"Channel 54 brings you breaking news."
"This evening, at the Arasaka waterfront, a cyberpsycho attack occurred. The assailant, 36-year-old Wooly Crowley, opened fire on Arasaka Corporation."
"The gunfire lasted a full minute, taking down seven AVs. Several Arasaka employees were injured, three killed on the spot."
"Sources report that Warehouse 15 at the Arasaka waterfront was also breached in the attack, raising concerns over cargo security."
"After the battle, California Street was blown apart. Though Arasaka claid to be defending company property, public doubts arise: did they use excessive force?"
"Rumors suggest the cyberpsycho was using a custom all-in-one implant designed by Arasaka. So speculate it might have triggered the breakdown."
"Employees were ordered back to work just 30 minutes later, yet Arasaka has announced no compensation plans for them or the city of Night City."
"Notably, Deputy Mayor Holt happened to be at the scene and was unfortunately struck by a grenade. He has been taken to the hospital for treatnt."
An entire street was reduced to rubble.
This was probably the most badass cyberpsycho Night City has seen in years. The fight not only destroyed a whole street, but also shot down multiple Arasaka AVs. chs and troops took even heavier losses.
Six Arasaka employees dead—already a high number, considering corps employees are hard to kill, and mass bombardnts usually don't finish them off. Three of the dead were actually crushed by Arasaka's own blast doors.
As for the AVs, most were damaged rather than outright destroyed, so, a lot of noise with relatively small results.
Still, a warehouse breach was a real hit to Arasaka.
Thanks to his auto-grenade launcher, Wooly's cover fire worked beautifully—so much so that Arasaka didn't bother chasing.
The Mackinaw rolled into a church in Heywood.
This was the priest's usual place.
Many street kids ca here for shelter. With the priest around, no locals dared chase and kill anyone inside.
There was a basketball court and so open ground behind it, often used by Valentino kids.
But tonight, it was empty.
V and Jackie stood at the entrance. Once the Mackinaw and Columbus freight trucks got inside, they shut the doors.
The incident was too big; the church couldn't stay open to outsiders anymore.
When the car stopped, V leaned on the back window, mocking a disheveled Leo:
"Like sneaking off? Almost lost your life, huh?"
Leo shot her a helpless glance.
This ti, it really wasn't him trying to sneak off. Who could've guessed Kaneck had already turned cyberpsycho? And Wooly Crowley's combat ability was beyond imagination. That kind of weapon was ace-level battlefield support—deadly in the right hands.
What was supposed to be a simple intel job nearly turned into a direct firefight with Arasaka.
One surprise after another.
"Didn't expect so many twists." Leo stepped out and gestured for Maine's crew to carry the unconscious Kaneck inside.
V put a hand on Leo's shoulder, pointing at Kaneck :
"And who's this supposed to be?"
"Planned to squeeze so intel from him. But by the ti we got there, he'd already gone cyberpsycho. First, he ambushed Trauma Team coworkers, then hijacked an AV, and finally went straight for Arasaka's waterfront to hunt his enemy."
"Your luck's bottom-tier."
"Yeah…"
Leo paused—
The whole ss looked coincidental, but one thing didn't add up: why did Kaneck , after hijacking the AV, head straight for Arasaka waterfront—and just happen to et his nesis?
Too much of a coincidence. Even Holt being there and getting blown into the hospital felt suspicious.
Leo had only disabled the remote-control module in Wooly's implants, letting him rampage freely. Holt ending up hospitalized was a pure accident.
Or was it? Leo had been inside Wooly's system the whole ti and hadn't detected any outside force directing him toward Holt.
It was a mystery. Leo left too soon to know exactly how Holt got taken down.
"What's wrong?" V noticed Leo's pause.
"Just… feels strange. Let's head in first."
They locked all doors, hung up the "Do Not Enter" signs, and followed the priest into the church.
[To: Regina]
[Burger King: I saved Kaneck, but I couldn't get the other one. Arasaka flooded the place.]
[Regina: Got it, I know you did your best.]
[Regina: I dug up Kaneck 's file—he's an ex-rc who went corporate. Rumors say he's no ordinary guy. His girlfriend, Nadia Neves, was a top student—the one who recomnded him to Trauma Team.]
[Regina: Nadia's university research was all about cyberpsychosis. Maybe that ties into their situation.]
[Regina: I know you'll want to question him, but our client's pressing hard. They'll show up in about 30 minutes. Be ready.]
[Regina: And don't say I told you this.]
Leo didn't actually have many questions left. But he did notice one curious detail: Kaneck was running the sa Sandevistan model as V.
So, with nothing else to do, Leo started collecting implant performance data on the spot—
Though his AI, Little Octopus, advised doing it while Kaneck was awake.
And to trigger recall, they'd need to apply specific stimuli.
That ant guiding him into mories.
"…The first ti I t my dear Nadia was on the battlefield. I killed their client before they arrived."
"My guts were hanging out—I thought I'd die before collecting my bounty. But she stopped to patch up."
"She gave my life back."
The room held only Leo and Kaneck.
Kaneck 's eyes were empty, voice like a drear's mutter.
Cables ran from his spine and Sandevistan, streaming full data.
"Next ti, another job. Again, I killed the target before they ca. And again—it was her. She recognized . She asked why I was always killing people."
"I told her—money."
"Strange, after that, I couldn't stop thinking about her."
"The third ti—I beat their client to the brink, but didn't finish him before they arrived. That ti, Nadia asked to spare him."
Kaneck suddenly smiled, eyes flickering with life.
"I had no grudge with the guy. But I was grateful—it was Nadia's first request of . I said Sure. But I warned: next ti, if they don't hire , I won't be so kind."
"After that, I joined Trauma Team. Beca her colleague."
"From the mont I t her, I kept wondering what kind of life she had, what she thought about, what kind of person she was…"
"That was the start of my second life."
"Since then, I've saved 259 people. Never once failed."
"Except the ti I failed to save her. Instead, I saved so bastard."
His voice grew harsh, low, and trembling.
"Before this 'second life,' I'd taken 23 contracts. Killed 34 people. Not once failed."
He turned his head slowly, empty gaze sharpening at last.
Kaneck looked at Leo, desperate, his words dragging out like from a damaged throat:
"He—dead—?"
Leo nodded.
Kaneck closed his eyes, half relieved, half tornted.
"I know you've got questions. Ask."
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