Chapter Summaries

Carl, V, Jack, and Oliver escaped their job in the Badlands, but Militech Manticore hovercars caught up with them. As the pursuers threatened to attack, Jack and V used a MANPADS to strike back.

• Oliver drove the team away from the job, while Carl reflected on their dependence on T-BUG and decided to learn hacking from her.
• V asked about their route, and two Militech Manticore hovercars caught up with the Rayfield Hera as it neared the edge of Southern California.
• Carl explained that Militech could track them using ordinary optics and warned that the two Manticores might be scouts summoning other pursuers.
• Militech ordered the team to pull over, but Oliver tore off the Rayfield Hera's roof while V finished assembling a weapon.
• Jack and V aimed their MANPADS at the Manticores, and a missile struck one of the pursuing hovercars.

Carl and her allies attacked the Militech Manticores, and Carl destroyed the last surviving hovercar by cutting it open in midair. She escaped its crash before a grenade exploded among the Militech personnel, leaving her standing clear of the wreckage.

• Carl and V saw that one Manticore had survived and was firing its Autocannon at the Rayfield Hera.
• Oliver used his Sandevistan to dodge the Manticore’s bullets, while Jack threw an EMP Grenade that the hovercar evaded.
• V boosted Carl out of the moving vehicle, and she double-jumped toward the Manticore.
• Carl cut through the Manticore with her Monomolecular Wire and landed inside as it began to fall.
• Carl pulled the pin on a grenade, escaped the crashed hovercar, and watched it explode with the Militech personnel inside.

Carl and her companions pushed their wrecked Rayfield Hera toward Night City, where checkpoint staff found an RPG in the car and prepared to detain them. As Carl readied to fight rather than be held, an unfamiliar Night City police officer intervened.

• V said the damaged Rayfield Hera needed professional repairs, so Jack, Oliver, Carl, and V pushed it toward the checkpoint.
• Checkpoint staff spotted the group and ordered them to stop for a scan and inspection.
• A drone detected weapons in the car, and an inspector found an RPG in a passenger-side compartment.
• Checkpoint personnel aimed their Ajax Rifles at the group and threatened detention for smuggling dangerous weapons.
• Carl refused to submit to detention and prepared to put the checkpoint staff to sleep, but an unfamiliar police officer arrived and said, “Wait.”

Carl and the KK Squad reached Night City after a checkpoint officer recognized her and stopped the guards from detaining them. They borrowed a tow truck for their damaged Rayfield Hera and continued toward the city, which Carl considered home.

• A Night City Police Department officer ordered the checkpoint staff to let Carl and the KK Squad pass.
• The officer recognized Carl as KK, and the guards realized they had pointed their guns at her.
• Carl asked to borrow the checkpoint’s tow truck to transport the damaged Rayfield Hera and declined the offer of a driver.
• Carl transferred money for the checkpoint staff to buy drinks, surprising them with her kindness.
• The KK Squad drove the tow truck toward Night City, while the checkpoint staff discussed KK and the Rayfield Hera.

After finishing a job, Carl and her squad learned rumors that Arakawa Sesen had come to Night City. A new message from Kenichi Shiro arrived, drawing Carl into whatever was unfolding.

• Carl saw the client praise the job and delete their account after the final payment cleared.
• At the Afterlife, Carl, V, Oliver, and Jack asked Claire why the bar was unusually quiet, and she shared news about the Aldecaldos, the Wraiths, and a new Tiger Claws leader.
• Claire said she had heard that Arakawa Sesen had come to Night City, though she could not confirm the rumor.
• Carl said she would watch and wait, while Oliver speculated that the squad might receive a job from Arakawa's heiress or Kenichi Shiro or Kenichi Kazuya.
• Carl received a new message, and the sender was Kenichi Shiro.

Kenichi Shiro told Carl that Arakawa Sesen had come to Night City to retrieve the special individual captured during the Arasaka Tower banquet, on orders from Arasaka Saburo. Carl accepted a guard assignment for Kenichi Shiro, who revealed that the mission would take place at sea in four days.

• Carl asked Kenichi Shiro why Arakawa Sesen had come to Night City, and Kenichi said it was officially a routine inspection.
• Kenichi explained that Arakawa Sesen had come to take the Blue Eyes intruder captured at the Arasaka Tower banquet, acting on Arasaka Saburo's orders.
• Carl questioned whether Arakawa Sesen might have his own plans for the special individual, and Kenichi agreed that it was possible.
• Kenichi asked Carl's team to serve as guards again and offered access to an Arasaka parts warehouse as payment.
• Carl accepted the job, and Kenichi assigned the team identity verification cards for their roles.
• Kenichi told Carl and the others that the mission would begin in four days and take place at sea.

Carl and his companions arrived at the Kujira-go, where Haruko met them and invited them to join her great-uncle. Carl took Haruko’s hand as her friend, though Kenichi Shiro’s stare left him wondering if he had misread the situation.

• Oliver, Jack, V, and Carl watched the Kujira-go approach and reflected on its design, weapons, and role in ending the Unification War.
• Kenichi Shiro’s aerodyne passed inspection and descended to the supercarrier as its automated cannons turned away.
• Haruko joked with Carl about the nuclear explosion of 2023, then acknowledged that the subject touched her family history.
• Carl apologized for his dark joke, and Haruko admitted she was still learning to feel close to relatives she had never met.
• Haruko greeted Kenichi Shiro and offered Carl her hand, saying her great-uncle was waiting and her mother would arrive soon.
• Carl took Haruko’s hand as her friend and wondered why Kenichi Shiro continued staring at him.

Carl brought Haruko to meet her great-uncle, Arakawa Sesen, aboard the Kujira-go. Sesen welcomed Haruko and praised Carl for protecting her, leaving Kenichi Shiro wary because Sesen led the Hawks faction involved in the earlier attack on Haruko.

• Oliver, Jack, and V discussed Carl and Haruko holding hands as they crossed the deck to meet Arakawa Sesen.
• Carl recognized Sesen as he waited in a cabin aboard the Supercarrier.
• Haruko greeted Sesen warmly, and they talked about her life in Night City and how much happier she was than in Kyoto.
• Sesen exchanged formal greetings with Kenichi Shiro, then recognized Carl and told her she had done well protecting Haruko.
• Carl accepted Sesen's praise, while Kenichi Shiro watched him sternly because of the Hawks faction's role in the earlier attack.

Takemura Goro arrived at the lounge carrying Arasaka Saburo’s authority and demanded custody of the special individual. After greeting Arasaka Haruko, he was asked whether he was related to Maki.

• Takemura Goro entered the lounge and announced that he had come to take the special individual on Arasaka Saburo’s behalf.
• Kenichi Shiro recognized Takemura Goro as Arasaka Saburo’s personal bodyguard, while V, Jack, Oliver, and Carl discussed his imposing presence over comms.
• Arakawa Sesen mocked Takemura Goro for acting like Arasaka Saburo’s dog, and Takemura Goro declined to argue with him.
• Arasaka Haruko greeted Takemura Goro and sat near Arakawa Sesen, and Takemura Goro returned her greeting warmly.
• A black-haired young man asked Takemura Goro whether he was related to Maki.

Carl recognized Takemura Goro as Maki’s relative and waited with Haruko for the remaining Arasaka representatives to arrive. The gathering ended with Adam Smasher entering the lounge alongside Arakawa Michiko.

• Takemura Goro recognized Carl as Mercenary KK and confirmed he had a connection to Maki, but refused to discuss it in front of others.
• Carl remembered that Takemura Goro resembled comedian Hino Hidekazu and decided not to test his reaction to the comedian’s catchphrase.
• Carl and Haruko exchanged messages about the nuclear weapons aboard the carrier while they waited.
• Adam Smasher entered the crowded lounge, followed by Arakawa Michiko.

Arakawa Michiko joined Arakawa Sesen, Arasaka Haruko, and the others aboard a Supercarrier to observe a secret test. The Blue Eyes Suit addressed the Arasaka observers through the laboratory camera, leaving Carl astonished by the AI’s formal bow.

• Arakawa Michiko arrived and greeted Arakawa Sesen and Arasaka Haruko before taking her seat beside Adam Smasher.
• Arakawa Sesen asked whether Arakawa Michiko had brought the personnel, and she confirmed they were waiting at the test site.
• The lounge darkened and a screen showed Arasaka personnel surrounding the Blue Eyes Suit inside a glass enclosure.
• Kenichi Shiro warned Carl’s team not to reveal anything they saw or heard, and Carl agreed to keep the secret.
• The Blue Eyes Suit tapped the glass, bowed to the camera, and greeted the Arasaka observers as Carl marveled that an AI could bow.

Arakawa Sesen questioned Blue Eyes Suit, who revealed that a collective sought cooperation with Arasaka Saburo. After ending the meeting, Arakawa Sesen arranged for Takemura Goro to bring Blue Eyes Suit to him and offered Carl's team a short-term protection contract.

• Arakawa Sesen asked Blue Eyes Suit why he had attacked Arasaka, and Blue Eyes Suit said he had chosen the approach most likely to bring them together.
• Blue Eyes Suit said that he and his collective sought cooperation with the person truly in control, whom Carl realized was Arasaka Saburo.
• Arakawa Sesen ended the conversation and ordered Takemura Goro to bring Blue Eyes Suit to Arasaka Saburo.
• Arakawa Sesen told Arakawa Michiko he intended to handle matters in Night City, and she welcomed his decision.
• Arakawa Sesen offered Carl's team a short-term protection contract, and Carl asked him to provide a communications number so they could discuss it later.

Kenichi Shiro delivered Carl and the KK Squad to a warehouse of parts as payment, then questioned Carl about Arakawa Sesen's plans in Night City. Carl considered Arakawa Sesen's bodyguard offer, and the chapter ended with him suspecting the many recent mercenary jobs were connected to Sesen's arrival.

• Kenichi Shiro showed Carl the warehouse and warned him to stay out of other areas of the Waterfront District.
• Carl told Kenichi Shiro he might accept Arakawa Sesen's bodyguard job but would not spy on or attack a client.
• Kenichi Shiro left to investigate why Arakawa Sesen had chosen outsiders as his bodyguards.
• V, Oliver, and Jack entered the warehouse and began choosing parts for the KK Squad.
• Carl read the terms of Arakawa Sesen's offer: protect him during his ten-day stay and accompany him to meetings around Night City.
• Carl recalled that mercenaries across the city had recently been getting jobs and wondered whether Arakawa Sesen's arrival was behind them.

Carl and his team arrived at Azure Tower to meet their employer, Arakawa Sesen, and found him unusually relaxed in the top-floor Tavernier Suite. The meeting began with Sesen eating breakfast and reading a Clouds flyer.

• Carl, V, Jack, and Oliver passed Azure Tower's security scan and rode the elevator to the Tavernier Suite on the hundredth floor.
• Carl described Arakawa Sesen as unusual, saying he seemed like a flame with a burning spirit.
• Carl's team entered the suite and found Sesen waiting for them in a bathrobe, looking relaxed.
• Carl greeted Sesen as Mr. Sesen, and Oliver noticed that the Arasaka prince was reading a Clouds flyer while eating breakfast.

Oliver and the bodyguards spent the morning with Arakawa Sesen, who stayed in his Azure Tower suite and ordered local food rather than going out. As the lunch drone approached, Jack detected gunpowder and shut the window before it exploded, leaving Sesen’s visitor and the danger outside unresolved.

• Oliver found Arakawa Sesen unexpectedly relaxed and homebound, while Jack and V guarded the suite and Carl kept him company.
• Carl consulted Oliver’s Night City food guide and ordered hot dogs and grasshopper pizza for Sesen.
• Sesen told the bodyguards that someone would come to see him that day, so they would not need to go out.
• Carl rented an authorized delivery drone, which flew up to the hundredth floor of Azure Tower with their lunch.
• Jack smelled gunpowder as he opened the window, then shut it when the drone exploded against the bulletproof glass.
• Carl concluded that someone had monitored her delivery history, and told Sesen their lunch was gone.

After a bomb was found in takeout ordered for Arakawa Sesen, Carl suspected that someone was targeting him and tested the hotel’s food. The test revealed a toxin created when a special knife contacted the meat, and Jack and Oliver returned with the supplies Carl had requested.

• Arakawa Sesen said that news of Carl’s bodyguard assignment had leaked after an explosive device was planted on a delivery order.
• Carl obtained access to the suite’s defenses and sent Oliver and Jack to fetch supplies while he and V stayed with Arakawa Sesen.
• Carl ordered food from the hotel kitchen, and V checked it and found no problem with the food or its steam.
• At Carl’s instruction, V put meat cut with the dining knife into the ornamental fish tank, and the fish died.
• Carl deduced that contact between the knife and the meat had produced a lethal toxin, while Arakawa Sesen said someone was eager to kill him.
• Jack and Oliver returned with the things Carl had requested.

Carl cooked lunch for Arakawa Sesen and continued guarding him as Night City mayor Lucius Rhyne arrived for a meeting. Rhyne and Sesen began discussing a bill that would allow restricted weapons into Night City.

• Carl served Arakawa Sesen a home-cooked meal and said she would handle the cooking during the mission.
• Carl considered Sesen an easygoing employer but still sensed a fierce intensity beneath his calm exterior.
• Lucius Rhyne arrived under guard, and V inspected him before allowing him to approach Sesen.
• Rhyne recognized Carl as the notorious mercenary KK and privately reconsidered his plans for dealing with Sesen.
• Sesen greeted Rhyne and invited him to discuss the bill permitting restricted weapons in Night City.

After Mayor Lucius Lane refused to commit to Arakawa Sesen’s proposal to relax Night City’s weapons laws, Arakawa judged that Lane had betrayed Arasaka and was headed for trouble. He reflected on Carl’s unusual sincerity and wondered whether she might join his side, but kept his thoughts to himself.

• Carl described Lucius Lane as cunning, and Arakawa Sesen agreed that the mayor had carefully avoided committing to his proposals.
• Arakawa Sesen recognized that his meeting with Lucius Lane had tested the mayor’s loyalty to Arasaka, and he believed Lane’s secret dealings with Militech would soon bring consequences.
• Arakawa Sesen considered Carl’s sincerity and wondered if she could be persuaded to join his side.
• Arakawa Sesen held back from sharing his ideas with Carl and asked her to season the French fries with salt and pepper.

Carl, Jack, and V brought Arakawa Sesen to a meeting in Vista Del Rey, but they found bloodstains and signs of a recent killing at the apartment. Carl followed the trail into an empty room and encountered something unseen that left a patch of blood twisting by the doorway.

• Carl rode with V and Arakawa Sesen in a borrowed flatbed truck toward Vista Del Rey.
• Jack led the group to the third-floor apartment where Arakawa Sesen was supposed to meet someone.
• Jack found bloodstains along the corridor and took a defensive stance while V guarded Arakawa Sesen.
• Carl examined the blood trail, found drag marks, and followed it toward an open apartment with his Neurotoxin Knife ready.
• Carl heard footsteps approach the doorway, but when he stepped out, no one was there and a patch of blood twisted on the floor.

Carl fought a bizarre attacker who used Optical Camouflage and detachable Mantis Blades, then discovered he was a robot. The attacker collapsed after Carl interfered with his programming.

• Carl caught the attacker's Mantis Blade and blocked his invisible assault with a Neurotoxin Knife.
• The attacker rotated around his restrained arm, detached it to escape Carl's knee strike, and caused the discarded arm to explode.
• Carl threw fragments from the blast at the attacker, but his Subdermal Armor deflected them.
• Carl infiltrated the attacker and disrupted his movement, causing him to collapse.
• Carl saw the attacker's body reveal a metallic sheen and realized he was a robot.