Chapter Summaries

Carl considered who should use the Apogee Sandevistan and planned safeguards before anyone installed it. After David warned him that academy faculty were investigating Carl’s former identity and braindance business, Carl agreed to see how David would deal with them.

• Carl decided to have Old Vic inspect the Apogee before letting Oliver or V choose whether to install it, and planned to prepare safeguards if Oliver used it.
• Maine told Carl that David’s braindance sales had earned him a 12,000-Eurodollar share and sent David’s new number.
• Carl approved David’s number and urged him to learn basic hacking, while David admitted he had been busy training with guns and working out.
• David told Carl that academy faculty were investigating Carl’s former identity, Gaius, and wanted to take over the braindance business.
• When Carl asked what he would do after drawing the faculty out, David said he would take them out.

David used a monitored phone number to lure out and kill the people tailing him, then invited Carl to the Afterlife. There, Carl encountered a furious woman confronting Rogue over a dangerous Maelstrom partner.

• David told Carl that Lucy had helped cover the traces after he killed the people who had been following him.
• David explained that he had used a monitored number to lure the pursuers away, and Carl praised his planning.
• David invited Carl to the Afterlife, where Carl chatted with Emerick and teased Old Captain about their jobs and days off.
• Carl found Maine and the others at the bar, then heard a woman accuse Rogue of pairing her with Maelstrom without warning her.

Carl visited the Afterlife Bar, where Rogue’s cryptic remarks connected her work and his recent job to Michiko and Arasaka’s Doves. He realized Michiko had been protecting Rogue and wondered whether his own bodyguard work also served her.

• Carl learned from Claire that Panam had confronted Rogue over a job involving a Maelstrom partner who tried to rob a nomad.
• Panam left the Afterlife after Rogue won their argument, and Rogue joined Carl at the bar.
• Rogue told Carl that his team’s urgent job had been good for everyone and quietly spelled out Michiko’s name.
• Rogue said she had been working for someone else and left, prompting Carl to conclude that Michiko had protected her.
• Carl wondered whether Rogue considered his Dangerous Girls bodyguard job to be work for Michiko.

Carl walked with Maine's Crew after treating them at the Afterlife, and Maine discussed getting a Berserk while Carl cautioned him about cyberware strain. The crew encountered a balding middle-aged man urinating atop a container, and he fired a Projectile Launch System at Pillar.

• Carl told Maine that a Sandevistan or a Berserk could suit him, then warned him to watch for signs of cyberware strain.
• Kiwi reflected on Carl's reputation and felt at ease because he was Maine's friend.
• Pillar stopped to confront a balding middle-aged man urinating from atop a shipping container.
• Pillar noticed the man's unusual cyberware and climbed closer to inspect it.
• Maine recognized the man's Projectile Launch System as it transformed, but the man pressed it against Pillar's chin and fired.

Carl saved Pillar from a Cyberpsychosis fugitive and arranged for NCPD to verify the dead man's identity. After saying goodbye to Maine's Crew, she learned that Andy had recovered enough to ask to see her, and decided to meet him.

• Carl found Pillar beneath the shipping containers after he was thrown clear of the Projectile Launch System's blast.
• Carl shot the Cyberpsychosis fugitive and checked that Pillar was unharmed.
• Carl called Johnson to report the fugitive and told Maine's Crew she could not join them for another drink.
• Maine and David invited Carl to meet them for drinks again, and Carl agreed to bring her teammates.
• Carl received Johnson's message that Andy wanted to see her and decided there was no reason not to meet him.

Carl visited Mr. Johnson’s apartment in an NCPD family housing area to see Andy, and learned how officers took turns protecting the children who lived there. But told the children that Carl was one of Night City’s real big shots.

• Carl met Mr. Johnson beneath Megabuilding H8, and Mr. Johnson reflected on Carl’s likely high income compared with his own.
• Carl and Mr. Johnson rode to the fourteenth floor, where Carl saw children playing in the hallway and learned that off-duty officers took turns watching over them.
• Mr. Johnson explained that Andy had grown up in the building and could stay there because the residents still considered him one of their own.
• Carl greeted an officer named But as Mr. Johnson led him into the apartment to see Andy.
• But told the children that Carl was one of Night City’s big shots, even though he had never appeared in braindance celebrity shows.

Carl met Andy and heard his plan to use her information on the Tiger Claws' leadership to avenge his sister. After Carl challenged whether he could accept dying after killing only one of them, Andy found clarity and said he would not accept that outcome.

• Mr. Johnson introduced Carl to Andy, who remembered her saving him and thanked her for it.
• Andy asked Carl to get information on the Tiger Claws' upper ranks, offering 198,405 euros.
• Carl agreed she could obtain information but warned Andy that his current condition and lack of support made attacking a higher-up suicidal.
• Andy insisted that he had to avenge his younger sister himself.
• Carl asked whether Andy could accept killing only one enemy before dying while the others continued abducting girls.
• Andy found clarity and told Carl, "I won't accept that."

Carl bought information on the Tiger Claws managing Clouds and sent Andy’s remaining money to Mr. Johnson for cyberware and a place on his team. She encouraged Johnson to work toward becoming NCPD commissioner, and he agreed to try.

• Carl asked Wakako for the names and whereabouts of the Tiger Claws brass managing Clouds, and Wakako agreed to provide the information for fifty thousand eddies.
• Carl paid Wakako and sent Andy’s remaining 148,000 eddies to Mr. Johnson to take Andy to Viktor for new cyberware.
• Carl told Mr. Johnson she wanted Andy to join his team and explained she planned to place people she invested in within the NCPD.
• Carl urged Mr. Johnson to work his way up to commissioner, and he replied that he would rely on her bribes and work harder.

On the second day of his squad’s break, Carl grew bored and asked Blanca for side work. She offered him a chance to help intercept Arasaka shipments in the Badlands and assess the loyalty of her subordinate, Meredith Stout.

• Carl found no urgent messages and contacted Kenichi Shiro and Blanca because he was bored.
• Blanca questioned whether Carl trusted her, and Carl said he trusted her judgment even if she eventually betrayed him for a good price.
• Blanca offered Carl an unpaid internal job intercepting Arasaka shipments with nomads in the Badlands, with permission to take some equipment.
• Carl accepted, and Blanca sent him Meredith Stout’s contact details and asked him to assess her loyalty.

Carl met Meredith Stout and Militech agents in the Badlands to prepare for a raid on an Arasaka convoy. As they disguised themselves in cargo trucks and Arasaka combat suits, Carl realized the armor’s weight exposed the limits of his body and decided to consider leg cyberware.

• Meredith Stout confronted Carl for arriving late, then accepted his apology after receiving a report that he had killed the gang members who attacked his cab.
• Meredith explained that Militech would use four Villefort Columbus cargo trucks to approach the Arasaka convoy and jam its communications while nomad clans attacked.
• Carl chose to ride in Meredith’s cab as Militech agents loaded the trucks and prepared for the operation.
• Meredith’s agents brought out Arasaka elite combat suits, which Carl inspected and put on.
• Carl felt the suit’s weight restrict his movement and concluded that he needed to consider replacing the bones and joints in his legs.

Meredith led a Militech ambush on an Arasaka cargo convoy in the Badlands, using mines and a communications jammer to disable the trucks. Carl joined the attack as nomads opened fire and Militech moved to eliminate the surviving Arasaka escorts.

• Carl waited with Meredith in a disguised Militech cargo vehicle as the Arasaka convoy approached.
• Meredith detonated the mines, overturning the lead truck and causing the second truck to crash into it.
• More than twenty nomads began firing on the convoy before Militech had given them the signal.
• Meredith activated the communications interference and ordered her troops to disable the armored vehicle and kill the Arasaka escorts.
• Meredith and Carl exited their vehicle in disguise, carrying Kang Tao Dian weapons.

Carl joined Meredith’s Militech team as they ambushed an Arasaka convoy alongside the Wraiths, though the battle ended before Carl needed to act. When the hijackers found that both trucks carried apples, Carl began choosing crates and noticed each bore the same claw mark.

• Carl watched the Wraiths and Militech overwhelm the Arasaka escorts, then hid her face while the nomads searched the captured vehicles.
• Meredith told Carl she could choose two items from the cargo, and Carl inspected the second truck first.
• Militech operatives opened crates in both trucks and discovered that they were all filled with apples.
• Carl happily began selecting apple crates and noticed that every crate carried a mark resembling a sharp claw.

Carl discovered a Tiger Claws-style mark inside an Arasaka crate before an unidentified force attacked the Militech convoy in the Badlands. As the attackers destroyed vehicles and picked off the defenders, Carl took cover and waited for them to approach.

• Carl found a black-flame and lizard-skull design inside the crate and recognized it as a mark favored by the Tiger Claws.
• Carl heard a warning that an unidentified vehicle was approaching, and the reconnaissance post went silent after a gunshot.
• Meredith ordered the group to engage, and Carl took cover behind an overturned truck as the attackers opened fire.
• The attackers set the Columbus ablaze, killing Wraiths who had taken cover behind it while suited Militech personnel survived the explosions.
• Several Wraiths fired looted guns toward the distant attackers, but the sniper continued picking them off.
• Carl tried to estimate the sniper's distance using a reflective metal fragment, failed, and waited for the enemy to get closer.

As heavily armed attackers closed in on the Militech convoy, Carl realized they were holding back because they feared damaging the cargo. Carl took command and prepared a counterattack, leaving the nomads and Militech personnel with four seconds to obey her orders.

• Meredith learned that Militech Intelligence was delaying satellite surveillance as five armored vehicles approached with autocannons and vehicle-mounted rockets.
• After a scout was killed, Carl noticed that the attackers had avoided using their heavy weapons and seemed wary of the trucks carrying apples.
• When the attackers came within 250 meters, Carl ordered the remaining personnel to return fire and directed those trapped near the Columbus vehicles to retreat into Truck Number Two under smoke cover.
• The nomad leader challenged Carl's authority, so Carl fired beside her and threatened to kill anyone who disobeyed or interfered.

Carl’s hacking crippled the attackers’ squad and forced the Arasaka team to abandon its ranged advantage and charge the trucks. Meredith watched the armored vehicles rush toward them and could not understand what had made the attackers change tactics.

• The Wraiths agreed to obey Carl’s orders rather than risk being killed by either side.
• The Wraiths threw smoke grenades and fired to cover people relocating behind the Columbus trucks, but the attackers used thermal imaging to track them.
• Carl breached the attackers’ squad hacker and used the access link to kill four attackers and disable or disrupt other cyberware.
• The attack squad leader ordered the surviving attackers to restart their armored vehicles and charge, since they could not risk damaging the cargo.
• The attackers injected stimulants, drew their blades, and surged forward, leaving Meredith bewildered by their decision to abandon their ranged advantage.

Carl fought off the attackers using slowed time, smart bullets, and an EMP knife, while Militech personnel and nomads counterattacked. The attackers’ leader searched an armored vehicle for the hacker, found it empty, and was ambushed by Carl.

• Carl used his Sandevistan and an EMP knife to kill three attackers and disable a driver, sending one armored vehicle crashing into the truck.
• Carl entered the dust and gunfire as Militech personnel and nomads fought the remaining attackers, suffering casualties while using their numerical advantage.
• The attackers’ leader searched the battlefield for the hacker and suspected he was inside the armored vehicle parked by the truck.
• The leader cut into the vehicle with his serrated Mantis Blade, found it empty, and was approached from behind by Carl.
• Carl pressed the Final Night against the leader’s helmet and fired.

Carl and Meredith’s forces defeated the attackers, whom Meredith identified as Arasaka Security, but a Category Three Strong Hurricane forced everyone to flee. As the convoy escaped, Carl picked up a rhomboid wooden block from a damaged apple crate, and the storm soon swept through the site.

• Carl finished off the remaining attackers while Meredith’s Militech personnel and the nomads surrounded them.
• Meredith identified the attackers as Arasaka Security based on their training and combat methods.
• A communications disturbance alerted Meredith that the approaching Category Three Strong Hurricane had arrived ahead of schedule.
• Meredith ordered everyone to abandon the cargo and flee before the hurricane reached them.
• Carl collected a rhomboid wooden block and several apples before running to the Militech vehicles.
• The convoy departed, and three minutes later the hurricane swept through the area.

After returning from the Badlands, Carl tested one of the apples and investigated a suspicious wooden block hidden among the cargo. Inside it, he found a bird-shaped carving and a slip of paper containing part of some coordinates.

• Meredith apologized to Carl after the convoy returned to Night City and promised compensation for the mission.
• Carl read Mr. Johnson's message that Andy had begun tracking a Tiger Claws higher-up amid a factional struggle.
• Carl scanned one of his apples and found no problems with the fruit.
• Carl concluded that the Rhomboid Wood Block had been deliberately hidden in the crate because it would damage the apples.
• Carl broke open the block and a wooden bird carving, discovering a paper slip with part of the coordinates: 142°10′ east longitude, 27°45′ north latitude.

Carl traced the message she found in the Badlands to a location in the Ogasawara Islands and contacted Arasaka vice president Kenichi Shiro about the secret shipment. She arranged to meet him on the rooftop of her Megabuilding, where the story left her waiting for him.

• Carl confirmed that the coordinates on the note pointed to Arasaka-owned islands and suspected the lost Rhomboid Wood Blocks had been part of a message.
• Carl called Kenichi Shiro, carefully withholding details about her employer and the job.
• Kenichi Shiro connected Carl’s discovery to a convoy that had vanished in the hurricane and found that its records listed no receiving personnel.
• Carl kept the paper intact, ended the call, and went to her Megabuilding rooftop to meet Kenichi Shiro.
• The rooftop floor was empty because Carl and Oliver had killed its former residents during a previous mission, and no gang higher-up had moved in since.

Carl sensed she was being watched, then survived an Arasaka bomb attack and the elevator’s fall. She reappeared behind the agents sent to verify her death, ready to retaliate.

• Carl felt someone watching her after leaving the elevator and planned to discuss stronger safeguards with Kenichi Shiro.
• A time bomb exploded outside Carl’s elevator on the forty-fourth floor, sending the damaged car plunging down the shaft.
• Arasaka agents ordered a secondary verification and sent a surveillance squad to dispose of Carl’s body.
• Carl escaped the wrecked elevator and patted an Arasaka agent on the shoulder.
• Carl confronted the agents and asked if they had been watching her.