Chapter Summaries

Lier recruited Skye, a young hacker, to help him upgrade the property owners’ security system and investigate the substation. The group entered the facility by posing as electricians, with Lier’s forged arrangements convincing the guard to let them through.

• Skye pleaded with Lier after he caught her hacking, then gave him a fake name before admitting she was called Skye.
• Lier recognized Skye as the future hacker known as Quake and offered to teach her in exchange for helping with his security work, without pay.
• Lier finished accessing the network distribution box and showed Skye how he could work directly with the wiring.
• Lier led Skye, John, and Anthony toward the substation and told them to pose as electricians.
• A security guard received confirming messages from a senior engineer and let the group enter the substation.

Lier infiltrated a substation, planted malware, and rerouted the apartment building's power to keep its upgraded cameras running and preserve evidence for the NYPD. As John explained why he wanted to protect his son and neighborhood, attackers smashed their way into the building, forcing Lier to warn the residents and prepare to fight.

• Lier entered the substation with Skye, Anthony, and John, accessed its local network, mapped the power lines, and planted a backdoor and Trojan horse.
• Lier rerouted the apartment building's power, checked its cameras, and explained to John that the surveillance system would help them provide evidence to the NYPD.
• John told Lier about his troubled childhood, his son Chris, and his determination to protect their home without becoming a criminal.
• Someone threw a rock through the building's door window and broke in, and Lier alerted the residents and told John and Anthony to grab their weapons.

Lier and the residents of his apartment building fought off a gang attempting to loot their homes, with Matt intervening as Daredevil after one thug fired a gun. After the attackers were subdued, Lier and Matt discussed using surveillance footage to hold them accountable and protect the masked vigilante’s reputation, while Skye asked to stay with Lier.

• John and Anthony fought the looters alongside the building’s residents, who rallied to defend their homes.
• A dreadlocked thug fired a gun at John, but Matt, disguised as Daredevil, kicked him down, and Lier knocked him unconscious with a brick.
• The residents restrained the remaining thugs and waited for help, while Matt later returned in regular clothes and praised their stand.
• Lier told Matt that he had surveillance footage of the attack and other robberies, and Matt agreed to make the footage usable as evidence of organized crime.
• Lier asked Matt to help clear the masked vigilante’s name, and Matt agreed to take the hard drive from Mr. Rigordo.
• Skye appeared behind Lier, praised him, and asked if she could stay at his place for a while.

After repairing the vehicle in the Cyberpunk 2077 world, Lier took Skye into his home and confronted the risks of resisting crime in Hell's Kitchen. When Precinct Chief Milton Robinson tried to dismiss evidence of a home invasion, Lier caught Chief George Stacy’s attention and secured a proper review of the case.

• Lier and V repaired the vehicle after removing an armored cargo container, earning Lier repair experience and tech points.
• Lier explained to Maya that he had hired Skye to help with a neighborhood business, and reassured his mother that he would take care of himself.
• Matt took Lier to the NYPD, where Milton Robinson treated evidence of a home invasion and armed robbery as a mutual brawl.
• Lier called out to George Stacy and described the attack, presenting the hard drive as evidence.
• George took an interest in the case and asked Lier and Matt to serve as witnesses.

Lier secured a chance to bid on NYPD surveillance work after Sheriff Stacy arrested the captured thugs, while Matt warned him that a notorious murderer might target him. Kingpin decided to send Bullseye after Lier and the people backing him.

• George Stacy arrested Badman Williams for unlawful possession of a weapon, home invasion, and robbery, then shot him when he tried to escape.
• Lier recorded the arrest and learned that George would invite his security company to bid on maintaining Hell's Kitchen's surveillance systems.
• Matt warned Lier that his growing visibility would draw a brutal attack, and promised to stand beside him as his lawyer.
• Kingpin learned that Lier's footage had helped get the ringleader arrested and worried that the Homeowners Association's surveillance would make his operations more costly.
• Kingpin ordered Wesley to send Bullseye to kill Lier and also target the first person who had joined him.

Lier’s team promoted the Homeowners Association and expanded its surveillance work across Hell’s Kitchen, while Matt found new purpose in their efforts. As they headed to their last installation site, Matt sensed an attack and shoved Lier aside just before a steel toothpick shattered the van’s window.

• Anthony drew property owners to the Homeowners Association by showing footage of John beating thugs and Captain George Stacy arresting one of them.
• Lier praised Anthony’s speech, and Anthony said the work made him feel alive and helped him make the world better.
• Skye reported that online posts supporting the group were being deleted, and Lier told her to keep posting through automated accounts rather than hack the sites.
• Lier said a Trojan horse had brought more than seventy percent of Manhattan’s power grid under his monitoring, helping connect surveillance systems across Hell’s Kitchen.
• Matt told Lier that the work had made the past few days fulfilling and asked what he planned to do next.
• Matt sensed someone raising a steel toothpick about a hundred meters ahead and shoved Lier aside as it shattered the van’s glass.

Lier used the Sandevistan and traffic controls to fight Bullseye during a van chase after Bullseye wounded Matt and John. He crushed Bullseye’s van beneath a dump truck, while Skye tried to keep John alive and the group’s escape remained unresolved.

• Bullseye struck Matt with a steel toothpick and caused John and Skye’s van to crash, leaving John with a toothpick lodged in his throat.
• Lier removed the Sandevistan’s output limit, dodged Bullseye’s attacks, and urged Anthony to ram the enemy van.
• Matt caught one of Bullseye’s toothpicks and then evaded more as Lier calculated the positions and speeds of vehicles using traffic controls.
• Lier baited Bullseye into a supposed gun duel, then used a dump truck to crush Bullseye’s van beneath sand and gravel.
• Skye helped John stay calm and breathe while Lier’s voice cut off during the chase.

Lier learned that Kingpin had sent Elikon Rigordo to pressure his father into giving up the family land and tried to warn Matt and the Homeowners Association. Elikon confronted Rigordo at home, and as he fired at his father, a nearby lamp exploded.

• A dump truck crushed Bullseye's van, and the trapped driver revealed that Kingpin had another plan.
• Matt realized Mr. Rigordo's son was involved, and Lier sent Matt home before warning the Homeowners Association.
• Elikon entered his childhood home through an old hole and prepared to persuade Rigordo to surrender the land to the United Construction Company.
• Rigordo refused to give Elikon the house, and the two argued over Elikon's mother and his decision to serve the gang.
• Elikon aimed Rigordo's revolver at him and pulled the trigger as the table lamp beside him exploded.

Lier and his allies survived the gang’s attack, and the NYPD reopened cases linked to Bullseye and the Black Street Thugs. After Lier refused Kingpin’s offer to divide territory, a staged dump-truck crash warned Kingpin that Lier knew who he was, prompting Kingpin to retreat and change strategy.

• Elikon took all the Courage Pills, hallucinated that Rigordo was his father, and shot him before killing himself; tenants saved Rigordo, while Elikon died.
• The NYPD used Lier’s surveillance footage to identify Bullseye, reopen cold cases, and investigate the gang’s crimes, while Chief George Stacy acknowledged Rigordo’s wrongful sentence.
• Rigordo told Lier how his wife had been killed and how his efforts to avenge her had sent him to prison; Lier reassured Maya and promised her a better life.
• Lier rejected Kingpin’s emissary’s offer and refused to let Kingpin build on the land he controlled.
• A United Construction Company dump truck crashed into Kingpin’s limousine, and Kingpin recognized the incident as a warning from Lier and ordered Wesley to deal with his emissary.
• Kingpin decided to retreat from the territory and revise his strategy as Lier received a warning that unstable energy was about to erupt.

After escaping Atlanta, Lier and V headed toward the border between Southern and Northern California, where Militech controlled the checkpoint. In Dry Creek, Lier posed as a Militech corporate representative and secured leads on a fixer and a mechanic before revealing their armored vehicle.

• Lier woke in the Behemoth as V drove toward Washington, and they heard a radio report blaming the Atlanta attack on Kang Tao specialists Zhu Shen and Cai Pin.
• Lier warned that Militech still posed a threat and decided they and V needed to pass as corporate suits to get through the border checkpoint.
• Lier and V stopped in Dry Creek, where he explained the town's customs and told V to check her account, revealing she had 500,000 eddies.
• Lier introduced himself to Sheriff Andrew Jones as Dennis Burger King and asked about local smuggling leads and a mechanic for their armored vehicle.
• Andrew directed Lier to fixer Willy McCoy and mechanic Mike, then saw the vehicle's Militech Behemoth lettering as Lier left.

Lier contacted Willie McCoy to arrange a smuggling job and used a rapidly shrinking offer to pressure him into accepting. McCoy agreed to send people and a vehicle, while Lier and V waited by the signal tower.

• Lier left mechanic Mike to repair the Behemoth and went with V to the nearby signal tower.
• V connected the mobile radio, and Lier contacted Willie McCoy to ask about smuggling.
• McCoy said customs declarations were suspended for three months, but Lier inferred that uncleared shipments were still waiting.
• Lier negotiated by lowering his offer and proposed posing as a Barkley Family nomad while borrowing a vehicle from McCoy.
• McCoy accepted the job and said he would send people to Lier, who gave him three hours to arrive.

Lier and V traded the Behemoth for a modified nomad car and prepared to cross the border while smuggling stolen smart weapons. They learned their client was Jackie Welles, and Lier warned V that Militech might try to rob them after customs.

• Lier and V waited for a nomad courier, then exchanged money for a modified Thorton Galena "Rattler" and a shard containing gig details.
• Lier and V packed five Yinglongs and two Eight-Star Shotguns into the car and dismantled the Nekomata to fit it in the trunk.
• Lier read the gig information and discovered that Jackie Welles had hired them to smuggle goods likely taken from an Arasaka convoy.
• Lier asked V to speak with Jackie as members of the Barkley Family, and V realized he wanted her to do it because of her street-thug manner of speaking.
• Lier told V that Militech might target them after the border checkpoint, and V checked her pistol while worrying about the coming fight.
• Lier noticed the car's dashboard said "Weapons offline" and wondered if he could connect an Eight-Star Shotgun to the vehicle.

V and Lier recruited Jackie Welles for a cargo run to Night City, disguising their identities and hiding weapons with the shipment. At the heavily fortified border checkpoint, Lier prepared to bribe the guards while V and Jackie discovered they were carrying far more weapons than expected.

• Lier and V finished rigging a smart shotgun to their car, then V went into the abandoned Farm and met Jackie Welles.
• V and Jackie agreed to work together, loaded the corporate cargo into the trunk, and set off with Lier toward Night City.
• On the drive, V told Jackie about the fighting between Militech and Kang Tao near Atlanta, while Lier stopped her from revealing too much.
• The group reached a heavily guarded border checkpoint, where Lier noted that security had increased and explained the customs declaration and bribe.
• Lier and V produced smart shotguns, then told Jackie to retrieve two more from under his seat and declare them with the others.

Lier and his crew were ambushed after crossing into Night City, first by Militech agents and then by Arasaka drones. They escaped toward the Badlands, while Militech called for Basilisk fire support to pursue them and discover what they were transporting.

• A customs officer inspected Lier’s four Smart Shotguns and let him pass after taking a bribe, warning him that working without a family was reckless.
• Lier, V, and Jackie spotted Militech Emperor Ragnars approaching the checkpoint and prepared to fight as they drove toward Biotechnica’s farm.
• V and Jackie exchanged fire with the Militech agents, disabling the lead vehicle while Lier steered through the greenhouses.
• Arasaka drones attacked the convoy, then an armored vehicle rammed Lier’s car and sent it spinning.
• V used a Smart Shotgun to kill the Arasaka driver and agents, and Jackie shot down a drone as Lier sped toward the Badlands.
• The Militech agents requested Basilisk fire support after realizing Arasaka was targeting the shipment.

Lier, V, and Jackie were caught between Arasaka and Militech forces in the Badlands and fought their way through the crossfire. Their escape left both corporations’ surviving leaders convinced that Kang Tao had used a secret weapon against them.

• Lier split his vision between the car’s cameras and his own eyes, then turned away from a Militech Basilisk as Arasaka drones pursued the group.
• Arasaka and Militech each claimed the Viper was carrying stolen company property and prepared to fire, trapping Lier, V, and Jackie between their forces.
• Lier drove between the convoys while V fired the Eight-Star Shotgun and Jackie reloaded it, using Lier’s targeting calculations to unleash 112 explosive pellets.
• The blasts devastated both forces and destroyed the shotgun, while the battered Viper escaped toward the Badlands.
• The surviving Arasaka and Militech leaders mistook the attack for a joint operation involving Kang Tao’s secret weapon.

After surviving a Militech and Arasaka ambush, V, Lier, and Jackie rested in an abandoned Badlands farmhouse and discovered their cargo was an extinct Iguana. They decided to sell it through Padre, while Jackie realized V and Lier had concealed their Night City connections from him.

• Jackie complained about the body-count lottery and the dangerous smuggling job, while V transferred 5,000 Eddies to him.
• Lier woke from the pain and stiffness caused by his Sandevistan, and Jackie agreed to open the cargo crate.
• Jackie and V found an endangered Iguana inside the crate and wondered why Arasaka and Militech had fought over it.
• Lier suspected Arasaka was closely monitoring Militech after events in Atlanta, but he could not explain the corporation's motives.
• Jackie proposed selling the Iguana to his fixer, Padre, and V revealed that she knew Padre from Heywood.
• Lier agreed to sell the cargo to Padre, and Jackie realized V and Lier had kept their Night City origins from him.

Lier collapsed from acute lung failure after overusing his combat cyberware, and Vic warned that his body could not withstand further strain. After receiving news that Professor Curt Connors might help reverse his cellular decline, Lier chose to keep fighting and pursue a Synthetic Lung Lobe.

• As Lier grew increasingly unwell in the car, V and Jackie rushed him to Vic's clinic.
• Vic diagnosed Lier with acute lung failure caused by his dangerous Sandevistan and other cyberware, and warned that treatment carried serious risks.
• Lier asked for a Synthetic Lung Lobe and a Biomonitor, but Vic cautioned that his weakened body might suffer lung necrosis or an immune response.
• Lier received a message that Professor Curt Connors had invited him to join research that might restore vitality to his declining cells.
• Lier decided against retiring and told Vic to prepare a Synthetic Lung Lobe from Moore Technologies, using immunosuppressants to manage the risks.

Vic explained how Body, Reflexes, and Intelligence potential affected cyberware, then installed a Biomonitor in Lier and received the organs and implants Lier had bought. After Vic implanted the new equipment and limited the Sandevistan’s power, they discovered it could connect to a Cyberdeck despite the usual incompatibility.

• Vic replaced Lier’s Biomonitor and explained how the three potential attributes affected cyberware; its readings showed Lier had Body 1 and Reflexes 3, while his Intelligence exceeded the test’s limit.
• A Moore Technologies delivery arrived with the Premium Live Organ fitted with Synthetic Lung Lobe tissue, an Artificial Auxiliary Heart, and a Blood Pump.
• Vic examined the donor organ and prepared to implant the new lungs and heart-support equipment in Lier.
• Lier arranged for Vic to limit the Sandevistan’s power output and decided to install a Cyberdeck while keeping the Sandevistan as an artificial spine.
• Vic discovered that the Sandevistan had an interface for a Cyberdeck Core Shard and could be connected to Lier’s cerebral cortex with minor wiring changes.

Lier learned more about the Sandevistan and tested his new cyberdeck before V and Jackie helped him deal with two would-be robbers. After meeting Padre, Lier arranged to get a false identity so he could study at Arasaka Academy, while Padre offered him a job to discuss later.

• Lier took his prescribed medication, considered the Sandevistan’s purpose, and practiced using quickhacks with his Militech Mk. 4 Parallel Lines cyberdeck.
• Terry tried to rob Lier outside the clinic, but V stopped him and Jackie frightened Terry and his companion into fleeing.
• V introduced Lier to Padre, who praised V’s success in Atlanta and invited Lier to speak inside his limousine.
• Lier asked Padre for an identity that would let him attend Arasaka Academy and explained that adult education would meet his needs.
• Padre agreed to provide a false identity, said Lier could report to the academy first, and suggested they discuss a job in a couple of days.

Lier and V toured apartments and rented neighboring units in Megabuilding H10, only to discover how many fees and rentals came with their supposed homes. V grew furious at the corporations and tried to buy a place, but Lier stopped her; a nearby shootout report left her even angrier.

• Lier and V used Braindance headsets to tour apartments, and V admired the view from a unit in Megabuilding H10.
• Lier and V chose the Megabuilding H10 apartment and went to inspect it in person.
• V selected deluxe meal plans for both of them, and they learned that rent, services, and extra charges brought the monthly cost to 4,000 eddies each.
• V became disillusioned with the rented furnishings and declared she would buy her own place, but Lier reminded her that she could not afford one outright or rely on a bank loan.
• Lier joked that they could afford homes by eliminating millions of people, and a report about a nearby shootout made V livid.