"Modify dam parameters!"
"Recalculate collapse threshold!"
"Calculation complete. Critical threshold increased by 27 percentage points—now 87%!"
And the dam's current integrity—
V glanced at the massive display. A glaring red 42%.
V clenched her fist. "Give me a solution!"
The head of Engineering answered through tears, "Structural damage has already formed. We… we can't stop it."
Silence fell over the command room.
V suddenly felt like laughing.
She had crushed CN-07, toyed with a rogue AI like a child—and in the end, she was defeated by a group of shameless businessmen and politicians.
V was greedy, sure—but not blindly so. Did these people really not understand that cutting corners on the dam meant putting over eight million lives in Night City at risk?
No.
They understood perfectly.
They just didn't care.
As long as their own desires were satisfied, as long as the self was fulfilled, they were willing to sacrifice any of their own kind—even the entire species.
Humanity had always been like this.
Past. Present. Future.
Maybe the rogue AIs hadn't lied after all. They never saw humanity as an enemy—because even left alone, humans were destined to destroy themselves through internal conflict.
"V…"
Sasha's voice trembled. Just imagining the flood sweeping through the city made her see a future littered with corpses.
V grabbed her lover's icy hand—and became calm instead.
She would not give up.
She never would.
"Simulate flood coverage."
"Y-Yes!"
The programmers immediately projected the results onto the main screen.
Red—representing the flood—spread rapidly northward from the southeast of Night City. It engulfed Santo Domingo first, then surged onward, drowning The Glen, City Center, Westbrook, reaching southern Watson, before finally stopping at the abandoned oil fields in the far north.
Almost the entire city would be submerged.
V frowned deeply.
"Redirect the Kujira and Taihō toward the Gold Beach Marina. Evacuate children and the elderly first.
All able-bodied adults move immediately to the northern abandoned oil fields in Watson.
Arasaka 2077 Security will clear routes and maintain order.
Anyone unable to evacuate in time is to seek shelter in the nearest Megabuilding.
Arasaka Tower is fully opened for refugees!"
As orders were issued one after another, panic slowly subsided. Just as V finished speaking, Xu Ling's call came through.
The young general spoke calmly as ever.
"One Arasaka Tower won't hold eight million people. Add Kang Tao Tower. I'll lend you my personnel as well."
"I appreciate Kang Tao opening the tower," V said after a moment, shaking her head, "but not your people. Evacuation is dangerous—your employees aren't obligated to risk their lives for Night City."
Xu Ling waved it off. "At a time like this, who cares about Kang Tao or Arasaka. It's settled. When it comes to disaster relief, Kang Tao troops are the best in the world. If you feel bad, just increase the compensation."
"That part's true," another call joined in—Joanne Koch.
"Biotechnica Tower will open as well. I won't send my people—they're useless at rescue anyway. I'll organize medical response teams. Leave anything medical to me."
Another line connected.
President Meredith Stout, cigar clenched between her teeth, spoke amid swirling smoke.
"I've already contacted Militech. Militech Tower will open. I've also declared a national state of emergency. Three hundred military transport aircraft are being dispatched from nearby states. Food, clothing, fuel, medicine—relief supplies are being mobilized. I've contacted other corporations too. They've all agreed to open their towers."
V was surprised. "They actually agreed?"
"For useless civilians? Of course not," Stout replied dryly.
"But for a favor from the legendary V? They agreed eagerly."
V understood—Stout had paid a heavy price for that.
She knew corporations too well. They would never miss a chance to extort a pound of flesh.
"Thank you, Stout," V said sincerely, then looked to Xu Ling and Joanne Koch.
"And thank you as well."
Xu Ling chuckled. "Just buy us drinks later."
V laughed helplessly. She had never understood why Xu Ling—who couldn't handle alcohol at all—loved drinking so much. Maybe that was the charm of being bad at something yet loving it anyway.
It was only drinks. She could afford it—and she should.
She was about to agree when gasps erupted in the command room.
Looking up at the screen, V saw drone footage of the Badlands Dam, now riddled with cracks. A section near the upper middle suddenly exploded outward, and a torrent burst free—like a dragon unleashed, roaring toward the ground.
V's expression tightened. "Is the dam collapsing?"
"No. Early-stage leakage."
"Flow direction?"
"Santo Domingo. East of Coronado Farms. It's open terrain with no cover. Estimated flow speed: 23 meters per second. Civilian structures won't withstand it!"
"Notify local evacuation forces immediately. Move civilians to Arasaka Industrial Park. Those warehouses were built to military standards!"
"But the products inside—"
"Dump them all!" V snapped. "Who cares about products right now!
Who's the local evacuation commander?"
"David Martinez!"
V froze for a moment—then could only pray.
Don't die, kid.
Coronado Farms, East
The roar of water echoed from afar, like a monstrous dragon. Dark storm clouds had blanketed the sky— as if the heavens themselves mourned the coming disaster.
"Move! Evacuate to Arasaka Industrial Park now! Once you see the flood, it's already too late!"
David wore the Cyber-Goliath Mk. III. Everything but his head and torso had been replaced by cold metal.
Yet that monstrous silhouette became an angel.
Using anti-gravity generators, David repeatedly lifted civilians onto transport trucks. Countless other security personnel did the same.
They didn't know how many trips they ran.
They didn't know how many people they carried.
They only remembered one thing—
Faster.
Faster.
Save people. Save more people.
But reality was cruel.
The kindness of small people was offset by the selfishness of the powerful.
With a thunderous crash, farm structures near the skyline collapsed. A glittering line appeared in the distance.
Despair spread instantly.
That shimmering line wasn't a line—it was the flood itself.
Anyone with common sense knew: once you see the flood, you can't escape it.
At 23 m/s, humanity was insignificant. Even enhanced, augmented humans were no exception.
Some screamed.
Some froze.
Everyone thought it was over.
Everyone—except one.
"QUIET!!!"
David's roar stunned the crowd.
"Continue evacuation! Head to Arasaka Industrial Park!"
Someone screamed hysterically, "What's the point?! The flood is already here! We can't escape!"
David took a deep breath.
"I'll buy you time."
"What?"
"I said—I'll buy you time!" he roared.
"Stop asking questions! If you want to live, RUN! Don't look back!"
After a brief stunned silence, one security officer snapped out of it.
"Fully loaded vehicles, evacuate immediately! Remaining teams—continue boarding civilians!"
The operation resumed—faster, quieter, united.
As the flood closed in, David repeated to himself:
I'm different. I'm different.
The words steadied him.
The Cyber-Goliath moved.
Everyone fled away from the flood—
except David Martinez, who charged straight toward it.
The water was close enough now for him to smell wet earth. His heart pounded violently.
"David, what are you doing?!" Lucy's voice burst through the comms.
"Run! Please—run!!!"
David glanced back at the people boarding vehicles and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, Lucy. Guess we're not going shopping this weekend."
"DAVID!!!"
He cut the connection.
The flood was upon him.
And David Martinez roared louder than the flood itself.
"Disable safety locks! Remove all limiters! Suspend life monitoring! Suppress hazard warnings!"
He spread his arms toward the torrent and bellowed:
"ANTI-GRAVITY CANNON—ACTIVATE!!!"
A deep hum echoed.
Crystals embedded in the Cyber-Goliath's arms glowed green.
An invisible force descended like a colossal hand—
splitting the flood clean in two.
People stood frozen.
They were witnessing a miracle.
A miracle that turned the impossible into reality.
Water surged past on both sides, sparing everyone within.
If David faltered even slightly, the flood would close again—but he kept firing the gravity cannon without pause.
Blood poured from his mouth and nose. His blood pressure spiked dangerously—but the Cyber-Goliath automatically injected stabilizers, forcing his body to keep fighting.
This enemy wasn't human.
It was nature itself.
Just like their ancestors who once fought beasts with stone and wood, David Martinez now wielded the pinnacle of human technology against the world itself.
Hummmm!
Gravity cannons firing nonstop.
Hiss—hiss—!
Stabilizers injecting nonstop.
David should have fallen long ago.
But as long as people stood behind him—
He would not fall.
Mind overriding flesh.
Will fused with machine.
Humanity had its villains—but it also had heroes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Even if I can never pilot this body again.
Even if I die here—
I will protect them. I will protect Night City!!!
David Martinez laughed wildly.
Lightning split the sky.
Illuminated by its glow, the young man's face looked like that of a fearless child.
"All gatherings must end, whether in life or death.
Let my broken body burn as flame—
Humanity shall never fade!"
"Captain Martinez, evacuation complete! Please withdraw immediately!"
The message came too late.
The flood closed in again, swallowing David Martinez whole.
A single human could not fight nature.
Not in the past.
Not now.
But humans could.
A grappling hook descended from the sky, locking onto the massive Cyber-Goliath and hauling David from the muddy torrent.
Floodlights cut through the rain.
A New United States heavy transport aircraft hovered overhead—followed by countless others: transports, AVs, helicopters.
From the NUSA.
From megacorporations.
Even from civilians.
They filled the stormy sky, scattering across Night City.
The transport opened its belly hatch. Medical teams rushed forward.
"Stabilizer overdose! Severe neural damage! Respiratory failure! Weak heartbeat! Begin emergency treatment—now!"
Hearing that David had been rescued, V exhaled—but this was only early leakage.
If the dam collapsed completely—
That would be true annihilation.
Was there really no way?
Would Night City truly be washed away?
As V pondered, she suddenly swayed in her chair.
In a space without direction, she once again saw the giant jellyfish.
"V. I have a way to save Night City."
"What way?"
V opened her eyes.
Sasha was staring at her in concern.
"V, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy. Probably lack of sleep. Only a few seconds."
"Seconds?" Sasha said in shock.
"You spaced out for two full minutes."
Two minutes?!
V checked the time.
It was true.
Yet she'd only spoken one sentence to the jellyfish.
What happened?
What happened during those two minutes?
Before she could figure it out, the Engineering head shouted again.
"The nanobots in Laguna Bend are going berserk! Rapid replication—already beyond the preset 20 generations!"
Had CN-07 controlled them all along?
"Are they damaging the dam?" V demanded.
"No!" the engineer cried excitedly.
"They're repairing it! The nanobots are converting themselves into bonding agents—repairing damage across the dam! Integrity rising—42%… 43%… 44%…"
The control room erupted in cheers. Even V felt relief.
But it didn't last.
At 49%, the progress stopped.
"What's going on?" V asked.
"I—I don't know!"
A call came in from Kayo Nakamura.
"Next-gen nanobots require ultraviolet light for self-replication. Their stored power is exhausted. They need more sunlight!"
Sunlight?
Everyone looked up.
Black clouds. Torrential rain.
What sunlight could exist in weather like this?
Was the sky itself determined to destroy Night City?
V stood up.
She didn't care if the heavens wanted Night City dead.
She only knew one thing—
Night City was hers to protect.
"If the sky blocks the sun—
then I'll shatter the sky itself."