Chapter Summaries

Echo endured Carl’s fragmentation grenade and launched a high-speed, electrically heated katana strike, but Carl calculated a safe path through the blast and reached his side first. She drew Johnny Silverhand’s Malorian 3516 and fired as Echo’s slash came too late.

• Echo’s reinforced ACPA armor withstood the grenade fragments, and he charged his Carbon-Tungsten Katana with electricity and heat.
• Echo spent ten percent of his stored power to slash at KK, believing the attack would be too fast for her to evade.
• Carl used her ballistic clothing to deflect the fragments and moved through the blast along a calculated path.
• Carl reached Echo’s left side before he could complete his turn and swing his katana.
• Carl drew Johnny Silverhand’s Malorian 3516 and fired at Echo.

Carl fought Echo’s heavily modified ACPA, discovering its exposed hydraulic lines and hidden cockpit after her attack on its head failed. She struck the cockpit hatch with her Monomolecular Wire and heard Echo cough, landing a fatal blow.

• Carl shot through the ACPA’s head armor, but discovered its cockpit and control systems were distributed elsewhere in the mech.
• Carl attacked the ACPA’s torso and armor while dodging Echo’s cleaver, then damaged its hydraulic line with a precise shot.
• Carl threw her EMP Knife at the damaged joint, disrupting the mech’s synchronized control system and slowing its attack.
• Carl used her Monomolecular Wire to strike the hidden cockpit hatch on the ACPA’s back, and heard Echo cough.

Carl defeated Echo and watched him die after he secretly triggered the ACPA’s energy overload. The ruined mech made one final movement before collapsing, leaving New America’s legendary pilot dead.

• Carl saw Echo’s frail body emerge from the shattered ACPA and kept her gun trained on him.
• Echo appeared to reach for the mech’s overload button, but Carl shot him twice and severed him at the waist.
• Echo died as Carl realized his apparent attempt to activate the overload had been a feint; he had already triggered it with his foot.
• The damaged ACPA moved on residual neural currents, then its ruined legs failed and it collapsed while reaching toward Carl.

Carl, V, and Jack defeated the three ACPAs as their allies gained the upper hand against the attackers. Andy reported that Roy had identified Militech as being behind the deal and mentioned the name White Noise Eagles, which Carl recognized from a subdued agent’s whispers.

• Carl defeated Echo in a brief duel, and Echo fell unnoticed amid the larger battle.
• V cut down an ACPA with his Thermal Katana, while Jack stood beside the wreckage of the last one.
• Jack, Oliver, and Johnny Silverhand joked about how easily the ACPAs had been defeated as Andy joined them.
• Andy said Roy had been coerced but revealed that Militech personnel were behind the deal.
• Andy told Oliver about the name White Noise Eagles, and Carl said he had heard it from a subdued top agent.

The KK Squad tested the Tsunami Design Bureau’s transforming weapon, and Carl demonstrated that she could use it far beyond the designers’ expectations. After learning its modular components could be freely added or replaced, she recognized its resemblance to cyberware.

• The KK Squad set aside the raid after Mole Roy was brought back, and Nottingham-Winrio promised to investigate the White Noise Eagles.
• A month later, the Tsunami Design Bureau’s designers brought the KK weapon to a Badlands testing ground for a demonstration.
• Carl effortlessly performed the weapon’s transformations and fired with perfect neural synchronization, astonishing chief designer Neptunus.
• Carl used the Monomolecular Wire to unlock the weapon’s sword form, bypassing dozens of safety protocols.
• Neptunus explained that the weapon’s core could accept interchangeable transformation modules, and Carl compared the modular design to the human body and cyberware.

Carl completed four days of training with his new modular weapon, mastering its transformations far faster than expected. As he rested with his companions, a message arrived just as his training ended.

• Carl returned home with the Tsunami Design Bureau's weapon and virtual training chip after arranging combat data submissions and component purchases.
• Carl tested the weapon's modular framework and realized he could change its configurations almost instantly, unlike an ordinary user.
• Carl spent four days training with the chip and completed the full course seven hours ahead of schedule.
• V, Oliver, Jack, and T-BUG joined Carl for pizza and discussed his training and the upcoming meeting between the New American President and Arasaka's chief executive.
• Carl's phone flashed with a new message as he began to relax.

Carl teased Kenichi Shiro about his awkward attempt to build rapport, and he wrestled with his complicated respect for her before insisting he did not need her advice. Kenichi Shiro then asked Carl to protect Haruko, emphasizing that he wanted her alone for the job.

• Kenichi Shiro asked Carl how she was and how testing was going on her new Tsunami weapon.
• Carl told Kenichi Shiro to be more sincere when trying to connect with someone, and he felt embarrassed and helpless as he considered his regard for her.
• Kenichi Shiro replied that he did not need Carl to teach him.
• Kenichi Shiro asked Carl to protect Haruko and stressed that he wanted her alone.

Carl learned that Kenichi Shiro wanted him to secretly protect Haruko during the Arasaka–New America summit, acting alone so he would not attract attention. After Kenichi Shiro revealed his confidence in Carl’s mastery of the new weapon, Carl accepted and asked who he suspected.

• Carl questioned why Kenichi Shiro had asked him alone to protect Haruko when Arasaka’s security and Chiyome were already present.
• Kenichi Shiro explained that he feared someone might use the summit to conduct a secret operation, though he did not expect the meeting itself to be attacked.
• Carl realized Kenichi Shiro wanted him to protect Haruko from the shadows, relying on the belief that Carl was still at home training with his new weapon.
• Carl pretended to doubt that he had mastered the weapon in four days, but Kenichi Shiro insisted that he had and explained that his quick reply proved it.
• Carl accepted the assignment and asked Kenichi Shiro who he suspected.

Carl entered Arasaka Tower under the identity of Aketchi, a Tokyo elite, to investigate suspicious personnel transfers tied to the Pheasant Faction. With the Arasaka-New America negotiations less than forty hours away, he began his assignment with only a week to handle his predecessors’ unfinished work and little time to uncover the faction’s plans.

• An Arasaka Security officer welcomed Aketchi to Night City, gave him his predecessors’ unfinished work, and secretly passed him the message that the cipher was under the desk.
• Carl used Aketchi’s identity to enter Arasaka Tower, while the real Aketchi’s identification markers continued operating elsewhere.
• Carl reviewed Kenichi Shiro’s list of seven potential Night City contacts and saw that it would disappear in twenty-four hours.
• Carl recalled that the Pheasant Faction’s old guard was fighting Arakawa Sesen’s faction and suspected the recent transfers were part of a plan to exploit the upcoming negotiations.
• Carl reached his office and realized he had less than forty hours before the negotiations began.

Carl, posing as Aketchi, began her overnight work at Arasaka and found a priority request for Oda Sandayu’s cyberware maintenance. She volunteered to handle it, but wondered whether the Pheasant Faction’s rapid approval was a test of her loyalty.

• Carl started working at Arasaka Tower during the night shift and considered the company’s punishing work culture.
• Carl accessed Aketchi’s work information and saw that Pheasant Faction members had established influence across Night City.
• Carl found a priority request for Oda Sandayu’s cyberware maintenance and realized he had previously avoided trusting Night City Arasaka.
• Carl used Pheasant Faction channels to volunteer to assist with Oda Sandayu’s maintenance, and the higher-ups quickly approved her request.
• Carl questioned whether the Pheasant Faction had approved her so easily because it was testing Aketchi.

Carl received orders to prepare security for Oda Sandayu’s cyberware maintenance, while a hidden message from Haruko or Maki helped him endure his work. With the Pheasant Faction offering little support, Carl reached out to David, an overlooked member of V’s Second Operations Squad, for help.

• Carl received instructions to report to the Maintenance Sector at 7:45 a.m. to arrange security for Oda Sandayu’s cyberware maintenance.
• Carl found the words “You can do it” hidden in the bottom of a coffee cup and erased the concealed message.
• Carl recalled that David was an overlooked Arasaka employee and mercenary who could help him avoid the faction’s surveillance.
• Carl called David and asked him for help.

Aketchi confronted Yamashita after Yamashita tried to probe him about his role in the personnel screening. As more staff arrived under the shadow of the Oversight Authority, Aketchi realized he was being watched and suspected the assignment was bait for a larger surveillance operation.

• Yamashita greeted Aketchi and tested his reaction to the personnel screening assignment.
• Aketchi warned Yamashita that he was acting under orders from upper management and rebuked him for questioning his authority.
• Yamashita apologized outwardly while secretly transmitting his visual feed to someone else through his cybernetic eye.
• Aketchi noticed the eye's surveillance function and concluded that the Oversight Authority might be poisoned bait.
• More personnel arrived, scrutinizing one another as Aketchi waited cautiously.

Carl assessed Oda Sandayu as an elite opponent whose current condition had weakened, while the Pheasant Faction’s team prepared to maintain his cyberware under a strict one-hour deadline. Oda arrived for maintenance and noticed abnormal personnel among those present.

• The Pheasant Faction sent four cyberware specialists and ten armed guards to maintain Oda Sandayu within the hour Hanako Arasaka’s security system could tolerate his absence.
• Carl reflected that Oda Sandayu was a formidable fighter but judged that he was currently operating below his peak.
• Oda Sandayu stepped out of the elevator, and Carl detected subtle signs of fatigue and a decline in his condition.
• Oda Sandayu considered his strange recent feelings toward Hanako Arasaka and came for cyberware adjustments and cooling.
• Oda Sandayu surveyed the personnel and noticed the abnormal personnel.

Oda Sandayu exposed a Militech spy hidden among the Arasaka personnel and attacked him during the escort operation. The spy blocked the strike, and Oda recognized Akechi as the elite who had spotted the suspicious man.

• Oda Sandayu struck at the suited man beside Akechi, while Akechi stayed still after realizing the blade was not aimed at him.
• The suited man revealed his concealed cyberware and blocked Oda Sandayu’s Mantis Blade with a mechanical arm and dagger.
• Oda Sandayu identified the man as a Militech spy, prompting the North American Arasaka elites to retreat and prepare for combat.
• The spy wondered how his infiltration had been exposed, while Oda Sandayu recalled that Akechi had flagged the man after noticing small differences in his build and gait.
• Oda Sandayu continued fighting the spy and resolved to remember Akechi’s name.

A Militech infiltrator, exposed inside Arasaka Tower, abandoned his original mission and tried to kill Oda Sandayu to create an opening for his colleagues to reach Hanako Arasaka. Oda killed him with a single stroke, revealing that his earlier attack had only been a test.

• A Militech spy who had replaced an Arasaka executive received encrypted instructions from the White Noise Eagles and assessed his chances of escaping Arasaka Tower.
• The spy considered the threat of Adam Smasher and decided to sacrifice himself to kill Oda Sandayu and help his colleagues reach Hanako Arasaka.
• The spy attacked Oda, but Oda's first strike had only been a test of his opponent.
• Oda Sandayu severed the spy's head with a single stroke.

After Oda Sandayu uncovered a Militech spy in his cyberware maintenance team, he granted Akira exceptional authority and access to protect him during maintenance. The chapter ended with Akira calmly accepting the new responsibilities while privately anticipating someone’s downfall.

• Oda Sandayu ordered a thorough investigation into the spy’s identity and crushed the communication chip in the man’s throat.
• Oda Sandayu blamed the Pheasant Faction for allowing the infiltrator through, but singled out Akira for his composure and tactical positioning.
• Oda Sandayu authorized Akira to execute anyone who seemed suspicious during cyberware maintenance without reporting or explaining himself.
• Oda Sandayu gave Akira access to the floor’s weapons, firewall, elevator, ventilation, and emergency systems before entering the maintenance compartment.
• Akira accepted the authority and access without showing emotion, while the others watched with envy and fear.

Akechi used her emergency execution authority to frighten Arasaka employees into obeying orders, then entered Oda Sandayu’s cyberware maintenance room. While the technicians worked, she secretly accessed the room’s systems to tamper further with Oda’s implants.

• Akechi’s execution authority made the employees back away from her, and she ordered them to take their positions for the protection procedures.
• Akechi reflected that the staff feared her authority and believed advancement came from creating value rather than eliminating rivals.
• Akechi received a message from David and replied before entering the cyberware maintenance room where Oda Sandayu was undergoing maintenance.
• The technicians hurried through their work while Akechi used Oda’s permissions to take control of the room’s systems.
• Akechi connected to a data console with Monomolecular Wire and began further tampering with Oda Sandayu’s implants.

After his cyberware inspection found no physical problem, Oda Sandayu hid his growing emotional turmoil and insisted he alone should protect Hanako Arasaka. Akechi Goro realized Oda had already undermined his own judgment and gained authority over nearly all of Hanako’s security, then contacted David about a reassignment.

• The inspection found Oda Sandayu’s cyberware in excellent condition, leading him to suspect his recent decline came from his buried emotions.
• Oda Sandayu feared that replacing him would be unbearable, concealed his doubts from Hanako Arasaka, and convinced himself he remained her only suitable guard.
• Akechi Goro watched Oda leave and recognized that Oda’s repressed feelings had surfaced beyond his control.
• Oda Sandayu granted Akechi Goro authority to oversee and command nearly all security for himself and Hanako Arasaka in Night City.
• Akechi Goro asked David whether he had received the reassignment.

After a late night of odd jobs, V woke to find Johnny locked in a remote hacking battle that left him standing upside down. The intruder took control of Johnny’s speech system and said they meant no harm.

• V recalled finishing a Scavenger job late after painstakingly reassembling the target, then helping a man whose oversized Big Iron Cannon cyberware nearly exploded.
• V came downstairs expecting Jack’s breakfast and found Johnny standing upside down as Jack, Oliver, and T-BUG watched him.
• Oliver told V that a top-tier hacker was remotely trying to seize control of Johnny’s system.
• T-BUG struggled to trace the intrusion and could not safely access Johnny’s system because the firewall had reacted abnormally with the Relic chip.
• The hacker stopped fighting for control of Johnny’s body and used his speech system to say, “I bear no hostility.”

A hacker who took control of Johnny apologized to Oliver and the others, then revealed that he was Songbird, aboard Sky One with New American President Rosalind Myles. He asked the group to help him save the President, warning that the situation could affect peace between corporations and perhaps the whole world.

• Oliver, Jack, and T-BUG condemned the hacker for invading Johnny’s body, while T-BUG considered tracing his physical location.
• The hacker apologized and offered to reveal his identity and location to ease the group’s distrust.
• Songbird introduced himself and said he was aboard Sky One with New American President Rosalind Myles.
• V and Oliver questioned Songbird’s claims and asked why the President’s hacker had contacted them.
• Songbird said the coming events could threaten corporate peace and asked the group to help save the President.