Chapter 21: A Familiar Stranger

“Lissandra, I need an explanation.”
Roland’s face was dark as he spoke. After all, he’d changed the protagonist’s fate—how could that only be worth a tiny bit of Orange Essence?

“You didn’t completely change David Martinez’s destiny,” Lissandra replied calmly. “Based on the current trajectory, he’ll still attend Arasaka Academy and continue being ostracized by his classmates. What you did was alter Gloria’s fate—she wouldn’t die at that point in time—and slightly adjust parts of David’s path.”

Roland frowned deeply. In other words, Gloria might have escaped death for now, but that didn’t mean she was safe forever. And from the look of things, David would still meet Lucy eventually.

Worse yet, because of his interference, David might lose the Sandevistan that was originally supposed to be his. What kind of consequences that would cause was anyone’s guess. Still, since Lissandra put it that way...

It meant the changes weren’t enough. Fate was still trying to correct itself. David could still become an edgerunner, and Gloria might still die—just at a different time.

“Tch... what a pain. Guess I’ll just take it one step at a time.”
Roland rubbed his temples. At least he had enough Orange Essence now to upgrade Jhin’s cyberware body. Except for the missing weapon, the full Ascension set was complete. Now it was time to see which remaining template he actually needed.

“Hmm... I should start by getting myself a new template...”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he browsed through the options,He finally settled on three templates: Shadow, Wind, and Light. The others... either didn’t appeal to him or were far too expensive.

If he could really choose freely, he’d grab a Super Body and let this world find out what it felt like to face a boss-level monster.

Moments later, he watched as his fully intact Ascension body disintegrated into pure data, only to be reconstructed again in its pristine form.

“...System, where’s the cyberware I bought?”

“...”

Suddenly, a heap of mechanical parts materialized on the floor.
Roland blinked. “Did I just trigger a loot drop?”

He ignored the mess for now and focused on syncing with the new Ascension body, testing its functions. The raw power inside it was undeniable—his limbs might not look bulky, but the precision-engineered muscle fibers could unleash terrifying force in an instant.

The sluggishness he’d once felt was gone. Every movement was smooth, perfectly synced with his neural commands. Finally, this body could keep up with his mind.

The PROJECT-grade cyberware and high-end systems embedded within him hummed quietly—stolen tech, sure, but top-tier nonetheless. The only drawback was that this body no longer had a cyberport compatible with the Cyberpunk world. But for someone using the Ascension Template, that wasn’t much of a problem.

After adapting to his new body’s strength, Roland guided Ascension out of the office. Time to take on some gigs—maybe he’d even run into a few familiar faces from the original storyline.

By his calculations, Maine should be about twenty-one or twenty-two by now. Even if he hadn’t joined the edgerunners yet, he’d be close.

As for Sasha... Roland liked that character, though he wasn’t sure of her exact age. Judging from the fragments he’d seen, she seemed to be in her twenties too.
He couldn’t quite remember her mother’s name, but vaguely recalled she’d worked for the state, got injured, and later died of neural decay during a biotechnica drug trial.

Whether he’d find her now—or at all—would depend on luck.

Roland made his way to Karula Bar, a favorite spot for edgerunners. You could buy meds, trade goods, or just hang around and chat without too many eyes watching.

“Hm? That’s...”
Jhin’s gaze caught on a small girl with turquoise twin-tails sitting on a wrecked car, sipping soda through a straw. She wore an oversized jacket that nearly swallowed her frame. For some reason, one name instantly flashed through Jhin’s mind—

Rebecca.

“No way... judging by her height, she hasn’t grown at all.”
Jhin squinted. She couldn’t be older than twelve.
A twelve-year-old hanging around a place like this didn’t feel right... yet somehow, in Night City, it made perfect sense.

Noticing his stare, the girl turned toward him curiously. Jhin quickly looked away. He was here to gather intel on new edgerunners, not creep out minors.
By his timeline, Maine should’ve just started making a name for himself.

“Wassup, choom? what are you looking at?”
The familiar sharp voice—and that “choom” tag—made Jhin’s mouth twitch. He turned and found the twin-tailed girl now standing right beside him.

“choom... you mean me?”
“Yup.”
She nodded decisively. No question about it.

Jhin clicked his tongue. “Alright then. What’s your name, kid?”
“Eh~ choom, you’re not some kind of creep, are you?”
Her face twisted in mock disgust, and Jhin’s expression darkened.

“Rebecca. That’s my name. What about you, choom?”
“Jhin.”
“You an edgerunner?”
“You could say that,” Jhin said with a small grin. “Though technically, only half of one.”

He hadn’t expected it—but yeah, this bratty little loli was definitely the same Rebecca he knew.

“Then you’ve gotta have a gun! Lemme see it!”
Her eyes lit up when he nodded. She darted in close, practically pressing up against him.

Jhin looked down at the face so close to his own and slowly drew his weapon.

“Ohhhhhh!!!”
Rebecca’s eyes went wide with delight. She grabbed the gun, hugging it tight and rubbing it against her cheek like a new toy.

“Hey, choom, how come I’ve never seen this model before?”
She turned the weapon over in her hands, admiring every inch, before glancing back up at Jhin.

“It’s custom-made,” Jhin said, hands clasped casually over his knees. “You won’t find it anywhere else.”

“Then it’s gotta be super expensive...”
Rebecca whistled softly, clearly impressed, then reluctantly handed the gun back.

“No need,” Jhin said. “Consider it a gift, Rebecca.”

She froze. “...You’re not seriously hitting on me, are you?”
“How rude. Just take it. And maybe next time, we’ll meet for real.”

Jhin gave her a helpless smile, waved, and walked off. Rebecca watched him go, her expression unreadable.

“Hey, Rebecca! What are you doing over there?”
“Mind your own damn business, bro!” she snapped back without looking.

As Jhin’s figure disappeared into the distance, Rebecca sighed, glancing down at the gun in her hands. She ran a thumb along the barrel, still trying to figure out what exactly he meant by those parting words.