Rocky opens the new subsystem. The interface is clean and minimal. Two entries sit in front of him.
{ Module Library }
{ Installed Modules }
He skims the layout and gets the idea fast: a store that lets him download and install modules to obtain items, abilities, or tech. Payment uses the same euro balance as his personal account.
He flips to the store page. Rows of modules appear with filters and search.
Rocky taps the biggest tile.
{ Basic Production Module Integration Pack }
{ Includes: workbench, anvil, furnace, alchemy table, enchantment table. Prerequisite for many recipe-expansion modules. Bundled with a workbench-scanner add-on. Newcomer-friendly. }
{ Price: €10,000 (corrected) }
{ Price factors: World adjustment +30% • Bundle discount −30% • Basic pack discount −90% → Net −10% }
The original was €100,000; stacking adjustments drop it to €10,000. "World adjustment" means how well a module fits this reality: realistic tech prices down; fantasy systems spike costs. Bundle specials beat piecemeal buys, and this basic-pack discount looks like a one-time newcomer perk.
Rocky does not rush to buy. His balance reads €30,000. Not a lot. Picks must be careful.
He has not made big money at Vik's clinic. Vik runs clean, so margins beat black clinics only in conscience, not profit. And Rocky is still an assistant. Even with Vik giving him a generous cut, rent and fight nutrition drained him. It took two years to save enough to open his own place.
The €30,000 is the last reserve. He also owes Vik for the cyberware Vik prepaid for his new shop. The modules he buys must pay back fast.
He keeps scrolling. Most options are either absurdly expensive or too weak to matter.
Then he sees one worth a look.
{ Titanfall Stimulant Module }
{ Effect: Briefly boosts user speed and recovery. Risk of harm to low-endurance users. }
{ World adjustment: −10% }
{ Item module: €900 / 2 doses }
{ Alchemy-table recipe expansion: €9,000 (requires Alchemy Table module) }
{ Technology expansion: €13,500 }
This one fits Night City tech and has apparent demand. If he installs the recipe expansion and can craft it in small batches, the returns should be solid.
He does the math. Basic Production pack + stimulant recipe = leaves almost €10,000 for setup and materials. That should cover a first run.
He plans to buy the Alchemy Table recipe expansion. That lets him brew on an alchemy station. The pricier Technology expansion embeds complete manufacturing know-how so you can mass-produce without the station, but it lacks a factory and the overhead for real volume. Recipe-driven trickle output is safer and attracts less corp attention. Until he can swing real muscle, he would rather not invite it.
First, proof of reality.
He purchases the item module for €900. Two green vials drop into his hands with real weight and chill. That makes it real enough.
He thumbs the cap. The autoinjector pops. He sinks the needle into his shoulder.
Heat floods his veins. The stimulant hits instantly.
His body goes light. He jogs a circuit in the room, hops once, and clocks a near-fifty-percent jump in speed. Under the drug, his system crackles with new life—the bruises from Vik's hook earlier knit fast.
Half a minute later, the kick fades. He checks himself. No rebound. The lingering aches are gone.
Strong.
The result leaves him grinning despite himself. Short effect window, but the push is real.
His phone cuts in.
"Jackie, what's up?"
He breathes once to steady and answers. The caller is V's best friend and a real mover in Night City: Jackie Welles. Jackie is Vik's old friend; he gets chrome and healthcare from Vik and drops by often. Over two years, Rocky and Jackie have worked together enough to become friends.
"Hey, L. You free? Come to the El Coyote Cojo for a couple. Got a job to talk," Jackie says.
"What kind of job? I'm a little busy."
"Your favorite. Scavs."
"I'll be right there."
By day, Rocky assists at Vik's. Sometimes, he moonlights as a merc with Jackie for extra eddies at night. He planned to refuse tonight and keep studying the module system. But if the target is Scavs, he will not say no. He hates that crew, and this is a clean way to test the stimulant in the field.
Rocky kills the system view, grabs his jacket, and heads out. He straddles the bike and points the nose toward the El Coyote Cojo.