They arrived at the Braindance Recording Studio beneath the Lizzy Bar.
The room was covered in cables and computers, resembling some kind of Hacker Studio, but at least it was quieter than upstairs, allowing Berry to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Evelyn and Judy were already waiting for them in the Braindance Room.
The Braindance Room was Judy's territory. She was an excellent Braindance Editor, responsible for cutting the Braindance Raw Footage into Finished Braindance Films that could stimulate visual and neural pleasure.
This way, for a few hundred eddies on the shelf, you could buy a thrilling braindance film, go home, lie on the Sofa, put on the braindance headset, and enter a boundless virtual world—just make sure there isn't someone at home who wants to strangle you, as people immersed in braindance have very weak awareness of their Real World surroundings.
But besides being sold as Intracranial Pornography, braindance actually has many practical functions, such as secret filming and Unauthorized Recording... Afterward, certain interested parties can investigate the unedited raw footage and extract a lot of useful information.
Just like the one Evelyn secretly recorded herself.
Evelyn was a Socialite at Clouds, and also the Bed Partner hired by Yorinobu Arasaka, the Young Master of the Arasaka Corporation, inside Konpeki Plaza. As the client intending to steal the relic chip from Yorinobu, she personally went in to secure first-hand intelligence for V and the crew—a Live Recording Braindance of Yorinobu's room in Konpeki Plaza.
The subsequent plot was no different: V lay down on the Surgical Chair, explored the braindance recorded by Evelyn, and obtained a lot of intelligence: the storage location of the crucial relic chip, room surveillance, weapon deployment, and Yorinobu's Bodyguard Captain—Adam Smasher, who was fully mechanically modified with only half a Meat Brain remaining.
After acquiring all the desired intelligence, V exited the braindance and returned to the Real World.
"Did you get everything you needed?" Judy asked, resting her head on her hand behind her Computer Desk.
"Got it, thanks, Judy." V, still feeling uncomfortable after exiting the braindance, rubbed her forehead to recover. "I got everything. See you later, T-BUG."
"It was a pleasure working with you, see you later." T-BUG, who had remotely linked with V to analyze the braindance, also logged off.
"I wiped the cache and your data. It'll be like you were never here." Judy stood up and walked over to V, taking the braindance headset off V's head.
"Keep it. Put it on Little Eve's tab."
"This is a Mobile Device for processing braindance. I've also uploaded your Calibration Settings." Judy, arms crossed, explained this to V, the Mercenary who didn't understand high-tech gadgets. "It's not as complex as mine, but it'll be enough for you."
"And you managed to clear yourself of involvement at the same time. Clever." V sneered, clearly knowing that Judy wasn't being so kind; leaving the braindance headset with V was a way for the Braindance Technician to distance herself from the affair.
"Speaking of clearing ourselves, do you know what I'm thinking?" Judy's mood hadn't been high since earlier, and now her expression was grave.
"All of us... are... dead." Judy said, enunciating every word, like a warning or a prophecy.
"This footage is really useful to us, Judy. The help from the braindance is huge." V clearly couldn't understand why Judy was so pessimistic.
"This braindance is going to get us all killed, I'm not kidding." Judy spun around in place, spreading her hands in worry. "If Arasaka finds this braindance, you and I are dead."
"Judy... don't be scared. No one will know." Evelyn, the client, was trying to reassure her Best Friend and Girlfriend.
But Berry felt that Evelyn was completely full of hot air.
How could Berry not know the details of this mission?
From the very start, this mission was full of accidents and variables.
Evelyn Parker wasn't the client for this mission at all; in reality, she was also someone who had been instructed by others.
It was the Voodoo Boys from Pacifica—a Haitian Gang skilled in network Hacker techniques and extremely xenophobic. They had commissioned Evelyn to get the braindance from Konpeki Plaza, and that was all.
The reason was simply that Yorinobu Arasaka liked to hire Evelyn.
But Evelyn Parker, the Socialite of Clouds, developed her own ambitions after learning the secret of the relic chip. She wanted to ditch the Voodoo Boys and steal the Arasaka Corporation's precious asset—the relic chip—on her own, then sell it to a company hostile to Arasaka, like Militech, to make a fortune.
Leaving aside the audacity of the plan, Evelyn, who had no understanding of Street Rules, was completely reckless in handling this mission. Not only did she violate the principle of Mercenaries and clients not meeting directly by meeting V, but she also tried to persuade V to cut out the Fixer, Dexter DeShawn, and deal directly with her.
It was only because Dexter DeShawn, that Old Rogue, had just slunk back to Night City and desperately needed money that he took on such a murky commission. The final result, naturally, was the death of a large number of people.
Good friend Jackie died from severe injuries, T-BUG died, Dexter DeShawn killed V, and Dexter DeShawn himself was Shot in the Head by Saburo Arasaka's Bodyguard, who came to investigate.
Evelyn herself had her chip burned out by the Voodoo Boys and was sold to film Illegal Braindance. If the later V hadn't rescued her in time, she would likely have ended up as a pile of minced meat thrown in the trash. However, she eventually Took Her Own Life in the shadows.
Therefore, Berry highly looked down upon Evelyn, this woman who was "Too Greedy, Like a Snake Trying to Swallow an Elephant." Whether you were good or bad in Night City, life was tough, but only fools died the fastest, and Evelyn was just such a fool who overestimated herself.
"...If you follow this path, Night City will always win. You must be careful." Judy warned her best friend with a serious expression.
"Of course I'll be careful," Evelyn replied simply, then turned and walked out the door. "We'll talk later."
Hearing Evelyn's casual tone, one knew she hadn't taken the warning to heart. Judy, worried for nothing, could only sigh.
"V, come here for a second." Evelyn, standing by the door, called V outside.
Unable to stop her best friend from stepping onto the abyss, Judy sat dejectedly in her Hacker Chair, staring blankly at the pulsing data on her computer.
"Hi, hello." Berry stepped forward and greeted her softly.
"Oh, it's you. Hello." Seeing Berry approach, Judy snapped out of her daze, her eyes lighting up. "My name is Judy. What's yours?"
"Uh, my name is Berry." Berry found it strange; Judy was quite enthusiastic, which was different from what she expected. She had thought Judy was the type of person who was hard to approach at first—an impression derived from the game.
It seemed that the game and reality were somewhat different, Berry thought, nodding.
"Berry (Berry), that's a nice name..." Judy leaned back on her Reclining Chair, biting her finger with her red lips, and scrutinized Berry from head to toe with interest, nodding internally with satisfaction.
She was exactly her type.
Berry was still racking her brain for a topic.
Although she had romanced Judy several times in the game, this was their first meeting in reality, and for a moment, she couldn't think of anything to break the ice.
She couldn't exactly say, "Hey, I really like your tattoo, can I see the Little Black Cat?"
She would definitely get beaten up, Berry confirmed with a nod.
But Berry didn't know, maybe Judy wouldn't mind?
Berry actually didn't understand Judy very well, even though she was Female V's wife in the game. Of course, this lack of understanding was limited to the sexual dynamics.
Judy was constantly called "wife" by Players playing Female V, but had they ever considered the possibility that the Player was actually the wife in Judy's eyes?
What kind of person was Judy? She was a Legendary True Lesbian who had achieved her Lesbian Awakening in elementary school. She developed feelings for pretty Female Classmates and tried to gain the attention of the Girls she liked by bullying them and hiding their dolls—this kind of behavior was not something a 'bottom' would typically do.
In other words, Judy has always been the 'T' in TP, the '1' in 10—the dominant role. In the game, after completing the Clouds Tower Side Mission, her kiss with V was more like Flirting Aggressively with a conquest target.
If that wasn't obvious, then in the River Cabin CG, Judy was mostly in the dominant position, while V spent most of the time as the Pillow Princess.
In other words, the 'wife' in the Player's eyes is actually the one who treats the Player as the wife. This relationship is confusing, but that's what it is.
There was only one explanation for her current enthusiasm toward Berry: this Lesbian had taken a liking to Berry.
Judy really liked Berry's type: neat, Ear-Length Short Hair paired with a Youthful Face—a perfect blend of vitality and soft cuteness. How could she let her go? She hoped for several rounds of Romantic Encounters.
Although her relationship with Evelyn was ambiguous and undefined, what was Evelyn's status? She was in the Service Industry, after all. Judy and she were free to see others; since they hadn't confirmed their relationship, there were no obligations.
And now, the target Judy had fixed her eyes on was Berry, a Mercenary with a Baby Face.
"Hey, let's exchange Contact Info and connect sometime." Judy smiled suggestively, quickly grabbed a slip of paper, and wrote down her contact details, noting that Berry hadn't installed any cyberware. "I know a great place; it would be a shame if you didn't come."
Avoiding the awkwardness of being the 'bottom' was the duty of the 'top'; how could the experienced Judy forget that?
"Uh, thanks." Berry found it strange. Why was Judy so enthusiastic? Could she have Transmigrated too? But she didn't exist in the original world, so shouldn't Judy be confused to see an extra person, rather than being so warm?
Throughout the conversation, Berry, completely led by Judy, was thinking wildly off-track.
When Berry took the slip of paper, Judy "accidentally" brushed Berry's hand. It was warm, making Berry feel a tingling sensation.
"Hey, Berry, let's go."
Judy wanted to say more, but hearing V's voice from outside the door, she could only shrug.
"Remember to contact me." Judy winked at Berry.
"Okay!" The naive Berry responded energetically. She still believed Judy was a genuinely nice and enthusiastic person.
Only V, who peeked through the door, looked at Judy with a face full of suspicion, unconsciously frowning.