Night City, a city fueled by people's dreams.
It is located in California, an independent metropolis entirely controlled by corporate conglomerates.
Although geographically it is still part of the United States mainland, Night City has long been a lawless territory, free from the control of California or even US law.
For years, it has been plagued by conflicts between corporate conglomerates and endless gunfights.
In the year 2077, those barely surviving within it were already trapped in despair, facing city-wide violence, terror, and chaos.
Berry and V had truly fallen into this living hell.
Upon entering the city, Jackie acted like a gold-star tour guide, taking them through the towering skyscrapers and dazzling nightlife, but also the gang turf wars, the tumor-like proliferation of Homeless men, and mountains of trash. Prosperity and poverty were polarized to the extreme here.
The Wolf Bar, owned by the Wells Family, was now managed by Jackie's mother, Guadalupe Alejandra Welles, though everyone called her Mrs. Welles.
She was an important figure in Heywood; even the toughest Valentinos members gave her due respect.
Father once even said that Mrs. Welles was not only kind-hearted but also more formidable than all the gang members in the entire district.
But that didn't change her status as a tough mother; it was publicly acknowledged that no matter who entered her home, their grievances would always be heard, and they would even get a delicious meal.
Like all mothers, she was willing to give everything, even her life, to protect her children.
During the first two or three months when they were poor, V and Berry stayed in the attic on the second floor of the Wolf Bar.
Mrs. Welles was very enthusiastic, perhaps a little too much so.
The appearance of V and Berry seemed to fulfill her dream of having foster daughters—a sensible older sister and a delicate younger sister—a double fulfillment.
Mrs. Welles walked around with a smile for days.
Maybe it's a case of like attracting like, but you know, Jackie actually knew a few reliable friends in this city full of junkies and joyriders.
Misty, Jackie Welles' girlfriend, owns a shop called "Misty's Esoterica," located on the upper floor of Viktor Vector's clinic.
Viktor, a retired boxer and Night City's best Cyberware Doctor, handles gunshot and knife wounds, while Misty mends broken hearts.
The psychic shop isn't large; inside, it's filled with various incense sticks for exorcism, yarrow stalks, separated chips of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and good luck charms.
Although Misty has more clients than Viktor, this intelligent and sensitive woman always manages to find time to help friends in need, sometimes even taking on the role of a full-time nurse.
Viktor, full name Viktor Vector.
Viktor is a Cyberware Doctor—half doctor, half engineer.
Whether your intestines are cut open or you have a gunshot wound, he can fix it quickly.
If your cyberware is broken, the Cyberware Doctor will either repair it or replace it with brand new, illegal cyberware for you.
Viktor is highly skilled in the use of the scalpel and screwdriver; he has been a clinician for many years and has extensive experience.
But what is less known is that Viktor, who appears to be a good-natured old man, is actually one of Night City's living legends, though he has wished for years that people would forget this.
He is a man of principle, an old-school street tough, adhering to a code of honor and virtue forged at Night City's Devil's Boxing Club.
Viktor has seen enough people; he can easily unravel your little thoughts like peeling garlic, but he really liked V and Berry, whom Jackie brought.
Perhaps their vibrant vitality and youthful passion comforted him, telling him—this city still has people who hold onto their convictions and principles.
In Night City, you can't walk ten meters without seeing a camera, and some shops are even equipped with automatic turrets that can easily tear intruders into shreds.
If you don't want a mission to fail, you need to work with a skilled Hacker, and T-Bug is just such a person.
A Black woman, bald, dressed in an all-black combat suit, her attire and demeanor are as efficient and concise as her style of action.
The Jackie trio often collaborated with her, and over time, they became partners, although Jackie didn't quite admit it.
Corresponding to her skilled hacking techniques is Bug's profound intellect, often spouting incomprehensible words from Greek philosophers, making it seem as if those bearded old men's drunken ramblings from thousands of years ago are still relevant today—of course, that's what Jackie said.
Unlike those naive Hackers, T-Bug's ambitions are rather Zen; she just wants to work safely until retirement, ideally saving enough money to leave this damned city behind forever.
Of course, safely retiring in Night City is probably just a dream.
People on the streets often say that to be a Mercenary, you first need to know how to use a gun, but knowing how to use a gun is only half the battle.
More importantly, you need to find a few good brothers who can back you up and bail you out when you're in jail.
Fighting alone in this city will only get you swallowed whole, bones and all.
Fortunately, with the help of a group of good brothers and sisters, V and Berry were officially on their way.
Jackie, V, and Berry, the trio, partnered up to make a living on the streets, never stopping for a moment.
They took all sorts of missions from various fixers, and then completed them with grenades, guns, and katanas.
It was either capturing some unlucky soul who owed a casino a ton of money, or stealing confidential business documents from some corporate dog, or directly snatching food from gang members, taking all their prepared money and goods, and then getting their teeth knocked out by those sent for revenge.
And then what? Of course, more guns, grenades, katanas, to reclaim everything.
In Night City, every day is different, but the excitement is real.
Every morning you wake up, you have to confirm whether you are still alive or if you have already reported to the underworld.
Gunfights and explosions almost became the daily soundtrack, and then at night in the bar, in front of the strippers, they would turn their hard-earned money into glasses of alcohol and pour them all down their throats.
This is the life of a Mercenary.
In this way, the trio's operations grew larger and larger, and they made a name for themselves on the streets, bringing in more money.
V and Berry rented an apartment in the Super Skyscraper 10, a towering vertical slum located in Watson's Chinatown, not far from Misty and Viktor's shops in the alleyways of Budget Street.
This marked the beginning of their cohabitation, although they had also shared a bed in the tribe.
Berry rented an abandoned repair room in the building's parking lot with her money and tinkered with her own things inside.
Living beyond her means, she had no choice but to freeload off V for food and drink to sustain herself.
Simply put, Berry was living off V, though the latter was quite happy about it.
In short, this is Night City, an absurd but not beautiful city, capable of devouring people whole, yet possessing a captivating charm.
Just as the radio said.
"Hello, Night City!!!"
"I'm your Stanley, and our City of Dreams begins another long day."
"I love this city like you love your mom. Remember when she threw you on the orphanage doorstep? Now she sees you on the street and asks for a cigarette."
"Every day, a hundred or so newcomers arrive here, but only half of them make it through a year, and that's only in good years!"
"Why do they rush to Night City? Isn't it because they want to become street samurai like Morgan Blackhand or Wei Lan 'Old Snake'?"
"There's a saying, remember it: 'The timid starve, the bold get fat.'"
"It's just a pity that a person fears fame like a pig fears getting fat. The more you live it up, the shorter your life will be. And that's not even counting someone blowing your brains out with a single shot."
"Do you know where Night City's legends gather?"
"In the graveyard."
"In our neck of the woods, heroes aren't judged by their origins, but by whether they can carve out their own path."
"This is Night City."
"This is the City of Dreams."