Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
We were in a room, an expensive one from what I could see. It was basically a really expensive penthouse. It almost looked familiar, which surprised me. I nearly thought we'd appear in an alley. GLaDOS looked around before looking out the huge window. I walked up to her, and the sight of enormous buildings filled me.
Night City, the city of dreams.
I sighed as I pulled out my phone, blinking at the different look it had taken on. If it had once been a 21st-century smartphone, it was now practically something perfectly adapted to this new world.
Look at the mission still open.
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Smash Adam Smasher. by jollymerr
Location: Cyberpunk 2077
Scope: Standard
For some reason, Adam Smasher, Night City boogeyman, Arasaka's rabid dog, Night City's living legend, full-blown Borg Mercenary, and bearer of many more titles, is widely hated.
And there are reasons for that. Adam Smasher can only be described as pure, unbridled evil, and not just because he sold his shiny, metallic ass to Arasaka, but for the simple act of killing Rebecca.
Yes, that tiny, half-crazy gremlin from Edgerunners, precisely that one. Many people were pissed off when Adam Smasher killed her at the end of the series, and I'm one of those people.
So here's the mission: kill Adam Smasher, smash him, crush him, do whatever you want to that bastard while he's dead. Every Adam Smasher killed makes me happier, so do your best!
Conditions:
kills Adam Smasher.
Reward [ Credits ] :50
Additional objectives:
Objective 1: Do it before Rebecca is killed by him.
Reward [ Other ] : Free capture of Rebecca or 20 credits.
Objective 2: Ensure the Maine crew remains fully intact.
Reward [ Other ] : Free capture of Sasha Yakovleva or 20 credits.
Objective 3: Prevent David Martinez from losing his mother and becoming an Edgerunner.
Reward [ Other ] : Free capture of Lucyna Kushinada or 20 credits.
Objective 4: Kill Saburo Arasaka.
Reward [ Other ] : Free capture of Hanako Arasaka.
Objective 5: Cause heavy damage to Arasaka along the way.
Reward [ Other ] : Free capture of Johnny Silverhand and Rogue Amendiares or 50 credits. More credits depending on the damage done to Arasaka. From 50 credits for a minor mishap, to 1 IMG ticket for completely wiping out Arasaka.
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The mission wasn't difficult at all. The only problem was finding out where Adam Smasher was, but hey, that wasn't much of a problem either. Adam was a real attention-getter. I'm sure a little browsing through the news and the internet would be enough to find information about Adam Smasher.
If not, I would be causing problems for Arasaka until Adam came out to play. Killing Adam wasn't much of a problem either, so it was easy to choose this mission. But leaving that aside.
I started fiddling with it quickly, and luckily, everything was pretty much the same, so it was easy to find what I needed. The first thing I did was look for the Paper Trail.
"Let's see, my name is still Serena Prince, 19 years old, born and raised in the UK, in a nomadic group near London. The usual, and… I'm married to you?" I asked, surprised.
"We're what?!" GLaDOS asked incredulously as she snatched the phone from me.
"GLaDOS, 36, wife of Serena Prince," GLaDOS read incredulously. I laughed lightly.
"I have to clarify that it definitely wasn't my fault," I said playfully as I grabbed the phone again. GLaDOS glared at me.
"Let's keep watching, the backstory isn't fascinating, let's see... we did some jobs, we earned money, we arrived at Night City, the place where we are is a penthouse in Japantown, Westbrook?" I said, surprised, wasn't this the same penthouse that David and Lucy would rent in the future?
I quickly checked the penthouse contract, and we were renting it, or well, only the first month was paid, the following month I would have to pay a nice sum of 98,000 euros. Great.
But I guess I couldn't complain. It's not like I expected us to stay too long. I'd see how long it took us to achieve our plans. Speaking of the future.
"This is… August 20, 2075. The Edgerunners storyline shouldn't have started yet, I think," I said out loud, humming. "So, what's the first thing you want to do?" I asked, putting my phone down.
"I thought you were the expert," GLaDOS said tersely. "As long as I get everything I need, I don't care how we do it," GLaDOS said without hesitation. I hummed.
"Can you connect to this world's network?" I asked curiously, GLaDOS's eyes seemed to glow slightly.
"I can do it." GLaDOS said without hesitation, her gaze seeming to be staring into space.
"Okay, make a list of everything you need. You said you wanted several machines from this world. See, we'll have enough for... half of what we brought, more or less, the essentials. We'll discuss the rest later. You can leave the 3D printers aside. Alchemy is more than enough." I said quickly.
I quickly manipulated my phone to transfer and convert the money into Eurodollars by sending it to the joint bank account we had in this world.
"I'm on it," GLaDOS said, almost glazed over.
"Can you learn everything you need to know about cyberware and how to deploy it from the network?" I asked curiously.
"No… the network I'm connected to is owned by NetWatch, they have all the information controlled, although there are several books and information available, they are nothing more than an introduction, everything advanced has a price." said GLaDOS without hesitation. I snorted.
"Welcome to a hypercapitalist world," I murmured simply. "Do you think you can fully learn it if you buy the books?" I asked.
"Of course I do," GLaDOS said without hesitation. "I'm excellent at everything I do," she added, and I rolled my eyes with a smile.
"I'm sure," I said playfully. "But seriously, can you just learn how to be a Ripperdoc, from books? You could operate on someone and place an implant in a few hours. " I asked curiously. GLaDOS shrugged.
"I won't know until I try, and with so many lunatics around me, I have more than willing test subjects," GLaDOS said without hesitation, and I looked at her in surprise.
"Do you want to open a clinic and start operating on people to gain practice?" I asked, surprised, GLaDOS stopped and stared at me.
"Wow, I was thinking your mind was in trouble, but I guess even you can come up with good ideas. Yeah… having a clinic and having test subjects come in and eagerly get ripped apart sounds wonderful," GLaDOS said without hesitation. I hummed softly.
"We're in Japantown, Wesbrook, if I'm not mistaken, there must be at least two known Ripperdocs in Japantown, Fingers and Chiyo Omoto I'm sure we can find a place. Or we could go to Heywood, there are at least 4 mega buildings there, that would be a good spot, I think there were only one or two known ripperdocs in that area." I said while considering it.
"I almost expected you to refuse," GLaDOS said, slightly surprised, and I shrugged.
"I have no reason to do so. You said so yourself. They're willing. As long as you don't start randomly removing organs and only implant what the client tells you to, and you stay within an ethical standard, then go crazy." I said playfully. GLaDOS nodded.
"I'll start looking for a place to set up the clinic," GLaDOS said, staring off into space again. "By the way, among your powers was the ability to read minds, right? " GLaDOS asked.
"Legilimency, yes," I said simply.
"I want you to read the minds of several Ripperdocs and transfer them to me," GLaDOS said without hesitation, and I hummed.
"Unfortunately, it doesn't work the way you're thinking. Forcibly reading someone's mind would destroy them, let alone what their mind would be like with that much cyberware in their head. And I can't even see their memories exactly. I could see him studying or performing surgeries, but all the pertinent information would be beyond me." I said honestly. GLaDOS clicked her tongue.
"Disappointing," GLaDOS said simply. I snorted, amused, before stopping to think.
"Although… It's possible I could do it with metal arts," I said, considering it. "Yes, medallions, made of feruchemical copper, give someone the ability to store memories, use the Imperius Curse to force them to store all their memories in copperminds, and then you'd simply have to read them."
"It would be effortless," I said, a slight surprise on my face. It had never occurred to me to try to steal memories; it was good to know it was actually easy. I'd also have to give her an aluminum one, so it would erase the identity, and GLaDOS could access the memories without any problem.
"Then do it." GLaDOS said without hesitation.
"Fine, fine, I'll do it. I have two in mind that I wouldn't mind having their minds completely wiped. Fingers and Doc," I said with a shrug. They wouldn't even be worth selling for credits once I was done with them.
"And about netrunners, too," GLaDOS said immediately.
"Also, information on netrunners? Is that of any use to you? " I asked curiously. GLaDOS shrugged.
"It's not to serve me, it's to learn it," GLaDOS said simply. "I'm an AI with the greatest computational power this world will ever see. I can break into anything, but I want to see how they do it in this world," she added almost arrogantly.
" Okay… you want me to acquire the memories of some netrunners as well? I'm sure the Voodoo Boys would be pretty easy to catch," I shrugged. "Though there's always NetWatch, on the other hand," I added.
"I thought you didn't want any trouble. I'm sure making people disappear from one of the most influential organizations in this world would do exactly that," GLaDOS said dryly before shrugging. "But again, as long as I get what I want, do as you please," GLaDOS said, unconcerned.
"I was thinking more about selling the Voodoo Boys to NetWatch. They don't have much of a presence in Pacifica right now, so they'll pay a substantial reward if we sell to them. We could ask someone from NetWatch to teach a crash course on Netrunning at the corps level." I said distractedly.
"Can't you send them their heads?" GLaDOS asked distractedly. I hummed softly.
"I have no idea, I could do it, make up an excuse to kill them, but I'm sure I'd have to hand over everything found inside the Voodoo Boys' hideouts," I said simply.
"Forget it, that's all mine," GLaDOS said greedily. "Get rid of the Voodoo Boys as quickly as you can," she added immediately, and I laughed lightly.
"Okay, then, I'll also steal the Ripperdocs' equipment to see if anything helps." I said with a smile in between. GLaDOS nodded.
"Well, also think about how to get Arasaka's cyberskeleton," GLaDOS said without hesitation, I snorted.
"Unless canon follows exactly how it happened, it's impossible. The only reason that transfer was done with so few guards was because they wanted David to get it, which isn't going to happen if you want the military-grade Sandevistan." I said flatly, GLaDOS looked conflicted as she grimaced.
"Find out how to get both." GLaDOS said simply, I snorted.
"First, see if James Norris has already become a cyberpsychopath, and stay tuned for news. We have to be the first to arrive, or at least contact Gloria Martinez to get the Sandevistan."
"Then we'll see, if you're able to perform Netrunning better than any human, then it should be easy for you to hack into Arasaka to find where the cyberskeleton is. We know that Tanaka, as a top executive of Arasaka, is in charge of the cyberskeleton prototype, or at least he'll know where it is; it should be easy to steal the information from him."
"Once we know where they have it, stealing it is the easiest thing to do," I said with a straightforward tone. GLaDOS frowned, but nodded.
"Fine. We'll do it that way," GLaDOS said without hesitation. I nodded. "I still haven't found anything on James Norris."
"Well, the plot hasn't started yet. That's perfect," I said simply. GLaDOS nodded. I looked at the city while I considered our next steps. "Do you want to go see the city?" I asked simply.
"No, thank you. I'd rather not be contaminated by this city's filth. I have scanners to study the gases in the air. This air is worse than Aperture's recycled air," GLaDOS said tersely. I snorted.
"Yes, I'd noticed," I said honestly. Yes, the house probably had a filter, but it surely had to have some kind of limit. I could feel the air thickening. "Even so, I'll go for a walk, and at some point you'll have to leave if you want to open a clinic," I said simply as I started toward the exit.
"And today's not the day," GLaDOS said without hesitation. I snorted. I walked toward the exit when I remembered something. I stopped and looked at GLaDOS over my shoulder.
"I just remembered." GLaDOS just grunted slightly, not even turning to look at me. I smiled slightly. "Once you get all the information on how to be a Ripperdoc, we can always go find some Maelstrom as test subjects… not so willing," I said amusedly.
This time, GLaDOS suddenly turned her head and looked at me intently.
"Really?" GLaDOS asked, I smiled and nodded, GLaDOS then smiled widely. "I'll look forward to it," GLaDOS said, brimming with happiness, although I could hear something sadistic in her voice.
With that, GLaDOS reconnected to the network, but with a slight smile on her face. I chuckled. Well, it was a good thing that all it took to make her happy was giving her some test subjects no one would miss.
That said, I finally left the penthouse and almost regretted it. My face immediately crumpled as I stopped. Yes… The air was horribly polluted. You couldn't see anything with the naked eye, but I could feel it in my lungs.
I almost wanted to use a bubble head or use my metals so I wouldn't have to breathe. I hated it. I went back to breathing much more slowly and less. Maybe I needed to create something invisible to clear the air before inhaling it.
Leaving that aside, I refocused on what I was doing, but before I started walking, I stopped. Did I need to carry a weapon? I really didn't want to use firearms, and magic was a big no-no.
Considering there were cameras almost everywhere, I couldn't risk them seeing and recording the magic.
At least I wouldn't have any trouble using Flashy Magic to enhance my physical strength and speed. That alone would be enough for most enemies. After a few seconds of thought, Kanshou and Bakuya appeared in my hands.
I almost thought about changing them, but it wasn't necessary; Kanshou's hexagonal patterns didn't look out of place with the city at all. I looked at my outfit, which wasn't a problem either.
I was wearing tight, ripped jeans, black combat boots, and a purple tank top with a pattern on the front. I wore my many piercings, rings, and bracelets. I'd even removed my alchemy tattoos, so my skin was flawless.
I wasn't really out of this world aesthetic for the most part, the only thing that would give me away was that I didn't have any cyberware anywhere on my body, not even something as simple as EMP Threading, those metallic lines running through your body that simply serve as an aesthetic at the moment.
I created some straps that I put on my torso and placed my swords on my back. Thinking about it lightly, I made a second pair and placed them there as well. I didn't think anything could break Kanshou and Bakuya directly, but if they did, I wouldn't be able to create new ones in the middle of the fight.
Speaking of which, would it be a good idea to use a ranged option? Would a bow and arrow be too much? I'll stand out with my lack of cyberware and the shape of my swords...
I sighed lightly and started walking. That'll be for later. I'll not get into enough trouble to need a bow. At least for now.
I almost wanted to sigh with exhaustion, a witch reduced to using swords to avoid attracting attention. But I suppose it was the better of the two evils: that, or using firearms. A beggar couldn't choose... yeah... I'll figure out how to carry a bow.
It's time to see what Night City has to offer me.