Seeing Arthur's stern expression, V raised her hands halfway, explaining with a helpless look.
"Don't be like that... I came here to talk it over with you.
No need to worry...
Everything I've mentioned hasn't happened yet."
Since leaving the suffocating world of Arasaka, V's way of handling things had grown noticeably rougher, far less cautious than before.
But she still understood the basics...
Every team needs someone to hit the brakes.
And that person has to hold enough authority—even the power to decide.
Without that role, a team will eventually spiral out of control and collapse in the end.
She knew she wasn't suited for that position. But the man sitting across from her? Surprisingly, he was.
"We're all still alive...
That's the greatest luck of all.
And... you seem to have been pretty busy lately."
Arthur pulled a cigarette from the pack V tossed over and lit it.
The next instant, even he frowned, staring at it with a strange look.
"This... fruit-flavored?"
He quickly snuffed it out again.
Across from him, V shrugged.
"Of course I've been busy. Damn it, Arasaka took back everything I had.
House... car... money... they even froze my insurance.
Now I'm completely broke."
The fall from the top was crushing.
V was furious, even desperate. She was still in debt—she needed to replace some cyberware Arasaka had locked down, and she sure as hell couldn't swap in trash.
For now, all she could rely on were her combat skills. That was also why she kept dragging along Rebecca, that noisy little brat.
Though, truth be told, teasing her was kind of fun.
"What about Arasaka? Haven't they made a move?
Seems... they took some heavy losses."
Arthur asked with concern. Out of habit, he had even thought about leaving the city.
After all... everyone here seemed terrified of that corporation.
V slowly shook her head, turning to look out the window.
Below the chaotic skyline, the crowds moved like a machine that never sleeps...
"Losses?
Hah—hardly.
For Arasaka, everything we did this time doesn't even compare to the hit we landed on Adam Smasher.
But... as long as he's not dead, any wound is just a scratch.
So what can they really do?
A corporation's only enemies are other corporations. And us... we haven't even had a proper conversation with Arasaka yet."
"Still... what you're saying sounds like a good thing, doesn't it?"
Arthur picked up the cup beside him, raising it in a toast across the table.
Laughing, V raised her own cup and clinked it with his.
"This is why we keep going...
Fucking not bad."
...
Quiet days passed quickly.
Arthur had planned to finally get some rest, but V hauled him out every day, keeping him constantly on the move.
The girl was desperate for money. In just a short time, she'd cleared nearly every scavenger den in Watson, big or small.
Arthur even felt that after all that, the NCPD patrols on the streets seemed more relaxed.
Coming out of a rundown factory, V's eyes lit up as she received payment for the job.
She immediately transferred a cut to Arthur, who stood nearby looking bored.
"About David and the others... what's your take?"
Though they'd managed to rescue him, David's life lately was nothing like V's carefree one.
His behavioral model was still in Arasaka's hands—a ticking time bomb.
That wasn't something a cyberware swap could fix. They had no way—no power—to take it back.
Living in Night City but unable to freely move through its Net was like being a fish trapped on the ocean's surface.
In the end, he decided to leave, to spend some time in a place untouched by Arasaka.
"My take...?"
Arthur let out a breath, his gaze drifting far into the distance.
They were in Watson now, north of Kabuki.
A few women with cheap sex cyberware walked past. One bold one even tossed Arthur a flirty glance.
"Leaving's not so bad... if it means getting out of this hellhole and actually living."
He wasn't sure who he was talking to. His eyes swept past the uneven skyline of buildings and up toward the sky.
"Where were they headed again?"
Arthur could never remember these damn city names.
"Chicago... a place where Arasaka doesn't exist.
But... that city always feels cursed with bad luck."
V's tone held some uncertainty. She didn't know much about that city either.
But if there was one place in the world that hated Arasaka the most, it was Chicago.
Because the virus bomb that destroyed its heart bore Arasaka's insignia.
No doubt—when it came to sheer inhumanity, Arasaka stood above all the rest.
Chicago's reconstruction went as smoothly as Night City's. But unlike Night City, its rebuilders—Storm Tech—had fused completely with the city itself.
Even after enduring two waves of destruction, Chicago still refused to die.
Shaking herself from her drifting thoughts, V went on.
"David... invited us to his place.
He's really set on leaving."
Of course they had to go—it was a farewell party before parting ways.
Climbing into a beat-up old car, the two headed south.
"I'm getting rid of this hunk of junk soon."
V slammed the steering wheel, glaring at a sports car that sped off ahead.
The driver had just provoked her while she was in a good mood. If Arthur hadn't held her back, she'd have drawn the pistol from her waist.
"I thought you had plenty saved up by now," Arthur reminded her.
In Night City, cars weren't too expensive. She should've had enough for something decent.
"That little bit of money...
Would only buy me another junker."
She cursed under her breath, forcing the stiff gearshift forward.
It was clear she already missed that white sports car that had been with her for so long.
...
(70 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser