"Reporting live for News 54—"
"We interrupt with breaking news. We've just received word that a Dogtown squad tasked with transporting weapons was attacked by unidentified assailants in the Badlands."
"Casualties are still being counted. The surrounding area has been secured by forces dispatched by Colonel Kurt Hansen. Unfortunately, our reporters have not yet been able to establish contact with this highly ambitious strategist."
"Stay tuned for more—"
Sano reached out and shut off the radio. The broadcast left his expression grim.
Compared to Sano's ugly mood, Liam felt more curiosity and confusion about this world.
Not a street kid. Not a corpo rat. Somehow he ended up as a member of Dogtown.
Still… that might actually be good news.
At least he was a Dogtown soldier.
Otherwise, that fight just now would've been even worse.
It was now 2075. The story of this world had not yet fully unfolded.
The ashes of the Fourth Corporate War still lingered. Night Corp had left Night City as a prized asset on this fertile North American land.
The legends who belonged to this place were slowly walking toward the destinies awaiting them.
Back to reality—
Liam stared at his personal stat panel, vision dimming slightly.
Weak. That was the only word for it.
His cyberware was all low-tier assembled junk. His stats were mediocre at best. And he barely had any eddies in his pocket.
Judging by things, his military pay had probably gone toward Glitter cut with acetaminophen—or all-night card games with the old hands back at the barracks.
Liam hesitated.
Where should he go? How should he begin? He had no answers.
Just reincarnated, still dizzy, and Night City had already slapped him hard across the face with the smell of gunpowder.
Seems like going back to Dogtown to report in is the only option.
It's not like he could just roam the streets looking for Rebecca and her crew, asking to join.
The life-or-death moment earlier still had his heart pounding.
When fighting the edgerunner squad, Liam had instinctively shouted about the cargo. That was the original owner's deep-seated fear of Colonel Hansen surfacing.
The man had presence. Knew how to control people. Clear rewards and punishments.
But the punishments were harsh.
[Character "Rebecca" Affinity Updated]
[Affinity: 0 (You've piqued her curiosity. Good luck with that.)]
[Reward: Reflexes +2]
Pulled out of his troubled thoughts, Liam didn't notice anything dramatic. He blinked. There was no overwhelming surge of power.
Just a lighter feeling in his head. The rifle felt steadier in his hands.
At least there's a light at the end of the tunnel, he thought.
Screeech! Tires shrieked against pavement.
"Shit! Brother, we can't go back."
"Fuck… I don't even want to imagine how Hansen will deal with us."
Sano's sudden brake nearly sent the unprepared Liam smashing into the console.
Liam frowned. The way Sano looked like he'd lost his soul—was Hansen even worse than he thought?
Sano shook his injured arm, hands trembling as he lit a cigarette. "Let's get out of here together, man."
Liam finally spoke, his voice steady. "I don't think that'll work. Hansen's influence is all over Night City. Even the NCPD's practically in bed with them. Where would you go? Unless you leave this hellhole for the New United States."
If they went back now after losing the cargo, at least there was a reason.
If they ran, it would be impossible to explain.
Who knows—Hansen might even think Sano sold intel to the edgerunners.
"NCPD?" Sano looked surprised. "Heh. So you know that too."
He exhaled smoke slowly.
"Anyway, I'm not going back to sell my life to Hansen. What about you, brother?"
Liam subtly noticed Sano's hand resting on the pistol at his waist.
His own grip tightened around the rifle barrel.
The air froze instantly.
Only when the cigarette burned nearly to the filter did Liam finally speak:
"Alright, brother. You go. I'll tell Hansen I didn't see you."
He forced a faint smile.
After all, he owed the man his life.
Everyone chooses their own path.
As for Liam, he had a reason he absolutely had to go back.
Because the development panel gave him enormous confidence:
[Character: Kurt Hansen]
[Affiliation: Dogtown]
[Affinity: 0 (You definitely don't want to see what he's like when his opinion of you drops too low—so go back and admit fault.)]
[Development Value: Extremely High.]
[Milestone Reward: Return to Dogtown and meet him → Unlock opportunities to meet other legends. All Stats +1.]
After hearing Liam's decision, Sano's tense body gradually relaxed. He finished his cigarette, then jumped out of the car facing Liam—still cautious enough to avoid turning his back, afraid Liam might shoot him.
"I'm off, brother. Doesn't matter where—just not here."
"I'll leave you these gloves. Top-tier corp goods. Tough, durable, anti-slip!"
Watching Sano's staggering figure disappear around the corner in the rearview mirror, Liam picked up the gloves—stained with blood and sweat—and shook his head helplessly.
Neither path was easy.
But he still felt that staying in Dogtown might not be the worst choice.
Hansen repaid grudges without fail. He wouldn't go too hard on his own men—provided the mistake wasn't their fault.
The engine started. He drove along the Pacifica roads littered with burning trash and paint barrels until he reached Dogtown's checkpoint.
"Prepare for inspection."
A soldier in an exo-frame combat rig raised a hand to stop him. Behind him, the rolling steel gate concealed crisscrossing infrared beams—precise enough to count every strand of hair on your head.
Liam exposed the port at the back of his neck. The soldier plugged a cable into his neural interface and leisurely reviewed the data.
"So you're one of the unlucky bastards from this morning?"
The soldier's tone was mocking.
"Colonel Hansen's waiting for you. You're the third one to crawl back with your tail between your legs."
Liam forced a stiff smile and followed instructions through a series of scans.
"Move it! You think we're here to wash your car?"
The checkpoint troops weren't exactly polite—even to their own.
The lavish "Black Sapphire" was one of the few buildings in Dogtown that looked remotely respectable. Hansen's empire stood planted inside Night City. The former New United States soldier had long since become a thorn in the side of every major faction.
After Liam stepped out of the car and several soldiers confiscated his weapons, a heavy hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"Hey, Liam! Keep your eyes sharp."
A soldier—apparently someone the original Liam had known, letters tattooed across his back and face—leaned close and muttered a warning before Liam was escorted toward the Black Sapphire's elevator.
…
"Maine, did you even hear what I just said?"
Rebecca lounged in a booth inside a bar on Jig-Jig Street, feet propped up on the table, kicking her legs irritably.
"Calm down. You're saying that Barghest kid knew your name? That doesn't sound likely…"
Maine rubbed his temples with a headache.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a top-secret gig from a fixer?"
Rebecca let out a cold laugh and dragged out her words lazily:
"The 'great' part is that those Barghest idiots were shouting my name and calling me a dumbass! The hell!"
Her brother Pilar flailed his arms exaggeratedly.
"I thought this job would be as easy as assembling a grenade!"
"Now look at us! They've got names! 'Hey, I know you! You're that girl from the bar!' Next thing you know, we're on every bounty board in the district!"
Maine's head hurt even more listening to Pilar's rambling.
Fixers didn't handle cleanup. That part was always on the crew.
So he turned his gaze to the girl standing quietly in the corner, arms folded, leaning against the wall as she sifted through data.
"What do you think, Sasha?"
Sasha Yakovleva's holo-glasses closed out of one interface, a pink heart icon popping up as it shut—matching perfectly with her pink-and-black netrunner suit.
She brushed a strand of black hair from beside her ear.
"Dogtown's the kind of place that makes you want to puke."
"But leave it to me. Let's find out which big shot in the Barghests this is."
…