Jack quickly protected the nearly airborne box, narrowly avoiding the mantis blade that shattered the front windshield.
The assassin clung to the car like a beetle on a tree branch, refusing to let go despite the swerving and fishtailing vehicle.
"You and your last stubbornness, huh?!" Rogue gritted her teeth and stood up.
With both hands stretching back, she sliced his shoulder in half with a crescent slash.
The sound of short-circuiting crackled, and Rogue swung her blade again, cutting him horizontally and sending him flying.
"Bang! Crash..."
The assassin's body rolled over the divider and landed in a pile of dirty debris.
"Phew..."
Rogue sighed, sat back down, and was utterly exhausted.
"We've shaken them off!" Jack aimed his gun, but soon realized the enemy was too far away, and the hit rate was low, so he sat back down as well.
"Damn Arasaka's filthy dogs..." V cursed angrily, then saw Takemura giving him a complicated look.
The vehicle continued down the road, passing through the sparse traffic of the early morning streets.
As for the NCPD, who should have responded to the chase and gunfight?
Forget it.
"Where are we going next?"
V asked Takemura, who had just recovered from the dangerous situation, in the driver's seat.
"We are too conspicuous now, I don't have any hidden places to go, do you have any suggestions?"
Takemura shook his head while gripping the steering wheel.
"Go to Old Vic's, we can't keep this car." Rogue looked at the scars and bullet holes all over the vehicle, "We'll walk there, low-key. I'll change my outfit, who wants to come?"
Twenty minutes later.
Four people dressed like street-fighting experts walked down the street.
Rogue wore a white outfit, resembling a Japanese ronin with a katana around her waist, an RGB-lit headset, and a cyberpunk-flavored assault rifle slung diagonally across her back.
Takemura donned an alloy rice hat from who knows where, replaced his tattered suit with a rock-style jacket, high-top shoes, and looked much more stylish than an uncle.
V and Jack dressed like a couple of buffoons, all flashy and ostentatious.
Especially Jack, wearing pink star-shaped sunglasses, a comical hairstyle, and a bright red outfit. He looked like a nightclub DJ who had run out onto the street for fun.
Takemura glanced at the two of them and silently moved to Rogue's right side, indicating he didn't want to be associated with these two clowns.
As for Rogue's outfit, he gave it a nod of approval.
They soon arrived at Old Vic's place. At first glance, Misty almost mistook Jack for someone trying to cause trouble, and even pulled out her gun.
Everyone rushed into the basement, huddling in the dark corner, discussing their situation.
"Now the sharks are chasing us everywhere, damn it. Arasaka Yorinobu must pay for his crimes," said Takemura Goro in his distinctive deep voice and awkward accent.
"You just got fired from the company, and you're a blacklisted citizen, have you forgotten so soon?" V shook his head and asked, "How can you help us like this?"
Removing his rice hat, Takemura looked at V with his calm, unfathomable eyes, also pondering the question.
Rogue rubbed her chin and scratched her head.
"Damn, we've never had a moment's peace since Konpeki Plaza. Now we're dealing with this mess—loyal guards searching for evidence for their former master, only to be mercilessly hunted down by their current master. Where will the lone, brave veteran go next? Stay tuned for 'The Untold Story of Arasaka Yorinobu and Takemura Goro: A Saga of Love and Hate'..."
As she spoke, she noticed Takemura's face growing increasingly displeased.
"Alright, just trying to ease the tension," Rogue said, spreading her hands. "Back to the main topic, Arasaka's in chaos now. Hunting us down is one thing, but what about the Relic?"
Jack pulled out the box and placed it on the table in the center.
This thing, the spark that set off chaos across half of Night City.
The fire, which started with Arasaka, was likely to continue burning.
No one knew whether the fire would reach a powder keg or simply fizzle out in the next moment.
"V! Lucky! Wait!" Jack suddenly exclaimed.
He leaned his hands on the box, tossing aside his sunglasses and opening his eyes wide.
"Container damaged—Chip integrity—Zero percent!"
What?!?!
Rogue and V jumped up, staring at the large "0" displayed on the panel.
"Damn! How did this happen?!" V shouted in panic, quickly recalling everything that had just transpired.
"Here, several bullet fragments are embedded."
Takemura extended a hand, gently touching the side of the box.
There, deeply embedded, were numerous fragments of various sizes.
"Damn!"
V slapped his forehead suddenly.
It must have been when he and Jack escaped their apartment, and the assassins sent by Arasaka detonated explosives. Although it didn't happen directly inside, the box that Jack was carrying might have been affected then.
But the subsequent chase and gunfight made them forget to check the box.
"It's not yours to have, after all," Takemura Goro said, shaking his head as he looked at the group of "thieves" before him.
If they hadn't planned to infiltrate Konpeki Plaza and steal the Relic, Saburo Arasaka would still have been killed by Yorinobu Arasaka, and nothing would have changed.
But because Rogue and the others did so, they also contributed to the city-wide manhunt.
"You've done your best," Old Vic consoled them.
"Is this fate?" Jack asked with a wry smile. "Mano (brother), it seems we're just not meant to have the Relic."
Among everyone present, only Rogue's mind was in turmoil.
Fate?
This wasn't the predetermined fate!
The chip was supposed to be intact, and the tragedy of V and Jack was what was destined.
But with everything that had changed, the subsequent events were entirely beyond her expectations.
Although she didn't know the rest of the story, the loss of the Relic meant the loss of the personality stored on the chip!
What kind of plot was this?
No, no, no!
This wasn't a plot!
This was reality!
Rogue opened the box in a daze, revealing the high-tech panel inside and the small chip stored in the slot.
The pinkish-purple crystal light on it was still flowing, but according to the box, it had already lost its functionality.
Did the Relic's data have a backup?
Could this thing even be backed up?
Suddenly, Rogue felt a sense of guilt as if she had personally killed a soul.
Even though this had no direct connection to her.
If she hadn't shot down that Arasaka helicopter, Jack might not have been shot, and the box might have remained intact.
No one could predict what would happen next.
Because it's not fate, but a series of interconnected events in the whole world.
Jack held his head, regretfully sighing. Old Vic stood behind him, gently patting his shoulder like a comforting father to a child.
V had his hands on his hips, staring at a row of metal cabinets, as if resenting his crappy fate.
Takemura silently watched all of this, his hands crossed, resting on his chin, perhaps thinking about his own situation and whether it was as melodramatic, powerless, frustrated, and chaotic as what was happening before him.
Holding the Relic, it looked like a dazzling, perfect gem.
Rogue quietly admired its still beautiful luster in the dim underground lab and sighed.
If she had a biochip slot, she might have tried to insert it right away.
Even if there was a chance of problems.
There are many ways to live, and many fascinating ways to die.
This includes shattering the elusive fate.
She suddenly realized that if she changed the course of time, then every second that followed was actually a crossroads in life.
Every choice, every decision, is part of this vast world.
If fate exists, it must be ever-changing rather than predetermined.
What's nailed down are only rigid thoughts, as well as self-indulgent and self-destructive escapism.
"Is it really completely gone?" Rogue asked incredulously, looking at the chip in her hand, unable to imagine that a real soul once existed within such a lifeless object. Finally, she inserted the Relic into her PDA, "Let it be a memento."
[Damaged chip detected, do you want to initiate repair?]
The prompt sounded.
Rogue shook her head, then suddenly froze.
When did my PDA gain this feature?