Chapter Summaries

Oliver and his squad heard Songbird’s plea to rescue the New American President from a sabotaged aircraft before her death could trigger another Corporation War. The squad considered taking the contract, and Johnny showed signs of having a dangerous plan of his own.

• Oliver and the squad doubted Songbird’s claim that the President needed rescuing, suspecting a scam or a setup.
• Songbird explained that Sky One’s systems had been physically sabotaged and that the aircraft was heading for an emergency landing in Dogtown.
• Songbird warned that the President’s death could prompt New America to authorize war against Arasaka, with Militech’s forces already gathered at the border.
• V said the squad would consider the contract only if Songbird restored control of their communications so they could hear Johnny’s opinion.
• Johnny angrily confronted Songbird for hacking his system, then said he might accept the job and hinted at a plan that made the squad wary.

Johnny accepted Songbird’s offer to rescue President Rosalind Myles after Songbird cleared corrupted data from the Relic and installed Militech combat support software as a show of good faith. V and the others agreed to head to Dogtown, where they would have to protect the president with little support.

• Songbird optimized Johnny’s Relic and installed Militech’s third-generation combat support software as compensation.
• Oliver recognized the software’s value and treated it as evidence that Songbird was connected to Militech.
• V asked why New America could not send troops to Dogtown and what support the team could expect.
• Songbird explained that political tensions with Arasaka, Hansen’s control of Dogtown, and threats within New America left the president reliant on mercenaries.
• Oliver and V agreed to take the job, and Jack and T-BUG followed, making the vote three to two.
• The team decided to head to Dogtown and updated Carl, who approved their decision.

Oliver and the team raced through Dogtown to reach President Myers after Sky One was struck by missiles and began its descent. They identified Hansen’s attack and followed the predicted crash route as Barghest forces converged on the same target.

• A missile struck Sky One over Night City, setting the passenger plane on fire and sending it into a steep descent.
• Oliver, Johnny, Jack, T-BUG, and V learned that Songbird had gone offline and that the missiles had been launched from Dogtown.
• T-BUG estimated that Sky One had a 52.3% chance of activating its emergency landing protocol and marked its predicted crash route.
• Oliver drove Hera at high speed through Dogtown while avoiding pedestrians, and Jack spotted Barghest troops heading toward the crash site.
• T-BUG and the team concluded that Hansen had attacked the plane, and Carl joined the comm channel while dealing with the crisis.

Carl analyzed whether Songbird was the hacker who had previously approached her and suspected Songbird had engineered the crash to plunge Night City into chaos. Meanwhile, V and the others reached the wreckage and learned the president was alive, but Barghest soldiers were already closing in.

• Carl compared Songbird with the hacker she had encountered during the White Noise Eagles mission and suspected they were the same person.
• Carl reasoned that Songbird had arranged both the attack on the president and her rescue to create chaos while drawing attention away from Songbird herself.
• V and the others arrived at the crash site in Dogtown as Songbird reconnected and said she had escaped safely.
• Songbird told V that the president was inside a safety pod and still had vital signs, but needed rescuing quickly.
• Jack saw Barghest soldiers arrive and begin surrounding the wreckage.

V raced through the burning presidential aircraft wreckage to reach the safe room and protect President Myles. He found her alive but waiting to ambush whoever opened the door, and disarmed her with his blade.

• Oliver and Jack opened fire on Barghest while V slipped through the battlefield toward the aircraft.
• V crossed the wreckage and entered the damaged aircraft, finding several dead guards and no other survivors in the cabin.
• V detected faint breathing behind the safe-room door and told Songbird that President Myles was alive.
• President Myles attacked V as he opened the door, but he cut apart her gun and held his katana to her neck.

V confronted New American President Rosalind Myles aboard the aircraft and disarmed her when she mistook him for an Arasaka assassin. After revealing that Songbird had sent him to protect her, he left Rosalind reassured by his combat ability.

• Rosalind Myles assessed the katana at her throat, dropped her damaged gun, and accused V of being an Arasaka attacker.
• Rosalind feared that Yorinobu had lured her into a trap that could spark another Corporation War and destroy her political plans.
• V observed Rosalind's fear, then drew the katana away without harming her.
• V revealed his identity and told Rosalind that Songbird had sent him to help protect her.
• Rosalind apologized for attacking him and relaxed after seeing how easily he had disarmed her.

V escorted Rosalind Myles through the fighting and clarified that the squad’s contract covered only twenty-four hours of protection, not breaking through Dogtown’s blockade. Rosalind identified a familiar ally who could provide support, and V realized she meant Blanca.

• V guided Rosalind Myles through the firefight while asking whether she could mobilize emergency support.
• V explained that protection and helping her escape Dogtown were separate jobs requiring a second team vote.
• Rosalind Myles said someone familiar with the squad had assigned her protection contract and could be trusted.
• V identified that person as Blanca, who had previously hired the squad and supported the Militech faction loyal to the president.
• Rosalind Myles reflected that Blanca could have arranged the contract before the incident instead of Songbird.

After the crash, Rosalind Myles contacted Blanca through T-BUG’s encrypted channel, and Blanca agreed to help protect her. Myles escaped with V while Songbird was captured by Barghest, and Hansen realized the failed attack left him exposed to being made a scapegoat.

• Rosalind Myles destroyed her trackable devices and contacted Blanca through T-BUG’s encrypted channel.
• Blanca told Myles she would handle things and relied on the KK Squad to keep the President safe.
• Songbird reported that Barghest had found her escape pod before her transmission cut out.
• Myles and V left the crash site to find a safe place, while Oliver and Jack ended the firefight after learning the President had been rescued.
• Barghest searched the aircraft and reported that Myles was missing.
• Hansen realized Myles was still alive and feared his Washington collaborators would sacrifice him for the failed conspiracy.

Kenichi Shiro set out for Dogtown to investigate the suspicious attack on President Rosalind Myles before the next day’s negotiations and protect Haruko. He ordered Kenichi Kazuya to ask Carl to protect Haruko only after Kenichi Shiro’s death was confirmed.

• Kenichi Shiro told Kenichi Kazuya he suspected the New American government or Rosalind Myles had staged the president’s crash and that he had to investigate personally.
• Kenichi Shiro asked Kenichi Kazuya to seek Carl’s help protecting Haruko if he failed to return, astonishing Kazuya with his trust in Carl.
• Kenichi Shiro told Kazuya to conceal the request if he returned safely and to contact Carl only after his death had been confirmed.
• Kenichi Shiro said he would travel by hovercar only as far as Pacifica, then find another way into locked-down Dogtown.
• Kenichi Shiro boarded the hovercar and reminded Kazuya to confirm his death before telling Carl.

The KK Squad investigated a powered basement in Dogtown and discovered it had belonged to three survivors from the Double Bull Tribe. As the former residents returned, the group realized their hiding place might no longer be safe.

• Oliver powered up the basement while V, Jack, and Rosalind Myles examined the makeshift hideout and its signs of nomad cooperation.
• Rosalind Myles warned that the three former residents might return during Dogtown's lockdown, prompting V to search the basement.
• V found the nomads' computer logs and learned that the three survivors had fled to Dogtown after escaping Snake Nation and a botched attempt to smuggle goods.
• Oliver detected three nomads approaching the building through the squad's outside surveillance.

V and Jack subdued three drifters who had escaped the destruction of the Double Bull Tribe, then paid them to let the group use their home. The drifters accepted the money and chose to know nothing while they remained under surveillance.

• Jack pinned the three drifters down, searched them, and took their three old Lexingtons.
• V showed the drifters a stack of ten thousand eddies and offered it as rent and hush money for using their home.
• V warned the drifters that the money bought their lives and ordered them to stay home under surveillance until the group left.
• The drifters accepted the cash, faced the wall, and squatted down as if they had seen nothing.

Mingzhi received Oda Sandayu’s order to go to Dogtown and find out whether Rosalind Myles had survived the crash, with the promise of a powerful position if he succeeded. As Mingzhi prepared to leave, Oda investigated Arasaka factions moving into Dogtown and ordered an inquiry into New America and Militech’s plans, while Carl complained about her workload.

• Oda Sandayu ordered Mingzhi to lead a squad to Dogtown and determine whether Rosalind Myles was alive or dead.
• Oda granted Mingzhi broad authority for the mission and promised he could stand behind Hanako Arasaka and Oda if he succeeded.
• Mingzhi accepted the assignment without hesitation and began organizing personnel and equipment.
• Oda checked Arasaka personnel movements and ordered his intelligence team to investigate what New America and Militech were planning.
• Carl complained that fieldwork and overtime made her job unbearable.

Akechi assembled twelve elite Arasaka agents for a covert operation in Dogtown after Oda Sandayu gave him full authority. He rallied the team before departure, promising them great rewards if they proved themselves, and they answered with loyalty.

• Akechi selected twelve specialists and combatants from Arasaka’s North American Branch for the Dogtown mission.
• Akechi inspected the team’s equipment and capabilities, recognizing their potential to take on even Hansen if they coordinated well.
• Akechi ordered the team to move out in five minutes and emphasized that they should seek precise intelligence, avoiding unnecessary slaughter unless someone interfered.
• Akechi urged the agents to prove their worth and promised them advancement and rewards for completing the mission.
• The twelve elites responded, “Yes, Lord Akechi!”

V gave Rosalind Myles food while they waited for a safer chance to contact her allies. After the nomads recognized the people they were sheltering, they offered to help despite the danger.

• V handed Rosalind Myles energy bars and water and explained that Wraith patrols made it unsafe to contact her allies yet.
• Rosalind Myles asked why KK was absent, and V said Carl had something to take care of.
• Rosalind Myles recalled KK's reputation and privately wished he were there to protect her.
• The three nomads realized Rosalind Myles and V were in their basement and feared being caught up in a major conflict.
• One nomad offered to help V contact someone because they were Dogtown residents with records on file.

Akechi’s squad monitored a Barghest patrol vehicle while operating undercover in Dogtown, then spotted Militech personnel investigating nearby. He ordered his operatives to follow Militech and remain hidden from Barghest.

• Akechi’s elite squad established a concealed command post in an abandoned apartment building and monitored the surrounding streets.
• A sniper reported an approaching Barghest patrol vehicle, and Akechi ordered the squad to observe without firing while keeping it ready to destroy.
• Akechi asked the squad’s hacker whether she could breach the vehicle and erase its alerts, and she confidently agreed.
• An operative reported encountering unidentified personnel, whose movements Akechi recognized as Militech’s.
• Akechi ordered the operative to follow Militech and told the rest of the squad to stay concealed unless Barghest entered their building.

Yarman led his Militech squad on a mission, hoping that completing it would earn him a promotion and freedom from frontline work. After sensing an unseen observer tracking his team, he raised their alert level and suspected Arasaka was watching them.

• Yarman rested his squad and reflected on his military career, financial burdens, and desire to escape the chain of obedience.
• He recalled Blanca’s promise of promotions and a personal reward from the president if the squad completed its mission.
• Yarman ordered the team to move out and noticed an unexplained sense that someone was watching them.
• He silently raised the squad’s alert level and suspected Arasaka was hiding nearby.

Scarlett met V and volunteered to contact outside support, then went alone to a meeting in an abandoned Hellhound camp. There, Yarman approached him and suddenly threw him to the ground.

• Scarlett recalled how he earned his scar and gained the mocking nickname “Scarlett.”
• After meeting V, Scarlett offered to find safe communications equipment and contact outside support.
• Scarlett and his companions built a makeshift communicator and arranged a meeting, and Scarlett chose to go alone.
• Yarman arrived at the abandoned camp, and Scarlett sensed he was a soldier.
• Yarman began to address Scarlett, then abruptly slammed him onto the ground.

Yarman rescued Scarlett from an Arasaka sniper and confirmed his identity as the contact, then sent his squad after the attackers. The five Arasaka agents proved far more dangerous than expected, and Yarman moved in after three of his fighters fell.

• Yarman shoved Scarlett into the sand to save him from a sniper’s bullet and took a wound to his shoulder.
• Yarman ordered his squad to circle the attackers, then verified Scarlett’s identity with the challenge codes.
• Scarlett questioned whether Yarman would lead Arasaka to the president, and Yarman said his squad would soon deal with the agents.
• The five Arasaka agents clashed with Yarman’s squad, and three of his fighters went down as the agents tried to escape.
• Yarman told his men to protect Scarlett and moved to handle the Arasaka agents himself.

Akechi learned that her Arasaka operatives had attacked without orders and realized Militech’s squad was helping V’s group, but she chose to continue acting under her cover. As Yarman struggled to stop the five Arasaka agents, Reid arrived and offered combat assistance.

• An Arasaka agent explained that the team had meant to fake a killing and capture the intelligence contact, but their unauthorized shot went awry.
• Akechi recognized that Militech’s squad were half-allies of V’s group and decided to keep working under her Pheasant Faction identity.
• Yarman pursued the five Arasaka agents but lost two more elites as they evaded his squad and struck with precise counterattacks.
• Reid contacted Yarman and said he had come from the Intelligence Bureau to assist him in combat.

Yarman called for Intelligence Bureau reinforcements as five Arasaka agents pushed his team to the brink. Reid arrived alone and overwhelmed the attackers, leaving three alive and the battle unresolved.

• Yarman asked Agent Reid how many Intelligence Bureau personnel could assist and warned that Hansen's forces might soon discover the fight.
• Reid said he was the only one available but that he was enough.
• Reid confronted the five Arasaka agents and easily countered their Sandevistans and Mantis Blades.
• Within half a minute, Reid had killed two Arasaka agents and left three terrified survivors.
• The remaining agents called on Lord Akechi for support.