Traffic jam.
Still stuck in traffic.
The city's traffic system seemed to be against Leo and his group. Ever since they entered the city, they had been caught in traffic, but after half a day, the three of them finally managed to make it back to Vic's clinic.
Jackie eagerly ran off to Misty's fortune-telling shop, while V kicked open the wire gate leading to the back alley, heading straight for Vic's clinic.
"Vic!" V plopped down in a chair. "Get your cyberware ready, I've got money now! Loads of it!"
Vic, who had been watching a boxing match, was momentarily stunned when he heard V's voice.
It had been a long time since he'd seen V and his crew.
"V? Leo? You guys are back? Where's Jackie?"
Leo pointed behind him. "Of course, he went off to relax."
Vic stood up from his chair, looking at Leo and V with a face full of satisfaction. Then, he grabbed Leo's arm and gave it a squeeze.
"You're looking strong! Did you solve the problem?"
Leo shrugged. "Half-solved. At least we're not living on the edge anymore. We came by to see how things are going."
Now that they had a large sum of money in hand, it was finally time to spend it.
Vic chuckled as he activated all the machines in the clinic, slipping on his cyber-surgery gloves. "Alright then—let's see just how much purchasing power the three top dogs of Night City have."
V smiled mysteriously. "Vic, I'm worried that you'll faint when you see my bank account balance. Do you want a shot of adrenaline first?"
"What haven't I seen before? Who's going first?"
Jackie was up for the first implant—Leo needed to carefully monitor his berserk implant in real-time.
Jackie's bones and muscles had undergone some changes. A thorough examination would reveal these transformations. His bones now had significantly higher metallic content, and their structure and density far exceeded that of an average person. This abnormal toughness extended all the way to the area around his tailbone.
His muscle fibers had also changed. Vic discovered that some of them were different from human muscle fibers.
The genetically modified lizard muscle fibers were better suited to provide immense and sustained strength, but in exchange, Jackie's flexibility had decreased.
That said, speed is related to various factors, but it generally correlates with strength.
Although the increase in Jackie's strength was not as large as his size and weight, when he moved, it was more like a fully loaded truck at full speed.
You could argue that trucks aren't nimble, but they're not slow—at least, they're faster than a person running.
Vic lifted his glasses and was full of doubt at what he observed. He had never seen this kind of technology in his career as a ripper doc.
Jackie's shin bones were as strong as average titanium bones, but there was no immune response at all.
And those strange muscle fibers? Their strength was off the charts! Even though they weren't plentiful, they far surpassed standard nanomuscle fibers in strength per unit volume.
".What kind of cyberware is this? An experimental model from a corporation?"
"No." Leo shook his head. "It's a piece of cyberware I designed myself—a berserk module."
Vic didn't seem convinced, his confusion only deepening.
What do you mean by "designed it yourself"?!
Did you craft a berserk module with your bare hands?!
"You explain it, how do you want to modify him?" Vic glanced at Leo's coat. "Take off your coat, it's distracting."
Vic decided to leave the incomprehensible stuff to those who understood it better.
"This coat is just fine—I need a more detailed biometric monitor first."
"That's tricky. High-end biometric monitors come with surveillance, too many backdoors."
"The best you've got."
"That would be the BioSync Pro-X5, the best I can get my hands on. It monitors blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar levels—basically everything. But it's pricey, 56,000 eurodollars."
"Buy it!"
With the biometric monitor in place, they could better observe Jackie's physiological state, and next, they needed to balance the effects of the lizard serum.
Jackie's bone density, structure, and composition were fluctuating greatly, as were his muscles.
According to the model Leo had devised, the effect of the lizard serum gradually diminished from the bottom up, and it couldn't deviate too much from this.
This required the use of a molecular sieve. The molecular sieve, joints, and bioplastic veins would control the serum's flow.
The molecular sieve would need to be linked with a cellular adapter.
Vic frowned. "Bioplastic veins are easy to get, but molecular sieves and cellular adapters are only available at large companies or cyber clinics. I can't get that kind of high-end stuff at my shady clinic."
"I have it."
Leo pulled out a black plastic bag from his pocket—the materials were all inside.
[Interdimensional Transfer: Cellular Adapter Plug-in, Bioplastic Molecular Sieve]
[-200 Tech Points]
[Current Tech Points: 3300]
Vic rubbed his eyes. "Where did you get this stuff? Never mind, let me scan it."
He hesitated again. "Cellular adapters need to be integrated into the body using a nano-surgical platform, and I don't have one—nobody in Heywood can afford that kind of surgery."
"Buy it! Vic, it's time for you to upgrade your equipment."
High-end biological components, especially those that involve nano-surgery, require specialized equipment.
It's worth noting that advanced cyberware usually comes with its own nanobot installation systems. Most of these are neural components, like the Krenzikov.
Basic modules attach to the spine, and the system releases nanobots that bridge gaps in the central nervous system, connecting nerve endings to processors.
The fewer implants, the simpler the installation, and the fewer chances for things to go wrong. But for people like V and Jackie, you can't fully trust basic nano modules.
Vic went deep into thought. A nano-surgery platform—he knew the cheapest one would cost at least 500,000 eurodollars, and that was for a second-hand one from the black market.
"Leo, it's not that I don't trust you, but can you show me your account balance?"
Jackie, lying on the operating table, chuckled and sent Vic a message with a credit-certified account balance.
"So much money?" Vic was stunned—over 600,000 eurodollars!
V smiled mischievously and sent Vic his own credit-certified balance.
"Hiss—"
Vic sucked in a cold breath—over 1.3 million eurodollars!
He already knew these three were loaded, but this was beyond his expectations!
Between Jackie and V, their combined assets totaled over two million eurodollars!
Two million!
That amount of money would be enough for a regular person to live a comfortable middle-class life for the rest of their days! Most mercenaries were drowning in debt, covered in old scars, with a mishmash of cheap and premium cyberware running on their bodies. Their financial state was usually a mess, riddled with debt due to medical expenses and other costs.
But these three! Vic could only think: terrifying.
"Alright then, I admit I'm quite interested in a nano-surgery platform. But I won't rip you off—the machine's yours, I'll just rent it to use."
"Hey~" V waved his hand dismissively. "We're all friends here. No need to talk about money like that. We're rich now, and you should be too!"
"You're generous," Vic sighed in amazement.
Jackie and V had been his old friends for years. Who would have thought that two street punks would one day be carrying around two million eurodollars in their pockets?
Then he looked at Leo. "Aren't you going to show off your account too?"
Leo shook his head. "The surgery is more important. I don't show off my money."
"Haha, some people can only show off their cyber-debt receipts!" V joked, slinging an arm around Leo. "When will I ever pay mine off?"
"Get off, you're crushing my neural link! No, wait, it's your turn now. Jackie, get down, you get on the table."
"Hey, show some respect to your debtor!"
"Alright, alright, I'm begging you, just get on the table."
In short, Jackie's modification plan aimed to perfect the berserk lizard module, adding some structural materials to increase overall body strength, and then supplementing with defensive cyberware.
Things like heavy subdermal armor and fire-resistant coatings.
But those would have to wait until the equipment arrived.
V's situation was more complicated. Vic's diagnostics were more comprehensive than the nomads' scanners, and they revealed that V's central nervous system problem was actually more severe than Leo had thought. The nano-surgery platform would only help with implant installation and tuning; it couldn't repair nerves.
They'd have to wait until Leo could check things out with Kang Tao.
So, the nerve component repairs for systems like Sandevistan and Krenzikov would have to wait.
The priority for now was standard body upgrades: replacing the Achilles tendon with a better model, filling in nanomuscle fibers, denser bone marrow fillers, and upgraded lightweight subdermal armor.
In addition to enhancing combat abilities, other components will be implanted, such as a metabolism editor, adrenaline boost module, secondary heart, blood pump, and bioplastic veins for the circulatory system.
There seem to be a lot of modifications, but... well, there are quite a few indeed.
At one point, Vic began worrying about V's ability to handle all this — adding too many augmentations at once could trigger adverse immune reactions.
That was until Leo pulled out a mysterious green vial from his pocket and injected it into the blood pump.
[Cross-Dimensional Transmission: Genetically Modified Biliverdin Immunosuppressant, Lizard Serum]
[Tech Points -100]
This time, Leo had transferred over a fair amount of the serum, but V only needed a tiny bit.
The inflammation caused by the surgery quickly subsided. Vic was still concerned, worried that Leo might be treating the immunosuppressant like synthetic plasma, pumping it into the blood pump — which typically results in drug dependence and diminished effectiveness over time, not a long-term solution.
However, the instruments showed no issues whatsoever, with minimal immune suppression and no visible side effects.
This immunosuppressant had incredibly precise targeting and excellent efficacy.
It was clearly high-grade stuff, completely different from the kind of junk street clinics usually peddle to desperate outlaws.
Vic's gaze shifted to Leo's pocket, and he even reached out and patted it.
Leo looked confused, "Vic? What are you doing?"
"Uh... just curious how much more you've got in there. Alright, let's continue."
It seemed like there was no more.
"Focus — we need to swap out the Mantis Blades."
"Okay." Vic pulled up his inventory on the interface, showing the blades he had in stock and available for order. "I recommend Arasaka's blades — the best on the market."
"No, we'll use our own."
[Cross-Dimensional Transmission: Data Blades (Mantis Blade Mod)]
[Tech Points -1000]
[Current Tech Points: 2300]
Vic froze again, then watched as Leo pulled two blades out from his coat.
What the heck…?
He had just patted him down and didn't even feel anything in there!
"Leo," Vic spoke slowly, "why don't you take off your coat? I can't focus like this."
(End of Chapter)