Vik hears that business in Japantown is going well and nods, satisfied. "That is how our line works. The start is always hard. Friends help, but your own skill is what keeps it standing."
Rocky cracks another energy drink and downs it to shake off the fatigue from their rigid spar. "Burp. That hit the spot." He grins. "Are you praising me or yourself?"
"Both. Training up a solid ripperdoc is worth some pride."
"Fair." Rocky agrees and lets the talk flow.
They sit together and range across Night City, from clinics and boxing to corps and edgerunners, eventually circling back to the clinic.
"By the way," Vik asks, "a lot of rippers are selling a new stimulant lately. You know anything about it?"
Rocky's brow lifts. Vik was not part of the first wave of clinics that Rocky targeted for samples. He is not afraid of Vik knowing the truth; if anyone in Night City is entirely trustworthy, it is Vik and Jackie. He has just not figured out how to explain it. After two years of working side by side, Vik knows him too well, and the source of this issue is not easy to resolve.
Still, Rocky knows he has to say it sooner or later. Keeping it hidden from Vik is not what he wants, and he will need Vik's talent. Better to speak now than keep piling up questions.
After a moment, he says, "You mean Ascension Technology's Power Stimulant Type II?"
"Yeah. You know it? I tried to trace their supply and found nothing."
"I do. My clinic sells it." Rocky pauses. "As for supply, to be straight with you, I make it."
Vik goes still, the drink halfway to his mouth. It hangs there for a long second before he sets it down. "You are not joking? I never taught you that. I bought two to study. The ingredients appear simple, much like the energy drinks that everyone buys. On paper, it should not work at all. The weird part is that it does. It behaves like a real stimulant, boosting speed. If you really produce it, I am curious how."
The raw materials are ordinary. The effect comes from the rules inside an alchemy table Rocky owns. Without that bench, no one can reproduce the result. To make it natively in this world without the bench, you would need to install a complete stimulant technology expansion so the formula becomes a valid local rule. The materials and cost would jump. At this stage, there is no need.
"I am not joking," Rocky says, shaking his head. He hesitates, then adds, "Vik, I have never told you what my life was like before I came to Night City."
"No. You haven't brought it up in two years, and I never pressed the issue. Everyone has a past."
It is the first time Rocky has opened this door. Vik respects him, keeps his curiosity in check, and listens.
Rocky looks ahead, eyes distant. "Before Night City, I lived very far from here, not even in this country. That place was not as rotten as it is now. People were not yet drowned in the mud of the world. They were upbeat and full of energy. They wanted to change a world dominated and exploited by corporations, and they continued working toward that goal.
"They failed. Only I made it here, carrying what hope they had. The change came too fast. When I showed up half dead in Night City, I knew I could never go back. I was the only one left who could carry their ideal.
"Not long ago, I received what they left me. It is the crystallization of years of thought, packed with things that could change the world. I want to use them to make a difference in the world. That is what I have to do."
Every word is accurate from Rocky's point of view. The listener hears it differently.
Vik pictures a distant homeland, a group trying to change the world, then a disaster — perhaps a corporation, maybe a war — wiping them out. Only Rocky escaped to Night City with the wisdom they left to finish what they could not.
For Rocky, the speech describes the process of transmigration and acquiring the system. Before he crossed, anyone who had played Cyberpunk 2077 or watched Edgerunners wanted to fix this broken world and rewrite its tragic endings. He crossed. He can try.
The module system draws on elements from the games and demonstrates his knowledge. Calling it the crystallization of their ideas is not wrong. He cannot explain more without spilling what he will not share. He will not lie to Vik, but he cannot expose the core.
Vik's thoughts churn. He sets a hand on Rocky's shoulder and pats it. "Sorry, I dragged up the bad parts."
"It is fine. It is over. I like my life now. I have new friends. I am getting used to this place." Rocky's tone is light. Crossing into Night City changed his life, but for him, it has not been a bad thing. He has started to like it here, especially since he got his edge.