No wonder this place was called the best braindance lounge in all of Night City—these finely crafted experiences were the closest thing to perfect dreams money could buy.
Filthy or sacred, twisted or sublime... humanity's chaotic desires—like candy scattered over mud—could all be fulfilled here.
Got a thing for scent? Put on a headset, and you're under the soles of several white-socked girls, overwhelmed by intensified touch and smell crafted by expert editors.
Crave pain? Strap in, and you're in a sweltering room, getting whipped by a sultry man or woman who knows just where to strike.
Even the more "normal" BDs followed a similar logic: maximize comfort, minimize discomfort.
Engineered bliss.
"No wonder people in this world are hooked. This blows any real-life neural stim out of the water."
Lin Mo let out a satisfied breath, removing the headset.
Even with his composure stat at 5, stepping out of that dream left him briefly dazed.
Back then, he wouldn't have touched these vanilla BDs. Xu Wanxue's influence had taught him they corrode the mind and sap the will.
So most of the BDs he'd watched were the illegal ones David gave him—black braindances.
As the name implies, black BDs circulated underground, banned from public markets.
They weren't gentle—they were violent, gory, extreme.
David's Edgerunner series featured cyberpsychos mid-rampage, gunning it out with NCPD or MaxTac until they were finally taken down by armored riot units.
Lin Mo wasn't some thrill-seeker. Others watched for adrenaline.
He studied them—analyzed how the cyberpsychos fought, how they died.
No better tool for immersion. No better way to train.
Braindance had reshaped life itself.
One second you're scavenging trash for dinner.
The next, you're emperor of the world, standing at the top of a glittering pyramid.
You eat the meals of megastars, drink their wine—even if it's all fake.
You could be anywhere, anyone.
Edited BDs amplified the best feelings and stripped away the pain.
A dreamscape. Heaven and Earth, at your fingertips.
Thinking back to the scene he just experienced—those fragile, lovely girls—Lin Mo felt a spark reignite deep in his chest.
It was like his heart was being roasted over an open flame.
If he had to put it into words:
He was a knight who had fallen into a succubus's lair. They threw everything at him to make him submit.
But he stood tall, unwavering. In the end, he conquered them all and walked away refreshed.
One word:
Ecstasy.
He glanced at the BD chips on the table—each one a gateway to paradise. A fantasy realm people would gladly get lost in.
Then he looked over at Hiro Kitagawa.
The guy looked completely unaffected. No exhaustion, no emotional ripple. Same calm expression as always, like the whole BD was just a passing breeze.
Damn, Lin Mo thought, his mental fortitude is insane.
Braindances transmitted full sensory immersion from the recorder's experience—amplified and refined by editors.
And he, with maxed composure, had almost cracked.
But Hiro? Not a twitch.
Feeling competitive, Lin Mo reached for another chip—
Just as he heard a soft hum nearby.
He turned. Hiro was removing his headset, eyes bright, body brimming with energy. Gone was the exhausted man from that morning.
"Lin-kun, that was incredible! I haven't been here in ages—every cell in my body feels like it's vibrating with joy!" Hiro laughed, full-throated.
"Not bad," Lin Mo nodded. "Some of those BD editors are straight-up geniuses."
Hiro set the headset down, grabbed a bottle of booze, and chugged. He wiped his mouth with a satisfied sigh.
"This your first time, Lin-kun? You handled it like a veteran. Calm under fire and calm in here. Meanwhile, I made a fool of myself my first time."
His eyes gleamed with approval.
Right... 'heroes rise young' in this kind of venue? Lin Mo rolled his eyes internally.
He took a sip of his juice—made with real fruit, priced like liquid gold in a place like this.
"You know... I finally get why the global birth rate's tanking."
"Braindance offers pleasures that real intimacy can't match.
In Night City, if a woman sleeps with you for free—and is even willing to have your child—that's real love."
Hiro said it like a man who'd lived it. There was more behind those words, but Lin Mo didn't press.
Fate was funny. They'd just met this morning, yet it felt like they'd known each other for years.
Shared a roof. Fought together. Drifted together. Split loot.
They'd already hit two of the four marks of brotherhood.
Suddenly, Lin Mo thought of someone. He opened his comms and dialed.
Hiro saw the faint orange shimmer in Lin Mo's eyes—sign of an active call—and stayed quiet, sipping his drink.
"Yo. What's up, Lin Mo? Why're you calling now?" David's voice came through.
It wasn't a netlink hologram, so there was no projection. He couldn't see the grin on Lin Mo's face.
Picked up fast. Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing urgent. Just wanted to say—I'm at Lizzie's Bar. You know, the BD place you've been dreaming about."
"Lizzie's? The Lizzie's?! Shit, Lin Mo, you lucky bastard," David groaned.
Then his tone dropped.
"Well… figures. With your kind of money, it's nothing."
Hearing David sound so defeated, like a kicked puppy, made Lin Mo laugh out loud.
"Chill. I'm not flexing. I called to ask—wanna come with me next time?"
"I can't afford that."
"You don't have to. I'll cover it. Just show up."
Silence.
Then David muttered:
"…Thanks, Lin Mo. But no. I'll pass."
Knew it.
Guys like David—rational, brooding, prematurely jaded—bottled everything up.
Even crushed, they'd grit their teeth and swallow it whole.
And when they snapped? No one could stop them.
They sat in silence.
Then Lin Mo spoke again, calm, as if stating a universal truth:
"David. Don't worry about being 'good enough.' I told you this once, and I'll say it again:
You may seem average now. But one day, you'll be a legend."
And when that day comes, I'll make you part of my crew.
We'll light up this city together.
He didn't say that last part out loud.
Because if he did, it would only sound like a joke.
After all, his simulator wasn't prophecy—it was a play.
Every action could change the ending.
But still—"David becomes a legend, only to die at Adam Smasher's hands"—
That ending fit too well in a world like Cyberpunk.
Even if Lin Mo planned to stop it, it proved one thing:
David had the potential to be great.
Whether through hacks, sheer rage, or brute force, his legend was inevitable.
And he would do it all—by the age of seventeen.
Just thinking about it made Lin Mo shake his head in disbelief.
Seventeen.
Even V—the game's canon legend—was twenty-seven when they became Night City's Angel of Death.
At seventeen, V was just a nobody.
That's why Lin Mo cared about David.
He was a gem not yet polished. Even if he couldn't keep it, befriending it was already a win.
Just as Lin Mo was about to say something more—
Hiro suddenly frowned, tapped the table, and said in a low, serious voice:
"Lin-kun. There's gunfire outside."
.
.
.
🧠 My Cyberpunk 2077 Simulator
📢 System Booting… Welcome, Chooms! 📢
My Cyberpunk 2077 Simulator is now live with 20+ chapters ahead on Patreon! 💻🔥Dive deeper into Night City, level up faster, and stay ahead of the game with exclusive early access! 🧠⚙️
🔗 Join here: www.patreon.com/c/MrMagnus👤 Patreon name: SrMagnus
Thank you for your support, and remember—chrome up, never back down. 🌆💥