The two Mercenaries stood dumbfounded.
As Jimmy's bodyguards, of course, they had watched plenty of black-market braindances when they had free time.
They were thrilling—seriously thrilling—and what they just saw was the raw cut.
They had seen examples of memory manipulation and personality interference using braindances before. There was no doubt that Jimmy had just tried to calibrate the device to achieve exactly that.
But this guy from Night City? He was completely unaffected.
Leo stepped down from the chair, his mechanical arm deftly collecting the raw chip and braindance gear, methodically storing everything into a case.
His smooth movements made the two mercs realize this guy wasn't simple.
While packing things into the portable case alongside Little Octopus, Leo asked:
"First question: name?"
The woman, the Russian, quickly replied, "Call me Phantom. This guy's Iron Hand."
Leo's HUD lit up with a cascade of data frames; in the meantime, Little Octopus had already completed a cyberware scan and data capture.
[Cyberware: Dynalar Light Subdermal Armor, Girafa Ops Chip Type-IV (Engineering Mod), Memory Boost x4, Rear Heat Fins.]
A netrunner. Most of her cyberware was brain-focused. The four memory boosts were all equipped with wet-drive access links.
Memory boosts are enhanced brain-memory modules mounted directly onto neural zones, improving biological computation for cyber offense/defense.
Wet-drive links allow for direct mental access to memory, removing the need for external cabling—turning the brain into a wetware-style computer, dramatically enhancing processing speeds.
In emergencies, they could even briefly run the Prague-Ihara transformation algorithm, allowing controlled short-term access to cyberspace.
This setup was clearly high-risk, high-reward—maxing out mental performance at the cost of potential neural burnout. Not something you'd use casually.
As expected of someone foreign—much of her cyberware came from brands rarely seen in Night City, like Dynalar and Girafa.
And then... she still had that unique solo flair.
[Scent Gland Control, Subdermal Display, Nymph Pheromone Dispensers]
Leo looked into Phantom's eyes. Her pupils changed color due to the scent gland control. The subdermal display was mounted in her chest—clearly not for combat purposes, unless… well.
The nymph pheromones were biotech-based synthetic attractants that stimulated the brain's pleasure centers—effective on both sexes. She had four dispensers installed—she was basically a walking hormone storm.
Her leather bodysuit hugged her tightly, torn in many places from combat, revealing her sculpted skin beneath.
It seemed every city's mercs liked this kind of flashy gear.
Iron Hand's cyberware was much simpler: two load-bearing arms modified from Girafa Group, forearm-mounted rocket launchers, heavy subdermal armor, full muscle reinforcement, and alloy bone structure.
Simple and brutal. Clearly injured many times—he had even replaced an arm with a full cannon.
Leo gave Phantom a glance, and she subtly shifted her posture—almost spilling out of her clothes.
"Tch."
V clicked her tongue, and Phantom tossed her a flirtatious wink. "Hey, we're not enemies, right? This job's a bust for us—wanna trade contacts?"
Leo glanced between Phantom and V.
So that's how it is—V swings that way.
BANG!
V threw a punch at Leo's head—thankfully blocked by Little Octopus.
"Quit staring, asshole! Get on with the interrogation!"
"Alright, alright." Leo turned back to Phantom. "Couldn't make it in the Soviets, so you ran to Night City? What's going on?"
Phantom shrugged. "Came for the big payday, obviously. Word about the lizardmen reached Moscow too. Gotta say—it's rare to see a sight like this. That airfreighter was packed with mercs."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Packed with mercs?"
"Yeah. All mercs. Looked like normal people, sure, but you know how it is—our kind can tell. The world's top mercenaries are all converging here. No way that's a coincidence. That's all we know, though."
"I'm telling you—Night City's gigs are blowing up. You guys better stockpile cash and upgrade your cyberware at a clinic."
"You, uh…"
Phantom paused—she hadn't caught Leo's alias yet.
"…What do they call you?"
On the floor, Jimmy kept muttering:
"Burger King… why are you emotionally unaffected? Why doesn't your high level of cyberware impact your mind at all?!"
Jimmy raised his head, a look of excitement mixed with terror in his eyes. His voice suddenly grew louder:
"There's only one explanation: you're a rare high-functioning cyberpsychotic! You're insane! Hah—"
THUD!
Just as Jimmy started laughing, Jackie slugged him unconscious.
"What a nutjob. Scared the crap outta me."
Phantom muttered, "…Burger… what?"
"Burger King bigshots," Munn said proudly, resting his arm on a filing cabinet with a thud.
With a serious and prideful face, he repeated, "That's right. Burger King bigshots. Remember it. Strongest mercenaries in Night City."
Phantom looked toward the expressionless Burger King Mercenary Squad.
It felt like watching a silent movie from the last century—only for the narrator to suddenly appear and spout a bunch of unrelated nonsense.
Still… the name did sound familiar.
"Well… in that case… You guys better be ready," Phantom said carefully. "Because it seems like you're worth a lot."
Phantom and Iron Hand had arrived on a transoceanic floating freighter.
These freighters could roughly be described as old-era supertankers stuffed with nuclear fusion reactors and a ridiculous number of antigrav engines—fast, secure, able to carry massive cargo across oceans.
Expensive, yes—but all of it was to avoid the ghost machines in the seas.
Mercs usually didn't have much money—commercial flights were out of reach. So seeing lots of mercs aboard the freighter wasn't surprising.
Mercs from all over the world heading to Night City?
Or rather—
Leo looked at Phantom and Iron Hand. Though they were tied up now, their skills were top-tier even by Night City standards.
Only the best mercenaries could travel thousands of kilometers between cities for a chance at the big score.
And these two had no backers. In this massive influx of mercenaries, there were definitely big-time fixers sending their own elite squads. Some were freelancers. Others were insiders.
Leo stroked his chin.
"Looks like Night City's turning into a nuclear bomb."
"Meaning?" V put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Explain."
"Means the whole world's mercs are rushing here. Didn't you want to become this city's strongest? Well, the bar just got raised."
"Heh. Now that's fun. I've been itching for something to stretch my muscles on."
[Beep——]
[Contact: Rogue]
[Rogue: Got time? Come over and help hold down the fort.]
[Leo: On my way.]
"Let's go." Leo waved his hand. "We're heading to the Afterlife to dig up some intel. David, if there's nothing else, dismiss the crew. I've sent your tips."
[Transfer: -30,000 Eddies]
[Account Balance: 90,000 Eddies]
[Transfer: -80,000 Eddies]
[Account Balance: 10,000 Eddies]
The second transfer landed in V's account, and she followed along with a satisfied grin. "Nice. You're finally getting the hang of this."
"Hey! Wait up!" Watching the three walk away without looking back, Phantom suddenly panicked and shouted at Leo.
"Big guy, we flunked our first gig—got any scraps or side jobs to throw our way? We're still behind on our boat ticket loan!"
"Wait for the call."
The trio left the scene without so much as a glance back.
Outside the building, Jackie suddenly perked up beside Leo. "You said mercs from around the world? Think we'll see any legends? Like Susan Forrest, Boa Boa Waylon… Those folks were never confirmed dead!"
Jackie started rattling off names again. Leo just shrugged helplessly. "How should I know?"
"All right, let's pack it in." David signaled for his people to move out too.
While the others walked ahead, curiosity got the better of him. He picked up a black Braindance original chip from the table and waved it in front of Jimmy. "Where'd you even get this stuff?"
Military-grade cyberware came with BD recording by default—that much he knew.
But data didn't just leak into Jimmy's hands on its own.
Jimmy shook his head and replied, "Trade secret, kid. If you wanna try it yourself, I'll even give you the first one free."
David stared at the chip. Lucy stared at David.
Black Braindances were addictive. David used to binge-watch them constantly.
But after a moment, he put the chip back on the table. "Forget it. I'm not looking to go cyberpsycho. I'm just a regular guy."
Lucy silently let out a sigh of relief. She started mentally calculating her savings, and as they walked, she suddenly said, "When we get back, I'll show you something—it's a BD too."
Once the group had exited the building, the restraints on Phantom and Iron Hand finally deactivated. Iron Hand picked Phantom up and jumped out the window with her in tow—
"Hey! Take us with you!"
When they caught up to David, his crew was already inside the vehicle, about to start it up.
"C'mon, bring us along too—we've got some skills!"
David rolled down the window and shook his head. "Nope. Wait for the call."
The car peeled off down the road. Iron Hand started running after it, grabbing Mackinaw's car window, with Phantom tucked under his arm, yelling and pounding on the car.
"Come on, bro! Take me with you! Don't go! Here's my contact info—"
"Didn't even get your names! What do they call you? Kids' Meal? Deluxe Chicken Bucket? Don't leave!"
[TN:I want to be call a happy meal]
Mackinaw sped away, and Iron Hand, completely out of breath, finally gave up and set Phantom down.
Her face was flushed red. "Suka blyat!"