Lin Mo's choice to unlock Bloodlust wasn't made lightly.
Mastery Points were clearly far harder to come by than Attribute Points. Wasting such a rare resource on seemingly basic skills was not an option for him.
If he already had a Sandevistan implant, he might have chosen Heart of Lightning, which would significantly enhance his close-combat damage. Unfortunately, the legendary speed augment still eluded him.
The Eagle Eye skill, which enhanced dynamic vision, also didn't seem immediately useful. With his current Reflexes stat, it was rare for anyone to be fast enough to challenge his perception.
As for the skills under Cool, there was a mixed bag of potential. The skill Random Gambit was interesting, but the high randomness made it unreliable. It wasn't something he could depend on in the field.
That left him with Bloodlust, a powerful skill that boosted his speed with each enemy he defeated, stacking up to three times. It was the perfect complement to his playstyle and a widely coveted skill in the original game.
After finalizing the choice and activating the Bloodlust ability, Lin Mo didn't feel an immediate change. There were no sudden bursts of energy or newfound powers surging through him. But he knew that when the time came, Bloodlust would be there, increasing his lethality in the heat of combat.
The only immediate effect he noticed was from the single point he added to Cool. He felt calmer, the thrill of unlocking a powerful new skill quickly fading as his mind settled into a state of steady focus.
"Cool is truly the ultimate survival stat," Lin Mo mused, recalling old memories from his days playing the game.
In the world of Cyberpunk, maxing out Cool wasn't just about staying calm under pressure. At 20 points, your mental resilience became almost legendary. You could endure unimaginable pain and still function, perhaps even as well as the mythical heroes of ancient times.
And at 20 points in Tech, you'd probably be capable of building something as powerful as Iron Man's suit even in a cave, using nothing but scrap.
"Still, the simulator won't make it easy to reach those kinds of extremes. I need to keep testing the limits and see where the cap really lies."
He sighed, pushing the thoughts aside. Daydreaming about reaching 20 points in his attributes wouldn't get him there faster. He needed real progress.
As he packed away the simulator, night had already fallen outside. The sky over Night City turned black, and the neon lights of the metropolis came to life, casting their vibrant colors across the sprawling urban landscape.
From his mansion on the hillside of North Oak, Lin Mo looked out the massive floor-to-ceiling windows at the city below. Despite having grown used to the view, it still filled him with awe.
The glowing skyline, the shimmering holograms, the relentless pulse of a city that never truly slept—it all left an impression of beauty wrapped in shadows. Light and darkness, eternally intertwined.
Though Lin Mo's current life could be described as one of luxury and success, there was a part of him that never stopped worrying. The memories of his harsh childhood in Jig-Jig Street still haunted his dreams, and sometimes he'd wake up in a cold sweat, unsure if any of this was real.
When that happened, his sister, Xu Wanxue, would be there, comforting him, reminding him that those days were long behind him. But what she didn't know was that Lin Mo's nightmares weren't about the past—they were about the future. His biggest fear wasn't returning to the streets but losing everything he'd built here.
This kind of worry didn't fade, even after Xu Wanxue became the Vice President of Kang Tao's Night City branch. Despite her rise to a high-ranking corporate position, Lin Mo knew how fragile that power could be. In the cutthroat world of Night City's megacorps, a single misstep could see her swiftly removed from power. She had no real foundation, no long-standing corporate ties to protect her from the ever-present corporate infighting.
"I have to get stronger. I can't rely on this luxury forever. I need more attribute points, more skills..."
With a heavy sigh, Lin Mo turned away from the window and began to focus on tomorrow's preparations.
The simulator had revealed that he would be taking on a contract for Wakako, but the details were annoyingly vague. That was the one downside to the Braindance simulator—it never gave him everything.
Returning to his room, Lin Mo opened a secret compartment in his closet, pulling out the gear he would need for the upcoming mission. His trusty Wolf School Bulletproof Jacket, the Black Unicorn Katana, and a small stash of meds were all laid out carefully on the bed.
For firearms, he chose a mix of weapons: an A-22B Nyx from Kang Tao and a G-58 Dian, both reliable models. He packed extra magazines for both, ensuring he had enough firepower for whatever the mission might throw at him.
In this world, firearms fell into three broad categories: Kinetic, Tech, and Smart.
Kinetic weapons were traditional firearms, using bullets and gunpowder to deliver raw, physical damage.
Tech weapons, on the other hand, were advanced electromagnetic devices capable of firing solid metal projectiles at terrifying speeds. Their firepower was unmatched, but the all-metal rounds were pricey and difficult to replace.
Then there were the Smart weapons—arguably the most impressive. With self-aiming bullets, these guns were like having a personal AI assistant guiding each shot. They could lock onto targets with ease, allowing even the worst marksman to hit the bullseye.
Kang Tao, the undisputed leader in smart weapons, made sure their products offered superior quality. As long as the user could pull the trigger, the weapon would do the rest.
The Smartlink implant in Lin Mo's hand allowed him to sync his weapons directly to his neural interface, ensuring pinpoint accuracy even without looking down the sights. It was one of the few implants Lin Mo had allowed himself so far.
Of course, all that precision came at a cost. Smart weapons were expensive and not as powerful as Tech weapons, but they made up for it with utility and versatility.
With his kit prepared, Lin Mo laid the gear aside and collapsed onto his bed, making a point to turn in early.
Unlike when he was younger, Xu Wanxue no longer insisted on sharing a room with him. He was grateful for the privacy—especially with all the secretive preparations he had been working on lately.
In one corner of his bed sat the familiar Troll Baby Pillow, the odd reward he had received from his starter pack years ago. To this day, Lin Mo still wasn't sure what it was good for.
"Troll Baby Pillow: Restores your childlike sense of innocence and joy," the database entry had read.
But in practice, it seemed to serve only one purpose—it helped him sleep better. For that alone, it had become a nightly companion.
"Well, at least it's cute."
Besides the pillow, there was another item from his starter pack he had yet to fully utilize—a schematic for Dragon Shadow, a beautifully crafted sword that he still hadn't found the technical skill to forge.
At the moment, the Black Unicorn katana covered all his needs for close-quarters combat, so he wasn't in any rush to build Dragon Shadow. But one day, he would.
As the room's lights dimmed, responding to his slowing heartbeat, Lin Mo turned over in bed and murmured to himself.
"Goodnight, Night City."
A sudden thought jolted him.
"Wait… did I forget to try the Black Braindance chip I bought from David?"
He sat up abruptly, his mind racing.
Then he paused, shook his head, and laid back down.
"Nah, it can wait. I've got an early day tomorrow."
And with that, Lin Mo drifted into sleep.
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