rcer grabbed V’s hand that was pressed against his neck, raising his other hand in surrender before his eyes rolled back: "I’m dying, I’m dying!"
Only then did V let go, her face still flushed: "Forget what happened! Better yet, delete all data related to from your brain! No overthinking, got it?"
"I wasn’t overthinking... Fine, fine, I won’t bring it up again, I promise."
After rcer said this, V stood up from the chair, her cheeks still red: "I’m going out for a drink. Want anything?"
"Yeah, an ice-cold NiCola, not the Cirrus brand, thanks." As soon as rcer finished, V hurried out, her steps light as if fleeing.
Vik passed her in the doorway, arriving late, and teased: "What did you do to make her blush like that? What kind of doctor are you?"
"She thought I was taking pictures with my cybereye... See, this is what happens with 6 Intelligence, no idea what max level ans. If I want to rember sothing, do I really need to take a photo?"
rcer joked, and Viktor chuckled before his expression turned serious: "You really want to install the rest?"
"Let’s do it. Get it all done at once. I probably won’t have ti to co back for a while after this."
rcer was direct, his expression firm: "You can see the previous installations didn’t affect at all... So let’s go all the way."
"...Hope you don’t regret this." Viktor sighed.
"Don’t forget, I know a thing or two about cyberware surgery too. Don’t worry, I’m aware of the consequences." With that, Vik said no more.
When V ca back in, rcer took the cola from her hand and took a sip: "V, go with Kiwi and hang out at Misty’s place for a bit."
"Alright, so mysterious... Vik, is he really ugly?" V looked at Vik, her curiosity genuinely itching.
She wanted to see!
Damn it, he’s seen all of her, yet she doesn’t know what he looks like?
Not fair, not fair!
"Uh, in my personal opinion, he’s quite good-looking." Viktor told the truth. rcer’s face might still carry so youth, but his features were mostly set. Once he shed that boyishness, he’d definitely be a handso guy.
"Then why all the secrecy..." V muttered.
rcer laughed: "Tell you what, after we finish the Biotechnica job, I’ll take off the mask in front of all of you. Deal?"
"Promise?" V perked up.
"Promise." rcer nodded.
V cheerfully walked out of the clinic, pulling Kiwi—who was smoking by the door—along to Misty’s place.
rcer turned to Vik: "Vik, how much did those two cost?"
"Let calculate..." Vik gave a number: "For both your girls, including surgery fees, just give 180,000 eddies."
"You’re not making much off again." rcer felt a bit guilty. He’d seen Vik’s wholesale prices, the man hadn’t made a single eurodollar off the cyberware.
"Enough. I know you’re just starting to build your team, money’s tight everywhere." Viktor chuckled lightly: "When you make it big and things settle down, you better keep coming to for business."
"Don’t worry, Vik." rcer assured him, "I’m not about to take over your entire job."
"Got it, so you’re planning to handle so full-body surgeries for the ladies yourself, huh?" Viktor held back a laugh. "What’s going on with you and V? You really like her?"
"Kinda have a soft spot for her, but I wouldn’t call it serious liking. Let’s just say, I’m going with the flow."
After rcer finished, Vik shook his head. "In your line of work, if you ask , you gotta be proactive, strike fast and hard, so you don’t have regrets. It’s just that your face is a bit of a disadvantage."
"I’m genuinely eighteen! What’s wrong with looking a bit young?" rcer said confidently.
"Co on, eighteen," Vik scoffed.
"Even if the heavens themselves ca down, I’d still be eighteen. It’s written right there in Night City’s registry."
rcer showed no sha at all.
"Alright, alright, eighteen it is." Vik picked up his equipnt, his expression turning serious. "The cyberdeck and Synaptic Accelerator are fine, but the cooling modification... you’ll have to get used to being chanized. By then, your entire chest cavity will be chanical, with only a bit of skin, flesh, and so blood vessels left real. If you want to reverse it later, that’ll be a major hassle, requiring extensive surgery to rebuild your bones, flesh, and blood vessels. I’ve looked into it, and that thing puts a lot of strain on your heart too. With your slight build, your physical abilities will probably take a significant hit afterward."
"Bring it on. Worst case, I’ll just get a Second Heart and load up on Muscle Enhancent too," rcer said nonchalantly.
"You do need so Muscle Enhancent, otherwise your small fra won’t be able to handle such a large cooling system. And from what I’ve seen of this cooling design, your original lungs probably won’t hold up either, you’ll need synthetic replacents sooner or later."
Vik sighed. "The surgical plan is set. Take a look. We’ll have to remove your entire shoulder and neck, along with the back of your skull. Then reinforce your neck, spine, and shoulders with Muscle Enhancent and Titanium Bones to broaden your fra before installation. You’ll end up looking a full size larger. The cooling system also needs to connect to your heart and lungs... and finally, you must inject coolant. Otherwise, if we rely solely on your blood for heat dissipation, it’ll be hard to et the preset efficiency of this cooling system. Unless you want to crank the cooling to max every ti you so much as think."
After reading it, rcer nodded without hesitation. "Let’s do it. I brought a dose of coolant anyway. According to the instructions, one dose should last a few months. Oh, and Vik, I need a smart link installed in my hand too. I bought a Smart weapon."
"...Fine. Compared to your netrunner cyberware, that thing is hardly a burden. Lie down, I’ll start with the cyberdeck."
Seeing his resolve, Viktor could only sigh inwardly as he prepared for the surgery.
This was the first ti he’d perford such modifications on a minor, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Even if rcer could handle it, he didn’t like seeing a kid end up like this... It just made his heart ache to watch.
But seeing how rcer, as the leader of the team, had pulled together such a group in just two days, found a genius like V, and earned all their trust... Viktor knew the weight of responsibility on rcer’s shoulders was heavy, so he couldn’t bring himself to say anything to stop him.
rcer’s inner turmoil was far greater than he let on. The sensation of abandoning his flesh wasn’t as exhilarating as he had imagined. If possible, he would have preferred to remain fully human.
But rcer couldn’t afford to stop.
Damn it!
I’m not human anymore!!
He closed his eyes, injected an anesthetic, and drifted into a deep sleep.
When rcer awoke, he saw a machine rotating around his arm, automatically etching circuits into his palm and welding cyberware into place.
"This is installing the smartlink in your hand. It’ll just take a few minutes. Try not to move, are you uncomfortable?" Viktor asked with concern.
rcer lay perfectly still, eyes closed, assessing the sensations. "My back feels chilly, and my neck too."
"Everything’s been hollowed out and replaced with machinery, and your blood’s mixed with coolant. Of course you’ll feel cold," Viktor said gravely.
"Hmm, my head feels swollen too. Is that because of the Synaptic Accelerator?"
As he spoke, rcer quickly shook off the last of the anesthesia. "I need to test the connection, go into Overclock, and check the heat dissipation."
"You’ll have to sit up. Once your cooling system activates, the gill-like vents on your back and neck will expel hot air. From now on, don’t wear tight clothing, better get used to open-back outfits."
After Vik finished, rcer remained patient, waiting for the smartlink installation to complete. "No big deal. My netrunning suit is modular, specifically designed to accommodate this cooling system. I’ll just need to align and hollow out the back section for the vents. I’m just curious about what I look like now."
rcer reached up with his non-operated hand and touched his neck, only to feel a layer of cold tal. He fell silent for a mont, suddenly reminded of Songbird’s half-human, half-machine appearance from the DLC, but then he just smiled. "Pretty cool, isn’t it?"
"I hope you really an that."
Viktor could read his expression. "Cyberware isn’t permanent, you know. Even with modifications as extensive as yours, current technology allows reverting to fully organic at any ti."
"I know, but... let’s leave it as is."
rcer smiled. Once the smartlink in his palm was fully installed, he withdrew his hand and flexed it. "Feels good. I think my arm is stronger already."
"The Muscle Enhancent will definitely make you feel a lot stronger. You’ve bulked up quite a bit."
Viktor then pointed toward the bathroom. "Go take a look. When you co back, we’ll test the cooling and your cyberdeck."
rcer grunted in acknowledgnt, got up, and headed to the bathroom.
His first thought upon seeing the figure in the mirror was, he’d grown taller.
His entire upper body, from the abdon up, had expanded by a full size. The grafted skin showed distinct black patterns, and his chest and shoulder muscles had noticeably enlarged.
He’d grown almost four or five centiters, now standing around 173 or 174 cm tall.
Black heat dissipation plates replaced the skin on his neck. From the front, it looked relatively normal, but when rcer turned around, his back was almost entirely transford into dark machinery.
From his shoulders down to his lower back, only cold tal remained. At his ntal command, the heat sinks—resembling shark gills or scales—lifted their covers, revealing the icy chanical structures beneath.
Not a trace of flesh was visible; only intricate machinery piled together, with bright red circuitry clearly visible.
rcer’s original, unmodified internal organs were also covered and intersected by nurous chanical components.
It was a strange sensation, he could still feel his back, with touch and temperature perception intact, albeit slightly dulled, yet this back was utterly inhuman.
Exiting the bathroom, rcer felt physically weak for the first ti. His muscles were stronger, yet his body felt limp.
"How is it?" Viktor asked, looking at him.
rcer nodded. "Not bad, but I feel a bit weak after just a few steps."
"You’ll need to eat more these next few days and keep up with nutrient supplents. This set of cyberware drains the body far more than you’d expect. Give yourself ti to adjust. If your heart or lungs can’t handle it, you’ll need further modifications. This heat dissipation system was likely originally intended to fully chanize your heart and lungs. I couldn’t get the matching chanical components here, so I had to use Syn-Lungs and a synthetic heart instead. Co on, let’s test your cyberware efficiency and see how it performs."
As Viktor spoke, rcer returned to the surgical chair.
Once the data cable was connected and the scan initiated, Vik’s voice ca through: "First, we’ll test the ti-slowing ratio of your Synaptic Accelerator."
rcer grunted in acknowledgnt. With a re thought, the Synaptic Accelerator in his brain activated.
Like the Kerenzikov, the Synaptic Accelerator was a neural acceleration device that could induce a bullet-ti-like state once activated.
Everything before rcer’s eyes suddenly slowed down, a sensation that felt oddly familiar. It took him a mont to realize why, this was exactly like the instinctive ntal acceleration he experienced during deep dives.
He could feel his brain becoming intensely active in that instant. Simultaneously, the heat dissipation panels on his back snapped open, and a chanical hum resonated from within his body.
rcer clearly sensed a cool liquid beginning to circulate through him, whether it was blood or coolant, he couldn’t tell. Driven by machinery, it rapidly cycled, cooling his system at high speed.
His heart pounded violently, pumping large volus of blood that the machinery forcefully extracted for circulation. His lungs seed forcibly expanded by the cyberware, enhancing his breathing.
rcer could hear the sound of exhaust and intake from his back. The heatsink cyberware connected to his lungs was practically oxygenating them directly through machinery.
At the sa ti, it used airflow to cool the heat dissipation pipelines, expelling large amounts of hot air directly from his body while drawing in cold air to circulate through the cyberware and his system.
This powerful cooling system enabled the Synaptic Accelerator to deliver even stronger ntal acceleration capabilities.
rcer remained silent, patiently observing for a mont. After about seven or eight seconds, he voluntarily deactivated the Synaptic Accelerator.
As his thoughts returned to normal, he felt slightly dizzy, with a faint ache in his lungs and heart.
"How was it?"
Viktor looked tense. "The data looks a bit extre. In theory, your Synaptic Accelerator can achieve up to a 72% ti dilation, but that doesn’t an everyone can imdiately adapt to such speed and hit the peak right away. You nearly pushed the Synaptic Accelerator into Overclock. How’s your body holding up?"
"I can handle it. It feels similar to when I’m deep diving, I once directly connected to a large server and, using its computing power and specialized cooling, experienced sothing like this during a deep dive. This is amazing, Vik! It ans I can accelerate my thinking in the real world just like during a deep dive!"
rcer’s expression was excited. "Let’s test the network connection. I need to try out this new cyberdeck!"
"Alright, but take it easy. You should rest a bit and let your body adjust first," Viktor said with concern.
"Let’s just test how well this cyberdeck can perform with my skills," rcer replied eagerly, imdiately initiating the network connection from the cyberdeck in his head.
A faint glow flickered in rcer’s eyes. "Incredible! The data transfer speed and volu are almost double that of my previous junk model! The latency is low, extrely low, almost as low as during my deep dives! I need to test the limits with Overclock."
Without waiting for Vik to respond, he activated Overclock.
The cooling system on rcer’s back humd chanically again as he sat cross-legged on the chair. Vik could even feel the heat radiating from his back.
"Excellent, absolutely excellent! For the first ti, I didn’t feel my head overheating the mont I activated Overclock. The cooling is enough to support at least fifteen seconds of Overclock without any issues! What if I add the Synaptic Accelerator on top of that?"
While still in Overclock, rcer activated the Synaptic Accelerator in his mind.
In that instant, the world seed to stand still.
Overclock alone accelerated his thinking, but with the Synaptic Accelerator overlay, the speed of his brain’s operation and information processing even surpassed his previous deep diving speeds!
His brain began to heat up uncontrollably again.
The hum from the cooling system on his back turned into a near roar. rcer felt as though there was a car engine roaring inside his chest.
rcer attempted to transmit data using the cyberdeck. He glanced around Vik’s clinic, focusing on the equipnt in the room.
The caras, breached in 0.2 seconds, all connected to his cybereye’s display signal.
The networked computer in Vik’s room, infiltrated the target subnet, uploaded the virus, and gained control in just 0.5 seconds!
This wasn’t rcer’s limit; it was the machines themselves that could only receive a limited amount of data per millisecond. If he hacked any faster, the machines would Overheat from the excessive data influx.
For Vik, what was happening before his eyes was sowhat terrifying, rcer’s cooling system roared like an engine in an instant, and the heat expelled from his back nearly ford a visible mist.
Every connected device in the room emitted a high-pitched whine, sothing they never did under normal circumstances, as their processors and cooling systems strained under extre load.
"Hey! rcer!"
Viktor raised his voice anxiously.
rcer blinked, finally stopping his actions. Before he could speak, his expression suddenly shifted.
Vik reacted swiftly, grabbing a trash bin and holding it out in front of him. "You’re a damn lunatic."
"Ugh..." rcer had no ti to respond. His cooling system continued working furiously behind him as he vomited violently, even starting to bleed from his nose.
The blood was no longer a deep crimson; it had lightened slightly, with a faint hint of blue shimring within.
After a long mont to recover, rcer wiped the blood from his nose and took a deep breath. "I think I get it now. Running Overclock and the Synaptic Accelerator at the sa ti is still a bit too much for . When I’m deep diving as a consciousness, I can rely on the netrunner station’s processing power to share the computational load. But now, it’s all on my own head. Even if the cooling can handle it, my brain starts malfunctioning from the overclocking. The human body is so fragile. I feel my heart cramping, my lungs burning. Looks like I’ll need to get that artificial heart and Syn-Lungs installed sooner rather than later."
rcer assessed the situation and concluded, "Theoretically, the maximum runti right now is three seconds, but I should really avoid activating Overclock while the Synaptic Accelerator is running from now on. Or, if I do activate it, I need to control the amount of data I’m receiving and outputting while in that accelerated state. That earlier state made feel like I’d turned into a machine with no upper limit, even if the cooling and my brain could handle it, the rest of my hardware just isn’t up to the task. But this cyberdeck is seriously impressive. It handled that massive data exchange, has plenty of mory, and the built-in coprocessor’s computing power is no slouch either, at least 40% higher than before. Cough."
He coughed a couple of tis.
Viktor quickly urged him to lie down and rest. "You were pushing it way too hard just now! Were you testing with the equipnt in my room?"
"Uh, I just saw the connected devices and instinctively wanted to give it a try... Sorry, Vik."
rcer apologized sincerely.
"That’s the least of my concerns, I’m just worried you’ll hurt yourself."
Viktor frowned, studying the data. After a long pause, he sighed. "Seems I was a bit too optimistic. rcer, you really need to take it easy when using this experintal cyberware. Even compared to Arasaka’s top-tier netrunners, at full power, they might only reach about 60% of your instantaneous computing capacity, and that’s their peak, compared to your average. The actual operational power of your cyberdeck during runti even exceeds the maximum power this cyberware was originally designed for. This set has no power limit protection. That ans once you activate Overclock, all the protective limits on your cyberware are disabled, fully unleashing your brain’s computing potential. If you then activate the Synaptic Accelerator on top of this, your brain’s computational power will approach its theoretical maximum, and may even exceed its inherent limits. With a standard cyberdeck, even if your brain is accelerated to its peak, the amount of data the cyberdeck can receive and transmit per second is still limited. However, your particular cyberdeck has an unusually large design redundancy, I suspect it was intended to reserve space for built-in AI operations. Yet, you’ve managed to fully utilize that extra capacity with just your human brain!"
This is simply not a volu of data a human should be able to process in such a short ti!
Forcing your brain to overclock to that extent, even with cooling to lower its temperature, would still overwhelm it due to other factors.
My advice is, if you absolutely must use both at once, it’s best to add a limiter to your cyberdeck, reduce your maximum data transfer rate, artificially cap your brain’s power usage as a protective asure, and lower the peak frequency during Overclock.
Or, just take it easy yourself."
rcer nodded, already grasping the key point.
Using the Synaptic Accelerator and Overclock together is possible.
But operating recklessly in that state, as if connected to a massive server, is not.
This is no longer a problem solvable by cooling, the human brain has its limits. Beyond that point, every additional second inflicts permanent damage.
His body also can’t support the brain operating in that state; his heart, lungs, and nerves would all suffer from the excessive strain.
The optimal way to use it is, during the slowed-ti effect of Overclock and the Synaptic Accelerator, to keep the brain’s output teetering right at the edge of its limit.
But...
"Hah, this is more than enough. As long as I control myself and avoid getting lost in the accelerated thinking ti after Overclock, recklessly tapping into my brain’s processing power, and instead maintain it near the limit... Then even without a deep dive, I can perform at least twice as well as before! With the support of a server or netrunner station’s processing power, plus better cooling, my performance during a deep dive would also improve significantly! Vik, I feel like if I could activate the Synaptic Accelerator during a deep dive, I could take on a rogue AI one-on-one right now!"
rcer added excitedly, "And against enemies with Sandevistan, I wouldn’t have to worry as much. They accelerate their bodies; I accelerate my mind. They cover twenty ters in a second; I hack them twenty tis in a second. As long as their ICE program isn’t too extre, I could basically match that kind of enemy head-on in speed under Overclock and the Synaptic Accelerator!"
Viktor looked at him with a complex expression. "Only you, rcer. I don’t know any other netrunner who could push this cyberware to such extres. I suspect this setup was originally designed for one-ti use by ordinary netrunners, because if they tried what you just did, their brains would be permanently damaged in seconds. Or maybe this cyberdeck was ant for the AI inside it. Ordinary netrunners would just provide processing power in an Overclocked, accelerated state, cooperating with the AI to execute pre-set programs... Not like you. You weren’t just supplying processing power back there, you were precisely directing it with your own brain. Honestly, before eting you, I never imagined a netrunner could achieve what you do. It’s not scientific!"
rcer grinned, rubbing his still-aching chest. "I think there’s room for improvent. At the very least, I haven’t fully utilized the processing power from the computing chip in this cyberdeck yet. If I install an AI into my cyberdeck, it could handle a portion of the data processing, significantly reducing the ntal load on . That way, my brain only needs to power the AI while I manage a small part myself. Compared to ticulously controlling all the computations on my own, the burden would be much, much lighter."
rcer unplugged the data cable connected to the monitoring equipnt, and as his feet touched the ground, his steps faltered slightly. "But I’ll need to take it easy for the next few days, get used to the cyberware, familiarize myself with the cyberdeck, and find the right usage thod and optimal power range."
Before Viktor could finish speaking, he saw that rcer had transferred 190,000 eurodollars to him.
"Thanks, Vik. You should still charge what’s fair for the surgery. You didn’t take any other business today because of . If you don’t want to make money off the cyberware, then take a bit more for the effort."
rcer smiled, put on his mask, and dressed again. Now, he looked even more mysterious than before. Beneath the pale hockey mask, only a pair of cybereyes with flickering blue dots were visible. Beyond that, his neck and the back of his head were dark tal, making him resemble a cold, masked machine more than a human.
"Alright, don’t forget to take your ds. Yours and the girl’s, sa as before, anti-inflammatory and nerve pain suppressants. Especially you, don’t get careless this ti. Take them on schedule."
After Viktor finished, rcer chuckled. "Should I get so lubricant too?"
"That cyberware of yours does need proper maintenance, it’s precision work. To be safe, co to for servicing once a month. I doubt you’ll find the original coolant for your bloodstream, but there should be alternatives. At worst, efficiency might drop a bit. Anyway, make sure to co for regular check-ups. That setup is too intricate; if anything goes even slightly wrong, repairs will be a hassle."
Viktor didn’t take his words as a joke.
rcer nodded earnestly. "By the way, help sell the MK2 I replaced. It’ll lose value fast."
Viktor nodded. "I usually buy them for around 10,000 eurodollars, but yours is pretty new, looks like it’s only been used for over a month. How about 12,000? I can sell it for 16 or 17k and still make a profit."
He transferred another 12,000 eurodollars to rcer.
rcer nodded readily. Vik’s prices were always fair.
After saying goodbye to Vik, he slipped his hands into his pockets and walked out, his steps still a bit unsteady. His upper body was suddenly bulkier, shifting his center of gravity, he’d need ti to adjust.
Arriving at Misty’s esoteric shop, he found V excitedly chatting with Misty, while Kiwi seed lost in thought.
"All done?"
V instinctively turned her head, then couldn’t help widening her eyes. "Whoa! Did you... get taller? Hey, I never minded you being short, why’d you suddenly bulk up like this? Co on, show what you got installed!"
V casually slung an arm around rcer’s neck. With him a bit taller now, standing together didn’t look awkward at all.
rcer rolled his eyes and nudged her impatiently, "Get off , I just got so new gear installed and I’m still feeling weak. As for what it is, just think of it as a new computer, cooling system, and a Synaptic Accelerator."
"Seriously? You’re that weak? I don’t feel a thing right now!" V said with a teasing grin, already having forgotten what just happened.
rcer chuckled, "Can’t help it, I’m more of an Intelligence build."
"Damn! Fine, I admit you’ve got high Intelligence, okay!" V imdiately toned it down, afraid he might tell Misty about her own Intelligence score of 6.
Misty smiled at rcer, a hint of concern in her eyes, "It’s only been two days since your last cyberware installation, right? rcer, are you doing alright?"
"It’s nothing, Misty. Has V been bothering you?" rcer greeted her warmly.
Misty laughed, "V’s been great, rcer. You’ve got a good eye for people."
"Then I won’t keep you today. Got a friend treating to a al," rcer said.
Misty nodded, "Sure, drop by anyti you’re free."
After saying goodbye to Misty, rcer walked out of the alley with V and Kiwi.
"So what are we doing now?" V turned to look at rcer.
"Rebecca’s treating to dinner. You two can tag along for a free al. Then tomorrow afternoon, everyone should head to the Aldecaldos camp, it’s Christmas, after all. The Aldecaldos throw a lively party for Christmas. We’ll buy so good food, grab so beer, and use their camp to hold an internal eting. Now that everyone’s officially part of the crew, we need to set the team’s rules. We’ll sit down and talk everything through, paynt distribution, team mbers’ duties and responsibilities, and of course, benefits. I’ll also introduce you to a friend of mine, she’s basically the first mber of my squad. We’ll all sit down and get to know each other. After that, we’ll start preparing for the job."
rcer didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point, "In the initial phase, I’ll need you to verify the intel. Once it’s confird, I’ll start drafting the action plan. The goal is to wrap up Wakako’s job within a week. After we get paid, we’ll officially move into Dogtown and set up a secure base for ourselves."
"Then it’s all about taking on jobs, finding ways to make money, and upgrading everyone’s cyberware and gear. Just having a Sandevistan isn’t enough. You’ll need to install a Synaptic Accelerator or a Kerenzikov, a ntal acceleration cyberware, to fully master your speed."
As rcer spoke, V’s motivation was visibly fired up, "No problem! Let’s take on Biotechnica! By the way, did Wakako ntion how much we’re getting paid?"
"Starting at 300,000. If we secure valuable data, the price is negotiable." As soon as he finished, V’s eyes lit up as if she were ready to head out imdiately.
"Holy shit! 300,000 eddies!? This is why it pays to be a proper rc! How many odd jobs on the street would it take to save up that much?"
V clenched her fists excitedly.
rcer just smiled and then motioned for her and Kiwi to follow him to et Rebecca.
—--
Rebecca and Pilar wrapped things up by the afternoon without any major hitches. Pilar held a gun to the security guard’s head while Rebecca drove the car out of the underground parking lot.
After shaking off the NCPD officers who tried to butt in, they parked the car in the garage specified by El Capitán, marking the end of the job.
Hearing that rcer was at the ripperdoc, they decided not to disturb him and instead suggested eting up at a restaurant near their motel once he was done, with Rebecca treating everyone.
rcer didn’t refuse. He brought V along to et Rebecca and Pilar, and the five of them had a simple al of synth-food at the restaurant, joking and roughhousing without any further complications.
Completing a well-paying, low-risk job had Rebecca grinning from ear to ear. She’d never seen her bank account break five digits before, and she was so thrilled she could barely sit still to eat.
Pilar even put on a show with her long arms, juggling three glasses like circus balls, which made V applaud while downing drinks, thoroughly enjoying the free al and drinks.
After getting to know each other better over the al, everyone went their separate ways once they were full, and rcer returned to the Aldecaldos camp.
—--
"What’s going on with you?"
As soon as he got back, rcer ran into Panam, who had just returned from a trip, looking dusty and tired from the road.
Panam stared in shock at rcer, who had noticeably bulked up since she last saw him just a day ago. Her gaze lingered on the exposed black tal of his neck.
"Didn’t Dr. Viktor say you needed to rest for a week? How’d you get all that cyberware installed so fast?"
Panam looked worried and spoke with clear frustration, "What’s the rush? If you’re in trouble, just stay with the Aldecaldos. I’ve got your back, even if the corps co knocking, we’re not scared! Why are you treating your body like this? Look at you, all modified and everything!"
"Panam~" rcer drawled, taking off his mask and smiling at her. "I know what I’m doing. Why are you getting worked up again?"
"I’m not worked up! If you don’t care about your own body, who will?" Panam huffed and started to walk away but turned back after a few steps. "I’m going to have Lucy keep an eye on you. For the next few days, you’re staying put and resting. No running around. If anything feels off, I’ll drive you to see Viktor myself."
"Alright, I really do need to stick around camp for a couple of days anyway."
Seeing how readily rcer agreed, Panam eyed him suspiciously before finally nodding.
"Don’t think I’m mad for no reason. I know I shouldn’t treat you like a kid, but even as a friend, I can’t just stand by and watch you get hurt."
rcer chuckled. "Got it, Panam. I an what I say. So, you just got back from a job?"
Panam grunted in affirmation. "Just a small run, smuggled a truckload of contraband into the city. Just handed it over. Damn, drove all day, burned through a few hundred in fuel, and they only paid two thousand eddies. Cheap bastards."
"Might have another job for you in a few days. Keep your schedule open."
Hearing this, Panam’s eyes lit up. "No problem! Working for you is way better than dealing with those other folks. Less hassle, more pay. I’ll be waiting for your ssage."
rcer chatted with her as they returned to the camp, casually ntioning that V and Rebecca would be coming tomorrow too.
Panam readily agreed: "Your friends are my friends. They’re welco to co. We Aldecaldos never turn away friends, just remind them to bring their own food and drinks. A case of beer counts too."
"At our Christmas bonfire gatherings, we all share food. As long as you bring beer and barbecue, no one cares whether you’re Aldecaldos or not."
"Alright, I’ll see if I can get so real at," rcer licked his lips, already craving it.
Panam gave him an exasperated look and chuckled. "Never took you for a foodie. Real beef costs two or three thousand eurodollars per pound, right? Better save your money."
rcer sighed and dropped the idea, with limited savings, he needed to be careful. He’d save the proper celebration for after they settled down in Dogtown, sothing nice just among themselves.
After a few more words, Panam waved and headed back to her place to get ready for a shower. When rcer returned to the tent, he found two girls cuddled together on the mattress.
Lucy and Kyoko were holding hands, wearing BD wreaths, either watching a movie or playing that interactive lunar BD.
rcer didn’t disturb them. Instead, he sat down at the netrunner station, pulled out his netrunning suit, laid it on a crate, and started modifying it.
Using the tools that ca with the kit, he DIYed the back of the suit into a hollow style, sacrificing so heat dissipation to match his own heatsink cyberware.
After that, rcer picked up the delivery boxes from Militech stacked by the entrance.
The boxes were filled with drones and parts. He lined them up to form a makeshift workbench, borrowed so tools from the camp’s chanic, and started clattering away as he assembled the drones.
While putting the drones together, rcer pondered his next steps.
He planned to split the team to handle the Biotechnica job.
First, V, Rebecca, Pilar, and Panam—who knew the Badlands well—would head out to scout and verify the route of Biotechnica’s transport truck. They needed to figure out when and where to hijack it.
anwhile, he would try to deep dive and hack into Biotechnica’s servers remotely.
Trying to breach the servers via deep dive without alerting anyone was no easy task.
Just like the highest level of corporate warfare often involved shooting the rival company’s CEO, pouring out his lucky plant, or stealing his company seal.
The most elite netrunning techniques usually involved going onsite and plugging a chip directly into the opponent’s server.
Otherwise, trying to break through their ICE defense system from the network, like Bartmoss did back in the day, finding vulnerabilities to sneak into the servers, that was incredibly difficult.
Especially since many corporations, after years of Bartmoss’s antics, had wisened up. They now kept truly critical information on air-gapped local servers.
Even within corporations, only a handful of personnel have LAN access to connect to servers. Such terminals are typically air-gapped, solely interfacing with local servers, making infiltration from public networks nearly impossible.
This wasn’t like City Hall’s civil registry servers, though also labeled as local-access only, many workstations inside the building had LAN permissions to facilitate citizen services and record updates.
Still, rcer decided to give it a shot.
Even if he couldn’t hack in directly, he aid to gather as much intel as possible to verify whether Biotechnica’s servers held anything valuable before taking the risk.
Worst case, he’d settle for the 150k eddies, just snatch so samples and call it a day.
No way was he charging in blindly, only to walk into a trap or find nothing worth the trouble.
If intel confird worthwhile data was there, rcer planned to stick with the original op: V handling the deep dive while he provided remote support.
Multitasking, rcer assembled the drone while ntally reviewing the files and details Wakako had provided. By the ti the drone was fully built, a rough plan had taken shape.
Satisfied, he nodded as the foldable Militech Wyvern, no bigger than a docunt case when collapsed, transford from a harmless civilian model into a high-altitude, long-endurance killing machine equipped with a machine gun.
Each of the two drones could fold into what looked like a plain black briefcase but, when deployed, beca a brain-controlled drone with a stable operational range of up to 15 km.
They would significantly enhance rcer’s capabilities in remote reconnaissance and fire support.
If he deep dived while connected to a public network signal, and wasn’t jamd by electronic counterasures, he could even control devices from extre distances.
Of course, operating drones this way would keep them connected to the public net, leaving them vulnerable to remote netrunner attacks.
Hence the 15 km "stable range," the maximum distance for reliable LAN connectivity between the drone’s built-in signal and its operator.
Still, when necessary, rcer could lie back at ho and provide drone support from a distance.
He also had bolder modification ideas: Could these drones be refitted as network relays, enabling remote hacks through them?
Or turned into dedicated electronic counterasure units, providing real-ti ICE protection for allies and engaging enemy electronics on the battlefield?
As a ti-tested Militech model, the Wyvern held great reference and modification value for rcer. Mastering its tech could pave his way toward building custom drones from scratch.
Naturally, these ambitions would have to wait until the base was secured and he’d sourced specialized components and materials.
"rcer? When did you get back?"
A voice tinged with surprise and uncertainty ca from behind rcer.
He turned around to see two stunned faces.
"What? Don’t recognize ?" rcer greeted with a smile.
Lucy opened her mouth but couldn’t find words, while Kyoko, her face full of concern, asked, "Is that the cyberware we stole from Arasaka on you? Have you checked it thoroughly? Are you feeling unwell?"
No one understood better than them the imnse strain this set of cyberware could impose, or how bold Arasaka’s "experints" truly were.
rcer chuckled, "Don’t worry, I’m feeling pretty good now, just a bit of adjustnt. By the way, Lucy, where’s my Morning Star?"
"Still running the program in the computer. I check on it about once an hour. It’s well-behaved, just following the program’s instructions."
Lucy pursed her lips, watching rcer in his netrunning suit. The exposed, hollowed-out sections of his back had already turned entirely into black machinery, and she felt an inexplicable sadness.
She reached out and tentatively touched his back. "Can you still feel this?"
rcer tilted his head. "Yes, but it’s not very distinct. Without skin nerves and with the integrated circuits embedded beneath the tal surface, it feels like you’re touching through a thin layer of tal."
"Why the sudden rush? Weren’t you saying just a few days ago that you wanted to wait?" Lucy hesitated to say more.
But rcer suddenly grew serious, his tone low and earnest. "Lucy, human abilities have limits. I’ve learned one thing from my short life, the greater your Intelligence, the more you realize the limitations of human capability. Unless one transcends humanity... So... I’m no longer human, Lucy!"
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6700 words.
Bonus Chapter @1500 power stones.
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