Brave New World

Chapter 16 –

I had forgotten what true, unadulterated joy felt like after ending up here in Night City. The last time I was this happy was the day of my graduation, right before I ended up here.

Eating true, honest-to-god fried chicken wings was like re-experiencing what it means to be alive again. This was real, crispy, greasy, somewhat imperfect, in the best way imaginable, fried chicken not the plasticky, lab-grown worm-based scop and cricket substitute for chicken they peddled in the markets here.

And I was going to savor every last bite of it. This I swear on the powers behind the forge itself. After all, the fact that I even had this delicious piece of chicken in my hands was because of the last gift from the forge itself!

I didn't need to eat meals like this. Not for meeting calorific or other dietary requirements anyway. Because my healing potions being the perfect solution to that. Even so, I would have given up a fortune to get access to fresh, real, well-prepared, home-made food like this.

Taking another juicy, scrumptious bite, I checked the liquid bubbling away on my kitchen counter. It was almost ready and prepared. Its final appearance would have to be as clear as water and it was already getting there.

This potion, that I was tentatively calling the living death potion, would be my method to induce temporary brain death in whoever took a sip of it. They would only wake, either after a year of coma or taking an antidote, which just so happened to be my nutrient healing potions. The potion itself was a brew that would typically require an infusion of wormwood, and the powdered root of an asphodel plant… all of which I now thankfully had sitting deep inside the goddamned warehouse in my pocket dimension.

…. That warehouse was a mind fuck and a half of its own. And I mean, on top of the fact that practically everything that could be found inside it was replenished in a mere twenty-four hours.

The implications of that had already been… insane, and enlightening. If I thought one bar of gold was a fucking game changer, well now I had larger bars of gold sitting somewhere in that warehouse. Like so many other things. Some even far more precious than that….

But it was not surprising. The forge had already pulled that trick with resources to craft weapons, and ammunition already, so nigh infinite fuckery with the law of conservation of mass was not anything new to me.

Heck, I could start selling some of the less valuable of those ever-replenishing resources and live comfortably off just that…. something to think about? At the very least it's another card that I could use if I wanted to. Another resource I could share to lessen the misery in this world. Just need to be smart as to how.

No, what was a mind fuck was the fucking scale of the damn thing. The damned warehouse was massive. Like, I can walk for miles and miles and still not cover even a part of it, massive.

There were rows upon rows of shelves, stacked high, stretching further than I could see. All neatly labeled, all stocked with whatever the hell I could think of. Fresh Herbs - Aisle 17, Textiles & Fibers - Aisle 23, Frozen Meat - Aisle 30. That was as far as I had gotten before calling it quits. There were thousands, no tens of thousands more.

…. I had no goddamn clue where anything actually was.

Like, sure, the labels helped, but they only told me what should be there, not where the exact thing I wanted was actually stored. Need copper wiring? Somewhere with the rest of the industrial resources. Need saffron? Buried in one of the spice racks…. probably. Need a very specific, extremely rare mineral used in high-tier metallurgical work for god knows what? Yeah, it existed in there too…. somewhere.

Good luck finding it.

So, my journey into that place had been a complete and total mindfuck. Albeit a happy one.

It was more like a blind hunt for easter eggs through a goddamn maze. Luckily, I had left the automated machines in my weapons lab to work on the rest of the weapons for my friends while I took a jaunt in there for the better part of my morning listening to the books I needed to study on TTS while working on my new set of clothes...

Multitasking like a pro!

Else, I wouldn't have gotten any work done towards the weapons I wanted my friends to have before tonight's operation.

That 'hunt' was how I found out about the real raw meat that I now had access to. The extremely high-quality alcohol. The stacks of sugar, salt, and bags of flour and everything else imaginable that counts as 'resource' under the sun that was waiting for me in the first few aisles of the warehouse.

I have no where in the hell the forge was sourcing all of this, and didn't want to wrack my brain trying to figure it out.

I took another bite, licking the grease off my fingers and was momentarily disappointed that I had no more.

Oh well… I could always make more now, whenever I wanted. Just need to dig through the warehouse once again spending hours in there, looking for all the ingredients.

The intercom bell for my apartment door buzzed as I was lost in my musing, waiting for the potion to finish.

I frowned. I wasn't expecting any guests today. If anything, I need to leave for Vik's clinic soon.

Washing my hands and leaving the plate in the sink, after making sure the door to my closet was closed, and turning off the stove seeing the clear potion was done, I approached the door and peered through the peephole.

A short, pretty, dusky-skinned woman stood outside, shifting a box in her hands.

I made sure my revolver was snug in my back pocket, before sliding the door open.

Hopefully, if this took a turn for the worse, I would be able to resolve it with just that and won't have to activate the tattoos on me to get my SMG, or Katana.

As the door opened, the pretty woman grinned warmly.

"Hey! You must be the new guy." She adjusted the box in her arms. "I'm Leah Gladen! I live in the unit downstairs. Seen you around a few times this past month and I've wanted to come say hi for a while now! You're like, probably the only other sane person in this entire building!"

She presented the box to me. "Oh, and I brought a gift! Hope that's nova!"

I relaxed ever so slightly. There was no outward sign of cyberware enhancement on her, apart from the standard neuralware; a neuroport and grey Arasaka optics.

Her skin was also probably lightly subdermally armored, but I didn't focus my senses to look too deeply, to avoid staring at her for too long and seeming creepy.

"Hey! Nice to meet you, Leah. I am Zain Vargas" I offered her a small smile, keeping myself amiable while leaning against the doorframe, blocking her way in. I didn't want her to step inside my apartment. "And, uh, you really didn't have to go through all that trouble getting me a gift."

Leah scoffed, rolling her eyes good-naturedly.

"Pff, of course I did! What kind of neighbor would I be if I didn't at least show up with a little something? I mean, we gotta stick together in a place like this, right?" She held the box out, wiggling it slightly. "It's nothing fancy, but I think you'll like it."

It had some weight to it as I took it from her hands. I turned, walking over to my living room and set it down on the table.

When I glanced back, Leah had stepped inside, hands on her hips as she gave my place an appraising once-over. "Damn, I like what you've done with the place! Real swanky setup. You should come see mine, it's practically a heap of dirt."

She barely finished before she paused, tilting her head slightly. Her nose twitched once, twice, then her eyes widened in wonder.

"Oh my god, what is that aroma?" She inhaled again, closing her eyes for a second like she was committing it to memory. "That smells amazing! What are you cooking?"

Shit.

Can't be admitting to having cooked chicken to a complete unknown, a nobody! Birds and poultry like that have been outlawed here in this future and admitting to that that would be admitting to a crime. The heaps of questions it'd generate on top of that would be … a hassle to deal with!

Stick to the closest version of the truth, which would be….

"Oh, just finished having some fried cricket wings." I lied as nonchalantly as I could, making as much use I could of the micromanipulators as possible, "It's based on one of my mom's favorite recipes, that she taught me how to cook."

Leah's shoulders slumped a little in disappoitment, lips twisting into a pout.

"Damn, and here I was hoping there'd be some left." She sniffed the air again, sighing. "It smells delicious. Your mom must be a really good chef."

I sighed internally in relief, watching as she latched onto that and not, the actual source of the aroma.

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "She really was."

Leah clapped her hands together, eyes sparkling. "Alright, then! That settles it. Next time, you have to cook some for me. No excuses."

I let out a small chuckle, keeping the polite appearance shaking my head. "We'll see."

Her attention shifted before I could say anything else to somehow get her to leave my apartment, her gaze landing on the box I'd set on the table. "Oh! You'll want to place that by the window, by the way."

I frowned but did as she suggested, picking up the package and flipping the lid open.

Inside was a small, potted plant with thick, vibrant green leaves.

Leah grinned. "That's a genetically modified jade plant! Got it from a Biotechnica seminar I went to a couple months ago. They engineered it to grow even in the harshest conditions. No sun? No problem. Minimal water? It'll still thrive. It practically takes care of itself."

I lifted the pot carefully, turning it in my hands, observing the smooth, waxy leaves with some wonder.

This… was a very expensive gift.

Plants and trees do not grow so easily in this dark future. Especially in places like Night City. Most of the vegetation in the city is either genetically modified and reintroduced or has really invasive supplement systems to keep each individual tree healthy…. or the plant itself of the variety that people would much rather not have growing around at all.

But the expensive nature of the gift was not what caught my attention... The plant was bugged. I could sense a listening device embedded into the surface of the bark of the plant, and a rotary high-definition camera in the pot in which it was housed. Both were capable of feeding their data directly from the net to whoever was receiving it.

…presumably Leah.

My first instinct was to drop the plant and aim my revolver to her head. But I kept myself in check, keeping my body language as natural as I could using my gloves.

I didn't know if she was alone, or who had sent her or how many she had waiting in backup, or if she had any.

Does she even know that the bugs are there in the first place?

I couldn't sense where the bugs were sending the data to…. I needed to approach this cautiously.

I forced a smile, keeping my grip on the plant steady.

"This is… a really expensive gift," I said, placing it on the window making sure the camera was faced outside and turning to observe her truly. "I don't think I can accept this. It must've cost a fortune."

Leah shook her head almost immediately, waving a hand dismissively.

"Nah, not really! Like I said, got it at a seminar. It was practically free." She grinned. "Biotechnica was handing them out as part of their 'urban greenery restoration initiative' to the attendees. Don't worry about it, really!"

Leah is a Netrunner.

I could sense the cyberdeck chip implanted in her head, alongside her neuralware. She had similar RAM slots in the back of her skull like Yoko had implanted along her spine.

She had a thin layer of subdermally latticed padding, that was overclocking her RAM using kinetic energy from her body's movement, while also providing her with some armor from most small arms fire.

She was also chipped with a smart link placed onto her thumb, right alongside her SID chip which paired directly with the smart pistol she was carrying hidden underneath the belt of her jeans.

"Thanks, Leah. I appreciate it. This is a beautiful gift. Please, take a seat." I pretended to act host for as long as necessary. Moving past her towards my kitchenette, I opened the fridge, scanning its sparse contents. "Would you like to have something? I don't have much at the moment, but if you want something to drink… a can of Tiancha?"

Why was a netrunner placing a bug in my apartment?

Couldn't she just remotely hack into my computer, or other devices and keep an eye on me from there? Or spy on me using some other means involving Cyberspace or whatever other wizardry netrunners like her could do?

I had expected Netrunners to eventually try something via the internet and was hoping to make some headway into Cybersecurity to protect myself and my privacy from threats from that angle.

The issue I had run into after reading Yoko's book was in the very nature of Cyberspace. To adequately protect myself, understand daemons, viruses and what not in this future, I needed to be able to actually interact with them, see their code as it is meant to be seen … for which I need to build myself a safe wireless connection to interact with Cyberspace.

Another project I had been hoping to work on soon in the near ever expanding 'mythical' future.

Plugging those Daemons Yoko had given me with the Ocuset, into my computer to analyze the code would not only be dangerous, but would also only produce plain gibberish for me to see, while it wreaked havoc inside the system it was deployed in.

Either way, this was not the approach I had expected a netrunner to try and come at me with.

Leah shook her head, waving a hand dismissively.

"Nah, I'm good! I just came to say hi and introduce myself." She smiled, rocking on her heels slightly not taking the offered seat. "Really, I just wanted to get to know my only normal neighbor. I think we could get along pretty well."

I hummed in acknowledgment. I am sure she does.

She, or whoever sent her, is underestimating me.

In most people's eyes, I am a 'ganic' with little to no means to fend for myself apart from maybe my cryo-tech. This probably would have worked easily had I not possessed my enhanced tech senses. Heck, it probably would have passed muster against most people in Night City unless they had the Cyberware specifically meant to fish such shit out.

Those devices were very well hidden after all. Only someone actively looking for them would be able to spot them.

The question was, who was it that sent her here?

Wakako? Susie Q? Was she on her own? Or is this some other asshole I need to worry about?

She glanced back at the jade plant sitting by the window. "Hey, do you know how to take care of a plant? Here, let me show you."

She moved toward it by the window, and picked up the pot, turning it slightly in her hands.

The goal behind all of this was obvious to discern. This was yet another attempt to figure me out and get at the Cryo tech that I had displayed. Maybe even learn something about me, and whoever was backing me from the very sanctity of my apartment.

Who would attempt such a thing though…?

I don't think Susie would go so far as this. Leah didn't seem like a Mox and Susie had laid out most of her cards for me. Some she hadn't wanted to share as well, but had been forced to. I was certain she was holding a few things back even now, but this probably wasn't her doing.

Was Leah one of Wakako's mercs then? Would Wakako try something like this?

What did she have to gain if she did? Even more leverage over me, intel about me that she didn't yet have or a Netrunner like Leah, for some reason wasn't able to procure? Or was this an attempt to verify the identity of my 'benefactor'?

A little bit of everything perhaps?

"Biotechnica said they engineered it to need barely any water, but when you do water it once a week, make sure it's boiled and purified first. Too much lead and cadmium in tap water, yeah?" She smiled before continuing. "Apart from that, the soil won't need to be changed. The plant cycles and replenishes its nutrients very efficiently."

I nodded, keeping my gaze steady.

This could also be some other asshole who's come knocking.

"I understand. You don't need to worry, I'll take good care of it. This is a really nice gift" I leaned back against the counter, folding my arms. "My mom used to teach me how to care for plants whenever she could."

Leah's eyes lit up, and she snapped her fingers.

"Yeah! You're from the Badlands, right?" She placed the pot back on the windowsill, this time facing into the apartment. Camera fully positioned in my general living space.

So, she knew what she was doing then.

I met her gaze, keeping my posture relaxed.

"I looked you up before deciding to finally meet." She grinned shrugging. "Y'know, just in case you turned out to be yet another crazy in this building. Found out you're from out there… What clan are you from?"

Then she looked up and down, checking me out smirking "Nomads are such an interesting people, the freedom they cherish and the lifestyle they life… it's so rugged, dashing!"

She's done some background checks on me and ended up with the same Forge backed story of me being a nomad.

Thanks to Becca, and the book she had given me, I was better prepared to deal with this.

I let out a slow sigh, meeting her gaze.

"My clan… isn't around anymore." My voice was little pained. It wasn't completely faked either, which likely helped in selling it. "I'm the last of my family here. I … don't like talking about it."

Leah blinked, her smirk faltering slightly.

"Oh… Shit. I-" She hesitated, shifting on her feet. "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

I didn't answer right away, letting the awkward silence stretch between us. I took the time to think on how to proceed here, while she stewed a little.

I need to get answers out of her.

How to do that though?

The easiest method would be to confront her head on, at gun point.

If she didn't have any backup, then she would be at my mercy. I was well armored in double layers of my Kevlar infused bulletproof clothing. I would have preferred to have been wearing the new set of clothes that are sitting in my pocket dimension, but these would work just fine against the caliber of her smart pistol.

The only thing exposed is my face, I would have to be quick about donning my bandana in that case or downing a rock skin potion.

Her netrunning would not be of any use to her. I didn't have any cyberware for her to hack. Unless she could somehow make my phone explode in my pocket, I was safe from that type of attack. And even if she did go about doing that, I wouldn't feel a thing… my clothing would keep me well protected from an exploding phone.

So, I could very easily take her at gun point and interrogate her. But that would mean giving away that I had caught on… which would mean that whoever had sent her would also know. They would then either try to get her out of here, send in her presumed back up…. which would lead to a fight.

One I don't want to test the chances of me winning without knowing the number of people lying in wait.

Or they would back off, leave her at my mercy and try this entire thing from some other angle, maybe even something I wouldn't be able to see coming.

No, a violent reaction would not help me here.

What else then?

… I could do to her, exactly what she was doing to me.

I could bug her apartment, in a manner far better than her attempt… sneaking after midnight whilst invisible would be a cinch. Gather information on who had set this entire thing up from her and proceed from there.

That was a far better alternative.

So, I needed to let her walk away thinking she's got me. I needed to keep up this charade for now.

I turned and grabbed a can of Real Water from the fridge, popped the seal, and handed it to her.

She took it after a beat, eyes flicking between me and the can.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't know" I leaned against the counter and smiled sadly. "Not something I go around telling people. Like to keep the past where it is and look to better things, you see?"

Leah sighed in relief, then brightened again, like flipping a switch.

"Well," she said, voice lighter, "I hope you get to have that kind of family, and bond, again someday."

I gave a small noncommittal nod of acknowledgement.

She stretched her arms overhead, rolling her shoulders before offering me a grin. "Anyway, I've probably taken up enough of your time. Just came to say hi."

I smiled "I appreciate the gesture. It's nice to know a friendly face in this apartment building for a change"

She smiled widely. "We should hang out sometime. You're new around Night City, I can't imagine you've seen everything the city has to offer…. I can show you around, take you to places that aren't total shitshows."

I let out a short laugh in something close to amusement.

"I've been getting by," I admitted chuckling. "Met some interesting friends. But there's a lot I still haven't seen."

I shrugged looking at her once over, checking her out in turn. "Another friend never hurts."

She smiled invitingly then glanced at the jade plant again, then back at me.

"Why don't we hang out later then? Whenever you'd like! I'd love to try some of your mom's recipes." She breathed dramatically, closing her eyes. "Seriously, that smell? Amazing."

I nodded. "I'll think about it. I know loads of delicious recipes that I am sure you would love to taste. Trust me, they are an experience! I'm sure you would find them enchanting."

Like my potions for example. Truth serum potion infused food would be perfect.

That's another way I can go about dealing with this.

Leah grinned, clearly satisfied.

"I'd love that!" She stepped toward the door, her eyes glowing blue briefly. "I won't take up more of your time. It was nice meeting you, Zain. I've flicked you my contacts, hit me up whenever you want to hang out, don't be a stranger, yeah?"

I dipped my head slightly, smiling at her as I felt the phone buzz in my pocket. "Yeah. Great meeting you too, Leah. I'm sure having a friendly face to talk to around here would be… enlightening."

With that, she stepped out into the hallway, the door clicking shut behind her. I made sure it was locked from the inside.

Then, slowly, I turned back to the jade plant… I need to neutralize the bugs inside without giving away that I know about them.

… Honestly, this was an amateur attempt at spying on me. Likely as a result of being massively underestimated in my capabilities. Even so, I do not really think this is either Wakako, or Susie.

All I needed to do was move the plant to an open terrarium, toss the pot, and 'accidentally' break the bug lodged in the surface of the plant's bark and this entire scheme would be foiled.

Easy.

Walking to my closet, I slipped into the warehouse, just past the weapons lab and searched for a fucking while for the correct aisle… I am going to need to build a robot, a drone or something to map and take stock of the entire warehouse automatically and get what I want from here. I can't keep searching like this all the time.

Another project in the long list of projects piling up at my feet! Fucking hell!

Luckily, glass ware was not super deep into the warehouse as I had dreaded. I grabbed a clean open glass jar and walked the short hike back to my apartment.

"What a thoughtful gesture!" I smiled at the poor plant for good measure "Let's get you into a better home little guy"

I picked up the plant, and 'accidentally' let the pot slip from my fingers and stepped onto the camera for good measure.

"Shit," I muttered, crouching down. "I didn't mean for that to happen little buddy, let's get you to a better home now! Sorry!"

A quick flick of my thumb, the listening device in the bark snapped as I picked up the plant.

I brushed off the dirt, placed the plant into the terrarium, made sure the roots and soil were set well, and placed the terrarium on the windowsill.

Camera gone. Mic dead. One headache solved. And an A plus to me for my over dramatic acting skills!

…. Now to the bajillion other things I need to juggle.

The sanctity of my apartment was now utterly destroyed.

I need to move out within the week.

But goddamn! Night City wasn't giving me any sort of breathing room. Becca was right, just one night, Night City! Is that too much to ask?! One fucking night!

… at least let me enjoy Chicken Wings in peace, dammit!

I glanced around. Should probably scrap my computer in case smarter netrunners than Leah try and scope me out through that thing. I could make a better one myself anyway….

Apart from that, there's nothing valuable here that isn't already tucked away inside my pocket dimension.

Cybersecurity was now going to be a fucking priority in the list of projects for me to tackle… right after Jae Hyun and the scavs are fucking dealt with!

Dammit, like this I'll never be able to prepare to deal with Wakako! There just isn't enough time!

Could the forge make it so that fucking time doesn't become an issue for me? I… would greatly appreciate a gift like that oh great eldritch lord who toys with my soul…!

…. worth a try. I don't even know if something like that is even possible in the first place.

I was going to be leaving for Vik's clinic soon to deal with the mess there. I spent most of my time today finishing up the weapons for my friends, while managing some study of Rache Bartmoss' guide to the NET alongside some chemistry and working on my new totally bulletproof clothing… I was putting in more time into studying than I had ever before in a single day, in my entire life!

I could just… not come back to this apartment. Pull a play from the scavs playbook and squat in a defensible lot with a door and stay shored up in my pocket dimension.

I could live comfortably locked away inside my pocket dimension for a very long time now. Theoretically, all I needed was four walls and two doors to make do for myself.

But that's insane. And it didn't solve the fucking problem… if people had found me here, they would find me there as well!

I wasn't about to become some paranoid walled-off hermit, too scared to step outside because some assholes knocked on my door a couple times.

Worse, I would have no way to explain how I got half the shit I had in there, if I did set up in a place like that. If I ever wanted to start anything remotely resembling a business venture to start actively helping people, I'd need a cover.

And more than that, I'd need the help of people. People I could trust. To take care of the boring, but essential parts of running a business.

Because what's the point of all this power if I was just going to spend my days hiding in a hole?

Could I trust the Mox to be those people? That was about the only option I had scoped out as of yet. Them and my friends…

I … agreed with the ideal of what the Mox represented in theory.

Providing a safety net for sex workers was something I could get behind, even a weak and meager one as it currently was.

They were obviously no threat against a Megacorp, heck I doubt they would be one against other gangs either. They are limited in their size and structure after all.

What could they do against a gang that was rumored to be numbered in the thousands like the Tygers, let alone an army of millions that any Megacorp had at its beck and call?

If I just considered pure numbers that is.

Resources and other things that would also probably play a role notwithstanding.

Susie was aggressively pushing for me to throw in with her gang because of just that reason after all… My weapons were a massive game changer. They rendered most cyberware protective enhancements moot.

What they could do for me on the other hand… was act as a deterrent. An extra layer of protection between most who would want to get access to me, and my tech. If I'd had the backing of a gang like the Mox, the scavs wouldn't have come after me. The Tyger Claws would at the very least think twice before acting against me if I was being backed by them… not much, but some level of deterrence was better than none.

The level of deterrence the Mox could provide wouldn't be of much use against a Megacorp, but maybe I can do something about that…. in time perhaps?

How to go about gaining that protection from the Mox without being used by them though?

I'm sure if Susie, or anybody with half a brain, knew about what I could do, what potential the forge promised me to be capable of… they'd lock me up and keep me churning out increasingly advanced tech for whatever they wanted.

Heck, I am sure Wakako wants to do that to me in some fashion already.

I do not want to reveal the Forge to anybody, let alone Susie… it was the one thing I do not feel I can change about me.

The Forge is in my very soul.

I will not be loose with its most fundamental secrets like that, despite how much I may want to share its gifts with the world. The forge is mine, and I will fight to protect it tooth and nail, just like I was going to fight Leah at what she had attempted today. If I didn't have any other options, I would at the very least go down swinging.

No one is going to chain me up, take away my freedom!

One angle I could play to make sure that Susie played ball and gave me what I wanted …. was to play up her assumptions that I had some corporation backing me up. I had no clue which corporation she believed me to be the representative of, but I could easily 'correct' that assumption by making up a corporation of my own.

Fake it till you make it and all that…

That …. was now perhaps a viable way to play my cards. The forge could very well help me play up the role of a corporation. At least as far as providing resources that a corporation could produce was concerned. Just the warehouse itself was proof of that.

The forge had just essentially given me a small loan of a million eddies after all. Fools have gotten far ahead in life with less than that… I could easily do this if I acted smartly.

I would have to bluff my way through to figuring out the fucking logistics of that, the glaring lack of other employees in the so called 'corporation' and the absence of military level backing that Susie was expecting… at least in terms of numbers.

I could fake the resources such a Corp would theoretically be able to provide on my own.

… I would also have to make sure Becca somehow plays along with my charade.

I think she will. If I explain the problem I was in, as best as I can then she would... but I would have to do that without revealing the Forge to her.

Dammit.

Speaking of the forge… a very welcome pressure built up in the back of my head, as the vibrant galaxy of stars materialized in my mind's eye. The constellations in the beautiful galaxy rotated towards my soul, and a single star pulsed brightly.

The star pulsed once, twice… and faded away as the galaxy vanished from my mind.

I sighed in resignation as the forge failed to pop yet another star and give me yet another gift…

No, I am being ungrateful for what I've already been given. I shouldn't mope over these failed attempts from the forge. The eldritch power is trying… it probably isn't doing this because it finds teasing me amusing.

Hopefully.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, glancing at the screen.

Vik:

I'm done with the operations, everyone 'cept the last two. You can come pick up their gear now.

Me:

omw. Be there in half an hour.

Vik:

Kid, did you figure out something for the neural oscillation synch?

Me:

I did. Its an experimental drug, but Im sure it'll work. I'll fill u in when I get there.

Vik:

Alright. I'll let Misty, my assistant out front, know you're coming. My clinic's behind her store, Misty's esoterica. It's hard to miss. Opposite Gomorrah.

I'll deal with Leah and her bullshit later tonight, after finally having dealt with Jae-Hyun and his cell of the scavs.

And then I will fix the cyberware that I am going to collect from Vik... And then try and build myself a robot to take stock of my warehouse…. And then build myself wireless netrunning equipment….. And then figure out what the fuck I can do for Cybersecurity... And then figure out where the fuck I am going to move out to.... And then figure what I need to prepare to deal with Wakako.....

Right.

I can worry about that … later!

I'm thinking too hard! I need to grab my gear and head out.

Stepping into the closet, I slipped through the gateway into my pocket dimension and headed straight for the weapons lab.

Moving past the holotable, and automated machines, I headed straight to the storage racks. My new set of clothes was folded neatly on the worktable.

Kevlar cross weaved with forge enhanced thinly worked threads of carbon fiber reinforced polymers infused with fabrics made of boron, and a ceramic matrix complex. These clothes individually could tank a fucking small round from goddamned bazooka blowing up in my face and make me come out unscathed.

Well, lightly bruised but unscathed. And that includes the heat from such an explosion, the force of impact, the entire shebang thanks to the forge.

Worn together…. I was certain nothing but extreme luck, and the force of at least some form of heavy military grade weaponry would be necessary to take me out.

All in the form of a truly marvelous, seemingly meticulously designed pseudo military styled clothing. This was to be what I wear on days like this after all, when I am expecting to get into firefights at some point in the day. I need to sit and make some form of this into casual wear too… when life finally calms down.

The jacket was deep charcoal, nearly black, with a high, rigid collar and segmented pockets to carry whatever I wanted along the shoulders and upper arms. Magazines, cartridges, potions whatever. The front folded in an overlapping design, secured with hidden fastenings, while the hem split subtly at the sides for ease of movement.

The shirt underneath was dark and seamless turtleneck, perfectly form fitting, tailored perfectly to me.

The trousers matched the jacket in color, fitted but not tight, and were also layered with tactical pockets for more equipment. A slight taper at the ankles kept them sharp, seamlessly tucking into the footwear.

The shoes were sleek and solid, a deep black finish with minimal detailing. The soles extended slightly at the heel.

All of these I had worked while taking the goddamn hours long walk through the resource warehouse. It was also where I had gotten my hands on the various fabrics that I had infused into this clothing.

The only perfectly solid piece of equipment here was the visor I had forged for myself. That, I had worked on separately after the exhausting walk into the warehouse. It was made out of the same alloy I had used to work on my Katana, my SMG and all the guns I had crafted for my friends.

My intent is to eventually install a HUD into it, based on the Ocuset that I got from Yoko… but I want to hold off on that till I actually gain a good level of understanding on Cybersecurity and netrunning in general. For now, there is a super sturdy see through ceramic in place of the 'eyes' of the visor.

I did manage to etch an engraving onto it, however.

Kenko Katsumori-no-Okami. The Wolf of Health and Success!

Wearing it, I would theoretically be immune to anything that could negatively affect my health. Be it bullets, or poisons or whatever else… that could damage me from around my face.

It was shaped in the form of a wolf…. Because I thought it would look cool. It does.

I stripped out of my current gear and pulled on the new set leaving the mask off for now, the material fitting snugly as I adjusted the gloves and slid my reinforced boots on. The overture was holstered securely on my hip.

Finally armed and armored, I grabbed the mask and the weapons, I had made for my friends, placing them into a sizable suitcase and left the workshop.

Finally, transferring the brain death potion into a bottle with a stopper and pocketing it, and making sure everything else in my apartment was in order, I made my way out.

…. There are a couple Tyger Claws at the entrance of the building today. Normally, they leave this apartment alone.

Luckily, they seemed disinterested in me, and I ignored them in turn heading for my car.

I secured the weapons and mask in the trunk, and got in pulled out onto the road, switching on Growl FM. Just for background noise… and maybe to see if the Radio channel had some more insight into the Mox.

It was definitely just that, and not because the host, Ash actually played banger music on the channel. Nope, just intel.

I had to take a couple of detours on my way to Watson, one thanks to a police cordon, another because of a gang shootout, enjoying the music when I finally found Gramsci's Burger near Bradbury & Buran and parked in a side alley, an empty spot in front of a SoftSys store.

The street was alive. Blaring neon signs reflected off the wet pavement, flickering in sync with the bass pounding from the clubs. Not quite unlike Jig-Jig street…

Vik's clinic was somewhere here. Well… I shouldn't expect state of the art medical facilities from a small time ripperdoc, the fact that he was willing to help and had waived off his service fees for a couple strangers told me all I needed to know about him.

"Yo, choom! Lookin' to blow off some steam?"

A woman with chrome-tipped fingers and gold-plated lips slinked up beside me, giving my outfit a slow once-over.

"Damn. Now that is preem get up, I like me some tall, dark and handsome. Avante?"

"Pffft, nah," someone else snorted from the floor, a half delirious drugged out woman. "No tags on em, Rosie. Bet he scraped that together from some back-alley tailor."

"Shit, if that's a knockoff, it's a good one."

I didn't respond and just kept walking down the street looking for Gomorrah.

"Hey, hold up...! C'mon, man, don't be shy! I don't charge much y'know!"

I Ignored her.

Up ahead, a couple of cops were slouched against a streetlamp, passing a joint between them like it was their only job tonight. Badges out, but uniforms half undone, off-duty, or just didn't give a shit. One of them took a drag, then noticed me.

"Yo, Larry! Check this gonk out," he puffed out a drag, purple smoke curling around his face. "What you want asshole? Your sockets got klepped or something? Get lost!"

His partner snorted and pulled another drag.

I ignored them too and finally found Gomorrah.

It was a dollhouse.

Right.

Its sign was a neon green snake twisting around and up the asshole of a naked butt.

The windows showed a few pole dancers, twisting and twirling, putting on a show for the street. A couple of slack-jawed junkies were masturbating outside, eyes glued to their naked bodies…

Misty's Esoterica was on the opposite side of it.

"WAKE UP, SHEEPLE!"

Some guy was shouting at the entire street.

The guy looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, hair tied up in a dirty rag, eyes bugged out behind his glasses as he waved his arms like he was preaching to the masses.

The ragged man flailed his arms, his voice cutting through the street's noise like a siren.

"I said…. WAKE UP, SHEEPLE!" he bellowed, eyes wild behind cracked glasses. "Can't you all see! The Nomads aren't they say they are! They ain't just smugglers, no no no! When the full moon rises, they shed their human skins! Their trucks are just a front! You ever wonder how they cross the Badlands so fast? Huh?!"

A junkie sitting cross-legged on the pavement giggled, nodding his head.

The preacher ignored him, "They hunt in packs! Sprinting through the dunes like beasts, covering miles in seconds! Ever see a Nomad camp up close? Ever wonder why some of 'em just disappear? I'll tell you why! 'cause they ain't people, chooms! They're WEREWOLVES!"

Another slumped junkie, head lolling, lazily raised a hand. "Nah Garry, choom, you lost me. I was with you on the Arasaka's, but this? Nah."

The preacher's hands shot up, face twisted in righteous fury. "Denial is the first step toward DEATH! The pack will find you, and when they do…."

A hoarse cough rattled from his throat. He gasped, catching his breath, then pointed a trembling finger skyward.

"AND WHO MADE THEM THIS WAY, YOU ASK?! TECHNO NECROMANCERS FROM ALPHA CENTAURI!"

Should I be offended that he was calling all Nomads werewolves?

I mean… the possibility does exist, for all I know there could be werewolves out there in the world. I had been kidnapped inter-dimensionally by an eldritch entity. What's a werewolf or two compared to that?

I am sure I can make an anti-werewolf potion or two in case they do exist.

… I was still taking offence on behalf of the nomads though.

Ignoring the delusional preacher, I stepped through the beaded curtains of Misty's Esoterica. The scent of pleasant incense adding to the store's inviting ambience. The shop was dim, lit mostly by flickering neon strips along the shelves.

Small ceramic Japanese Lucky cats lined the walls, their golden paws raised in silent greeting. Among them sat earthenware pots, glimmering crystal pendants, and stacks of old tarot decks with frayed edges. A low harmonious spiritual, meditative music, was drowning out the noise from outside.

At the counter, a holographic sign pulsed gently, listing services in flowing script.

Chakra Harmonization

Crystal Radiation Alignment

Glitch-Free Meditation

And more.

A few massage chairs sat in the corner, nestled among potted plants that looked far too expensive to be growing in a place like this. Either the proprietor purchased them after busting her ass off, or she grew them on her own.

At the far end of the store, a woman stood in front of a shrine, arms wide at her side in prayer.

The shrine itself was dedicated to the Kami of Chrome and Electricity, carrying purple orbs glowing in its divine arms, illuminatin a collection of carefully pruned and equally expensive bonsai trees. Wisps of incense trailed upward, dancing in the glow.

I rang the bell on the counter.

The woman flinched, blinking rapidly as she was pulled from her trance.

She turned to face me, her dark-rimmed eyes locking onto mine. Her short, jagged blonde bob cut hair framed her face. A choker lined with small metal spikes sat against her throat, and an intricate mandala pendant rested against the faded fabric of her oversized blue sweater.

"Oh!" Her voice was light, cheerful. "Welcome to Misty's Esoterica! How can I help you today?"

"Uhm, I'm here to see Vik," I said, looking for where exactly behind the store his clinic would be. "He told me his clinic was behind the store."

Her expression faltered in disappointment for a fraction of a second, then smoothed into a warm smile.

"Ah! You must be Zain! I'm Misty! Jackie told me about you!" She clasped her hands together. "I got some good vibes from you when you were on the holo with Vik last night... and I'm so glad I was right!"

I gave her a nod in gratitude, "Ah, right… Thank you for that, Misty! Vik showing up when he did was a lifesaver last night."

She had vouched for me, despite never having met me…. because of my vibes?

Either way, I was grateful for that.

"Oh, don't worry about that! Good deeds should always be supported whenever possible," she waved it off, moving behind the counter. "Vik's with an urgent client right now but should be done in a few minutes. Why don't you wait here for a while?"

I nodded in agreement, might as well.

"Where's Jackie by the way? In the clinic with Vik?" I asked as she led me toward one of the massage chairs.

I couldn't imagine him not being here, he seemed to have taken a liking to me… even if he had given me the shovel talk in case I were to betray his friend.

She shook her head. "No, he had to leave, had to run some errands for his mom. She runs a bar up in Heywood. He wanted to be here to meet his new choom, but, well..." She trailed off with a small shrug.

"I understand!" I smiled, settling into the chair. "Tell him I appreciate it. I'll text him later. Maybe we can all hang out sometime... after things have settled a bit."

I wouldn't mind making friends with that man. His earnestness was really infectious… Besides, he had shown up with Vik to the basement in Lizzie's, deep into potentially dangerous territory, as back up in case his friend was being pulled into an ambush.

Loyalty like that was rare to find. I would bet it was rarer still here in Night City.

"I'm sure he'd like that." She nodded, her expression brightening. "In the meantime, while you're waiting… would you like me to read your tarot for you?"

I glanced at the holographic sign on the counter. 15 eddies.

Eh, why not. I never really believed in this kind of thing, but my ex in high school was big into the scene. Spirituality, astrology, star signs… the whole package. She was the one who let me know that I am a Gemini!

She had been one of the kindest souls I'd ever met...

God, I wish I hadn't fumbled that relationship so hard. I've worked on my insecurities since then… at least, I think I have.

Anyway.

I nodded at Misty, pulling out my phone and transferring the eddies. "Couldn't hurt to try. Sure."

Her eyes glowed blue as she received the payment, then she smiled.

"I have to say, it's rare to see someone without any chrome these days." She took a seat beside me from me, studying me with some curiosity. "People are so steeped in cybernetics, bioware and all the other kinds of tech out there… It's fascinating to see that there are still those who avoid them entirely."

She tapped her neck lightly indicating her neuroport.

"Cyberware can be great, it helps people to truly become the best version of themselves. Become who they are deep in their souls. But at the same time, over-reliance on chrome takes away the very purpose people got them in the first place. Change, power… it can be addictive. It's a slippery slope from there."

I could see her point of view as well.

Cybernetics was a fantastic concept, helping people become the best, more honest versions of themselves.

But the capitalist, unsafe system that's built around it, the vulnerabilities that it creates because of their very nature, the dependency it could facilitate into becoming a vicious cycle… I wanted no part of that.

Misty clapped her hands together, her eyes twinkling.

"Anyway, I'm sure you've heard this a hundred times by now. Let's get on with your tarot, shall we?"

She stood from her seat, moving toward the counter. Her fingers brushed over a stack of neatly arranged charms and crystals before plucking a slightly worn deck from beside them.

As she sat back down beside me, she ran her thumb along the edges of the cards. The deck had clearly seen years of use. The corners frayed, the once-vibrant images slightly faded.

"This is an old deck," she mused, flipping it over in her hands. "Been meaning to find a new one. My connection to this one has waned a little... but it should do for a simple reading."

She shuffled the cards quickly and began laying them down on the table between us, one by one.

Misty tilted her head slightly at the first card, her lips curving into a soft smile.

"The Fool is everyone, including you and me," she said, tapping the card. "Each step he takes on his journey feels like stepping into a brave new world. The path ahead will change him, but his tireless hope drives him forward. A trustworthy soul, guided by something greater than himself."

Simple enough. The fool, that is me…. I wouldn't call Night City 'a brave' new world though. It was new, certainly. Don't know about brave yet.

She glanced at me, considering something before pulling the next card.

"Ah," she murmured, her fingers tracing the faded image. "The Wheel of Fortune turns. You are constantly learning. Change is coming, for better or worse. It brings the promise of new possibilities… but also a reminder that no one stays at the top forever."

She paused, her gaze flicking up to meet mine. "Not every situation is hopeless."

…. That could be the Forge.

If I took this to be true that is, the forge was constantly turning… didn't give me gifts every time it did though. Nope… do not be ungrateful.

Another card.

Misty nodded, as if expecting it.

"The Chariot never stops moving forward," she said. "But it's always being pulled in different directions. The one who steers it must rein in the light and dark within himself… keep control through sheer force of will. His destiny is his own, should he grasp it."

She let that settle before a moment.

I do feel like I'm being pulled every which way. Don't really know how I am supposed to 'grasp' my destiny however.

Misty pulled another card. Her expression softened.

"Temperance… The card of balance," she said simply. "Self-restraint. The slow shift toward a more stable equilibrium. It's a sign of control, of seeking inner peace."

Am I supposed to look for inner peace to grasp my destiny?

… what was it that Kung Fu Panda did to achieve that? Dance a raindrop onto a leaf?

Misty let out a soft sigh, "It is often difficult to find a balance in life. The city can be bustling, there's so many stories unfolding, people have a lot of things that they worry about. To find the right balance in such a chaotic atmosphere often comes with patience, sacrifice and growth."

Patience…. That was a difficult thing to have, when there are so many things pressing down on me. So little time to deal with things effectively… with more and more things showing up to worry about, and handle.

What do I sacrifice in all of this? To make a sacrifice would be to give up on something valuable to me… what can I sacrifice to find balance?

… why am I taking this seriously in the first place.

Right… Misty is nice. That's why.

She flipped the next card and smiled.

"The Lovers is the card of dichotomies," she said, fingers lightly tracing the edges. "It points to the contradictions that clash within us… the challenge of striking a balance between extremes."

She tapped the card with a small smirk.

"It's also the card of dilemmas. Like The Fool standing at the crossroads, unsure which path to take."

Then, her smirk widened just a little, a playful glint in her eyes.

"But… it's also a sign of new love, of a new commitment entering your life, even if there's no one on the horizon." She leaned forward slightly, as if letting me in on some secret. "Be prepared for a surprise, Zain. Make the right choices, and you might just be in for some joyous, happy times ahead."

… I doubt that.

Who has the time for things like love with a life like mine?

Who would fall in love with me anyway? The world's biggest liar that I am.

To love is to be open, to care, and to trust…

I don't have anyone that I trust deeply enough with the oh so many secrets in my life.

Friends, I am lucky to have found… but the secrets I am harboring from them are so severe, so major… that to even think of trusting them could be my death sentence.

I didn't make any comment.

She moved on to the last card.

She didn't react at first, simply looking down at it for a long moment.

"Death." She said quietly "It is the card of becoming. A difficult transition. The end of one phase of life … and hopefully the beginning of another."

Her fingers brushed over the edge of the card.

"Something will be lost in the process. But something else… could rise in its place if fortune smiles upon the dead and dying."

That just proves that this is all hokey.

Tarot is a play on probabilities. If she'd shuffled a little more, some other cards would have played out, and I would have looked into them for deeper meaning as well.

Meaning that's not really there, making leaps of logic to justify them all.

I should not be looking into this too much. These are just cards. Not something to worry about… Right?

She leaned back slightly, sighing.

"Quite the spread," she murmured. "Be careful in your choices, Zain. You are changing with every decision you make. We are all constantly changing, growing. Your decisions will lead you down to become who you are meant to be, you need only guide the reins gently."

I smiled at her politely anyway. Even if I didn't believe in all this, she did. And her advice, even if it was drawn from the mystical, was appreciated all the same.

"Thank you," I said, offering a small nod. "That was… enlightening, at least. Don't know if I believe in all of it, but I think I can see the wisdom in it."

Misty's face brightened, her smile warm and genuine.

"Belief is something individual to you," she said simply. "If you're willing to keep growing, keep learning, and keep living to your best... that's all that matters."

Her blue eyes glowed briefly, before she tilted her head, listening to something only she could hear. Then she gave a small nod to herself.

"Looks like Vik's done with his client," she said, rising to her feet and brushing off the creases in her sweater. "Come on, I'll show you to his clinic."

I followed suit, getting up and following after her. "Thanks, Misty. Lead the way"

She guided me toward the back entrance of her shop, slipping past hanging beads and stacks of incense, leading me into a dimly lit alley.

It smelled of smoke, damp concrete, and old garbage, but nothing I wasn't used to.

A flight of stairs descended into the basement, where a faint, humming blue glow leaked from below. The cold air carried the scent of disinfectant, anti-sceptics and other chemicals that one would expect from a typical clinic.

Vik's clinic was in a basement….

Right.

A group of homeless huddled near a dumpster fire, their faces gaunt, eyes glazed over from exhaustion or the cold. A few were deep in their own worlds, muttering, shivering, or swaying to the rhythmic pulse of a juke box playing on the top of the stair case.

As Misty walked by, a couple of them perked up, lifting their heads, their cracked lips curling into genuine smiles.

"Hey, Misty," one of them called, voice hoarse but fond.

"Misty, you got any of those incense sticks today?" another asked, a woman wrapped in layers of patchwork clothes.

Misty waved at them. "Not today, sorry Marie! Maybe tomorrow, okay?"

They nodded and let us pass by.

And then something walked by from between my legs…

A cat.

A wrinkled, grey-skinned sphynx, perched right in the middle of the steps, its oversized bat-like ears twitching at the faintest sound. It stared at me with wide, unblinking green eyes, its tail curled tightly around its feet as it purred against my feet.

… For a moment, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Animals are very rare here. I haven't seen a single animal since I arrived here a month ago…

The last animal I had interacted with was my dog, Bosco… oh god.

I couldn't help myself.

Squatting slightly, I reached out, running my fingers over the cat's smooth, warm skin. It felt almost like suede, soft but firm, the ripples of its loose skin shifting under my touch. The little thing purred louder, rubbing its head into my palm like it had already decided I belonged to it.

Misty laughed.

"That's Nibbles! He likes to show up sometimes." She crouched beside me, scratching behind the cat's oversized ears. "I leave food for him out here whenever I can. He's got a good life for a street cat."

I looked up at her. "A street cat? That's… rare, isn't it?"

"Yeah." She nodded, watching Nibbles push insistently into my hand. "Most of 'em are owned by corpos or rich folks who can afford the permits. But some, like Nibbles here, just… make it work."

I chuckled as the cat headbutted my fingers, clearly demanding more attention.

"Man, he's really into it."

"Oh, he's a total attention hog," Misty grinned. "But he's picky about who he lets pet him, so congrats, you've been chosen."

I scratched lightly under Nibbles' chin, and his purring reached a full-body vibration.

"He's a Sphynx cat," I murmured. "It's been so long since I've seen one…"

Misty paused, studying me curiously. "You've seen one before?"

"Yeah," I nodded, my hand still absently running over Nibbles' back. "My ex-girlfriend in high school had one." I let out a small breath, a ghost of a smile playing on my lips. "Gosh, it's been so long…!"

Misty hummed, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "Your output must've been very rich."

I huffed a small laugh, finally pulling my hand away from Nibbles as the cat sat down smugly, like it had accomplished something.

"Ha," I muttered, shaking my head. "No, not at all. She'd gotten one on …"

… the day of our middle school graduation party. I shouldn't be admitting that though.

Sometimes, it's easy to get lost in memories of home.

Misty chuckled but didn't push further. Instead, she motioned toward the stairs. "C'mon, Vik's waiting."

The basement entrance was bathed in the faint neon haze of sterile blue light. A security gate, old but sturdy, stood between us and the clinic beyond.

Misty moved toward the panel beside the gate, keying in a sequence on the outdated pad. The lock gave a mechanical whirr, then a clunk before the gate shuddered open.

Vik stood in the middle of the dimly lit basement, the overhead fluorescents flickering weakly against the concrete walls. The space was practically a repurposed garage. It was cramped, cluttered, and filled with the faint metallic tang of antiseptics and machine oil.

He was wiping down the surgical chair in the center of the room, its harsh white lights switched off. The only glow came from scattered monitors and the static hum of a television in the corner, broadcasting an old boxing match.

As Misty and I stepped inside, Vik glanced up and grinned.

"Ah, Zain! Almost thought you got lost on your way over here, kid." He set the rag aside and waved me in. "Come in, the clients are in the back. Got all their chrome out, and they're out cold…. Err, most of them anyway. You can take a look at them."

"I nearly did," I replied as I walked over to him, "had to take a couple detours on my way here."

Misty lingered near the entrance, hands tucked into the sleeves of her sweater.

"I'll wait right here. Wouldn't want to get in the way." She nodded toward me. "Call me over if you need anything."

Vik gave her a nod of thanks before turning to me, gesturing for me to follow.

His right arm gleamed under the dim light; a multipurpose surgical tool strapped over his forearm. The rig steadied his hand with precise mechanical assistance, stabilizing even the finest movements. It also consisted augments for clamps for delicately holding objects, wiring tools, micro-cutters… it was a crude but functional attempt at my Micromanipulator gloves.

All it lacked was the micron scale fine muscle control mine granted to me.

… I can make another one to sell to ripperdocs like Vik.

At the very least, rippers like Vik who didn't have any augmenting Cyberware to help in their line of work would appreciate something like this.

All the Cyberware I could sense on Vik was his neuroport, cybernetic optics and some subdermal armor plating.

Even if I don't sell any of these, I could make a pair to gift to Vik after all this was over. Something to show my gratitude for helping as he was.

The walls were lined with memorabilia.

Boxing trophies stood proudly on a dusty shelf, old fight posters covered the walls, and the TV in the corner on top of work bench flickered with grainy footage of a match, two heavily augmented fighters exchanging blows in a rapid flurry of movement.

Vik's won boxing matches? Fucking how?

I've seen how brutal those can be… to win matches without a lick of augmenting cyberware!

Vik caught me eyeing the trophies and let out a small chuckle. "You keep staring like that, kid, and I'm gonna start thinking you wanna take one home."

I shook my head. "Didn't peg you as a fighter. When we met at the gym, you were there just watching the fights after all. I'm just wondering how you won all these."

He smirked, as we approached the back. "Didn't peg you as a boxer either, till I saw you in the gym."

I glanced back at the TV at his desk, where two heavily augmented fighters were throwing haymakers like freight trains.

"You fought in those fight? Without cyberware?" I motioned to the shelf. "And won?"

Vik let out a short laugh. "More than a few times. Guess that makes me a relic."

I frowned slightly. "How?"

He flexed his fingers, the mechanical stabilizers on his arm shifting.

"Same way anyone wins a fight. Skill. Discipline. Patience." His eyes flicked back to the screen. "Chrome's great, sure. But a lotta these guys? They let it do all the work. Chipped in muscle memory, reflex boosters, reinforced bones… it makes 'em sloppy."

I looked back at him. "And you weren't?"

Vik snorted. "Kid, when you don't have chrome, you don't get to be sloppy…."

Right… If there was anyone who knew that well, it would be me.

"Besides," He smirked conspiratorially "Just 'cause I don't have combat cyberware… doesn't mean I don't know my way around most of 'em. I knew my limits, what fights I could take, and which I couldn't. Pays to be smart and informed before most fights."

I know the feeling behind that as well.

I know how to disable, dismantle and destroy almost any piece of technology at a glance… if I was forced to, I probably could figure out weak spots of any piece of chrome on anybody who would want to fight me.

But to do that without my sixth sense, in the middle of a fight, just off pure memory…. This man was either a genius or had some very formidable amounts of luck in his life.

Vik led me to the back of the clinic, past the workbenches cluttered with tools and diagnostic scanners, where a row of makeshift beds had been set up. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic, mixing with the cold scent of metal and old wiring.

The patients lay still, unconscious, sedated enough that they wouldn't wake up screaming from the sudden loss of their cyberware. Their chests rose and fell evenly.

One of them was missing.

Vik seemed to notice my glance.

"The guy with the extra arms? Sami Fuller? I took care of him myself. Borgware like that ain't too hard to remove. Wasn't too deep in his nervous system, so I cut it out and let him be on his way." He motioned toward a crate near the corner of the space. "His arms are in there with the rest of the chrome."

He gestured toward the remaining patients.

The woman who had mismatched feline legs lay on the farthest cot, blankets pulled up over what was left of her legs.

The girl who had cross linked optics with the older man, were now missing their eyes entirely just empty sockets in their faces with a plug for attachment poking out now.

And at the end were two others, Zeke and Aisha. The ones connected by the neural oscillation synch. We need to get on with helping them.

Vik nodded toward another crate stacked near the wall. "All their faulty implants are in there. Even Mr. Sami's extra pair of arms."

He crossed his arms. "So… what's your timeline? When do you think you'll be able to fix 'em?"

I … do not know. God there's so much to do. But these people need help as quickly as possible…

"Hopefully by tomorrow night… I'll let you know once I'm done," I replied hesitantly.

Vik looked at me for a long moment, assessing me, scanning my face. Then, let out a long weary sigh. "Alright… I will trust you to be true to your word here."

He rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck before gesturing toward Zeke and Aisha. "Well then, let's take care of these two. Hit me, what've you got to help their case?"

I reached into my jacket pocket, pulling out a small glass bottle filled with a clear, water-like liquid. Holding it up, I let the dim overhead light catch the surface.

"This is an experimental drug I had access to," I said, weighing my words carefully. "A few drops cause temporary brain death. I'm hoping that by nullifying their brain wave activity, you'll be able to safely remove the neural oscillation synch from their neuroports without causing further damage."

Vik's expression immediately hardened. His eyes flickered from the bottle to me, then back to the bottle. "You're telling me you've got a drug that straight up kills brain activity, but doesn't actually kill the patient?"

"That's the idea."

He let out a low whistle, crossing his arms staring at me hard, piercingly.

"Shit… you realize what you're saying, right? A drug like that… if it does what you claim, could be worth more than… I don't know… millions! This is messing with the brain here! Tech like that…" His gaze sharpened. "Where the hell did you even get your hands on something like this?"

I kept my face neutral, slipping the bottle back into my pocket. "I have a… source. Let's just say it's not something you can pick up at your local pharmacy."

God, please don't push me on this.

Take the bait and fall for the lie. Please!

"I see…." Vik grunted his dark eyes boring deep through his glasses into my own. "Yeah, no shit. Should I expect a squad rushing in if I divulge this information"

Thank god…

I hoped the relief was not clear on my face, as I shook my head "No, nothing like that. You don't have to worry about a thing. If there were such problems, I wouldn't have brought this out as a possible solution at all."

Vik kept up the stern, calculating look for a long moment, then he sighed

"Kid, I don't know what you, or whoever you got this from is trying to do, and I don't care." He ran a hand through his hair, and shook his head "I can see you're trying to help… so I am trusting you. Got it?"

"I appreciate that, I do. I mean it when I say that all I want to do is help." I said as earnestly, and truthfully as I could.

"Right…" He glanced back at Zeke and Aisha, rubbing the back of his neck. "And how long exactly are they gonna be in this 'temporary brain death' state?"

I met his gaze. "If left alone? A year, maybe more."

His jaw tightened slightly. "And I'm just supposed to take your word that they won't become vegetables when it's done?"

I pulled out a second vial, this one filled with a slightly thicker, translucent green liquid. My healing potion "I have an antidote. Instantly reverses the effects."

Vik eyed the second vial with even more skepticism…

"Kid… I hope you know what you're doing." He tapped his fingers against the side of his metal covered forearm. "If this works, you might've just pulled off something even the biggest corps haven't been able to crack."

He shook his head, muttering to himself before glancing at the unconscious pair. "Alright… let's get this done. These guys don't have any other miracle cures coming for them… if this works, I'm willing to give it a shot."

Vik rolled up his sleeves, the multipurpose surgical rig shifting slightly as he flexed his fingers.

His diagnostic device, embedded in the fabric along his forearm, hummed to life as he connected a cable to the neuroport on the side of the boy's head.

A small screen on the side flickered to life with streams of data, charting out soft and system activity, tracking heart rate, oxygen levels, neural pathways.

"I usually just use the HUD in my optics for procedures like this" Vik explained. "But seeing as you're working with me today, I am displaying everything I have on the holo"

I nodded in appreciation at the foresight.

Everything was stable.

"Vitals are steady," Vik muttered, his eyes scanning the screen. He sighed, bracing himself. "Alright, kid. Dose him."

I uncorked the vial, the clear liquid barely reflecting the dim clinic light. With no hesitation, I tilted the bottle carefully, letting a few drops land on the boy's tongue before capping it again.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, the boy's vitals shifted.

His brain activity plummeted, the jagged waves on Vik's screen flattening to near zero. I could see Vik tense as he scanned the results.

"Holy shit…" he breathed. "His brain's…It's all flatlined, but everything else…" He tapped at the display, double-checking. "His soft and systems are still running, lungs are working, heart's pumping, digestion's still active… he's really brain dead!"

I didn't respond, watching his reaction as closely as I was watching the patient.

Vik let out a low, stunned whistle. "Damn, kid. If this is legit…" He trailed off, shaking his head, still in disbelief. Then, his expression flickered. His gaze snapped to the second screen.

The neural oscillation synch was going into overdrive. Its algorithms were actively working, scanning for an available consciousness to merge. The error codes began to flood the monitor, desperately trying to latch onto something.

"Shit, shit, shit! Dose her! Now!" Vik barked, already disconnecting from the boy and reaching for the woman.

"On it!" I didn't hesitate, flicking open the vial again and quickly dropping the same dose onto Aisha's tongue.

Seconds passed.

Her vitals mirrored the boy's. Brain activity flatlined into deep suspension, while every other function remained intact.

The screens monitoring the neural oscillation synch let out a low, crackling distortion, a glitched-out whine as its process failed. The red warning lights dimmed, its activity seizing as it had nothing left to merge with.

"Holy… fuck!" Vik let out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "Alright, they're stable…we're not out of the woods yet, now let's get this thing out of them."

He disconnected from the diagnostic tool for a moment, activating his micro-cutters. Kneeling beside Zeke, he braced the boy's head gently but firmly, inspecting the neuroport's connection point.

The neural oscillation synch was embedded deep, its sleek design meshed into the surrounding cybernetics.

With precise, practiced movements, Vik used the cutters to sever the ultra-thin connection filaments. Each strand snapped away cleanly as he worked, careful not to damage the neuroport itself. He used the clamps on his rig to delicately extract the chip, a spider-webbing lattice of circuitry gleaming under the clinic's low light.

One final tug, and the synch was free. Vik exhaled, holding up the tiny device between his fingers.

"One down," he muttered. He placed it onto a metal tray and moved to Aisha, repeating the process.

The silence stretched between us as he worked, the rhythmic beeping of the diagnostic tool the only sound filling the space. Each connection point was carefully severed, each filament disengaged.

Aisha's extraction was a little more complicated, her synch had bonded slightly more aggressively to the neuroport interface.

"Come on, you bastard…" Vik muttered under his breath as he maneuvered the micro-cutters with precision.

A final snap, and the chip disengaged fully. He sat back, shaking his head as he placed it next to the first.

"That's two." He flexed his fingers, rolling out the tension from his knuckles before picking up the neuroport connectors from his tray. "Now to close 'em back up."

With practiced efficiency, he reattached the neuroport faceplates, securing the small but vital cyberware chip back into place on the side of each of their heads. It wasn't much more than a simple click-in replacement, a stark contrast to the delicate, invasive work of removing the synch.

Once done, Vik pushed himself up and took a step back, rolling his shoulders.

He glanced at me, his expression unreadable for a beat before he sighed. "Moment of truth, kid. You pulled off one miracle. Let's see if you can pull off another."

I nodded, pulling out the second vial, the healing potion.

Vik kept the diagnostic tool connected, monitoring their vitals as I administered the antidote, one careful drop at a time.

This was the part of the process I was most worried about. How would magical healing potions work on Cybernetics? Now was the time to find out.

There had been no other alternatives in this procedure, else I would not have wanted to use this on a living person at all. But circumstances had pushed me into testing the effects on these two poor souls.

I would have atleast loved to get some form of consent from them before this at the very least!

As the first drop of the antidote touched Zeke's tongue, Vik's diagnostic screen flickered, processing a sudden spike in activity. His brain waves stuttered, then roared back to life like an engine kicking into overdrive.

The beeping of the monitor accelerated as soft and system functions spiked. Neural pathways surged with fresh, unfathomable clarity, neurons firing off as though every synapse in his brain had just been rewritten to factory new.

Then his body shuddered. A deep breath hitched in his throat as his fingers twitched against the cot.

And then, just like that, Zeke's eyes slowly began to flutter open.

"Holy… shit," Vik whispered.

The boy blinked, staring up at the ceiling in pure, unfiltered confusion. His hands flexed experimentally. His breathing was deep and even, no grogginess, no sluggishness, none of the usual aftereffects of surgery or deep sedation.

Turning to Aisha, I repeated the process, letting the drops fall against her tongue.

The results were instant.

Aisha's body tensed, her fingers tightening against the cot.

Her diagnostic readings fluctuated wildly. Rapid stabilizations, fluctuating neural pathways, an uptick in cellular regeneration so aggressive that Vik let out a stunned, barely-contained breath.

Then, her eyes flew open, and she inhaled sharply, like she had been drowning and had just breached the surface.

Vik stepped back, rubbing his temples as he muttered a low, stunned curse. "This… this their brain waves are going into overdrive! Kid, what the fuck did you just put in them?!"

I didn't answer, watching as the two began to stir, their gazes moving with strange, unfamiliar clarity.

Zeke stretched his fingers in front of his face, staring at them like he had never seen his own hands before. Aisha ran a palm down the length of her arm, her breathing uneven.

Then, Zeke suddenly sat up, a little too fast, rubbing at his temples.

"My head…" he murmured, voice steady. His eyes darted around, wide but focused. "It's… quiet. I'm not drowning anymore…!"

"Oh, god! T-the scavs!" Aisha looked around then at Zeke, a mixture of shock and relief flooding her features. "Y-you! You were in my head! I can't hear you anymore."

Zeke turned to her sharply, and for a moment, a strange, almost indescribable emotion passed between them.

They had their own thoughts. Their own minds.

And they were… fine. More than fine.

Vik sighed in relief, dragging a hand down his face. "Alright. That's one hell of a result, but…"

Then he stopped. He was staring at the diagnostic screen again. His breath hitched.

The readings were different.

Way different.

"What the hell…?" He muttered.

His hands moved fast, double-checking the data, running a secondary scan.

There were no signs of cyberware scarring. No lingering inflammation where the neural synch had been forcibly jammed into their neuroports. No traces of residual nerve damage, nothing.

Like it had never been there.

His expression darkened in pure disbelief as he checked further.

The old scars on Zeke's body, ones left behind from botched cyberware installation were gone. His DNA strand readings were stable. No more mutation markers from partially rejected implants. His body had settled into equilibrium, a state it had never known before.

Aisha was the same.

Her internal injuries, the trauma left behind from scav modifications, the genetic damage from incompatible cyberware… gone.

Vik's hand hovered over the diagnostic pad as he read the same line of data over and over again.

"…This isn't possible," he muttered, voice barely above a whisper. "This… this should take months of therapy. Experimental treatments. Hell, even the top-tier corpo clinics don't have tech that can do this."

Zeke and Aisha were healed.

Completely. Unequivocally. With absolute certainty to a state they had never reached in their entire lives.

… magic is fucking weird, I swear. They have been healed to a state that's best for them.

What that means? Who decides what's best exactly? What are the parameters for 'best' here?

… I shouldn't be worrying about that right now.

I can analyze this later.

Vik turned to me slowly, his brow furrowed in sheer disbelief. "Alright, kid. I need answers. What the fuck is in that vial?"

I carefully pocketed the bottle again, keeping my expression as neutral as I could.

"It's an experimental regenerative compound," I said evenly. "Still in the testing phase."

Vik stared at me for a long moment before letting out a breathless, astonished laugh. "No shit it's experimental. Kid, this is better than next-gen, super-rhino nanites in the market. You just erased cyberware incompatibility, degenerative nerve damage and so much fucking more, like it was never there. You understand what this means?"

I kept silent.

His gaze flicked back to the screen, his fingers twitching against the control panel. "This could change everything. If this is real… If this is stable… You could make a fortune. More than a fortune, kid. This could revolutionize medicine."

There it was.

I had expected this reaction. But Vik wasn't some greedy corpo snake looking to exploit me. He was looking at this like a doctor. Like a man who saw a miracle and was trying to grasp its implications.

His next words came carefully. Measured. "Would you be willing to sell 'em to me? How much do you want?"

I sighed. "I can't. Not yet."

Vik studied me, his eyes searching.

"This isn't something mass-produceble," I said honestly. "Till recently, there were barely enough resources to make a few doses, let alone put it on the market. It's still in the experimental phase. I don't even know if there are long-term effects."

I had those resources now. Nigh infinite supply of them in fact… All I needed was a way to actually churn out sizeable quantities of this potion to be able to meet whatever demand that I would have if this were to get out.

And that last part was a complete lie. There were no side effects. None that I had seen, none that I had felt, none that would ever appear.

But Vik didn't need to know that.

He let out a long breath, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Alright. I get it." He shook his head. "Still… if you ever do figure out how to scale this, kid, you come to me first. You got that?"

I nodded. "I will. You'll be the first to know. I will make sure of that."

That seemed to satisfy him. He looked back at the two now-sitting patients, still blinking at each other like they weren't sure if they were real.

Then he let out another breathless laugh, shaking his head in disbelief.

Zeke inhaled sharply, his voice hoarse. "…It's so quiet all of a sudden."

Right… there were more important things to worry about now.

Aisha nodded, still pressing her fingers against the side of her head.

"I know." Her voice barely broke a whisper. "I know."

They sat there, staring at each other, like they were waiting for something to snap back into place. But it didn't. It wouldn't.

Vik exhaled. "How do you two feel?"

Zeke swallowed thickly. "Like I just got pulled out really dark, deep water. M-my mind… it felt like.."

Aisha shuddered, fingers curling into the sheets. "Like it was in a blender... there was so much p-pain…"

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

I could only imagine what it had been like…. having another person's emotions, thoughts, memories forcefully intertwined with your own, your identity slowly unraveling with each passing second.

It made my stomach churn.

Zeke took a shaky breath, rubbing at his face. "How long…?"

"A week" I said quietly. "That's how long you've been in their hands."

She squeezed her eyes shut for a long moment before shaking her head. "It felt like forever."

Zeke exhaled harshly, his hands gripping the sheets so tightly his knuckles went white.

He swallowed, his voice barely above a whisper. "They were going to sell us."

Aisha didn't look at him, but she nodded. "I know."

A long silence followed.

Zeke let out a slow, shaky breath. "I…" He hesitated. "I don't have anywhere to go."

Aisha turned to him then, eyes searching.

"My parents are gone," he continued quietly.

"Dad overdosed when I was a kid. Mom… she couldn't handle it. I was ten when she…" He swallowed hard. "It's just been me since."

Aisha exhaled slowly. "I-I have memories of you, living on the streets..."

Zeke looked at her, nodding "And I have some of yours… you lost someone too,"

She offered a small, sad smile.

"My fiancé." Her fingers curled slightly in her lap. "He died in Idaho, Corp he worked for wouldn't say how. I left home after that, thinking I could start over here."

Her lips twisted. "Clearly, that was a mistake."

Zeke let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "Yeah. Tell me about it."

For a moment, they just sat there in the shared silence.

Then Aisha reached out, placing a hand over his. "Come with me."

Zeke blinked. "What?"

"You said you've got nowhere to go." Aisha squeezed his hand lightly. "Neither do I. I am leaving Night City, come with me."

His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.

"I've lost someone before," she said gently. "I don't want to lose someone again. Not when I don't have to."

Zeke swallowed, staring at her like he was trying to decide if this was real.

Finally, he let out a small, unsteady laugh. "…You're adopting me, aren't you?"

Aisha smiled. "If you're okay with that..."

His expression wavered between disbelief and something rawer, something heavier. But then he nodded. "…Okay."

Vik huffed, shaking his head. "Well, shit. Kid, looks like you just got yourself a guardian."

Zeke let out a small chuckle, but it sounded more like a release of tension than amusement.

Then Aisha turned to me. "I don't know how to thank you."

Zeke nodded, looking between me and Vik. "Yeah. You saved our lives. We… we can't even pay you back."

Aisha frowned slightly. "How much do we owe you?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

Both of them froze.

Aisha's brows furrowed. "You're… not charging us?"

"No," I said simply.

Zeke let out a disbelieving laugh. "You're telling me you did all this… for free?"

Vik shook his head slightly at their reaction. "Hey, this is my one good deed for the month. I'll savor it for quite some time."

Aisha shook her head. "That's… that's insane."

"Welcome to Vik's clinic," Vik said dryly. "I tend to bend the rules a little here."

Zeke exhaled slowly, rubbing at his temples. "Fuck… I thought Night City didn't have people like you."

Aisha's expression softened. "I guess we got lucky."

I shrugged. "Just don't waste the second chance you got."

She nodded, and for the first time, her smile wasn't just a reflex. It was real.

Vik crossed his arms. "You two are staying here for a few days. I need to monitor you, make sure nothing's going wrong under the hood."

Zeke frowned slightly. "You think there'll be side effects?"

Vik smirked. "Honestly? I have no fucking idea."

Aisha let out a soft laugh. "Well, that's reassuring."

"Hey, you're still breathing, aren't you?" Vik grinned. "That's a good sign."

Zeke chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah. I guess it is."

Aisha looked back between us one last time. "Thank you," she said again, and this time, it carried more weight.

Zeke nodded. "Yeah. Really. Thank you."

I don't do well being shown gratitude and appreciation… I could feel the blush creeping up my face!

My work was done here, I need to leave anyway.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, glancing at the screen.

Archie:

We're meeting at Empathy, at midnight. We'll plan the op there.

Are the weapons ready?

Jesus, it was late.

It had been late afternoon when I arrived at Vik's. Now, it was only a couple of hours to midnight.

I tapped out a quick reply.

Me:

I have them. I'll be there at midnight. See ya there.

I slipped the phone back into my pocket and turned to Vik. "Alright, I guess we're done here. I'll take the remaining chrome and have them fixed by tomorrow evening."

Vik nodded, shaking his head. "Right, right… the others. Kid, take all the time you need. I'll keep them under for as long as necessary"

"I appreciate that," I said. "Even so, I will have them here as soon as I can"

He studied me for a beat before shaking his head with a smirk. "You got some real preem skills, kid. Just don't run yourself into the ground, yeah?"

Aisha and Zeke were still seated on the cots, watching the exchange. Aisha nodded at me, her expression softer now, the tension in her shoulders lighter than before. "Thank you. For everything."

Zeke swallowed, his voice still a little hoarse. "Yeah. You didn't have to do any of this. I don't get it, but… thanks."

I shrugged. "Like I said, don't waste your second chance."

Vik motioned toward the crate of extracted chrome, stacked against the wall. "Everything's in there, neat and packed. Some of it's busted to hell, but if anyone can fix it, after the small miracle today… I'm guessing it'll be through you."

I stepped over, gripping the edge of the crate and lifting it.

Vik gave me a small nod. "See you soon, kid."

I nodded back. "Yeah. See you soon."

With that, I made my way toward the exit.

The air outside was colder than before, the night creeping in fast. The neon glow from the city streets flickered off the damp pavement, casting long shadows down the alleyway.

Misty was waiting at the top of the staircase, sitting cross-legged on the step. Nibbles was perched beside her, nipping playfully at her fingers as she fed him bits of kibble, his tiny tongue licking the crumbs off her skin.

Misty glanced up as I approached, her fingers still idly scratching Nibbles behind the ears. The cat let out a slow, satisfied purr, jumping up and curling into her lap. She tilted her head slightly, her gaze flickering toward the clinic door behind me.

"How are they?" she asked softly.

I adjusted my grip on the crate. "Two of them are better now. Vik's keeping them for a few days to monitor things. I'll be back tomorrow with the chrome for the rest."

She nodded, the neon light catching in her eyes. "That's good. You're doing a good thing, you know."

I let out a small breath, shaking my head slightly. I do not work good under praise. I could feel the heat creep up my neck.

Misty smiled knowingly at the blush. "Most people wouldn't even bother."

She scooped Nibbles into her arms, cradling him gently as she stood. "It's rare to find someone in this city who wants to fix things rather than break them."

I didn't have an answer for that. So, I didn't give one.

She hummed, as if reading something in my silence, then turned toward her shop. "Come on. I'll walk with you."

I followed her inside, stepping back into the warm, incense-laced air of the esoterica. The candles flickered faintly against the glass jars lining the shelves, and the soft hum of meditative music played in the background, a stark contrast to the chaos of the streets outside.

As we walked past the counter, she glanced at me from the corner of her eye. "You know, Zain… you should take a moment for yourself. Slow down."

I huffed a quiet laugh. "Not much room for that these days."

Misty smiled, a little too knowing for comfort. "That's exactly why you need to. The energy around you… it's like a storm that never settles. If you don't soothe your chakras, realign your balance… it's going to burn you out."

I smiled slightly at that. "I'll keep that in mind."

She was looking out for me, in her own way.

She placed a hand on my arm as we stepped outside. "I mean it. If you ever need help with that, I can guide you. Jackie and I will be delighted to have you around more often in the shop."

I glanced at her, the sincerity in her voice clear.

"Maybe next time," I said, offering her the closest thing to a smile I could manage. "We still have that thing we were planning. Once things settle down, I am sure we will be able to relax and hang out."

Misty nodded, though she was not satisfied with that, and stepped back as I moved to my car. I popped the trunk and carefully set the crate inside, shifting it to the side to make space.

Her gaze flickered past me, landing on the wolf-shaped visor sitting in the back.

"Hey, that's a beautiful head piece!" She tilted her head, studying it for a long moment. "It… suits you."

I glanced over my shoulder at it, then back at her. "Yeah? You think so?"

She smiled, crossing her arms. "Yeah. There's something… fitting about it. I think it matches your spirit animal!"

I didn't know how to respond to that either, so I just nodded, closing the trunk.

"See you around, Misty. Thanks for everything today"

She waved lazily, Nibbles still perched comfortably in her arms. "Drive safe, Zain."

I slid into the car, started the engine, and pulled away from the curb.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

(A/N)

Was this better in terms of pacing?

I did my best to keep plot moving forward, despite all the forge related discussions that were essential in this chapter.

I honestly wanted to cover all the way to the planning of the Jae-Hyun operation, but I had to cut it short due to lack of time and some things I need to handle irl.

That would have been another 4k words? There's a lot of character interactions to deal with, things to handle, threads to weave and close on the way to that.

As you can see, I don't stretch and mince words to artificially increase word count. After the roll it all becomes useless anyway. I think I can improve the pace balance a little better though.

Anyway.

MISTY! And NIBBLES! And Tarot card readings!

Oh and Leah, I suppose. Whoever she is I wonder? What does she want, I wonder?

The tarot cards… I based that entire interaction off a friend who is into spirituality, astrology and all that. Misty always does a four-card spread in game… I went with a six-card spread, because apparently those are more common.

At least my friend says so, and she's the expert there. She helped get a reading based on what I have planned for the story.

Anyway, as you can see Zain is finding little time to do the things he truly needs to do. He need to realize before saving the world. He needs to save himself.

He's making even more mistakes now, some in the complete opposite direction he had been earlier.

I hope that made sense?

Zain opened this chapter with 300 points, earned 250 by the time of roll, tried to connect to a 600 point perk and failed. Ended the chapter with 550.