Karl's request to modify Ball to make it more like a real dog left V genuinely baffled. He had no clue what Karl was really aiming for with
Karl's request to modify Ball to make it more like a real dog left V genuinely baffled. He had no clue what Karl was really aiming for with this, but since Karl had asked nicely, V didn't mind putting in the work.
The catch? All the materials had to be bought on the fly, and the software had to be modified—with a little help from T-Bug.
What should have been a one-hour job turned into a ten-hour marathon. When the sun finally peeked through the smog over Night City, V handed Ball—now modified—to Karl, who had just finished making breakfast.
"All done. Took me a damn while. I need a serious nap after this."
"You've earned it. Eat something first."
Karl took Ball from V—who was casually holding it one-handed—and cradled it in both arms. The pup wasn't exactly small anymore.
"Did you have biotech parts delivered too? The texture feels different than before."
"Some parts are still mechanical, but others use biotech animal organ systems—originally designed for rich folks who want to keep their pets alive longer. Only in Night City can you grab this stuff overnight. Anywhere else, it'd take weeks."
V sipped the congee Karl had made—preserved egg and lean pork. "By the way, this batch is pretty damn good. The flavor's milder than usual?"
"Yeah. I used to over-season it to cover the porky smell. But this batch is made from well-bled, properly marinated meat, so I could keep it light—more traditional."
As they talked, Karl busied himself checking Ball's vitals, plugging in with his monowire and reading the diagnostics.
Dogs naturally run hotter than humans. A temperature that would count as a mild fever in a human is normal for a dog. But the Relic system was built for humans, and its ability to maintain digital integrity depended on human body temperature. If he wanted to test whether it could back up data from another species, the first step was to adjust Ball's internal temperature.
It reminded Karl of lab mice—favored in research because of their genetic similarity to humans and ease of breeding. If he had one, he might've skipped all this, spared V and T-Bug the trouble, and saved himself a ton of work.
Then again… the Relic was huge. No way that thing would fit in a mouse.
Even while his mind wandered, Karl's hands didn't slow down. After confirming that temperature wouldn't fry the Relic, he brought over the secure container with the chip inside.
Time to test.
This thing had never worked in any trials. If it broke, oh well. A dog was expendable—at least in theory.
Karl knew dogs and humans couldn't be treated the same. What was safe for humans—like chocolate—could be toxic to dogs. But hey, it was his Relic. He'd do as he pleased.
Worst case? It breaks.
The "key to immortality" that 90% of global elites lusted after? Karl didn't value it nearly as much as a good bit of curiosity.
"Hope I don't end up frying it. Otherwise V and T-Bug's effort was for nothing. And if Ball's wrecked, T-Bug's definitely gonna chew me out."
With that in mind, Karl backed up Ball's original data and removed his chip. That way, if things went south, he could always restore Ball to his original state.
Come to think of it—wasn't this exactly what Saburo Arasaka was trying to achieve? Pull out a consciousness and slot it into a new body?
Did that mean the great Saburo was basically chasing the same thing Karl was trying… with a dog?
Heh.
Ball was way more important than Saburo Arasaka.
Carefully storing Ball's original chip, Karl opened the thermally regulated container.
Inside lay a sleek, elongated pink Relic chip.
Pink?
"Someone at Arasaka's got real kid-core aesthetics."
It was almost as long as his index finger.
Definitely wouldn't fit in a lab rat.
Luckily, Ball had been modded for this.
"Karl, how's the experiment going?"
Jack and Oliver had just woken up. They leaned over the second-floor railing, looking down at Karl and V on the couch below.
"Almost there."
Karl slotted the chip into Ball's body. "We'll know in a moment. I've hooked up the monowire—data's going in now."
"You better not wreck Ball," Oliver said dryly. "If T-Bug flips out, we're not helping."
"You should start learning repairs," he added with a shrug.
"No worries. I asked T-Bug already. She said as long as the data's backed up, it's fine. I already did that. Ball's body is just an empty shell now—except for some custom stuff I added. I want to see if the Relic can duplicate what I fed in."
"What if it's a single-use item?" Jack asked, scratching his still-messy bedhead.
"So what kind of data did you upload?"
"In short—Night City's culinary archive. I had V install a voice mod system. If this works, Ball should start reciting dish names like a human. That data string will be what the Relic tries to duplicate."
"And if it works, we'll end up with a gourmet dog barking menus?"
V leaned on the sofa's soft armrest, cheek in hand, watching Ball with tired but curious eyes—hoping his ten hours of work had paid off.
Even T-Bug stepped out of her room and leaned on the second-floor railing with Jack and Oliver, looking down.
As they all watched, Ball's eyes—once dim from having his original chip removed—gradually lit up as the Relic activated.
Everyone waited expectantly for Ball to list out the menu.
But Karl suddenly frowned.
"That's weird…"
"What is it?" T-Bug asked from above.
"I think… this Relic already had data on it. It's uploading something into Ball."
"You mean…"
"This thing's already been used."
As Karl and T-Bug processed what that meant, Ball's eyes suddenly flared.
And then, before anyone could say anything, the dog opened its mouth—
And roared with fury:
"What the fuck is this bullshit you're jamming into my brain?! Who the hell stuffed this dogshit in here?! This is nastier than drunk puke on the pavement! Night City Gourmet Tour?! In this dump?! Whoever came up with this crap is a complete fucking moron!"
…Huh?
A question mark might as well have popped up above Karl's head.
What the hell?
Did the dog just talk back?!
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🔥🦾 CYBERPUNK: THE RELENTLESS 🦾🔥
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⚡ The Rebirth of Harry Potter
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