Johnny felt incredibly awkward right now.
It was even more awkward than when he and Alt were in bed and Rogue walked in and caught them cheating.
After all, the most vulnerable time for a person is when they are naked.
And his current situation was far worse; he was utterly and completely "naked"—his entire being reduced to a chip.
He couldn't utter a single word.
As for Rogue, she stood there with her arms crossed, watching the projected figure of Johnny with a complicated look, remaining silent as he covered his large head with his small hands.
A burst of laughter rang out.
The crisp, light laughter echoed in the silent workshop, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
It was Rogue.
Rogue had suddenly burst out laughing and didn't stop.
First, she chuckled softly, then she roared with laughter, shaking her head and chest. Finally, her mouth was stretched wide as she pointed at Johnny, laughing almost uncontrollably.
"Johnny, you damn well got what was coming to you today!"
Rogue mocked Johnny freely, clearly enjoying herself. "That's karma!"
This sudden turn of events stunned not just Johnny, but also Berry, who was watching from the side.
She hadn't expected Rogue to ever lose her composure like this.
But regardless, the silent awkwardness had at least been broken.
"Rogue..."
Johnny looked speechlessly at Rogue, who was pointing and laughing at him.
If this had happened before, he would have definitely exploded in rage, but in his current pathetic state, he suspected his anger would only make Rogue laugh harder.
"Heh heh, it's damn funny, but can you lighten up a bit? Aren't you going to save some face for your boyfriend?"
"Screw you, Johnny! Stop trying to get familiar with me!"
Rogue, who had been laughing for a while, finally stopped when she heard Johnny's shameless remark, and she snapped back.
"Our cursed relationship ended when you couldn't keep your pants zipped."
"Besides, that was decades ago, damn it."
At this, Rogue's emotions slowly calmed down. She stopped laughing and stopped yelling at Johnny.
Yes, it had been decades, but Rogue still couldn't get that bastard Johnny out of her mind. She didn't know how much she owed this guy in her past life to be tormented like this.
"Decades..."
The miniature Johnny rubbed his head upon hearing this, unsure what to say.
To be honest, he still couldn't accept that fifty years had truly passed.
The scene of him staring at Saburo Arasaka's ugly face while his head was fried by the Soulkiller torture device felt like it had happened only half an hour ago.
A large chunk of his life was missing, and now he couldn't even determine whether he was truly alive—was he the lingering soul of Johnny Silverhand, or just a damn inferior copy?
But he kept all of this bottled up, never telling anyone.
Johnny Silverhand never showed weakness.
Whether one called him stubborn or reckless, that was just his damn temper.
However, it wasn't until this moment—seeing Rogue, whose face was slightly aged—that he realized many things had truly happened.
"Rogue, this isn't the time for reminiscing."
Johnny shook his head, trying to banish these weak thoughts from his mind.
Without alcohol to numb himself, this state was somewhat hard to control.
"Rogue, I need your help."
Looking up at Rogue standing before him, Johnny stated his demand.
"Get me a body. Even a tractor would work, as long as it gets me out of this box."
"Hmph."
Still that foul temper, making demands as if everyone owed him something.
Rogue just couldn't stand Johnny's Rogue behavior.
With a cold snort, Rogue remained silent. She pulled up a chair and sat down, turning her head away, choosing not to look at Johnny.
"Hey, Rogue! Don't pretend you didn't hear me!"
Seeing Rogue ignore him, Johnny grew agitated, leaning forward and raising his voice.
"I know you're angry with me, but now isn't the time to talk about it."
After enduring for a moment, Johnny began his persuasion.
"This world, this city, is getting worse..."
Whenever Johnny woke up, Berry often showed him the news, because usually when Berry did this, Johnny would shut up and quietly watch the reports about everything.
And he finally realized that all his acts of rebellion seemed to have failed to stir anyone, like a stone falling into water, sinking heavily without creating a single ripple.
His nuclear bomb failed to wake up even a single person. Perhaps some briefly raised their heads in the fear he caused, but they undoubtedly lowered them again quickly.
Fifty years had passed, and the world and Night City were still this awful.
The mega-corporations were still acting recklessly, treating the world as their bargaining chip, and the masses were still numb, willingly castrating their spirits to become dogs.
Johnny looked at the whitewashed peace in the news and the succession of well-dressed spokespeople, feeling almost nauseous.
But what he found even harder to bear was his current state of powerlessness. Right now, even if a child pressed a switch, he couldn't move.
He absolutely could not accept this feeling of losing his freedom.
Not to mention, his hatred for the world was constantly gnawing at his heart.
He had to get moving. The Arasaka Corporation must be taking action after losing him, their precious "asset." He couldn't stand being like this.
"Listen, Rogue, I have to get moving. The Arasaka Corporation must be searching all over the city for me right now. I can't stay like this."
But Rogue was not moved by Johnny's persuasion, not even slightly, contrary to his expectations.
"Heh heh, Johnny, why don't you listen to what you're saying yourself."
Rogue looked at Johnny mockingly, as if watching a clown trying hard to perform.
"The world, the corporations—that sounds really grand. But can you look down and see what kind of pathetic state you're in right now?"
"You're just garbage trapped in a box right now. Who the hell do you think cares if you exist in this world? The Arasaka Corporation probably forgot about you ages ago. Losing you is no different than losing a coin."
Rogue wasn't lying.
The Arasaka Corporation's current actions were mysterious; outsiders couldn't figure out what changes they were undergoing with a new head in charge, but the fact that they weren't looking for Johnny was confirmed.
Rogue didn't mind stating this fact to humiliate Johnny, the overly conceited guy.
Johnny was still the same Johnny: arrogant, narcissistic, believing the world needed him, the one "sober" person.
Rogue felt very uncomfortable and just wanted to stand up and leave.
"Johnny, you're still so... disgusting."
Rogue took out a cigarette and finished the sentence through gritted teeth.
"Say whatever you want."
But unfortunately, Johnny never cared about what others thought of him, even concerning his relationship with Rogue.
Seeing that Rogue wasn't planning to help him, Johnny cursed under his breath and stopped talking.
The two parted ways unhappily—at least, that's what Berry thought.
It seemed that the idea of remaining friends after a breakup was definitely a lie, seeing how these two acted like sworn enemies meeting face-to-face.
However, just as Berry was seeing Rogue out of the basement, Rogue spoke.
"Do you have a way to bring Johnny back to the real world, maybe get him a body or something?"
When Berry heard Rogue speak, she momentarily thought she was hallucinating and looked over, wanting Rogue to repeat herself.
Rogue, with the unlit cigarette dangling from her mouth, looked back at Berry, her eyes indicating that she had made herself clear enough.
"I'll cover the costs, if you can manage it."
"Hmm... No problem."
After seeing the argument between the two earlier, Berry had thought Johnny was out of luck, but she never expected Rogue to say this now.
Confirming she wasn't hallucinating, Berry nodded affirmatively.
She had planned on getting Johnny out anyway.
For no other reason than that Johnny was noisy every day, and her ears hurt.
Besides, her Chassis manufacturing technology was unrivaled.
She could really put the squeeze on Kang Tao.
She only needed to build a Chassis and put Johnny inside.
The most difficult step—waking Johnny up—was already done. The rest was very simple.
Moreover, Berry's ears were sharp, and she cleverly caught the implication that Rogue seemed willing to pay, which sounded like heavenly music to her.
Say no more. Give me the money, and I can build you a Gundam.
"Don't worry, Rogue, I've got this covered. I guarantee you a lively, jumping Johnny Silverhand."
Seeing Rogue, this sucker, willing to pay for Johnny, Berry pulled out her PDA and immediately started calculating the bill, as if afraid Rogue would run off.
"Take a look at my proposal. Absolutely honest business. Military-grade cyberware skin, titanium alloy metallic skeleton..."
The talkative Berry was like a salesperson, turning parts she had scrounged from various second-hand markets into high-quality goods that even mega-corporations struggled to acquire, focusing mainly on skyrocketing markups.
"Combining everything, and giving you a 1% discount, I won't ask for too much for the whole Chassis: a flat price of nine hundred and eighty thousand."
Finishing the calculation, Berry gestured and stated a price she herself considered outrageous.
After speaking, she waited for Rogue to haggle.
As the saying goes, ask the sky, and settle on the ground. But even if Rogue, as a new customer, cut this inflated price in half, Berry would still make a huge profit.
She fully embodied the Huaqiangbei spirit, focusing on the principle of fleecing the customer to death.
"No problem."
Just as Berry was rolling up her sleeves, ready to deal with Rogue's haggling, she was met with Rogue's light reply, which nearly stunned her.
Uh, that generous? What kind of rich dog is this?
Seeing Rogue's indifferent reaction to the price, Berry, the fleecer, was taken aback.
Berry looked as if she had swallowed a fly; she opened her mouth but finally closed it.
Fine, who told her the woman was the boss of Afterlife? She was just rich.
Excellent. Rogue was covering the cost of Johnny Silverhand's Chassis, and Berry had made a huge profit. This was a win-win situation.
However, Berry felt a little guilty about the price, since she had multiplied it several times over.
Forget it. She decided to offer the customer some DIY customization to make up for the sense of indebtedness in her heart.
"Oh, right, Rogue, are you interested in women?"
Thinking this, Berry spoke up.
This question made Rogue, who was preoccupied with her own thoughts, pause and look at Berry with a puzzled expression.
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