Chapter Summaries

Jack and his crew passed the Voodoo Boys’ security checks and followed Placide into the Haitian Enclave in Pacifica. Placide revealed that their job was to take care of someone named Slider in Dogtown.

• Jack entered Roland's Meat Shop and waited while a camera verified his identity and his crew’s.
• Placide met Jack in the back room, confirmed who he was, and led the crew out through a rolling shutter.
• Jack and his crew followed Placide through Pacifica into the Haitian Enclave, where they saw armed locals bearing Voodoo tattoos.
• Placide stopped with the crew at the Bati Hotel and asked Jack whether they had been to Dogtown.
• Placide told Jack that the crew needed to take care of a man named Slider in Dogtown.

Jack’s team negotiated with Placide to take a job killing Slider, a Voodoo Boys defector in Dogtown. Placide tried to infect Jack through a direct data connection, but Jack used his own device, letting T-BUG locate the Voodoo Boys’ local network access point.

• Placide explained that Slider had left the Voodoo Boys and was building a rival group in Dogtown, then hired Jack’s team to kill him.
• Jack asked Placide for intelligence about Slider’s associates, and Placide reluctantly agreed to provide some.
• Placide led Jack to a table surrounded by armed Voodoo Boys and tried to pull the data cable from Jack’s wrist.
• Jack stopped Placide and insisted on using his own interface device and display to receive the files.
• Placide connected Jack’s device, and T-BUG used the connection to find the Voodoo Boys’ local network access point.

T-BUG traced the Voodoo Boys' hidden base while Maine's Crew revealed their true identities and refused Placide's job. As Placide attacked Carl, the crew prepared to deal with the Voodoo Boys at their hideout beneath the Serenity Bible Church.

• T-BUG said infiltrating the Voodoo Boys' network would take time, and Jack told the crew to get ready.
• Placide grew increasingly uneasy as he sensed danger from Maine's Crew.
• The crew's disguises flickered away, and Jack told Placide they were not taking the job.
• T-BUG located the Voodoo Boys' base beneath the Serenity Bible Church on Sloan Street in Pacifica.
• Placide activated his Sandevistan and combat stimulants, then charged at Carl.

Placide ambushed Carl, believing surprise and his Sandevistan would give him an advantage, but V intervened and defeated him. With the Voodoo Boys around them down and Placide dead, the KK Squad had cleared the way to pursue the gang’s leader.

• Placide activated his Sandevistan and swung his butcher’s knife at Carl, who remained still and watched him.
• V stepped in to block Placide’s strike with his Katana, and the two discussed his strength and V’s need for an arm-strength implant.
• Placide redirected his momentum with a charged jump, badly injuring his power leg as Carl identified the damage.
• Placide tried to warn the Voodoo Boys’ leader through comms, but the KK Squad had cut the connection.
• Placide activated his Sandevistan again, but V struck with his Thermal Katana and killed him.

Carl and the KK Squad destroyed the Voodoo Boys at the Quiet Bible Church, leaving the Haitian community without the gang’s protection. Carl considered how to keep order in Pacifica and saw the area as a possible base for new trade.

• After V killed Placide, the KK Squad eliminated the remaining Voodoo Boys in the branch base, and Jack took Placide’s cleaver.
• Carl found a room of netrunning equipment, and T-BUG asked her to preserve it for later relocation.
• Carl went downstairs and saw Haitians fleeing the Quiet Bible Church as the Voodoo Boys’ netrunning priests were killed.
• Carl considered the community’s uncertain future and decided that Hanz needed partners and Pacifica could become a place for new trade.
• Carl looked up at the bright sunshine and imagined the area becoming the next Dogtown.

Carl entered the Voodoo Boys’ abandoned maglev-tunnel base and found Maman Brigitte fighting the KK Squad. When Maman tried to hack Carl, her device exploded and killed her, leaving Carl baffled.

• Carl walked through the church and descended into the tunnel beneath it.
• T-BUG explained that the tunnel belonged to an Interstate Maglev Train line abandoned after the Fourth Corporate War.
• Carl followed gunfire through a train car and found the KK Squad fighting the Voodoo Boys.
• Maman Brigitte tried to negotiate with the KK Squad while secretly attempting to hack its members.
• Maman targeted Carl with her hacking device, which suddenly exploded and killed her; Carl could not tell why.

Carl and the KK Squad defeated the Voodoo Boys in their tunnel after Maman Brigitte died when her device exploded. Carl found that the device had overloaded for an unknown reason and gathered the evidence as the Night City Police Department headed to the scene.

• Carl and T-BUG were surprised when Maman Brigitte's device exploded, killing her, and T-BUG denied causing it.
• Carl used Yinglong to shoot the fleeing Voodoo Boys while the rest of the KK Squad fought those still in the tunnel.
• V accepted one of Jack's Golden Bitch pistols and said he would practice with it at the weapon shop.
• Carl inspected Maman Brigitte's device and concluded that its components had overloaded and ignited the battery, though she did not know what had caused it.
• Carl collected the scattered equipment for T-BUG to inspect, and the Night City Police Department messaged that it was on its way.

NCPD entered Pacifica after the Voodoo Boys fell, and Andy announced that the department would establish an outpost there. Carl connected Andy with Hanz to help coordinate trade, while Andy considered how the new arrangement could benefit NCPD and those involved.

• Andy led NCPD officers into Pacifica, declared the Haitians civilians, and ordered her team to establish a perimeter.
• Andy told Carl that NCPD would set up an outpost in Pacifica to ease the transport of goods from the Badlands.
• Carl gave Andy Mr. Hands's number and said Hanz was interested in Pacifica, and Andy agreed to contact him.
• Andy considered how the outpost could connect NCPD with Dogtown and how Carl had planned the settlement's takeover.
• Carl said he had worked through the consequences step by step, and Andy looked forward to seeing what Pacifica would become.

Carl met Dino at a City Center bar after receiving a new Access Port from Netrunner Oversight and realized that he had become faster and stronger. While he waited, he noticed a threatening Black bartender and sensed that he could read the man’s movements; Dino then explained that a group of out-of-towners had delayed him.

• Carl overheard patrons discussing the Voodoo Boys’ destruction and the Night City Police Department’s presence in Pacifica, then waited for Dino at Dino’s bar.
• Carl reflected on adjusting to Netrunner Oversight’s Net Driver Type-1 and judged that his speed and combat ability had improved.
• Carl noticed the Black bartender, exchanged a glance with him, and sensed that he could see weaknesses and anticipate the bartender’s movements.
• Dino messaged Carl that blind out-of-towners had stopped and tried to rob him, delaying his arrival, and offered to buy the drinks.

Carl told the squad about Dino’s complicated revenge job, and the offer of a new car sparked their interest. After reaching an intersection, he met Maki, who asked him to accompany her to get her cybernetic eyes serviced and casually removed one to show him.

• Carl explained that a corporate employee had arranged the murder of a colleague’s family, but the killer sent after them had betrayed him and asked Dino to find someone to help deliver justice.
• Oliver and Jack joked about the job’s braindance-like plot, while the squad grew interested after Carl mentioned Dino was offering a new car.
• Carl assessed the weaknesses of pedestrians as he walked, then reached an intersection where Maki was waiting in a self-driving Herrera Outlaw GTS.
• Maki asked Carl to accompany her to have her cybernetic eyes serviced and help her choose a model.
• Maki popped out one of her cybernetic eyes and showed it to Carl, who asked how it could be removed despite its connection to her optic nerve.

Carl accompanied Maki to Arasaka hospital for cybernetic eye replacement, then helped her recover and talked with her about her life in Night City. A hospital report about their visit reached Arasaka Haruko, who paused her baking to inspect it.

• Maki told Carl that losing her sight during eye surgery had frightened her, but his presence had reassured her.
• Carl supported Maki as she adjusted to her new eyes, and she said she could still recognize him even when he was disguised.
• Carl and Maki left the hospital together and discussed her hometown of Chiba and its similarities to Night City.
• Hospital staff filed a report documenting Carl and Maki's surgery visit and their departure together.
• Chiyome brought the report to Arasaka Haruko, who stopped baking and said she would look at it right away.

Carl and his team accepted Arakawa Sesen’s urgent request to serve as his bodyguards when he arrived in Night City. Sesen carried a stolen prototype that he believed could preserve the power of the ruling class, and the team prepared to meet him, leaving the job’s outcome uncertain.

• Carl received Arakawa Sesen’s urgent message asking the team to guard him at Arasaka Waterfront, and Jack and V voted to accept the job.
• Carl told the team to prepare supplies and weapons, while T-BUG arranged backup support and an emergency route to the NCPD branch in Pacifica.
• Arakawa Sesen traveled toward Night City with a stolen prototype, intending to prevent Arasaka Saburo from keeping it and reshape the balance of power.
• Carl and the others rushed to prepare for the two o’clock meeting, and Jack visited Mrs. Welles and Misty before returning with her tarot reading.
• Misty drew the Star for the job and the Wheel of Fortune for the team, which Jack took as a hopeful sign for their safety and future.

Carl and the KK Squad met Arakawa Sesen at the port and escorted him toward Azure Tower after he arrived in Night City seeking refuge. Arakawa Michiko learned of his arrival and, while thinking about her daughter’s growing support, decided to let the girl prove herself.

• Carl and the KK Squad waited at the port for Arakawa Sesen, who messaged Carl and arrived ten minutes early by aerodyne carrying a humming case.
• Arakawa Sesen confirmed the squad’s identities and asked them to take him to Azure Tower in their car.
• Arakawa Sesen said his aerodyne would return and crash into the Pacific, and Carl did not press him for an explanation.
• Arakawa Michiko received a report that Arakawa Sesen had entered Night City and set it aside, knowing he had come to seek refuge after losing a factional conflict in Japan.
• Arakawa Michiko considered her daughter’s growing support and her own improving cake-making skills, then chose to let the girl try to surpass her.

Oliver drove Arakawa Sesen and the others through Night City when a burning traffic pileup blocked their route and two buses pursued them. Suspecting an attack, Oliver accelerated the Rayfield Hera straight into the flames.

• Oliver drove Arakawa Sesen and the others in the cramped Rayfield Hera while Sesen guarded his box and Oliver warned him not to crush the fruit.
• The Hera braked suddenly, crushing fruit as Oliver spotted crashed vehicles leaking Choon-Yi Fuel and blocking the road.
• The vehicles exploded, and Oliver began reversing to find another route while Jack and Carl discussed Misty's prophecy.
• Two Maher MT28 Coach buses charged toward the Hera from behind, leading Oliver to realize the crash was likely part of an attack.
• Oliver accelerated the Hera toward the burning road with the buses in pursuit and drove into the sea of flames.

Oliver drove the modified Rayfield Hera through a sea of burning fuel to break the ambush and secure the client. Carl returned alone to confront the attackers, discovering Tiger Claws and surviving Voodoo Boys, and prepared to test her abilities against them.

• Oliver charged the Rayfield Hera through the flames and smashed aside an exploded vehicle, leaving the unmanned buses behind.
• The attackers emerged from nearby streets and ordered their forces to pursue KK, but Carl had already returned to face them on foot.
• Carl identified the attackers as sixty-five Tiger Claws and fifteen Voodoo Boys remnants, and wondered who had supplied their intelligence and equipment.
• The attackers underestimated Carl and a Tiger Claws member activated his Sandevistan and charged at her with Mantis Blades.

Carl fought off the Tiger Claws and Voodoo Boys by exploiting his enhanced perception and striking faster than they could react. As the attackers pressed their assault, he began manipulating the Voodoo Boys’ cyberware to turn two of them against their companions.

• The Tiger Claws charged Carl together while fifteen Voodoo Boys prepared to breach him from the rear.
• Carl killed the first Tiger Claw with a Neurotoxin Knife and shot six more attackers by predicting their movements.
• Carl realized his ability to perceive future movements was growing stronger, though his racing thoughts made it harder to focus.
• Carl used Monomolecular Wire to kill one Tiger Claw and sever another’s hands as he moved through the attackers’ formation.
• Carl breached two Voodoo Boys and altered their systems, causing them to attack their companions like beasts.

Carl wiped out the Tiger Claws and Voodoo Boys in a street fight that lasted eight seconds by his count, then entered their alley to search for anyone left. A reporter who had filmed the battle recognized Carl as KK and realized the braindance recording could make him rich.

• Carl used a grenade, Monomolecular Wire, and a flashbang to kill many Tiger Claws and leave the rest blinded and disoriented.
• Carl drew Yinglong and Kenshin and shot the remaining Tiger Claws and Voodoo Boys, ending the fight with everyone but himself dead.
• Carl noticed a reporter recording from a hovercar, hacked the device, and entered the alley to check for survivors.
• The reporter identified Carl as KK and celebrated having captured the fight on braindance, planning to sell the footage.

Carl discussed why he had allowed a reporter to keep footage of him, prompting Arakawa Sesen to reflect on the corporations’ use of secrets to control people. Sesen reaffirmed his resolve to trust Carl and seek his help through shared ideals, then accepted Carl’s offer of street food.

• Carl told Jack and Arakawa Sesen that he had let a reporter keep footage because the man had done some good work despite serving corporations.
• Arakawa Sesen recalled how Arasaka and Militech had used Shaitan’s exposed secret to manipulate him against Arasaka.
• Sesen recognized that he was considering using Saburo’s methods to uncover and control Carl, despite despising them.
• Sesen remembered that the Iron Lotus and Steel Dragons had been founded with like-minded comrades, and decided he needed to trust Carl rather than coerce or investigate him.
• Carl asked Sesen what he wanted for lunch, and Sesen requested the kind of food a Corpo Dog usually ate.

Carl examined the attack on Mr. Sesen and concluded that the Tiger Claws and Voodoo Boys were likely hired as disposable attackers. Wanting to improve Mr. Sesen’s ability to defend himself, Carl offered him the KK Squad’s Training Chip, but Mr. Sesen misunderstood the gesture.

• T-Bug told Carl that all sixty-five Tiger Claws involved in the attack had left the gang before that day, while fifteen Voodoo Boys had also taken part.
• Carl reasoned that the attackers’ cyberware and timing suggested they had been prepared for a different target before being redirected toward Mr. Sesen and the KK Squad.
• Carl reflected that Mr. Sesen was vulnerable in Night City and that the KK Squad’s Training Chip could help him learn to fight.
• Carl offered Mr. Sesen the Training Chip while he was looking through a Clouds brochure, and Mr. Sesen mistook it for erotic material.

Carl, Jack, and Oliver watched Arakawa Sesen train against virtual Andy, and Carl saw Sesen recover the instincts and determination he had lost during years in the corporation. After the session, Sesen asked Carl to practice real shooting with him, and Carl agreed, welcoming him as a friend.

• Jack and Oliver joked about how Arakawa Sesen was being chased and shocked in Andy's training simulation, while Carl assessed Sesen's outdated weapon and rusty movements.
• Carl watched Arakawa Sesen endure the training without stopping and gradually regain his old fighting instincts.
• After two hours, Arakawa Sesen removed the chip, said virtual training was not like the real thing, and asked to practice shooting in reality.
• Carl accepted Sesen's request, and Sesen asked what he should call him.
• Carl told Arakawa Sesen to call him Carl, as his other friends did.