Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System

"UOOOOOOOOH!"

The noodle shop shook with cheers and applause, excitement quickly filling the air. The crowd had been silent a moment ago, listening with rapt attention to the performance broadcast on the shop's old TV, but the moment it ended, they went wild.

It was the Final Encore, a yearly show where the nation's most popular musicians, singers, and idols compete for the title of best. Watching it had long since become a national tradition, so most people tune in to it as they wait for the countdown to the end of the year.

"You serious?" Ross asked.

"Yeah, I am serious," Dante replied, holding up a glass filled with a golden brown liquid. "Apparently, I've been putting a lot of stress on my body."

Since most of the other guests were gathered around the corner, those uninterested in the show had to retreat to a table in the corner.

"You had three organs replaced all at once?" Glenn said. "That's… insane."

"Tell me about it. Imagine hearing the news after waking up in a hospital bed."

The young office worker had brought a bottle of whiskey he got as a gift, having decided to share it with everyone. On a rare occasion, Dante decided to have a glass, and in an even rarer one, Ross declined. Little Ellie was currently on his lap, barely keeping her eyes open. The noise helped her stay awake, but that didn't seem like it would work for long.

Most of the night went just like that. While the music played in the background, Dante and the others sat aside and talked about the things that had happened while he was away.

He learned about the struggles Ross was facing at his job after the riots at the city hall. Glenn apparently got a promotion, climbing another step in the corporate ladder. Everyone was eager to hear Dante's story, and although he kept it as vague as it could be, they were still shocked by it.

"Are you… Are you okay?" Ross asked.

"Yeah, I made a full recovery." Taking a sip from his glass, Dante added. "Never want to go through it again, though."

"I meant financially…" Casting his gaze down, the maintenance worker looked at his daughter.

"Hold on-"

"Ah, she's okay, no need to worry."

Unfreezing, Dante heaved a long sigh and placed his cup down. Among them, Ross was likely the most knowledgeable when it comes to the prices of bionic organs, so it's no wonder that he looked ghastly pale after hearing about Dante replacing three.

"You almost gave me a heart attack." He said.

"You still have the original, right?" Glenn asked.

"It's still beating," Dante replied. He was going to add not 'not for long' but decided against it.

On the other side of the shop, Nobara yelled for the crowd to shut up just as another song started.

"Man, I don't know whether to be jealous or not," Glenn said. "It'll be years before I have enough to replace a single organ."

"Fast money comes with fast problems," Jonah said. "Just look at him. He almost died for that Gold. What's there to be jealous about?"

"Hey, don't say it like I don't do proper risk assessment," Dante said. "It's just that sometimes things don't go as planned."

"Oooof… I hate when that happens." Glenn said.

"We all do," Jonah added.

They raised their glasses and drank to that. Soon after, Ross got up, pushing his chair back.

"Well then, that's it for me." He said. "Better leave before the temptation grows too strong."

"The little one is getting sleepy, too," Jonah said. "Want me to give you a ride?"

"I… would really appreciate it," Ross replied.

The old officer likely planned to make that offer, which is why he held back on the alcohol.

"I should get going as well," Glenn said. "Gotta work on something tomorrow."

"On your one day off?" Jonah asked.

"If I'm to win the rat race, I'd better get a head start whenever I can." Pushing the whiskey bottle toward Dante, he added. "Don't overdo it, okay?"

"Yeah yeah, I will probably call it a night soon, too." Noticing the little girl looking at him, Dante smiled and waved at her. "Good night, Ellie."

"Good night." She said in her cute little voice.

The four left, and Dante sat alone with his thoughts, but not for long. A plate of snacks was placed in front of him, full of nuts and beef jerky. On the other side of the table, a beautiful blue blue-haired girl sat down, still wearing her blue yukata, although the sleeves were no longer tied.

"Lucky me," Dante said. "I get the most beautiful girl in the shop to keep me company."

"Grandma insisted." Suzuka sighed and pushed a glass toward him.

"What a troublesome grandma we have." Dante took the whiskey bottle and poured some for her.

"Honestly." Taking a sip, the girl heaved a long sigh. "It's your fault, you know?"

"My fault?"

"Of course it's yours." She replied. "There have been other suitors before, but this is the first time she has been so persistent. You clearly did something to make her act like this."

Dante tried to recall, but nothing stood out in his mind.

"Maybe she's just tired of the delay?" Dante replied.

"I highly doubt that." Leaning on the table, she propped her head with a hand, holding her glass up and staring at it. "Whatever the case, I will have to disappoint her again."

Smiling, Dante furrowed his brows a little.

"Oh? And why is that?"

She smiled back at him.

"Because it will never work between us." She replied.

As he never had any interest in entering into a relationship with the beautiful girl, Dante didn't really care about this conclusion. Still, he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little bit curious about her reason.

"Now I gotta know the reason."

"Well, let's just say I'm not interested." Shifting her gaze, she looked at something a short distance away.

Dante followed her gaze, and when he saw what she was looking at, his eyes went wide.

"No way…" He asked.

Suzuka only shrugged and sipped her drink. After a moment of silence, Dante turned to her with a wry smile.

"Just to be clear, it's not the brat, right?"

Her gaze snapped in his direction, and her eyes narrowed into a sharp glare. That alone said it all, and Dante heaved a long sigh. They were looking at Finn and Kizuna, the green-haired girl. The two seemed absorbed in some game, with a screen projected on the wall and old controllers in hand.

"I... didn't think it was possible." Dante chuckled. "You aren't kidding me, right?"

"What's so odd about it?" Suzuka frowned slightly. "I'm not the first, you know?"

"Well, people like that usually have problems."

Nowadays, the number of people in relationships with AI is high enough for it to no longer be a fringe concept. There was an entire industry built around it, with people developing both the software and hardware. That said, no one has come close to creating something on the level of that green-haired girl.

"Did you make- did you make her yourself?"

At the last second, Dante decided to refer to the girl with her instead of it, just to be respectful. After all, if he didn't have Volcan around, he would never have realized she was a clanker.

"Yeah," Suzuka nodded. "I was trying to make a stand in for myself, but… well…"

Seeing that she wasn't interested in giving him the details, Dante turned to his drink and didn't pry any further. That was when a question popped into his head.

"Does your grandma know?"

"Haven't told her yet," Suzuka replied. "I don't think she hadn't noticed, though. She's probably feigning ignorance."

"Playing dumb, huh? That sounds like something she would do."

Having known her for a year, Dante had noticed that the only relative Nobara ever mentions is her granddaughter. Though there was no evidence, he began to assume that the girl was her only living family, which would explain why she wanted her to have children quickly.

Whether it's for her own sake, or for her granddaughter's, Dante didn't know. That said, the world is a lonely place, and it would only get lonelier once one loses the most basic connections they have. Dante knew that better than anyone.

'... could it be…'

As a thought began to form in his mind, Dante noticed that the music had stopped, and that the crowd was silent as well. At first, he thought that the program was on break, but it seemed like there was more to it than that. Seeing that Finn was watching with a serious expression as well, Dante got up from his seat and went to check.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Glancing at him, Finn returned his to the screen and frowned.

"They announced a press conference just now." He said. "The BEO."

"The BEO?"

"Yeah, the time slot had been cleared beforehand, but it's only now that we learned who it was reserved for."

Feeling a little confused, Dante turned to the screen, noticing that the feed was live. There was a podium with the BEO logo on it, set at the front of a large building, made mostly from glass. The speaker didn't seem like they had arrived yet, and the delay was causing the crowd's anxiousness to rise.

"Hey, isn't that…" Someone said.

"You noticed?" Another one added.

"Pretty sure it is…"

"That building…"

Just as the whispers began to spread among them, someone stepped in front of the screen. It was a tall woman with shoulder-length red hair, dressed smartly with a blue overcoat draped on her shoulders. Her entire presence demanded attention, and the gathered reporters went silent long before she stood behind the podium.

Her name was Caroline Lincoln, and she was the officer in command at the BEO, and the superhero known as Crimson Fist. Facing ahead, she looked straight into the center camera, her gaze piercing even those watching through a screen.

[Peace…] She said, pausing as if to let the word sink in. [Is something we fight for. A never-ending fight, a never-ending battle. Peace isn't the end of a war—it's the start of a new one. A war much less gruesome, but a war nonetheless. It's a war humans are fated to lose. We grow complacent, we become unwilling to do what needs to be done to keep on winning, and that's what gives evil power. Evil can be defeated, but it always returns, always looking for a moment of weakness. A moment it could use to take our peace away.]

[This does not make any sense at all.] Volcan said. [If the fighting never ends, how can there be?]

'She doesn't mean fighting in a literal sense.' Dante replied. 'It's more like not letting your guard down after winning.'

[Oooh…]

The AI's confusion wasn't unwarranted. The BEO commander sounded far too aggressive, as if she were delivering a war speech. Her words got the point across, but at the same time, they planted a seed of fear in people's hearts. Then she went to the main point, and the tension inside the old noodle shop suddenly skyrocketed, all because of a single word.

[Neo-Vatra,] she said, her voice carrying a hint of sorrow. [One of the largest cities in our Union, and the most peaceful by far. Despite its size and population, it rarely saw conflict, and evil never grasped it in its clutches.]

"Ah!" Someone in the crowd gasped. "Isn't that the Flame Tower?"

"Wai- that's it! I knew I remembered it from somewhere!"

"The Flame Tower? You mean-"

"It's here! They are holding the conference here!"

A strange sensation irked Dante, like thousands of small insects slowly crawling up his skin. He had a very bad premonition, and as he continued to listen to the speech, that feeling only got stronger.

[In recent times, the city of flames had to part with one of its strongest protectors. Aegis's departure had emboldened evil. Despite the shield standing strong as ever, the enemies of peace saw weakness. They crawled out of their holes and sought to destroy everything we struggled to build, ruining lives and spreading chaos wherever they went. But that will not last. We will not allow it to last.]

It wasn't that difficult to imagine what went through people's minds now, but Dante had a clearer picture, for he knew the whole truth. A little over two months ago, he killed Aegis, the leader of Flame Guard, a Level 5 Prime Genome that has been the face of superheroes in the city for a long time. Ever since, it was one major event after the other. Neo-Vatra used to go years without any Enhanced Human incidents, but in the last two months alone, it had gone through two major ones, and about a dozen that didn't make much noise.

[Flame Guard has done their job. They are the protectors of this city, they are its shield, but the loss of a reliable partner has limited what they are capable of.]

"No way…"

"It can't be…"

"Is this really happening…"

The voices slowly died out, leaving only the sound from the old television to reach Dante's ears. The world seemed to lose all color, turning into a blurry painting entirely black and white.

[But fear not, citizens of this beautiful metropolis.] The commander's stern expression melted away, and as she gazed up, a warm smile graced her lips. [The flame has already gained a new guardian.]

As if following her gaze, the camera pulled back then shifted up. Soon enough, the flaming shield came into sight. At that moment, it could be said that every person in Neo-Vatra was holding their breath, whether they were watching from a TV or a projection on their OAMs.

They saw the imposing figure, but what caught their eyes was the bright red cape fluttering gently behind him. The camera moved once more, following the figure's smooth descent, slowly zooming in on him. Soon enough, the details became clear.

A blue suit clung to his figure, tracing every chiseled muscle on a body that rivaled ancient marble statues. A golden belt hung around his waist, its color matching the bracers on his arms and the boots on his legs, all of which were simple and unadorned. The cape resting on his shoulders settled as he reached the ground, and so did the blond hair on his head.

Caroline Lincoln was gone, having left while the world's attention was on him. The news spread fast, and in just a few seconds, the entire Radmir Union was glued to their screens, all of them eager to confirm if what they heard was true or not. As they finally saw who it was that descended from above, all doubts were banished, and the truth had all but been confirmed.

It was Paragon, leader of the Legion of Valor. The world's one and only Level 6.