Chapter 37

What... is this...?

This scene is becoming clearer and clearer... I shouldn’t know it, and yet, I feel like I do.

The sound of a guitar performed before a roaring audience races through the venue.

Everyone is me, and I am you... Amidst the static-laced thoughts, the face of someone I shouldn’t know appears, and with it, a name floats up like I’ve known them forever—it’s unbearable.

What... happened to me? Remember. Who... am I?

I am... I am Vincent. Vitt of the 《Jackals》.

So why are these people calling me Johnny?

A high-pitched white noise, like ringing in my ears, bursts through.

The scene changes. This is... inside a helicopter?

Gradually, the differences in the scenery before my eyes become apparent—everything looks old. In an age where aerial vehicles are the norm, helicopters should’ve been phased out.

In other words... am I being shown someone else’s old memory?

The helicopter flies over Night City... Ah, this is one hell of an old memory.

That structure, which should be the ruins of the old Arasaka Tower, is still standing—it must be from a long time ago. A memory from at least half a century ago.

Rogue, Shaitan, Spider Murphy—none of those names ring a bell.

I’ve figured out that the guy I’m reliving this through is called Johnny... Ah, so this guy... This is Johnny Silverhand.

The legendary terrorist who once stormed the Arasaka Tower and blew it sky-high with a nuclear bomb—so I’m watching his memories now.

The turrets firing on the rooftop... I swear I can almost hear the sound of a Gatling gun in the back of my mind.

Then, breaking inside, descending with a ridiculously cool handgun, planting bombs in the elevator—that’s the plan, huh.

So that’s how it really went down, I think, continuing to watch with the detached curiosity of someone picking popcorn with one hand.

Like a scene straight out of a movie, the unstoppable rampage pumps me up. The appearance of that old-school ICE breaker brings it to a climax.

Damn, if someone published this, it’d be a hell of a scoop... 

Maybe I was enjoying it too much.

Then he appeared.
Adam Smasher.

Every drop of blood drained from my body.

...He doesn’t seem to have that much tech. Is he... partly organic?

Resistance was futile. He tore through my abdomen with the heavy machine gun I was holding—and, huh?

At some point, I’d climbed back up to the helipad and was trying to escape... only to fail and get shot again by Adam.

Looks like he’s been using that projectile launcher since way back then. Ah, now I remember.

『I... back then, I got my heart blown out by Adam Smasher in the underground parking lot』

After that, I tasted the unbearable torment of the Soulkiller that Johnny must’ve gone through, like a deathbed flashback—then blacked out.

A voice—someone’s voice is calling. Calling my name...

『Wake up, please wake up, V. If you die, everything ends. I know I’ve done horrible things to you. You have every right to hate me. You don’t have to forgive me. But please... please wake up—Vincent』

That weak voice, tightly gripping my right hand, belonged to Little Boss.

Ugh... Aaagh... A searing pain, like molten fire, surges back through my body.

My vision flickers, pushing through the white noise—light from a surgical lamp burns into my eyes.

This place... I can't move, but I roll my eyes to look around. It’s somewhere I’ve never seen before.

But ahead of me, I see Little Boss sleeping, still holding my right hand.

So this is... reality?

My body is wrapped in bandages, and sure enough, I can still feel my left arm...

Strange. I thought it got shredded halfway up the bicep—but looking over, I see a silver arm that I’ve seen before. No, I couldn’t forget it.

—Hah, the girl’s got good taste. And you—get up already. Still half-asleep or what?

『...Who are you?』

The man who traced the Samurai jacket logo on Little Boss’s back looks at me calmly.

He flickers, like distorted data, giving off the unmistakable vibe of someone not quite human.

Dressed like a punk rocker performing in a dingy bar, wearing outdated armor, the man just shrugs in response to my question.

With the ease of someone walking into their own home, he drops into the nearest chair, removes his aviators, hangs them on his chest, and cracks a smile.

【Can’t believe there’s still people who don’t know me. You must be a real backwater hick. Listen up and listen good. I’m Johnny Silverhand. The guy living inside your head. ...Well, technically, it’s the chip in your neck】

『The biochip... It activated!?』

【Too bad, kid. You hit all the conditions to fire up the 《Relic》. That full-tech bastard blew your heart out—that was the trigger】

『How the hell do you know all that...?』

【Heh, it’s all still in your head. Detailed logs and everything. Seems it booted up halfway, so now I’m half-awake. The girl over there stuck in a new heart and a new left arm and saved your sorry ass. You owe her your life】

『Little Boss...』

【Now here’s the real shit: I’m a digital ghost now. I can’t leave your body. Only you can hear my sexy voice. So yeah, let’s get along, Vincent】

This guy’s acting pretty friendly, huh? But just like I saw his memories, maybe he’s seen mine too.

I mean, the guy who took down Arasaka, the ultimate terrorist rocker... He must’ve seen me rise from corporate trash to street punk, and now, after all this, maybe he decided he liked me.

『Yeah... I’m counting on you, Johnny. Can you see what’s going on around me when I’m unconscious?』

【If it’s within your sensory range, yeah. Through your cyberware, I can pick up some info. ...By the way, you smoke? Been dying for a drag—first time in fifty years】

『...Can’t right now. Little Boss hates cigarettes』

Johnny dramatically throws up his hands, shrugs, and sighs as he looks at Little Boss.

Guess he still knows how to respect the one who saved my life. That’s a relief.

【Tch, fine, fine. I waited fifty years. I can wait a few more minutes】

『Sorry. I’ll let you try the modern flavors later, so hang tight』

【...Hmph. Fine. I’ll be looking forward to it】

『Gonna wake Little Boss now. You cool with that?』

【...Sigh. You still haven’t realized it? I only exist to you. Be careful not to talk to me out loud, or people will think you’re a junkie】

『That’s bad... Little Boss hates drugs. She’s actively purging them from the city right now. If I pulled something like that, it’d be a disaster』

Hearing that, Johnny makes an unreadable expression, leans back in his chair, and crosses his legs.

Ah, he must’ve seen my memories—so he knows a bit about Little Boss too.

【A city like Night City, getting thrown into chaos by a fifteen-year-old girl... I really didn’t want to see that】

『Tough luck. If you’re under Little Boss, you better get used to it』

【...Our rock, our screams... they sure got preserved in a strange new shape. ...Hah.】

Johnny spun around in his chair and raised both hands in a surrender pose.

Getting the most notorious terrorist to say all that—just like I’d expect from Little Boss.

Just how much responsibility is being held by that small hand gripping my right one? It makes me feel pathetic as an adult.

Maybe my words—more like my monologue—reached her somehow, because Little Boss slowly blinked open her eyes, looking dazed and sleepy.

Then, the moment she saw me sitting up, her eyes went wide. She let go of my hand, pressed a palm to my shoulder, and pushed me back down onto the bed.

"Wha—You just had a heart transplant, idiot! What the hell are you doing sitting up!? You trying to die!?"

"A-Ah… sorry, Little Boss. Looks like I caused a lot of trouble."

"…Haaah, I should be the one saying that. My bad. I didn’t think we’d get hit with an ambush like that. We’ll cover the surgery expenses on our end. Just focus on resting now. …I’m seriously glad you made it back. There don’t seem to be any major complications, but if anything feels off, make sure you speak up."

"Ah, about that…"

I glanced at Johnny, and he gave me a bored nod.

Seems he’s recognized Little Boss’s competence too and wants to hear her diagnosis as the attending doctor.

Little Boss followed my sudden shift in gaze, then blinked and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I see. Then I’ll go ahead and run the saucer. It might help explain what’s going on with you."

"Please do. I’ll leave the diagnosis to you, Little Boss."

"Good. Saves us time… Haaah… figures. I’ll have to take down the '100% mission success' sign."

"What’s that supposed to mean…?"

"Listen closely, Vitt. This bio-chip—《Relic》—is partially activated and currently in a save mode. It completed the initial setup, but something blocked the rest from running. This chip isn’t the same as the 《Relic》 Arasaka is about to release. It’s one of the early prototypes. There are a lot of discrepancies between it and the data I have. Honestly… this thing’s a custom chip—or maybe even just a sample. There are activation logs, but all of them failed. Yet somehow, you’ve adapted to it."

"Is it safe to remove it?"

"Impossible."

"…Huh?"

"I said it’s a bio-chip, didn’t I? It uses cutting-edge nanomachine tech. And not just any kind—these mimic IPS cells. Based on the blueprint stored in the chip, IPS nano-cells have already entered your system. If 《Relic》 reactivates, those nanomachines will resume their original task. They’ll latch onto your brain cells, nerves, and the like, and start reconstructing your body according to the blueprint. It’s already fused with your neural port—you can’t pull it out. Forcibly removing it would be like ripping out part of your brain."

"So… So you’re saying it can never be taken out? Not ever…?"

It was clear from the deep furrow in her brow that even Little Boss was out of her depth on this one.

She pulled the saucer cord from my right wrist port, sat back in her chair, closed her eyes, and fell into deep thought.

When I looked toward Johnny, he was staring intently at Little Boss, clearly shocked.

【This girl—what is she, some Nobel Prize-winning scientist or something? An Arasaka researcher maybe?】

(No, Little Boss is a genius techie raised in the streets. She dabbled in medicine, her talent bloomed, and she started branching out. But her main gig’s what you see—she’s a ripperdoc.)

【…A bit overloaded on titles, don’t you think? Techie, ripperdoc, fixer. That’s already more than enough to make my head spin。】

(…Well, she’s Little Boss, after all.)

Little Boss opened her eyes and gave me a serious look.

I could already guess what she was about to say, but I still braced myself for it.

"The chances aren’t zero. If I had access to a state-of-the-art report on nanomachine technology, maybe—maybe—I could do something. Sorry, Vitt. I’m a techie pretending to be a ripperdoc, not some top-tier brain surgeon. This issue is extremely delicate. It’s not something as simple as pulling out a splinter—please understand that."

"…Yeah. I trust your diagnosis, Little Boss. So what should I do?"

"For now, complete rest. You had a heart transplant. You’ll be bedridden for at least a week. If your immune system starts reacting, it could get bad fast. You need to be somewhere we can resuscitate you if things go south. We don’t know when 《Relic》 will reactivate either. After that… you’ll have to trace the origin of the 《Relic》. I’ll process it as a formal job on our end. Use the 《Jackals》 to carve out your future."

"You sure that’s okay?"

"Tch. I told you, didn’t I? I’d pay you a Major League-sized reward. …Well, this time the handoff failed, so it’s technically a bust—but we’ll compensate you properly. Think of it as workplace injury coverage. Besides, I’m keeping an eye on the moves of that rising group, 《Machine Dragon》. You stay quiet for a while. Arasaka’s not a concern. 《Machine Dragon》’s announcement has drawn all the attention their way. No one realized you guys were even there."

He nodded, soothed by Little Boss’s kind, comforting tone, and exhaled, feeling the weight of being alive.

Really, it’s a miracle I made it back alive from that storm. …Well, my heart was blown out, so technically I did die—guess I was just brought back.

As expected of Little Boss. If your head’s intact, she’ll revive you—puts even the most exaggerated advertisements to shame.

Come to think of it… my left arm, which should’ve been torn off, looks awfully metallic now. Probably should ask for an explanation about that.

『That’s my old Silverhand. No mistake. One of a kind in the world, custom-made. Its movements, its quirks… all improved, sure—but that’s definitely my left arm. You peeked into my memories, right? Then you should understand.』

(So it really is… Which means Johnny is inside me.)

『…Yeah, I figured you understood. More like—that’s probably why it happened in the first place…』

(Johnny?)

『Nah, you don’t need to know. This is my burden. My screw-up. If I’d taken Arasaka down properly back then…』

(If that bomb didn’t work, then that was probably the best shot anyone could take. That was one hell of a method—pure intent to kill.)

『But I failed. I fucked it up. I couldn’t save Alt… I’m just a damn loser.』

(Alt? Your girlfriend?)

『…………Yeah, something like that. If you wanna call a messy fuck-and-get-fucked comfort loop “love,” sure.』

As the conversation with Johnny went on, the more it felt like chatting with an old friend—familiar, easy. That was when Little Boss’s face came into view, wearing a bitter expression.

—Crap, that’s right! Johnny’s invisible to everyone else, so to Little Boss, I must’ve looked like a lunatic, grinning and talking to thin air.

Wait—does Little Boss even know about Johnny?

"Are you seeing not just auditory hallucinations, but visual ones too? After analyzing your memory imprints, I learned the name—Johnny Silverhand. He was the guitarist of 《SAMURAI》 half a century ago, known for his uncompromising rock. His speech might be rough, but that’s a product of the anti-corp rebellion he lived through. He’s also one of the legends who ‘fucked up’ the old Arasaka Tower. They even have a cocktail named after him at 《Afterlife》. You should go sometime. …Ah, now that I think about it, Rogue—the queen of 《Afterlife》—was with you that day, wasn’t she? Could be worth meeting her to look for clues about the 《Relic》."

"I-I see. So… this is normal?"

"Who knows. If you look at the public-facing 《Relic》 catalog, it’s described as a tool that allows you to reunite and converse with the dead. Essentially, a program that simulates a person as a full AI. …But in that case, there’d be no need for nanomachines. BD tech could do the job just fine. It does sound like something Arasaka would’ve developed in secret—but there’s no definitive proof either way. Vitt, that thing stuck in your neck—it’s an unknown chip, and your partner in death. Don’t do anything that might get it removed. You’d literally die."

"A-Ah… I’ll keep that in mind."

"Good. Then get some rest. I’ll handle the report to the others. Good night, Vitt."

"Yeah, thanks for everything, Little Boss. Good night."

Little Boss muttered something under her breath, then exhaled through her nose and walked away.

…Now that I think about it, where am I? I forgot to ask…

『No right to be thanked, huh… She’s pretty twisted up, that girl…』

Johnny murmured something too, but his voice was too faint to catch.

…Is smoking allowed here?

Thinking that, I felt around my body to find a cigarette—but I was in a hospital gown, and they weren’t in their usual spot.

Naturally, I couldn’t move anyway. The pain that came with any motion was unbearable, so going to get them was out of the question—not to mention, I didn’t even know where I was.

…Johnny looked at me with a mix of exasperation and visible irritation over the broken promise about smoking. My bad.