Chapter Summaries

Su Xiao took Rebecca to eat after she arrived hungry, and helped her manage the tempura she struggled to eat. As they waited for Mann, Su Xiao reflected on how far his group still had to go in Night City, then promised Rebecca more tempura after they dealt with Mann’s matter.

• Rebecca rushed to meet Su Xiao after his call, while Mann still had not arrived.
• Su Xiao bought two bowls of curry tempura udon and brought them back to Rebecca.
• Rebecca struggled to use chopsticks and repeatedly dropped the tempura shrimp, while Su Xiao patiently slowed down to help her.
• Su Xiao fed Rebecca a shrimp from his bowl, and she enjoyed it and asked for more.
• Su Xiao told Rebecca he would take her to Japantown for more tempura if she was still hungry after they dealt with Mann’s matter.

Su Xiao tested Mann’s combat skills, diagnosed the delay in his malfunctioning cybernetic arms, and sold him Power Gauntlets on installment. After crafting the ordered pairs and sleeping for a day, Su Xiao got a call from Jack, who took him to meet Old Wei, the best ripperdoc in Watson District.

• Su Xiao sparred with Mann and explained that Mann’s cybernetic arms lagged, leaving openings in close combat.
• Su Xiao offered Mann Power Gauntlets on a twenty-four-installment plan, and Mann ordered pairs for himself and Dorio.
• Su Xiao spent three weeks crafting Power Gauntlets for Mann, Dorio, and Jack, then delivered Mann and Dorio’s pairs through Rebecca.
• Su Xiao slept for a day and night, then received Jack’s call before dawn.
• Jack waited outside Su Xiao’s apartment and invited him to meet Old Wei, so Su Xiao got ready to leave.

Jack drove Su Xiao through Watson District to meet Victor and replace his old cyberware, after explaining that his mother had thrown him out for trying to sneak liquor. At Misty's shop, she gave Su Xiao a Tarot reading before Jack led him toward Victor's clinic.

• Jack detoured through Westbrook to avoid traffic, then admitted he had been thrown out by his mother and took Su Xiao to breakfast in Little Chinatown.
• Jack said he wanted to replace his cyberware gradually and hoped to get a basic Sandevistan from Victor.
• Jack and Su Xiao visited Misty's Divination Parlor, where Misty introduced herself as Jack's girlfriend and offered Su Xiao a discounted reading.
• Misty drew four Tarot Cards for Su Xiao, three reversed, and explained that reversed cards were not necessarily bad.
• Jack and Su Xiao left through the parlor's back door and headed for Victor's dim clinic behind the Esoteric Museum.

Su Xiao and Jack visited Victor’s clinic, where Jack asked about installing a reflex-boosting implant and learned that a Sandevistan could be dangerous without proper checks. Su Xiao gave Victor five hundred thousand euros to obtain the best cyberware for Jack and two other friends, and Victor agreed to help.

• Jack asked Victor about getting a Sandevistan, and Victor warned him that the implant required extensive examinations and could kill him if installed recklessly.
• Jack asked about a Kerenzi Ke Fu instead, and Victor said he could look for one and call him with details.
• Su Xiao asked to speak with Victor privately in the back of the clinic.
• Su Xiao transferred Victor five hundred thousand euros and asked him to provide the best cyberware for Jack and two other friends.
• Victor accepted the money as Su Xiao explained that he would cover any additional cost.

Su Xiao and Jack visited Victor, where Jack received a checkup and medicine to prepare for a Kerenzi Ke Fu implant. Victor later met Chihana and her daughter, and one week afterward he finished surgery on V, who was pleased with her enhanced vision.

• Su Xiao told Old Wei that Jack and his friends were worth the money he spent on them.
• Victor examined Jack, warned him about drinking, and gave him an inhaler to prepare for a Kerenzi Ke Fu implant.
• Jack and Su Xiao left Victor’s clinic as Chihana and her daughter Ryoko arrived.
• Chihana asked Victor to remove the trackers implanted in her and her daughter by the Tiger Claws Gang.
• One week later, Victor finished operating on V, and she said her vision felt incredible.

V received a new cybernetic eye system from Victor, while Lucy’s checkup revealed that many of her implants were counterfeit. As Su Xiao considered finding a fixer to replace them, Tiger Claws gang members entered Victor’s clinic and asked about a woman who had brought a little girl there.

• V visited Victor’s clinic with Su Xiao and Lucy, and Victor installed a Militech Cybernetic Eye Model 3 for her, paid for by Su Xiao.
• Lucy declined new implants but agreed to a checkup, which revealed that many of her cyberware components were counterfeit.
• Lucy left the clinic in embarrassment, and Su Xiao asked Victor about replacing her knockoff implants with genuine ones.
• Victor said he could source only some of the cyberware and that Su Xiao would need a top-tier fixer for the rest.
• Tiger Claws gang members entered the clinic, blocked the exit, and asked Victor whether a woman had recently brought a little girl to have something removed.

Su Xiao, V, Lucy, and Victor forced the Tiger Claws Gang to retreat from Victor’s clinic. Victor then explained that he had removed trackers from his old friend Chihana and her daughter, and told them how her husband’s death had left her burdened with debt.

• The Masked Man confronted Victor for treating a woman affiliated with the Tiger Claws Gang, but Su Xiao and V stepped in to defend him.
• Victor prepared his surgical cutting gloves as Su Xiao and V faced the gang, and Lucy arrived and demonstrated her monofilament wire.
• The Masked Man decided to retreat, and Su Xiao taunted him until he led his men away from the clinic.
• Su Xiao asked Victor whom the gang had been looking for, and Victor admitted he had removed trackers from Chihana and her daughter.
• Victor explained that Chihana’s husband, a veteran suffering from severe PTSD, had killed himself after his treatment failed, leaving her with his debts and a daughter to support.

After learning that Chihana and Ryoko had escaped the Tiger Claws Gang, Su Xiao worried that they might already have left Night City. A smuggler revealed their hiding place to the gang, and Seihou Jotaro sent Nantong Zhengshuang to stop them while the gang considered retaliating against Su Xiao.

• Victor told Su Xiao that Chihana had fled the Tiger Claws Gang with her daughter, Ryoko, after the gang tried to use Ryoko to control her.
• The Tiger Claws Gang members who had retreated from Victor's clinic discussed their next move, and their Masked Man received a call from a smuggler.
• The smuggler sold the Masked Man information that Chihana and Ryoko were hiding in an apartment building in Kabuki District and planned to flee to Europe.
• The Masked Man reported their location to Seihou Jotaro, who ordered Nantong Zhengshuang to prevent Chihana and Ryoko from leaving.
• The Masked Man told Seihou Jotaro that Su Xiao had removed Chihana and Ryoko's trackers and resisted the gang, prompting a discussion of whether to punish him.

Chihana tried to flee Night City with her daughter Ryoko, but the Law Enforcement Group tracked them to their apartment and attacked. As Chihana faced armed pursuers outside, metal arms burst from her trench coat.

• Chihana encouraged Ryoko to study so she could escape a life of exhausting work and gang violence.
• After someone knocked at their apartment, Chihana sensed danger and prepared to flee with Ryoko.
• Chihana smashed through the door, killed three Law Enforcement Group members with her Tactical Dagger, and escaped the gunfire by jumping from the window with Ryoko.
• The Law Enforcement Group surrounded Chihana outside and called for her capture, prompting metal arms to emerge from her trench coat.

Chihana fought her way through the Tiger Claws Gang’s Law Enforcement Group while protecting her daughter, Ryoko. She escaped into the alleys but was confronted by Nantong Zhengshuang, who attacked as Chihana opened fire.

• Chihana used her Mantis Blades to kill nearly all the Law Enforcement Group members surrounding her, then killed the last two who tried to flee.
• Tiger Claws Gang vehicles arrived and opened fire, so Chihana used corpses as shields, shot back with her Saratoga, and escaped into an alley.
• Two Law Enforcement Group members pursued Chihana on motorcycles and were caught in a Laser Tripwire explosion.
• Chihana ran through the alleys with Ryoko and reached a market, where the frightened vendors fled after mistaking her for a Cyberpsycho.
• Nantong Zhengshuang attacked Chihana with Black Keys and identified her as a former New America Army soldier and Tiger Claws Gang traitor.
• Chihana fired her Saratoga at Nantong Zhengshuang, who leapt into the air on blue flames.

Chihana fought Nantong Zhengshuang while protecting Ryoko, but his cyberweapon disabled her and left her close to death. She escaped with Ryoko using a Flashbang Grenade and woke in a dilapidated apartment building.

• Chihana sent Ryoko to hide in a guard booth and fought Nantong Zhengshuang, whose BioDynamic Berserk 3-enhanced leap injured her with a shock wave.
• Chihana outmatched Nantong Zhengshuang in close combat, kicked him down, and fired both Saratogas at him.
• A Black Key pierced Chihana's thigh and invaded her neural network, allowing Nantong Zhengshuang to knock her unconscious and approach her.
• Chihana used a Flashbang Grenade to stun Nantong Zhengshuang, then escaped the market district with Ryoko.
• Chihana awoke in an old apartment building with Ryoko clinging to her.

Chihana sent Ryoko to find Victor while she stayed behind to fight the Tiger Claws Gang. Ryoko lost her way and was lured into a van by Scavengers, who planned to harvest her implants.

• Chihana told Ryoko to escape down the fire escape and find Uncle Victor, then injected herself with her last Pneumatic Syringe and prepared an ambush for the Law Enforcement Group.
• The Law Enforcement Group followed Chihana's blood trail to her room, where a tripwire detonated and gunfire erupted.
• Ryoko reached the main street but could not remember where Victor's clinic was, and passing pedestrians ignored her pleas for help.
• Scavengers found Ryoko alone and pretended they would help her save her mother.
• The Scavengers lured Ryoko into their van, strapped her to a stretcher, and prepared to remove her implants.

Su Xiao rescued Ryoko from Scavengers who had abducted her, while Lucy attacked the Law Enforcement Group surrounding the gravely wounded Chihana. The remaining gang members fled Chihana’s apartment, where Lucy fought them on the stairs as a sniper covered her.

• Su Xiao crashed the Scavengers’ van, killed the abductors, freed Ryoko, and took her to his car.
• Chihana lay gravely wounded among the Law Enforcement Group’s dead, relieved that Ryoko had escaped.
• A sniper shot the hand and weapon off a man ordered to kill Chihana, then killed another gang member through the wall.
• The surviving Law Enforcement Group members fled downstairs and encountered Lucy, who disabled three with her hacking.
• Lucy set a Katana-wielding attacker on fire and caught another attacker’s baseball bat with her Monofilament Wire.

Lucy rescued Kakyoin Chihana from the room upstairs, but discovered that viruses had severely damaged her neural network and began clearing them herself. Su Xiao rushed to the apartment building to protect Lucy and cut through the Tiger Claws Gang members, while Nantong Zhengshuang's remaining men still faced him.

• Lucy killed the member guarding the stairs, found Kakyoin Chihana among the corpses, and carried her outside.
• Lucy injected Chihana with two Revival-Kang Type 3 syringes and discovered that viruses had ravaged her neural network.
• Lucy muted the team channel and began clearing Chihana's viruses after warning V that there was no time to take her to Old Wei.
• Su Xiao reached the apartment building, kicked a guard through a window, and confronted Nantong Zhengshuang and the Tiger Claws Gang.
• Su Xiao killed several attackers with Muramasa, frightening the remaining gang members.
• One member drew a Kinetic Handgun, but Su Xiao cut through his demon mask and skullcap before he could aim.

Su Xiao killed Nantong Zhengshuang and wiped out the Law Enforcement Group, then regrouped with Lucy and V to get the badly wounded Chihana to Old Wei. The chapter left Su Xiao carrying Chihana to their car while V arrived with the rescued Ryoko.

• Nantong Zhengshuang attacked Su Xiao with a miniature Gatling gun, and both men took cover after exchanging gunfire.
• Su Xiao defeated Nantong Zhengshuang with a sheathed-blade strike, then smashed his head against the floor until he died.
• Su Xiao gunned down the fleeing Law Enforcement Group members and collected potential points.
• Lucy told Su Xiao she had cleared the viruses from Chihana's neural network but that Chihana was badly injured and had lost blood.
• Su Xiao carried Chihana downstairs to take her to Old Wei, while V arrived with Ryoko.

After Chihana was gravely wounded, Su Xiao brought her to Victor for emergency treatment while V, Lucy, and Misty cared for Ryoko. Chihana survived, and when she later asked why Su Xiao had saved her, he answered with a single sentence.

• Su Xiao rushed Chihana to Victor's clinic as V comforted Ryoko, and Misty helped shelter them at the Divination Parlor.
• V, Lucy, and Su Xiao waited while Victor operated, and they tried to keep Ryoko from losing hope.
• Victor emerged exhausted and told everyone that Chihana was out of danger, prompting Ryoko to cry with relief.
• A few days later, Chihana hugged Ryoko and asked Su Xiao why he had saved her, and he replied with one sentence.

Su Xiao advised Chihana that fleeing to Europe without legal documents could leave her and Ryoko vulnerable, and suggested they remain in Night City instead. He began considering safer districts where the Tiger Claws Gang could not reach them, but the chapter ended before they chose a destination.

• Chihana thanked Su Xiao for saving her and Ryoko, then explained that a smuggler had betrayed their plan to leave Night City.
• Su Xiao warned Chihana that a fixer might help them leave Night City but probably could not secure legal European documents.
• Su Xiao explained that undocumented immigrants in Europe would lack legal protections and could be forced into dangerous illegal work, making Chihana reconsider her plan.
• Chihana worried that the Tiger Claws Gang would pursue them if they stayed, but Su Xiao argued that the gang could not control all of Night City.
• Su Xiao listed possible districts where Chihana and Ryoko might hide, ruled out Pacifica as too dangerous, and left the remaining options under consideration.

Su Xiao helped Chihana choose a safer future working at the Wolf Bar, then heard from McCoy that his former Buckle Family members had secretly held back a shipment of cyberware. Su Xiao contacted Padre to find a buyer, and Padre agreed to send someone to handle the deal.

• Su Xiao presented Chihana with fixer work in Santo Domingo or Heywood, but Jack suggested she work at the Wolf Bar, and V supported the idea.
• Chihana chose the Wolf Bar, while Su Xiao learned she had no further information about the smuggler who had betrayed her.
• McCoy called Su Xiao and explained that the Serpent Nation treated the former Buckle Family members poorly and that they had secretly kept a shipment of cyberware.
• Su Xiao asked Padre whether he wanted the second- and third-generation cyberware, and Padre agreed to send someone to handle the deal.

Su Xiao learned that McCoy’s Nomads had found a valuable fourth-generation Network Access Pod and arranged to buy it at the Sunset Motel. When Su Xiao recognized McCoy’s other client as the snakehead who betrayed Chihana, McCoy agreed to hand him over, while the snakehead began fleeing Night City in a Delamain Taxi.

• Su Xiao arranged to meet McCoy at the Sunset Motel the next afternoon and buy the Four Phases Transmission Ripple Type 4 Network Access Pod.
• McCoy told Su Xiao that the Nomads had also agreed to help a client leave Night City, and Su Xiao asked to see the client’s photo.
• Su Xiao showed the photo to Chihana, who identified the client as the snakehead who had betrayed her and Ryoko to the Tiger Claws Gang.
• Su Xiao asked McCoy to hand the snakehead over, and McCoy agreed to deliver him at the meeting.
• The snakehead left Chinatown in a Delamain Taxi, fearing Chihana and the Tiger Claws Gang would hunt him down.

Su Xiao and the Nomads captured the smuggler who had betrayed Chihana, and Chihana dealt with him in the wilderness. After paying McCoy for the item he had brought, Su Xiao left his friends at the Wolf Bar and went to the Afterlife nightclub, where Claire recognized him.

• McCoy confronted the smuggler at the Sunset Motel and captured him after learning he had sold out Chihana.
• Su Xiao arrived with Padre's representative, who offered McCoy's Nomads market price for their goods, and Su Xiao took the wrapped item and paid McCoy.
• Jack carried the bound smuggler to the SUV, and Chihana took him into the wilderness and returned with blood on her face.
• Su Xiao dropped Jack and the others off at the Wolf Bar, then took a Delamain Taxi to the Afterlife nightclub.
• Emmerich let Su Xiao into the Afterlife, where Claire recognized him by name.