Chapter Summaries

Oda Sandayu activated his Sandevistan to catch Johnny Silverhand, but Carl ambushed him with Monomolecular Wire and stopped his attack. With communications blocked and his messages to Hanako Arasaka cut off, Oda prepared to fight Carl alone.

• Oda activated his Sandevistan and rushed to strike Johnny Silverhand with his Mantis Blades.
• Carl used Monomolecular Wire to divert Oda's attack, forcing him to lose his balance and slide across the ground.
• Carl appeared between Oda and the cyborg dog and praised his reactions as Oda recovered and confronted her.
• Oda asked who Carl was and warned her about attacking Arasaka, while Carl revealed that she had dealt with the hacker and blocked communications.
• Oda stopped sending warnings to Hanako Arasaka and relit his thermal Mantis Blades, preparing to face Carl alone.

Oda used Optical Camouflage and a decoy to ambush Johnny Silverhand, but Carl saw through the attack and countered with Absolute Control. She stabbed Oda and hurled him through a wall, leaving him badly struck on the other side of the floor.

• Oda studied Carl and Johnny Silverhand, then activated Optical Camouflage to prepare a concealed attack.
• Carl sensed Oda's position and fired four shots at him, but the bullets struck his abandoned armor, which he had left as a decoy.
• Oda used his Sandevistan and Lynx Claws to appear beside Johnny Silverhand and attack him with thermal Mantis Blades.
• Carl activated Absolute Control, moved faster than Oda, and stabbed him in the chest with a small knife.
• Carl pushed Oda through a wall and sent him crashing into a room across the floor.

Carl abandoned his plan to infiltrate the Float Parade unnoticed after Oda Sandayu attacked him, then incapacitated and hacked Oda instead of killing him. He left Oda under his control and began altering his neural architecture and repairing his injuries to avoid Hanako’s suspicion.

• Carl pursued Oda after sending Johnny Silverhand to wait, and found Oda badly wounded but still resisting the neurotoxin.
• Carl evaded Oda’s thermal Mantis Blades, connected his Monomolecular Wire, and took control of Oda’s body.
• Carl reflected that Oda’s unexpected intervention had forced him to discard his original plan to infiltrate the Float Parade without killing anyone.
• Carl checked Oda’s records, discovered that Oda had not undergone a system inspection since arriving in Night City, and began altering his neural architecture and healing his injuries.

Hanako Arasaka spoke with her brother, Arakawa Sesen, about their father’s death and her role in Arasaka’s power struggle. Though Sesen tried to reconnect with her, Hanako remained bound to her father’s legacy and believed his will still controlled her.

• Oda Sandayu warned Hanako that security at the event was lax, but she trusted his judgment that there was no immediate threat.
• Hanako and Arakawa Sesen argued over his alliance with Michiko, his handling of their father’s affairs, and Hanako’s public role in announcing the death.
• Sesen told Hanako he was now Arasaka’s Chief Executive Officer and tried to revive their old sibling bond by recalling stories of the outside world.
• Hanako agreed to mourn their father as Sesen wished, then reflected on how her power and freedom had always depended on others.
• Hanako recalled that she had discovered Relic and believed that, despite her father’s physical death, his will still held her in its cage.

Carl explained how she had subtly manipulated Oda’s thoughts to make him overlook details while his feelings for his master grew stronger. As she waited for the stolen data, Johnny Silverhand offered to beg Carl if she could get him a way to smoke.

• Carl rejected Johnny Silverhand’s suggestion to kill Oda, explaining that Rogue wanted the data and avoiding deaths would make the job easier.
• Carl teased Johnny Silverhand about his womanizing reputation and suggested he ask Oliver for advice instead.
• Carl reviewed how she had nudged Oda’s memories and hormones so he would focus on his forbidden affection and miss small details.
• Carl remembered Jack and reflected that love had helped her get this far.
• Johnny Silverhand offered to beg Carl if she could get him a function that let him smoke.

After completing their job, Carl and Johnny Silverhand reunited with their friends at the Afterlife, where they discussed drinks inspired by legends. Carl’s new Allen cocktail prompted Oliver and V to toast to ordinary, nameless people, while Rogue began her next task.

• Rogue praised Carl and Johnny Silverhand for completing the job without alerting anyone, then began contacting someone after they left.
• Carl and Johnny Silverhand joined their friends at the Afterlife, where Jack explained that Misty had gone to dinner with Mrs. Welles.
• Johnny Silverhand asked V and T-BUG to help set him up with a system that would let him smoke and drink, and they agreed.
• Claire introduced the Allen cocktail, which Carl had suggested naming for the man who killed Arasaka Saburo.
• Claire recited Carl’s recommendation for the Allen, and Oliver and V raised their glasses in a toast to ordinary, nameless people.

Carl and Johnny Silverhand set out to meet Andy and observe the NCPD Special Operations Team, but Johnny woke up late after drinking and discovered Carl expected him to drive. They left with Johnny behind the wheel, despite his tiny body barely reaching the controls.

• Andy messaged Carl to ask whether he and Johnny Silverhand needed a ride, and Carl replied that they were on their way.
• Carl found Johnny Silverhand passed out drunk on the sofa and kicked him awake.
• Carl told Johnny Silverhand they were going to work off his debt by helping the NCPD Special Operations Team.
• Carl said they had thirteen minutes to reach their agreed meeting time with Andy.
• Carl put Johnny Silverhand in the driver's seat of the Hella and told him to drive.

A new Special Operations Team officer asked Captain Andy what KK was like, and she described him as a good person before KK arrived at the scene. The newcomer finally met KK, then noticed that a dog had been driving the Rayfield Hera.

• The newcomer asked Captain Andy about KK, whom he admired for helping the NCPD save his family.
• Andy told the newcomer that KK was a good person, and he said good people were weird in Night City.
• A Rayfield Hera drifted toward the NCPD officers, who lowered their guns when they recognized the car.
• Andy urged the newcomer to meet KK as he stepped out of the moving car and explained that they had changed drivers.
• The newcomer saw a dog in the driver's seat of the Rayfield Hera.

Carl, Andy, and a rookie investigated a cyberpsychosis homicide caused by dangerous cyberware from an illegal Watson District clinic. Andy led them toward Maelstrom territory to follow the clues, leaving the rookie to ride along with Carl, Andy, and Johnny the bionic dog.

• Carl greeted Andy at the NCPD station, where Andy introduced the rookie and praised his role in taking down Maelstrom troublemakers during his internship.
• Carl gave the rookie a Kang Tao A-22B Super smart pistol as a meeting gift, and he accepted it gratefully.
• Andy explained that an illegal Black Clinic had installed dangerous cyberware, causing a patient to go berserk and die; nearby officers had prevented civilian casualties.
• Andy said the clinic's Ripperdoc had fled but left clues pointing toward Maelstrom, and Carl agreed to pursue the lead with him.
• Andy took Carl, the rookie, and Johnny the bionic dog in a patrol car toward Maelstrom territory, while the rookie realized their small group was heading into danger.

Andy arrived at Maelstrom’s docks to investigate a matter and faced Iron Block, who expected a confrontation. After Carl stepped out of the NCPD vehicle, Iron Block readily agreed to cooperate.

• Maelstrom’s dock guards braced for trouble when the NCPD Enforcer arrived.
• Iron Block approached Andy and provoked him, revealing that he knew Andy’s reputation as captain of the NCPD Special Operations Team.
• Andy told Iron Block he was investigating something and would not force a search if Maelstrom cooperated.
• Carl stepped out of the vehicle and greeted the gangsters, who immediately agreed to cooperate with Andy’s investigation.

Andy confronted Brick about Maelstrom selling dangerous cyberware and obtained its high-threat customer list. The list named Jeremiah Grayson, who worked for Adam Smasher, prompting Carl to wonder why Smasher used Maelstrom for shipping business.

• Andy questioned Brick about Maelstrom's sale of banned serrated mantis blades linked to a Cyberpsychosis attack.
• Andy set aside immediate questions of accountability and demanded Maelstrom's customer list for high-threat cyberware.
• Brick handed Andy the list, which showed Jeremiah Grayson with a designation marking him as someone Maelstrom would not provoke.
• Andy recognized Grayson's connection to Adam Smasher, while Carl considered why Smasher needed Maelstrom to handle shipping.

Carl asked Ironblock about the belongings Jeremiah Grayson had left in storage and searched Arasaka's internal records to learn more about him. She discovered that Jeremiah had died during an Arasaka banquet, leaving the contents of his storage container unexplained.

• Carl asked Ironblock what Jeremiah Grayson had stored and learned that a car and personal belongings had been left in a dockside container for nearly half a year.
• Carl messaged Kenichi Kazuya to ask whether Jeremiah had worked in Arasaka's Action Department.
• Kenichi Kazuya told Carl that her ID card had clearance to access most Arasaka records, upgraded first by Haruko and later by Arakawa Sesen.
• Carl searched Arasaka's records and found that Jeremiah had been killed by V during a banquet after a suspected Rogue AI intrusion.
• Carl realized Jeremiah was already dead and connected his death to the banquet she and her companions had attended.

Carl went with Brick and Johnny Silverhand to inspect the belongings Jeremiah Grayson had stored in a shipping container. After safely removing and detonating a hidden bomb, she found a dated-looking car inside, leaving its connection to Adam Smasher to be examined.

• Carl and Johnny Silverhand followed Brick to Jeremiah Grayson's storage container at the docks.
• Carl used the echoes from knocking on the container to detect an obstacle and warned Brick that Jeremiah Grayson had left a safeguard.
• Carl cut open the container with her Monomolecular Wire and flung a concealed delayed-trigger bomb into the sea.
• The bomb exploded in a ten-meter column of water, and Brick said Jeremiah Grayson had claimed he was storing only small personal belongings.
• Carl looked inside and found a car with a dated design.

Carl found Johnny Silverhand’s Porsche 911 and chrome arm among Jeremiah Grayson’s belongings, then opened a metal box and discovered Johnny’s Malorian. Johnny was thrilled by the car and enraged by the arm as Carl uncovered the gun he had carried to his death.

• Carl took the container’s contents and sent Brick to find Officer Andy.
• Johnny recognized his Porsche 911 and excitedly inspected its well-maintained condition.
• Carl unpacked a chrome mechanical arm and showed Johnny his silver hand, making him fly into a rage.
• Carl suspected the unopened metal box contained Johnny’s gun and opened it to reveal his Malorian.

Carl found Johnny Silverhand’s Malorian 3516 and considered commissioning a custom weapon of her own. She and Andy drove off with Johnny to investigate the dangerous cyberware shipments, leaving a forgotten police newcomer behind in the Enforcer.

• Carl inspected the Malorian 3516, and Johnny reluctantly let her try it once while warning her not to steal it.
• Carl considered asking Malorian Arms to build a custom gun combining the abilities of her three weapons.
• Andy told Carl that dangerous cyberware was being moved through the port as freight and that surveillance footage could help identify the shipments.
• Johnny drove the Porsche out of the container, and Andy joined Carl by sitting in the driver’s seat with Johnny on his lap.
• Ironblock watched the car leave and told his men to keep an eye on the Enforcer, where they discovered a police newcomer who had been forgotten by Carl and Andy.

Johnny Silverhand drove Carl and Andy through Watson in a gold Porsche 911, drawing a growing gang of carjackers into a street chase. Johnny’s driving helped them escape the attackers around a corner, earning Andy’s approval.

• Carl spotted more than a dozen vehicles pursuing the Porsche, and Johnny accelerated to pull ahead.
• Carl and Andy compared Johnny’s driving with the skills of V, Jack, and Santo Domingo drivers.
• A modified Thorton Mackinaw and three armed motorcycles closed in on the Porsche.
• The Mackinaw rammed one motorcycle into a holographic billboard, while Johnny forced another rider to swerve away.
• Johnny handbrake-drifted the Porsche around a corner and shook off the pursuers, impressing Andy.

Johnny Silverhand drove Carl and Andy through a violent chase, using a liquid nitrogen grenade to defeat a carjacking gang’s roadblock. After Andy exposed the encounter as a planned police operation, Johnny realized Carl and Andy had been guiding his reckless driving along a mapped route, and the damaged Porsche could go no farther.

• Carl complained about the pursuit as Johnny Silverhand evaded gunfire and lost the first group of pursuers with a sharp drift into an alley.
• Johnny charged the Porsche at two SUVs blocking the alley, then launched a liquid nitrogen grenade that froze the road and sent the SUVs spinning.
• Johnny slid the Porsche between the SUVs and crashed them aside, while Andy shot two carjackers and cited their suspected crimes.
• Andy’s body camera reported that he had used the ride as a sting operation, identified the suspects, and credited him with helping catch a Watson District carjacking gang.
• Johnny learned that Andy and Carl had been steering him along a route they had mapped, and the group prepared to leave the damaged Porsche behind.

KK arrived at the underground Black Clinic, causing its Ripperdoc to abandon a patient and flee through the sewers. The clinic’s remaining members investigated the silence, and one leader encountered KK as the chapter ended.

• The Black Clinic’s Ripperdoc saw KK on the surveillance feed, triggered the emergency defense protocol, and escaped through a sewer hatch.
• KK caught the fleeing Ripperdoc in the darkness and knocked him unconscious.
• The fourteen Black Clinic members in the basement received no response from upstairs, and their two leaders went to investigate.
• One leader entered the clinic and found the customer still on the operating table, his chest open, while the Ripperdoc had escaped through a concealed passage.
• KK placed a hand on the leader’s shoulder and spoke, and the leader recognized him.

Andy and Carl interrogated Black Clinic personnel, who confessed quickly out of fear of KK. Johnson showed Carl how rumors had turned her ordinary actions into a gruesome urban legend, and told her that the people she had helped mattered more than criminals’ beliefs.

• Andy promised the Black Clinic personnel reduced punishment if they named their buyers and routes, while warning them that KK would not conduct the executions.
• The Black Clinic personnel rushed to sign electronic confessions as Carl watched from the observation room.
• Johnson showed Carl an underground report claiming she had eaten brains after killing Scavengers, and Carl explained that she had only been eating ice cream.
• Johnson said criminals’ assumptions had fueled the rumors about Carl, and reassured her that the people she had saved believed in her.

The Night City Police Department and KK Squad’s auxiliary patrol system made a strong first-day showing, while Carl visited Old William’s Hotdog Stand and reflected on the bonds that had grown around it. As the neighborhood welcomed her, Carl received a request for help from Haruko.

• The auxiliary patrol system helped the Night City Police Department shut down illegal Braindance dens, Scavenger sites, and a smuggled cyberware shipment, and Director Johnson paid Carl for KK Squad’s assistance.
• Carl ordered a hot dog and locust pizza from Old William, whose food truck had become a beloved and police-protected neighborhood supply stop.
• Carl recalled how she first met Old William during a Scavenger-clearing job and how her business card helped his stand become connected to the Night City Police Department.
• Old William gave Carl the pizza for free, and Carl saw his granddaughter’s police photo as officers and residents gathered around the stand.
• Carl left in good spirits after recalling Johnson’s defiant words, then received a message from Haruko asking for her help.