Chapter Summaries

Su Xiao explained to River why pursuing the conspiracy could endanger his family, then gave Jefferson the evidence that Ryan had been murdered through a tampered Braindance headset. The culprit remained unknown, leaving Jefferson to confront how little power he had against the forces controlling the city.

• Su Xiao persuaded River to abandon the investigation for his own safety, and River copied the emails, surveillance footage, and infected Braindance headset.
• River and Su Xiao told Detective Han they had found nothing, after which Han thanked Su Xiao for protecting River and left.
• Su Xiao told River that Han might already suspect the truth, but that staying safe mattered more than exposing a conspiracy that might not bring down Vice Mayor Holt.
• Su Xiao met Jefferson and explained that Ryan had been deliberately killed with a virus implanted in his Braindance headset, while evidence only showed that Holt helped cover up the murder.
• Su Xiao told Jefferson that Horvath's employer knew only that an influential person had helped Horvath, leaving the mastermind unidentified.

Su Xiao declined Jefferson Peralez's offer to become his director of security, then warned him about Night Company and asked for help obtaining a private military contractor license. Jefferson agreed to handle the license, leaving Su Xiao poised to establish his own company for reasons beyond Jefferson's assumptions.

• Jefferson offered Su Xiao a generous position as his director of security, but Su Xiao politely declined.
• Su Xiao learned that Night Company provided Jefferson's security and warned him to consider switching to an established security firm.
• Jefferson explained that Night Company had sponsored his education and contributed heavily to his campaign, and he agreed to think over Su Xiao's advice.
• Su Xiao refused Jefferson's cash payment and asked him to help obtain a private military contractor business license from Night City's Department of Defense.
• Jefferson agreed to arrange the license, believing Su Xiao wanted to expand his mercenary business, while Su Xiao had another reason for founding the company.

Su Xiao searched Night City for a suitable headquarters for his private military company, rejected several districts, and chose the abandoned Stone Ridge Mountain community. He brought V and Lucy there to show them the site, leaving them puzzled by his enthusiasm.

• Su Xiao ruled out the Northside Industrial District because of its proximity to Arasaka, then rejected Santo Domingo and Pacifica because of their gangs and poor security.
• Su Xiao spotted an old Stone Ridge Mountain advertisement while eating and realized the abandoned community had usable houses and intact utility infrastructure.
• Su Xiao called Jefferson and learned that buying permanent ownership of Stone Ridge Mountain's real estate was remarkably cheap.
• Su Xiao drove V and Lucy to Stone Ridge Mountain in Jack's Armored SUV and showed them the deserted community.
• Su Xiao climbed onto a house roof and asked V and Lucy what they thought of the place, while they questioned his mental state.

Su Xiao founded the Dawn Society in Stone Ridge Mountain and hired ten Aldecaldos to guard the ghost town and help clear it. Panam, Saul, Mitch, and Skar arrived to begin the job, and Panam agreed to protect the site.

• Su Xiao told V and Lucy he planned to start a private military company, promised them fair shares, and named it the Dawn Society.
• Su Xiao called Panam and offered the Aldecaldos a thousand euros per person per day to guard Stone Ridge Mountain.
• Panam brought Saul into the call, and Su Xiao explained that he had once belonged to the Buckle Family and wanted to hire ten Nomads.
• Saul and Panam accepted the work, and several hours later Panam, Mitch, and Skar arrived with vehicles at Stone Ridge Mountain.
• Su Xiao asked the Aldecaldos to guard the town and clear out its junk, and Panam complained that he was treating them like junk collectors.

Su Xiao equipped the Aldecaldos and established the Dawn Society as a licensed private military company. Meanwhile, Jose and Maria were diverted by traffic officers in Tijuana and surrounded in a deserted neighborhood, where an officer approached their car.

• Su Xiao gave the Aldecaldos weapons and equipment, and Panam promised they would not betray his trust.
• Rogue delivered heavy weapons to Stone Ridge Mountain, while Jefferson secured Department of Defense credentials for the Dawn Society.
• Maria and Jose left their hotel in Tijuana with two bodyguards to visit the seaside.
• Traffic officers directed their car away from its route and followed it to a run-down neighborhood.
• The officers surrounded the stopped car, and one of them signaled the driver to lower his window.

Su Xiao met Dante Gonzalez, who asked him to rescue his kidnapped son and the son's girlfriend from the Salamanca Group in Tijuana. Su Xiao questioned Dante’s account, arguing that the group would harm its own tourism income by kidnapping visitors, and Dante’s growing unease suggested the story was not as simple as it seemed.

• Jose and Maria were abducted by men disguised as traffic cops and forced into a van.
• Jack introduced Su Xiao, V, and Lucy to Dante Gonzalez, who asked them to rescue his son and the son's girlfriend from the Salamanca Group.
• Dante explained that Mexico’s groups had corrupted law enforcement and the military, while Su Xiao noticed Dante seemed anxious about more than his son.
• Su Xiao argued that kidnapping tourists would undermine the Salamanca Group’s tourism income, and Jack agreed with his reasoning.
• V asked whether the group targeted only wealthy tourists, but Su Xiao explained how mistreated visitors could damage Tijuana’s reputation and stop returning.
• Dante’s expression darkened, and he interrupted Su Xiao’s explanation.

Su Xiao suspected Dante Gonzalez was hiding the reason the Salamanca Group had kidnapped his son and refused to take the job without the full story. Jack persuaded Dante to return and tell the truth, but the chapter ended just as Dante began explaining what had happened a few years earlier.

• Su Xiao challenged Dante Gonzalez to explain why the Salamanca Group had targeted his son, and Dante stormed out without answering.
• Su Xiao explained to V and Lucy that Dante's son would have had bodyguards, making a kidnapping by random low-level punks unlikely.
• Dante told Jack Wells that the Salamanca Group had sent him a photograph of his son's severed finger and threatened to torture his son.
• Jack told Dante he could not help unless Dante revealed the whole truth, and Dante agreed to return to the VIP room.
• Dante apologized to Su Xiao and began recounting the events that had started a few years earlier.

Dante Gonzalez explained how his son Jose killed the Salamanca Group boss’s only son in a hit-and-run, then described hiding Jose’s involvement and creating a false alibi. The Salamancas eventually kidnapped Jose, and Dante’s account revealed why they had targeted him.

• Dante told Jack and Su Xiao that he had raised Jose to succeed and that Jose attended New York University.
• Dante recounted how Jose struck and killed a young motorcyclist while reaching for his phone, then fled the scene.
• Dante said he took Jose to the police station intending to turn him in, but recognized the grieving parents as members of the Salamanca family.
• Dante feared the Salamancas would kill him and Jose, so he hid Jose’s car and coached him to keep the killing secret.
• Dante established a false alibi by repeatedly claiming Jose had shown him around New York University the day after the crash.
• Dante said Jose graduated, joined Militech Optics, and built a life before the Salamanca Group eventually kidnapped him.

Su Xiao and his team flew to Tijuana with Dante Gonzalez to rescue Jose from the Salamanca Group. After scouting the house, they discovered that Jose’s girlfriend Maria was also being held there, and prepared to launch their assault.

• Dante offered his private plane, and Jack joined Su Xiao, Lucy, and V for the rescue mission.
• Su Xiao arrived late after collecting heavy-duty gear, and the group flew to Tijuana with weapons.
• Su Xiao used Jose’s implanted tracker to locate the house where the Salamanca Group was holding him.
• The team drove to the target neighborhood and distributed weapons before approaching the house.
• Su Xiao scanned the house and found twelve armed Salamanca enforcers inside, with Jose and Maria held in the bathroom.

Su Xiao and Jack stormed the Salamanca Group’s house to rescue Dante Gonzalez’s kidnapped son, Jose, while Lucy disabled the security systems and V provided cover. After killing the captors and reaching Jose, they left him asking whether his father had sent them.

• Su Xiao told Jack to use indoor weapons, while Lucy and V stayed in the SUV to disable security and provide support.
• Lucy shut down the cameras and Auto Turrets, and Su Xiao and Jack killed the guards at the gate before approaching the house.
• V’s sniper shot failed to stop the armored gunman, but Su Xiao rushed him and killed him with his blade.
• Su Xiao and Jack fought through the house, shooting the ambushers through walls and using a grenade to flush out the remaining enemies.
• Su Xiao shot the captor holding Jose hostage, and Jack confirmed the young man was Dante Gonzalez’s son.
• Jose asked Su Xiao and Jack whether his father had hired them to rescue him.

Su Xiao rescued Jose and Maria and drove them toward Tijuana's airport, but Hector Salamanca had the airport closed to stop their escape. The group was left in the SUV outside the cordon, and Su Xiao asked Lucy to inspect a surveillance camera.

• Su Xiao, Jack, V, and Lucy escorted Jose and Maria from the rescue site and drove toward the airport.
• Hector Salamanca learned the hostages had escaped and ordered his men to shut down the airport so no planes could take off.
• Su Xiao spotted police cordoning off the airport and went to ask them what had happened.
• The officers told Su Xiao the airport was closed and its staff and pilots had been evacuated.
• Su Xiao returned to the SUV, told the group the airport was closed, and pointed out a surveillance camera for Lucy to check.

Su Xiao’s group discovered that the Tijuana airport had been sealed and decided to flee across the border to San Diego, but the Salamanca Group ambushed them on the road. Su Xiao fought back against the attackers, leaving the group caught in a violent pursuit.

• Lucy confirmed that the airport was empty and undamaged, and Su Xiao suspected the Salamanca Group had arranged its closure to stop them escaping by plane.
• Su Xiao decided to drive to San Diego and find a smuggler after Jack could not reach their pilot.
• Jack spotted an armed white pickup following their SUV, and Su Xiao confirmed it was pursuing them after it followed them onto a side road.
• A garbage truck rammed the SUV as it rejoined the main road, but Su Xiao dodged the impact and shot the pickup’s driver and gunner.
• Su Xiao told Jack to take the wheel, then charged the stuck garbage truck and cut through its cab and driver with Muramasa while deflecting gunfire.

Su Xiao and the others escaped the Salamanca Group’s attack and stopped at a motel after the border checkpoint closed for the night. Around midnight, armed assassins entered the corridor, and Su Xiao killed them before they could harm anyone.

• Su Xiao destroyed the pursuing pickup, and Jack drove the group away from the gunfight.
• Su Xiao suspected the Salamanca Group had tracked them with a drone, but his scan found nothing.
• At the border checkpoint, the group learned it had stopped processing cars and decided to stay overnight at a nearby motel.
• Su Xiao heard a faint noise in the corridor, used his Tactical Goggles to spot armed assassins, and charged out to kill them.
• V and Lucy rushed out after Su Xiao dispatched the assassins.

Su Xiao and his companions fought off Salamanca Group assassins who had tracked them to a motel, then discovered the gang had murdered the motel staff and booby-trapped the vehicles. The group escaped in the assassins’ pickups, leaving the reason they had been found still unexplained.

• Su Xiao identified the attackers as Salamanca Group assassins, assigned Lucy to protect Jose and Maria, and led Jack and V downstairs to confront the remaining enemies.
• V shot the lobby attackers with the Achilles, then Jack threw a grenade down the stairs and Su Xiao finished off the survivors with his Dian.
• Su Xiao and Jack found the motel owner and employees dead in the basement, killed by the assassins.
• Su Xiao stopped the group from using their SUV after detecting bombs in it and other motel vehicles, and they divided into two pickups driven by the assassins.

Su Xiao arranged an illegal crossing for his group at a border gas station after they spent the night in their vehicles. The checkpoint opened at eight, and the group prepared to pass through without their identification being checked.

• Su Xiao led Jack, Jose, V, and Lucy into the wilderness, where they slept in their vehicles while Su Xiao kept watch.
• Before dawn, Su Xiao woke Jack, then let him drive them back to the border checkpoint ahead of its opening.
• Su Xiao paid a gas station employee one hundred thousand euros to arrange safe passage for six people and two vehicles.
• The employee confirmed that the group would only need to go through the motions at the checkpoint and nobody would ask to see their identification.
• Su Xiao returned to Jack and said he had bought them a ticket across the border, surprising Jack with the illegal arrangement.

Su Xiao and his companions bribed their way through the border checkpoint and continued toward San Diego, where they planned to catch a flight back to Night City. As they headed for the airport, armed Mexicans in disguised vans arrived nearby, setting up a new threat.

• Su Xiao passed the checkpoint’s questioning after its scanner failed to capture him, and Jack drove the group through with V and Lucy following.
• Jose celebrated their safe crossing, and Su Xiao said Dante Gonzalez could cover their expenses and airfare back to Night City.
• Lucy found six tickets for a flight leaving at one in the afternoon, and the group agreed to go straight to the airport so Jose could feel secure.
• Several disguised vans carrying armed Mexicans headed toward San Diego’s airport, and one van stopped abruptly.

Su Xiao and the others reached San Diego City after escaping the Salamanca Group’s pursuit and planned to fly back to Night City that afternoon. As they waited at the airport, they arranged for Jose to speak with his father and decided how to handle their weapons and keep watch until their flight.

• Hector ordered a group of Salamanca men to carry out a suicide attack and promised to clear their debts and support their families if they died without naming him.
• Su Xiao told Dante Gonzalez that Jose was safe, the pilot had likely been killed, and the group had booked an afternoon flight from San Diego City to Night City.
• Su Xiao connected Jose to Dante using his Tactical Goggles so father and son could speak.
• The group considered finding Mexican food but realized they could not leave their weapons unattended at the airport.
• Maria offered to guard the vehicles, and Jose volunteered to stay with her, but Su Xiao feared the Salamanca Group might attack them.
• V stayed behind to guard the weapons and vehicles while Su Xiao and the others went to find food.

At the airport, Jose asked Su Xiao to train him after his kidnapping made him feel helpless, and Su Xiao agreed to arrange military instruction if Dante approved. As Su Xiao brought tacos for V and prepared to coordinate a weapons shipment, gunshots erupted outside the restaurant, leaving him scanning the terminal.

• Jose asked Su Xiao to train him, explaining that he wanted the strength to protect himself and Maria after their kidnapping.
• Su Xiao agreed to train Jose at Stone Ridge Mountain if Dante approved, and planned to have Mitch and Skar instruct him.
• Su Xiao devised plans to earn money through customized weapons, firearm manufacturing, and cyberware services at the Dawn Society, with Old Wei overseeing operations.
• The group ate at the airport restaurant, and Su Xiao took two tacos to V while asking Lucy to find a reliable shipping company in San Diego City.
• Gunshots rang out outside the restaurant, and Su Xiao scanned the terminal with his tactical goggles.

Su Xiao fought terrorists at the San Diego airport, armed himself with weapons taken from the dead, and joined forces with an airport guard. The chapter ended when V warned him that armed attackers had taken over outside the airport, just before an RPG exploded.

• Su Xiao told Jack and the others to hide behind the restaurant counter while he went to meet V and retrieve their weapons.
• Su Xiao dodged an airport guard, then saved him from a terrorist by knocking him out of the line of fire and killing the attacker.
• Su Xiao persuaded the guard to let him use the terrorist's rifle, then killed another attacker after the rifle jammed and accepted the guard's Copperhead.
• V contacted Su Xiao and warned that heavily armed people had taken over the area outside the airport.
• An RPG exploded outside, shaking the airport.

Su Xiao survived the Salamanca Group’s assault on the San Diego City airport, then escaped with his companions as the National Guard defeated the attackers. On the road outside the city, he explained that the attack could unite the Western States, and V asked where they were headed.

• Su Xiao told V to stay hidden and ordered Jack and the airport guard to take shelter while rockets struck the terminal.
• A sedan crashed into the airport entrance, and Su Xiao used his Copperhead to kill the driver and attack the armed men who charged inside.
• Su Xiao used a brief time-stopping ability to evade the attackers’ barrage, then killed the remaining assailants inside the airport.
• After the National Guard eliminated the attackers outside, Su Xiao gathered his companions, met up with V, and drove out of San Diego City.
• Su Xiao explained that the attack could strengthen the Western States against New America, and V asked where they were going.