Recaps

Su Xiao brought Johnny Silverhand, whose consciousness was inside a small robot, to the Afterlife to meet Rogue. After Rogue doubted his claim, Johnny tried to prove his identity with a gesture, leaving Su Xiao confused.

• Su Xiao and Johnny entered the Afterlife after Emmerich let them pass.
• Su Xiao heard a tanned young woman argue with Rogue and warn him to be careful doing business with her.
• Su Xiao greeted Rogue and thanked her for providing information on the Clementi Family job.
• Johnny recognized Rogue and complained about her while Su Xiao explained that she both loved and hated Johnny.
• Su Xiao told Rogue that Johnny's consciousness was inside the robot, and Johnny attempted to prove it with a strange mechanical-leg gesture.

Su Xiao introduced Rogue to Johnny Silverhand, who convinced her he was real, and Rogue later asked Su Xiao to help with a job connected to the Relic. The chapter ended with Rogue revealing that Anders Hellman had defected from Arasaka and pointing to a chip as a clue to his whereabouts.

• Su Xiao explained to Rogue that Johnny Silverhand was stored inside the robot, and Johnny spoke with her privately until she accepted that he was real.
• Claire told Su Xiao that Rogue had set up a Nomad woman with a partner and that something had happened between them.
• Two days later, Rogue summoned Su Xiao, V, and Lucy to the Afterlife and asked Su Xiao to help free Johnny from the robot shell, though he said he could not do it.
• Rogue revealed that Anders Hellman had designed the Relic, had left Arasaka, and pointed to a chip on the table as a clue to where he had gone.

Su Xiao learned that Militech planned to move Herman out of Night City and agreed to prepare an ambush in Jackson Plains with Rogue’s help. Rogue chose the stranded Nomad Panam Palmer as their guide, and the chapter ended with her explaining that Panam had left her family over a dispute involving their future and Nomad ideals.

• Su Xiao read Rogue’s intel that Herman had joined Militech and was scheduled to leave Night City the day after tomorrow.
• Rogue explained that Militech would hide Herman in a transport convoy guarded by drones and security robots, then revealed the ambush site would be Jackson Plains.
• Rogue offered to send Emmerich and her people, but said they also needed a local guide; Su Xiao identified Panam Palmer as the likely choice.
• Rogue told Su Xiao that Panam’s former partner had stolen her cargo and vehicle, leaving her in need of work and able to guide them through the desert.
• Su Xiao asked why Panam had come to the city, and Rogue said Panam had left her family over their future and Nomad ideals.

Su Xiao recruited Panam to guide him and his team to an ambush site in exchange for helping her recover her car and cargo. After learning Nash had stolen them, Panam agreed to stop at her family’s Aldecaldos camp for weapons before heading to Stone Ridge Mountain, and they reached the camp after driving through the Badlands.

• Su Xiao called Panam and persuaded her to meet him at an abandoned rail freight yard by offering to recover her car and cargo.
• Panam agreed to guide Su Xiao, V, and Lucy to a suitable ambush site in exchange for help retrieving her belongings.
• Su Xiao told Panam that Nash and the Random Blade Society had stolen her car and cargo and were planning a deal at Stone Ridge Mountain.
• Panam arranged for the buyers to be stood up and said they needed to stop at her Aldecaldos family camp so she could get weapons.
• Su Xiao, V, and Lucy followed Panam along Highway 9 into the Badlands, where they spotted the camp after a little over an hour.

Panam sought help from Mitch and Scorpion to recover her car from the Random Blade Society, but they could only lend her equipment because their family leader, Saul, had forbidden them from leaving camp. As they drove toward Stone Ridge Mountain, Panam told Su Xiao she believed Saul’s leadership was ruining the family.

• Panam met Mitch and Scorpion outside their camp and asked them to help her confront the Random Blade Society, which had hacked her car.
• Mitch and Scorpion refused to leave camp but gave Panam a kinetic sniper rifle and her other equipment.
• Panam drove toward Stone Ridge Mountain with Su Xiao and the others following in the Delamain Taxi.
• Su Xiao asked Panam about her relationship with Saul, and she explained that he had promised the family a better life but had failed to improve their camp.
• Panam called Saul a coward and said the family would be doomed if it continued to rely on him, while Su Xiao reflected on how poor leaders had led to the Buckle Family’s destruction.

Su Xiao, Panam, V, and Lucy prepared an ambush in Stone Ridge Mountain for Nash and the Random Blade Society. The convoy entered the dark ghost town without finding its customers, and the chapter ended when a gunshot dropped one of its members.

• Su Xiao and Panam discussed Skar and Mitch, the Unification War, and the abandoned towns of the Badlands as they traveled to Stone Ridge Mountain.
• Su Xiao, V, and Lucy planted EMP devices around Stone Ridge Mountain while Panam questioned who they were and why they planned to seize someone from a corporate convoy.
• Nash stayed behind as Random Blade Society members drove toward their meeting with the Sixth Street Gang, mocking Panam for trusting him along the way.
• The convoy entered the unlit town, found no sign of the Sixth Street Gang, and sent several members to search nearby houses.
• The remaining Random Blade Society members grew uneasy when the searchers did not return, and a gunshot sounded as one of them fell to the ground.

Su Xiao, V, Lucy, and Panam ambushed and killed the Random Blade Society members who had stolen Panam’s vehicle and cargo. When Panam learned Nash had not appeared, Su Xiao agreed to help her attack the gang’s hideout, leaving the group on their way there.

• Su Xiao, V, Lucy, and Panam wiped out the Random Blade Society members in a coordinated ambush, using an EMP to disable their escaping vehicles.
• Panam reclaimed her vehicle and told Su Xiao that Nash had avoided the fight and was still at large.
• Su Xiao pretended to hesitate before agreeing to help Panam kill Nash, and she revealed that the gang’s hideout was in a nearby tunnel.
• Su Xiao, V, and Lucy set out in the Delamain Taxi while Panam drove her recovered vehicle toward the hideout.
• Panam called Mitch and Skar to collect the abandoned vehicles and bodies for the Aldecaldos.

Su Xiao, Panam, V, and Lucy attacked Nash’s Random Blade Society hideout in an abandoned tunnel. As Nash watched the assault through security cameras and aimed at an attacker, Su Xiao detected him and blasted through the wall of his room.

• Panam told Su Xiao over comms that Nash had betrayed her by stealing her car and cargo.
• Su Xiao detected fewer than thirty enemies ahead, and the group stopped to prepare their weapons and plan an attack.
• Su Xiao, V, Lucy, and Panam spread out and opened fire on the Random Blade Society guards, killing several and throwing the hideout into chaos.
• Nash watched the attack through his room’s surveillance cameras and recognized the four attackers’ weapons.
• Nash aimed his Widowmaker at one attacker, but Su Xiao turned toward his room and blasted through its wall before Nash could fire.

Panam delivered the Six Street Gang’s cargo after killing Nash, while Su Xiao’s presence unsettled Boz. The deal was completed without conflict, and Boz transferred the payment to Panam.

• Su Xiao killed Nash after spotting him through the surveillance monitors, and Panam vented her anger by shooting Nash’s corpse.
• Panam called Rogue to boast that Nash was dead, but Rogue revealed she had already received her money and mocked Panam before hanging up.
• Panam and Su Xiao went to the Sunset Motel, where Panam met Boz and handed over the cargo case.
• Boz recognized Su Xiao and made clear he would not stand up for the Clementi Family.
• Boz’s subordinate confirmed the cargo was complete, and Boz said he had transferred a large sum to Panam.

Su Xiao offered to help Noah protect the Sunset Motel from the Random Blade Society by arranging sentry turrets. After Panam agreed to meet him the next morning to plan an ambush on Militech’s convoy, someone asked how they would snatch Herman.

• Boz warned his men not to provoke Su Xiao and recognized that Panam had gained a powerful connection.
• Panam brought Su Xiao and his companions to the Sunset Motel bar, where Su Xiao learned the Random Blade Society regularly extorted Noah.
• Su Xiao offered to arrange sentry turrets and professional installation to protect the motel, and Noah accepted.
• Panam asked why Su Xiao helped Noah, and Su Xiao said he could help people even when he did not know them.
• Su Xiao and Panam agreed to meet at the bar at eight the next morning to find an ambush site for Militech’s convoy.
• After Su Xiao and Panam returned to their rooms, someone asked how they planned to take Herman from Militech.

Su Xiao prepared for the operation to capture Herman and arranged covert transport to Jackson Plains. When Rogue’s Trauma Team hovercar arrived, Panam learned that it was the ride Su Xiao had called, with Rogue’s trusted mercenaries Emmerich and Crispin aboard.

• Su Xiao explained that the team needed to strike Militech’s convoy quickly, identify Herman’s vehicle, and capture him alive for Rogue.
• The next morning, Su Xiao told motel owner Noah that fixers would deliver the equipment he needed, and Panam joined Su Xiao, V, and Lucy for breakfast.
• Su Xiao directed Panam to a remote Badlands meeting point and explained that they would avoid driving to Jackson Plains to leave no tracks for Militech to find.
• A Trauma Team Heavy Armored Hovercar descended, and Panam urged the others to flee until Su Xiao revealed he had called it.
• Emmerich and Crispin stepped out of the hovercar, and Su Xiao’s group prepared to travel with Rogue’s trusted mercenaries.

Su Xiao’s team ambushed a Militech convoy carrying Herman, and Lucy destroyed two of its trucks with the AV’s cannon. The convoy deployed its remaining drones and security robots as Panam watched the battle begin.

• Su Xiao ordered the team to wait for his signal and warned them not to kill Herman, who was riding in the middle truck.
• V spotted the five-vehicle Militech convoy, and Su Xiao scanned its soldiers, drones, and security robots.
• Su Xiao ordered Lucy to fire the AV’s cannon at the rear truck, destroying its robots and drones in a huge explosion.
• Panam was stunned by the weapon’s power and imagined how it might help her Aldecaldos family against the Random Blade Society.
• Su Xiao ordered a second shot at the lead truck, which exploded before it could deploy its forces.
• The middle truck’s driver dodged the wreckage and released its security robots and drones, which began searching for the attackers.

Su Xiao and his companions ambushed a Militech convoy, destroyed its drones and security robots, and captured Herman. They escaped the arriving Militech forces and left Herman trapped in a remote Badlands canyon, where Su Xiao told him no one would come to help.

• Emmerich fired missiles that split into warheads and destroyed the attacking drones, while Su Xiao ordered the group to engage the convoy.
• Emmerich, Crispin, Panam, and V eliminated the convoy’s security robots and killed its drivers and passengers as Su Xiao checked for survivors.
• Su Xiao found Herman hiding in a truck, knocked him unconscious, and carried him back to the AV.
• Crispin flew the group away before Militech’s armed AV arrived at the ambush site.
• Su Xiao brought Herman to a canyon in the Badlands, where Herman woke and asked where he was.
• Su Xiao told Herman he was deep in the wilderness and that nobody would come to save him.

Su Xiao revealed to Herman that Johnny Silverhand’s consciousness was inside a robot after they took a Relic from Raijin Arasaka, and Herman recognized their connection to the Azure Tower attack. Herman said Raijin had planned to bring Johnny back to life, but warned that freeing Johnny from the robot would not be simple because the Relic was an experimental version he did not fully understand.

• Herman calmed down after Su Xiao said they were neither Arasaka nor the Random Blade Society, then agreed to answer questions when Su Xiao threatened him.
• Su Xiao told Herman that their Relic came from Raijin Arasaka, prompting Herman to recognize them as the people behind the Azure Tower attack.
• Su Xiao summoned a small robot and revealed that Johnny Silverhand’s consciousness was inside it through the Relic.
• Herman believed Johnny was really present after the robot spoke like him, then explained that Raijin Arasaka idolized Johnny and had intended to bring him back to life.
• Su Xiao asked Herman to get Johnny out of the robot, but Herman said it was not simple because the Relic was an experimental version and its development teams kept information separate.

Su Xiao pressed Herman to find a way to free Johnny Silverhand from the Little Flathead, but Herman said the relic had fused Johnny with the robot. After Herman revealed that the Soul Killer could extract consciousness, Su Xiao suspected Arasaka had a safer, more reliable method for Saburo Arasaka to achieve immortality.

• Herman explained that the experimental relic could install and activate an engram in a new body and had been made for Saburo Arasaka.
• Johnny tackled Herman and struck him after Herman studied him with an inquisitive gaze.
• Su Xiao demanded that Herman remove Johnny from the robot, and Herman agreed after Su Xiao offered him a Pneumatic Syringe and reset his nose.
• Johnny allowed Herman to examine the relic, but Herman concluded that Johnny and the robot had become one and could not be separated.
• Herman admitted the Soul Killer could extract consciousness, though it was unreliable and caused extreme pain.
• Su Xiao argued that Saburo Arasaka would need a safer way to transfer consciousness to achieve immortality, and Johnny realized Herman was hiding something.

Su Xiao captured Herman and sent him to Rogue for interrogation, then returned to the city with Panam, who accepted V’s offer to stay with her. After working late, Su Xiao spent the night with Lucy, and the next morning she found him cooking downstairs.

• Su Xiao used a Blocker to incapacitate Herman and had Crispin take him to Rogue, who paid Su Xiao ten million and expressed interest in working with him again.
• Panam returned to the city with Su Xiao, Lucy, and V, and V offered to let Panam stay at her apartment for a low rent.
• Su Xiao spent the night assembling smart guns in his workshop until Lucy brought him warm milk and gave him a massage.
• Su Xiao massaged Lucy in return, invited her to stay the night, and let her sleep in his bed.
• The next morning, Lucy woke and saw Su Xiao preparing breakfast downstairs.

Su Xiao, Lucy, and V went to Judy’s apartment to review braindances extracted from Evelyn’s dreams, hoping to learn who had harmed her. In the first recording, Evelyn discussed gathering information inside a Voodoo Boys church, and an obscured woman reacted sharply when Evelyn mentioned the biochip.

• Lucy ate luosifen that Su Xiao prepared, and Judy called to say Evelyn had begun dreaming and that she had extracted two braindances from her mind.
• Su Xiao and Lucy took a Delamain Taxi to meet V, and the three traveled to Judy’s apartment.
• Judy explained that Evelyn’s braindance data was badly corrupted and helped Su Xiao view the first recording.
• Su Xiao saw Evelyn speaking with a heavily pixelated woman in what appeared to be a Voodoo Boys church.
• The woman instructed Evelyn to record the room’s layout and warned her to avoid arousing suspicion, then reacted with alarm when Evelyn asked about the biochip.

Su Xiao learned that the Voodoo Boys had hired Evelyn to record a braindance, while she had stolen the Relic on her own. A second recording revealed their plan to use Evelyn to get close to Raijin Arasaka and seek Alt with Johnny Silverhand’s help, so Su Xiao called Johnny to ask about Alt.

• Su Xiao explained to V, Lucy, and Judy that Evelyn had defied the Voodoo Boys and stolen the Relic without their instructions.
• Su Xiao and the others watched another recording in which Evelyn secretly overheard the Voodoo Boys discussing her role in reaching Raijin Arasaka.
• Judy invited Su Xiao, V, and Lucy to stay for lunch, and Su Xiao agreed while Judy went to buy groceries.
• Su Xiao called Rogue and asked to speak with Johnny Silverhand.
• Su Xiao asked Johnny whether the name Alt meant anything to him.

Su Xiao learned from Rogue that Alt Cunningham might have used Soul Killer to separate her consciousness from her body and enter the Old Net, leaving open the possibility that she was still alive. Rogue then asked Su Xiao to investigate the Voodoo Boys’ plans, and he agreed.

• Johnny Silverhand confirmed that Alt Cunningham had been his girlfriend and said Arasaka had killed her.
• Rogue recounted how she and Johnny found Alt in an Arasaka facility, connected to equipment and apparently lifeless.
• Su Xiao theorized that Alt had used Soul Killer to send her consciousness into Mikoshi and might still be alive in cyberspace.
• Rogue asked Su Xiao not to tell Johnny about the theory and explained that Johnny had gone out with Crispin and others.
• Rogue asked Su Xiao to find out what the Voodoo Boys were planning, and Su Xiao agreed.

After Mayor Lucius Raine’s death, Elizabeth and Jefferson Peralez hired Su Xiao to investigate whether he had been murdered. Su Xiao agreed to look into the death, which they suspected was connected to a cyberpsycho attack at City Hall.

• Rogue and Su Xiao watched the news report Raine’s death and heard that Wilton Hort would finish his term and run for mayor against Jefferson Peralez.
• Rogue and Su Xiao discussed the Voodoo Boys before Su Xiao left the Afterlife to wait for her news.
• Elizabeth Peralez called Su Xiao and asked him to meet her and Jefferson about a delicate problem.
• Elizabeth and Jefferson told Su Xiao they distrusted the public explanation of Raine’s death and asked him to investigate how and why he died.
• Elizabeth revealed that a cyberpsycho had attacked City Hall shortly before Raine’s death, and the Peralezes suspected the incidents were connected.

Su Xiao examined the braindance recording from the security guard who died during the attack on Mayor Ryan and saw River Ward force his way into City Hall before killing the assassin. He found the recording inconclusive and told Jefferson Peralez he needed to ask more questions.

• Elizabeth said the Peralez couple suspected NCPD involvement in Ryan's death and offered a security guard's braindance recording as evidence.
• Su Xiao entered the recording and watched the guard leave a City Hall conference room after being reprimanded by the security captain.
• River Ward arrived at the security gate, identified himself as an NCPD officer, and pushed past the guard despite being told to wait.
• The guard tried to stop River, but an assassin stabbed him with Mantis Blades before River shot the attacker dead.
• Su Xiao watched the recording twice, then told Jefferson and Elizabeth that he could not reach a conclusion from the footage alone and needed to ask questions.

Su Xiao questioned Jefferson about Ryan’s press conference, security, and Detective River Ward, then saved the Peralez couple from an ambush on their drive. He pursued a wounded attacker after pulling Jefferson out of the path of a katana, while the attacker realized Su Xiao had killed his companions with military-grade Sandevistan.

• Jefferson explained that Ryan had used the press conference to promote himself and that the reported drop in crime excluded Pacifica; he also described Ryan’s privately hired security and Holt’s role as acting mayor.
• Su Xiao asked about River Ward, and Jefferson offered to connect them, saying River was trustworthy and likely had an informant who had alerted him to the assassination.
• Jefferson began to reveal how overwhelmed he felt, but Elizabeth interrupted him before he could continue.
• When a van blocked their car at an intersection, four gunmen opened fire, and Su Xiao used his Tech Revolver to shoot them during slowed time.
• A katana-wielding attacker jumped onto the car roof and stabbed Jefferson’s thigh, but Su Xiao pulled him aside before the blade could reach his head.
• Su Xiao jumped from the moving car to pursue the attacker, who fled through an alley and realized Su Xiao had killed his companions using military-grade Sandevistan.

Su Xiao killed the assassin who had targeted Jefferson Peralez and confirmed that Elizabeth and the Peralezes were safe. He met Detective River Ward to investigate Lucius Raine’s death, and the chapter ended as they left a crowded restaurant to talk privately by River’s car.

• The man in white attacked Su Xiao, but Su Xiao evaded his strike and killed him with a cut to the neck.
• Su Xiao called Elizabeth and learned that she and the Peralezes were headed to a Trauma Team hospital.
• While calling River Ward, Su Xiao caught a child trying to pick his pocket and sent the child away.
• Su Xiao told River that Jefferson Peralez had hired him to investigate Lucius Raine’s death, and River agreed to meet him at Fat Chicken Wings.
• River’s partner, Detective Han, warned River to drop the case and left to pick up his daughter.
• Su Xiao suggested they move somewhere private, and he and River headed toward River’s Thunderway Mackino MTL1.

Su Xiao and River investigated Mayor Ryan’s death, and River sent Su Xiao to question his informant about The Red Queen’s Race. The shop owner refused to help and aimed a shotgun at Su Xiao, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• River told Su Xiao that Horvath had disappeared from the station after being arrested and that the surveillance cameras had been shut off.
• River explained that he wanted to find The Red Queen’s Race because he had heard people mention it on the day Mayor Ryan died.
• River took Su Xiao to his informant’s shop and asked him to speak to the owner alone because their last meeting had gone badly.
• Su Xiao entered the sex-toy shop and asked the owner about The Red Queen’s Race, but the owner warned that it was invitation-only.
• The owner threatened to call the police, then grabbed a shotgun and aimed it at Su Xiao after Su Xiao refused to leave.

Su Xiao forced the adult toy shop owner to reveal the location of The Red Queen’s Race and learned that the club had closed shortly after Mayor Ryan died. He left to investigate the club, suspecting its closure was connected to Ryan’s death.

• Su Xiao disarmed and threatened the shop owner until he agreed to reveal where The Red Queen’s Race was located.
• The owner said the club was near Benita Street and admitted he had delivered goods and workers there.
• Su Xiao questioned the owner about trafficking, then learned the club had shut down after notifying him to stop making deliveries.
• Su Xiao connected the club’s closure to Mayor Ryan’s death and decided to visit it to uncover what had happened.
• Su Xiao returned Sadala to the shop and left, then saw that the pickup truck’s driver’s seat was empty.