Night, on a bar rooftop. Overcast clouds blanketed the sky, not a single starlight visible under the oppressive gloom.
"What's up? Something on your mind?"
Lucy sat on the rooftop, her mind adrift, lost in thought.
Just then, Silver Wolf sat down beside her.
"Nothing much. Just trying to find the stars in this… damn mess." Lucy sounded distant, her answer perfunctory as she brushed off Silver Wolf's question.
"Find any?"
"Nope."
"Hmm… Want me to help you look, then?"
Silver Wolf hugged her knees, turning her head slightly with a playful grin.
Instead of answering, Lucy turned to stare straight at Silver Wolf, as if trying to see right through her.
"Is there something weird on my face?" Silver Wolf touched her own smooth cheek. Hmm, good texture.
"No. I'm just… curious. How can you be so calm after finding out Arasaka is investigating you?"
That's Arasaka. A top-tier corp in the world.
Nobody on this planet could defy Arasaka. Nobody.
"And how should I be, then? Panic, live in constant fear, and finally raise my hands in a French salute when Arasaka shows up?" Silver Wolf tilted her head, a hint of genuine confusion on her face.
"Not that extreme… But… it's the gaze of a corp. One wrong move and you end up in their hands, doomed forever. With your skills, if the corps ever catch you, dying might become a luxury…"
Lucy's eyes were complex, holding a trace of worry.
It was a corp, after all. Even with her incredible abilities, she couldn't possibly defy Arasaka.
After all, human power has its limits. No matter how brave or strong an individual is, could they really stand against Arasaka, which controls nearly half the globe?
"Then let me ask you, since you know full well how powerful the corps are, do you really think you can run? If a corp wants you, even if you hide underground, they'll dig you out. Am I right?"
Silver Wolf shot the question back.
"You're not wrong… But besides hiding… what else is there? An individual's strength can't fight a corp…" Lucy's gaze was profound, lost in thoughts unknown.
"Mhm? Not necessarily."
Silver Wolf lifted her chin slightly, no longer looking at Lucy, but up at the sky. A dark and windy night, where faint, weak light hinted at the churning clouds beneath.
"Hah… This world… it's rotten to the core."
Lucy lit a cigarette softly and sat on the rooftop, trying to find the moon through the clouds, but it was futile.
Just like the corporate shadows that clouded her heart.
"If you know the corps are trouble, why become an edgerunner?" Silver Wolf looked at Lucy, curiosity getting the better of her.
"Because only Night City can tolerate someone like me. On this whole planet, only Night City is somewhat safe… Ah, I really want to escape to the moon, get away from all this…"
Lucy raised her fingers, her gaze drifting listlessly through the gaps at the gloom above.
"Wanting to run away because you hate reality?" Silver Wolf let out a light laugh.
Too bad this world had no Penacony to let Lucy lose herself in a beautiful dream. If Lucy knew about Sunday, she'd probably agree with his ideals.
"Hey, let me tell you a story, Lucy. Interested?"
Silver Wolf said leisurely, feeling a spark of interest she hadn't felt in a while.
"Let's hear it?"
"Sure, but put out that cigarette first." Silver Wolf waved her hand, dispersing the white smoke drifting from Lucy's side.
"Heh…" Lucy chuckled softly, snuffed out the cigarette in her hand, then flicked it neatly into a trash can five meters below.
"The story is… there was someone who mastered a particularly powerful technology called Ether Editing."
"After leaving her home, she roamed the stars relying on this skill. Then, she accepted an invitation from a group called the Stellaron Hunters and became one of them."
"During her time as a Hunter, she encountered one of the most powerful factions in the universe: the Interastral Peace Corporation. Of course, they call themselves a corporation, but they're practically an empire spanning multiple star systems. Monopolies, eliminating rivals, amassing wealth."
"The Interastral Peace Corporation…"
Hearing the name, Lucy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
That sounded like a corporation on a cosmic scale…
"Because their methods are a bit… extreme, every member of the Stellaron Hunters is wanted by the IPC with a high bounty."
"But, even though the Hunters are strong, they're far from powerful enough to run wild across the universe. So, guess why the IPC hasn't managed to catch them yet?"
"Because they're strong? And fast?"
Lucy was taken aback.
"No. It's because even a corp spanning half the universe has intricate internal factions. The bigger the group, the harder it is to be of one mind."
"While no single Stellaron Hunter is among the absolute top tier in the universe, together they pack a significant punch. Even if the IPC has the ability to kill them, the cost would be steep."
"And yet… the return they'd get wouldn't be worth the price. Get what I mean? I've offended the IPC too, and I'm still doing just fine, aren't I?"
Silver Wolf clasped her hands behind her head, glancing lightly at the sky. The clouds were thick, and all of Night City was steeped in a stifling atmosphere.
"You?"
Lucy zeroed in on the loophole in Silver Wolf's words.
"Yep. I'm a member of the Stellaron Hunters. I treat Pier Point, the IPC headquarters, like my own backyard. Come and go as I please. They can't stop me." Silver Wolf shrugged.
"So… that amazing power you showed in the braindance, that was so-called 'Ether Editing'?" Lucy followed Silver Wolf's line of thought.
"Correct. Ether Editing, which possesses the ability to alter reality. Data-fying something that physically exists is just its most basic application."
Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow.
"Mhm mhm, you're really amazing."
Lucy smiled, though there was a hint of perfunctoriness in it.
A conglomerate spanning star systems, and Stellaron Hunters roaming the sea of stars? That kind of thing only happened in sci-fi stories, right?
But thinking about how Silver Wolf used games as metaphors for reality, Lucy felt a sense of resignation. It was probably just fantasy born from having some special ability.
If what Silver Wolf said was true, why would a big shot like her appear in this world?
"It's getting late. Time to hit the hay." Silver Wolf stretched, stood up, and lightly brushed the dust off her pants.
She knew Lucy didn't believe her, but Silver Wolf didn't mind. This kind of thing was just beyond Lucy's current understanding.
Compared to the previous two worlds she'd experienced, this one was more tech-focused. Accepting such concepts wouldn't come easily.
After all, someone who traversed the stars? That was just too far-fetched. Human ships hadn't even left the solar system yet. If you told them you came from outside the solar system, even from outside the universe, it'd be downright fantastical.
"These clouds are really oppressive."
As she spoke, Silver Wolf waved a dismissive hand at the sky, much like she'd shooed away the smoke earlier.
Then, she headed downstairs without looking back.
Lucy didn't leave with Silver Wolf, choosing to continue enjoying the peace and quiet.
In the sky, a faint light broke through the clouds, slowly casting the warm glow of moonlight onto the earth.
The night deepened. The clouds flew away, finally revealing the sun that followed.
At least, that's what everyone else in Night City thought.
At first, Lucy thought so too, until she was gazing at the moon and noticed something else seemed to be layered in the sky?
Then, her eyes widened.
It wasn't that the clouds had parted. It was that a large hole had been torn open right where the moon should be. The edges of the hole emitted a faint, pixelated, data-like glow.
And this light was gradually spreading outwards.
Until the clouds were completely erased, and the moonlight became crystal clear.
In the distance beyond the moon, a few sparse stars hung in the night sky.
--+--
"Huh?"
Silver Wolf walked lazily under the bar, hands behind her head. In Night City, the line between day and night blurred. Even deep into the night, the bar was still buzzing.
David had barely managed to escape Pilar's clutches. Any longer and he'd have been thoroughly filled—with alcohol, that is.
Seeing Silver Wolf before him, David let out a startled noise from his throat.
"Fancy meeting you here."
Staring at Silver Wolf, he momentarily didn't know what to say.
"Looks like you're fitting in pretty well. I thought they might look down on a kid like you."
Silver Wolf started the conversation. She'd given him the cyberware, but she hadn't expected him to integrate this quickly.
"Yeah… Maine's a good guy. The others look out for me too. It's… not really like other edgerunner crews…"
David often watched black-market braindances and knew what edgerunners were like. To put it nicely, they were boundary-walkers, operating in the grey areas.
To put it bluntly, they were desperate outlaws who'd do anything for money, some downright vicious, not caring about anyone else's lives during their operations.
"What's with the hesitation? Spit it out."
Seeing David's uncertain expression, Silver Wolf furrowed her brow.
"All this time… I never knew how to bring it up. If it weren't for you, my mom… she might already be gone. So, if there's anything you need, you have to tell me. I'll help you, even if it costs me my life!"
David said with utmost seriousness.
"Pfft… Haha…"
Hearing David's words, Silver Wolf couldn't help but laugh, then quickly realized it might be inappropriate.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm not laughing at you, kid. It's just… you remind me of someone. The kind of hot-blooded, impulsive dumbass protagonist you often see in games or comics. Hmm… Thinking about it, your potential isn't half bad. In an anime, you might even be the main character."
"Would I be smiling at the end?"
David looked at Silver Wolf with anticipation.
"No, your ending probably wouldn't be great. You have talent, but not enough to break out of the cage you're in. What awaits you is just a steady slide into the abyss."
"That Sandevistan—if I hadn't modified it and someone just jammed a standard version into you, with your talent and body, you'd last about a year, tops."
"After a year, either you'd have a drink named after you at the Afterlife, becoming a Night City legend, or you'd turn into a cyberpsycho, put down by MaxTac."
Silver Wolf shrugged.
"How can that be…?"
Hearing this, David was visibly disappointed.
After clearly understanding the Sandevistan's effects and side effects, David's ego had gotten a little boost. He felt special.
But having Silver Wolf pour cold water on him like that left him feeling a bit deflated.
"Of course, that was before. With my modifications, as long as you don't exceed your neural load, you'll be fine. And I guarantee, this piece of hardware on you is way better than anything Arasaka cranks out."
Silver Wolf had made some tweaks while installing David's Sandevistan.
They weren't major changes, but enough for David's use.
Naturally, 'not major' was by Silver Wolf's standards. If Arasaka's scientists saw David's Sandevistan, their eyes would probably pop out.
The original Sandevistan's main functions were time dilation and enhanced reflexes, the combination leading to a massive power spike for the user. However, besides the heavy neural load, each activation's duration was also very short.
Just like how DIO's time stop only lasts five seconds and needs a cooldown.
But after Silver Wolf's modifications, the Sandevistan's ability became sustained.
Meaning, as long as David's body didn't exceed its load, he could remain in time-dilation state continuously. Plus, the cyberware provided enhanced power, making his movements more agile.
Of course, the downside was David's body was still too weak. Even in an accelerated state, the damage he could inflict was limited.
Thinking of this, Silver Wolf suddenly felt inspired. She looked at David and waved him over. "Come with me. I'll give you an upgrade. You're way too weak right now."
"Huh?"
David's voice was full of disbelief. Too weak? He'd tested it these past few days. After activating the Sandevistan, even Maine, the strongest in the team currently, couldn't land a hit on him.
Maine had been green with envy during the test.
As she spoke, Silver Wolf led David to a secluded corner.
"Alright, take your shirt off. I'm gonna give you a buff!" Silver Wolf said enthusiastically.
"Right here?" He looked at Silver Wolf, somewhat embarrassed.
"Less talking, more stripping! Now!"
What Silver Wolf planned to do was simple: get David a belt. And not just any belt—one that would normally fuse with his body.
Honestly, only a belt that merges with the flesh is true romance! Those belts anyone can use are just lame!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.