Rogue’s lips twitched almost imperceptibly downward. The re ntion of that woman’s na made her blood boil.
It was because of that woman that Johnny Silverhand had stord Arasaka Tower twice, and because of her that he had died. Many of her old friends had also lost their lives in Arasaka Tower during those events.
Even she had been forced to wander the wastelands for years because of it.
She still held so lingering feelings for Johnny Silverhand, or perhaps she had never truly let go of him at all. So, the thought of Alt’s na only fueled her anger.
Rogue’s tone was sharp as she said, "Then you really shouldn’t have co to . What does Alt’s business have to do with ?"
How stubborn this woman was.
rcer shook his head slightly and then spoke bluntly, "You want to save him now? I don’t have the ability, nor the ti.
To be honest, rescuing him is nothing more than a side quest for . What good would it do personally if I actually managed to save him?
Alt did promise so rewards... but let’s be real, she probably doesn’t care if Johnny suffers in so server or storage chip for a few more years.
I’d rather wait until I’m absolutely certain and completely secure before taking action. If necessary, I’m fine with abandoning this mission altogether."
His words made Rogue frown deeply. Then, rcer added, With a Little Help from My Friends, "Sure, I could help Alt, but would that really be good news for you?"
"Alt gave a few options: rescue Johnny Silverhand and set him free, help him find peace, or... hand him over to her."
rcer stared at Rogue, his tone calm as he said, "Do you want to see Silverhand die for good, or do you want to watch him fly off into Cyberspace with Alt, living happily ever after?"
"Enough!" Rogue glared at rcer, her expression dark. "You seem to know a lot... Did Alt tell you? Even as an AI, she’s still so unpleasant."
"No, no, no. I learned about your tangled web of love and hate on my own... out of personal interest.
You were all big shots in Night City back in the day. A quick search turns up plenty of gossip and scandals."
rcer chuckled. "So, I was thinking, instead of letting Johnny Silverhand beco an AI with Alt, who’s grown emotionally distant, or just killing him outright...
Maybe you’d be more interested in a proposal to bring Johnny Silverhand back to life?"
"Back to life? What kind of joke is that?" Rogue stared intently at rcer.
But rcer spoke lightly, "I’m not joking. Soone as well-connected as the Queen of Fixers, Rogue, must have heard of Arasaka’s ’Secure Your Soul’ project, right?
The Relic chip.
Johnny Silverhand’s consciousness is probably stored on so Relic chip hidden in Arasaka Tower. Of course, it’s also possible Arasaka has already uploaded it to one of their servers.
But no matter what, as long as we transfer his consciousness to a Relic chip...
Then, insert it into a living body... Boom, that rocker boy is back."
rcer gestured with his hands as if mimicking an explosion, smiling at Rogue. "When that happens, you’ll be his savior, and Alt in Cyberspace will have nothing to do with a resurrected man." Alt’s mouth is even sharper than yours. When she hired , she put on that cold, ruthless AI act, you two are really alike in that regard.
Anyway, she definitely won’t give Johnny Silverhand a warm welco.
And Johnny, waking up after decades, the only familiar face he can rely on is you.
Reuniting with an old fla after life and death parted you for decades. Wow, how touching.
Rogue just stared at rcer, silent for a mont before speaking with clear irritation: "I’m starting to dislike you. You remind of an asshole I dealt with decades ago."
This kid’s tone was so infuriating... it made her think of that bastard Bartmoss.
"Hahaha!" rcer burst out laughing, then quickly turned serious: "So, are you interested or not?"
He spoke calmly and deliberately: "If you have no interest in saving Johnny Silverhand, if you don’t care whether he’s suffering in that chip or server, then I’m even less in a hurry to rescue him.
Three to five years? Or ten, twenty years?
After all, I’m not going to risk my life or pay a high price to save soone who has no connection to .
The reason I ca to you is that I thought this might an sothing to you, and I could get a decent reward out of it.
If you’re not willing, that’s fine too. Let Johnny Silverhand lie there for now. I’ll save him when I have ti."
rcer’s words made Rogue narrow her eyes: "I feel like you’re threatening ."
"I’m just stating facts. If even the woman he loved in life isn’t willing to lift a finger, then why should I, an outsider, be in any rush to save him?
Of course, even if you don’t help, when the ti is right, I’ll still pull him out, I’d be happy to have another damn terrorist causing trouble for the corps.
Not to ntion, I can achieve so of my own goals through this."
rcer slumped back into the couch, looking completely relaxed, and asked one last ti: "So, can we talk about the details of the job now?"
Rogue irritably pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
After a long pause, she spoke through gritted teeth: "Talk! I’m in. We’ll save that bastard together. Now, what do you want?"
"Let’s not talk about paynt first. I have two plans. Each one only has three steps... very straightforward."
rcer sat up straight, a bright smile on his face:
"Plan one: Step one, we find a way to make Arasaka transfer Silverhand’s consciousness to Night City.
Step two, hire a top-tier rc team to break into Mikoshi and download Silverhand’s consciousness back onto a Relic chip.
Step three, find a suitable body or, well, a corpse, and slot the chip in."
Rogue shook her head firmly: "Impossible. If it’s stored at their Japan headquarters, it ans Saburo Arasaka is definitely keeping a tight watch.
Besides, Mikoshi servers aren’t interconnected. Saburo isn’t stupid enough to let enemies take down the whole system at once."
"Alright, plan two."
rcer then laid out what he thought was the most feasible approach: "Fine. Step one: Rogue, you go deal with Yorinobu Arasaka."
"...I’ll deal with you first!" Rogue was completely exasperated. Is this asshole even speaking human language?
"Yorinobu Arasaka? You want to handle him? How, by kidnapping?" Rogue was so exasperated she almost told him to get lost.
rcer nodded: "Kidnap? No, I just need you to get his private contact info so I can talk to him."
"This failure of Saburo Arasaka’s life, born into Arasaka, yet a staunch anti-corporate fighter, is the key to us getting the chip."
"Though I think he’s pretty stupid, I have to admit, if we’re looking for soone qualified to get Johnny Silverhand’s consciousness and bring it to Night City, Yorinobu Arasaka is undoubtedly the best choice."
"Don’t be fooled by how he bawled his eyes out at his brother’s grave after the Arasaka Tower nuke, that was all an act for his father, just to survive."
"He never gave up on the idea of destroying corporations and has always hated Saburo Arasaka to the bone."
"It’s just that this poor guy is as afraid of his father as he hates him."
"Tch, just a dying old man. If I were Yorinobu Arasaka..."
"I would’ve killed that old geezer a hundred tis over."
rcer’s words made Rogue look at him in a new light, while it might seem like everyone hates corps, ask any ten Afterlife rcs about Saburo Arasaka, and nine would feel sheer terror.
People don’t usually boast like that.
The disdain in rcer’s tone was hard to fake; he genuinely looked down on Arasaka, on Saburo Arasaka.
Disdain, huh? Can soone really have that kind of attitude toward Arasaka?
After a few more contemptuous remarks, rcer continued: "But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s very likely to help us."
"You sure? You said it yourself, to survive, he obediently bowed his head and apologized before Saburo allowed him back into Arasaka."
Rogue studied him thoughtfully.
rcer simply said calmly: "Then give him an offer he can’t refuse, Saburo Arasaka’s life."
"As long as he brings the chip with Johnny Silverhand’s consciousness, I’ll help him completely finish off Saburo Arasaka."
Rogue leaned back in her seat: "Are you fucking kidding ?"
She’d heard more bullshit tonight than in the past year.
"Kidding? Is it that hard?"
rcer sneered: "A hundred-plus-year-old fossil whose bones have turned brittle, even I could strangle him to death with my bare hands."
"Do you have any idea how strong Arasaka’s security is? And you clearly don’t know what it feels like to be hunted by Arasaka!" Rogue said seriously.
rcer just replied lightly: "Oh? But what if it’s not who wants to kill him... what if it’s Yorinobu Arasaka?"
Rogue looked at rcer with sothing like horror, while he simply gazed back calmly: "He’s wanted to kill Saburo Arasaka for a long ti; he just lacks so courage, a good opportunity."
"As long as we can make contact with Yorinobu Arasaka, I’ll handle the rest with him."
"So, in short: Step one, establish contact with Yorinobu Arasaka."
"Step two, secure cooperation with Yorinobu Arasaka."
"Step three, Yorinobu Arasaka brings the chip to Night City, I take Johnny Silverhand’s consciousness chip, then help him utterly destroy Saburo Arasaka." "With Arasaka’s new leadership being one of our own, what is there to fear? Who would cause trouble for us over a dead old man?"
"Yorinobu Arasaka will surely co up with a perfect excuse, that’s not our concern. He won’t let anyone know he killed his own father."
"In short, as long as we can reach an agreent with him..."
"Then Silverhand will be free again, and the world will gain a formidable anti-corporate fighter, who also happens to be the fucking head of Arasaka."
"And I get my reward, while you get your old fla back."
"Mission accomplished, smooth and easy."
rcer’s words drew a laugh from Rogue. "So, what’s your purpose in coming to ? To convince Yorinobu Arasaka to act imdiately? You overestimate ."
"I told you, I need soone to help connect with Yorinobu Arasaka."
rcer stared straight at her. "I know you have extensive connections. The fact that you were able to return to Night City ans you must have struck so deal with Arasaka. You definitely have a way to reach Yorinobu."
"I don’t need you to negotiate, I’ll handle the talking. I’ll give Yorinobu the courage to act, give him a little push from behind."
"All you need to do is get a chance to speak with him. That’s it, simple as that."
Rogue’s breathing grew heavier. She took deep drags from her cigarette until only the butt remained, stubbing it out in the ashtray before asking further questions.
"Are you sure that Relic can bring Silverhand back?" Rogue eyed rcer, probing his credibility. "How do you know so much? How did you et Alt? Why did you co to Night City?"
rcer’s heart settled. Success.
If Rogue wasn’t interested, she wouldn’t be asking so many questions.
Her digging into the details now precisely indicated that his proposal had struck a chord.
"First, very few people in the world truly understand the Relic. Most think it’s just a Soulkiller program or a container for consciousness data."
As he spoke, rcer pulled a chip from the side of his head, waving it briefly in front of Rogue, causing her pupils to sharply contract.
"But as it happens, I’m one of the few who understands it deeply."
rcer reinserted the chip into his head, speaking casually:
"After years of developnt, the chip is essentially a miraculous device that can modify neural pathways. Once inserted into the brain, it reprograms your neurons according to its coding."
"Using it for resurrection ans implanting the chip into a deceased person’s brain. The chip then continuously rewires the dead person’s neural pathways until they match the consciousness stored within."
"The modified body first rejects the original consciousness, then destroys it. Finally, the consciousness from the chip takes over the body, completing the resurrection."
"And this one in my possession, after I erased its original program, the Soulkiller inside, has beco an incredible neural repair device."
"As long as no program or consciousness data is loaded into it, it simply detects neural damage and repairs my own brain automatically."
"Where did you get this?!" Rogue stared at him in disbelief. He had actually gotten his hands on the Relic chip!?
rcer shrugged. "From Arasaka, of course. Don’t be so tense, Rogue. It’s not like this is your first ti dealing with an Arasaka fugitive."
"Damn it." Rogue’s anxiety was palpable, but after a mont, she just cursed under her breath and said, "Go on."
"I got this chip thanks to those idiots at Arasaka, they wanted to use Soulkiller to capture AIs from the Old Net."
"But to explain all this clearly, I first need to tell you who I am and what led up to this."
As he spoke, rcer slowly reached up and removed his mask, revealing a surprisingly youthful face that left Rogue stunned.
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Bonus Chapter @1200 power stones.
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