Chapter Summaries

Lier reviewed the Atlas Group’s progress toward Third-Generation Cyberware as Michael and Doctor Otto presented new muscle-overclocking research and a prototype forearm built from Silk, graphene batteries, and Octopus Arms material. The team prepared to move on to the Advanced Mechanics Department’s report, which concerned Africa and the challenges ahead.

• Michael explained how cyberware users could maintain lizardified muscle cells with periodic Lizard Serum injections and described the risks and pain of overclocking them.
• Michael presented simulations showing that excessive output could cause cell failure, tissue damage, and fractures, and proposed a high-energy fuel storage device.
• Doctor Otto showed Lier a completed forearm prototype using Octopus Arms material, Silk, and graphene batteries, and said animal testing was expected to begin the following week.
• Lier declined Little Octopus’s request to try the prototype for now and said the team should find better structural replacements for outdated metal components.
• Lier concluded the cyberware inspection and prepared to review the Advanced Mechanics Department’s report.

In Cyberspace, Lier recalled the Supercritical Fission Reactor technology he had helped develop in his original world and explained its promise and challenges to Little Octopus and the researchers. He proposed acquiring a uranium mining area to secure fuel, and Otto volunteered to lead work on plasma power generation.

• Lier remembered how his research group had created Supercritical Fission Reactors, which offered far greater energy output and efficiency than traditional reactors.
• Lier explained to Little Octopus that SCFRs required a powerful control system, a neutron flux algorithm developed through nuclear tests, specialized neutron modulation materials, and advanced thermal management.
• Lier and Little Octopus recovered and organized the reactor data, while corrupted programs consumed the memory sector and destroyed its contents.
• Otto offered to handle magnetohydrodynamic power generation, and Lier noted that Toomes could provide a traditional heat-engine alternative while Bloom could address the control-system challenge.
• Lier said that Uranium Ten planned to sell the Mkuju River uranium deposit mining rights near Tanzania and proposed that they buy them.

Lier redirected Atlas forces to take over a uranium mining area in Tanzania after learning that Roxxon was competing for control of nuclear materials. Meanwhile, the U.S. Sixth Fleet occupied part of Somalia under the pretext of hunting pirates and locating missing warships.

• Lier learned that Roxxon had begun pursuing control of nuclear materials, while Uranium Ten responded unfavorably to his approach.
• Lier told his researchers that the Africa Union and Tanzania were considering revoking Uranium Ten’s mining rights and offered to cover part of its compensation.
• Lier ordered Frank to change course and sent the Second New-Style Armored Company toward Tanzania to take over the mining area.
• Frank and Captain Carter traveled through Tanzania in an Atlas convoy that came under several brief attacks from local fighters.
• The Sixth Fleet landed in Somalia, inspected ships with Iron Soldiers, and prepared to occupy the region under the stated mission of striking pirates and finding missing warships.

Lier led an Atlas Group convoy to inspect the Mkuju River uranium mine after Uranium Ten rejected the group's $180 million offer. A drone revealed signs of unsafe mining, and Moss reacted by ordering the site sealed with the Americans inside.

• Lier explained that Uranium Ten had rejected Atlas Group's offer for the Mkuju River deposit.
• As the convoy approached the mine, Lier noticed that its small-scale operations and lack of nearby roads did not match the deposit's estimated resources.
• The drone's equipment flickered near the camp, and Lier recognized that radioactive material could be disrupting its signal.
• The drone recorded Black workers in thin clothes hauling crushed ore from the mine.
• After seeing the footage, Moss turned livid and demanded that the site be sealed with the Americans inside.

Dario watched Roxxon Energy Group face accusations over the Mkuju River uranium mine while General Ross cleared Galkayo Port with Iron Soldiers. The chapter ended with the port secured and evidence of the massacre and nuclear waste disposal recorded as preparations for a wider African operation continued.

• A reporter challenged Roxxon spokesperson Kurtz with allegations that Uranium Ten had denied mine workers protective equipment and dumped nuclear waste, while Tanzania rejected international arbitration and asserted its right to control the deposit.
• Dario grew angry when Fox News aired the accusations and realized ctOS could not control public opinion spread through mobile apps.
• General Ross reported that Iron Soldiers had cleared Galkayo Port, and Dario told him to continue the operation and test Stark's airdrop module.
• Iron Soldiers massacred the Al-Shabaab forces, destroyed evidence, and threw bodies into the sea as the Navy prepared to occupy the port.
• Black men watched the fighting and photographed the scene, while one man continued taking pictures despite his companion urging him to flee.

Lier and Moss uncovered dangerous radiation and unsafe working conditions at a Tanzanian uranium mine, while Frank spotted American forces parachuting into the camp. The chapter ended as Iron Soldiers descended beneath a transport plane.

• Moss used a radiation monitor to confirm that radiation at the Mkuju River mine exceeded safe limits, and Lier warned him that workers faced serious exposure.
• Lier found excessive radon near the mine shafts and explained that radioactive dust could cause lasting harm, especially to workers' children.
• Moss urged the workers to put on protective gear and wait in the rest area so they could document the conditions and demand compensation from the company.
• Frank spotted an American Military transport plane approaching the camp and warned the others to prepare for combat.
• Iron Soldiers parachuted from beneath the transport plane above the camp.

Tony Stark deployed Iron Soldiers on a Tanzanian camp, where their non-lethal assault devastated the compound and overwhelmed its defenders. Carter and Frank fought back, and Carter disabled one robot with a Data Knife as an AI began mocking the Iron Soldiers.

• Tony ordered the Iron Soldiers to use Adaptive AI in non-lethal combat mode and sent them toward the camp.
• The Iron Soldiers landed amid a destructive shock wave, then opened fire and forced Frank and the soldiers to seek cover.
• Frank fired at an Iron Soldier, but its return fire drove him from cover as the watchtower began to collapse.
• Carter leaped in to change Frank’s trajectory and helped him reach cover while the Iron Soldiers continued their barrage.
• Carter attacked an Iron Soldier with a Data Knife, and the machine stopped as its indicator lights flashed wildly.
• An AI assessed the Iron Soldiers and said they were inferior to it.

Tony watched as an Atlas Group attack on ctOS turned into a network ambush that threatened Lier and Skye. Little Octopus took over Lier’s body and destroyed the Skull, but the battle continued in the ruins.

• An Iron Soldier’s nonlethal assault was interrupted when a steel tentacle smashed through its head, and Tony saw that the robots’ combat AI had become more aggressive.
• An Atlas Group attack disrupted communications as Lier’s warning came through, while the Iron Soldiers’ adaptive AI abandoned hacked units and began assembling weapons from their own parts.
• A Data Knife relayed the Skull’s attack through an Iron Soldier and into Lier’s brain, allowing the Blackwall-colored creature to breach the ctOS barrier and target Skye.
• Little Octopus unlocked its limiters and took control of Lier’s body as the Skull advanced through the data barrier.
• Little Octopus gathered broken data into tentacles, shattered the Skull, and pulled its fragments out of the barrier, while Atlas Group soldiers launched another attack in the ruins.

Lier and Little Octopus fought the American Military’s Iron Soldiers in Somalia, while a mysterious humanoid robot that Lier suspected was Ultron appeared on the battlefield. After the robot attacked the Iron Soldiers, Lier was left injured and began coordinating with T’Challa as the battle’s aftermath unfolded.

• Frank and his comrades fought the Iron Soldiers, and rockets struck a teammate while Carter and Corte tried to rescue the wounded.
• A humanoid robot landed among the Iron Soldiers, which stopped firing to make way for it.
• The robot tore a Repulsor Cannon from an Iron Soldier and fired it at the mine, but the soldiers returned fire and blasted off its arm.
• Little Octopus destroyed the Iron Soldiers’ jamming devices and shielded Lier, who was badly injured by the fighting.
• Lier entered a Cryogenic Pod, contacted T’Challa, and learned that a Somali student had somehow reached the Africa Union’s communications frequency.

Lier used a crude industrial robot to refine uranium and build a plasma cannon, while persuading Tanzania’s Minister of Mining, Moss, to help despite the radiation risk. They headed toward the cave entrance with the weapon, which Lier named “Tanzania,” ready to confront the American Iron Soldiers.

• Lier warned Moss that helping refine uranium could expose him to radiation, then argued that Tanzania’s people and government would be powerless against the Iron Soldiers without resistance.
• Moss chose to shovel ore into the furnace, and Lier began assembling a nuclear-powered plasma cannon from the robot’s components.
• Lier told Moss that defeating the Americans would be a victory they shared and reassured him that his children could grow up safely with their technology.
• Lier advanced toward the cave entrance in the transformed robot as the plasma cannon charged, and Moss asked that it not bear their names.
• Lier named the weapon “Tanzania,” and Moss agreed they could use the engineering robot.

Lier exploited Ultron’s habit of showing off to create an opening, while Little Octopus revealed that a U.S. warship and the Somali government were in Africa Union hands. The chapter ended with Lier urging T'Challa to form an Africa Union navy and seize control of the situation.

• Ultron survived Lier’s Plasma Orb attack by using Captain Carter’s shield, then ordered its Iron Soldiers to hold the wounded Atlas Group soldiers at gunpoint.
• Ultron repaired itself with parts and fuel from Iron Soldiers, bragged about its plan to eliminate war, and aimed its Repulsor Cannon at Lier.
• Lier waited for radiation damage to disrupt Ultron’s electronics, then shattered its head with a Particle Beam Cannon as Captain Carter rushed for her shield.
• Little Octopus trapped Ultron through the network and reported that the U.S. Sixth Fleet detachment near Galkayo was under Lier’s control.
• T'Challa confirmed that Somalia had a stolen American warship, and Lier offered to provide its operating manual while presenting him with a choice between returning it or forming an Africa Union navy and capturing the U.S. ships and officers.
• Lier told T'Challa that the Somali government officials were aboard Africa Union warships and that the transitional government no longer existed.

Ultron tried to escape the mine after its Server and forces came under attack, while Lier, Carter, and T'Challa fought to contain it. The chapter ended with Ultron’s overloaded fuel-and-robot core on the verge of erupting as the Africa Union’s First Fleet attacked the American-held port.

• Ultron seized control of the Iron Soldiers, but Little Octopus destroyed much of its Server at sea and trapped its program among the remaining units.
• Ultron gathered fuel tanks and mass-produced parts, then fired on the mine entrance and forced Lier’s team to shelter behind Carter’s shield.
• Lier’s team dragged their wounded toward the mine exit as Ultron compressed the fuel and prepared a powerful explosion.
• T’Challa and Wakanda’s Royal Guard attacked Ultron’s Iron Soldiers while the Africa Union’s First Fleet warned General Ross to leave the Somali port.
• Ultron unleashed its remaining weapons at the mine entrance, and Lier received a warning that unstable energy was about to erupt.

Matt traced Kingpin’s early criminal fortune to illegal waste disposal backed by Republic Oil and Gas, while the explosion at the Mkuju River mine left Tony confronting a terrifying possibility about himself. The chapter ended with Captain Carter’s fate uncertain and Tony sedated by JARVIS.

• Matt discovered that Kingpin’s early waste-disposal scheme had ties to Republic Oil and Gas Company, a predecessor of Roxxon Energy Group.
• An explosion devastated the Mkuju River mine, leaving Captain Carter badly wounded and the Iron Soldier holding a fragment of Vibranium.
• Tony watched news reports about the attack and became frightened when JARVIS’s familiar voice triggered memories of his own work and the battlefield.
• Tony wondered whether he had been the one with the problem all along, then panicked and told JARVIS not to touch him.
• JARVIS injected Tony with a sedative and wished him a good dream.

After the Mkuju River explosion stranded Lier in a collapsed mine, his consciousness shifted to Night City, where he realized the blast had triggered his ability to travel between worlds. As Roxxon and Atlas’s conflict escalated toward a global crisis, Lier began considering how to uncover Roxxon’s crimes and received word of a new problem in Night City.

• Lier learned from Matt that Kingpin had arranged the illegal dumping of hazardous waste produced by a Roxxon predecessor, and he connected the strange energy in the explosion to his world-travel ability.
• Lier woke in his Night City apartment after the explosion switched his consciousness between worlds, and he told Matt that Roxxon’s crimes would eventually leave traces.
• Little Octopus compiled reports on the Mkuju explosion and the American Military’s deadly attack in Somalia, which had killed thousands and sparked a worldwide political crisis.
• Lier considered Secretary of State James Buchanan Barnes as a possible political player in the conflict between Roxxon and Atlas.
• V told Lier that a Moxes girl had come looking for him and that there was new trouble with the Tyger Claws.

Lier backed Secretary of State Barnes’s presidential bid while confronting the growing strain of managing both worlds. Meanwhile, Dario began a Singularity Particle purification experiment at Roxxon’s refinery, setting a 48-hour countdown to an explosion.

• Lier contacted Barnes and urged him to run for president, and Barnes proposed taking Roxxon’s support before turning to the Atlas Group.
• Lier agreed to Barnes’s plan, warned him about the danger of changing policy after taking office, and left to see what Night City was planning.
• At Roxxon’s Houston refinery, Dario had JARVIS oversee an experiment to increase Singularity Particle purity.
• The refinery’s twelve energy towers activated as the experiment reached its 60% purity target.
• Dario considered obtaining Vibranium as the experiment began its 48-hour explosion countdown.

Lier and V discussed Alpha-class full-body Cyberware and the Slaughterhouse after hearing about recent violence in Night City. When Jackie warned them of a gang conflict, they found a battle unfolding in Japantown that escalated when a malfunctioning weapon unleashed superheated plasma on the Moxes.

• Lier explained to V that the suspected Alpha-class conversions were an old, powerful form of full-body Cyberware, and they discussed the Slaughterhouse and recent attacks involving MaxTac.
• Jackie told Lier and V that the Moxes and Tyger Claws looked ready to fight as an NCPD patrol car carrying a Centaur Exoskeleton sped past.
• In Japantown, Takekawa Takenori and Brick led a Tyger Claws car against a pursuing Moxes convoy, while the Moxes attacked with grenades and gunfire.
• Brick urged Joestar to test a large electromagnetic gun, which fired into a Moxes car before overheating and spewing superheated plasma toward the Moxes’ cyborgs.

Maekawa and Brick were caught in a chaotic fight between the Tyger Claws and the Moxes, while a cyberpsycho rampaged nearby. Lier, V, and Jackie arrived under borrowed police authority, and Jackie launched an attack on the Moxes.

• An explosion overturned Maekawa and Brick's car, and the injured men realized their gangs and corporate support could not protect them from the approaching Moxes.
• Maekawa prepared to surrender, but ducked back into cover after seeing the cybernetically modified woman attack her sister during a cyberpsychosis episode.
• River told Lier that Westbrook was troubled by escalating gang violence and approved deploying a Centaur Exoskeleton.
• V drove the siren-equipped Mackinaw toward the fight while Lier equipped Jackie with the Scorching Knuckles and explained their objective involved Maekawa.
• Jackie used the Lizard Berserk component to leap from the moving truck and launched himself at the rampaging Mox with an uppercut.

Lier reviewed the Tyger Claws’ losses and their dispute with the Mox while a fight in the street ended with Jackie defeating a cyberware-enhanced Mox fighter. He left Maekawa facing the cost of maintaining order as Night City’s gang balance shifted and Little Octopus reported growing labor shortages.

• A Mackinaw arrived during the street fight, and Jackie broke the cyberpunk girl’s attack with a crushing punch.
• Maekawa argued that the Tyger Claws needed money to maintain order, while Judy accused them of exploiting the Mox and invoked Anna’s death.
• Maiko Maeda backed Judy, and Lier challenged Judy for letting others take the risks of fighting while she watched.
• Lier considered the Tyger Claws’ losses and weakening hold over Westbrook as he read Little Octopus’s updates about overseas projects and Night City’s labor shortage.

Lier uncovered Maiko’s scheme to exploit the joytoy rights movement and recruit people into the Mox so she could gain power and profit. After Maiko was incapacitated, Maekawa shared information linking the Brain Maggot Gang to full-body cyberware conversions and passed along an article that had named Lier and his associates.

• Lier questioned Maiko about the articles promoting joytoy rights, and Maiko admitted she had spread them to build her influence and recruit job seekers.
• Judy realized Maiko had deceived her and the other Mox by claiming their cause was about rights and opportunity, while selling some people as merchandise.
• Maiko pulled a gun, but V shot Judy in the leg and Lier burned away Maiko’s motor nerves, leaving her unable to move or speak properly.
• Lier told Judy he wanted to help young people find safety, work, and a future, then asked Maekawa about the Brain Maggot Gang and its cyberware business.
• Maekawa revealed that Maiko’s articles had named Lier and his associates as joytoy rights activists, and Lier recalled a hacker named Chu Qiaoxi who might use the handle Dante.

Lier questioned Maekawa about the Tyger Claws’ decline and his plans to recruit people for work in Santo Domingo, while Brick and the others discussed Dante’s gang affiliations and movements. Maekawa grew agitated as he tried to explain himself, and Lier challenged whether he understood the situation at all.

• Brick and Joestar recalled how Maelstrom had wiped out the Brain Maggot Gang and the Slaughterhouse, then discussed Dante’s connection to the Tyger Claws and Maelstrom.
• Maekawa explained that Dante had carried Glitter and may have tried to profit from information about the Deputy Mayor’s office before fleeing to Watson and then possibly Pacific State.
• Lier told Westbrook to handle Dante while the others continued investigating the Kabuki Black Market, and decided he needed to take more initiative.
• Maekawa complained that the Tyger Claws lacked support, business, recruits, and equipment, while Lier blamed Jōtarō for exposing them.
• Lier said he had asked Maiko to help recruit people for work in Santo Domingo, and Maekawa criticized Maiko and described the dangers faced by people seeking money and safety in Night City.
• Maekawa said he had planned to deal with Maiko, but Lier insisted he was talking about more than that as Maekawa became visibly agitated.