Chapter 45

A blaring alarm and a barrage of heavy mechanical sounds thundered through the air as the lock disengaged with a dramatic clatter, and I couldn’t help but clench my fist and swallow hard.

W-What a cool way to open a door…!

It was a surprise that completely blew away the tense mood Jugra had just been projecting—and the part of me that lived for this kind of thing was giving a standing ovation.

When I looked to the side, Jugra was flashing a smug little grin on her otherwise beautiful face, beaming with joy at my reaction.

Beyond the heavy gate that had opened with such force, there appeared to be a corridor, and at the end of it, a more ordinary door, like one you’d find in a regular room.

"By the way, do those alarm sounds actually mean anything?"

"Of course not. I just thought it sounded cool, so I added it in. I’m serious—there’s literally no point to them. Just for show. But hey, not bad, right?"

"It was awesome. Show me again."

"Heh, right? Right? It looks cool when it closes too!"

Riding the wave of our late-night hype, we opened and closed the gate five times, totally immersed in the thrill of it all.

Honestly, if we hadn’t snapped out of it halfway through to remember why we even came here, we probably would've just gone home.

The door at the end wasn’t locked, and Jugra, who was leading the way, casually turned the knob and gestured for me to follow.

Wondering what might be waiting for us on the other side, my heart thumping with excitement, I stepped through the doorway—and came face-to-face with something that looked like a massive aerial vehicle, easily the size of a large transport truck.

"Whoa… is this an AV?"

"Nope. Not an Aerial Vehicle. Close, but no."

"Hmm… does it transform?"

"It docks, but it’s not the kind that forms up into some big combined robot or anything."

"Then does it attach to an AV and become weaponized?"

"Nope. It’s armed, but everything’s internal. No external parts."

"Hmm… it probably flies, right… Can it go underwater?"

"This one can’t. But we’ve got a full air-land-sea-capable unit in another room."

"Then… is this for space?"

"Bingo. This one’s a starship. It’s a prototype for a vehicle meant to travel the galaxy. The inside’s empty—we only built the frame. The generator tech hasn’t panned out yet, so we haven’t figured out a way to make it run semi-permanently."

I was floored.

A starship… They were building something straight out of a dream.

The attention to detail was incredible. Even the exposed piping looked amazing.

It didn’t have that sleek, cutting-edge aesthetic either—it was rugged, cluttered, pure cyberpunk. That gritty exterior really stood out.

But that’s what made it so good. It looked like a ridiculously cool model, brimming with pure, unfiltered wonder.

"I want to cruise the galaxy in this thing someday. Not a world tour—an interstellar one. The Moon and Mars already have footprints on them, so I want to find a star no one’s ever set foot on, terraform it, and build a base. Maybe even set it up as a hub, like a space station."

"That’s… a pretty romantic dream."

"Right? Can you picture what things’ll be like a hundred years from now? If we’ve got even one spaceship now, there’s no reason there won’t be more in a century. And if I end up being the first, if they put my name in the textbooks as the pioneer… that’d be amazing, don’t you think?"

Standing in front of the ship named Starship, Jugra asked me that with a huge, gleaming smile.

I nodded immediately—of course—and Jugra’s grin bloomed even wider.

She looked so happy, I just wanted to keep watching her like that forever, so I stayed quiet and listened as she eagerly launched into her next explanation.

"U.C. 0079. The Federation, outmatched by the Principality of Zeon in their war for independence, begins development of a next-gen mobile suit—"

"Hold up, hold up, hold up. What the hell is Universal Century!? How far into the future is that!? And where even is Zeon!?"

"Relax, I’m kidding. That’s the plot of an old mecha anime. But y’know, humans adapted to space environments—Newtypes—they might really exist a hundred years from now. Or maybe cyberpunk tech’ll solve it all. I mean, with Quickhacks being a thing, jumping into a hunk of metal like a Mobile Suit sounds like asking for a steel coffin."

She chuckled, then started explaining the concept of Mobile Suits, Gundams, Zaku units, and the like.

…Giant, bipedal robots, huh…? That’s got its own kind of charm.

Maybe Jugra’s creative spark came from all those Japanese animations.

"What about something like the Alaya-Vijnana system—spinal modification that lets you directly connect to the machine? Kind of like an extended Sandevistan."

"That’d turn someone cyberpsycho in no time! There’s already a risk just from implant swaps—hooking up directly is a disaster waiting to happen."

"Then what about a Psycommu System, where it’s controlled through brainwaves?"

"You’d be a sitting duck in combat if you tried something like that."

"First, we train. That’s where it all begins. Now then—David, attach this device."

"You already have something?! You’re ridiculous. Alright, alright, I’ll be your tester, Doc."

"Heh, I’m lucky to have such a capable assistant—my little test subj—oh."

"Did you just try to say 'test subject'!?"

So we dove right into a bit of playful roleplay, same as we did when she upgraded my last device.

Far from the bloodshed and chaos of battle, it felt amazing to lose ourselves in something this lighthearted. Both Jugra and I were all smiles.

She had me test out prototypes, threw me into simulation cockpits that felt way too real, and we butted heads over whether real-robot or super-robot models were the ideal. The whole time was just bursting with fun and fascination.

"…I’m hungry."

"…Oh yeah. It's night already, huh."

"Alright then, David—let’s eat some meat."

"We going out to grab food?"

"Nope. I’ve got a real cow that I smuggled in through Machine Dragon. Let’s butcher one and have a BBQ party. I bought them for breeding, but the farm isn’t ready yet, so we’ve gotta thin the herd a bit."

"…Wait, what?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, through Machine Drag—oh."

And just like that, I realized she was the one sponsoring all those enemies I’d been slaughtering on jobs lately. It also hit me what she meant earlier when she laughed and called herself Night City’s conscience.

She gave me a cute little “tehepero” face, so I forgave her.

Normally she’s this cool, handsome woman, so when she throws in a cheeky expression like that, the contrast is practically a weapon of mass destruction.

"Actually, if you’re sponsoring them, why’re you still taking jobs from Arasaka?"

"What? Arasaka pays well. I’ve gotta keep the cash flowing to feed all of you, don’t I? Honestly, after you took out Saburo, there’s not much use left for them anyway."

"So they’re getting killed off for that reason…?"

We moved over to a nearby rest area and started hauling stuff out of a side room.

As we set up a folding table and chairs, I couldn’t help but reflect on how deep—and fleeting—this whole cyberpunk life really was.

We put a metal grill plate on a portable stove in the middle of the table and laid out the plates, chopsticks, dipping sauces, and everything else the Delamains had silently brought over.

Then Jugra raised her right hand and snapped her fingers. With a loud dededon, two large trays were placed down from either side, holding thin, glossy, red-pink slices of something.

"Jugra, what… is this?"

"What do you mean? It’s meat. Beef. Real, fresh, organic beef. Totally different from that store-bought mock stuff."

"You’re serious…? This is the first time I’ve seen it… This is meat…? And beef means it came from that animal, right? A cow? Cows actually exist…?"

"Apparently they do, overseas. But they’re crazy expensive to raise, so it’s mostly on farms for rich people. They say those places are like fortresses—look more like prisons than anything."

"…Sounds kind of interesting. I’d like to see one."

"If you ever take a trip overseas, we’ll check it out. Anyway—the real star has arrived: white rice. Time to cook this up…!"

Jugra lit the stove and seared a square of beef fat, spreading it evenly across the surface.

Then, laying a glistening slice of beef onto the griddle, a mouthwatering aroma slowly began to fill the room.

…Damn. The smell of the meat cooking was already dangerous, but even more dangerous was Jugra’s flushed, sultry expression as she sat across from me, visibly excited.

What the hell kind of seductive look is that…?

Without thinking, I activated the camera function on my optical implant.

Noticing it, Jugra looked up at me. She must’ve assumed I was taking a picture of the grilled meat and not her, because she gave a smug nod before turning her gaze back to the grill.

When she flipped the meat with tongs, its seared surface revealed a wickedly beautiful char.

We exchanged a glance, then without dipping it in any sauce, brought the perfectly grilled meat to our mouths.

There was none of that chewy, rubbery texture—just meat so tender it practically melted under our teeth, packed with flavor so rich I was left speechless.

We silently kept grilling more slices, eating them with white rice, occasionally mixing in salad and ice-cold beer, savoring every bite.

"Heh, by the way, this meat? Even most corpo elites can't get their hands on it."

"No way… Are we seriously eating top-of-the-caste level food right now…?"

"Relax. I’ll wrap some up for you to take home later."

"Thanks, Jugra…! My mom’s gonna love this."

"Only downside is, once you eat this, everything else you thought was delicious just drops off the list."

"...Ahh crap, you’re right. I’m gonna have to compare everything I eat to this for the rest of my life…"

I clutched my head in genuine despair, and Jugra let out a quiet chuckle before slowly giving me a thumbs-up.

"Told you, I only used one of the breeding stock. Planning to quietly expand the herd so we can have gourmet yakiniku like this every day."

"I’m following you for life."

"Mhm. Count on it, my reliable assistant."

We both grinned with matching devious expressions.

With our stomachs full and the beer kicking in, a floaty lightheadedness started to set in.

Jugra seemed to be feeling it too—she left the cleanup to Delamain, then wobbled off toward a door labeled 'Nap Room,' gesturing for me to follow.

"While digging this place out, we happened to hit a hot spring, so I had them install a natural-flow bath. Tried it once—it’s amazing, David."

"Whoa, you’ve even got that here? This place is insane."

"I’m too sleepy to go home now, so we’re staying the night. Yaaawn… C’mon, hurry up and get in the bath and hit the sack already…"

…Wait. Is Jugra a lightweight?

That flushed face and the way her words were melting into each other—yep, she’s absolutely hammered.

And… she grabbed my hand. She’s pulling me toward the bath. Is she planning to get in with me???

"It’s all cedar—smells great, y’know…"

Jugra explained in a lazy, babyish tone, her eyes already half-closed, her usual demeanor nowhere in sight. I was seeing a whole new side of her.

…There’s a saying that goes, “A man who won’t take what’s offered has no pride,” but this… this has to be crossing a line.

If she slips under and drowns, it’ll be bad. Better to watch over her just in case.

Even as instinct howled from behind the bars of reason, I pretended not to hear it.

I mean, if we got together like this, it’d just feel wrong… Especially since I’ve actually fallen for what’s inside Jugra…

As I stood there deep in thought, Delamain appeared, holding a swimsuit for me.

Saved? Or… robbed of a once-in-a-lifetime chance? That was the question.

With Delamain and the others’ bodies forming a makeshift barrier, I stripped down and slipped into the trunks-style swimsuit from the wooden shelf.

When I turned around, Jugra—still dazed—was already changed into a sports bra and spats-style swimwear.

…Her porcelain skin practically burned my eyes.

Didn’t feel right to stare, so I gently took her small hand, pretending to escort her like a gentleman—

"Whoops, almost tripped…"

Jugra suddenly stumbled and clung tightly to my right arm, regaining her balance.

Through the thin fabric of our swimsuits, I felt the softness of her body, and a pulse of heat rushed to my lower half.

…Turning slightly to keep out of her line of sight, I clenched my jaw and held onto my self-control.

That was close… If I didn’t already have experience with Rebecca trying to honeytrap me the same way, I might’ve caved right then and there.

"Come on, David, let’s go."

"Y-Yeah. Careful not to slip."

…Please hang in there, my rational mind—!!