"The neural port is connected. You might feel a bit off at first—dizziness is normal. Just give it a mont to adjust." As Judy spoke, V's v
"The neural port is connected. You might feel a bit off at first—dizziness is normal. Just give it a mont to adjust."
As Judy spoke, V's vision began rapidly shifting through various scenes. The flickering and bright flashes made his eyes swim, but they soon settled. Then, he heard a voice.
"After this job's done, we should pull out of this area."
The voice was unfamiliar to V, but to the person whose perspective he was experiencing, it would've sounded completely natural.
"What are you standing around for? Get everyone inside. Once we're done here, we head back to Watson and switch hideouts. That place is getting too hot—people are getting harder to snatch. After we close this deal and make bank, we'll chill for a few days. Then maybe I'll pull so strings and get us into Dogtown. That's where the real money is."
"Yes, boss."
As V, through the dream braindance, responded, he began dragging sothing. Through the POV's peripheral vision, he saw he was inside a rundown house, carrying an unconscious person.
"Pause."
Karl's voice ca through the connection, and Judy paused the BD playback.
"V, you alright with raw footage like this? Can you handle it?"
Karl checked in, and V nodded confidently.
"I'm fine. This is nothing."
"Good."
Reassured, Karl continued, "Can you see anything distinct in that place? Any identifying features in the dreamscape?"
"Features…?"
V glanced around using the dream character's field of vision. "It's a rundown building. And based on what the guy they called 'Boss' was saying, this isn't Watson. Their base is in Watson, but the captives are being held sowhere else."
"A rundown building?"
Karl frowned slightly, watching the hazy footage displayed on Judy's screen. In Night City, rundown buildings weren't uncommon—this wasn't enough to narrow things down.
"Alright, keep going."
As the BD resud, V carried the victim into a room. Inside were seven operating tables—six of them occupied by unconscious, restrained individuals.
"These people are…"
Judy tried to identify the victims, but their faces were blurred in the BD.
"Can't make out their faces."
"They're probably the ones the Scavs kidnapped," Karl comnted. "Since they're about to be sold off, there's no need to rember faces. No ice tubs or ice water preservation like Scavs usually use, either. Looks like they plan to keep them alive longer—maybe they're waiting on a buyer. Sedated with auto-injectors, strapped to tables... These Scavs are surprisingly professional. Must be a big score, like that Scav said."
"I noticed sothing, Karl."
V had paused again to observe his surroundings. "The walls in every room I've passed so far—no windows. The place is falling apart, holes in the stone floor, but all the walls are intact. Not a single window in sight, in either room."
"No windows ans it's not a standardized prefab apartnt. Those always have window units—they charge extra for those." Karl nodded. "This helps narrow it down."
In a city of over seven million, finding a place that's isolated, outside the prefab grid, and lenient on ID requirents is tough.
So where in Night City could offer old, spacious buildings in low-traffic zones, away from corporate scrutiny and regulation?
Watson's northern industrial zone could be one such place—but the Scav said they weren't in Watson. That left…
The Badlands, or Santo Domingo.
No need to elaborate on the Badlands.
Santo Domingo, one of the city's oldest districts, was once a testing ground for gacorp industrial projects—filled with factories and cramped housing. Many residents had to relocate to Coronado Ranch, near the Badlands' edge, to survive. That area certainly matched the BD's setting.
"People."
Just as Karl was about to ask V to keep searching, V growled with barely restrained fury: "The ones they kidnapped… they're being picked deliberately!"
"What do you an, V?"
"I took a closer look. Including the one my Scav dragged in, all of the captives—though their faces are blurred—based on body size, exposed features, and what I can analyze from their skeletal structure using the Scav's cyber-optics… they're all about the sa age. Young adults!"
"All young people?"
Young targets made sense for Scavs—less likely to be heavily augnted or carry weapons. But all of them being young? That was odd.
Scavs were hyenas—they pounced on easy prey. Usually, they'd snatch whoever was convenient. But this group… their victims were all young and roughly the sa age?
"I see it now."
While Karl was pondering and V analyzing the BD, Judy spoke up, her voice filled with certainty.
"I think I've figured out where these Scavs are hiding."
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