110: Chapter 109 Jack: Do Things with a Conscience

Sunlight squeezed through the gap in the curtains, drawing a crooked golden line on the sheets.

V was still asleep.

She was curled up in the quilt, with only a small tuft of messy hair and half a face marked by the pillow visible.

Lin Yi had been awake for a while, but he didn't move—V had one leg draped over his, and if he moved, she would definitely wake up.

He turned his head to glance at the terminal on the nightstand.

No new messages.

Yorinobu hadn't sent anything, Jackie hadn't sent anything, no one had.

This kind of quiet was a luxury in Night City, more expensive than any cyberware.

He lay there for a while, but eventually, he gently moved V's leg and sat up.

V hummed, turned over, and rolled away with most of the quilt.

"...Where are you going?"

"To the bathroom."

"...Oh. Bring me a coffee on your way back."

"Don't you have legs of your own?"

"I do, but I don't feel like using them." V's voice was muffled by the pillow. "Go on."

Lin Yi sighed and got out of bed.

Passing the hallway, he glanced out the window. The sky of Night City was that unhealthy gray-blue. In the distance, a few AVs were drifting slowly at low altitude, as if enjoying this moment without bullets chasing them.

He leaned against the kitchen counter waiting for the coffee machine to gurgle, and his terminal vibrated. He picked it up and saw a message from Jackie. No text, just a photo—it was exactly the "black history" photo he had secretly taken of "Jackie seemingly sucking his finger in Misty's arms."

Attached below the photo was a line of text: "Did you post this to your Moments???"

The corners of Lin Yi's mouth rose slightly, and he replied: "I didn't. I only sent it to V and Viktor."

"V and Viktor??? Damn it, that's even worse, my image is completely ruined!"

"Take a look at this." Lin Yi sent over the video from that day of Viktor lying at the kitchen entrance, with a trash can in one hand and a bottle of liquor in the other.

"Hahahaha, is that really Viktor???"

"For the sake of this video, you're buying tonight."

"...You're ruthless. Fine, I'll pay. Wait until I go annoy old Viktor."

"Good."

Lin Yi put down his phone and picked up the coffee.

The coffee machine produced another cup. He picked it up and took a look—it was V's, with milk and no sugar.

The Afterlife was still the Afterlife.

The lights were dim, the music low. In the corners, there were always people discussing "impossible" gigs, and at the bar, there were always people bragging about how they "almost died."

Jackie arrived before them and occupied a booth, with three drinks set in front of him.

When Lin Yi and V walked in, Jackie was staring at the entrance with a resentful expression.

"You're here?" His tone was like saying, "You finally arrived, I've been waiting until I almost turned into a fossil."

"We're here." Lin Yi sat down, picked up a drink, and took a sip. "This one's on you."

"I know. You two are just here to bleed this poor guy dry today." Jackie rolled his eyes.

V sat down opposite him, picked up another drink, and smiled innocently: "Look at you, as if we don't treat you to drinks usually."

"...You two really are two of a kind sleeping in the same bed." Jackie downed half the glass in one gulp.

The three of them drank for a while, chatting about this and that.

Jackie said he had been teaching Misty to ride a motorcycle recently. V said Misty complained to her that Jackie's teaching method was too violent. Lin Yi listened from the side, occasionally interjecting a sentence.

The atmosphere was relaxed, a rare moment where these three didn't have to think about anything.

Then Rogue arrived.

Lin Yi noticed the people at the bar suddenly go quiet. A few familiar mercenary faces looked toward the back of their booth with an expression of "the big boss is here."

He turned his head.

Rogue was standing there, in a dark short jacket, hands in her pockets. Her expression was the same as usual—like she was looking at a group of not-very-smart kids.

"Ghost." She used Lin Yi's mercenary callsign. "Got a moment to talk?"

When the Queen of the Afterlife says "Got a moment to talk," it means you had better have a moment.

Jackie and V exchanged a look.

Lin Yi put down his glass.

"I do."

Rogue led the three of them to her private booth, sat down naturally, and looked at the three of them, as if evaluating something.

"I know what you have," she said.

Straight to the point, no buildup.

"That chip. The imprint of Johnny Silverhand."

The music in the bar was still playing, but Lin Yi felt that for an instant, all the surrounding sounds receded.

He looked into Rogue's eyes.

The Queen of the Afterlife, one of the most legendary fixers in Night City, the woman who had blown up Arasaka Tower with Johnny Silverhand during the Fourth Corporate War.

Now she was standing in front of him, saying she wanted to see the man who had been dead for over fifty years.

"You want to see him." Lin Yi said.

It wasn't a question.

"That's right." Rogue answered more cleanly than expected, yet it felt heavier than any of her gigs.

Lin Yi was silent for a few seconds, then looked at V.

V received the look—not an order, but a "You say it."

She pulled a file from her terminal, imported it into a disposable chip, and pushed it to Rogue.

"This is what Yorinobu sent us earlier. The technical parameters for the experimental Relic. The one with the Silverhand chip."

Rogue's gaze fell on the holographic panel, but she didn't move.

"The original Relic could only 'play' the imprint—the host could see memories, hear voices, but this person wasn't truly alive; it was equivalent to a recording being played repeatedly." V's speaking speed wasn't fast, as if she were reading a technical manual. "But this experimental one is different. Its design goal is to 'carry and activate'—after implantation, the imprint interacts with the host's nervous system, and when the host dies, it lets this body come alive, with its consciousness."

She paused.

"In other words, Silverhand can 'come back to life.' Not a memory, but a person. He can speak, think, and react in ways not in the original imprint."

Rogue finally moved.

She turned to look at V. "What's the price?"

"The price is one human life."

Rogue's brow furrowed slightly.

"It doesn't mean implanting it into your brain." V added, "The experimental Relic needs to 'replace' a person to run—just like a computer needs a power source. But the R&D team did simulation tests in Tokyo; theoretically, it can be implanted into an external nervous system, using an artificial neural array to carry the imprint's operation. It's technically feasible, but it needs time."

Rogue was silent for a long time. So long that Jackie couldn't help but pick up his glass, take a sip, and put it down again.

"So," Rogue finally spoke, "what do you want?"

Lin Yi took over. "It's not 'what I want,' but 'what we need you to do'." He looked at Rogue. "The old Arasaka must be overthrown. Not weakened, not suppressed, but pulled out by the roots. Yorinobu is doing internal purging, but he alone and us are far from enough. We need more power, we need people who can step up at critical moments."

"You want me to help you fight a war." Rogue said.

"Not help me. Help yourself." Lin Yi corrected, "Consider it finishing the cause Silverhand didn't finish back then."

Rogue's lips moved, but she didn't speak.

Her expression didn't change, but Lin Yi noticed her hands were taken out of her pockets—hanging by her sides, fingers curled slightly, as if holding something that didn't exist.

"I need to think about it." She said eventually.

"No rush."

"I didn't say there's no rush." Rogue said, "I said I need to think about it."

She turned and left.

Her pace was neither fast nor slow, just like when she arrived. The hem of her jacket drew an arc when she turned.

The lights of the Afterlife stretched her shadow long, casting it on the wall like a faded mural.

The booth was quiet for a few seconds. Jackie spoke first: "So... is she in a rush or not?"

"Who knows." Lin Yi said.

V picked up her glass and took a sip. "You're gambling."

"Yeah. But the stake isn't my life, it's hers."

Jackie looked at the two of them: "Can you two stop talking so cryptically?"

V smiled but didn't explain.

Lin Yi picked up his glass and finished the whiskey, which was almost warm, in one gulp. "You're paying the bill tonight."

"...No need to remind me again, I know, my good mano."

When Yorinobu woke up, the sunlight had already squeezed through the gap in the curtains.

He hadn't had such a peaceful sleep in a long time.

Not because the bed was comfortable, nor because the security was tight—it was because he knew that in the guest room at the end of the hallway, Hanako was there.

He washed up and walked out of the room, surprisingly smelling miso soup.

It wasn't made by the kitchen; the kitchen couldn't make this taste.

Walking to the dining room entrance, Hanako was setting the bowls and chopsticks on the table.

She was wearing the loungewear provided in the estate, her hair tied up casually with a hairpin, and her sleeves rolled up to her forearms.

"Brother, morning." Hanako looked up at him. "Sit down, it'll be ready soon."

Yorinobu stood still and watched for two seconds. "You made this?"

"Otherwise?" Hanako pushed the bowl in front of him. "The people in the kitchen didn't want me to touch anything, I told them this is my brother's home, I can do whatever I want."

Yorinobu smiled.

He sat down, picked up the bowl, and took a sip. The saltiness was just right.

He didn't know when Hanako learned to cook—in the past, Hanako didn't need to do such things; all her needs were arranged by others.

But now she was wearing loungewear, sleeves rolled up, cooking miso soup for him.

"How is it?" Hanako asked.

"Delicious." Yorinobu said.

Then he added, "I'm going to really enjoy this loving breakfast made by my little sister."

Hanako paused, shook her head, a helpless smile on her lips. "Brother is already at this age, why are you still acting like a child."

Yorinobu didn't refute.

The soup was very hot, but he didn't stop.

After breakfast, while Hanako was cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks, Yorinobu leaned against the kitchen door, watching her back. "Hanako."

"Hmm?"

"Accompany me to Arasaka Tower today."

Her movements paused. "...Okay." She didn't ask what they were going for. She probably guessed it.

Arasaka Tower's medical center occupied the first basement level to the third basement level.

Full-body MRI, neural mapping array, gene sequencer, cyberware compatibility testing platform—all the equipment one could imagine was here.

Yorinobu had arranged the highest standard of comprehensive testing for Hanako.

It wasn't that he felt she "had a problem," it was that he needed to confirm that Lin Yi's operation hadn't left any backdoors in her.

Even if it was just a single line of code, or a tiny shift in neural signals.

The scan lasted for nearly three hours.

While Hanako lay in the scanning pod, Yorinobu stood outside the observation room, his hands in his pockets, watching the data streams on the monitor with an expressionless face.

As each metric appeared, he recited it silently in his mind.

Neuronal activity normal, synaptic conduction speed normal, cyberware compatibility consistent with implantation records.

Brain activity distribution—there was a deviation from historical data.

Yorinobu's gaze lingered on this line.

He pulled up the detailed report. The deviant areas were concentrated in the PFC and ACC—the prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex, which are associated with decision-making, self-awareness, and the processing of long-suppressed emotions.

The nature of the deviation was not damage or abnormality, but an increase in activity.

In plain English: Hanako's brain regions were more active than before, not because something had been implanted, but because things that had been suppressed were now being released.

Yorinobu stared at the report for a dozen seconds, then closed it.

The attending physician personally delivered the test results. "Lord Yorinobu, Ms. Hanako's physical condition is entirely normal. All metrics are within the healthy range. The only thing to note is—"

"I know." Yorinobu interrupted him. "The change in brain activity. It's not pathological; it's a good thing."

The doctor glanced at him and didn't ask further.

Having worked at Arasaka for so many years, he had learned when to keep his mouth shut.

Hanako emerged from the scanning pod, her face somewhat pale—no one feels great after spending three hours in an enclosed space. "How are the results?"

"Everything is normal," Yorinobu said.

Hanako looked at him. "Really?"

"Really."

She nodded, not pressing the issue.

But she knew Yorinobu was lying—not about the "everything is normal" part, but about whether he had "done anything to it."

She didn't call him out.

People who grew up in the Arasaka family have a near-instinctive tolerance for mutual suspicion.

After the scan concluded, Yorinobu took Hanako back to his office.

The door closed, and the soundproofing system activated.

Hanako sat on the sofa holding a cup of hot tea, while Yorinobu sat opposite her, not returning behind his desk.

"I want to try to help you," Hanako said first.

Yorinobu looked at her.

"Help you take Arasaka from Father's hands." Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "Not just because I hate him. Simply because a demonic existence like him should not be immortal." Her mouth twitched slightly when she said the last four words—not a smile, but more like a sense of relief.

"Brother, do you know how he treated me? During the time you left the Arasaka family?" she asked.

Yorinobu didn't answer.

He didn't know, but he wanted her to let it out.

"Starting from middle school," Hanako said, "whatever he told me to study, I studied; whoever he told me to meet, I met; whatever he told me to say, I said." She set down the tea cup and looked down at her hands. "I thought that was 'cultivation.' I thought he was teaching me how to be a member of the Arasaka family." Her voice dropped a little. "Later, I realized he was teaching me how to be a puppet for his thoughts."

The office was quiet for a few seconds.

Then Hanako said something that surprised Yorinobu: "That old bastard." The tone was flat, as if stating a fact.

But this was the first time Yorinobu had heard Hanako curse—using such words, in such a tone, directed at their father.

Yorinobu was silent for a few seconds. "Your cursing skills need improvement."

"...Brother, do you think this is the time for jokes?"

"I don't. But if you don't smile, I'm afraid you'll cry."

Hanako pressed her lips together.

She didn't cry, nor did she argue back.

"I want to research countermeasures," she brought the topic back. "Soulkiller and the Relic, they are Father's tools for immortality. If we can find a way to counteract them, he won't dare to use the Engrams so easily."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"A few. I participated in the development of Soulkiller's underlying protocols. At first, I thought it was just for protecting company secrets. Later, when the R&D direction shifted, I realized what it was being used for." Her eyes dimmed slightly. "If we can find a vulnerability in the protocol layer, or construct a signal source that can interfere with Engram writing—theoretically, we could prevent the Relic from completing the overwrite."

Yorinobu listened intently. "What do you need?"

"Equipment, data, time. Arasaka Tower has the equipment, and I can pull the data from the Tokyo headquarters' servers—using my clearance. Time..." She paused. "I need you to give me time."

Yorinobu leaned back in his chair and looked at her for two seconds. "How much do you want?"

"I don't know. Maybe a few months, maybe a year."

"Granted."

Hanako looked at him. "Aren't you going to ask what I'm going to use it for?"

"You said it. Countermeasures."

"What if I'm lying to you?"

Yorinobu's mouth curled slightly. "Then lie."

Hanako froze for a moment, then lowered her head, picked up the tea cup, and took a sip.

The tea had gone cold, but she didn't care.

Michiko's base was not in Arasaka Tower, not in Corpo Plaza, and not even in any place that could be easily covered by Arasaka's surveillance systems.

She had rented an inconspicuous warehouse at the docks in West Night City. It looked like an abandoned logistics transfer station from the outside, but inside, it had been converted into a fully functional command center.

On the wall, a dozen holographic screens scrolled with various data streams—Pacifica terrain maps, Dogtown faction distribution, the known structure of Project Cynosure facilities, and Militech intelligence briefings.

Michiko stood in front of the screens, holding a cup of cold coffee in her hand.

Behind her stood a middle-aged man wearing a Militech uniform.

"Ms. Michiko, headquarters is very satisfied with the intelligence you provided. We have verified the specific location and security layout of Project Cynosure, and it perfectly matches the data you submitted."

Michiko didn't turn around. "What do you intend to do?"

"That is not something I need to report to you. But headquarters' meaning is, if you can provide more information about the internal structure of the Project Cynosure facility, we can consider—"

"Consider what?" Michiko turned around and looked at him. "Consider giving me a decent position after Myers falls?"

The middle-aged man's expression didn't change.

Michiko smiled—not a happy smile, but the kind of smile that says, "I know what you are thinking." "I don't need your positions. What I need is for Myers to fall. As long as she is not in that seat, Militech will be reshuffled. I don't care who sits in that chair when the time comes. All I care about is making Arasaka disappear."

The middle-aged man was silent for two seconds. "I will convey your meaning to headquarters."

"Please do." Michiko turned back to look at the screens. "I'll send you the underground structural map of Project Cynosure in forty-eight hours at the earliest. Tell headquarters, next time I want something more specific—like how they intend to handle that 'Blackwall reaction'."

The middle-aged man nodded and turned to leave.

The warehouse door closed, leaving Michiko alone.

She set down the coffee cup, walked to a screen, and used her fingers to zoom in on an area.

The Project Cynosure facility beneath Dogtown.

The screen was marked with dense data points—security nodes, network access points, known experimental areas, and an unknown area circled in red.

Next to it was a line of small text: "Blackwall reaction—Intensity: Weak. Fluctuation frequency: Irregular. Suspected residual signal from an AI beyond the wall."

Michiko stared at that line of text for a long time.

"Father, the things you left me can finally be put to use," she whispered.

The "Father" she referred to was Kei Arasaka—her biological father, the man who died in the nuclear explosion at Arasaka Tower during the Fourth Corporate War. On the screen, the red marker flickered slightly in the cold blue light, as if responding to her.

When Lin Yi came out of the Afterlife, the night wind, wrapped in mist, blew toward him.

V walked on his left, and Jackie walked on his right.

None of the three spoke. When they reached the car, Jackie suddenly spoke up: "Mano."

"Yeah?"

"If Rogue agrees, does that mean we need to prepare for a head-on war with Militech?"

Lin Yi opened the car door and looked back at him. "It's a matter of time. But it's still early."

Jackie was silent for two seconds, then nodded. "Alright. Then don't forget to leave me the most conspicuous spot when the time comes."

V smiled: "Don't worry, you're so big, you'd be conspicuous anywhere you stand."

Jackie rolled his eyes, hopped onto his ARCH, and sped off with the engine roaring.

Lin Yi got into the driver's seat, and V got into the passenger seat.

The car drove out of the Afterlife parking lot and merged into the traffic of Night City.

V leaned back in the seat and turned her head to look at him: "Are you nervous?"

"Not nervous."

"Liar."

"Alright... a little."

V didn't speak, but reached over and placed her hand on the one he was using to shift gears. "Then let's be nervous together."

Lin Yi glanced at her.

Outside the car window, the light and shadow of the neon lights flickered on V's face.

He didn't speak, but turned his hand over to hold hers.

On the top floor of Arasaka Tower, the lights in Yorinobu's office were still on.

Hanako had already returned to the guest room.

Yorinobu sat alone behind his desk, with Michiko's activity report displayed on the terminal screen in front of him.

He stared at it for a long time, then closed the screen, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

Outside the window, the lights of Night City were shining as brightly as ever.

In the "Danger Gal" base, Michiko stood in front of the holographic screen, her fingers swiping through the air, compressing, encrypting, and packaging the underground structural map of Project Cynosure. Send.

Recipient: Militech.

After the send was successful, she turned off the screen, picked up the cup of coffee that had gone cold, and took a sip.

It was bitter.

She hated bitter things, just like her life at Arasaka.