Chapter Summaries

At the victory celebration, Lier considered David’s growing talent and asked whether he should share equipment and technology with him. David explained why being a Mercenary suited him and hinted at his future plans, leaving Lier and the others curious about what he meant to do next.

• V questioned how Lier had won the sniper rifle prize, and Lier concealed that Little Octopus had fired it for him.
• Maine and Dorio celebrated the crew’s earnings with drinks while the gathering filled the lot near TURBO.
• Lier told V he saw potential in David and suggested passing equipment and technology on to him.
• Lier called David over and asked how he felt about being a Mercenary; David said he liked seeing hard work pay off and believed fighting was a path to freedom.
• David said his mother wanted him to finish school and work for Arasaka, then told Lier his first goal was to buy her a little car and kept his next plan secret.

Lier teased David and Lucy about their dream of visiting the moon, then described its harsh lunar nights while encouraging them not to give up on the dream. He made David a Burger King contractor and left the party to review the job, while Jackie began writing a mercenary field manual.

• Lier teased David and Lucy about planning a secluded honeymoon on the moon, and V and Jackie shared their own ambitions.
• Lucy asked whether anyone had been to the moon, and Lier described its bright skies, deadly cold nights, and underground corporate colonies.
• Lier compared the moon to a vast, mostly open shithole, which made Lucy laugh and join the party.
• Lier congratulated David on passing his interview, made him a Burger King contractor, and sent him over to join Lucy.
• Lier left to review the recent job, while Jackie wrote the first rule of his Mercenary Field Manual.

Lier met Network Watch liaison Bryce, who asked him to help extract information from the three surviving mercenaries tied to the blackout. Bryce explained that Mayor Lucius Ryan and Night Corp were pressing Network Watch to investigate, and Ryan’s interest in Lier became clear when his car passed by.

• Lier picked up Bryce, who said Network Watch wanted to question the three mercenaries who had survived Lier’s attack.
• Bryce explained that Night Corp was demanding an investigation into the blackout and could seek compensation from the Night City Municipal Government if Network Watch failed to find the criminals.
• Bryce said Mayor Ryan had granted Network Watch law-enforcement powers and tied the department to the city through political and economic obligations.
• Lier recognized the passing Alvarado as Mayor Lucius Ryan’s car, while Bryce said a powerful figure was interested in him.
• Lier agreed to meet Bryce’s request after asking whether the payment was ready.

Lier and Bryce questioned captured mercenary Lucas 'Turbo' Weber and learned that he and Anna 'Cannon' Bauer were a former fighter pilot and ACPA operator. Lucas revealed that an In-Betweener named Masamune had hired them, though he was unsure whether EBM or IEC was behind the job.

• Bryce identified Lucas and Anna as famous Unlimited High-Speed Racing champions and discovered their military backgrounds in Network Watch's registry.
• Bryce accessed Lucas's cyberware, and Lier stopped him from immediately turning Lucas's information over to the European Space Agency.
• Lucas admitted that he had been a fighter pilot and Anna an ACPA operator, then Lier subdued him when he became enraged.
• After Bryce disconnected from Lucas's cyberware, Lier asked who had hired them.
• Lucas said EBM or IEC may have been behind the job and named their In-Betweener, Masamune.

Lier questioned Lucas about the powerful weapons supplied by Masamune while Bryce investigated a dead sniper and uncovered a connection to the Children of Gold. The chapter ended with Bryce preparing to explain the group’s history.

• Bryce found that the cyberware data of the captured mercenaries had been wiped, so Lier continued questioning Lucas about who supplied their weapons.
• Lucas said Masamune had provided the weapons as part of the mercenaries’ payment, and admitted Anna had stopped sniping after missing once on a job.
• Bryce identified the dead sniper as a famous Finnish deserter and wanted criminal who had killed two highly ranked people.
• Lier jammed the room’s signals and put Lucas to sleep while he and Bryce hacked nearby surveillance systems.
• Bryce told Lier that the sniper had killed a father and son, then asked whether he had heard of the Children of Gold.

Lier listened as Bryce explained the Children of Gold, the nobles who allegedly controlled Europe and escaped punishment for their role in Britain’s uprising. After Bryce shared why he had been confined for investigating them, he prepared to tell Lier about a second matter.

• Bryce described how Britain’s Martial Law Bureau crushed an uprising, executed King Charles, and was overthrown in 2016 when the royal heirs returned to power.
• Bryce explained that the Children of Gold were powerful old and new nobles who joined their wealth through corporate influence, assets, and marriage.
• Bryce said the nobles may have helped the Martial Law Bureau before withdrawing support at the decisive moment, allowing its senior figures to become nobles without facing punishment.
• Bryce revealed that investigating a group behind several major arms manufacturers had led to his confinement in a psychiatric treatment facility for three years before he transferred to Night City.
• Bryce smoked a cigarette and admitted he had grown used to Night City, then recognized a saying Ryan had told him to pass on to Lier and began to raise a second matter.

Lier accepted a Network Watch commission to investigate a suspected roving AI after Bryce connected the suspicious mercenaries and a bullet marked “Muramasa” to an anomaly. The case was upgraded to AIA-2, and Bryce called a Delamain so they could discuss how to proceed.

• Bryce offered Lier a Network Watch commission to investigate an anomaly that might involve a roving AI, with a one-million-eddy bonus and access to AI-related knowledge.
• Lier accepted the job but refused to sign the contract, then explained that proving whether AI was involved was his first step.
• Lier showed Bryce the last unfired Ramjet bullet and pointed out the name “Muramasa” engraved inside its casing.
• Bryce submitted the name to Network Watch, which upgraded the anomaly to AIA-2 and effectively confirmed AI involvement.
• Bryce called a Delamain and suggested they continue the discussion in the car while Lier decided what to do with the mercenaries and his prisoner.

Lier questioned the last three surviving mercenaries and learned how they had been recruited, as well as the history between Hardcore Uncle and the dead sniper Simon Koskinen. He decided to spare them and offered to introduce them to In-Betweeners, but warned that Night City was different and they owed him a favor.

• Lier identified Hardcore Uncle as a battlefield mercenary and questioned him alongside Lucas and Anna about their client, Masamune.
• Hardcore Uncle said Masamune had recruited him with a generous payment and a promised pistol, and he transferred his remaining eddies to Lier.
• Hardcore Uncle revealed that the dead sniper was Simon Koskinen, a longtime opponent he had trusted to provide support.
• Hardcore Uncle explained that Simon had killed Big Men after a Noble killed his daughter and escaped punishment, and described how they had once fought until they agreed to help each other survive.
• Lier told the three survivors he would spare them and introduce them to In-Betweeners, but said they owed him a favor.

Lier rode in a Delamain taxi while Bryce explained Network Watch’s classification of AIs and why it had allowed Delamain to run its company. Bryce said Network Watch was observing Delamain to learn how a Dangerous Critical Entity might emerge.

• Lier surprised Bryce by sparing the Outsiders, explaining that he held no grudge against them.
• Bryce described digital souls made with Soulkiller and distinguished them from Dangerous Critical Entities, which developed self-awareness.
• Bryce explained that Delamain had gained control of its company by optimizing operations and pushing out its human employees and owners.
• Bryce told Lier that Network Watch had kept Delamain under observation because the emergence of a Dangerous Critical Entity was unpredictable and poorly understood.
• After invoking privacy clauses and disabling the taxi’s recording, Bryce said Network Watch wanted to observe how such an AI developed rather than destroy it immediately.

Bryce explained Network Watch’s approach to Dangerous Critical Entities and why Muramasa was suspected to be one, then described a lead involving Soulkiller data. As Lier and Bryce traveled through Heywood, they inspected the aftermath of a battle before continuing toward City Center, where Bryce left Lier with an AI study shard.

• Bryce told Lier that Network Watch studied AI because the process was valuable, warned him not to investigate Dangerous Critical Entities alone, and explained that Muramasa might have bypassed Blackwall.
• Bryce said comparisons of Soulkiller data blocks had revealed a possible lead on how certain AIs entered the Net.
• Lier and Bryce passed a wrecked Heywood apartment building where thirteen people had died in a battle involving Valentinos and Afterlife mercenaries.
• Bryce said NCPD suspected an Automatic Grenade Launcher had caused the damage, while the Trauma Team had refused to provide information about its surviving client.
• Lier joked that Bryce should work with him, and Bryce said he would learn more when they reached City Center.
• Bryce gave Lier a Shard of AI knowledge and said there was no way to verify the old legend of a Transcendent AI.

Lier studied Bryce’s information about rogue AI and was tasked with investigating whether Muramasa was behind the Heywood shooting. After Bryce left for City Hall, Lier headed to Superbuilding H4 to contact a Trauma Team witness, while discovering Bryce had left him with the €2,300 cab bill.

• Bryce gave Lier guidance on AI behavior and a Network Watch file suggesting Muramasa was a rogue AI possibly linked to Tsunami Defense Systems and special weapons.
• Bryce told Lier to investigate the Heywood shooting, identify the source of the automatic Grenade Launcher, and pursue a possible AI capture bounty.
• Lier read the profile of Karnik Roswald, a Trauma Team senior field agent who had gone into hiding after the shooting.
• Bryce got out at the municipal building and left Lier to continue the investigation at Superbuilding H4.
• Delamain told Lier the trip cost €2,300, and Lier realized Bryce had not paid his fare.

Mayor Lucius Ryan presided over a debate on Arasaka’s request to dock the Kujira and expand its security role in Night City. The meeting ended with a plan to increase the NCPD and MaxTac’s firepower and allow the Kujira to dock briefly.

• Ryan met Network Watch agent Bryce and discussed the risks of monitoring the mercenaries and the growing ties between Deputy Mayor Holt and Arasaka.
• Ryan opened the meeting by letting Arasaka present its request to station the Kujira at Night City’s port and take responsibility for increased municipal security investment.
• Jefferson Peralez opposed Arasaka’s proposal, citing the H8 Skyscraper corruption case and warning that Arasaka’s presence would threaten Night City’s autonomy.
• Holt and Peralez argued over security spending as Militech representative Stout supported Peralez’s alternative proposal to fund Santo Domingo’s infrastructure and use Night Corp resources against cybercrime.
• Holt and Peralez agreed that Night City needed more powerful weapons to confront the heavily armed criminals, and Ryan proposed equipping the NCPD with Centaur Exoskeletons, upgrading MaxTac, and letting the Kujira dock for a few days.

Ryan proposed turning Pacific State into a new arena for corporate investment and conflict, focusing on Dogtown’s planned party as an opening for business. Meanwhile, Lier arrived at the H4 Skyscraper and discovered that Kanek’s home was under surveillance after its camera footage had been tampered with.

• Ryan warned the council that escalating corporate rivalries threatened Night City’s local businesses and proposed redirecting corporate activity toward Pacific State.
• Ryan shared a report suggesting Dogtown was preparing a large party that could enable smuggling and clandestine transport.
• Lier arrived at the H4 Skyscraper and saw David reluctantly follow his mother, Gloria, toward Kanek’s home.
• Little Octopus told Lier that the building’s camera footage had been altered and that Trauma Team was present.
• Lier saw two Trauma Team workers head toward Kanek’s home, and Little Octopus concluded that Kanek had probably already escaped.

David agreed to help Trauma Team reach their distressed colleague Kanek Roswald for 500 Eddie, using Lucy to open his apartment door. As Petro and Dies entered, David heard the warning hum of a trip mine, and an explosion engulfed the entrance.

• David felt ashamed for judging Lier after remembering how Archido and Burger King had helped save Gloria.
• Petro and Dies tried to get Kanek to answer his door, and David learned that his friend had died on a mission.
• Petro offered David money to get Kanek to respond, and David accepted the job.
• David contacted Lucy, who opened Kanek's door through the building's network, and Petro transferred him 500 Eddie.
• David heard the sound of a triggered trip mine just as Petro and Dies stepped inside, and an explosion engulfed the entrance.

Kanek Roswald staged a landmine attack, killed Petro, and manipulated Trauma Team’s systems to make Dies unable to shoot him. He left the scene as David and Gloria faced an approaching AV, while Lier warned David to retreat and keep watch on the Cyberpsychosis case.

• A landmine exploded near David and Gloria, leaving David badly burned but exposing his military cyberware as he protected his mother.
• David heard more footsteps inside and found Trauma Team members Dies and Petro injured in the apartment, with Kanek checking them using Personal Links.
• Kanek shot Petro dead, then told Dies he had purchased a Platinum Plan so Trauma Team dispatch would order a rescue for him.
• Kanek handed Dies his submachine gun and challenged him to shoot, but the weapon’s targeting system treated Kanek as a client and prevented Dies from firing.
• Kanek walked away past David as an AV approached, and Lier told David to take Gloria home, retreat, and monitor the Cyberpsychosis case.

Dies woke after Trauma Team revived him and learned Kanek had paid for his rescue, leaving no money to save Petro. As the rescuers prepared to take Dies away, Kanek attacked them, and the chapter ended with his jammed gun pressed against a Senior Specialist’s chin.

• Trauma Team revived Dies and began moving him while refusing to treat Petro without payment.
• Dies learned Kanek had used their money to buy emergency treatment for him, leaving Petro with no rescue funds.
• Dies attacked a rescue worker and refused to cooperate as the team tried to sedate him.
• Kanek opened fire on the Trauma Team rescuers, killing a Junior Specialist while fighting the remaining Senior Specialist.
• Kanek and the Senior Specialist reloaded, but Kanek turned faster and jammed his gun against the Specialist’s chin.

Lier seized control of the Trauma Team AV during Kanek’s ambush and learned that Kanek had attacked his former colleagues as part of a revenge plan against Trauma Team and Wooly Crawley. After asking Regina to find Wooly Crawley and help keep Kanek alive, Lier left the house as another Trauma Team team arrived.

• Lier hacked the AV by firing an Armor-Piercing Tip into it and installed an Infinite receiver, then told David to pursue Kanek’s car.
• Lier asked Regina to look up Wooly Crawley, and she asked him to try to keep Kanek alive.
• Lier discovered that Kanek had planned revenge after a client with Cyberpsychosis killed Kanek’s girlfriend during a rescue a week earlier.
• Lier saw Kanek’s damaged photo frame and the date of the incident, then left Dies holding Petro in a pool of blood.
• A second Trauma Team AV arrived and instructed the people inside to follow its rescue procedures.

David drove Lier in a battered van while they tracked the stolen Trauma Team AV carrying the Cyberpsycho Kanek. As the AV headed toward the outskirts and the Arasaka Waterfront, Lier warned that they needed to catch up quickly.

• Lier explained how Trauma Team's rules and risky rescue assignments could put its crews in danger, especially when rescuing Cyberpsychos.
• David considered how little he had understood about Corpo work and drove his cheap, unreliable Villefort Columbus toward the AV.
• Lier and David discussed the high cost of Trauma Team Platinum Memberships and Wooly Crawley's unusual ability to afford one.
• David successfully started the van at a traffic light, and Lier encouraged him to take pride in his first car.
• Lier noticed that the AV was heading away from Downtown toward the outskirts and possibly the Arasaka Waterfront, and said they had to speed up.

Lier learned that Wooly Crawley had been involved in a deadly operation tied to Deputy Mayor Holt and Arasaka, while Kanek flew toward Arasaka Waterfront to attack him. Arasaka forces opened fire as Kanek’s AV descended on Wooly, who prepared to fight.

• Lier followed Kanek toward Arasaka Waterfront and learned from Regina that the mercenary Wooly Crawley had been involved in a confrontation with the Valentinos.
• Lier asked Padre about the incident, and Padre revealed that a hacker had hired Valentinos to cover mercenaries installing surveillance equipment before Wooly killed many people at the site.
• Lier learned that Holt was meeting Wooly outside the Arasaka complex and that Wooly had been hired to eliminate Chu Qiaoxi and James.
• Holt gave Wooly Arasaka Immunosuppressants, and Wooly revealed that he had obtained an automatic Grenade Launcher on the black market.
• Kanek’s AV descended toward Wooly, and Arasaka soldiers opened fire as Kanek’s Cyberpsychosis surged.

Kanek survived the destruction of the Trauma Team AV and struck Woolie with his broken arm and submachine gun, but Woolie’s cybernetic body repaired itself and rose to fight again. As Kanek faced Woolie’s overwhelming speed, a Mackinaw suddenly appeared and broke through the danger closing around him.

• Arasaka Waterfront missiles struck the AV, and Lier restarted its Vector Engine to steer it away from Woolie before it exploded.
• The blast threw Kanek into Woolie, and Kanek’s arm and shattered submachine gun caved in Woolie’s head.
• Woolie’s self-repair systems restored his damaged body, while Kanek dragged himself upright to continue fighting.
• Kanek and Woolie charged at each other, but Woolie moved far faster as Kanek’s ruined body barely responded.
• A Mackinaw appeared before Kanek as Woolie bore down on him.