Chapter 263 – Hovercar

"Hell yeah—!"

Standing inside the hovercar, gripping the edge of the open door, Oliver looked down at the Badlands and couldn't hold back his excitement.

"Careful you don't fall out, Oliver."

Jack was right beside him, also leaning out the open side—but unlike Oliver, he managed to keep his excitement in check. Or at least he didn't wear it on his face.

With one hand on the upper frame, half his body outside, he peered down at the dusty landscape sixty meters below.

"This whole 'everything looks like a toy from up here' thing… it's wild."

"Right? Even standing on a skyscraper in Night City doesn't feel like this!"

Oliver waved toward the hazy skyline of Night City shimmering in the distance.

"Later, Night City!"

"Alright, enough sightseeing. Once you're done, close the doors—we're about to hit acceleration."

Karl stayed seated, unlike the others, not leaning out over the edge. His attention was on the hovercar's AI control panel.

The Rayfield Durandal, lent by Mr. Ken'ichiro, was equipped with turbofan vectoring engines. Designed as a luxury ride, it didn't match the velocity of military AVs or combat shuttles, but it was no slouch either.

At full throttle, it could reach 400 miles per hour (around 643 km/h)—comparable to small jets from back in 2020.

"At this speed, how long until we reach V?"

Jack eventually sat across from Karl and asked what they were all thinking.

"How far was his last known ping again?"

"Just check the nav panel. It's all laid out there."

Karl took a sip from the chilled bottle he'd pulled from the built-in minibar. Real orange juice.

Real orange juice.

Of course it was—Ken'ichiro's ride didn't mess around.

As Jack leaned in to check the navigation display, Karl turned toward Oliver, who was still taking in the view.

"Hey, Oliver—this AV supports manual neural control. Wanna take it for a spin?"

"Me? Fly this thing? You're not scared I'll smash it into the dirt?"

He said it half-joking, but the spark in his eyes gave him away. He dropped into his seat and eyed Karl across from him.

"So how do you drive this thing?"

"Jack."

Karl called over. Jack was still twisting around in his seat, studying the UI.

"Tap the manual override on the screen. Let Oliver have a go."

"He need to plug in?"

"Eventually. Just hit the interface toggle for now."

"On it."

Jack pressed the button. With a low mechanical hiss, a control pillar extended from between the seats—sleek, oval-shaped, and fitted with glowing neural ports.

"Wanna give it a go?"

Karl looked at Oliver, who pulled a thin data-cord from his wrist and jacked it into the pillar.

"Control transferred."

The car's onboard AI confirmed the handoff. Oliver's eyes lit up—literally—glowing faint blue as data scrolled across his vision.

"How does it feel?"

"Let's find out."

With a thought, the open doors began to seal shut.

Interior lighting shifted subtly. The windows shimmered as crystal-globe projection tech activated, overlaying the outside view like a wraparound screen.

"Feels... surreal," Oliver said. "Like the car's become part of me. I think 'turn' and it turns. 'Go' and it goes."

"Try taking off, then."

T-BUG's voice came over comms. She hadn't joined them in person, but her drone—Q-ball—was perched inside the cabin.

"If it handles well, let me link in later. I want to test remote control through Q-ball."

"Didn't peg you as a vehicle girl, T-BUG," Jack commented, watching the bot rise on its tiny legs.

"I'm not. I just want to get a feel for AV architecture. Might come in handy if I ever need to hijack one. Never had the chance to try."

Q-ball gave Oliver a light tap on the leg with one of its claws.

"Go ahead. Try accelerating toward the waypoint."

"Already on it."

Oliver gently nudged the vehicle into a turn.

"Just saying—there was a sandstorm not far from Night City earlier. Don't rush me unless you want us flying straight into it."

Karl was about to reply when the hovercar jerked violently, and his orange juice nearly went flying.

"Huh?"

Before he could say anything, a sudden burst of G-force slammed him into his seat.

"Wha—?!"

Jack's pupils went wide, but like Karl, he was instantly pinned in place by the force.

The hovercar wasn't moving forward or back.

It was rocketing straight upward.

The altitude display blinked as numbers soared:

100 meters. 200. 400. 800—

"Oliver! You think this is a vertical liftoff simulator?! Even choppers don't climb this fast!"

"I already launched!"

That was all Karl got in response—Oliver's voice, now high with thrill-induced madness.

Then the AV leveled off hard—Karl's whole body jolted from the inertia, nearly bouncing out of his seat.

"Engaging acceleration!"

And just like that, before they could brace, the hovercar shot forward like a missile. Karl was thrown sideways against the door.

The landscape outside blurred, distorted by speed.

Jack and Karl's faces twisted under the strain.

Shit. They'd forgotten something.

Oliver?

Total speed freak.

Back in the city, traffic laws and cramped roads kept him barely in check.

But up here, in the open sky?

No rules. No limits.

"You goddamn Santo Domingo maniac!"

Karl could only thank his own paranoia—for packing a parachute.

Just in case.

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