"Hey, hey, hey, you hear about what happened yesterday? Another cyberpsycho showed up."
"Cyberpsycho? What's so strange about that? Night City's huge. Basically every day, someone gets killed by a psycho in some forgotten corner. Just a bunch of unlucky bastards."
"No, no, no, this one's different. You'll definitely be interested. This psycho went on a major rampage, and... get this, they say he was military?"
"Military? Now that's interesting..."
The man's words piqued his companion's interest. But just as he leaned in, intent on hearing more, the other man gave a light, deliberate cough.
"Ah, been working hard all day, my throat's parched..."
"Goddamn it, you little..."
The first man cursed under his breath, but then looked over at the bartender.
"Two Johnny Silverhands."
Following the order, the bartender soon placed two drinks in front of them.
"Alright, spill it now?"
"Of course..."
The man chuckled and began slowly, "You have no idea, the black-market braindance of yesterday's incident is sold out already. It's priceless now, everyone wants to know what went down. Yours truly managed to snag a copy."
"Let me tell you, this cyberpsycho was insane. Packing full military-grade 'ware! That's not something your average joe can get their hands on! And his chrome had some serious capabilities. Even surrounded by NCPD, it was useless. He moved like lightning and took them all out..."
"That doesn't sound that sell-out worthy. Must've been MaxTac that finally took him down. No psycho survives those guys."
Hearing this, the first man wasn't impressed. If that was all, he'd teach this kid a lesson later. In Night City, everything has a price. This would be the kid's first lesson.
"Of course not! If it was just MaxTac, the BD would sell, but not sold out! The thing is, this braindance... it shows 'magic'!"
The young man's face grew more animated as he spoke.
"Magic? What the hell are you on about?"
The older man was stunned. "It's 2076, and you're talking about magic?"
"Yes, magic! I'm not exaggerating. What happened was so bizarre, 'magic' is the only word for it!"
"What actually happened? And who was involved?"
The older man had to admit, his curiosity was thoroughly hooked.
"Who did it? We don't know. The footage only clearly shows the psycho. The one who intervened is just a blurry shadow. Today, some top-tier netrunners tried to crack who it was, but without exception, they failed."
"Some even got their brains fried, turned into vegetables. The scene was unreal. The way that figure... subdued him was just unreal. Just a simple wave of their hand, and the psycho's limbs... they were gone. Not chopped off, but like they were data errors, just... deleted!"
"How's that possible? Probably some BD editor's trick to make it go viral."
The man clearly didn't believe it.
"Hah, knew you'd say that. Plenty of netrunners have seen this BD. No edits. You think they'd miss something like that? Now, everyone's guessing Night City's got a new Legend on its hands. And their methods are so... miraculous. This Legend might become the first... a living Legend!"
The young man was practically waving his arms around in excitement.
"A living Legend?"
The older man snorted derisively and shot the youth a scornful look. "You're still too green, kid. There are no living Legends in Night City. It's the rule."
Yeah. No living Legends. Anyone who crosses the corporations ends up dead.
In this shitty world, that's the truth.
"No living Legends? I'm not so sure. Maybe they just weren't strong enough?"
As the two men talked, a somewhat youthful figure slid onto a stool nearby.
Her cute face was placid, expressionless.
But the most striking feature was the single turbine ponytail sticking out from the back of her head.
That hairstyle was pretty rare these days.
"Oi, kid, you know what you're saying? 'Not strong enough'? Those guys did major things. If they weren't strong, they'd have died in some dark alley, not ended up with a drink on the menu at Afterlife."
The young man looked dismissive, his eyes scanning Silver Wolf, a flicker of surprise in them. Afterlife was a haunt for serious cyperpunks and mercs.
He'd seen all kinds of women. Even as a young man, he had money, experienced plenty of joytoys.
But a girl like this... he'd never seen one. Simply put, she was nothing like the flashy, cheap types outside.
"Brat like you, I've seen plenty. Forget meeting the big names, you'd probably tremble just seeing a real gangoon. Some rebellious kid who doesn't know any better... Whatever. Night City'll teach you some humility."
The older man just glanced at her, said nothing, downed his drink, and left with the younger guy.
Pop...
The bubble gum burst in Silver Wolf's mouth, sticking around her lips. She didn't seem to care, just lazily licked it clean and pulled the gum back in.
Chew chew chew...
She watched them leave, unconcerned.
This was her second day in this world.
Unlike the previous two worlds, Silver Wolf wasn't familiar with this one.
But hearing 'Night City' clued her in.
Cyberpunk 2077.
She'd bought the game before all this, but only played a few hours before dropping it, never picking it back up.
Truth be told, most single-player games in her library met the same fate.
She figured a lot of people were the same.
The timeline, she'd figured out, was 2076, a year before the main game story starts.
Since she never finished the game, and hadn't watched Edgerunners, she didn't know exactly where this timeline fit.
But she didn't really care.
To her, this was just another game. And the most important rule of gaming is: no spoilers! If you know the plot beforehand, half the fun is gone.
The mission the system gave her upon arriving was simple too.
[Night City's Living Legend: Make a name for yourself, Master. Become a legend on everyone's lips in Night City.]
[Perfectly Sane: Kill one Cyberpsycho. (Completed)]
That's it. Complete either one, and she could leave this world.
And as luck would have it, she'd already finished one the moment she arrived.
Honestly, she could leave right now if she wanted.
After hopping through a few worlds, she'd figured it out: the system never forced her to do anything in any particular world. Just complete the bare minimum task, and she could bail.
But, well, she was already here. Silver Wolf didn't feel like leaving so soon. This world was actually pretty similar to her home, Punklorde.
Might as well stick around and have some fun.
[Suggest Master uses Ether Editing to take on the whole world single-handedly!]
Out of nowhere, the system chimed in.
"Pfft, who do you think you're looking down on! Who starts a new game and immediately turns on the training wheels? Real pros scoff at that stuff. Watch me do a no-death run!"
For some reason, Silver Wolf felt the system was underestimating her.
It felt like the system thought she was all talk, telling her to just go all out and crush the world alone.
Hah... that just ticked her off.
Right then, her rebellious streak kicked in. This time, she decided she'd beat this world without using any 'trainers'!
Ridiculous. I, Silver Wolf, am a legendary hacker! Even without Ether Editing, just using my hacking skills, this world is no match for me!
Of course, when she thought 'not using Ether Editing,' she meant not using it to solo the entire world. She wasn't about to cripple herself completely and not use it at all.
She was here to experience life, not to suffer for no reason.
While Silver Wolf was mentally arguing with the system...
The bartender looked at her with a slight smile. "Welcome to Afterlife. What can I get you?"
She spoke while smiling warmly at Silver Wolf.
Silver Wolf thought for a moment, scanning the drink menu.
"How strange, they're all names..."
She looked at the bartender.
Today's Afterlife bartender was a woman who looked to be in her thirties, a constant friendly smile on her face.
"Those names belong to Night City's Legends. Only Legends get a drink named after them at Afterlife."
"I see. In that case, I'll have a... Silver Wolf."
Without a second thought, Silver Wolf said with a grin.
"Sorry, there isn't a Legend by that name in Night City yet."
"There will be soon. You can add it to the menu now. I guarantee it'll be a bestseller." Silver Wolf said, completely unfazed.
"I suppose we can do that. If you become a Legend someday, I'll do just that. What's the recipe?"
The bartender smiled and nodded, though it seemed a bit perfunctory. Looking at Silver Wolf's youthful appearance, she probably thought she was some big shot's daughter going through a rebellious phase.
"The recipe... haven't thought it through yet. I'll let you know when I do."
Silver Wolf furrowed her brow. Mainly because saying the drink recipe involved no alcohol seemed a bit embarrassing...
In her previous forms, she could hold her liquor, but as Silver Wolf, she preferred fizzy drinks over alcohol. Yogurt sounded good too.
But after a moment's thought, she decided against mentioning yogurt in the recipe. She didn't want to be known as the milk-drinker...
"I'll remember. I'll wait for the day you become a Legend. Of course, it's best if that drink never needs to be served here."
The bartender shrugged.
She'd worked at Afterlife a long time, seen plenty of life and death. Someone joking at the bar one day might be just a hand the next. Or turned cyberpsycho and flatlined.
None of the names on Afterlife's menu belonged to the living.
Every single Legend was dead.
Without exception, so far.
"For me, it's just an achievement."
Silver Wolf pouted.
"Achievement?"
"Yep. Every game has its achievement system. This 'reality' game is the same. Besides beating the game, unlocking achievements is a big part of the fun."
Silver Wolf grinned at her.
The bartender shook her head with a wry smile and slid a Johnny Silverhand across the bar.
"Sorry, until then, you'll have to make do with this. Or perhaps... you're not much of a drinker? How cute... little miss~"
The bartender said, a teasing tone in her voice.
"Tsk... really getting looked down on."
Silver Wolf snorted lightly, picked up the glass, and took a small sip. Immediately, a pungent alcoholic burn hit her.
But the next moment, Silver Wolf's index finger lightly tapped the glass. An unseen data stream flowed into the drink.
Then, Silver Wolf threw her head back and downed the entire drink boldly.
"Meh. At this proof... I could have ten more and still be sober." Silver Wolf said cheerfully.
"Wow, didn't see that coming." The bartender raised an eyebrow.
But then, Silver Wolf frowned.
Besides the alcohol, she didn't like the smell of smoke either.
She turned to see a white-haired girl sitting with her legs crossed, a slender cigarette dangling from her lips.
She wasn't doing anything, just sitting there.
Noticing Silver Wolf's gaze, her cool eyes shifted over.
"Hmm? Bothering you?" Lucy raised an eyebrow, looking at Silver Wolf.
Her eyes held a general apathy towards everything, but also a flicker of curiosity.
Afterlife wasn't a place you just wandered into. Anyone here had some clout—fixers or cyberpunk mercs.
How did this kid get in? Weird...
Admittedly, Silver Wolf shouldn't have been able to get in normally. But this was a cyberpunk world. In a world like this, there was nothing she couldn't manage if she put her mind to it.
"It is a bit bothersome, actually."
Silver Wolf nodded. The next instant, she made a face of disgust and waved her hand through the air.
The smoke drifting in the air vanished completely, as if erased.
And the cigarette in Lucy's mouth turned into a lollipop.
In an instant, Lucy's eyes widened.
What the hell just happened?
"Just a little trick. No need to be so surprised." Silver Wolf said dismissively.
Seeing this, Lucy didn't press further, just quietly licked the lollipop. Hmm, pretty sweet.
After a moment of silence, Lucy glanced at Silver Wolf. "Heads up. Those two guys from earlier seemed to have taken an interest in you. They're waiting outside Afterlife now."
She wasn't sure why she said it.
"Mm, I know."
Silver Wolf nodded. The next moment, she hopped off the bar stool and slowly headed for the door.
On the TV behind the bar, the news was still playing: "Corporate fugitive, Sharpshooter Cole, is now confirmed to be in Night City. Citizens with any information, please call the tip line. The corporations offer substantial rewards..."
"Night City... restless times lately. You should be careful too, guest... Ah, never mind. Anyone who makes it to Afterlife is no ordinary person. Forget I said anything."
Watching Silver Wolf leave, the bartender shook her head slightly and spoke to Lucy.
Meanwhile, Silver Wolf, after exiting the bar, slowly headed towards a side alley.
Almost... intentionally.
"You need something?"
Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow at the two men blocking her path.
This world was truly something. She'd only been here a day, and already so many people had 'taken an interest' in her.
In a normal world, turning into a beauty might get you some stares, maybe a brave soul would try to hit on you.
But in the cyberpunk world, morals seemed... advanced. These two made the third group she'd have to 'clean up.'
The local customs were just so 'pure,' weren't they?
Of course, Silver Wolf wasn't exactly surprised. Her hometown, Punklorde, was similar, maybe even worse.
This was just a repeat of her past experiences.
"Ah, here they are. The tutorial mobs sent to deliver exp and loot to the protagonist..."
Silver Wolf looked at the two men with amusement.
Her heart was utterly calm.
"Brat, looking all defenseless like that, you must be new to Night City, right? Time we had a little chat, Night City style."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man looked at Silver Wolf with greed. "Don't worry. I'll break your limbs first, then install a proper joytoy program for you. Can't let good merchandise go to waste."
"Ooh, the kind of mobs that are good at drawing aggro."
"Brat, are you even listening... you've been muttering to yourself this whole time!"
The man moved to grab her.
But in the next instant, black smoke poured from his body, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
"Relax, I'm not a monster. Just disabled his limbs and his 'equipment,' and downloaded the latest joytoy program for him. And finally... welcome to Night City."
Silver Wolf smiled at the petrified younger man.
"I'll kill you, you— Aaaah!"
The young man's eyes bulged. He pulled a pistol and aimed at Silver Wolf.
But at that exact moment, Silver Wolf pointed her finger like a gun.
"Pew~"
She playfully mimicked a gunshot with her mouth.
"Hahaha, pathetic! See my gun and lose your mind, did you?!"
But before he could finish, a bullet materialized mid-air and instantly pierced his skull.
--+--
T/N: Idk much about Cyberpunk so if i get some terms wrong mb
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.