Chapter 142 - Cyberware

Beep.

"You awake, Carl?"

"I'm up. Brushing my teeth and washing my face—give me a sec, I'll be ready soon."

Fresh out of bed, Carl spoke while checking with Oliver on the other end of the call, "We're heading to Vik's now, right?"

"Picking gear—you gotta go early, of course."

"Sounds like someone's getting impatient."

Opening the fridge, Carl grabbed the synthetic milk he'd grown used to and asked, "You and Jackie already had breakfast? Should we grab something first?"

"Jackie and I had some reheated pork rice that Mama Wells made—stuffed, man. By the way, Carl, didn't you stay over at Jackie's last night? Woke up and found him passed out right next to me."

"You two drank too much. I didn't. After dropping off Vik and Misty, I headed home. I even said goodbye before leaving, while you two were still going at it with the booze. You blacked out?"

"Maybe a little. Head's still killing me. Might need Vik to check on that first… You want us to grab something for you?"

"Yeah, grab me a bowl of zhajiangmian from the stall outside my building—no diced meat, soybean paste only… Oh, and a can of sweet tea."

"You really like that stuff, huh? Anything else?"

"Nah, I'll eat in the car. Be down in a minute."

"Got it."

Carl quickly finished his synthetic milk, then stepped out, heading for the elevator.

The hallway looked just the same as ever—some gangoons slumped against the walls, others standing around arguing with spit flying, guns in hand.

Same neon signs. Same flashing ads.

Carl stepped into the elevator.

Night City—still the same Night City.

No different from a month ago when he first arrived.

Once downstairs, he hopped into his ride—Oliver at the wheel as usual. Taking the food Jackie handed him, he started eating while listening to their conversation.

"What's your choice of cyberware, Jackie? I'm thinking of getting a Zetatech Sandevistan."

"Probably a Biodyne Berserk. They've got the best ones on the market right now."

"But Vik mentioned he might hook us up with some corpo-grade stuff. You're not hoping for something even better?"

"Corpo-grade is corpo-grade, but Vik never said which company his contact works for. Some corps don't even develop Berserk or Sandevistan tech. We can't expect his guy to have everything for us to pick from."

"True…"

Oliver nodded, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Carl, didn't Blanca say that after we take down those rookie ACPA pilots and her people secure that department, she'd use her clearance to get us two pieces of Militech-grade gear?"

"Yeah, she did. But it hasn't been that long since ACPAs started showing up on the streets. Those guys are still outside Night City. As far as long-term jobs go, who knows how long this one's gonna take?"

Carl slurped down the last of his noodles.

"Are Militech's Sandevistan and Berserk really that impressive?"

"You used to run with the 6th Street, wouldn't you know better than me?"

"Yeah, but back then, I was too broke to even dream about high-end cyberware."

"Yeah."

Carl thought for a moment before saying:

"As far as I remember, the only Militech Berserk model available on the market is the Militech Berserk Mk. V. Heard that thing is a masterpiece in nanotechnology—its regeneration and recovery capabilities blow every other Berserk out of the water."

Jackie couldn't help but ask, "On the market? So you can actually buy it?"

"It's one of those 'exists but doesn't exist' deals."

Carl explained the meaning of the phrase, "Basically, there's demand, a big one—but you can't actually buy it. They list it as a 'commercial product,' but really, it's just a PR stunt to flex their tech. Even if you camp out to place an order, you won't get one. This kind of gear isn't meant for outsiders."

"Let me guess—'Want this badass cyberware? Join our corp'?"

Jackie picked up on the subtext.

"Wouldn't be surprising. Some solo mercs get lured in just for the high-end chrome. It's one way corps recruit talent—after all, if you don't show off your best gear, who's gonna know you've got the edge?"

Carl continued,

"Then there's Militech 'Peregrine' Sandevistan Mk. V. Peregrines used to be the fastest animals on Earth, and just like the name, this Sandevistan is leagues ahead of your average model in terms of speed.

It used to be just like the Berserk Mk. V—super exclusive, only issued to Militech's elite operatives. But recently, I saw some news saying they're planning to mass-produce and sell it to regular consumers. No idea if that's legit or not."

"Probably legit."

Jackie added, "Remember that ex-Militech lieutenant we took out? He was running some experimental Militech Sandevistan. My guess is Militech made a breakthrough in Sandevistan tech—so now they can afford to sell off what used to be priceless."

"Keep the best for themselves, sell off the scraps—that checks out."

Oliver nodded. "If we don't find anything good today, we can always bank on Blanca's promised corpo-grade cyberware once we finish her job."

"Yeah, well, Militech isn't exactly known for its neural implants, so I'm not expecting much. Either way, if today's haul sucks, we can just wait. Give it a month or two—this whole thing will blow over, and then we'll take that job. People forget news real fast."

As Carl finished talking, they arrived at Vik's Clinic, just a short distance from the Megabuilding.

They got out, locked the car's security system, walked through Misty's Esoterica & Tarot, and greeted Misty before stepping into the clinic.

Vik was already waiting for them.

"Alright, come take a look."

With that, he spun his monitor around, displaying what was on the screen.

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