate, this seems largely in line with the current Generation Hatamoto Full Body Conversion we produce for the JSDF. I wonder how they got that working? He seems to be acting rationally enough, did someone manage to figure out a way to mitigate the Cyberpsychosis that such performance normally induces? It may be a new form of Biomod taking cues from non-human physiology. Certainly, that's something to look into." Frowned Hellman.

Suddenly, I realized why Vulcan was showing me this. Anders Hellman was, first and foremost, a Bioengineer. Coding was secondary to his main duties on the Relic Project, which involved using Bioengineering to figure out the best way to allow the Relic Engram to completely supplant the host consciousness without causing the sort of instability in the Engram's Personality and Mental Faculties that could cause a second Datakrash. Showing me that he was taking cues from my beyond-bleeding-edge chrome to create new and more powerful Bioware for Saka was definitely something that would cause concern. Especially since it had the potential to completely derail the balance of power.

Would I be facing Saka Ninjas at some point whose musculature was more Gorilla than Human? Who could utilize Batlike Echolocation in place of their eyes in a combat scenario? Whose skinweave was thickened like that of a rhino, providing even more protection than the light body armor that normal skinweave offered on top of whatever subdermal armor they already had? I suddenly realized that the potential for Bioware was actually pretty broken, now that I thought about it.

Animal Man may be a joke character sometimes, but that doesn't make him any less deadly. The same principle would apply here to a Saka Research and Development Department looking less at Chrome and more at Wetware with an eye on the sorts of physiology found in the Animal Kingdom. Who knew? I could soon be facing Tyger Claws with actual Tiger Claws, with literal catlike reflexes fine-tuned to the point that they combined with the Chrome they already had to be just as capable of dodging bullets as any Current-gen Sandy or Kerenzikov would allow for.

I would have to be ready for them when the shackles finally came off and the Mad Docs came out to play. I had no faith that Saka wouldn't start experimenting with that sort of thing as soon as they had feasible designs, after all. When Exotic Cylons started being the new normal, I would have to be ready, and so would my Chooms.

I awoke just after seeing Anders Hellman do exactly as I feared he would and begin designing a sort of Rhino-like Skinweave. . .

XXXX

I grunted as my alarm woke me up with the sounds of Stanley Media chiming in over the radio to let me know that the casualty report from last night was a 'shockingly alive thirty-five'. Apparently, the loss of their primary drug factory and twenty of their guys plus Darius Miles had hit Sixth Street Hard enough that the Valentinos weren't the only ones sniffing after them, now. The Iron Sights had popped up again after being relegated to mostly has-beens in the aftermath of the Wars of the Time of the Red, having spent close to three decades regaining strength. They'd burst out of the Old Combat Zone near Skyline East to strike east into Arroyo, taking a few blocks from Sixth Street near MLK and Brandon.

That wasn't the best news, though. No, that was that Vik had an opening this morning to install my new Chrome and hand over the eddies promised for the beyond-bleeding-edge Chrome I gave him. That was compounded by Jackie and V promising to meet up at El Coyote Cojo this evening to plan the next Job for Tio Padre. I figured I could call that an agreement to take Tio Padre's offered Job and flicked the Detes back to Tio Padre. Suddenly, my account got credited another ten grand. Half up front, as usual.

With that, I showered, dressed, and grabbed my Lyndwyrm, Armored Vest, and new Chrome before calling a Cab to take me to Vik's. I had the eddies to burn, so I figured why not, right? So long as it wasn't a Combat Cab, I figured I should be fine to splurge a bit on that. Combat Cab was a front for Sixth Street, though, which meant calling one of those was a no-go. As a Delemain Armored Cab pulled up, I grinned as I got in and witnessed a young Valentino who couldn't have been much older than fourteen balk at seeing me do so.

"Keep your chin up, Chavo. You'll get there eventually, if you don't get zeroed first." I nodded at the Young Thug.

"Sure thing, Jefe." Responded the Kid.

Then Delamain took me off to see Vik. Apparently, Misty hadn't gone with Jackie and V to the Grand Illusion, or if she had, she hadn't drunk enough to get a hangover, because she was chipper as always as I stepped into her shop. She nodded at me with a slight grin as I entered the dimly lit storefront of Misty's Esoterica.

"Vik's ready for you. Believe it or not, he wouldn't stop talking about the kind of Chrome you're supposed to be bringing him all morning." Smirked Misty.

"Well, I'd hate to keep him waiting." I offered.

"Go on back. Oh, Jackie said you're meeting again today? Can you tell him he left something at my place that he really should come grab?" Questioned Misty.

"Dare I ask?" I queried.

"Only if you want to know the particulars of what goes on in our bedroom." Snorted Misty.

"Ah, one of those. I'll tell him." I nodded, sagely.

"Thanks!" Chirped Misty.

I tossed a jaunty wave at Misty over my shoulder as I headed on back through the back room of her shop and out into the Courtyard, pausing only to scratch behind the ears of Not-Nibbles-Yet. I really should figure out a better name for the cat, but I was a bit too attached to how things were in the game I supposed. Not-Nibbles-Yet purred as I scratched behind his ears, and pawed at me as I moved to head down to Vik's Clinic.

"Sorry, Gatito. Gotta jet, I'll be back in a bit, all right?" I asked.

"Mrrh." Huffed Not-Nibbles-Yet, as if to say that I had better.

Shaking my head at the pickiness of cats, even cute, goblin-looking buggers like this one, I headed down into Vik's Clinic. The Ripperdoc practically leaped up to his feet as he spotted me. Nodding over at me with more enthusiasm than I expected from a guy like him, he put out a hand to shake, which I took.

"So, brought me some new toys, eh?" Grinned Vik.

"Oh yeah, Beyond-bleeding-edge Chrome with the same sort of special touch that avoids the Gonk being chipped in having to deal with hexes." I responded.

"You seem confident about that. Not that I can blame you given the last batch of Chrome you brought me." Mused Vik.

"Confident enough to have you chip them in me first." I confirmed, handing over the Adrenaline Booster, Scarab Bone Sheathe, Subdermal Armor, and Reinforced Bionic Tendons.

"All right, I'd hate to mess with that kind of confidence. Hop up in the chair and let's get started." Intoned Vik.

I did so, and soon enough I was out like a light as Vik began to chip in the various pieces of chrome I'd brought him. I woke up some four hours later, the internal Chrono of my Mechanicus Cranial Implants telling me it was three in the afternoon. Vik threw a bunch of tools into his autoclave for sterilization before turning back to me.

"I don't know how you did it, but this is the kind of stuff that Corpos like Saka would kill you to keep quiet. I don't know if I'd make this a regular habit if I were you. Spread too much of this sorta chrome around too quickly, and it's bound to attract the wrong kind of attention." Cautioned Vik.

"This is Night City, Vik. Everyone around here lives fast and hopes to leave a good-looking corpse." I pointed out.

"There's other ways to live too, though. Look, just to be on the safe side, I think we'll have to limit how much of this Chrome you sell me. Three or four pieces a month, just in case." Insisted Vik.

"Fine. You'll still chip me in, though, right?" I questioned.

"Sure, only if it's just you or your Chooms, though. I'm not looking to get this place raided, am I clear?" Queried Vik.

"Crystal." I nodded.

With that done, I forked over the remaining samples of Chrome I'd brought and Vik figured out how much my end would be. All four pieces of chrome together he'd be able to sell for some preem eddies, a hundred grand altogether. He had a few rich clients that'd pay for that sort of chrome, mostly Solos he knew from back in the day. He wasn't about to sell this stuff to some Corpo Middle Manager commuting in from Beaverville with the Straphangers. Not when doing that would draw attention. My end of that would be thirty-five grand, which was honestly more than Tio Padre was paying for me to zero the Sixth Street Satellite Drug Facilities. I considered that a good deal. Vik even agreed to pay me up front, flicking me the cash on my way out.

I stopped briefly to scratch Not-Nibbles-Yet again, who purred loudly while I scratched his belly, but soon enough, I was making my way back out through Misty's Esoterica and onto the streets of Night City. I left a disappointed cat in my wake, though, which made me give serious consideration to just jumping ahead of V and adopting him myself. The only thing stopping me was the fact that once I'd left Cyberpunk Earth, he'd be all alone. I had no idea if I was allowed to take pets with me when I shifted to another world, after all.

An hour later, I found myself entering El Coyote Cojo, ordering a Calavera Feliz and a plate of Carne Asada, and taking a seat at our usual booth. I ate and drank by myself for around an hour before V's Yacatecuhtli pulled up to the bar, parked in the side lot, and V entered, wearing a pair of dark sunglasses.

"Here, Chica. Hair of the dog." I greeted, sliding V a shot of Centzon Totochtin Indigo Tequila. She threw it back in one go, which made me grin a little.

"Rough night?" I asked.

"Jackie and I went to a concert. He doesn't fuck around when it comes to partying." Answered V.

"That's Jaquito, for you. He always did want to be a Night City Legend, which he also thinks means partying like that. I never heard about Morgan Blackhand doing stuff like that, though." I chuckled.

"Tell me about it." Grunted V.

Moments later, in walked Jackie fresh as a daisy. He always did have an annoying capacity to bounce back from hangovers with just a few hours of sleep, compared to the rest of us. He grinned and sat down in the booth next to V, who tossed an annoyed glare at him.

"Nice of you to join us, Jaquito." I teased.

"Yeah, well you know me, boga as always, Ernesto." Grinned Jackie.

"Fashionably late is still late, Choom." I pointed out.

"I'm here ain't I?" Shrugged Jackie.

"Guys, please. We're supposed to be planning our next operation?" Pleaded V.

"Chica's got a point." Mused Jackie.

"A razor-sharp one at that." I nodded.

"Any other day, your guys' comedy act would be killer, but if you don't cut it out now, the next razor-sharp point I make is gonna be a mono-bladed one pointed at your junk, comprendo?" Insisted V.

"Si, lo Comprendo." I agreed.

"So what do we know about the sorts of places we need to hit?" Questioned Jackie.

"First, the Dewdrop Inn. Several Rooms on the second floor have been converted into a drug manufacturing site making Neoamphetamine. It's covered by the ostensible front of a functional Hotel, though so we're not talking a lot of Gangoons. We're talking maybe six guys at most plus the Chemist, a Gonk named Josh 'JJ' Jonsson. Could be as little as three, including the Chemist. It depends on if Sixth Street is shifting their patrols after we zeroed Darius Miles and klepped his intel." I informed.

"What sort of security are we looking at?" Queried V.

"Not much. It can all be easily bypassed. Remember, this is still a functional Hotel. Mostly. Too many security measures will scare off the Gonks that patronize a place like that. Anonymity is its main defense." I explained.

"So what, we just go in, take out the lab, and klep anything we can of value? How does that square with the bennies looking for a place to rack out?" Asked Jackie.

"That's why we have to do it fast and quiet. Our Chrome ought to let us sneak in and shank the bastards before they can raise much fuss. Gunshots happen all the time in places like this, the trick is to make the gunshots isolated. We start an extended gunfight in a Hotel like this and somebody's gonna call in the Badges." I advised.

"Right, so hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast, then snatch up anything of value. Got it." Nodded V, wincing as she did so.

"That ain't gonna stop Sixth Street from just setting things back up again, though Choom." Pointed out Jackie.

"Tio Padre thought of that. We give him a call once we're out and he'll send in some Valentinos to take the place under new management." I responded.

"Sounds like a plan." Agreed Jackie.

"Sure, we're not doing this tonight, though. Not with the whole damned Samurai Reunion going on in my head." Intoned V.

"Tomorrow then." I concurred.

I stayed for a bit longer to shoot the shit and have a drink or two with my Chooms but eventually had to split. I made my way back to my Apartment in Megabuilding H-Five, where my Autofactory had just finished synthesizing the chemical cocktail required for my Mystical Super-Soldier Serum. One ten-minute ritual later and I had a syringe of glowing white liquid ready to be injected.

"Here goes nothing." I muttered.

I took the cap off the needle of my syringe. Then in a single motion, I plunged the needle into my thigh and depressed the plunger. The serum flowed into my body through the intramuscular injection and I suddenly felt completely light-headed. Withdrawing the needle and tossing the spent syringe to the floor, I stumbled to my feet, feeling cold and hot all at the same time. I broke out into a cold sweat as I just barely managed to stumble my way into bed. Then darkness took me.

When I awoke, I would be far more than I had been previously, ready to rip Sixth Street a new one, literally if necessary. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, here's the next chapter. With his new chrome and his Mystic Super-Soldier Serum, Big E is now just about as capable as Adam Smasher physically, even without being a full-borg conversion. He's in the same ballpark, at any rate. Both of them are capable of wrecking small buildings if they want to, though Smasher edges him out for sheer ruthlessness.

Meanwhile, Arasaka is now experimenting with new ways of augmenting people with Bioware, thanks to Anders Hellman being inspired by the Video Wakako sent him of Big E against the Tyger Claws. Expect Arasaka's Security to come with several new, powerful, enhancements thanks to that in the future. Plus Aleksander Yurinov is still out there.

Meanwhile, the impact that Big E, Jackie, and V's raid on Darius Miles' Factory has had on Sixth Street Operations has been big enough that gangs like the Iron Sights, who've largely been quiet since the Time of the Red, have resurfaced to take a swing at Sixth Street, smelling weakness. Now Big E and Company are going to keep pressing their initiative. Sixth Street is going to completely unravel before canon kicks off thanks to that.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve the assault on the Dewdrop Inn Satelite Drug Facility.

Stay tuned. . .