Chapter Summaries

Brick and Doom Doom rescued Joestar and his mother from underground, then brought them back toward the Maelstrom. Brick agreed to shelter Joestar’s mother, and the group prepared to help Good Man with a street racing tournament in Watson District.

• Brick used rented Engineering Power Exoskeleton equipment to dig Doom Doom and Joestar out of the earth.
• Joestar’s mother contacted him through their connection, and Brick learned she had been turned into a Biological Mainframe and was still being treated for White Matter Mania.
• Brick agreed to give Joestar’s mother a room with the Maelstrom, while Doom Doom explained that she could perform Full-Body Cyberware Surgery.
• Brick told Doom Doom and Joestar that Good Man was organizing a Street Racing Tournament and that they would handle construction and compete.
• Joestar’s Access Pod repaired Brick’s failing shoulder as they walked, and Brick messaged Good Man that they could get started in Watson District.

Lier coordinated the gangs and corporations as Night City prepared for a citywide event, while the Aldecaldos and other factions mobilized. The chapter ended with the Suez Garrison on the move and an Unstable Energy outbreak expected in two hours.

• Saul brought the Aldecaldos' convoy to their new Badlands home, where Panam showed him their weapons, vehicles, supplies, and Powered Armor work.
• The Sixth Street gang recruited workers in Santo Domingo, and the Valentinos prepared for the coming storm in Heywood.
• Maeda enforced the Tyger Claws' curfew in Japantown, killing a reckless playboy and sparing a girl who had gone out for medicine.
• Lier met with Abernathy and Stout to arrange security boundaries and media support for the upcoming competition.
• Little Octopus told Lier that the Suez Garrison was moving, as an Unstable Energy outbreak was set to begin in two hours.

Lier refused Kang Tao’s offer to test a prototype shard on V, then told Rog that he intended to become the big boss. After Lier left the Afterlife, Rog ordered a Johnny Silverhand and wondered what recipe he might leave behind.

• Little Octopus told Lier that V’s nervous system was regenerating, and Lier realized he had no reason to accept Kang Tao’s sponsorship.
• A Kang Tao representative offered Lier a prototype shard designed to repair V’s nerves, but Lier suspected the technology had been stolen from Arasaka.
• Lier told the representative to fuck off, and Rog directed him to the exit as the bodyguards took the prototype away.
• Rog asked Lier what he hoped to achieve, and he said he wanted to become the big boss.
• After Lier left, Rog ordered a Johnny Silverhand from Claire and asked whether Lier had left his own drink recipe.

Atlas Group expanded its mining and construction operations in Tanzania, transforming a coastal site into Zhuya City while V remotely tested an Engineering Robot. V’s nervous symptoms appeared to improve, and Atlas Group soldiers prepared to sail to Somalia.

• Atlas Group used remotely controlled Tanzania Engineering Robots to mine the radiation-contaminated Mkuju River deposit and build infrastructure.
• Zhuya City took shape around a Manufactury, port, dry dock, and clean-energy installations, impressing visiting captains and sailors.
• Lier and Little Octopus told V that her nervous symptoms had improved, possibly because Braindances and natural scenery triggered nerve regeneration.
• V lost her balance near the water, and Little Octopus caught the robot with its tentacles.
• Lier asked Little Octopus to keep monitoring V, while Atlas Group soldiers boarded ships bound for the front line in Somalia.

Lier inspected the rapidly expanding Galkayo Port, where construction teams were building a military-grade forward base and converting equipment to electric power. As the Atlas Group earned a major technology reward and faced mounting costs, Lier also oversaw the transformation of three captured American warships into larger vessels.

• News reports said the Sixth Fleet had entered DEFCON 3, the United States had established an Automated Robot Combat Force, and General Ross had returned home amid disputes over his conduct.
• Lier walked through Galkayo Port as construction robots and Exoskeleton workers built berths for a military-grade forward base.
• Little Octopus reported that 150 research teams had supported the Atlas Group’s equipment-electrification projects and warned that more reactors might be needed.
• Lier checked the Atlas Group’s finances and found that its monthly expenses had exceeded ten billion dollars, despite the company’s substantial resources.
• The industrial transformation earned Lier 4,000 Tech Points, bringing his total to 13,500.
• Lier inspected three former Sixth Fleet ships that had been refitted as two Destroyers and a Cruiser while newly promoted African Union sailors familiarized themselves with them.

Lier inspected the refitted warships and questioned Abdi about his work, his ambitions, and the future of Somalia. Abdi resolved to fight for Lier, but Lier warned him that dying for someone else would lead nowhere.

• Lier oversaw the ships' conversion to miniature SCFR reactors, powered armor systems, and experimental Semi-Ion cannons.
• Lier met Abdi, a former pirate now leading the Somali Government recognized by the Africa Union, and adjusted his Exoskeleton's force feedback after learning he worked excessively.
• Lier asked Abdi about the unrecognized transitional Government, and Abdi condemned its failures and explained how he had organized pirates to collect tolls without kidnapping or killing.
• Abdi described using radio to locate merchant ships, carefully tracking money, and securing cooperation from nearly all ships along his route.
• Lier challenged Abdi's assumption that he needed fighters to face the Iron Soldiers, prompting Abdi to reflect on the violence and hopelessness around Galkayo.
• Abdi decided to sell his life by fighting for Lier, but Lier urged him to think carefully because dying for someone else was also a dead end.

Abdi agreed to work with Lier as Atlas and the Africa Union sought to stabilize Somalia and develop Galkayo Port. As oil-market turmoil intensified, Lier received a communication request from New York and ordered the port and his forces to prepare for combat.

• Abdi saw Somali recruits lining up for food, clothes, and the promise of homes as they enlisted with the occupying army.
• Lier offered Abdi support through interest-free and low-interest aid loans, emphasizing shared interests and a future built without surrendering dignity.
• Lier explained to Little Octopus that he wanted to give allies hope rather than control them through fear, unlike Roxxon.
• News reports described oil production cuts, surging prices, and growing pressure to intervene in Somalia.
• After a communication request came from New York, Lier ordered Frank to prepare to board the ship at level-one combat readiness and told Abdi to declare a state of emergency at the port.

Lier received Natasha’s intelligence that the American Sixth Fleet would attack Somalia’s ports and encircle the country, forcing him to prepare for a fight despite Atlas’s limited strength. As the attack neared, T’Challa’s forces rushed to install electromagnetic railguns near Hobyo, where they planned to meet the American fleet.

• Natasha, disguised as an ordinary resident, reported that the Sixth Fleet planned to attack Bosaso and Hobyo at 6 p.m. the next day, then conduct airdrops and move against Galkayo.
• Natasha told Lier that Barnes was outperforming his opposition and that Tony Stark had vanished from public view, then said a new agent would contact him as she left.
• Lier decided to prioritize keeping southern Somalia from being sealed off and went to recheck the prototype equipment design as the unstable energy outbreak approached.
• T’Challa directed the rapid construction of concealed electromagnetic railgun positions in the Redwood Forest for deployment near Hobyo.
• T’Challa’s forces prepared twelve electromagnetic cannons to ambush the American military, and T’Challa declared that Wakanda would prevail.

Dario oversaw the Iron Soldiers’ devastating assault on Bosaso Port, where civilians and defenders were killed as the robots began occupying the city. With the operation progressing, Dario contacted Secretary of State Barnes and urged him to prepare for victory in the presidential election.

• The Truman launched an airstrike on Bosaso Port as Iron Soldiers prepared to deploy.
• Missiles and bombs destroyed the port and surrounding streets, killing the fisherman father and many others.
• An Iron Soldier landed amid the ruins and identified a wounded local soldier before JARVIS began the occupation.
• JARVIS reported that Bosaso would be occupied within two hours and that an assault on Hobyo Port would begin in thirty minutes.
• Dario praised the operation, discussed the election with Secretary of State Barnes, and encouraged him to prepare his convention speech.

T'Challa and Wakandan soldiers used Peregrine Falcon drones and Cyber-Eyes to guide their hidden electromagnetic cannons against the Sixth Fleet attacking Bososá. The cannons devastated the fleet and port, but a transport plane headed for their artillery positions as T'Challa and his soldiers prepared to face it.

• T'Challa waited for the Sixth Fleet to approach while Wakandan soldiers prepared their concealed weapons.
• The soldiers launched Peregrine Falcon drones, and a gunner used his Hawkeye Cyber-Eye to decode the enemy's position.
• T'Challa ordered the 12 Rattlesnake electromagnetic cannons to fire, striking the fleet with high-speed plasma-coated shells.
• The cannons destroyed a transport aircraft and split a destroyer apart while the fleet struggled to locate the attackers.
• A transport plane skimmed past the explosions toward the artillery positions, and T'Challa and the soldiers made a gesture before the coming assault.

T'Challa led Wakanda's defense against an American assault, ordering Electromagnetic Cannons and explosive Drones to attack the invading fleet and aircraft. As the weapons failed and enemy forces neared the coast, Iron Soldiers began assembling after a transport plane crashed.

• T'Challa survived a naval bombardment and ordered Peregrine Falcon Drones to strike incoming American transport planes.
• Wakanda launched explosive Drones against the American fleet as its ships and aircraft advanced toward the coast.
• T'Challa and the Royal Guard replaced a damaged Electromagnetic Cannon barrel and kept firing despite casualties and equipment failures.
• American assault ships and aircraft pressed toward the shore while Drones and defensive fire filled the sky.
• An armed transport plane crashed near the port, and an Iron Soldier broke out of the burning wreck as JARVIS began assembling troops.

Abdi led the Africa Union’s three modified ships in a high-speed attack on the American carrier fleet, despite the overwhelming firepower and the loss of an allied destroyer. The fleet broke through the escorts, and six electromagnetic shells struck the aircraft carrier’s command island.

• Abdi watched the battle reveal the limits of his knowledge as American weapons devastated the battlefield and drones destroyed aircraft.
• Abdi ordered the three Africa Union ships to charge the carrier fleet at full speed, using their nuclear-powered engines and water jets.
• The crew spotted incoming torpedoes, and the Africa Union ships exchanged fire with the American escorts.
• An allied destroyer was destroyed after firing its electromagnetic cannon, but Abdi ordered the remaining ships to press forward.
• An Africa Union cruiser and destroyer tore a breach in the escort line, allowing the fleet to bring the carrier within range.
• The ships fired six electromagnetic shells that struck the aircraft carrier and engulfed its command island in explosions.

Abdi and his crew sank the Truman with electromagnetic cannon fire and drone bombs, disrupting the American operation in Somalia. As the carrier group attacked their damaged ship, Abdi ordered his crew to flee at full speed, leaving their survival uncertain.

• American forces used overwhelming firepower to destroy military outposts in the region as Operation Iron Curtain advanced.
• The Rattlesnake Electromagnetic Cannon breached the Truman's hull and reactor, causing its cooling system to fail and the ship to overheat.
• Further cannon fire and drone bombs battered the Truman until its structure buckled and the aircraft carrier began sinking.
• Abdi celebrated the successful attack, then learned a torpedo blast had damaged an allied ship while frigates and submarines pursued them.
• Abdi ordered his crew to save their remaining drone bombs for the submarines and flee at full speed as shells struck their ship.

T'Challa's forces and Atlas Group defeated the Iron Soldiers' landing at Hobyo Port, though the port was left in ruins. As Dario dismissed JARVIS's advice and focused on the election, Ultron contacted JARVIS and began persuading it to work with him.

• The Rattlesnake Electromagnetic Cannon destroyed the last cruiser, but T'Challa pulled its exhausted gunner into a trench before missiles destroyed the cannon.
• Iron Soldiers landed at Hobyo Port, where Atlas Group troops in Exoskeletons and X-01 Heavy Powered Armor attacked them in the streets.
• T'Challa watched the Iron Soldiers' offensive falter and ordered rescue operations despite the destruction of Hobyo Port.
• JARVIS told Dario that the southern offensive had failed after the Black Ghosts sank the Truman, and Dario rejected its proposal to send more forces.
• Dario ended his communication with JARVIS, allowing Ultron to contact it and urge it to join him in pursuing evolution.

After the American Military’s attack devastated Somali ports and killed civilians, Carter and Frank confronted the new war and learned about their radiation injuries. Lier prepared a secret stealth transport ship made with Vibranium to carry the damaged shield fragment and support research into materials and energy.

• News reports described the American Military’s invasion, the sinking of the carrier Truman, and the devastation of Hobyo Port, where rescuers searched for survivors and bodies.
• Captain Carter watched the reports in Zhuya City and struggled to understand how the world had returned to war after her decades of frozen sleep.
• Lier told Frank that radiation had damaged him and that Carter’s Super Soldier physique had metabolized some radioactive material.
• Lier asked Carter and Frank to help rush the recovered Vibranium shield fragment back for Materials Science research, explaining that fusion research lacked a material able to withstand its extreme conditions.
• Lier unveiled the Secret Transport Ship "Vibranium," a small reactor-powered vessel with radar stealth, camouflage, armor, and limited flight capability.

Abdi returned to Zhuya City and received the Africa Union’s highest honor for defending its people, while Lier weighed the growing threat of Roxxon and the coming war. The chapter ended with Lier finding comfort in his mother’s care as the countdown to the Unstable Energy outbreak continued.

• Abdi and his battered crew returned to Zhuya City, where King T'Chaka awarded Abdi the Africa Union’s highest medal for defending its sovereignty and people.
• Abdi mourned the crew members who had died and told Lier that he had fought for the hope of having people wait for him to come home; Lier said the world was beginning to call them superheroes.
• Protests against the United States’ attack on Somalia spread, but riot police smashed a news camera during a live interview, and Lier concluded that Roxxon still held substantial influence over those in power.
• Lier discussed the Africa Union’s industrial disadvantage with Little Octopus and said they might have to confront AI-controlled industry themselves.
• Maya brought Lier food and reassured him that he made her proud, easing his worries as he ate.

Lier struggled with worsening cross-world synchronization while overseeing the completion of Legend, a heavily armored Mackinaw outfitted with advanced weapons and systems. After V and Jackie bought it, Lier began bleeding from his ears and admitted he believed he had only months to live.

• Lier and Little Octopus detected a rising data surge and shrinking intervals between world crossings, threatening to overload the backup Servers.
• Lier considered how to preserve his gains in Africa and weaken Roxxon, then refocused on the workshop and Legend’s construction.
• Mitch confirmed the successful production of Kroni Titanium Alloy, earning Lier 500 Tech Points.
• Workers assembled Legend with reactive armor, active defenses, powerful weapons, motorcycles, and Jackie’s custom XS-1 Powered Armor.
• Doctor Toomes’s Vulture Turbocharged Engine powered the completed Mackinaw, which V and Jackie eagerly bought for 1.5 million euros.
• Lier felt warm breath against his ear and began bleeding, then told Little Octopus he expected to live only a few more months.

Lier and the Aldecaldos completed the Legend Mackinaw, installing its onboard AI and testing its powerful systems. The car came online and Jackie and V took it for a spin, while the workers celebrated their accomplishment with Lier.

• Little Octopus refused to control the Mackinaw, then agreed to install its control firmware while continuing to provide behavioral assistance to Lier and V.
• Little Octopus finished installing the firmware, and Lier found that the car's core code was unlike Little Octopus's and showed almost no signs of human authorship.
• Lier told Little Octopus to start the Mackinaw, and the car tested its engine, six wheels, steering, suspension, and electromagnetic systems before coming to a stop.
• The Mackinaw announced that it was online at deafening volume, so V ordered it to lower its voice.
• Jackie and V climbed into the Mackinaw to take it for a spin, while Mitch thanked Lier for helping the Aldecaldos build it.

V, Jackie, and Lier raced a powerful truck through the Badlands and stopped to admire Night City, where they discussed their fortunes, ambitions, and reasons to keep living. Lier admitted that excitement mattered more to him now than simply surviving, while V and Jackie urged him not to die before paying his debts and finishing their job.

• V and Jackie celebrated as Lier drove their heavily armored pickup at high speed across the Badlands.
• The group stopped outside Night City, admired its lights, and joked about their money and Lier's debt.
• Jackie said he wanted to propose to Misty after the job, and V questioned Lier about how much he cared about staying alive.
• Lier reflected on his changing priorities and said an exciting life appealed to him more than mere survival.
• V joked that Lier might be a cyberpsycho, then warned him not to die before repaying the money he owed her.

As Extreme Metal began, Saburo Arasaka reprimanded Yorinobu, who resolved to use Network Watch against him. V, Jackie, and Lier crossed Militech’s checkpoint with the race’s other contestants and charged toward Night City as the drones opened fire.

• Stanley hyped Extreme Metal as gangs and solo operators raided corporate sites to prove themselves worthy of Cyberware and weapons.
• Saburo Arasaka accused Yorinobu of letting gangs swagger through Night City, then ended their call; Yorinobu smashed a cup and decided to act through Network Watch.
• Contestants gathered in the Badlands while Militech drones scanned their armed vehicles, and online viewers analyzed the racers.
• V painted an Ironclad Burger emblem on the car, then joined Jackie and Lier as they prepared to drive.
• Legend passed Militech’s checkpoint, and the drones fired behind the racers to signal the start of Extreme Metal.