"This is indeed a path of martial evolution."
The nearby Xuanyuan Strongest One also examined it several times.
Then he said solemnly: "However, it's rooted in thunder. I can sense it—this Thunder Martial Path has yet to give rise to a twelfth-rank being."
A path of evolution represents a cultivation path, and those at the twelfth rank only need to observe closely to discern whether a particular evolution path has ever produced a twelfth-rank evolver.
Yet now, this Thunder Martial Evolution Path, so similar to the one Lin Yuan follows, doesn't show any trace of a twelfth-rank cultivator?
"That's right."
"This evolution path is a branch of the martial path I've walked. After being developed and perfected by me, it has the full potential to give birth to a new twelfth rank," Lin Yuan said.
"Incredible," Gu Li muttered in disbelief.
They had heard that some exceptionally broad evolution paths could support multiple branches, each capable of giving rise to a twelfth-rank being.
But such evolution paths were exceedingly rare, requiring perfection in every aspect, from foundational strength to deep heritage. Without being broad enough, how could a path accommodate other evolution branches?
Moreover, it needed to harmonize deeply with the Chaos Void, aligning with the laws and Dao of its operation.
Even the most flawless path could not extend branches if it didn't align with the Dao of the Chaos Void.
"It seems we still underestimated the martial path,"
Xia Qin was also deeply shaken after reading through it.
He could feel that even though this Thunder Martial Path was merely a branch of the true martial path,
its potential already surpassed the twelfth-rank evolution path he had cultivated.
If a branch is this powerful, what about the main path?
"Indeed."
Xuanyuan nodded.
Any evolution path capable of extending branches had the potential to reach the thirteenth rank—the all-penetrating Grand Dao.
"Whether a path can form branches isn't something you can determine below the twelfth rank," Lin Yuan shook his head slightly.
It wasn't the fault of the nine human Strongest Ones. Even a Chaos Sovereign would find it difficult to judge whether a martial path could extend branches just by examining the first to eleventh stages.
"Are you planning to make this Thunder Martial Path public within our race?" Yu Die asked cautiously.
"Yes," Lin Yuan nodded. He also hoped that the Thunder Martial Path would give birth to a twelfth-rank evolver.
The strength of a great tree doesn't lie in how tall and thick it stands, but in the countless roots spread deep beneath the earth. The more strong cultivators that arise from martial branches, the more they can, in turn, nourish the martial path.
"Excellent."
"This means our human civilization has effectively gained an additional twelfth-rank evolution path."
Yu Die nodded slightly. Even though it was possible to buy a twelfth-rank evolution path in the Chaos Void, how could anything compare to the reliability of the Thunder Martial Path?
"Too bad I didn't follow the thunder path. Otherwise, I might have switched to this path immediately," Gu Li sighed.
In the universe, once an evolver chooses a path and reaches the sixth rank, it becomes very difficult to switch to another evolution path.
But that only applies to those below the twelfth rank. For a twelfth-rank evolver, switching to a new evolution path requires "scattering the Dao."
To disperse the path of cultivation they currently follow.
Of course, no twelfth-rank Strongest One would "scatter the Dao" lightly—it was too risky.
A twelfth-rank lifeform who discards their Dao would retain their life essence and soul at the twelfth-rank level, but without a supporting path, their combat power would be less than one percent, even one-thousandth, of what it was.
And to cultivate a new path to the twelfth rank? That would require immense time.
Therefore, unless they encounter an evolution path that's extremely well-suited to them, no twelfth-rank being would choose to scatter their Dao.
Even if they did find such a path, scattering the Dao is an incredibly cautious matter. If an enemy were to strike during the process, the consequences would be disastrous.
"This branch is actually quite suited to you, Gu Li," Lin Yuan smiled and passed the perfected 'Path of Strength Martial Dao' to Gu Li.
Lin Yuan had awakened the divine body technique 'Moving Mountains' very early on, giving him deep insight into the laws of strength. Naturally, his martial path had developed a Strength Martial Path related to those laws.
"This branch?"
Gu Li was slightly confused. There's another branch besides the Thunder Martial Path?
But the next moment, Gu Li froze. Every detail of the Strength Martial Path surged into his mind.
"This... this..." Gu Li was stunned, murmuring, "I never thought the Path of Strength could be walked this way... and this way too."
Gu Li's eyes lit up.
"The path of strength isn't just raw power—it's tied to time and space. If I had started on this cultivation path earlier, I might already be at the peak of the Path-Clearing stage."
Gu Li was the second twelfth-rank being born from human civilization, from the same era as Xuanyuan.
"All paths ultimately lead to the Dao. To step into the Chaos stage, one must absorb myriad laws and give rise to the law of chaos itself," Lin Yuan said.
When refining and perfecting the various branches of martial Dao in seclusion, Lin Yuan naturally prioritized the paths of the nine human Strongest Ones.
For example, Gu Li's Strength Path, Yu Die's Dream Path—
All nine Strongest Ones' paths were incorporated into the martial branches.
"This Strength Martial Path is indeed more promising than the evolution path you've cultivated, Gu Li. It suits you better too," Xuanyuan said after browsing.
"Indeed."
Lin Yuan nodded.
How could it not suit him?
This Strength Martial Path had been tailored specifically by Lin Yuan for Gu Li.
Given Lin Yuan's realm, he had long since seen through Gu Li's strengths and weaknesses.
To base a martial path on that and refine a Strength Martial Path suited for him was the easiest thing in the world.
After all, it wasn't created from scratch.
"Gu Li, I suggest you switch to this Strength Martial Path," Xia Qin said from the side.
"I was thinking the same thing," Gu Li said, eyes shining. He then turned to Lin Yuan and asked carefully, "Can I switch to this Strength Martial Path?"
This path belonged to Lin Yuan and was a branch of the one he followed, so Gu Li naturally needed to ask before switching.
"No problem at all,"
Lin Yuan said with a smile.
Gu Li switching to the Strength Martial Path would benefit Lin Yuan as well.
Normally, even if the Strength Martial Path was made public within the human race, it was unknown how long it would take for a twelfth-rank evolver to emerge.
Just having a path doesn't guarantee a twelfth-rank will arise.
But Gu Li? He was already at the twelfth rank. If he chose to scatter his Dao and cultivate the Strength Martial Path, returning to the twelfth rank would likely be without bottlenecks.
"If Gu Li switches to the Strength Martial Path, he might become the second peak Path-Clearing stage cultivator in our civilization," Xu Shen sighed.
"The future of our human civilization will grow ever brighter."
"Don't be hasty," Lin Yuan added.
"I've prepared branch paths for all of you as well."
Xuanyuan, Xia Qin, Yu Die, and the other Strongest Ones were slightly stunned.
Lin Yuan continued by sharing the 'Nether Martial Path,' 'Dream Martial Path,' and six other martial branches.
"This—?"
The eight Strongest Ones took deep breaths and immediately began studying them.
A long time passed.
Xia Qin suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze deep and dark, then quickly returned to normal.
"This evolution path..." Xia Qin's voice trembled slightly as he looked at Lin Yuan.
"The Dream Martial Path—blending illusion and reality. With this evolution path, reaching the Dominance stage is no issue at all," Yu Die's eyes shone with a light never seen before.
"If cultivated to its peak, I'll become a being of illusion itself. Even a Chaos Sovereign would find it difficult to deal with me."
"Indeed."
The other Strongest Ones nodded in agreement. They were all shocked by the martial branches Lin Yuan had shared.
"Milky Way, these..." Xuanyuan looked at Lin Yuan, visibly moved.
"You can all cultivate them," Lin Yuan said directly.
Perfecting and extending tailored martial branches for the nine human Strongest Ones was a win-win.
Lin Yuan's martial foundation would grow deeper, and the nine Strongest Ones would have brighter futures.
"There are still dozens of martial branches that could each stand as a new twelfth-rank evolution path." Lin Yuan laid out all the martial branches he had developed.
Seventy-three in total.
The nine Strongest Ones glanced at one another. Their shock had slightly faded.
After seeing the Thunder Martial Path and those perfectly suited to each of them, dozens more twelfth-rank martial branches didn't seem so outrageous anymore.
Next, Lin Yuan chatted a bit more with the nine Strongest Ones. Xia Qin and Xuanyuan began discussing who would be the first to 'scatter the Dao' and switch to a martial branch.
No matter how powerful a twelfth-rank lifeform may be—Path-Clearing, Dominance, or even Chaos stage—once they scatter the Dao, their strength plummets. So the nine human Strongest Ones couldn't all do it at once.
Even with Lin Yuan as their anchor, he couldn't manage everything alone.
The conclusion was that, at any given time, no more than two Strongest Ones could scatter the Dao.
Until those two reentered the twelfth rank, the remaining seven had to maintain the order of human civilization.
Unlike most twelfth-rank beings, the nine human Strongest Ones had grown together from their weak days and trusted each other deeply—only then could they dare to be the first to scatter the Dao.
After all, once one does so, with no path to support them, a twelfth-rank being becomes a prize target—an immensely nourishing "supplement" for any being of the same level.
Devouring or refining such a target could massively boost one's own power.
After making the martial branches public within human civilization, Lin Yuan returned to seclusion.
"With these resources, my 'Mysterious Emperor Body' should be able to reach peak Dominance stage." Lin Yuan took out a purple pouch.
Inside were the resources he had obtained by selling eighteen Dominance-stage miracle trees.
Combined with what he had previously accumulated—and the spoils from slaying Xue You and Snake Demon Master—this was essentially Lin Yuan's entire fortune.
Those two were infamous raiders. Their wealth far exceeded that of ordinary Dominance-stage peak beings.
Source World.
Qingfen Domain, Burning Heaven Courtyard.
Lin Yuan sat cross-legged on the thirteenth floor, calmly cultivating.
"Becoming a disciple of the Qingfen Marquis is far better than staying in the Yu Clan."
Lin Yuan thought to himself—not because the Yu Clan was bad, but because under the Qingfen Marquis, he could save a great deal of time dealing with trivial matters.
All his energy could go toward cultivation.
In fact, in terms of external circumstances, Lin Yuan's situation in the Source World was better than in the Chaos Void.
After all, in the Chaos Void, he had no real backing. But here in the Source World, with the Qingfen Marquis being a peak Great Sovereign, he had reliable protection.
Besides the Qingfen Marquis, Lin Yuan also seemed to be aligned with the Liyang Ancient Kingdom—his background needed no further explanation.
"I've already recovered my twelfth-rank Path-Clearing strength."
Ever since his last meeting with the Qingfen Marquis, his cultivation resources had been constant and abundant, so naturally his strength recovery had been smooth and unimpeded.
"I'm almost at thirty thousand Seeds."
Lin Yuan had never stopped condensing the seeds. The task wasn't difficult for him and required little effort, so he did it casually during his cultivation.
"My comprehension of the laws has increased slightly, though not by much," Lin Yuan thought. But that wasn't unexpected.
In truth, the Qingfen Marquis's suggestion was right. After condensing several thousand or over ten thousand Seeds, the physical body undergoes a transformation, and it becomes inefficient to continue.
The return no longer matched the effort.
Others were not like Lin Yuan. After reaching a few thousand Seeds, each additional one would require enormous time and effort—all for a negligible increase in comprehension?
"But I want to see what happens when I reach thirty-three thousand, three hundred and thirty-three seeds."
Lin Yuan was filled with anticipation. Three thousand, three hundred and thirty-three seeds could transform one's body into the Blazing Sun Divine Body.
What about thirty-three thousand, three hundred and thirty-three?
The difficulty would be exponentially greater. Only those born in the ancient royal clans, who could condense Seeds in their sleep, would dare attempt such a number.
"Hmm?"
"A message from Master?"
Lin Yuan's mind stirred as he took out a red jade slip. A new message had appeared.
"Do not leave the Burning Heaven Courtyard for the time being."
The message from the Qingfen Marquis was brief. But for a peak Great Sovereign to give a personal warning—it was clearly serious.
The Qingfen Marquis oversaw Qingfen City. Everything in the city was within his gaze. Normally, even if Lin Yuan left the academy but remained in the city, he'd be perfectly safe.
The Marquis could descend instantly if needed.
"Is it due to the threat from the Zimeng Domain?" Lin Yuan speculated.
Lately, even during seclusion, he had heard rumors.
Powerhouses from the Zimeng Domain had been frequently appearing near Qingfen City, seemingly observing something.
Zimeng Domain was adjacent to Qingfen and part of a rival ancient kingdom.
The Source World was vast beyond measure. Each ancient kingdom was like a colossal force. The Liyang Ancient Kingdom was supreme—but not alone. Rival kingdoms still existed.
Clashes were frequent, especially in border domains.
Zimeng Great Sovereign's power wasn't much weaker than the Qingfen Marquis. Asking Lin Yuan to stay in the academy was a precaution against the worst-case scenario.
If the Zimeng Great Sovereign attacked and the Qingfen Marquis was occupied, he might not be able to protect Lin Yuan in time.
But the Burning Heaven Courtyard was the core of Qingfen City's grand formation.
Even a peak Great Sovereign would need time to breach its defenses.
Should that happen, the academy's teleportation restriction would activate, instantly transporting Lin Yuan to a separate location—personally prepared by the Qingfen Marquis, and utterly secure.
So—
As long as Lin Yuan stayed in the academy, even a Heavenly Sovereign might not be able to touch him.
"Then I'll just stay put for now."
Lin Yuan was quite obedient. Since the Qingfen Marquis told him not to leave, he wouldn't.
Even though the loss of this body wouldn't mean true death—he could always start over—it would still waste time.
And the next time his consciousness transmigrated, who knew if he'd get such a good starting point again?
Not every Great Sovereign treated disciples like the Qingfen Marquis. Many were selfish and raised disciples merely as cultivation fuel.
"Inner universe..."
After re-entering the twelfth rank, Lin Yuan's inner universe had begun to evolve on its own, reconstructing itself based on the thirteenth-rank inheritance: Infinite Void.
"This Source World is weak in terms of foundation—there's no concept of inner universes," Lin Yuan thought as he cultivated Infinite Void while reflecting.
Infinite Void wasn't like martial Dao evolution paths. It was more like a secret technique, an internal universe refinement art, so it could be practiced even in this dimension beyond the Chaos Void.
"Or perhaps the Source World isn't weak—maybe it's the Chaos Void cultivators whose foundations are too strong?" Lin Yuan pondered.
In the Chaos Void, when one reaches the twelfth rank, they receive a direct infusion of Chaos Void origin power, greatly accelerating their inner universe's transformation.
But in the Source World, there was no such benefit. Without the resources from the Qingfen Marquis, Lin Yuan's inner world might've taken a massive amount of time and effort to evolve into a true inner universe.
If it was hard for him, it was even harder for others.
Time passed slowly.
Years flew by.
One day, Lin Yuan's inner universe surged with power—it had fully completed the first layer of Infinite Void, now on par with the inner universe of a Chaos Venerable.
His foundation now far surpassed that of even a peak Great Sovereign like the Qingfen Marquis.
"Seeds..."
Lin Yuan's expression changed as he looked inward.
At this moment, his flesh and bones were filled with countless Seeds, forming a vast sea of radiant energy. And even now, new seeds were forming.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan condensed yet another Seed.
In that instant—
The countless seeds began forming the outline of a massive cycle, suddenly bursting into dazzling brilliance.
...
Cyberpunk Tinker of friction fan fiction
I had only made a few more steps before we made it to the workshop. We passed the open garage entrance for the smaller door beside it, stepping in as it opened.
"So, I'm pretty sure that by now you've figured out that I'm not a normal inventor," I said as I led her into the side room of the workshop.
"I figured that out when you showed off that flashy energy pistol the first time we met," she responded, looking around the room. "It's only gotten worse since then. Is this what you wanted to show me?"
She gestured around the room with a frown, which was mostly a control room for the larger molly maker systems in the production room, but also contained a couch and a few other things.
"No, I'm just delaying until some things are set," I admitted with a shrug. "Forgot to get things set up beforehand. In the meantime, let me introduce you to Samwise."
Sable narrowed her eyes at me before turning towards the door as Samwise stepped into the room. He nodded to Sable before turning towards me.
"Final setups are almost complete," he said. "Would you like me to join you?"
"If you would like," I said with a smile, before gesturing from my assistant to Sable, and then back again. "Sable, meet Samwise, my assistant. Samwise, this is Sable Arturus."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Arcturus," Samwise said, holding out his hand and nodding. "I look forward to working closely with you in the future."
Sable's eyes widened as Sam talked, clearly understanding what was going on.
"Oh god, please tell me he isn't an AI Jackson… Jackson?" she said, repeating my name when I just smiled. "Are you insane? Do you have any idea what Netwatch will do to you? Hell, they probably won't have to do anything, the AI will take care of you for them. Do you have any idea how dangerous they can be? Of course you don't, you gave it a body and free access to the town!"
"Sable, relax. I'm not stupid enough to make the same kind of AI that everyone else seems to like experimenting with," I assured her, holding my hands out in what I hoped was a calming way. "Samwise and his brothers-"
"There are more?!"
"-are perfectly sane, and can empathize with humanity," I explained, ignoring her cut in. "They are tied to their core, and slowly raised to the state you see here, giving them a more grounded personality."
"...Tied to their core?" Sable asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. "Explain."
"Their programming cannot pull away from the hardware they are living on. They aren't free-floating ones and zeroes, able to jump between computer servers like the flu," I assured her. "It makes them vulnerable, yes, but significantly calmer and not nearly as Fae-like as some of the horrors on the other side of the black wall."
Sable was silent for nearly a full minute, looking between me and Samwise, seemingly trying to contain herself. Eventually, something seemed to snap in her, and she let out a long breath.
"Are you sure they are safe?" She asked, still watching Samwise closely.
"Yes, very much so," I assured her. "Samwise has been working with me since shortly after the beginning, and his brothers have been working hard as well. Without them, half of what we achieved would have been impossible."
"Jackson, perhaps showing her some more would distract her from me?" Sam suggested, and I nodded with a smirk.
"I think you're right. They should be done by now anyway. C'mon, Sable, time to adjust your reality a little."
I led the now-nervous corporate woman down to the teleporter room. The space had been cleaned up properly, with three completed platforms, though they were redundant at this point. Samwise had already instituted an exchange system that allowed different entangled photons to be traded out, meaning one platform could connect to a whole plethora of catchers, and vice versa. It would get a lot more complicated as we started making more and more, but for now, it was relatively simple.
"What's this?" she asked, eyeing the platforms. "Some sort of scanner?"
"Nope. Samwise, if you don't mind going first?"
My AI assistant nodded and smoothly climbed the steps. A short few taps on the control board and a moment later, he was gone in a quick, silent blip. It seemed that he had been working on the teleporter's precision, because I couldn't even detect the usual backdraft of cold that was usually present for onlookers, either.
"Did you just disintegrate your AI?" Sable asked, still staring at the platform. "Jackson, did you just disintegrate your AI?!"
"Nope. That was honest to god teleportation," I said, watching her reaction, both enjoying the faces she was making and slightly concerned she might actually pass out at some point. "And before you ask, no, it is not disintegration and then reconstruction, so no Ship of Theseus or Teleportation Paradox problems."
"I…Jackson… you…"
She trailed off, looking from me to the platform, then back to me. After nearly a minute, she finally let out an aggravated sound of finally being driven past her breaking point.
"You know what, sure, you made teleportation," She said, shaking her head. "Show me. If it's really teleportation, then get up there and use it yourself."
"Alright, sure," I responded with a shrug. "I'll be back in a second."
True to my word, I used the teleporter, disappearing from her view. After a few moments, I teleported back, giving the startled Corpo a little wave.
From there, it took a little more convincing before she finally agreed to use the platform. As she climbed the steps, I winced and spoke up from behind her.
"Just FYI, we are going to be traveling a fairly long distance, and we might lose connection to normal Night City networks," I warned. "Just in case that conflicts with any cyberware you have."
She shook her head and wordlessly stood on the platform. She paused for a moment, gave me another look before finally tapping the button, disappearing a moment later. I waited a few seconds before climbing up to the platform myself and once again teleporting through.
Both Sable and Samwise were waiting for me as I appeared, and I couldn't help but give Sable a big, glowing smile. We had landed in the public landing area of the finished living space. Sable seemed to be working through her shock rather well, and was instead looking around the room.
"Where are we?" She asked after a moment.
"We are in my vault, a bunker I built just in case this plan all goes sideways and Arasaka or Militech decide to go to war over what I am making," I explained with a smile. "Considering what we just used to get here, you might understand why that's a problem."
She stayed silent as we walked into the main central area, her head on a swivel as she tried to take in everything at once. Her cool, cold corpo facade had well and truly shattered with the teleporter, and now I could see her wonder and shock as we walked around under a semi-cloudy sky, deep underground.
"The bunker is still under construction, but my team made this living space first, plus some bare-bones systems, so we could finally have a safe place to retreat to with the teleporters," I explained. "Now, everyone we interact with, who might be used as leverage against us, can be sent here in seconds, with no way for any company to stop them."
"How's that possible?" She asked, looking down from the artificial weather to look at me. "Those platforms don't exactly look portable."
"They aren't, but they are just the landing pad. For a one-way emergency teleport, all you need is a special kind of beacon," I responded, reaching into my pocket to pull out one of the emergency teleport watches. "With one of these, I can lock onto anywhere on or off the planet and bring you here. If you want it to be able to do it automatically if you're dying, so we can save you, that requires a tiny little biomonitor."
"I already have Trauma Team," She pointed out, but I shook my head.
"Do you think that Trauma Team would stop Arasaka from killing you if they wanted you dead?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. "Or that they could somehow be faster than me when I use an instantaneous teleporter? Besides, our medical abilities are far beyond anything that the Trauma Team might have. I'll show you one of the big ones in a few minutes. So, you want the watch and the biomonitor? Just the watch? Neither?"
She seemed a little rattled, some of the manic, overwhelmed look returning, but she quickly stamped it down. She reached out and took the watch, turning it over to examine it.
"I will think about it," She said, before sliding the watch into her pocket. "I'll let you know."
"Alright. In that case, let's move on for now," I said, leading her to the center of the domed space. "Just down this elevator."
The circle of garden space around the central elevator shaft had a gap where the door was, to make accessing it possible. After a moment of waiting, the door opened, revealing the large elevator, which we stepped into, Samwise staying behind to get back to his own work. A moment later, we were hurtling downward.
"When the vault is completed, it will be able to hold more than five thousand people. There will be entertainment centers, a mall-like area, restaurants, and all sorts of extras," I explained, watching the floor numbers tick down.
"Why on earth would you need something that large?" She asked, looking at me like I was crazy.
"Honestly? I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "Samwise and his brother went a little crazy when I asked them to build me a vault. I'm pretty sure that when this one's construction has stabilized, they are going to start asking if they could build more."
"I thought you said they were stable?"
"I did, but did you somehow expect him to be more stable than me?" I teased. "They are fine, I think they see it as a hobby."
"A five-thousand-person bunker... a hobby?" She asked, raising her eyebrow at me. "Right, perfectly stable."
"Yeah fine," I allowed with a joking scowl. "Just be glad I convinced them to stop at five thousand and make a second bunker, rather than just continuing this one forever."
"I'm... I'm ignoring that," She said. "Something is telling me to ignore that."
I chuckled and nodded in agreement, before filling her in on what our eventual destination would be.
"We set up a bit of a testing area in an unfinished portion of the vault," I explained. "Noting fancy, just a big room with plenty of space."
She nodded, probably only half listening, as we both stood in the large elevator, rapidly plummeting deeper and deeper into the earth. Eventually, the ride stopped, and the door opened, and together we stepped out into the large cavern.
When I had been discussing this plan with Samwsie and Noah, it was the latter who had suggested this space. According to him, it was the right size for a proper testing space. As he had described it, it was a large room, with enough height and floor space to show off both my newly developed power armor, several of my weapons, and other miscellaneous creations. To that effect, they had set up several tables, some lights, and a portable fusion generator.
What the room actually was, was absolutely fucking massive.
The ceiling was at least forty meters above us, though there was a gradual curve to it that made it feel less harsh, while still making the cavern feel extraordinarily tall. The floor plan was equally extreme, with the elevator shaft sitting at the center of a hundred-meter-wide square. It dwarfed the living space gathering room by several factors.
While most of this space was flat, one of the corners was cut almost in half by a large running river, with a large amount of the space around it carved to feel more natural. All of this space was lit up with spotlights and ground lights, and revealed thousands of massive, thick metal support beams inbuilt into and fused to the stone.
Here, thousands of meters underground, I felt small.
Now that we were both struck stupid, Sable and I looked around the massive room, trying to take in just how extreme its dimensions were. It took a few minutes of us breathlessly looking around for me to finally spot the tables of stuff, as well as the impromptu shooting range. As I started walking towards it, Sable reached out and grabbed my arm.
"Jackson…" She said, looking at me with wide eyes. "... Jay… What the fuck?"
"Yeah… It's pretty impressive," I admitted with a smile. "I'll admit, I don't know what exactly they plan on doing with this space… this is the first time I've been this deep."
"You don't know- Who designed this then?"
"An AI called Noah," I explained. "He specializes in large-scale engineering projects like buildings… and apparent stuff like this."
"But how? This is a huge room, excavating this should take months!" She explained. "How could you get this built so quickly?"
"A few advancements in working with stone," I explained, looking at some of the tech Sam and Noah had left out. "It's not actually here, but I could get a unit down here in a few minutes…"
"...No… no it's fine, I'll take your word for it," She said after a long pause, releasing my arm. "I have a feeling you have plenty of other things to blow my mind with."
"Probably," I confessed with a smirk. "Well, come on, let's start off with something you're at least partially familiar with."
I led her to a table of plasma weapons, which looked pretty much identical to the normal XCOM version. While Samwise had his energy weapon portfolio ready to go for when we got around to re-designing the laser and plasma weapons, we hadn't actually gotten around to doing any of that, save for my mag weapons.
So, rather than picking one over the other, Samwise and Noah had put out the full spread, with weapons from Fallout and XCOM, medical tech and more from Titanfall, an ALEO frame with basic showroom programming, and dozens of little trinkets from all across my tech trees.
Piece by piece, we went through some of our choice pieces of tech. I demonstrated the stimpak on my leg before giving her three of them. Without the two enzymes used to make them, even if she handed them to Saburo himself, Arasaka wouldn't be able to replicate them, and I wanted her to have them, just in case.
We spent another hour inside the armored undersuits and power armor, running around the large room, jumping and bouncing around with the jump kit. Sable clearly enjoyed it, and I was pretty sure she used it as a chance to get back at me for throwing all of this at her at once. By the time we were done, I was bruised and sore, while my power armor was absolutely wrecked.
By the time I was done blowing her mind a few dozen consecutive times, I could tell that she was starting to get a grip on the situation. I could see her, at each stage, starting to recalculate and adjust herself. It wasn't malicious or anything, she was just recontextualizing exactly what she had gotten herself into. When I finished helping her out of the power armor, she let out a long breath before turning to look at me.
"Jackson-"
"Do I have to start blowing your mind again to get you to call me Jay?" I asked, cutting her off.
"... Jay, you realize that… you have an empire in the making. You have all the parts, all the things you need to take over the fucking world," She pointed out, gesturing to everything I had just shown her. "This… this is the next Arasaka. This is beyond the next Arasaka."
"Oh, trust me, I know," I said, nodding in agreement. "This is the start of something greater, Sable. I don't plan on squandering it. I plan on changing this world. Giving humanity the chance it deserves to be something greater."
"The corporations aren't going to like that," She pointed out. "But that doesn't bother you, does it?"
"Not in the slightest. Because soon, I plan on being far beyond anything that they can stop."
"...Good," she said with a nod. "Then what's your next step?"
"I need you to start looking into purchasing land in Watson," I responded easily. "Specifically, North Side Industrial District."
"What? That's Maelstrom Territory," She said with a frown. "Nobody wants land there. Half of it is abandoned."
"I'm aware," I responded with a smirk, leaning back on my busted-up power armor. "In fact, I'm hoping to get a chart that will show you exactly where Maelstrom activity is the worst so you can focus there."
"Why? It's like buying a-" She stopped and her eyes went wide. "You're going to use it as an excuse to wipe out Maelstrom."
"Exactly. I want you to buy the most gang-broken parts of Night City for ennies on the eddie," I explained with a smirk. "Then I can deploy a private military team to walk through Watson and wipe Maelstrom out to the last man, completely above board. I can then come through, tear down buildings and rebuild whatever I want, from manufacturing buildings to make my own goods, to safe, affordable housing."
"That… Holy fuck, Jay… why has no-one done this before?" She asked with a frown, running her hand through her hair. "Anyone could have come in and done this ages ago, so why didn't they?"
"Maybe there was no point, since they already had their land," I guessed with a shrug. "Maybe Maelstrom serves a purpose. They keep the area destabilized, which keeps the area from being developed and from raising property value. I assume if Arasaka or Militech wanted to suddenly expand their grip on Night City, there would be easier, cheaper places to build. Or maybe they are deadlocked in a bidding war, and we find out that Watson is somehow the most expensive land in Night City, who knows?"
"Considering who lives there, I doubt that last one," Sable responded. "If you're willing to put your earnings to the task, you could likely purchase a solid chunk of the Industrial District…And with me matching that amount, you could likely buy even more."
I gave her a look, and now it was her turn to smirk.
"What, you think I'm letting you go after everything you just showed me?" She asked, shaking her head. "I'm with you now, Jay, there's no way you're shaking me off. Congrats, you just earned yourself something rare, a loyal corpo."
"You weren't loyal before?" I asked teasingly.
"I was using you for our mutual benefit before," she responded, pulling a cigarette from her jacket, which was draped carefully over a chair. "I was a trustworthy corpo, not loyal, which meant if shit went sideways I would have warned you, helped if I could, but I would have split if it put me in real danger. Now? Now I'm all fucking in."
I chuckled and nodded, pushing myself off the table and standing up straight, stretching for a moment, before gesturing back to the elevator.
"C'mon then, let's get back to the living quarters. You can use one of the apartments to clean up a bit while I get changed."
"You've got something to wear?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, but following after me as I walked ahead. "Is it something decent? I have something for you…"
"Of course I have something, I designed it myself," I assured her as we boarded the elevator. When she gave me a disbelieving look, I just shrugged. "I think you'll like it. Perfect blend of eccentric genius and mysterious inventor."
"I'll believe it when I see it," She said with a snort.
We traveled up into the finished living space, and I showed her to one of the unused apartments, letting her take a look around while I got dressed. In all honesty, I was feeling a bit nervous about my creation, though I was working hard not to show it. It looked a little over the top by my standards, but I wasn't making it to those, I was making it to the standards of this world. I put it on in my rather large bathroom, happy to have a solid wall between me and… well, the real me, since I was still lying on the bed, eyes closed as I piloted this courser frame.
The first layer was a woven, reinforced underlayer, taking advantage of ballistic-resistant material from both Titanfall and Fallout. I would have liked to put some sort of plating as well, but there wasn't really enough room. The suit itself had some light reinforcements woven into it as well, but since too much would make it stiff and look off, I held back a lot.
Next, I put on the black suit pants, covering my reinforced boxers, followed by my shoes. The shoes, a pair of modified oxfords, were a bit heavier than usual, mostly because of the dual thruster system built into the heel and toe, made with heavy inspiration from the direct energy thruster systems from Fallout, since they could be made incredibly compact, but still retain their power. It was not nearly as powerful or versatile as a jump kit, but it would add quite a bit to my vertical jump and help me land safely, as long as I could keep myself stable.
Samwise planned on adding a buffed-up version for our combat boots and the power armor to enhance the already potent jump kits.
After the oxfords were on, then came the classic white dress shirt and tie, and over that, a black vest. I strapped a holster to my hip, sliding my pistol inside, before hiding a slip of stimpaks under my dress shirt. The final piece of my outfit was a long, suit trench coat-like jacket that bled into a cloak reaching almost to my ankles, which may or may not flutter on its own due to the artificial muscle strands woven into it. I took one last look in the mirror, adjusting myself precisely before taking one step to the bathroom door, only to freeze silently.
"Jackson, what are you doing in bed?" I heard Sable ask from the main room. "I didn't take that long… Jay?"
Just the tiniest hint of concern cut into her voice, so I quickly left the bathroom, entering the main room. Sure enough, there was Sable, escorted by Samwise, halfway to my bed, where I was still lying.
"Really, Sable, can't you see I'm trying to get some rest?" I asked, filling my voice with disappointment. "I work so hard to create all these miracles, and you still have to wake me up?"
Sable jerked back, looking up at me… then at me in my frame. Her eyes went wide as she spotted me dressed in all my glory. I could see her eyes trailing over the golden accents of my vest, the golden tie tucked underneath, before watching as my long trench coat jacket fluttered and settled around me.
"I… Dammit, I keep saying there's nothing left that can shock me… what the hell is this?" She asked, gesturing to me on my bed. "Did you sculpt a Gemini of yourself?"
"Not… well, actually… kinda, yeah, my own custom model, actually," I said with a smirk, before turning around and showing myself off. "What do you think?"
"W-wait, this is the conversion?" She asked, her eyes going wide. "Then what is this?"
"It's still me," I explained. "I had a full interface connection installed, letting me interface with technology seamlessly and with full sensory input. I get a 100% feedback from this body, allowing me to control it perfectly."
"What?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that kind of open network is?!" She asked, her shock shifting to horrified concern. "Anyone who managed to hack into it could control your entire reality, read your mind like a book!"
"First off, it can input sensations and read surface-level outputs like my movement and mind, so even if they managed to hack the line, all they would get is my current thoughts and the impulses for movement," I explained. "On top of that, unless you have a way to interfere with quantumly entangled photons, which by all knowledge is fundamentally impossible, then the connection is safe and unhackable."
"You found a way to gather entangled photons?" She asked, an eyebrow raised.
"How familiar are you with quantum physics?"
"Enough to make conversation," She responded, watching me closely. "But something tells me I'm about to learn more."
"Unfortunately, I don't think we have quite enough time for that," I pointed out, ignoring the hard look I got in return. "The bottom line is that while I was figuring out the teleportation, I figured out a way to make entangled photons since they are required to connect the two points. Long story short, they also make for incredible communications devices. Completely unblockable and unhackable. That watch I gave you has two different pairs, one for communication and one to act as the beacon of sorts for an emergency teleport."
She patted her jacket, which was where she had slid the gift before reaching in and pulling it out.
"This will let you teleport me here, no matter where I am?" She asked, eyes wide as she looked at the small device.
"Anywhere in this reality. Jury is out on whether or not it will work if you're in an alternate reality," I explained, quickly raising my hands to ward off a glare. "Which is not something I have learned to do yet, don't worry."
She let out a long sigh, looking back down at me before shaking her head.
"We really don't have time for this, we are running behind as it is," She explained, rubbing her forehead. "We can walk and talk, we need to get back to my car."
"Fair enough," I said with a nod, walking across my apartment, giving Samwise a look as we walked past. "Could have picked a better time to show off my room, buddy."
"Jackie suggested I let her in," He responded. "I believe it had something to do with getting you out of your own way?"
I rolled my eyes and led Sable to the teleport room, heading back to Rocky Ridge. As we left the basement of the workshop, I could feel Sable watching me closely.
"So is this a new robot or…?"
"I said it was bioware, didn't I?" I said, looking back at her. "It's a complete biological construct, significantly improved human form, with no functioning brain, and an entangled photon-locked control system in its skull. Should pass almost any scan possible as someone with brain implants."
"That's... Incredible," she admitted. "I have never seen bioware this extensive.
We arrived at her car, only for Riggs to step out of the Shack and give me a hard look.
"Relax, Riggs," I said, patting his shoulder. "This isn't actually me, so I don't need an escort. My real body is back down in my new room."
He seemed to contemplate my words for a moment before nodding, stepping back, and letting me climb into the passenger seat of Sable's car. I gave him a wave before we pulled away, leaving Rocky Ridge behind.