Chapter Summaries

Su Xiao infiltrated the Random Blade Society’s cement factory and rescued Saul from its basement without alerting the gang. The group reunited outside the factory, and Saul learned that the Aldecaldos had nearly launched a direct assault to save him.

• Su Xiao used his Tactical Goggles to find an unguarded pipe leading to Saul’s cell and entered the cement factory alone.
• Su Xiao disabled a basement camera, found Saul beaten and restrained, and revived him with a Pneumatic Syringe.
• Su Xiao freed Saul, gave him a loaded Kinetic Handgun, and led him back out through the pipe.
• Su Xiao, Saul, Panam, and Bob met outside the factory, where Saul hugged Panam and Bob.
• Saul heard that Carol and the others had wanted to storm the Random Blade Society’s base after learning he was captured.

Su Xiao rescued Saul and used Rogue’s Scorpion Lion to destroy the Random Blade Society’s cement-factory stronghold, earning the Aldecaldos’ trust. Back at his completed base, he accompanied David to visit Gloria, where David admitted that Arasaka Academy had expelled him.

• Su Xiao called Rogue to rent a Scorpion Lion and had it bombard the Random Blade Society’s cement factory, killing the gang members inside.
• Su Xiao and the others returned to the Aldecaldos’ camp, where the clan celebrated Saul’s rescue and thanked him.
• Su Xiao returned to Stone Ridge Mountain and inspected the completed base, which included dormitories, a shooting range, and a VR Training Room.
• David told Su Xiao that Gloria had regained consciousness and confessed that he was afraid to visit her because she might ask about Arasaka Academy.
• Su Xiao accompanied David to the hospital, where David told Gloria that he had been expelled from Arasaka Academy after breaking its online education system and being hospitalized.

After David was expelled from Arasaka Academy, Su Xiao offered him a job at Dawn Military Company, and Gloria joined as well. Su Xiao then arranged to buy advanced VR Training Equipment from a prominent arms dealer in Bolivia, agreeing to pay a deposit first and the balance after checking the equipment.

• David told Gloria that Arasaka Academy's principal had refused to let him return, leaving her devastated over his expulsion.
• Su Xiao revealed that David worked for Dawn Military Company and earned three hundred euros a day while training to become a warrior.
• Gloria asked to join the company, and Su Xiao hired her to assist Old Wei's medical team.
• Rogue told Su Xiao that an arms dealer in Bolivia had an advanced VR Training Equipment set made by Tsunami Defense System.
• The arms dealer demanded eighty million and initially insisted on full payment, but Su Xiao negotiated a deposit followed by the balance after inspecting the equipment.

Su Xiao, V, and Lucy reached Bolivia to buy weapons, but found the meeting town destroyed and learned that the arms dealer was trapped by the Anti-government Armed Forces. Su Xiao set out to rescue him, while the dealer waited in an abandoned church for reinforcements.

• Su Xiao, V, and Lucy arrived in the ruined town and found no sign of the arms dealer.
• Su Xiao used a broadcasting station to contact the arms dealer, who said he had fled to an abandoned church and was trapped by the Anti-government Armed Forces.
• Su Xiao told V and Lucy where the dealer was and decided to go there because the goods were with him.
• The arms dealer and three surviving bodyguards held their positions inside the church and discussed why they were being pursued.
• The arms dealer revealed that he had called for reinforcements, leaving his bodyguards wondering who would come.

Su Xiao’s group rescued the Arms Dealer and his bodyguards from a sniper, but the Arms Dealer revealed that the truck carrying the goods had been left behind. The Arms Dealer gave Su Xiao a tracker chip so they could locate the truck.

• The Arms Dealer and his bodyguards drove off the Anti-government Armed Forces, then took cover from a sniper who pinned them inside the church.
• The Arms Dealer contacted Su Xiao, who arrived with V and Lucy and promised to deal with the sniper.
• Su Xiao used his Tactical Goggles to locate the sniper, and V killed him with a single shot.
• Su Xiao asked where the goods were, and the Arms Dealer admitted he had left the truck behind while fleeing the town.
• The Arms Dealer showed Su Xiao a tracker chip, and Su Xiao inserted it into his Tactical Goggles.

Su Xiao led an attack on an Anti-government Armed Forces camp to recover the Arms Dealer’s stolen goods, but the assault became a rescue when he saw the militia preparing to shoot fleeing civilians. After wiping out the camp, Su Xiao introduced himself to a uniformed man who had mistaken his group for Government Army reinforcements.

• Su Xiao refused to pay the Arms Dealer for goods the militia had taken, and the two agreed that the Arms Dealer would travel under Su Xiao’s protection.
• Su Xiao led the group to the militia camp where the tracker showed the stolen goods were being held.
• When trucks delivered civilians to the camp, Su Xiao ordered V and Lucy to target the heavy machine gunners and told the others to wait for his signal.
• V and Lucy shot the machine gunners, and Su Xiao’s group killed the militia as they prepared to shoot the fleeing civilians.
• Su Xiao reassured the rescued civilians, then told a uniformed man that he was the president of the Dawn Military Company and asked who the man was.

Su Xiao led a convoy of civilians and humanitarian workers toward La Paz, refusing the Arms Dealer’s offer to abandon them. After organizing a safe overnight camp, he heard the humanitarian group was interested in hiring his company for long-term protection.

• Su Xiao agreed to escort the civilians to La Paz for free and rejected the Arms Dealer’s offer of five million to leave them behind.
• The convoy drove for several hours, then stopped for the night so the civilians could rest and the group could remain alert.
• Su Xiao distributed weapons and organized three guard shifts with members of his group, the humanitarian organization, and the Arms Dealer’s bodyguards.
• The middle-aged white man asked Su Xiao about Dawn Military Company and whether it accepted long-term protection contracts.
• The middle-aged white man offered to hire Su Xiao to protect the humanitarian organization throughout Bolivia, and Su Xiao considered the proposal.

Su Xiao persuaded the International Rescue Organization leader to prioritize their own safety, then organized the group to confront approaching Anti-government Armed Forces militia. Big Gold Tooth led the militia into an ambush, where the first volleys cut down many of his men.

• Su Xiao convinced the middle-aged white man that protecting the organization would let them help more civilians.
• Lucy spotted a large group of Anti-government Armed Forces militia approaching, and Su Xiao gathered the International Rescue Organization, the Arms Dealer, and his bodyguards.
• Su Xiao proposed wiping out the attackers and keeping one alive for questioning; the Arms Dealer stayed with the group, though reluctantly.
• Big Gold Tooth led nearly a hundred militiamen toward the camp, but the target began moving and he ordered his men to hurry.
• Su Xiao's group ambushed the militia from the bushes, killing or wounding dozens before Big Gold Tooth and the survivors hit the ground.

Su Xiao captured and interrogated Big Gold Tooth, learning that the Anti-government Armed Forces had pursued them to seize Diego Castillo and that a mole had been guiding them. After Big Gold Tooth was killed, Su Xiao identified Diego and the mole among the civilians and confirmed the mole’s identity with his Tactical Goggles.

• V and Lucy helped Su Xiao’s group defeat the militia and capture Big Gold Tooth.
• Su Xiao pressured Big Gold Tooth into revealing that the militia wanted to abduct the president’s son, Diego Castillo, and force the president to step down.
• Big Gold Tooth explained that two moles near the president had helped Diego flee and supplied the militia with information about his movements.
• V killed Big Gold Tooth after he finished answering Su Xiao’s questions.
• Su Xiao rejoined the International Rescue Organization, explained what he had learned, and identified Diego Castillo and the suspected mole among the civilians.
• Su Xiao scanned the suspected mole with his Tactical Goggles and confirmed Big Gold Tooth’s account.

Su Xiao exposed the mole who had betrayed Diego and led the International Rescue Organization convoy through repeated attacks by the Anti-government Armed Forces. After reaching Government Army territory, he saw how outnumbered and poorly equipped its troops were compared with their opponents.

• Su Xiao identified Diego’s trusted aide as an Anti-government Armed Forces mole, and the International Rescue Organization restrained him after Lucy played Big Gold Tooth’s recording.
• Diego admitted he was Anton Castillo’s son, but Su Xiao said he had only wanted to remove the mole and then left without seeking Diego’s help.
• Su Xiao arranged night watches and rested, reasoning that Bolivia’s president would have good reason to accept the Dawn Military Company’s offer to train and equip the Government Army.
• When Anti-government Armed Forces patrols attacked the convoy, Su Xiao, V, and Lucy destroyed the pursuing pickups without suffering casualties.
• The convoy crossed into Government Army territory, where Su Xiao observed that its forces were scarce, listless, and poorly equipped compared with the Anti-government Armed Forces.

Su Xiao returned Diego to President Anton Castillo and negotiated a deal to equip and train Bolivia’s Government Army in exchange for control of three mineral deposits. Afterward, he contacted Meredith Stout, who now controlled Militech’s Night City branch.

• Su Xiao led Diego and his group into La Paz with an escort of more than two hundred Government Army troops.
• President Anton Castillo reunited with Diego, then asked Su Xiao what reward he wanted.
• Su Xiao proposed that Dawn Military Company train and equip the Government Army, and the president agreed to pay with mineral rights in Anti-government Armed Forces territory.
• After hours of negotiations, Dawn Military Company agreed to provide combat vehicles, aerial vehicles, weapons, and three years of training in exchange for two gold mines and one copper mine with no extraction time limit.
• Su Xiao returned to his room, checked on V and Lucy, and called Meredith Stout, who answered with surprise.

Su Xiao arranged to buy Militech vehicles, borrowed money from Rogue, and prepared to move the Dawn Military Company and the Aldecaldos to Bolivia. Judy then asked for his help protecting Cloudy Peak’s sex dolls after explaining Evelyn’s condition and the venue’s poor network security.

• Su Xiao agreed to buy fifty Basilisk armored vehicles and twenty Manticore aircraft from Meredith for 625 million euros, then asked Rogue to lend him the money in exchange for repaying 700 million within five years.
• Su Xiao returned to Stone Ridge Mountain with V and Lucy, told the company about its Bolivia contract, and recruited Saul’s Aldecaldos family to join the company.
• Su Xiao gave Stone Ridge Mountain to Rogue as collateral and gathered supplies, Mann’s team, and other mercenary squads for the move to Bolivia.
• Judy told Su Xiao that Evelyn had left the hospital but remained withdrawn, and explained that she wanted to overhaul Cloudy Peak to protect its sex dolls from exploitation and cyberattacks.
• Su Xiao recognized that Cloudy Peak’s weak network security had enabled the attack on Evelyn and identified Eagle Eye software as a way to isolate the dolls’ implants from the venue’s subnet.

Su Xiao agreed to help Judy take Cloudy Peak from the Tiger Claws Gang, and the two went to persuade its second-in-command, Maiko Maeda. Their meeting turned hostile when Su Xiao attacked Maiko, leaving Judy to continue with her appeal about Evelyn.

• Judy told Su Xiao that Maiko Maeda, Cloudy Peak's second-in-command, had to be convinced before they could move forward, and Su Xiao agreed to help.
• Su Xiao told V and Lucy he might be away for a few days, then met Judy on Cloudy Peak's balcony the next morning.
• Judy opened Maiko Maeda's office door and warned Su Xiao that she knew Maiko better and would handle the conversation.
• Maiko insulted Judy and Su Xiao, so Su Xiao grabbed her by the throat and dropped her after nearly suffocating her.
• Judy asked Maiko whether she knew what had happened to Evelyn, and Maiko said she had learned about it afterward but did not feel sorry for her.

Judy gathered Su Xiao, Tom, Roxanne, and Maiko Maeda to present her plan to retake Cloudy Peak from the Tiger Claws Gang. The meeting ended with Maiko mocking Judy’s proposal as Su Xiao watched Tom and Roxanne hold back their anger.

• Judy failed to persuade Maiko Maeda to help take Cloudy Peak back, and Su Xiao warned Judy not to trust Maiko too much.
• Judy later told Su Xiao that Maiko would join a meeting with Tom and Roxanne to discuss a plan.
• Su Xiao moved the meeting to a private room at Afterlife so they would not disturb Evelyn.
• Judy introduced Su Xiao to Roxanne and Tom, who had joined her effort partly out of fear of suffering Evelyn’s fate.
• Maiko arrived, showed fear when she saw Su Xiao, then mocked Judy’s plan to modify the Behavior Chip so Sex Dolls could fight like elite assassins.

Judy explained her modified Behavior Chip and proposed taking Cloudy Peak from the Tiger Claws Gang. After testing the chip against Su Xiao, he received blueprints for two stronger combat implants, while Judy laid out her plan to seize the club.

• Judy explained that her modified Behavior Chip replaced natural reflexes with programmed combat movements, and Tom demonstrated it by smashing a bottle.
• Maiko Maeda challenged Judy to prove the chip’s usefulness, so Tom fought Su Xiao and was quickly defeated.
• Su Xiao accepted the system’s offer and spent 1,000 Potential Points to obtain blueprints for the Combat Augmentor and Combat Augmentor Enhancer.
• Su Xiao learned that the implants could temporarily raise users to special-forces or Captain America levels, with combat mode lasting one hour.
• Judy proposed knocking out and disarming the Tiger Claws Gang at Cloudy Peak, then forcing its leaders to stay away and relinquish control.

Judy, Maiko Maeda, and Su Xiao planned a two-pronged operation to take control of Cloudy Peak, while Su Xiao made a deal with Okada Wakako to secure the venue afterward. He then went to Lizzie's Bar and told Suzie the full plan.

• Maiko Maeda argued that Judy should target Cloudy Peak's boss, Sato Hiromi, and proposed splitting the group to attack him and Cloudy Peak at the same time.
• Tom agreed to join the operation, Roxanne hesitated, and Su Xiao committed to helping Judy.
• After leaving Afterlife, Su Xiao visited Okada Wakako and suggested that the leaders of Ichida Group and Aunou Group might die during their upcoming visit to Cloudy Peak.
• Okada Wakako agreed that her sons could take over the groups' territory and let Su Xiao have Cloudy Peak in return for the opportunity.
• Su Xiao went to Lizzie's Bar and revealed the Cloudy Peak liberation plan to Suzie of the Mox Gang.

Su Xiao arranged for the Mox Gang to help take Cloudy Peak and put Suzie in charge, then joined Judy to begin the operation. He reached Sato Hiromi’s penthouse while Tom, Roxanne, and the Mox Gang moved to secure the club.

• Su Xiao convinced Suzie to provide fighters for the Cloudy Peak operation and refused her offer of a share of the club’s income.
• Days later, Su Xiao coordinated with Suzie and Okada Wakako as their forces prepared to move against Cloudy Peak and the Ichida Group and Aunou Group.
• At the megabuilding, Judy revealed that Maiko Maeda was with Sato Hiromi and two senior Tiger Claws Gang members, and directed Su Xiao toward the penthouse.
• Su Xiao and Judy entered through the maintenance level, where Su Xiao incapacitated three electricians and Judy failed to crack Cloudy Peak’s upgraded security system.
• After the Mox Gang arrived and Tom and Roxanne led them toward the club, Su Xiao used the maintenance elevator to reach the roof and made his way to Sato Hiromi’s suite.
• Su Xiao silently killed a guard outside the suite.

Su Xiao killed Maiko Maeda and the Tiger Claws Gang leaders to prevent Maiko from taking control of Cloudy Peak, then arranged for the Mox Gang to manage the club. He completed a weapons deal with Meredith and sent Saul and the Aldecaldos to Bolivia while he stayed behind.

• Su Xiao shot Ichiro Marcus, Kurogami Jun, and Sato Hiromi, then killed Maiko Maeda when she charged him.
• Su Xiao told Judy that the Mox Gang would manage Cloudy Peak and that its workers would receive better treatment; Judy asked for time to recover from Maiko's death.
• Su Xiao planned for the Mox Gang to protect Cloudy Peak while Okada Wakako's nine sons took over the territories of Ichiro Marcus and Kurogami Jun.
• Su Xiao met Meredith and exchanged money for fifty Basilisk vehicles and twenty Manticore aircraft, with fourteen military transport planes and their pilots included.
• Su Xiao sent Saul and the Aldecaldos to La Paz aboard the transport planes and stayed behind.

After spending half a month crafting Combat Augmentors, Su Xiao demonstrated one to Texas liaison List and offered to sell them to the Republic of Texas. List questioned the high price, and Su Xiao argued that the chips could overcome the limits of training special forces.

• Su Xiao emerged from his private room with a case full of Combat Augmentors after crafting them for half a month.
• At Azure Tower, Su Xiao demonstrated a Combat Augmentor to List, who briefly gained special-forces combat skills after inserting the chip.
• Su Xiao explained that Combat Mode lasted one hour and warned that activating it again too soon could cause severe injury or death.
• Su Xiao offered the Combat Augmentors to the Republic of Texas for seven hundred thousand euros each, with a one-year replacement guarantee for quality-related malfunctions.
• List objected that the price exceeded the cost of training a Navy SEAL, and Su Xiao countered that the chips could make even an untalented user an excellent soldier.

Su Xiao negotiated a large Combat Augmentor sale with List, then met the destitute Goro Takemura, who asked for help escaping Night City. Su Xiao offered him a chance to leave but warned that doing so would cost him any chance to meet Hana Arasaka or return to Arasaka, and Takemura weighed the choice.

• List agreed to buy Combat Augmentors for 650,000 euros each, with a three-year warranty, pending Congress's approval.
• Su Xiao left the Azure Tower after secretly disrupting its surveillance cameras and considered the potential 1.95-billion-euro sale to Texas.
• Su Xiao received a call from Goro Takemura and met him at the abandoned pier in Japantown, where Takemura described his fall from Arasaka's favor and his pursuit by a bounty hunter.
• Takemura asked Su Xiao to smuggle him out of Night City, offering to work for him in return.
• Su Xiao warned Takemura that leaving would mean missing his chance to meet Hana Arasaka and likely losing any chance to return to Arasaka, leaving Takemura silent as he considered the consequences.