Chapter Summaries

Su Xiao and his companions confronted Brother Finger while searching for Evelyn Parker, and Su Xiao demonstrated his extraordinary strength to establish his authority. Brother Finger finished repairing a sex doll and then brought the group to his office, where Su Xiao asked where Evelyn was; the chapter ended before Brother Finger answered.

• Su Xiao reassured Judy, and Lucy hacked open Brother Finger's door without using her personal link.
• Su Xiao crushed a cola can with his bare hand, astonishing the sex dolls and prompting one to question whether he was human.
• Su Xiao and the others entered Brother Finger's grimy operating room, where Brother Finger continued repairing a sex doll's chin.
• Judy challenged Brother Finger for making the sex doll endure surgery without anesthetics, and he explained that his customers usually could not afford them.
• Brother Finger finished the repair, washed his hands, and asked whether Judy was with the Tiger Claws Gang; Judy said she was with the Mox Gang.
• Su Xiao asked Brother Finger where Evelyn Parker was, and Brother Finger invited the group into his office.

Su Xiao questioned Brother Finger about Evelyn Parker and learned that Okada Wakako’s people took her to be used in Black Market Dreams. He left Brother Finger unharmed, and the group departed the clinic while Judy went outside to clear her head.

• Su Xiao told Brother Finger that Woodman no longer controlled Cloudy Peak and demanded to know what happened to Evelyn Parker.
• Brother Finger explained that Evelyn’s Instruction Register had been burned out, and he had called his fixer, Okada Wakako, after failing to repair her.
• Brother Finger said Wakako’s two men took Evelyn and mentioned Black Market Dreams and a skull moth, leading him to suspect they planned to make her an actor.
• Judy condemned Brother Finger for handing Evelyn over, then left to get some air.
• Su Xiao left Brother Finger unharmed and walked out of the clinic with V, Lucy, and Jack.
• Jack asked over the squad’s comms whether they could really leave without doing anything.

Su Xiao explained why he had spared Brother Finger and then joined Judy, V, and Lucy in searching for Evelyn, who might have been taken to make Black Market Dreams. The group split up to pursue leads, and Su Xiao spotted two men facing off as he left to meet Wakako.

• Su Xiao argued that killing or disabling Brother Finger would leave the poor Sex Dolls he treated without anyone to help them, and Judy accepted that they still had hope of finding Evelyn.
• Su Xiao and Judy concluded that Black Market Dreams were likely recorded in hidden locations, but Judy had no knowledge of the Skull Moth.
• V suggested checking earlier Black Market Dreams for clues, and Judy proposed searching the Night City of Love and Lust website.
• Su Xiao decided to ask Wakako about Brother Finger's call, while Judy, V, and Lucy went to search online and planned to meet at Judy's van.
• Su Xiao declined Lucy's offer to probe Wakako's Cyberbrain and spotted two men facing off after parting from the others.

Su Xiao obtained a Black Market Dream chip from Okada Wakako and had Judy examine it. Judy discovered that the recording showed Scavengers forcing a hacker to cross the Blackwall, alarming Lucy.

• Su Xiao visited Okada Wakako and asked for information about the Black Market Dream team that had found a new actress.
• Wakako refused to betray her clients but sold Su Xiao a Black Market Dream chip for fifty thousand euros.
• Su Xiao met Judy outside Winding Street and gave her the chip to inspect.
• Judy watched the Braindance and told Su Xiao and Lucy that it showed Scavengers forcing a hacker to cross the Blackwall.
• Lucy reacted with alarm when she heard what the recording contained.

Su Xiao and his team raided the Scavengers’ hideout at the old Electric Corporation power plant in Charter Hill, searching for Evelyn. They cleared the guards and found an entrance to an underground area, where the Scavengers discussed the drugs they used in their Black Market Dreams.

• Judy identified the old Electric Corporation power plant as the crew’s likely hideout, and Su Xiao led the team there.
• Su Xiao assigned V, Jack, and Lucy to protect Judy and eliminate the Scavengers while Judy waited in hiding.
• Su Xiao and the others silently killed the Scavengers outside the power plant, then Judy joined them.
• Su Xiao cleared the Scavengers on the second floor while V and the others cleared the ground floor, but they found no sign of Evelyn.
• The team regrouped after finding the underground entrance, where Scavengers discussed substituting erythritol for methionine in their product.

Su Xiao's group fought their way through the Scavengers' drug lab and discovered the horrors of their Black Market Dream operation. The crew's leaders realized intruders had reached the basement, but their cameras had been hacked and the outside had gone silent.

• Jack killed two Scavengers as Su Xiao's group entered the drug lab.
• Judy, V, Jack, Lucy, and Su Xiao found evidence that the Scavengers tortured victims for Black Market Dreams and harvested their bodies.
• Papayanova and the other Scavenger leaders discussed their operation and argued over an unconscious girl they had been given.
• Gunfire and shouting outside alerted the leaders that intruders had reached the second basement level.
• The fighting abruptly stopped, and the leaders found that the outside cameras had been hacked.

Papayanova and the other bosses were killed by Su Xiao, who then found Evelyn in a horrific state at the Black Market Dreams set. Judy disconnected Evelyn from the terminal, and the group carried her out of the underground facility.

• Papayanova led the bosses into the hallway, where Su Xiao killed them with a Deep-Cutting Personnel Lethal Grenade.
• Su Xiao regrouped with the others and led them to the filming set where Evelyn was being held.
• Judy went to disconnect Evelyn from the terminal while Su Xiao and Lucy approached her.
• Su Xiao and Judy pulled Evelyn’s cable at the same time, and Judy backed away after seeing her condition.
• Su Xiao carried Evelyn out with the group, while Judy rushed to the van and Jack and V helped get Evelyn inside.

Su Xiao arranged Trauma Team treatment for Evelyn, hoping she would recover enough to reveal who had arranged the Relic theft and whether they posed a threat. The Trauma Team took Evelyn to its hospital after Su Xiao deposited five hundred thousand euros into her medical account, while Judy thanked him and the others learned his reasons.

• Su Xiao suggested Trauma Team treatment for Evelyn and offered to pay when Judy said she could not afford it.
• Su Xiao called Trauma Team, registered Evelyn, and deposited five hundred thousand euros into her medical account.
• The Trauma Team carried Evelyn to its AV and flew her to the hospital, while Judy cried and thanked Su Xiao.
• After leaving Judy's apartment, Su Xiao explained to Jack, V, and Lucy that he wanted Evelyn to identify whoever had arranged the theft and assess the danger to him and his friends.
• The group discussed preparing for the Voodoo Boys if they were behind the attack.

Regina asked Su Xiao to rescue her journalist friend Max Jones, who had received a contract on his life after investigating corporate crimes. Max was being held by Scavengers, and his recent inquiry into Zeta Tech had led him into danger.

• Regina called Su Xiao and asked him to find her missing friend, journalist Max Jones.
• Su Xiao recognized Max’s name and agreed to go to Eisenhower Street alone.
• Max remembered that Arasaka had killed an informant and everyone at a nomad camp during an earlier investigation.
• Max pursued an anonymous tip about Zeta Tech but was wounded in a firefight between the NCPD and gang members.
• Scavengers captured Max and brought him to their basement, where he watched them harvest cyberware and organs from a living victim.

Su Xiao rescued Max from a Scavenger hideout and killed the Scavengers holding him. Afterward, Su Xiao shot the hideout’s organ broker and led Max out into the sunlight.

• Max woke in a Scavenger hideout, where Liptov and the others discussed finding the people who had killed Liptov’s brother.
• Su Xiao rushed into the basement and killed Liptov, Fegachevsky, and Trachev before freeing Max.
• Max learned that Regina had sent Su Xiao, and complained that Regina had abandoned her conscience.
• Su Xiao led Max through the hideout’s second exit and shot a man who had been selling stolen cyberware and human organs.
• Outside, Max saw the shop’s OPEN sign and recognized the place as an illegal organ and cyberware business.

Su Xiao convinced Max to give Regina a chance, and Regina agreed to treat him well. In Heywood, Padre asked Marcus to drive him to the Wolf Bar.

• Su Xiao explained to Max that Regina could threaten corporations more effectively as a fixer than as a reporter, and Max agreed to work with her temporarily.
• Su Xiao left Max at Regina's safehouse, and Regina called to thank him for persuading Max.
• Su Xiao told Regina not to let Max down, and she promised she would not.
• Padre arrived at his base and asked Marcus to drive him to the Wolf Bar because Carlo was sick.
• Marcus agreed, and he and Padre climbed into Padre's Vellefor Avarado.

The priest survived a truck ambush only to be shot by a disguised assassin, while Su Xiao learned more about Evelyn’s condition and requested a recording of her dreams. The chapter ended with Marcus calling Su Xiao in distress.

• A truck rammed the priest and Marcus’s car, trapping it in a shop, and the priest shot the driver as he tried to flee.
• The priest accused his personal driver, Carlo, of betraying him and began to reassure the shop’s customers, but a disguised shop assistant shot him in the chest.
• Marcus killed the assassin and drove the customers away before the priest’s men took the critically injured priest to a private hospital.
• At Trauma Team Hospital, a doctor told Su Xiao that Evelyn was stable but badly injured and explained the dangers of her Behavior Chip.
• Su Xiao asked the doctor to record Evelyn’s fragmented dreams, then answered a holo-call from Marcus, who appeared distressed.

Su Xiao learned that the priest had been ambushed, seriously wounded, and hospitalized, while the priest’s deputy Ken disappeared after leading the men into a disastrous fight. With NCPD surrounding the base, Su Xiao took charge of the panicked gang members and ordered them to stay calm and avoid a clash.

• Su Xiao heard that the priest had been shot during an ambush arranged by the Sixth Street Gang, and learned that driver Carlo had been found dead with his blood drained.
• Marcus told Su Xiao that Ken had led the priest’s men into a fight with the Clementi Family, leaving several brothers dead, and Su Xiao suspected Ken was the mole.
• Marcus reported that Ken had vanished and that NCPD was surrounding the base to search for Sparkle.
• Su Xiao had the priest’s men join a communications channel and warned them that fighting NCPD or continuing their internal disputes would serve the Clementi Family’s plans.
• Su Xiao ordered the men to seal the base’s doors and windows, keep NCPD outside, stall them if necessary, and never open fire.

Su Xiao stopped the NCPD from raiding Padre’s base and found the Valentino Gang contained after Nikola’s betrayal. Jack organized Padre’s protection and called in the other Heywood branch leaders, but Gonzalez challenged Su Xiao’s presence at their meeting.

• Su Xiao persuaded Jefferson to have the NCPD officers withdraw from Padre’s base.
• Su Xiao, Jack, and V joined Marcus and learned that the Valentino Gang members were secured upstairs, not seeking revenge against the Clementi Family.
• Jack urged the gang to protect Padre and avoid confronting the Clementi Family until they could gather support.
• Jack selected guards for Padre and sent messengers to the other Valentino branches.
• The leaders of the other Valentino branches gathered in Padre’s office, where Gonzalez questioned why Su Xiao was present.

Jack challenged Juan to a Trial by Combat after Juan tried to seize the priest’s territory, and the Valentino families gathered at an abandoned warehouse to witness the duel. Juan sent Blanca to fight as his proxy against Jack.

• Juan argued that he should reclaim territory the priest had taken from his family, while Jack refused to let him take it.
• Jack challenged Juan to a Trial by Combat, a sacred duel that ended only when one combatant died.
• Marcus explained the rules and religious significance of the Trial by Combat to Su Xiao.
• At night, the Valentino families and the priest’s men gathered in an abandoned warehouse for the duel.
• Juan sent Blanca to fight Jack as his proxy, and Blanca promised to win.

Jack defeated Blanca in a trial by combat without killing him, earning the crowd’s support and Blanca’s pledge of loyalty. After Juan, Gonzalez, and Hernandez promised not to attack Padre’s territory, Su Xiao recognized that Padre’s forces remained isolated and Jack admitted they had no clear way to stop the Clementi Family.

• Jack declined Su Xiao’s offer to fight in his place, and Lucy agreed to intervene only if the fight turned against him.
• Jack subdued Blanca, spared him, and urged the Valentino Gang to unite against the Sixth Street Gang; Blanca accepted his hand and the crowd cheered Jack’s name.
• Blanca pledged to serve Jack, while Juan, Gonzalez, and Hernandez prepared to leave.
• Su Xiao blocked the warehouse entrance and forced Juan, Gonzalez, and Hernandez to promise aloud that they would not move against Padre’s territory.
• Back at Padre’s base, Jack told Su Xiao, V, and Lucy that he saw no way out of their predicament and that confronting the Clementi Family head-on would cripple their forces.

Jack told Su Xiao that Padre's forces lacked reliable support and were at risk from the Clementi Family, so Su Xiao planned to disrupt the family's business. A few days later, Su Xiao and Lucy entered a meeting site disguised as members of the Tiger Claws Gang, where they were searched before being led inside.

• Jack explained that Gustavo and Manuel would offer only limited help, leaving Padre's forces vulnerable to the Clementi Family.
• Su Xiao told Jack he had a plan and called Rogue to obtain details about the Clementi Family's next deal.
• A few days later, Su Xiao and Lucy arrived in River Valley wearing disguises and carrying concealed anti-detection equipment.
• Su Xiao claimed they had an appointment with Bruno as representatives of the Tiger Claws Gang, and the Sixth Street Gang opened the door.
• Su Xiao and Lucy surrendered their weapons and submitted to a search before a Sixth Street Gang member led them into a winding corridor.

Su Xiao and Lucy attacked the Sixth Street Gang’s secret shop, killing everyone there before collecting a Sixth Street Gang pickup from Crispin. They left disguised as Sixth Street Gang members, with their next move unstated.

• Su Xiao used Time Zero to shoot Big Back Head and the Sixth Street Gang members in the shop, then threw grenades into the corridor and killed the gang members who rushed out.
• Su Xiao and Lucy crossed the bloodied corridor, and Su Xiao used Time Zero again to kill the Sixth Street Gang members waiting in ambush outside.
• More than a dozen Sixth Street Gang members arrived too late and found only corpses and blood at the secret shop.
• Su Xiao and Lucy drove to Crispin’s shack in Santo Domingo, where Crispin showed them a Thunderway Mackino MTL1 pickup bearing the Sixth Street Gang emblem.
• Su Xiao and Lucy changed into Sixth Street Gang disguises, took the pickup and travel bags, and told Crispin to dispose of their old car.

Su Xiao and Lucy ambushed the Tiger Claws in Japantown, killing the men sent to collect goods from the Clementi Family. Clementi heard that the family’s secret shop had been massacred and suspected the Kiryu Group, though their previously cooperative relationship made the incident seem strange.

• A-Xin realized a Six Street Gang pickup was following the Tiger Claws’ car, and the men stopped to ask what the Clementi Family wanted.
• Su Xiao shot A-Xin while Lucy killed the other Tiger Claw who approached the pickup.
• The last Tiger Claw tried to flee, but Su Xiao used a rocket launcher to destroy the muscle car before he and Lucy drove away.
• Tiger Claws arriving at the scene found the launcher marked Militech, while Clementi’s subordinate reported that the Clementi Family’s secret shop had been massacred.
• Clementi’s subordinates argued that the Kiryu Group was responsible, but Clementi considered the accusation suspicious given their months of cordial cooperation.

Clementi and Kiryu Baima realized that someone had impersonated their gangs to provoke a war, so they arranged to meet at the Imperial Hotel. Su Xiao and Lucy learned of the meeting, and the chapter ended as the Clementi Family arrived in Japantown.

• Clementi and the Kiryu Group's deputy procurement chief compared accounts of attacks on both gangs and suspected they had been framed.
• Kiryu Baima proposed meeting Clementi at the Imperial Hotel at nine that night, and Clementi agreed.
• A Sixteenth Street Gang member secretly sent Rogue the meeting details and received ten thousand euros in return.
• Su Xiao and Lucy watched their pickup get crushed at a scrapyard, then left after Rogue's message arrived.
• Kiryu Baima and the Tiger Claws Gang waited outside the Imperial Hotel for Clementi, whose cars arrived as the gang members grew uneasy.