"No matter how time devours everything, we must strive to earn our reputation before the scythe of time cuts us down."
The smooth, practiced voice of the radio host filled the room as the passage of time continued its relentless march forward. Outside, a rare sight for Night City—a clear, cloudless sky stretched across the jagged skyline, casting the sprawling megacity beneath an unbroken blue.
Sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, glimmering across the surface of a sleek, chrome-trimmed pool. The soft breeze that filtered in through the open window stirred the pages of a photo album lying open on a nearby table. The album flipped lazily, revealing a sequence of images. A boy and a woman, their lives frozen in time.
As the pages turned, the boy in the photos grew—his small frame slowly transforming into something taller, more defined. His features matured, the wide-eyed innocence of childhood giving way to a sharper, more hardened look. Yet the woman in the pictures remained unchanged.
Soon, the boy had grown taller than her. His face—though still holding traces of youth—had become that of a young man, handsome, but carrying a weight that seemed unusual for someone his age. Each photo showed moments captured in time: at amusement parks, in cafés, at his graduation from elementary school, and then, wearing his Arasaka Academy uniform for the first time.
Eight years had passed since Lin Mo had been taken in by Xu Wanxue, and in that time, so much had changed.
Eight years was a long stretch, more than enough time to alter lives and reshape futures. Lin Mo had spent those years keeping a low profile, walking the tightrope between caution and curiosity. With the help of his UltraDream simulator, he'd managed to reach his sixteenth year without stepping too far into danger.
But the world beyond him hadn't stood still.
The future of Night City and the world beyond unfolded as it had in the timeline he knew from Cyberpunk 2077. President Rosalind Myers of the New United States had taken office, and with her came the push for the Unification War in 2069, aiming to bring the Free States under federal control.
Night City, ever the wild card, declared its neutrality. But neutrality didn't shield it from the conflict. By 2070, military forces loomed at the city's edge, preparing for a full-scale invasion. It was Mayor Lucius Rhyne who saved the day, calling in Arasaka for protection. Within days, an Arasaka supercarrier dropped anchor in the bay, the corporation returning to the city in a move that announced to the world: Arasaka was back, and it was here to stay.
The war ended, and with it came a new status quo. Night City became an international free city, outside of any government's control. Arasaka, in return for its assistance, reestablished its headquarters and began expanding its influence, building a stronghold on the West Coast.
Some things in this world were inevitable, and they happened just as they had in the game. But Lin Mo had also managed to shift a few things in his favor.
Thanks to the simulator, Lin Mo had found ways to predict—and profit from—the future. His days of being broke and scraping by had been replaced by smart investments, particularly in stock markets, filling his pockets with a decent amount of eddies. But more importantly, he used his knowledge to help Xu Wanxue climb the ranks of Kang Tao Corporation.
Xu Wanxue's success directly benefited him. The higher she rose, the more influence she gained, and as her adopted brother, Lin Mo enjoyed the perks. He wasn't going to confuse that with complacency, though.
After all, Night City had no shortage of corpo wars, deadly schemes, and unforeseen dangers.
Still, he had to admit it sometimes felt like he was living the dream. With Xu Wanxue spoiling him, Lin Mo occasionally thought to himself: Living off someone else's hard work isn't so bad, is it?
She had her hands on a sweet corporate deal, a high-ranking position in Kang Tao's R&D department. As long as she kept climbing, Lin Mo was assured a life free of worry—no need to run merc gigs or hustle on the street like some gonk trying to scrape together a few eddies.
He wasn't V, after all. He didn't need to live that dangerous, merc life.
But those thoughts never lasted long. Night City had a way of reminding you that no one was ever truly safe.
"This city'll eat you alive the moment you start to think you're untouchable," Lin Mo would remind himself. "Even corpos die in this city—just takes one slip-up."
Lin Mo had seen it happen in the game. He knew how corporate backstabbing worked. He'd witnessed firsthand how cyberpsychos could snap and go on a rampage, how AIs manipulated events from the shadows, and how fixers like Dexter DeShawn would sell you out the moment it suited them.
It wasn't enough to rely on Xu Wanxue's protection. Lin Mo needed power of his own.
After spending so much time in relative comfort, Lin Mo eventually realized that it was dangerous to let himself become soft. He began setting up a home gym, converting one of the apartment's rooms into a personal training area. There, he loaded it with combat simulators and high-grade equipment. He even began hunting down black-market combat chips to boost his skills.
Of course, Xu Wanxue had caught wind of his new obsession.
"Are you turning into one of those Animals or something?" she scolded him one evening. "You know those idiots will pump so much 'roid into their bodies that they're walking cyberpsychosis cases waiting to happen. You better not turn into one of them!"
In an effort to pull him back from his "muscle-brained" path, Xu Wanxue did something unexpected. She enrolled Lin Mo in Arasaka Academy.
And there was no arguing with her. Xu Wanxue's word was final.
Though Lin Mo had hoped to avoid the life of a corpo puppet, he knew deep down that this was part of the plan. The simulator had already shown him that his path would cross with someone important.
David Martinez.
David, whose name would one day be immortalized in Afterlife, and whose story would become legendary in Night City. Lin Mo wasn't about to miss the opportunity to meet someone with that kind of potential.
If David's future was anything like the game, he was going to be a key player in Night City's underworld. Lin Mo had no intention of missing out on that kind of connection.
And if he wanted to survive this city—and maybe even thrive—he needed allies.
David Martinez was a solid place to start.
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Author's Note: Picking up the pace now!