The first thing to sort out was housing.
By 2076, urbanization had reached an extreme and irreversible stage, and urban land prices had risen along with it.
It was no exaggeration to say that 99% of people couldn't afford to buy a home. Those with a little money rented, while plenty of others lived on the streets.
To keep operations stable and foster a sense of belonging among their employees, corporations all provided company apartments-
It was a decent perk, but once you left the company, you had to get out. So, in the end, corporate employees didn't have homes of their own either.
Lier wasn't a corporate employee, so his only option was to play by those rules and rent an apartment.
In Night City, the vast majority of habitable real estate belonged to Night Corp, so that was who he would be renting from.
V faced the same problem. She had long since given up her old dump, and now she needed to rent again.
Besides, that old place had been pretty lousy. Moving somewhere else had always been on the cards.
The two of them lay on the couches in Vic's clinic, wearing Braindance headsets for an immersive apartment tour.
Braindance was a technology that used a brain-computer interface to deliver a truly panoramic VR experience.
First, it used the recorder's cyberware to collect sensory data from real surroundings and compile it onto a shard. When inserted into a Braindance device, that data was converted back into sensory signals and fed into the viewer's nerves.
It was real-world VR in the truest sense, even allowing viewers to feel the recorder's emotions.
That was also why some people became addicted to Braindances. The more thrilling the content, the more addictive it became-like the final moments of a cyberpsycho before MaxTac took them down. A top-tier sensory feast.
However, repeated immersive experiences like these could genuinely alter neural states, potentially triggering cyberpsychosis in severe cases.
An apartment tour was much gentler, though. Lier didn't feel any emotions from it at all.
That got him thinking-could he learn something from more intense Braindances?
The experience felt pretty novel. As a street kid, V had used Braindances to watch thrilling footage before, but this was her first time spending money on one of this kind.
V spoke up. "Seen any places you like?"
At that moment, they both appeared inside a square apartment, with a bed recessed into the wall and a huge glass wall overlooking Night City's nightscape.
The apartment had a living room, a storage room, and a bathroom. The wall to the right of the entrance served as a wardrobe, while a workspace occupied the left.
Yes, this was the apartment in Megabuilding H10, V's first apartment in the game.
V walked over to the window. "Honestly, I've always wanted a place like this. Look at that view-
"From up here, Night City is so beautiful it hurts. All the filth disappears from sight, leaving nothing but glittering skyscrapers.
"It's like all that's left of the city is young people's dreams, hanging in the night sky like stars, lighting everything up."
Lier walked over to the window too-
"Yeah. When you're up at the top, the filth at the bottom has nothing to do with you anymore."
He understood V's longing. Young people at the bottom always dreamed of someday looking down over the world.
But his feelings were nothing like V's-he had once looked down on a city this prosperous from an even greater height, and then... it had been leveled by fire.
Coming back to himself, Lier said, "This place is nice. Personally, I prefer that split-level in the Glen, but this is close to Vic's, there's a metro station downstairs, and getting to Arasaka Academy would be pretty convenient."
V shot him an irritated look. "Can't you have a little... romance in your soul? I take you apartment hunting, and all you can think about is being close to the clinic?"
Lier spread his hands. "What else should I think about? Healthcare, education, transport... that's what you look at when buying a place."
"Idiot! You're supposed to buy somewhere you feel comfortable. Is there something wrong with your brain?"
This time, Lier didn't argue.
"Let's go with this one. The rent's pretty reasonable too, 2,500 eddies a month. But... we'd better take a look in person."
"Nice. We'll be neighbors from now on."
V took off her Braindance headset and stretched, then suddenly froze when she looked at Lier-
"You... were reading a book while we toured apartments?"
Lier waved the book in his hand, A History of Cyberware Implants (2024 Edition). "Yeah. Too bad I couldn't find a digital copy. This one's from Vic's private collection.
"All right, let's go. Once we've sorted out the apartments, I still need to head to Arasaka Academy. Oh, and we need a new car..."
"We're taking a cab! My treat!" V declared with a grand wave. "I've already called Delamain!"
"You called a cab for a walk this short?"
Megabuilding H10 was only a few hundred meters away!
Lier began to worry that this silly girl would blow all her remaining four hundred thousand-odd eddies in one go.
Then again, when he thought about it, he had already spent over three hundred thousand himself.
As it turned out, inspecting the place in person mattered.
The rent was 2,500, but basic furnishings cost another 100 eddies. The basic meal plan was another 100, which amounted to eating compressed ration biscuits for every meal.
To eat like a human being, you needed at least the second tier, priced at 130 eddies.
If you didn't choose a meal plan, you could pay 10 eddies per meal instead-the sucker's option.
With another grand wave, V picked the highest tier, the deluxe package at 580 eddies, and ordered one for Lier too.
Then there was internet access at 120 eddies a month, and utilities at 400, with any usage beyond the package allowance billed separately.
On top of these basic services, additional security measures such as infrared detection and pressure sensors cost another 2,000 eddies a month...
There were also miscellaneous charges that weren't listed, like fees for using the washing machine. In the end, renting the place cost each of them 4,000 eddies a month!
By the time they finished the contracts, V's enthusiasm had plummeted. She had started out brimming with excitement, but walked out the door expressionless.
In the end, nothing in her "home" belonged to her.
Lier clicked his tongue in wonder. "I'm going to write a book called How Corporations Snuff Out a Naive Girl's Dreams."
V cursed furiously. "I don't know where corporations got this fucking superpower-the power to make every good thing disgusting and miserable!"
She had earned her first big payout, moved into an apartment on a floor and in a neighborhood she liked, and finally gotten a little home of her own.
Why had it turned out like this? Two joys coming together should have brought even more happiness...
So why didn't she feel any sense of belonging in this "home"?
Looking around at everything in the apartment, V felt nothing but frustration.
The computer, rented. The bed, rented. The couch, rented. The wardrobe, rented-even the fucking washing machine was rented, and she had to pay to use it!
"Welcome to the vending machine. We highly recommend today's new item, the Pink Burrito..."
Right then, Lier happened to get a can of cola from the apartment's vending machine. There was even a mayoral campaign ad stuck to it:
Vote for Peralez!
Holding a burger, Lier said, "Damn, that's impressive. A vending machine right inside your home, complete with ads..."
"I'm buying my own fucking place!"
"Hey, hey, lady!" Lier grabbed V just as she was about to storm out. "Can you afford it?"
"I've got over four hundred thousand!"
"And then what? Sink it all into the down payment and slowly pay off the mortgage? Wait, you don't actually think a bank would lend you money, do you?
"Come on, look at this place. It's spacious and bright, and you can enjoy the view outside. Seriously, it's already pretty good..."
Honestly, V's dissatisfaction mostly came from setting her expectations too high.
After earning several hundred thousand in one go, she had felt pretty impressive, only to discover that her former dream home was nothing special. It didn't live up to having hundreds of thousands at all.
But there was an even harsher reality-five hundred thousand wasn't much either. Once you started spending it, it could disappear in an instant...
V stopped, then suddenly asked dejectedly, "When do you think someone can finally afford a house of their own?"
Still holding V back, Lier shrugged. "At our income level, we could start by trying to eliminate twenty to thirty million people who need housing. We could start with Poland..."
V's eyes went wide. "That sounds a little extreme!"
It took every ounce of Lier's strength to hold this charging bull back. Then they heard a news report from the wall-mounted TV by the door:
"A shootout has broken out in the area. Residents are advised to remain at home until the NCPD has dealt with the situation..."
Then he saw V's face rapidly turn livid.
Ah, ideals and reality...
Before you continue