51-55

Chapter 51: Blood Ki Feedback 

“You’re related to him? Are you freaking kidding me? The guy we nabbed ain’t Asian!”  

As Riku approached, one of the bandits immediately started yelling, his gun practically pressed against Riku’s forehead. 

His outburst instantly put V and Jack Welles on edge, both ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. 

“Hey, buddy, chill out. Of course I’m not related to him. His family hired me to pay the ransom and get him out,” Riku said smoothly, his mind racing. They’d overlooked this detail at first, but no biggie—he could roll with it. 

“Fine, where’s the money?!” the bandit demanded, his cybernetic eye glinting crazily in the dim night. 

“You gotta let me see him first. I need to confirm he’s still alive,” Riku replied, his expression one of mock helplessness. Blending in like this probably wasn’t gonna work, so he’d settle for verifying the target was still breathing. 

“Go to hell! Quit stalling and hand over the cash!” The bandit wasn’t having it, jabbing the gun harder against Riku’s forehead, making a weird clanging sound. 

“Alright, I’ll transfer it,” Riku said with a smile. The three bandits visibly perked up at his words. 

Before they could say anything else, the horned kaijū in front of them flickered with a wave of color and vanished on the spot. 

“Optical camouflage!” the bandits shouted, instantly recognizing it. It wasn’t exactly rare tech—street punks like them knew it well. 

Riku extended his right hand, the armor on his fingers retracting to reveal raw, skinless flesh. Razor-sharp claws shot out in an instant. 

Splurch! 

Before the bandit holding the gun to Riku’s head could fire, a claw pierced straight through his throat. 

Naturally, this exposed Riku’s position. Even with the optical camouflage still active, the other two bandits could make out his blurry silhouette. 

Pop! Pop! 

Two muffled shots rang out in the night, courtesy of silenced firearms. The remaining bandits dropped, letting out weak groans as they hit the ground. 

“Told you this plan was shaky. Should’ve just stormed in,” V said, strolling over with an Ajax rifle in hand. Even at smuggler’s prices, it had cost her a hefty 12,000 eddies. 

Militech’s Ajax wasn’t flashy, but it was reliable and easy to use—no months of training or high-end combat cyberware required. It wasn’t top-tier, but it was leagues better than the junk street punks carried. V had gritted her teeth and bought one. 

“No clue if we’ve been spotted. Riku moved too fast to deal with any cameras,” Jack Welles said, stepping out of the car with his twin gold kāne pistols, one in each hand. The guy clearly had skills. 

“A high-level nettoran would’ve been nice. You shoot out a camera, and anyone paying attention will still notice,” Riku quipped, already missing Sasha. Back when she was around, they’d waltzed into Biotech’s HQ like it was nothing. 

“Less talk, more rescuing,” V snapped. 

The trio rushed into the factory. Their scuffle hadn’t been too loud—if the bandits weren’t glued to their monitors, they might not have noticed. 

“Drop your weapons, or I’ll waste him!”  

So much for that. The bandits had been watching the cameras like hawks, knowing a ransom drop was coming. Five of them charged out of the rundown factory, one dragging a middle-aged white guy—their rescue target. 

The man’s eyes were wide with terror, tears and snot streaming down his face as the bandit yanked him forward as a shield. His suit screamed corporate dog, despite the grime and the suspicious wet patch at his crotch. His mouth was taped shut. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

The response was gunfire. V and Jack Welles didn’t hesitate, completely ignoring the bandit’s threats. Drop their weapons? What a joke—surrender and die? 

V and Jack weren’t idiots. Between the hostage dying or everyone dying, they’d sacrifice the hostage without blinking. 

Their decisiveness caught the bandits off guard. Three went down instantly, leaving one lucky survivor and the guy using the hostage as a shield. 

“What the hell?! Aren’t these guys here to save him?!” the two remaining bandits cursed, backing up in a panic. They were clearly thrown off. 

They weren’t the only ones. The hostage was just as confused, probably wondering if these were really his rescuers. 

V and Jack kept firing, pinning the bandits down and keeping them from shooting back, covering Riku as he charged forward. 

Riku was hauling shinigami-style, but the distance between him and the bandits was still too great. Saving the hostage was down to luck—he definitely wasn’t faster than a bullet. 

“Shadow Wolf,” Riku muttered, summoning his yōkai. His shadow shot forward, morphing into a wolf that sprinted across the ground. 

The factory lot was barely lit, the night cloaking everything in darkness. Shadow Wolf’s dash was nearly invisible in the gloom. 

Plus, the two bandits were too focused on the horned oni barreling toward them to notice. Anyone would freak out with a guy like that rushing their face—Riku was their top threat. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

Bullets slammed into Riku, only to ricochet off his subdermal armor, some even shattering on impact. The bandits’ guns were just standard kinetic weapons, no match for his cyberware. A high-powered electromagnetic rifle might’ve posed a threat—subdermal armor wasn’t invincible, just like a bulletproof vest didn’t make you bulletproof against everything. 

“Dammit! This guy’s got subdermal armor!” one bandit yelled, his voice dripping with fear. He knew they’d messed with the wrong crew. 

Bang! 

Before he could say more, a bullet punched through his skull—V’s work. Her mobile shooting skills were no joke. 

“Son of a—!” the last bandit roared, realizing he was screwed. Escape wasn’t an option, so he decided to go down swinging. 

Click! 

His finger was on the trigger. He’d figured out these guys wanted the hostage alive—why else would they avoid shooting him? If he was going down, he’d take the hostage with him. Sure, using the guy as a shield might buy him a few seconds, but he wasn’t about to let these punks win. 

Bang! 

A shot rang out. The suited man felt a jolt, collapsing to the ground with another wet patch at his crotch—but he wasn’t dead. 

“Arghhh!”  

The bandit screamed, tackled to the ground by Shadow Wolf. His shot went wide, and the wolf’s claws raked him for good measure. 

Grr! 

Shadow Wolf let out a low growl, sinking its black, razor-sharp fangs into the bandit’s neck. Blood quickly stained them red. 

Riku froze, stunned. A surge of kekkai—blood Ki—flowed back into his body, straight from Shadow Wolf as it tore into the bandit’s neck. 

Chapter 52: Who Should I Ask to Catch Up on Company Training? 

“Is this… a special effect of Kekkijutsu?” 

Riku was puzzled. The kidnapper at the entrance was the first person he’d killed since acquiring Kekkijutsu, and it felt no different from before. 

No blood energy feedback, just the usual 5 experience points. No change at all. 

But this one, taken down by Ei-rō, gave him a unique sensation—a faint pulse of blood energy. 

That energy seeped into Ei-rō, enhancing the Kekkijutsu, then flowed back to him, slightly boosting his physical abilities. 

“Grr!” 

Ei-rō’s low growl snapped Riku back to reality. He saw the wolf baring its teeth beside the hostage, poised but not attacking without his command. 

“…” 

Riku dashed to the hostage’s side, recalling Ei-rō, which melted back into the ground at his feet. 

“Passed out?” 

Riku scanned the hostage. The guy was alive, just knocked out from sheer terror. 

Since he wasn’t dead, Riku left him be. His gaze shifted to the kidnapper Ei-rō had killed. 

Riku approached, crouching to inspect the body. He stabbed the neck wound a few times, obscuring the bite marks Ei-rō left. 

“Nothing special about this.” 

After a close look, Riku’s expression was odd. He couldn’t sense anything different between this corpse and the one he’d killed earlier. 

The only difference? This one was Ei-rō’s kill, while the other was his own handiwork. 

“Guess I need to make a trip back to the Demon Slayer world. There’s still so much about Kekkijutsu and Oni I need to brush up on.” 

Riku rubbed his chin, lost in thought. 

But as someone who skipped out on “company training” entirely, who was he supposed to ask for a crash course on this stuff? 

While Riku pondered, V and Jack Welles finally caught up. They’d been covering him with gunfire from the rear, so they were a bit behind. 

“This guy’s got some serious luck, still kicking.” 

V sounded surprised, eyeing the unconscious middle-aged company dog. She and Jack hadn’t noticed Ei-rō and assumed Riku had done all the heavy lifting. 

“Hey, wake up.” 

V slapped the man’s face hard, trying to rouse him. Leaving him passed out here wasn’t ideal. 

The guy was filthy, reeking of piss. Even Riku, an Oni, could barely stand the stench, let alone V. 

“Call his family to pick him up.” 

Jack grimaced, just as disgusted. They’d just bought a new car—secondhand, sure, but a secondhand new car was still a new car, right? 

“Get in touch with Father, see how to handle this.” 

Riku chuckled, then turned to start looting the spoils. 

They didn’t deal in organs, but guns, gear—those could fetch a few eddies. 

The weapons and equipment these street rats used were cheap, knockoff junk, but bundled together, they could still sell for a couple hundred eddies. Every bit counted. 

Jack nodded, dialing Father, while V joined Riku in scavenging the trash. 

“Father, we’ve got the target out alive. You sending someone, or is the client coming themselves?” 

Once the call connected, Jack laid out their demands with confidence. They’d pulled the guy out alive—mission accomplished, no question. 

Sure, it’d been a messy ride, and at one point, they thought the guy was a goner, but the outcome was solid. 

“Got it. I’ll notify the client now.” 

Father’s voice carried a hint of surprise. Honestly, he’d figured they’d be hauling out a corpse, not a living person. 

After hanging up, Jack drove the car inside, helping V and Riku load the random junk into the trunk. 

No niji-gen kōmon (anime-style storage) for them—they couldn’t just carry an arsenal on their person. 

“Client’s here.” 

Father sent word after a short wait. The client had arrived at the factory gate. 

V went to meet them. It was a middle-aged woman in a plain sedan—the hostage’s wife. 

She looked nervous, her eyes a mix of gratitude and fear as she glanced at Riku, V, and Jack. 

After loading her unconscious husband into the car, she sped off like she couldn’t get away fast enough. 

“You get used to it.” 

V shrugged with a smirk. To regular folks, cyberpunks and edgerunners like them were hardly the good guys. 

“We don’t need her thanks. She pays, we deliver. Simple as that.” 

Jack snapped his fingers, grinning. The 50,000 eddies had hit their accounts. Job done. 

“Gimme 2,000, and you two split the rest.” 

Riku spoke up. With this job done, he’d paid off his recent loan. Pay it back, and borrowing again’s no hassle. 

Jack and V didn’t argue, casually dividing the rest. None of them were the type to nickel-and-dime. 

“So, what’s next? Hit up Afterlife for some fun?” 

Freshly paid, V raised an eyebrow, suggesting a night out at Afterlife. 

“Nah, you two go. I’m heading home.” 

Riku waved her off, declining. Truth be told, he wasn’t big on the “live for today” mindset. 

He was too used to grinding. Instead of blowing time at a bar, he’d rather head home and run a few sets of his “Bald Head Training Method.” 

Plus, he couldn’t drink. Going to a bar would just mean sitting there, watching—pure third-wheel vibes. 

And with V and Jack, there’d be no sampling any “special services.” V was a woman, and Jack was old-school. A night out with them was just drinks and chats, no wild stuff. 

Not that Riku was into joytoys anyway. What’s the point of spending eddies on a doll? Just scratching an itch, nothing more. 

“Alright, we’ll drop you off first.” 

V and Jack exchanged a look, not pressing him to join. 

They remembered what Riku had said before. They were getting used to his… unique physical quirks. 

The trio laughed and chatted as they drove, dropping Riku off at Megabuilding H10. 

Riku stepped out, and V and Jack peeled off toward Afterlife. Those two were still hyped about the bar’s vibe, probably for a while yet. 

Chapter 53: Full Gear 

Riku returned to his apartment and immediately summoned Ei-rō. 

The shadow at his feet leaped out, quickly taking the form of a wolf. Ei-rō wasn’t small—about the size of a tiger. 

Riku stared at the wolf, trying to figure out what made it tick. He’d studied this Kekkijutsu yesterday, but so far, its only ability was transforming his shadow into a wolf. Nothing else. 

Today, though, when Ei-rō killed someone, it seemed to unlock something new. Similar to how Riku gained experience points from kills to grow stronger, Ei-rō’s kill seemed to grant it experience too. 

“Wonder if it has to be a human kill…” 

Riku mused. Testing that in Night City would be tough—animals were scarce here. 

It wasn’t just Night City, either. In this timeline, the collapse of natural ecosystems had wiped out most animals. Only the ones best adapted to cities and humans survived. 

Night City had animals—cats, dogs—but they were more like living luxury goods, status symbols. 

Owning a pet in Night City meant paying taxes, monthly, and registering them. Unregistered animals? The fines could bankrupt most families. 

Killing an animal here was harder than killing a person. A hundred human lives might not even match the value of a single dog. 

“Guess I really need to head back.” 

While thinking, Riku opened the system’s [World Page]. 

[World Page] 

[Past World: Demon Slayer] 

[Current World: Cyberpunk 2077] 

[Travel: Cooldown complete. Start Travel. Return to Past.] 

This time, after the travel function’s cooldown ended, a new button appeared next to [Start Travel]: [Return to Past]. Its purpose was obvious. 

Clicking [Return to Past] showed only one option: Demon Slayer. 

Riku didn’t leave right away. If he was going, he’d need to tell his teammates first. The trip would take at least two days. 

Plus, he had to prepare some things. 

With that in mind, Riku headed out. It was still evening—plenty of time to shop. 

He had 2,000 eddies. Not enough for big purchases, but more than enough for what he needed. 

At a clothing store in Watson, Riku walked in. The shopkeeper, armed with a rifle around his neck, was clearly not someone to mess with. Zero-dollar shopping here? You’d have to get past his gun first. 

Under the shopkeeper’s wary gaze, Riku casually picked out what he needed: gloves, earmuffs, sunglasses, and a pack of masks to cover his mouth and nose. 

After paying, he hit up a general store and bought a parasol. 

Back at his apartment with his full gear, Riku was ready for his return to Demon Slayer. 

Standing in front of the mirror, he put on the gear and activated the optical camouflage on his horns. The devilish, prismatic horns vanished. 

“Perfect. Now I can move around during the day.” 

Riku nodded, satisfied with his reflection. He looked normal enough, and sunlight wouldn’t be an issue. 

“Especially since it’s winter over there. This warm gear won’t stand out at all.” 

Riku had thought it through. The gloves, earmuffs, and masks were all insulated—not just for style but to ensure no light leaked through. 

With everything ready, he called V to let her and Jack Welles know. He didn’t plan to stay long—just a quick trip to scope things out. 

Though Demon Slayer was his first world, he still knew so little about it. Better to play it safe. 

“Riku? I was just about to call you.” 

V picked up quickly, sounding like she was having a blast. 

“What’s up?” Riku asked, surprised. They’d only just parted ways—why the call? 

“Mann says he’s introducing us to their hacker. Come meet them!” 

V replied. She and Jack had run into Mann’s crew. Typical edgerunners, always hanging out at bars. 

Probably like temp workers chilling at a pickup spot, waiting for gigs. 

“Alright, I’m on my way.” 

Riku chuckled to himself, then headed out, walking to Afterlife. 

He was curious about this hacker, and it’d be a good chance to tell V and Jack about his short trip. 

Soon, Riku arrived at Afterlife. Sure enough, V and Jack were with Mann’s crew. 

Besides Sasha, Rebecca, Dorio, and Mann, their resident clown, Pilar, was there too. 

Pilar’s black mohawk and freakishly long arms stood out. 

“Riku, you’re here!” 

Sasha’s eyes lit up as she greeted him warmly. 

“Hey, Sasha. Don’t tell me this is the hacker you’re introducing?” 

Riku grinned, playfully pointing at Pilar, who’d just finished goofing off. 

“Nope, that’s my idiot brother, Pilar.” 

Rebecca cut in before Pilar could speak, introducing him with a smirk. 

“That’s right! I’m Pilar, Night City’s top tech wizard. No job these hands can’t handle.” 

Pilar boasted, his fingers dancing with a dexterity that could rival Eagle-chan. 

His oversized hand cyberware and long fingers screamed “techie.” A tech wizard, in simpler terms, was a DIY master. 

Anything a ripperdoc could do, a tech wizard could. Even stuff ripperdocs couldn’t touch—like weapon and cyberware installation, repairs, mods, turning scrap into treasure, or defusing bombs in a pinch—Pilar could handle. 

If ripperdocs were professional tech priests, tech wizards were like feral orc mechanics. 

“Nice to meet you, Pilar. Call me Devil.” 

Riku extended a hand. He was genuinely intrigued by Pilar’s skills—purely for the tech, of course. 

Learning a tech wizard’s tricks could save a lot of hassle. 

“Got it, Devil. I’ll remember that.” 

Pilar shook his hand, his gaze lingering on Riku’s horns. 

“Are those mechanical?” 

Pilar asked bluntly, reaching to touch them. 

Smack. 

Riku swatted his hand away, exasperated. This guy—Pilar’s death in the source material made sense now. Zero boundaries. 

Chapter 54: Lucy 

“Pilar!!!”  

Rebecca, lounging in the booth, shouted with a mix of irritation and exasperation. Clearly, she was fed up with her annoying older brother but couldn’t do much about it. 

“Hey, relax, I’m just curious!” Pilar scratched his cheek, unbothered, a carefree grin plastered on his face. The guy was shamelessly laid-back. 

“This place is pretty lively,” a woman’s voice came from behind Riku before he could respond. 

He turned to see two women approaching—tall, striking, and exuding confidence. The one in front wore a long red coat, her bangs neatly framing a pink metal mask that revealed only her crimson eyes. That was Kiwi. 

Trailing behind her was, naturally, Lucy. Her iconic multicolored hair, blue eyebrows, and red eyeshadow made her instantly recognizable. 

“Our nettoran friend’s here,” Mann said, raising his glass to Kiwi with a grin. As a veteran hacker who’d been tearing through Night City for years, Kiwi’s skills and connections made her a key ally. 

“This is Lucy, a genius hacker. Her skills are top-notch, and she’s flying solo right now, looking for a solid crew to run with,” Kiwi said, sliding into the booth and introducing the girl beside her.  

She spoke with a cigarette dangling from her lips, her words slightly muffled. Yep, that pink metal mask of hers even had a little slot for smoking. 

“So, who’s the one needing a hacker?” Lucy asked bluntly, her expression calm but direct as all eyes turned to her. No beating around the bush for her. 

“…”  

V stayed quiet, glancing at Riku, then at Jack Welles, a hint of surprise on her face. 

“That’d be us,” Riku spoke up, not letting Lucy wait awkwardly. He pointed to himself, then to V and Jack Welles. 

Lucy gave Riku a nod, a flicker of surprise passing over her face before she turned to V and Jack, catching the doubt in their expressions. 

“It’s a two-way street. If you’re not sold on me, just say so,” Lucy said, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag. She didn’t seem fazed, carrying herself with an easy confidence. 

“You look pretty young, kid,” Jack Welles said, a bit embarrassed, trying to be tactful for the girl’s sake. 

“What, you guys got an age requirement for hackers?” Lucy tilted her head, clearly picking up on Jack’s meaning. He was questioning her skills because she looked young. 

“Nah, it’s all about ability,” V chimed in, shaking her head. Sasha wasn’t exactly old either, but her hacking skills were killer. 

“Let’s do a trial run. I need to see what you guys are made of too,” Lucy said matter-of-factly. Kiwi had filled her in on this crew, but whether they’d mesh long-term was still up in the air. 

“Grab a seat, Lucy. What’re you drinking? Juice? Milk?” Riku stepped in to break the tension. 

He hadn’t sat down yet, and Lucy was still standing there like she was at a job interview. It was getting awkward. 

“Thanks, either’s fine,” Lucy said, offering Riku a faint smile. Her sharp, almost femme fatale features contrasted with her calm demeanor, creating an intriguing vibe. 

“Juice it is,” Riku said, ordering her a glass since she didn’t object. 

The girl didn’t look a day over 21—probably 18 or 19, around Rebecca’s age. No way Afterlife was serving her alcohol. 

V was 25, Jack Welles 27. It made sense they’d have some doubts about Lucy joining, just like Mann’s crew had initially hesitated with David Martinez. After all, their line of work was the kind where you strapped your head to your belt and hoped for the best—no time for babysitting. 

Guess Mann took David in because he already had experience wrangling Rebecca and Lucy. The guy was practically a pro at handling kids. 

“You the team’s riida?” Lucy asked Riku as they sat down. 

“Uh, nah, I’m actually new to this. Jack’s the one showing me the ropes,” Riku said, caught off guard. He nodded toward Jack Welles. 

“Oh, got it,” Lucy said with a nod. She’d assumed the horned giant was the boss, like Mann over there, but turns out he was a rookie. 

“You should trust me on this. Lucy’s the real deal—a natural-born genius. What do you call those? A tensai prodigy?” Kiwi cut in, her praise for Lucy carrying a hint of envy. 

The world wasn’t fair. Some people, barely out of their teens, could hit levels others spent half their lives chasing. 

“You don’t hype people up like that often, obasan,” Rebecca teased from the side. 

Kiwi flicked a beer bottle cap at Rebecca’s head in response. 

“Obasan?! You wanna throw down?!” Rebecca jumped up, yelling, while her jerk brother Pilar egged her on, loving the chaos. 

“Man, you guys are loud,” Mann said, digging at his ear with a grin. He didn’t bother stopping them, though Dorio quickly put a hand on Rebecca to settle her down. 

Lucy watched quietly. Mann’s crew had a great vibe, though the dark-haired girl seemed a bit down. 

“How long you been in this game, Lucy?” V asked, sliding over to her side. 

“Haven’t been in Night City long,” Lucy replied coolly, glancing at the redheaded woman beside her. Meanwhile, the horned guy had been pushed aside and was looking helpless. 

“Same as Riku, then. Oh, I’m V, by the way. Horns over there is Riku, but you can call him Devil,” V said with a chuckle, introducing their four-person team—half of them Night City newbies. 

“Devil, huh?” Lucy glanced at Riku, who’d just smoothed things over for her. He was now by the dark-haired girl, who looked weighed down by something. 

“What’s up, neko-chan? Trouble on your mind?” Riku asked Sasha directly as he sat beside her, already having a hunch. 

“Riku…” Sasha bit her lip, her expression conflicted, like she was debating whether to open up. 

“Remember that personal stuff I had to deal with the other night?” she said after a moment, deciding not to keep it from him. After all, Riku was involved too. 

“What, something go wrong?” Riku asked, not surprised. He’d figured it was about that. 

He’d seen the data Sasha sent that night—some dirt on Biotech, leaked to Channel 54 News. 

Chapter 55: Despair and Humanity 

“They didn’t report it.” 

Sasha’s voice carried a mix of fear and frustration as she spoke. 

To get that data out, she had been ready to die. If it hadn’t been for Riku, she probably would have.  

But the information she risked everything to send out sank like a stone in the ocean. News 54 didn’t broadcast a single word about it. 

They covered the attack on the biotech company, sure, but not a peep about the data she sent. 

That data was all about a drug—a painkiller called Securicine. 

This drug had massive side effects. It could slowly cause neurodegenerative diseases: brain ischemia, brain damage, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, you name it. 

Sasha’s mother had died because of this drug’s side effects. 

The biotech company knew about these side effects from the start. They buried the data, pushed Securicine to market anyway, and promoted it like crazy. 

If this news broke, it’d be a disaster for the biotech company. 

Even now, Securicine remains one of their best-selling drugs. 

You can imagine how many people have died from its side effects over the years. 

“Of course News 54 didn’t report it. They’re the mouthpiece for Militech, serving Neo-America. And biotech’s cozy with Militech right now,” Riku said, shaking his head.  

The impact of that classified data was too big. It wasn’t up to News 54 to decide what to do with it—those calls came from the big shots behind the scenes. 

News 54 probably got a fat hush money payment from the biotech company, and that was that. Case closed. 

“How can this be…”  

Sasha’s expression froze. She hadn’t thought it through that far. 

News 54 was old-school American media. Since the early 21st century, it had monopolized over 62% of the news broadcasted in the U.S. 

Now, in Neo-America, they’d gobbled up almost every major media outlet. 

The only other voice out there was WNS News, which always butted heads with News 54. But that was it. 

And yet, even they were cherry-picking what to report? 

“Isn’t that just how it works? When was the last time you saw News 54 report anything negative about Militech or Neo-America?” Riku said, his expression tinged with resignation.  

When a corporation wants to control everything, monopolizing the media and creating an information bubble is practically step one. 

Militech rules Neo-America, so of course they’ve got News 54 on a leash. If they can’t even control their own mouthpiece, how can they call themselves rulers? 

“Then I’ll send the data to WNS News,” Sasha said, her voice uncertain. If News 54 wouldn’t report it, maybe their rival would? 

“You can try, but it’s probably a long shot. Does this Securicine thing tie back to Zhuoma Medical, a subsidiary of Petrochem?”  

Riku hadn’t seen the specifics on Securicine, but if there wasn’t even a whisper about it, the issue had to run deep. 

If it only involved the biotech company, News 54 might not have been so quick to cover it up—unless Petrochem was in the mix. 

Riku remembered something from the game: the biotech company had a “Nightingale” project that almost got leaked to News 54.  

From how they handled it, it was clear they didn’t trust News 54 to stay quiet, so they silenced the reporters and employees who tried to stir things up. 

“Zhuoma Medical…” 

Sasha paused. The name had come up in the Securicine data. 

Zhuoma Medical, a Petrochem subsidiary based in Night City, specializes in developing and producing pharmaceuticals. 

They’re a global leader in new drug development, currently working with the biotech company on gene therapies, custom bacteria, and virus projects. 

“Petrochem and Arasaka have always been tight, too,” Riku added with a sigh.  

And what did that mean? It meant WNS News, Arasaka’s mouthpiece in Neo-America, probably wouldn’t touch the story either. 

Sasha’s face paled as she caught Riku’s meaning. Despair hit her hard. 

All she wanted was to do something for her mother, for the countless innocent victims. 

But in the end, it felt like a naive dream. 

“…” 

Riku stayed quiet. He understood Sasha’s mindset. 

In the game, he’d met others like her—people whose families were destroyed by corporations, who burned their lives away for revenge, only to make no dent in the company’s armor. 

Night City was full of them. The world was full of them. 

Their actions never succeeded. Their sacrifices went unnoticed, just another nameless body under the corporate throne. 

In this world, taking on a corporation as an individual was nearly impossible unless you were some kind of prodigy like Rache Bartmoss. 

But even a genius like Rache Bartmoss couldn’t bring the corporations down. He just burned bright, left a mess, and that was it. 

“I’m not giving up.” 

After the despair, a spark reignited in Sasha’s eyes. She’d faced death for this. What were a few more obstacles? 

“I’m not giving up, Devil.” 

Sasha looked at Riku, her eyes shining with determination. She was grateful for him. 

Thanks to Riku, she didn’t die clinging to a false, wishful dream. 

Because of him, she had a chance to do more—for her mother, for the innocent victims. 

“You…” 

Riku’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words. 

He’d wanted to tell her to give up. If she kept pushing, she’d likely draw the attention of the biotech company, maybe even Petrochem. 

But what right did he have to tell her to stop? 

Avenging her mother, seeking justice for those killed by Securicine—was there anything wrong with that? 

Of course not. It just didn’t fit this world. Her humanity shone too brightly. 

“This world, this city—it needs more people like you, Sasha.” 

The words of caution stayed unspoken. Riku gave a relieved smile. If he wasn’t willing to fight, what right did he have to stop her? 

This rotten world, with no hope or future, needed people like Sasha every now and then. 

In a place where everyone chased selfish dreams, scrambling over each other for a shot at the top, it was rare for someone to show the beauty of human responsibility, dedication, and sacrifice. 

(Chapter End)