Chapter Summaries

Carl and the others inspected a robot equipped with human cyberware and discovered it had killed Arakawa Sesen’s intended contact. They found the victim’s mangled remains, leaving the group confronted with the robot’s cold, mechanical violence.

• Carl extracted the robot’s data and learned it had been ordered to kill, search for, and clear ambush sites.
• Carl told Arakawa Sesen that the robot had likely killed the person he planned to meet, then waited after an error sent it to the wrong room.
• Arakawa Sesen asked to see the room where the robot had gone.
• The group found the victim’s body smashed across the floor, and Jack said he understood why The Corporation feared AI and robots.

After a murder by a robot with nearly perfect human proportions, Carl and Andy considered what it meant for machines to become more human. Carl left the scene and called Delamain for a ride, still uneasy about the prospect of AI with humanlike emotions and thoughts.

• Andy and Carl discussed the gruesome murder and the panic it could cause in Vista Del Rey.
• Carl compared the robot’s height and arm span and found its proportions matched the human one-to-one ratio.
• Andy recalled a story in which robots became humanlike and replaced humanity, while Carl thought of Rogue AI and extreme Cyberpsychosis cases.
• After Arakawa Sesen was escorted away, Carl said goodbye to Andy and the other NCPD officers and left the murder scene.
• Carl realized he had no ride, called Delamain, and boarded a car sent by the service.

Carl learned that Maine's crew had killed Faraday in Dogtown and declined Maine's invitation to meet, keeping his current job secret. At breakfast, Arakawa Sesen announced he would leave Night City the morning after tomorrow and asked to hire Carl's team again when he returned; Carl agreed if the pay was enough.

• Maine told Carl that his crew had found Faraday hiding in a Scavengers' den in Dogtown and killed him.
• Maine invited Carl to drinks at the Afterlife, but Carl declined because he was busy with undisclosed work.
• Arakawa Sesen joined Carl's team for breakfast on the fourth day of the protection job.
• Arakawa Sesen told the team he planned to leave Night City the morning after tomorrow because of urgent matters back on the mainland.
• Arakawa Sesen asked to hire Carl's team again when he returned, and Carl agreed as long as the pay was enough.

At the Afterlife, Old Captain told Carl’s team about a rising female merc working for Kormac and warned them that Will Firecannon was preparing to move against the Sixth Street Gang’s General. Oliver returned to Santo Domingo with his friends, and the next morning the General, Rick Morton, was found dead in his bathtub.

• Old Captain told Carl’s team about a skilled female merc from near Coronado Farm who had recently made a name for herself while working for Kormac.
• Old Captain asked Carl’s team to keep an eye out for the merc, then shared that he had heard Will Firecannon was preparing to move against the General.
• Oliver realized Will Firecannon’s plans could endanger his family, who were aligned with the General.
• Carl suggested that Oliver take the team home to Santo Domingo, and Oliver agreed.
• The next morning, the General, Rick Morton, was found dead in his bathtub.

After Rick Morton’s death threatened to plunge the Sixth Street Gang into infighting, Oliver and his friends went to Santo Domingo as Nottingham Winrio prepared to oppose Will Firecannon’s bid for leadership. The chapter ended with Oliver returning to his father’s home.

• Jack, Oliver, V, T-BUG, and Carl discussed the gang conflict and suspected Will Firecannon of killing Rick Morton to seize control.
• Oliver explained that his uncle Nottingham would refuse to submit to Will Firecannon, and Jack said they could settle a score with Firecannon’s people.
• Nottingham told Marianne to leave before he attended the meeting to elect the gang’s next leader.
• Marianne urged Nottingham to call Oliver for help, and Oliver entered the house and told his father he was back.

Will Firecannon expected to become the Sixth Street Gang’s new boss and planned to eliminate Nottingham-Wenrio, the traditionalist whose supporters could challenge his power. Nottingham-Wenrio arrived as the gang’s members began openly backing him, leaving the leadership contest poised to begin.

• After General Rick-Morton died, Will Firecannon expected the election to make him boss because his men controlled the gang’s strongest faction.
• Will Firecannon planned to deal with Nottingham-Wenrio and his loyal followers, whom he knew would not accept him after he killed the General.
• While the members discussed their choice, some voiced support for Will Firecannon and others began backing Nottingham-Wenrio.
• Nottingham-Wenrio entered the barn, bringing both contenders for the leadership together.

Nottingham-Wenrio interrupted the Sixth Street Gang’s leadership selection to reveal who had killed General Rick, and Will Firecannon tried to silence him before he could present evidence. A blond young man long driven out of the gang stopped a gunman from shooting Nottingham-Wenrio, leaving his identity and intentions unclear.

• Nottingham-Wenrio entered the barn and insisted on revealing General Rick’s killer before the selection began.
• Nottingham-Wenrio announced that he had come to reveal who killed Rick, and the gang’s higher-ups suspected Will Firecannon.
• Will Firecannon decided Nottingham-Wenrio could not be allowed to present evidence and secretly signaled a gunman on the second floor to shoot him.
• The gunman aimed a Kenshin at Nottingham-Wenrio, but a blond young man pressed down on his arm as he fired into the barn floor.

Oliver Winrio stopped a Sixth Street Gang gunman from shooting Nottingham Winrio, shifting the gang’s leaders against Will Firecannon. Will killed the captured gunman and realized Nottingham had evidence linking him to General Rick’s death.

• Oliver Winrio stopped a Sixth Street Gang member from shooting Nottingham Winrio as Nottingham prepared to reveal evidence about General Rick’s death.
• A Sixth Street Gang elder asked Oliver to bring the gunman down for questioning, and Oliver used his Sandevistan to carry him to the first floor.
• The gang’s higher-ups were impressed and intimidated by Oliver’s speed, and some shifted their support toward Nottingham Winrio.
• Will Firecannon stabbed the captured gunman to death, calling him a Tiger Claws spy.
• Will realized Nottingham Winrio really had evidence that he had dealt with Rick.

Will Firecannon killed the gunman and ordered his loyalists to attack Oliver and Nottingham-Wenrio, hoping to escape and defect to Tiger Claws. Oliver's allies stopped him, and after Will Firecannon was captured, Nottingham-Wenrio revealed that he had never had evidence and had bluffed him.

• Will Firecannon killed the gunman to test how strong Nottingham-Wenrio's evidence was, then decided he still had a chance to flee to Tiger Claws.
• Will Firecannon ordered his men to kill Oliver and Nottingham, but more than half refused to act.
• V deflected the gunmen's bullets with his Thermal Katana, while Carl and Jack blocked Will Firecannon's escape route.
• Oliver forced Will Firecannon to his knees after he ordered his men to attack fellow gang members.
• Will Firecannon asked how Nottingham-Wenrio obtained the evidence, and Nottingham-Wenrio admitted he had bluffed him.

After Nottingham-Wenrio became the Sixth Street Gang’s leader, Oliver and his friends discussed how Will Firecannon lost his bid for power and returned to Oliver’s home. V proposed a transport business linking Santo Domingo and the Badlands, and the group considered partnering with the Aldecaldos to smuggle goods.

• Oliver, Jack, Carl, and V left the barn after Nottingham-Wenrio’s supporters chose him as the Sixth Street Gang’s new leader.
• Carl said Will Firecannon failed because he had committed the crime but lacked the strength and support to protect himself.
• Oliver drove his father’s car away from the barn, and V noted that Nottingham-Wenrio’s new position might make it easier for Oliver to return to Santo Domingo.
• V suggested starting a transport business between Santo Domingo and the Badlands, and Carl proposed using the route to smuggle cargo.
• V said he knew a nomad tribe near Night City, and Carl identified it as the Aldecaldos before V suggested they discuss business with them.

Carl’s squad arranged a meeting with the Aldecaldos through fixer Dakota Smith to discuss a major, long-term business deal. After meeting clan leader Saul Bright in an abandoned Badlands town, Carl asked whether the Aldecaldos were interested in the deal, leaving its details undisclosed.

• Carl’s squad secured the support of Mr. Johnson and Nottingham-Wenlio for a proposed smuggling route and asked Dakota Smith to introduce them to the Aldecaldos.
• Dakota arranged a meeting in an abandoned Badlands town chosen by the Aldecaldos, where Carl’s squad arrived to find the clan already set up to receive them.
• V explained that the Aldecaldos had searched the meeting place and prepared for an ambush because raids were a threat to nomad clans.
• Saul Bright, leader of the Aldecaldo clan, welcomed Carl’s group and brought them to a cleaned room to discuss the deal.
• Carl asked Saul whether the Aldecaldos were interested in long-term, major business.

Carl proposed that Saul and the Aldecaldos join a smuggling route linking their transport, NCPD checkpoints, and Sixth Street Gang distribution. Saul questioned why they had been chosen, and Carl revealed that V had recommended them because of Panam, leaving Saul asking what V’s relationship with Panam was.

• Carl explained the smuggling operation to Saul, who recognized its potential but wondered why the Aldecaldos had been selected over more established clans.
• Saul asked why Carl’s group had chosen the Aldecaldos instead of Red Ochre, and Carl recalled that V had brought them up.
• Carl said Panam Palmer was the reason, surprising Saul and the nearby Aldecaldos.
• Jack, Oliver, and T-BUG asked about Panam over comms, and Carl described her as V’s friend.
• Saul asked what V’s relationship with Panam was, and Carl answered for V that they were good friends.

Carl negotiated a distribution deal for the new transport route with Saul and the Sixth Street Gang, using advice from Mr. Johnson and Oliver’s father to set the shares. Saul proposed that the nomads receive twenty percent, and Carl accepted, leaving the final division unsettled.

• Saul asked Carl about Panam, then invited her to a meal and confirmed that she had found a way to make the route work.
• Carl called Mr. Johnson, who recommended a thirty-five percent cut for the NCPD, reducible to thirty percent if the route proved reliable.
• Oliver’s father agreed that the Sixth Street Gang would take thirty percent for handling transport and sales.
• Carl reasoned that the nomads should receive twenty-five percent and his group should keep ten percent for middleman work.
• Saul cautiously proposed that the nomads take twenty percent, and Carl immediately accepted, leaving Saul regretting that he had asked for too little.

Carl and the others celebrated with Panam at the Afterlife after the Aldecaldos gained a new transport route, while Claire invited Oliver to try an armed street race. Oliver and Jack formed a racing team for that night, and Carl received a message from Blanca.

• Panam thanked Carl and V for helping arrange a new transport route for the Aldecaldos, and Carl credited V with bringing up the clan.
• Carl noticed Claire’s excitement and learned she was preparing for a street-racing trial run.
• Claire explained that street races involved armed vehicles, and Oliver decided he wanted to enter.
• Carl refused to join as Oliver’s gunner, while Jack volunteered to race with Oliver.
• Carl learned that T-BUG also had plans for the night, then received a message from Blanca.

Carl visited Blanca after Blanca invited her over, only to find her exhausted from thirty-four hours of work. Blanca fell asleep almost immediately, leaving Carl to quietly make herself at home and keep her company.

• Blanca invited Carl to her apartment in Charter Hill after finishing a long stretch of overtime.
• Carl found Blanca waiting downstairs, still dressed for work and visibly exhausted, and followed her up to her cluttered apartment.
• Blanca explained that she rarely tidied her room and offered Carl sweet tea, while Carl described Blanca as ambitious and focused on her future.
• Blanca told Carl to stay and then fell asleep almost instantly after working for thirty-four hours.
• Carl stayed quiet, took some snacks, and let Blanca sleep peacefully.

Carl returned to the flat after a night spent watching braindances, while T-BUG and V also came back from their own late-night activities. When V offered a delivery job from Kormac, Carl agreed to join, thinking of her recent conversation with Old Captain.

• Carl found T-BUG awake at the flat and heard that Jack and Oliver had placed third in a street-race trial.
• Carl ate the cereal Jack and Oliver had left and reflected on how Blanca might have wanted a safe place to sleep.
• V returned after visiting the Aldecaldos and described fighting Wraiths, helping the Night City Police Department against the Tiger Claws, and confronting Maelstrom.
• Carl explained that Mr. Johnson had strengthened the Night City Police Department by changing patrol benefits, weapons, and staffing.
• V told Carl that Kormac had called about a delivery job bringing something into the city, and Carl agreed to go.

Carl agreed to join V on a job for Kormac after hearing about a capable female mercenary who worked for him. Kormac arranged for V and Carl to oversee his low-level crew while they received goods, and began considering how to use the famous mercenaries against the increasingly disobedient woman.

• Carl remembered Old Captain's account of a capable female mercenary from Coronado Farm and agreed to take V's job so she could see her for herself.
• V told Kormac that he and Carl would come, and Kormac promised to increase the reward.
• Kormac assigned V to supervise his mercenaries as they received goods from outside the city, with V taking over if anything went wrong.
• Kormac reflected on his method of using famous mercenaries as insurance while leaving dangerous work to low-level crews.
• Kormac considered using V and Carl to test the disobedient female mercenary who wanted to break free and work independently.

Orionna and Kile met Carl, who was assigned to guarantee their job for Kormac, and then set out with Carl and V following behind. Carl recognized something familiar in Orionna’s movements and wariness, linking them to the Night City legend Mourning Woman.

• Orionna and Kile met Carl, whose presence made both mercenaries visibly nervous.
• Carl explained that he and V would observe the job and intervene only if Orionna and Kile failed.
• Orionna and Kile drove away, and V followed with Carl to monitor their job.
• Carl noted Kile’s Titan Subdermal Armor and said Orionna’s manner reminded him of a Valentinos legend from forty years earlier.
• Carl identified that legend as Mourning Woman, once a predator at the top of Night City’s food chain.

Orionna and Kile met their contact Aison Breen at the Sunset Motel to collect a box, but Aison revealed that it belonged to Psycho Squad. Orionna remained unaware of Kile’s hidden doubts as they headed into a job whose stakes had just changed.

• Orionna and Kile mocked each other for acting timid around KK, who had become their guarantor.
• Kile privately questioned his partnership with Orionna and thought she needed to stay alive before reaching the Afterlife.
• Orionna imagined entering the Afterlife with Kile and proving her mercenary skills to her father.
• Orionna and Kile met Aison Breen at the Sunset Motel, where he handed Orionna a box.
• Aison told Orionna and Kile that the box belonged to Psycho Squad.

Orionna and Kile learned that the crate belonged to Psycho Squad, while Eason-Brain revealed that delivering it to a City Council recipient was their only chance to survive. He gave them twenty minutes before his timer alerted Psycho Squad, leaving them racing against the clock.

• Orionna and Kile panicked after learning the crate belonged to Psycho Squad, but Eason-Brain warned that abandoning the job would not keep them safe.
• Eason-Brain explained that a City Council official was meant to receive the item and that delivering it could protect the couriers from Psycho Squad.
• Orionna questioned why Eason-Brain had involved them, and he admitted that he wanted to witness her skills, even at the risk of his life.
• Eason-Brain revealed that he had set a timer to notify Psycho Squad that the item was missing in twenty minutes.
• Kile tried to draw his gun, but Eason-Brain swiftly held a golden blade to his throat and then announced that nineteen minutes and fifty seconds remained.