Night – Inside the Afterlife Bar
Everyone was in high spirits.
The Afterlife Bar was packed, buzzing with excitement after yet another major incident rocked Night City earlier that day.
"Cheers!" someone shouted, raising their glass.
The room roared in agreement. Everyone's cups were filled with their favorite drinks, and after a hearty gulp, many smashed their glasses to the ground in a wild celebration.
"Hey! It's such a hassle to clean up afterward, you know?" Rogge sighed as she watched the mercenaries reveling around her. She understood why everyone was so rowdy tonight, but it didn't make her job handling the aftermath any easier.
"Haha! Since when did you become so uptight, Rogge?" Johnny teased, standing next to her with a bottle of beer in hand.
"I never thought I'd live to see a bastard like you come back to life," Rogge muttered, still struggling to believe Johnny was standing right in front of her.
"Drink up! Tonight's tab is on me!" Peter shouted loudly, lifting his glass high for everyone to see.
"Yeah!"
"Awesome!"
The mercenaries cheered even louder. The Afterlife wasn't just any bar—only the most famous and skilled in Night City were qualified to sit at its tables and discuss serious business. The no-name street thugs didn't even get past the door.
"To the true legend of Night City—Peter!" Jack shouted from within the crowd.
"To Peter!"
The toast spread like wildfire across the bar. Everyone had heard by now what had happened today at the Militech Corporation's tower. Rumors were flying, but the mercenaries had their own underground sources—what they knew was no rumor. It was fact.
By tomorrow, Peter's heroic stand against Militech would be plastered across every back alley and neon sign in Night City.
---
Rogge approached Peter, weaving through the bustling crowd.
"Peter, can we talk? About the message you sent me earlier," she said, her voice low.
"Can't we just talk here?" Peter grinned casually.
"It's too crowded—and way too noisy," Rogge replied, glancing around at the roaring mass of mercenaries.
Peter nodded. "Alright, you lead the way."
Johnny trailed behind them as Rogge led Peter into a private room upstairs—a VIP suite usually reserved for the most secretive dealings. Once the heavy door closed behind them, the loud thumping bass and drunken shouting were instantly muted, leaving a calm, quiet space.
"Now this is a proper environment for serious talk," Peter said, admiring the room.
"Mind if I have a smoke?" Rogge asked, pulling a cigarette from her pocket.
"It's better not to. Peter doesn't smoke," Johnny interjected before Peter could respond.
Rogge raised an eyebrow at Johnny. "Since when do you care about anyone else's feelings?"
Johnny just shrugged.
There was a time when Johnny's selfishness knew no bounds. She remembered once catching him cheating on four different women at the same time—and instead of apologizing, he acted like it was her privilege to even be involved with him.
"Well, what can I say? He's my boss now. Gotta show the boss some respect," Johnny said with a smirk.
Rogge snorted and pocketed the cigarette. "Alright, enough of that. Let's get to the point."
She leaned slightly forward, locking eyes with Peter.
"So... after what happened today, I have to admit—you do have the strength you claimed to have in your message."
Peter smiled faintly but said nothing.
"But..." Rogge continued, "how can you be sure the mercenaries of Night City will obey you? You might have toppled a Militech stronghold, but there's no shortage of arrogant fools in this city."
Peter's smile widened. "Because with just a dozen people under my command, we crushed 4,000 Militech soldiers and their security forces today. If that doesn't earn respect around here, nothing will."
Rogge leaned back, skeptical but impressed.
There was no denying it—Peter was an absolute force of nature. But she also knew Night City's mercenaries weren't the most rational crowd. Many wouldn't care about logic or results; pride would get in the way.
Even if Peter had just toppled a Militech tower, that didn't mean every hothead with a gun would fall in line.
"And what if I told you," Peter said calmly, "that I could bring Kang Tao into this?"
Rogge stiffened.
That... was a game-changer.
Normally, after such a reckless attack, major corporations like Kang Tao would steer clear of someone like Peter. To them, he would seem too volatile—a ticking time bomb. Companies preferred loyalty, control, predictability.
Still, if Peter could actually secure Kang Tao's support...
"If you can really do that," Rogge said after a long pause, "then maybe—just maybe—we can actually unite the mercenary forces in Night City."
---
Meanwhile, at Kang Tao headquarters, a tense meeting was underway.
"So you're telling me," Xu Shiming said, barely able to contain his frustration, "that Peter is too dangerous to cooperate with?"
The executives seated around the room exchanged uncomfortable glances.
"Director Xu," one regional head said cautiously, "with Peter's strength, maybe... maybe we should reconsider. If we don't ally with him, he might become an even bigger threat."
Xu Shiming's expression darkened. "And your alternative?"
"We could cooperate with Militech instead. Together, we could develop combat robots or advanced weapons capable of countering Peter."
Boom!
Xu Shiming slammed his palm on the table, causing everyone to flinch.
"Idiots! You think cooperating with Militech will save us? Do you have any idea what kind of scum Militech breeds?"
He uploaded a file to everyone's terminals.
"This is the external armor Peter developed and shared with us today as part of our preliminary cooperation agreement. Analyze it for yourselves."
The executives opened the file—and immediately gasped.
"This... this is impossible! How can a hand armor generate this much power?" one of them stammered.
"It's not just possible," Xu Shiming said grimly, "it's real. Our research teams already recreated the armor this afternoon using Peter's data."
He tapped the screen again, highlighting a diagram.
"Even an idiot could replicate it. The manufacturing data is so complete, all we had to do was feed it into the computer and let the mechanical arms do the work."
"Then why haven't we mass-produced it yet?" another executive asked nervously.
Xu Shiming shook his head. "Because the only thing missing is a stable energy supply system powerful enough to sustain the armor's full output."
Without that energy core, the armor remained a prototype—functional, but crippled.
Still, the fact that Peter had handed over such cutting-edge tech during a preliminary partnership negotiation...
It sent a clear message: he was serious.
Ling Xiaohan, Kang Tao's liaison with Peter, stood up and addressed the room.
"Peter made it very clear—if we want a deeper, lasting cooperation with him, we must show our sincerity."
---
Back in the Afterlife's VIP room, Peter sipped his drink calmly.
"You see," he told Rogge, "it's not just about raw power. It's about trust, alliances, vision. I'm not interested in ruling Night City with fear. I'm offering a future. A future where mercenaries don't have to grovel at the feet of corporations."
Rogge stared at him for a long moment.
"You're insane," she finally said. "But maybe... just insane enough to pull it off."
She smiled, a slow, calculating smile.
"Alright, Peter. I'll back you."
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