Chapter Summaries

Lear died from radiation sickness in his previous life and woke up in the body of a boy who had been comatose for three years after exposure to hazardous waste. Back home with his mother, Maya Li, Lear resolved to find a way to survive, gained an enhanced-learning trait through a personal panel, and was warned that unstable energy might send him to another world.

• As Lear died, he regretted his choices and heard his mother's voice before waking in a hospital bed.
• Lear recognized his mother, Maya Li, and learned that the original Lear had been comatose for three years after hazardous waste exposure.
• After a doctor warned Maya that Lear had chemical damage and radiation sickness, Lear interrupted them and asked his mother to take him home.
• At home, Lear resolved to overcome his illness after realizing he was in the Marvel Universe and discovering that Oscorp existed.
• Lear's personal panel activated his heart of evolution trait, which greatly enhanced his learning ability and protected his mind from technological influence.
• After Lear reassured Maya that things would get better, the panel warned him to prepare for a new world because unstable energy could erupt at any moment.

Lier woke in a Scavenger hideout in Atlanta, where V rescued the Kang Tao executive Zhu Shen and gave Lier a shot to keep him alive. Lier caught V’s attention by warning that her client had manipulated her, and he left her surprised by correctly guessing the reason.

• Lier realized organ traffickers planned to harvest his failing organs, then watched V shoot them while rescuing Zhu Shen.
• V gave Lier an injection and left him to save himself, but stopped when he recognized her as the famous V.
• Lier inferred that V’s mission was taking place in Atlanta and warned her that she had been played.
• V aimed her pistol at Lier as he argued that the Scavengers’ attempt to move Zhu Shen did not prove the job was compromised.
• Lier guessed that V’s client had told her not to reboot Zhu Shen’s system because it contained confidential information, visibly surprising V.

Lyle persuaded V to hear out his offer and brought her and the captive Zhu Shen to a safe place. After Zhu Shen realized his captors might bargain with him instead of following their employer’s plan, he agreed to speak with Lyle alone, and Lyle sent him toward the shack’s toilet.

• Lyle offered V a chance to make a big score, but V refused his handshake and agreed only to listen.
• V drove Lyle and the unconscious Zhu Shen to a cheap shack on Atlanta’s outskirts while Lyle tried to impress her with his knowledge of corporations.
• V revived Zhu Shen, whose disabled cyberware left him unable to escape or call for help.
• Lyle proposed that they abandon their employer’s script and work for Zhu Shen for a much larger payment.
• Zhu Shen said he would speak only with Lyle, who asked V to open the shack’s left-hand door for him.

Lier negotiated with Zhu Shen to kill Cai Pin and deliver a shipment, then learned from a ripperdoc that his body was rapidly failing and could not tolerate cyberware. After obtaining Tech Points from the examination, Lier planned to use his system to find a way to survive.

• Zhu Shen told Lier that his deputy Cai Pin had set him up and asked him to kill her, deliver a shipment to Night City, and keep the operation quiet.
• Lier negotiated a two-million-eurodollar contract with Zhu Shen, and he and V agreed to split the payment equally.
• Lier suffered a frightening episode of blurred vision and numbness while V drove them to withdraw Zhu Shen's emergency funds.
• Lier underwent a full-body examination at a black-market clinic, where the ripperdoc said his organs were failing, he might soon go blind or become paralyzed, and implants would shorten his life.
• Lier received Tech Points from his examination and decided to use his system to address his condition.

Lier chose basic cyberware and traditional technology rather than becoming an ordinary civilian, while V received combat upgrades. They then set out to recruit Steven Knott and his Veterans Association for help against Kang Tao.

• Lier asked the ripperdoc to install a Brain-Computer Interface and a Kiroshi Cyber-Eye, and to sell him outdated equipment for learning medicine and hacking.
• While V underwent surgery, Lier studied his medical reports, gained technology points, and learned that he could perform basic activities in the other world.
• V received the requested combat cyberware, and Lier paid the discounted bill for her implants and his equipment.
• Lier told V that they needed a hacker and outside support, then proposed approaching Steven Knott, head of the Veterans Association.
• V drove toward Knott as Lier explained that the association had resources and might help them target Kang Tao.

Lier met with Veterans Association leader Mr. Nott to secure support for a revenge operation against Kang Tao. Nott agreed to help in exchange for prototype weapon schematics and a prototype, while Lier also requested a physical access route.

• Lier and V watched the Veterans Association entrance before being escorted inside by its members.
• Lier entered Mr. Nott’s office alone while V waited outside, and Mr. Nott assessed his implants and physical condition.
• Lier offered increasing sums for network support, but Mr. Nott refused to act for money alone.
• Lier revealed that a Kang Tao shipment contained prototype weapons and proposed leaking information during transit.
• Mr. Nott agreed to help if Lier retrieved a prototype for him, and Lier accepted while requesting a usable physical access route.

Lier explained to V how New America’s Veterans Association license let them operate against Kang Tao discreetly, while giving Nott leverage over them. After V contacted Vic to provide remote medical support, Lier built a cross-regional network connection and Vic began checking the equipment.

• V angrily questioned why Nott could take a million dollars, and Lier explained the Veterans Association’s authority and New America’s crime license.
• Lier told V that their arrangement let them meet Zhu Shen’s request without revealing the Design Blueprint, while Nott could monitor their communications.
• Lier asked V to recommend a trustworthy Night City ripperdoc, and V called Vic to request remote medical assistance.
• Lier connected his Personal Link to the equipment, used Tech Points to learn a basic channel-building skill, and connected the machines through Nott’s physical channel.
• Vic received the signal and asked Lier to send the equipment information so he could inspect it.

Lier, V, and Zhu Shen finalized a plan to infiltrate Kang Tao’s Atlanta warehouse and steal Cai Pin’s transport details. Zhu Shen offered Lier a discounted Sandevistan, while V considered how to profit from their partnership.

• Vic examined Lier, removed NetWatch backdoors from his cyberware, and warned him that the Sandevistan he needed would be expensive.
• V brought Zhu Shen to the hideout, where Lier demanded payment for the operation and Zhu Shen agreed to provide funds.
• Zhu Shen gave Lier a Shard containing Kang Tao’s building data and explained the security shift window, office backdoor, and database search for Project Reality Distortion.
• Lier and Zhu Shen agreed to intercept Cai Pin and escort her convoy out of Atlanta after obtaining the transport plan.
• Zhu Shen offered to sell Lier a discounted Qian Ti Type 4 Sandevistan, and the two shook hands on the arrangement.

Lier guided V through Kang Tao’s compound using its surveillance system as she infiltrated the building to reach Cai Pin’s office. When an employee emerged and threatened to complicate their plan, Lier ordered V to capture her and investigate, killing her if she resisted.

• V teased Lier about bowing to a Kang Tao advertisement, then entered the compound while he connected to its cameras.
• Lier tracked the guards and drones, calculated a safe route, and guided V around the compound’s security.
• V used her Fortified Tendons and Kerenzikov to leap into a window while staying in a drone’s blind spot.
• Lier guided V through the ventilation duct and toward Cai Pin’s office as the shift change kept the route relatively clear.
• When an employee emerged from the office, Lier told V to capture her, investigate the office, and kill her if she had combat cyberware and resisted.

Lier and V stole Kang Tao’s shipment route after sparing Zhu Ranran, whom Lier secretly knocked unconscious by altering her cyberware. When they learned the convoy was already arriving, Lier pushed V to intercept it alone, urging her to become a legend by aiming higher than mere survival.

• Zhu Ranran revealed how to bypass the alarms and let V access the secure back door, while Lier decided not to kill her.
• Lier spent nearly all his tech points to alter Zhu Ranran’s cyberware so she would appear to have fallen asleep from exhaustion.
• V found the classified Reality Distortion Project files, and Zhu Shen discovered the convoy’s revised route through Mexico City.
• Lier learned that the convoy had arrived at the compound and arranged for Nott to keep the APD and NetWatch away from the ambush site.
• Lier told V she would have to take on the escort team and Cai Pin without backup, then urged her to pursue the kind of legend who could bring down Arasaka Tower.
• V agreed to drive, and Lier sped toward the convoy’s route.

Cai Pin tried to smuggle Kang Tao weapons out of the country, but Zhu Shen and his crew ambushed her convoy with a Nekomata sniper rifle. After the battle left Cai Pin badly injured, Zhu Shen confronted her and heard why she wanted revenge before her Cyber-Eye flashed blue.

• Cai Pin passed the checkpoint with the Kang Tao shipment and headed toward a motel, planning to sell the weapons and escape to Europe.
• V fired a Nekomata round through both armored vans, destroying one vehicle and forcing the other off course.
• V and Lier fought the surviving convoy, and Lier hacked the medic and machine gunner with the NUSA-Exclusive Daemon while V disabled the van.
• Zhu Shen told Lier he would kill Cai Pin himself, then approached the wreckage as she crawled out, badly injured.
• Cai Pin accused Zhu Shen of treating her as an object and vowed to destroy him, and her Cyber-Eye flashed blue.

Lier and V discovered that Zhu Shen had concealed the true contents of a Kang Tao shipment and that they had been framed as wanted criminals. Lier arranged to play both Kang Tao and Nott against each other, paid V to stay in the job, and prepared to move the cargo as Militech forces closed in.

• Cai Pin revealed that Europeans were behind the deal and hinted that the shipment held a secret before Zhu Shen killed her.
• Lier noticed Zhu Shen reconnecting to the network, and he and V learned they were wanted after Zhu Shen exposed the weapons and prototype Militech Sandevistan in the cargo.
• Zhu Shen offered Lier more money and claimed Militech troops would arrive soon, while V found a replacement van after their transport was damaged.
• Nott contacted Lier and offered safe passage if he killed Zhu Shen and returned the goods, so Lier pretended to accept and fed Zhu Shen a false interception plan.
• Zhu Shen transferred another four hundred thousand eddies to Lier, and Lier gave V five hundred thousand to persuade her to continue the dangerous job.

V, Lier, and Zhu Shen fought their way through a Militech pursuit until Nott caught up and wrecked their car. As Nott prepared to kill V, Lier seized Zhu Shen’s fallen gun and V advanced through the hail of fire, aiming a sudden Nekomata shot at Nott.

• V and Zhu Shen attacked Militech’s drones and vehicles while Lier rewrote a quickhack, destroyed two drones, and earned Tech Points.
• Nott revealed his cybernetic body, leapt onto the car, and used his Sandevistan and Mantis Blades to tear it apart.
• Zhu Shen was gravely wounded, Lier was trapped in the wreck, and V survived by activating her Kerenzikov.
• V taunted Nott and drew him toward her while Lier picked up Zhu Shen’s Dian Type submachine gun and opened fire.
• Nott slowed time and prepared to impale V, but her movements sharpened as she approached, and she aimed the Nekomata at him and fired.

V killed Nott and escaped the immediate fight with Lier, who then had Vic examine Nott’s prototype Sandevistan. With Militech pursuers closing in, Lier chose to have Vic install the dangerous implant so he could attack them through the network.

• V used her Kerenzikov and Nekomata to kill Nott, destroying his Sandevistan with a follow-up shot.
• V and Lier left Zhu Shen behind and prepared to flee in the overturned Militech Behemoth as another wave of pursuers attacked.
• Lier contacted Vic, who identified Nott’s Sandevistan as an unregistered prototype capable of hacking but likely to drive its user insane.
• Lier decided to install the implant and use the shifting Rust Belt Network boundary to disrupt the pursuers’ communications.
• As bullets struck the cargo container, Vic began the operation without anesthesia, while Lier endured severe pain and started studying hacking.

Lier used a newly implanted prototype cyberware to enter cyberspace, withstand the Blackwall, and disable an entire Militech squad with a Blackwall data attack. He and V escaped in a stolen armored vehicle, while an ominous warning appeared as Lier fell asleep.

• V struggled to hold off the Militech squad until Lier completed his cyberware implantation and remotely disabled the drones, vehicles, and soldiers.
• Lier entered cyberspace, saw the Blackwall’s shifting boundary, resisted its influence, and developed Blackwall Data Blockage by uploading dense data fragments into the squad’s systems.
• Lier told V that he had hacked everyone, and V reloaded her weapons to finish off the disabled enemies.
• Lier earned 3,000 Tech Points for developing Blackwall Data Blockage, and Vic explained to V that Lier had returned from cyberspace despite the implant’s extreme risks.
• V and Lier checked the stolen Behemoth Armored Vehicle for trackers, loaded their loot, and drove toward the Badlands as rain washed away their tracks.
• Lier sang with V during the drive, then fell asleep after seeing an ancient wheel and receiving a warning that unstable energy was about to erupt.

Lier woke in the Marvel Universe after returning from the cyberpunk world, discovered the cyberware implanted in his body, and began adapting it to his new surroundings. The chapter ended with lawyer Matt Murdock arriving to help him.

• Militech investigators sent their field report to Songbird, who suspected the wreckage bore traces of a Beyond-the-Blackwall AI and decided to investigate personally.
• The system bound Lier’s Militech prototype core, Brain-Computer Interface, and Kiroshi Optics, spending most of his tech points.
• Lier woke after nearly twenty hours in his Hell’s Kitchen apartment and realized he needed to modify his cyberware to work with the local network.
• Lier activated his new spinal implant, then planned to add an output limiter to prevent dangerous overheating.
• Lier went outside when punks threatened his landlord, but Matt Murdock’s warning made them leave.
• Matt introduced himself to Lier and offered to help him.

After recovering the ability to walk, Lier met Matt Murdock and agreed to testify against the Kate Waste Disposal Company if Matt would also represent Hell’s Kitchen residents facing forced eviction. The two prepared to discuss their plans over a meal with Maya.

• Maya was delighted to see Lier walking, and Lier introduced himself to Matt Murdock.
• Matt explained that he was seeking witnesses to prove the Kate Waste Disposal Company illegally transported hazardous chemicals, and said a previous witness had been killed.
• Matt revealed that he had also been injured in the chemical truck crash, but the company claimed his blindness made his testimony unreliable.
• Lier learned that the United Construction Company, owned by Wilson Fisk, planned to redevelop Hell’s Kitchen and push residents out without adequate compensation.
• Lier agreed to testify against the Kate Company if Matt represented local residents in the eviction dispute.
• Maya served food as Lier and Matt prepared to discuss their plans.

During dinner, Lier learned more about his family’s debts and resolved to help his community as it faced a dangerous redevelopment scheme. After Matt warned him that suspected gang killings had intimidated local opponents, Lier chose to get involved, and the two continued on together.

• Lier condemned the plan to discharge nuclear contaminants into the ocean, and Matt backed him while Maya reminded him to mind his language.
• Lier asked Maya how much debt the family still owed, but she urged him to focus on recovering and accept help from their community.
• On their walk, Matt told Lier that landlord Rigardo was a Latverian immigrant who rented to immigrant families and believed they should help one another.
• Matt revealed that three nearby homeowners’ association presidents had died with toothpicks lodged in their throats, while the police closed the cases for lack of evidence.
• Matt warned Lier that confronting the criminals could put him and his family at risk, but Lier said he wanted to act out of kindness, love, and responsibility.
• Lier and Matt paused at an intersection, and Lier pointed out that the light had turned green.

Lier and Matt recruited Rigordo to help organize the tenants into a Homeowners Association against the thugs threatening their homes. Lier planned to expand the association, improve security, and formalize his technical support through a company, leaving Matt to handle the legal work.

• Lier asked Rigordo to join the Homeowners Association and explained how collective pressure and mutual protection could deter the thugs.
• Rigordo agreed to join, summoned the tenants, and urged them to band together rather than let the thugs drive them from their homes.
• Natalia supported fighting back, and her husband agreed that the tenants should unite, while one resident withdrew after Rigordo angrily challenged him.
• Lier promised the tenants they would protect one another, and Rigordo told him to get moving rather than wait for trouble to arrive.
• Lier told Matt they would spread the word, register the Homeowners Association, and establish a public-services company to provide technical support and upgrade the building's wiring and security system.

Lier began organizing his Hell's Kitchen community by appointing himself its representative and starting a free project to repair the building's wiring and surveillance system. While seeking a way to access a substation, he encountered a suspicious girl at a cell tower, and she fell while trying to flee.

• Mr. Rigodo gave Lier documents appointing him the homeowners' association representative and described the remaining eight households.
• Lier recruited dock workers John Burnett and Anthony Flor as bodyguards and helpers for his wiring and surveillance work.
• Lier traced the building's electrical lines and planned to hack into the substation by accessing a senior engineer's phone.
• Lier went to a nearby cell tower and spotted a girl tampering with its control panel.
• The girl panicked at the sight of Lier and his bodyguards, ran, and tripped over a cable, so they went to check on her.