Chapter Summaries

James Norris and Sixth Street attacked the clinic, where V, Jackie, and Lier fought back and tried to escape. As traffic descended into chaos, James pursued the three and fired at their getaway car.

• Nolan Frequez brought James Norris to investigate Archido's car, while Archido spoke with his mother.
• Lier warned Archido to flee and take his mother to Padre, and Archido sped away as James fired a projectile at his car.
• V, Jackie, and Lier fought James at the clinic, but his armor withstood their attacks and he forced his way through the entrance.
• A convoy of vehicles surged through the area, creating chaos that Lier and the others used to run toward their getaway car.
• James bounded across the car roofs and aimed his hand-cannon cyberware at the car as the three tried to escape.

Lier, V, and Jackie escaped Sixth Street after James Norris nearly killed them, but Jackie lost an arm and was critically wounded. They raced toward Vic’s clinic with the Valentinos covering their escape, while David and Gloria witnessed the battle.

• Lier, V, and Jackie fought James Norris, and Lier’s Yinglong bullets triggered an EMP that disabled him long enough for them to escape in the G240.
• James Norris killed a Sixth Street veteran after Nolan failed to meet his demands for better cyberware.
• Lier treated Jackie’s severed arm while V defended the car, then used a neural stimulant to keep Jackie conscious as they sped away.
• Lier contacted Padre for help, and Gustavo Orta’s Valentinos opened fire on the pursuing Sixth Street car to clear the way to Vic’s clinic.
• David and Gloria watched the gang battle from their car, and David was impressed by the three escaping figures.

Lier negotiated with Cheson for Kang Tao support and warned Padre about James Norris, the cyberpsycho Sixth Street planned to upgrade. After striking a deal with Padre and learning Archido had reached him, Lier returned to the clinic and found V angry about a debt in his name.

• Lier told Cheson that James Norris was a cyberpsycho and demanded a military-grade ICE terminal, a Sandevistan, and heavy weapons in exchange for helping Kang Tao obtain cyberware data.
• Lier told Padre that Sixth Street planned to send James into Vista del Rey and offered him neuro-relief medication and vaccines as leverage.
• Padre asked Lier to help end the gang fighting, and Lier agreed to handle James and look beyond their personal score.
• Padre revealed that Gustavo Orta's people had stopped Archido, who had driven through a defensive line with a broken leg while trying to reach him; Lier told Padre to take Archido in.
• At the clinic, Vic told V that Lier had bought a Biometric Data Modeling Collection Device on credit in V's name, and V cracked her knuckles as Lier arrived.

Lier, V, and Jackie prepared to confront the cyberpsycho James Norris after Kang Tao gave them an NCPD subcontract and Padre warned that Sixth Street was moving toward Vista del Rey. With new cyberware, weapons, and a Valentino convoy behind them, they set out for Arroyo.

• Jackie received extensive Gorilla Arms, skeletal reinforcement, stronger lower-body muscles, and heavy Subdermal Armor, while the team spent beyond its budget and owed Vic 71,000 eddies.
• Lier told V he trusted her judgment about installing Kang Tao's prototype Sandevistan, and V received the Kiroshi Type 5 implant.
• Cheson reported that James Norris had gone berserk and escaped Arroyo, while Padre warned that Sixth Street was heading toward Vista del Rey and asked Lier to protect the neighborhood.
• Lier assembled the Nekomata, a modified Satara, and an MK31 heavy machine gun for the mission against James Norris and Arroyo.
• Gustavo gathered the Valentinos behind Lier, V, and Jackie as they left in a black Mackinaw, and the convoy followed them toward Arroyo.

Lier, V, Jackie, and the Valentinos intercepted James in a highway pursuit, where V and Jackie damaged him while Lier breached his military-grade ICE and disabled his spinal implant. Jackie killed James, but the battle left their vehicle wrecked, and Jackie led the Valentinos onward as Lier arranged for James’s body to be recovered.

• David told Gloria that he wanted to leave school and find work, but she urged him to pursue education and become an Arasaka elite.
• James and his convoy attacked through traffic, causing Gloria’s car to be struck and overturned.
• Lier breached James’s military-grade ICE while V and Jackie fought him, and V’s Nekomata shot damaged his chest armor.
• Jackie blasted James’s abdomen with the Satara, and Lier’s EMP disabled James’s spinal implant after the Mackinaw blew a tire.
• Jackie shot James dead with the Satara, and Lier ordered Archido to haul away the corpse before Jackie rallied the Valentinos to continue.

David was rescued from the wreckage but had to carry his injured mother toward a hospital himself, while the Valentinos routed Sixth Street and forced Sergeant to surrender Arroyo's warehouse headquarters. Lier, Jackie, and V entered under the ridiculous fake names Burger King, Big Shot, and King.

• Archido freed David from the wrecked car, gave him a Liberty handgun, and told him to get his mother to a hospital and trust no one.
• Sergeant called Padre to demand that the Valentinos stop their assault, but Padre refused and the call ended as an explosion sounded.
• Lier led Jackie and V's convoy through the Arroyo industrial district, where the Valentinos overwhelmed Sixth Street's defenses and advanced on its warehouse headquarters.
• Sergeant surrendered and opened the warehouse gate after Lier demanded camera access and warned him against tricks.
• Lier, Jackie, and V entered the warehouse and gave Sergeant their fake names: Burger King, Big Shot, and King.

Lier negotiated a ceasefire between the Valentinos and the Sixth Street, earning money and new connections while splitting the proceeds with Jackie and V. As the group looked forward to visiting Afterlife, Lier received a warning that unstable energy was about to erupt.

• Lier persuaded the Sergeant to settle the dispute, paid him for medicine samples, and secured a ceasefire between the Valentinos and the Sixth Street.
• Lier told Padre that Rama Arsenal was no longer affiliated with the Sixth Street, and Padre said the Valentinos would take over the shop and gave the crew Afterlife memberships.
• Cheson arranged a meeting with Kang Tao and split the deposit with Lier, while Roshan praised Lier for helping the Red Ochre people.
• Lier, Jackie, and V divided 360,000 eddies, and V collected debts from Lier and Jackie.
• Jackie grew excited about visiting Afterlife, but Lier received a warning that unstable energy was about to erupt.

Lier warned Skye that expanding her AI into public safety and recommendations could enable political manipulation, and urged her to keep the technology neutral and focused on useful services. As their Safety Network improved NYPD results and a councilman opposed to it vanished from public view, Lier told Skye to monitor United Construction and pass suspicious financial information to Rising Tide; he then offered Skye a special way to learn his ideas.

• Lier discussed the ethical risks of using Skye’s AI for crime prediction and personalized recommendations, warning that politicians could exploit it to manipulate the public.
• Lier told Skye to keep their services neutral and useful, and Skye showed him reports that the Safety Network had improved NYPD clearance rates and slowed crime growth.
• Skye reported that a councilman opposing the Safety Network had disappeared from public view after Anthony’s speech, and Lier asked about United Construction’s activities.
• Skye said United Construction’s building could sell for millions amid rising land prices, and Lier told her to watch the company and leak suspicious financial details to Rising Tide.
• Lier’s mother reassured him not to overwork himself, and Lier told Skye he had a fully developed idea he could teach her through a special method, asking whether she liked games.

Lier introduced Skye to a text-based interaction with Aiden Pierce, a hacker targeting the Merlot Hotel’s ctOS network, and Skye began helping him investigate the people behind the attack. After Aiden’s niece and nephew were hurt, he agreed to work with Skye to uncover Bloom’s activities and the contents of the hotel’s encrypted videos.

• Lier explained ctOS and introduced Skye to Aiden Pierce through a hacker forum, where Aiden sought information about the Merlot Hotel’s security network.
• Skye offered Aiden technical help in exchange for data, then warned him to lie low after he reported that Fixers were pursuing his partner and that a hacker was watching the hotel.
• Aiden told Skye that his niece and nephew had been attacked and that Lena might never wake up, then asked for help identifying who was behind it.
• Skye advised Aiden to investigate ctOS access logs and the encrypted videos, and they agreed to uncover what Bloom was doing and who the videos threatened.
• Lier left the workshop to handle matters on John’s list.

Lier visited Dr. Connors to review promising iguana gene-editing results and discuss funding and lab renovations. He met Connors’s new assistant, Peter Parker, and left after treating his worsening health symptoms, noticing Peter watching a Spider-Man video.

• Lier arrived at Connors’s laboratory and learned that Connors had hired Peter Parker as his assistant after turning down an Osborn Group offer.
• Connors showed Lier calculations indicating that Lesser Antilles iguanas could give their planned genetic experiments a 96.5% survival rate.
• Connors estimated that renovating the laboratory would cost two hundred to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars and warned that they might need a new gene-editing method.
• Lier offered to provide a more powerful computer and asked Connors for medication to treat his high temperature and inflammation.
• Lier took immunosuppressants and an anti-inflammatory injection, then noticed Peter watching a video titled “Spider-Man” as he prepared to leave.

Lier negotiated a patent partnership with XMSC after learning that the foundry was struggling under pressure from competitors and new owner Martin Li. After dinner, Maya revealed that she had escaped a hellish life in Latveria and asked Lier to cherish their present life.

• Mr. Wang invited Lier to join XMSC, but Lier declined and offered to license his chip designs to the foundry.
• Lier discovered that XMSC had lost orders and been pushed to the margins, while Martin Li had invested in the struggling company.
• Mr. Wang accepted Lier's offer to discuss a partnership, and Lier called Maya to bring tea.
• Lier explained that his chip designs included consumer processors, GPUs, and SoCs, with products intended to earn money and advanced AI hardware meant for his own use.
• At dinner, Lier asked Maya about Latverian customs, and Maya described the country as hell and asked him to cherish their life together.

Lier strengthened the cross-dimensional data barrier while Skye helped Aiden Pierce investigate ctOS and learned what the system’s compromising footage contained. After signing contracts and talking with Matt, Lier returned to Night City, where he prepared to go to class as Jackie slept off a night of drinking.

• Lier linked devices along the trio’s past routes to a data barrier that would mislead anyone tracing them toward a server in another world.
• Skye used ctOS code to help Aiden investigate Damien’s plan, and Lier explained that footage of Chicago’s mayor had enabled a mob boss to control ctOS and blackmail political figures.
• Lier and Matt signed contracts with Professor Connors and XMSC, then discussed Matt’s work defending Hell’s Kitchen residents and Lier’s need to hire an accountant.
• An unstable energy warning sent Lier back to Night City, where he found Jackie asleep on his floor after drinking and arranged for Archido to drive him.
• Lier got ready for class, took his medicine, told Jackie to speak with Mrs. Wells, and packed Yinglong despite its nearly empty magazine.

Lier visited George Stacy’s home and proposed expanding his company’s camera network into a Smart City System for traffic management and crime prediction. George warned that the system’s surveillance features were dangerous and politically sensitive, but found its traffic-management benefits appealing.

• Lier arrived at George Stacy’s home for dinner, but Gwen was away at a club activity.
• Helen Stacy questioned Lier about his age, education, and family before George sent her to call Gwen.
• George told Lier that the mayor and Government wanted to expand cooperation on his camera-recognition network, and Lier said he could hire unemployed workers and find idle factories.
• Lier pitched a Smart City System that would analyze traffic and camera images to predict crime and use public safety records to assess people.
• George objected that the proposal threatened privacy and could resemble a state version of the Patriot Act, so Lier offered to focus instead on traffic management and enforcement.
• George said he had not agreed to the plan, but admitted that its traffic features could reduce the NYPD’s workload.

Lier recalled how David had forced a corrupt hospital doctor to let him watch Gloria’s treatment, then arrived at Arasaka Academy and witnessed Tanaka Katsuo bullying David. When Tanaka turned his insults on Lier, Lier admitted he did criminal work and demanded Tanaka hand over his valuables.

• David carried Gloria to Redshirt Psychiatric Hospital and refused to let the doctor take her into treatment without him watching.
• David slapped the doctor and fired his pistol, frightening him into letting David accompany Gloria into the treatment room.
• Archido told Lier the story during their drive, and Lier recognized the hospital’s name before heading to Arasaka Academy.
• Lier planned to investigate Biotechnica’s experiments, abduct Joanne Koch, and steal a DNA editing device to complete his serum.
• Lier came upon Tanaka Katsuo and two students bullying David, who recognized Lier from the Santo Domingo incident.
• Tanaka insulted Lier, and Lier admitted he was a criminal before demanding Tanaka’s valuables.

Lier robbed Tanaka Katsuo and his companions, then David followed him and asked to become his partner. Lier discovered that David’s mother might be in danger at the hospital and warned David that Scavengers could be waiting for him.

• Lier used a cyberattack to lock Tanaka Katsuo’s cyberware, took money from him and his two lackeys, and stole the Gorilla Arms 400-Series Shard.
• David decided school was pointless and followed Lier, asking to work with him.
• Lier questioned David about Gloria’s hospital stay and told him to call her, but she did not answer.
• David contacted the Ripperdoc, who sent a photo showing Gloria asleep with stable vital signs.
• Lier warned David that the Ripperdoc might be working with Scavengers who planned to ambush him and Gloria.

Lier forced David to rescue his mother from the Scavengers at Redshirt Psychiatric Hospital, but David froze during the fight and was captured. Lier killed the Scavengers and disabled the doctor, leaving David and Gloria alive for the moment.

• The doctor revealed that he had arranged for the Scavengers to take David and his mother, while Lier identified the four men waiting inside the hospital.
• Lier gave David the Liberty handgun and a Kuaibi 400 Shard, then sent him into the hospital with one minute to kill the Scavengers and save Gloria.
• David used the Shard to fight the Scavengers, but he froze after shooting one and ran toward the clinic instead of finishing them off.
• The last Scavenger held Gloria at gunpoint as she woke, and the doctor injected David with anesthetic, knocking him unconscious.
• Lier entered the hospital, killed the remaining Scavengers with Yinglong, and used his cyberware to disable the doctor.

Lier saved Gloria from her former hospital partners and urged her and David to face the dangers of Night City. David decided to leave Arasaka Academy and focus on surviving with his mother, while Lier rejoined V and Jackie to meet Kang Tao.

• Gloria realized her work with Redshirt Psychiatric Hospital had put her at risk, and Lier told her that she and David needed to grow up and confront reality.
• David woke beside Gloria, decided to drop out of Arasaka Academy, and told her that reaching the top of Arasaka Tower would mean nothing if she could not see it.
• Lier arrived late at the Afterlife, explained that he had helped someone Archido knew, and teased V about her new hairstyle before she put him in a headlock.
• V, Lier, and Jackie passed Misty's Esoterica, where Jackie invited Misty for a drive in his future car and promised to return for her.
• Misty watched the three drive away and saw that Jackie seemed genuinely happy.

Lier negotiated with a senior Kang Tao representative to trade James Norris's cyberware and Kiroshi Type 5 operating data for a long-term partnership involving a legal Smart Ammunition factory. The deal was accepted, but Kang Tao then confronted Lier about a missing prototype weapon he had used in combat.

• Cheson told Lier that Kang Tao wanted to back a Night City fixer, and Lier recognized Cheson's friend Muamar Reyes as a fixer in Santo Domingo.
• Lier asked Cheson about his ammunition-production connections and proposed a Smart Ammunition factory, offering Cheson eighty percent of the proceeds.
• Lier and his companions met Kang Tao's representative beside Fatty Chicken Wings and proposed an ammunition factory and other promotional work instead of a one-time payment.
• Kang Tao's representative accepted the partnership and said the payment also covered the Kiroshi Type 5 operating data.
• V handed over the bag containing James Norris's Sandevistan, and Kang Tao's representative asked about a prototype weapon that had gone missing from the company.

Lier and his companions struck a deal with Kang Tao, while the corporation investigated their possible connection to the Atlanta incident and found its data trail corrupted. Afterward, Cheson celebrated the business opportunity, and Lier reminded him to remember their friendship and obligations.

• Lier showed Kang Tao's representatives the Yinglong, claimed he had bought it in Dogtown, and let them inspect it after warning them not to tamper with it.
• Kang Tao's netrunners failed to reconstruct the trio's movements, found that Dennis Burger King had reappeared at Arasaka Academy, and reported similar data anomalies elsewhere in Santo Domingo.
• The Kang Tao representative told his superior that there was no conclusive evidence linking the trio to Atlanta, and the superior ordered continued surveillance while confirming that the Sandevistan deal had succeeded.
• Cheson celebrated the prospect of working with Kang Tao, and Lier warned him to keep paying their dividends and remember their friendship.
• Cheson asked whether Lier knew martial arts, and Lier and the others silenced him by asking whether Indian companies served cow urine at work.

After selling the stolen shipment and splitting the proceeds, Lier and his friends celebrated at the Afterlife while discussing their new business prospects. Lier left the party to visit Vic’s clinic and buy supplies for his graduation exam the next day.

• Lier arranged for Roshan to find Aldecaldos who could sell four stolen Kang Tao smart weapons in Mexico, and received 700,000 eddies from the shipment sale.
• At the Afterlife, Lier split the proceeds among the crew after setting aside money to repay Vic, while Cheson considered the profits from producing smart ammunition.
• Jackie repaid V 100,000 eddies, and Lier transferred V another 100,000, leaving V with savings of 860,000 eddies.
• V offered to buy drinks for everyone, and Mrs. Wells asked Lier to watch over Jackie as his work grew more dangerous.
• Lier left the celebration and headed to Vic’s clinic to buy school supplies before his graduation exam.