The night passed in fits and starts. The boy lay on the thin mattress he had scavenged, listening to the muffled chaos of Night City outside his dingy apartment. Sirens wailed in the distance. Shouts echoed from nearby alleyways. A distant explosion rattled the walls, followed by laughter—maniacal, metallic.
He couldn't sleep. Not after the scavenger incident.
His body was still running on adrenaline, and his mind was a storm of ideas. Juryrigg's influence had taken root, making it impossible to think about anything other than the mechanical possibilities waiting in his bag of junk.
Eventually, he gave up on rest and sat up, the dim glow of the neon city filtering through the cracked window.
"All right," he muttered. "Let's get to work."
The table in the corner of the room was barely a table. It was an unsteady platform cobbled together from discarded planks and scrap metal, but it would have to do. He dumped the contents of his bag onto it, the clinking of metal and plastic filling the quiet room.
He surveyed the pile:
A half-melted servo motor.A lightweight alloy panel, dented but intact.A mess of wires, some frayed.A discarded cyberlimb with most of its internal components stripped.A battery pack with a faint flicker of life.
What can I make out of this?
His hands moved instinctively, guided by the strange intuition Juryrigg granted him. It was as if he could see the finished product before it existed, each component slotting into place in his mind's eye.
The drone hovered nearby, its sensors blinking curiously as it watched him work.
"First order of business," he said, "you're getting an upgrade."
He detached the drone's shell with careful precision, exposing its inner workings. It was a patchwork of circuits and rotors, barely holding together. No wonder it had struggled to keep up earlier.
He started with the lightweight alloy panel, cutting it into smaller pieces with a makeshift plasma cutter he'd cobbled together from parts scavenged earlier. The material was perfect for reinforcing the drone's chassis—strong enough to withstand minor impacts, light enough to keep it airborne.
Next came the battery pack. He wired it into the drone's power system, boosting its capacity significantly. The process was delicate; one wrong move could fry the entire system.
"Not bad," he murmured, wiping sweat from his brow.
The servo motor was trickier. It wasn't designed for something as small as the drone, but with a bit of tweaking—and a lot of trial and error—he managed to adapt it for the rotors, increasing their speed and efficiency.
By the time he finished, hours had passed. The drone hovered before him, its movements smoother and more responsive than before.
He couldn't help but smile. "You're better than ever."
The next step was testing the drone's capabilities. He stepped out onto the fire escape, the cool night air hitting his face as he peered down at the alley below. It was quiet now, the chaos of earlier replaced by an uneasy stillness.
"Let's see what you can do," he said, directing the drone with a thought.
It zipped forward, faster than he expected, the upgraded rotors humming with newfound power. He guided it through a series of maneuvers—sharp turns, quick ascents, hovering in place.
The drone responded perfectly, its movements precise and fluid.
"Good," he said. "But let's push a little harder."
He spotted an old billboard in the distance, its rusted frame towering above the nearby buildings. He sent the drone toward it, its camera feed displaying the structure in detail on the small interface he'd attached to his wrist.
The billboard's metal surface was covered in peeling advertisements, a few loose panels flapping in the breeze. It wasn't exactly a high-stakes challenge, but it would do for now.
The drone approached the structure, its new power allowing it to maintain stability even as the wind picked up. He directed it to land on one of the loose panels, testing its ability to balance on uneven surfaces.
It wobbled slightly but held its position.
"Not bad," he muttered, impressed.
His moment of satisfaction was short-lived.
A sudden noise echoed through the alley below—a harsh, metallic screech followed by hurried footsteps. He glanced down, his heart sinking as he saw a group of figures moving through the shadows.
They were scavengers.
The same group he'd encountered earlier.
They hadn't spotted him yet, but it was only a matter of time.
He quickly recalled the drone, its upgraded rotors allowing it to zip back to his side in seconds. He ducked into the shadows of the fire escape, his mind racing.
They must've tracked me here. But how?
He thought back to the junkyard, replaying the events in his mind. Had he left something behind? Or had they simply followed his trail through the city?
It didn't matter now. What mattered was staying one step ahead.
He scanned the alley below, taking note of their movements. The scavengers were searching the area methodically, their augmented eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
Four of them, he counted. Same as before.
His fingers tightened around the railing of the fire escape as he considered his options. Fighting them head-on was suicide. Even with his drone's upgrades, he was outnumbered and outgunned.
But he didn't need to fight them directly.
His eyes darted to a pile of debris near the base of the fire escape—a mess of old pipes and broken machinery. Among the junk was an old electrical junction box, its cover hanging loosely.
That'll do.
He sent the drone ahead, its camera feeding him a closer view of the box. The wires inside were a tangled mess, but they still carried a current. Enough to be dangerous if handled incorrectly.
He reached out with his Technopathy, his mind connecting to the box's primitive systems. It wasn't much, just a basic control panel, but it was enough to overload the circuits.
"Let's see how you like this," he muttered.
The scavengers were approaching the debris pile, their attention focused on the ground. He waited until they were close, then sent a surge of power through the wires.
The junction box exploded in a burst of sparks and smoke, sending the scavengers scrambling back with shouts of alarm.
He didn't stick around to see what happened next.
Back in the safety of his apartment, he sat on the floor, catching his breath. The adrenaline was still coursing through him, his mind replaying the events of the night.
He'd survived—barely—but the close call was a harsh reminder of the dangers he faced.
Night City wasn't a game. It was a battlefield.
If he wanted to survive, he couldn't just rely on luck and quick thinking. He needed more. More tools, more knowledge, more power.
The Super Gacha System wasn't going to bail him out anytime soon, but that didn't mean he was powerless.
He glanced at the drone hovering nearby, its upgraded frame gleaming faintly in the dim light.
"This is just the beginning," he said.
And for the first time, he felt a spark of hope.