NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21: 19
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"Damn, I knew there was no such thing as an easy plan," Alex Carter muttered, sitting on the bed with a wry smile.
He was currently in an apartment in the H10 Megabuilding.
Of course, it wasn't V's apartment, but the one next to hers.
Initially, Alex had hoped to get closer to V.
Unfortunately, it seemed his intentions were too transparent for her to miss.
Without a word, she rented another room next door, using her own money.
His dream had turned into a mere bubble.
"Ah, it's going to be a long journey," Alex sighed, getting up to open the large box they'd retrieved from the car.
Inside was the body of Adam Smasher, reduced to a human stick with a downgraded prosthetic replacement.
And, the Relic chip he wanted to acquire from V and Jackie.
After Dexter DeShawn, the fixer, was killed, Evelyn Parker, who had posted the job, went silent.
The chip held no value for V and Jackie anymore.
"Click!"
With a whoosh of air, the safe containing the Relic slowly opened.
Alex carefully took out the Relic chip, shimmering with a purple halo.
"This looks much more refined than in the game, huh."
To prevent the chip from being exposed to air and affecting its integrity, Alex carefully inserted it into his neural socket after a brief inspection.
"I hope the Blacklight virus can handle this; otherwise, this whole plan is a loss..."
Alex murmured, then pulled out Dexter's pistol.
"Click," the pistol was loaded.
"Deep breath..."
Taking a deep breath, Alex closed his eyes.
"Bang!"
After a gunshot, vibrant blood mixed with white brain matter splattered out.
Alex fell heavily to the ground...
However, in the next second, a faint red light switched on and off quickly.
In less than a heartbeat, his shattered skull restored itself to its original state.
"..."
Alex sat up on the ground, staring silently at the system interface that showed his auxiliary heart cooling down.
Good grief.
This thing actually works.
But is now really the time to test it?
In desperation, Alex raised his gun again, aiming at his temple...
"Bang!"
Another shot.
This time, his consciousness plunged into complete darkness...
...
In the midst of chaos, bright stage lights were dazzling.
A man with silver arms played the guitar passionately, as if bidding farewell to everything.
Rebellion, resentment, reluctance...
A mix of emotions.
At the end of the final concert, the man lit a cigar and walked out the door without a word.
His bandmates quickly ran over, stopping him.
"Johnny, wait!"
"Come on, it's not too late to turn back now!"
The man put his arm around his companion's neck: "Come here, brother."
"Screw the band, screw the audience, screw the cheers, be yourself."
This was the last advice he left his companions.
His companion looked at him deeply: "Damn, I'll miss you so much."
The man nodded.
"Then see you in the next life, my friend."
With that, he pushed open the metal door.
The noise of a helicopter's rotor outside rushed in instantly.
Beside the helicopter stood a stern woman who had been waiting a long time.
"You're late."
The man smiled nonchalantly.
"I just love seeing you like a madwoman, makes it hard to look away."
"Come on, don't make me change my mind," the woman said coldly.
...
The whole of Night City was in chaos, and the helicopter carrying a group of armed men hovered above the Arasaka Tower.
Ferocious firepower rained down, leveling all anti-air defenses.
The man broke into the Arasaka Tower and deployed the bomb in the elevator.
With the help of hackers, the Liberator virus was uploaded to Arasaka's terminal.
Everything went smoothly.
However, just as the man was about to evacuate...
"Boom!"
With a loud explosion, the door was blasted open, sending the man flying.
Fortunately, his enhancements shielded him from harm.
But...
"Bang... bang..."
Heavy footsteps echoed through the smoke, and a hulking figure, surrounded by defensive forces, appeared before the man.
Simultaneously, the man heard his teammates' exclamations in his earpiece.
"Shit, that's Adam Smasher!"
"Johnny, run!"
Indeed, Adam Smasher was relentless.
Despite the man's best efforts, he ultimately fell at Smasher's feet.
"Smasher..."
"I told you, Johnny, you'd die by my hands eventually!"
With those words, the projectile launcher on Smasher's arm activated, aiming at the man beneath him...
"Boom!"
...
The man's consciousness blurred.
The sky filled with black snow.
A blooming mushroom cloud.
Arasaka staff in radiation suits...
All this seemed to signify their attack's success.
...
When the man awoke again, he was greeted by the mushroom cloud still lingering outside the window, and Arasaka's torturers.
Heh... Torture... They underestimated him, Johnny Silverhand.
Soon, an old man approached.
"Hey, I know you, Saburo Arasaka!" the man greeted with a smile.
But God knew how much resentment and anger lay beneath his voice.
Saburo Arasaka spoke in a deep voice: "Leave us. I want to look into his eyes."
No one dared defy his orders.
A moment later, only the man, Saburo Arasaka, and a researcher remained in the lab.
The man looked at the mushroom cloud outside, sighing: "It's incredible, burn it to ashes!"
The researcher adjusted the instruments with a blank expression.
"My husband died in the tower..."
As she spoke, she placed an instrument on the man's head and said, "But in this world, there's a fate worse than death..."
...
Alex's consciousness gradually returned.
What he saw was the familiar black-blue virtual space.
A vague figure stood beside him.
Seeing this scene, and recalling Johnny Silverhand's memories that surfaced in his mind, how could he not know?
He succeeded!
Well, partially succeeded.
At least he hadn't died, and he'd successfully activated the Relic.
The rest depended on whether the Blacklight virus could resist the Relic's invasion.
In his plan, Johnny had to be saved.
But before that, he needed to get a handle on things himself.
After all, this madman who blew up the Arasaka Tower with a nuke was still quite the wild card.
And his original personality differed somewhat from how he was later in the game.
With that in mind, Alex slowly moved through the space, and Johnny gently patted his shoulder from behind.
"Who are you?" Johnny turned, surprised.
Alex grinned: "I'm your landlord!"
...
"Ah... damn, my head!"
The first thing Alex felt upon waking was a massive headache.
"Alex! Are you okay?" V's voice came from beside him.
Alex opened his eyes to see V looking at him worriedly.
Feeling the pain rapidly subsiding, Alex slowly shook his head.
"I'm fine."
"Are you trying to kill yourself? Your mood seems very unstable. Is it related to your biological prosthetics? Or something from the lab?"
V asked a barrage of worried questions.
She had heard the gunshot and rushed over.
The moment she entered, she found Alex lying in a pool of blood with a gaping head wound.
However, the "biological prosthetics" that were still healing him made it clear to V.
Such a fatal injury might not be the end for Alex.
But that only heightened V's concern.
Naturally, Alex hadn't told them about the Blacklight virus's origins.
So, since Victor's initial assessment, V and Jackie had come up with their own theories.
Plus, seeing Alex's shooting "suicide" attempt just now...
At this point, V couldn't help but wonder if Alex had some terrible trauma.
After all, wanting to die but being unable to... what a terrifying thought.
No wonder Alex preferred riskier hand-to-hand combat in battles.
Faced with V's assumptions, Alex was momentarily stunned, then shook his head with a wry smile: "Don't worry, I'm really fine."
"Phew... that's a relief." Hearing Alex's words, V felt a weight lift from her heart.
"I was going to suggest you stay with me, so I could keep an eye on you..."
Upon hearing this, Alex quickly changed the subject.
"Cough cough... Actually, I think I might need someone to watch over me."
"So maybe staying with you isn't such a bad idea."
---
Note: The chapter includes Johnny Silverhand's memories from fifty years ago, as seen in the game during the "My Heart is on Fire" plotline. For those familiar with the game, this may seem more straightforward. Johnny blows up the Arasaka Tower, and the music for the hidden ending is titled "The Rebel Path."