Chapter 27: New Template

“What choices?”
Kiwi looked up at Roland before her and couldn't help but speak up. After all... no one truly wanted to die.

“The first option: work for me to repay the losses you caused our company. The second option: become an experimental subject.”

“I choose the first one.”

Kiwi didn't hesitate for a second, immediately selecting the first option. Though she had no idea what kind of experiment it was, she was certain it couldn't be anything good.
Thinking this, Kiwi couldn't help but glance at Jhin beside her, a thought suddenly popping into her mind.

Could this guy... be the so-called test subject?

Roland, manipulating the Ascension Body, felt a bit baffled by Kiwi's gaze. He couldn't shake the feeling she was thinking something rather rude.

“Very well. Here are the damages you caused and the compensation we'll pay you. Take a look.”

Roland slowly produced a tablet from behind him, its screen densely packed with clauses. Kiwi scanned it rapidly with her cybernetic eye. When she saw the figure of one million euros in damages listed, her vision went black.

“One million euros?! Why not just rob someone?!”

“Robbery doesn't pay this fast.”

Roland spread his hands in a gesture of innocence. Kiwi glared at his smug expression, her teeth itching with fury. But when she glanced at Jhin, still standing nearby, her anger deflated like a punctured balloon. She slumped back onto the sofa.

“I understand...”

After a long sigh, Kiwi glanced at the compensation section. Her eyes widened at the figure of 20,000 eddies listed, along with mentions of bonuses and other incentives.
After carefully reading the employment terms, Kiwi stared at Roland with a strange look. If he hadn't just made her owe a million eddies, she'd have thought he was running a charity.

Compared to the relentless exploitation at other companies in Night City, this place actually offered fake leave? In this day and age, most companies opted to pump employees full of stimulants or nutritional supplements, demanding non-stop work.
Yet here, they could actually rest? That was something Kiwi hadn't anticipated.

Then she spotted the clause about being on call at a moment's notice. Her gaze immediately turned intensely peculiar as she stared at Roland.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Roland was utterly baffled.

“You... you wouldn't happen to have designs on me, would you? If you do, you can just say so.”

Roland's face darkened at the remark. He pointed toward the door, signaling for her to leave.

“Sign now, and you can go back to your own place.”

Realizing her misunderstanding from Roland's reaction, Kiwi gave an awkward laugh. After signing, she promptly made her exit with her long strides.

As for Roland's clause for Kiwi... it was only because she was Kiwi. His actual demands for netrunner skills weren't that high anyway. With the Lissandra Assistant Edition and Ascension at his disposal, his netrunner skills were already absurdly advanced.
And that was often when Ascension resorted to using guns. If he relied purely on netrunner skills... things would often become ridiculously simple.

“Ding!”

Hearing that familiar sound, Roland's expression instantly brightened. Finally, finally, he could browse the shop and buy something again.

“Congratulations! You have obtained [Orange Essence x10000]!”

“!!”

Hearing that number, Roland froze completely. This was a full ten thousand Orange Essences—he'd never been this rich in his entire life!
He rubbed his chin, pondering why Kiwi's situation differed from Gloria's.
Then the crucial difference dawned on him.

First, in the original story, after Maine and Dorio died, Kiwi's feelings for David and Lucy weren't particularly deep. Her earlier loyalty to the squad stemmed from her bond with Maine.
So she was actually quite willing to join the company—after all, big trees offer good shade.

Now Roland was offering her a chance to join a company with decent growth prospects. While it couldn’t compare to the industry giants, it offered more lenient management.
Frankly, she was still a Solo now, with no ties left to Maine and the others. Plus, she’d chosen to go solo as a netrunner purely for the pay.
The company's offer wasn't low—it essentially met Kiwi's needs. Her life trajectory had already shifted dramatically, and she likely wouldn't even see Maine and the others again.

Thinking about it... why the hell did Roland feel like he was the one getting screwed over??
He'd practically plucked Kiwi right out of the original storyline!

“You haven't altered the plot where she meets Lucy, so she still exists within the storyline—just slightly off course.”

“So she'll still meet Maine?”

“Based on current circumstances, yes.”

“Damn...”

Roland nodded, then set the matter aside for now. He began browsing the mall, now intent on selecting a combat template for himself.

Immediately, Roland's eyes locked onto the PROJECT: Shadow, prominently displayed in the mall. He must admit, Roland was quite fond of the PROJECT for Zed, and in the lore, the character's power was truly formidable.

Unfortunately... he lacked the essence.

The PROJECT: Shadow was priced at fifteen thousand Orange Essence, plus the key... Even if Roland sold everything he owned, he couldn't afford it. Moreover, unless something unexpected happened, Shadow's components couldn't be upgraded like those of Ascension.
This meant that unless he could pay the full price upfront, he wouldn't be able to unleash its full potential.

Actually, there was another major reason he wanted to buy Zed: the ability to upgrade him... Before upgrading, he could be a formidable force; after upgrading... he'd be at least boss-level, right?

But for now... Roland settled for the next best option, setting his sights on another template: PROJECT · Light, belonging to Master Yi.

It boasted formidable attack power, an acceleration mode rivaling or even surpassing Sandevistan's, and a potent overclocking mode.
In Roland's estimation, Light's strength shouldn't be inferior to Shadow's. While it was hard to say definitively who was stronger, the system listed Light at a lower price...
Perhaps because... Light lacked an upgrade template? Roland considered this highly probable.

“Then it's decided—you're the one!”

“Congratulations on acquiring the [PROJECT: Light] template!”

Roland didn't purchase Light's weapon, [Hyperlight Alpha], as funds were simply insufficient. He'd have to make do with a cyberpunk-style thermal katana...

Light drained every last Orange Essence from his body with the key, but it was worth every bit!

He now understood why it was cheaper than Shadow’s—Light’s performance had inherent instability. Likely due to prolonged experimentation and its prototype design, certain flaws remained.
Fortunately, the key could help fix them, though adaptation would take time.

Soon after, Roland felt his body undergoing transformation. A torrent of data enveloped his form, and when the white light faded...

Roland examined his arm with curiosity. Holy crap, this felt completely different from Ascension—perhaps because one was his own body, while the other was an artificial construct.

“Even my hair turned white... System, can you conceal this?”

“Host, the Light template includes built-in functions for such adjustments.”

“Hm?”

After some experimentation, Roland indeed discovered he could manipulate his skin's appearance. Removing the outer exoskeleton armor restored his form to near-normal, though mechanical gaps remained visible. At least it no longer screamed full-body modification.

Truthfully, with the PROJECT·Light template loaded, the only part of his body left untouched was his brain...

Fortunately, this template could be removed. Yet Roland had no intention of doing so until he acquired a more powerful one. Still, if given the chance, he'd want his original beef...