Starting from Night City

"Ready when you are."

"Alright, countdown, three, two, one..."

The Braindance Headset suddenly erupted in a burst of white light.

Everything in front of Su Xiao turned white, blinding him.

However, the white light came and went quickly.

When Su Xiao could see clearly again, he was stunned.

"Is this the Moon?"

Above him was the vast Starfield.

Beneath his feet was moon dust.

In the distance, he could faintly make out a moon city.

This wasn't Su Xiao's first time experiencing a Dream.

Dreams in 2077 were a bit like a combination of movies and games.

However, just as videos have 4K and 360p, Dreams also varied in quality.

High-quality Dreams had high resolution, making you feel like you were really there, incredibly realistic.

Low-quality Dreams had low resolution, appearing as a mess of pixels that were hard to see.

As for simulated hearing, touch, and other senses, they were a complete mess.

The Moon Dream Su Xiao was currently in was clearly of extremely high quality.

Not only was the vision clear, but the sun in space emitted intense light, allowing him to feel a realistic sense of light and heat.

He could feel the rough texture of the lunar surface under his feet.

Logically, one would need a spacesuit to move around on the Moon's surface.

But Su Xiao was still wearing the same clothes he had on before entering the Dream.

Yet, he could breathe freely.

He felt no physical discomfort whatsoever.

After all, this wasn't the real Moon.

It was a simulation created by the Dream.

The two walked on the Moon.

They sped around in a lunar rover.

Gazing at the distant moon city.

Finally, the two sat on the edge of a crater.

Lucy swung her legs leisurely.

She looked up at the giant Earth hanging in the sky.

"This is the first time I've brought anyone here."

"I'm honored."

"Aren't you curious why I brought you here?"

"Okay, why me?"

"I don't know, maybe because I was too lonely, too isolated, and needed someone to talk to. Or maybe it's because you saved me."

Lucy pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around her knees. "Speaking of which, I haven't thanked you yet."

"No need."

The air suddenly grew quiet.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

Lucy rested her face on her knees, while Su Xiao looked up at the beautiful, giant planet before him – Earth.

After a long pause, Lucy broke the silence.

"Su."

Su Xiao turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

"I think I can guess why you've been so nice to me. You want to recruit me to your team, right?"

Su Xiao didn't deny it. "Yes, but I won't force you if you're not willing."

"No, I'm willing. You're a good person. I believe working under you would be better than working with other mercenary teams in the city."

"It's just... maybe you've noticed, but I have a lot of secrets. So, please don't ask me about them, okay? That's my only request."

Su Xiao nodded. "Okay, I can promise you that. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask, and neither will anyone else."

"If you're unwilling to say, then in my eyes, you're just another ordinary person struggling to survive in this city."

"Besides, I can give you another promise."

"I know you want to settle on the Moon. I can guarantee you that as long as you earn enough money, you can leave whenever you want, and I will absolutely not stop you."

"But you have to send me a postcard then, in case I ever come looking for you."

Seeing Su Xiao's serious expression.

For some reason, Lucy felt something in her heart being poked.

Warm and soft.

She broke into a smile, revealing a smile that could outshine the Starfield: "I think we'll be good partners."

Chapter 48: Infant-like Sleep

Good routine, good diet.

No smoking, no drinking.

Early to bed, early to rise.

Possessing infant-like sleep.

Facing the rising sun, Su Xiao began his daily training.

Despite the system's existence, Su Xiao never slacked on his training.

Sweating before dawn had become a habit as natural as breathing.

"Morning."

Lucy emerged from her bedroom, rubbing her messy hair.

Su Xiao stopped his movements and looked at her: "Did I wake you?"

"No, I usually wake up around this time too."

Yesterday, he and Lucy had spent a long time in the Braindance.

By the time they exited the Braindance, it was already night.

Since it was too late, and with Lucy's persuasion, he didn't go home and ended up staying at Lucy's place.

"What do you want to eat? Chinese? Japanese? Or burgers, pizza?"

Lucy walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Her voice came from inside the bathroom: "How about we try Chinese food."

"Alright, we'll go out to eat later. Oh, right, didn't you say yesterday you wanted to join our team? After breakfast, I'll take you to meet the others on the team. The sooner you meet them, the sooner you'll get familiar."

Just then, an unfamiliar call suddenly came through.

"Hey, Su, this is Regina Jones, I'm a Fixer in the Watson District."

Up to this point, Su Xiao had only worked with Okada Wakako in Westbrook and the Priest in Heywood.

He had heard of the Fixer in the Watson District.

But this was the first time they had contacted him.

"How did you find me? How do you know my name?"

"The Fixers in Night City aren't just competitors; some are friends," Regina paused on the other end of the line, "The Priest speaks very highly of you."

Su Xiao knew the name Regina Jones.

She was once a reporter who dared to report justly.

But then she changed.

She became a Fixer, bridging the gap between employers and mercenaries.

Although the specifics were unclear, Su Xiao could roughly guess why Regina had changed.

In Night City, the survival rate for reporters who wanted to remain impartial was too low.

And even if they remained impartial, the effect they could have was very limited.

Most of the time, ordinary people weren't unaware of the exploitation by Corporations.

They were just numb to it.

It didn't matter anymore.

Night City needed not only reporters, but also...

"It's nice to meet you, but I'm guessing you didn't call just to say hello."

"Actually, I do have a job here that needs someone's help."

After Su Xiao and Lucy had breakfast.

He went to the Wolf Bar to meet up with V and Jack.

"Let me introduce you. This is Lucy, our newly recruited electronic warfare specialist, or hacker, if you prefer."

"This is my companion, V, and Jack Wells. They're both great people and reliable partners."

Upon hearing Su Xiao's description, Jack's eyes immediately widened.

"Electronic warfare specialist? Su, where did you find such talent?"

If there was one thing their team lacked most, it was undoubtedly a hacker capable of infiltrating corporate subnets and electronic devices.

Normally, V could play the role of a hacker.

But for serious work, they needed a proper hacker.

To use a less-than-perfect analogy.

It was like in the world of The Witcher 3, where a Witcher might know how to use Signs, but they weren't true mages.

They couldn't be replaced.

Just as an adventurer team in a fantasy world needs a mage, a mercenary team in Cyberpunk 2077 needs a hacker.

Moreover, one good hacker is worth a dozen amateurs.

"You can just call me Jack."

"I'm V. Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine."

Lucy shook hands with both of them.

V and Jack had no objections to their new team member.

Su Xiao nodded.

He was happy they got along.