"…I saw on the news that the number of missing persons cases in Watson seems to be quite serious recently. I hope you can be careful."
Missing persons in Night City never usually made headlines, as the city's missing persons rate remained high every year. And everyone pretty much knew what happened to those missing people: they were either captured by Scavengers to have their cyberware dismantled, or used as material for making Illegal Braindance.
However, despite this normalcy, the number of missing persons cases in Watson had seen a surge for some time recently, so much so that News 54 even reported on it.
Of course, the NCPD authorities also came out, beating their chests and promising a thorough investigation to give the public the truth, but whether anyone believed them was another matter.
However, since they didn't know the truth, Berry and V could only keep it in mind, guessing that it was either the Maelstrom, the Scavengers, or the Tyger Claws who were responsible, as these were the main gangs in Watson.
"Jackie!"
Finally, Berry and V found Jackie first. The guy was puffing away at the back door of the Wolf Bar. He flinched when Berry called out to him, almost dropping his cigarette.
"Hey, I said keep it down, you scared me."
Jackie thought his slacking off had been discovered by his mom. He turned around, and only after not seeing his mom did he relax.
"So, how did your talk with Mom go? Any luck?"
Jackie rubbed his hands, asking eagerly.
After seeing Berry nod, he was very happy and excitedly pumped his fist.
Berry repeated what Mrs. Welles had said to Jackie, and this time Jackie was completely relieved.
"Great! I knew there was a chance." Jackie was beaming. It seemed he was very happy to be back on the streets.
"Now I can fight on the streets with you guys again. Awesome!"
Berry and V were also happy for Jackie; after all, this guy was destined not to be confined to a bar.
"I also have a ton of things to do, Jackie. After you're out, let's work together. I guarantee we'll make a booming business."
"Yes, Boss Berry!"
In his excitement, Jackie even mockingly saluted Berry.
Afterward, everything proceeded normally.
Berry, V, Jackie, and Jackie's mom had a warm lunch together at home.
This kind of small, family-style warmth was something Berry and V rarely experienced before, so they cherished it especially.
After all, in the Nomad family, V and Berry either ate quick meals by themselves or the entire family camp would eat big pot meals together.
Afterward, the two of them leisurely spent the afternoon at the Wolf Bar, only returning to Watson in the evening.
However, halfway back, Berry received a call—a call from Rogue, the Queen of Afterlife.
"Hey, why would the busy person from Afterlife call me? Is there something wrong?"
Berry answered the phone, greeting casually, but what was said on the other end of the line made her have to take it seriously.
"I want to meet Johnny Silverhand."
On the video call, Rogue said with a serious expression, making Berry sit up straight.
Half an hour later, the former Royal Flush Casino.
This former territory of the Motorcycle Gang had now become the headquarters of 'The Hive.'
As her own territory, Berry had made detailed plans and arrangements for this building.
The building had a total of four floors: three above ground plus a basement. The upper two floors would house residences, Server Rooms, monitoring rooms, and other miscellaneous facilities.
The first floor, which was the original casino, Berry had other plans for.
She planned to open a bar there, to serve as a front for her organization.
However, this plan was still in its initial stages.
As for the basement, which Berry valued the most, that was naturally where all her dirty little secrets were kept: the production line for counterfeit cyberware, as well as various other tools, and things Berry had made or wanted to make, all stored in this dark and deep basement.
The Mercenaries of 'The Hive' had already moved into the second floor. They were cleaning everything up, sweeping away bloodstains and items left by the previous owners, though they also left behind quite a few things, mainly furniture and eurodollars.
In short, this place was no longer a casino.
Rogue was standing at the entrance of the building—which was no longer a casino—smoking with a complicated expression, finally waiting for Berry to arrive.
"The weather is quite nice today."
It was almost dark, hazy and dim. Gray-black clouds, like lymphatic tissue, covered the sun, looking full of pollution and industrial exhaust.
There was no way this could be called good weather, but Rogue didn't give a damn now.
"Have you finally decided to meet Johnny Silverhand?"
Berry crossed her arms, curiously observing Rogue, who was wearing a yellow crop top and had a serious expression. Behind Rogue were two vehicles and several serious-looking Afterlife Mercenaries.
Of course, inside the building, the Hive Mercenaries were also waiting for Berry.
"That's none of your business. Take me to see him."
Rogue threw the half-smoked cigarette onto the ground, stomped it out, and signaled for Berry to lead the way.
"Uh-huh."
Berry didn't ask any further questions about the peculiar Rogue, she simply led the way inside.
Initially, both Johnny Silverhand and Rogue had said they didn't want to see each other. Of course, Berry knew it wasn't because they were enemies—well, maybe they were.
After all, Johnny Silverhand, that scumbag, had dumped Rogue back then, making her one of Silverhand's ex-girlfriends.
But perhaps the real reason was that neither of them knew how to face an old acquaintance, so neither was keen on meeting.
However, it now looked like Rogue was the one ready to break the deadlock.
She led Rogue into the basement, leaving everyone else outside.
"I can't believe the Queen of the Afterlife came herself. Aren't you afraid of something going wrong?"
Berry, who was turning on the lights, blurted this out upon seeing Rogue follow her into the basement without hesitation.
"Hmph."
However, Rogue only responded to Berry's words with a cold snort. She glanced at Berry before continuing.
"You're a junior with a bit of skill, but I'm not looking down on you—it's just that with only a handful of people like you, you don't have the capability to cause me trouble."
Berry shrugged at Rogue's confidence and remained silent.
Who told her she wasn't powerful?
She was not only a legendary Mercenary and Fixer in Night City, but her ability to survive for over half a century was certainly something Rogue could be proud of.
The basement had already been cleaned up.
The Motorcycle Gang's belongings had been completely cleared out, replaced instead by the precise mechanical creations Berry had fabricated, which were incomprehensible to others. Now the entire basement resembled an autonomous high-tech factory, filled with inscrutable instruments and pipelines.
And who would have thought that these precision instruments were hammered out by Berry, one strike at a time.
When she wasn't busy, she wasn't just thinking about sleeping with V; she frequently holed up in this basement too, alright?
One can of cola, one hammer, and Berry would clang away all day.
As the saying goes, Rome was built by laborers. Berry had poured considerable effort into this, having scoured half of Night City's second-hand markets just to create these usable items.
And in this basement, she would be able to truly show off her skills in the future.
The only ones who might be unhappy were the property managers of the Skyscraper, because Berry had cancelled the lease on her previous maintenance room.
"This is Johnny Silverhand, alive and breathing. Impressive, huh?"
Leading Rogue into the workshop, Berry pointed to a black box resembling a set-top box on the counter amidst a pile of junk, noting that a relic chip was faintly suspended in a glass jar connected to the back of the box.
"Then let's boot him up."
Berry stepped forward, ready to turn it on, but Rogue spoke up, stopping her.
"Wait, I said. Let me compose myself first."
Rogue awkwardly held out a hand to stop her, then rubbed her forehead, remaining silent for a moment before raising her head again.
"Alright, I'm ready."
Was Rogue feeling shy?
Of course, Berry knew this wasn't the shyness of meeting an old flame.
Perhaps it was guilt.
Berry, having played the game, knew that Rogue had done something unforgivable to Johnny in the end.
She had defected to the Arasaka Corporation, which allowed her to remain safe in Night City after participating in the attack on Arasaka Tower.
As for Johnny, she had left him to die in despair after he was captured by the Arasaka Corporation. Even though she had initially thought he was dead, she could never forgive herself after learning that Johnny had actually survived for a period after his capture.
Because if she had been captured, given Johnny's nature, he would have fought for her and rescued her no matter what, even if only a corpse remained, just as Johnny had saved his other girlfriend, Alt.
But she had backed down and left Johnny to die.
This was why she couldn't forgive herself.
She must have done a lot of mental preparation to stand here, facing the "resurrected" Johnny.
Berry pressed the set-top box switch.
After a moment of waiting, the set-top box glowed. The holographic figure of Johnny flickered briefly before gradually stabilizing and solidifying its form.
"You damn bitch, I'm going to kill you!"
The moment the holographic figure appeared, it immediately cursed at Berry in the room, setting aside the fact that he had been moved to a new location.
He had just been brutally beaten by Adam Smasher in the virtual dreamscape before waking up, so how could he not be furious?
Since he woke up beaten every time, Silverhand was perhaps the person in Night City with the worst morning temper.
"Hey, hey, calm down, Handjob. Look who I brought you today."
Berry, of course, knew how the program was designed to stimulate Johnny awake, but unfortunately, she lacked any sympathy and found it highly amusing.
"It's Silverhand, damn it! I'll emphasize that again!"
Johnny was grinding his teeth in hatred for the impervious Berry. If he weren't trapped in this little box, he would definitely toss that woman into the sea.
After cursing, Johnny finally calmed down slightly. Only then did he notice the unusual surroundings.
The location seemed to have changed and become much more spacious, but such trivial details weren't important. The most crucial thing was the person standing before him.
"Rogue..."
Johnny was somewhat incredulous.
Although her face had aged and her eyes had become indifferent, he recognized her instantly: the person before him was Rogue.
This sudden appearance caught him completely off guard, leaving him momentarily speechless.
The two people, staring at each other in the room, fell into silence.
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