Cyberpunk: The Relentless

"Something happen, Karl?"

Jack noticed Karl walking back, looking a little dazed. He was curious about his conversation with the stranger earlier.

"Just… something."

Not wanting his emotions to affect the others, Karl quickly adjusted himself. "Did you guys check out Lizzie's Bar's braindances yet?"

Knowing Karl was changing the subject, Oliver simply went along with it. "Not yet. We were looking through the menu, still deciding."

"Anything special?"

"Customizable sensory levels, pain adjustments—you can tweak a bunch of details."

David added, "Most commercial braindances tone down sensory stimulation to avoid incidents, but the ones here can be cranked to full intensity—or even higher. Real intense stuff."

"Like what?"

"For example…"

David thought for a moment before answering. "Like that black-market braindance of you guys taking down James Norris—here, you could crank the pain sensitivity up to 150%. Not that I think any sane person would want to experience that."

"A James Norris BD? Wait… does that mean the editor here is JK?"

Karl still hadn't let go of the fact that JK had twice put him in those Cyberpsycho Chronicles braindances.

"No, it's another editor. JK might be one of Night City's top-tier BD editors, but he's obsessed with cyberpsycho content. When it comes to fine-tuning sensory adjustments, this editor—JA—is better than him."

"So it's not JK, huh…"

Karl had been hoping to settle a score. If JK had been the editor behind Lizzie's BDs, he'd have paid him a very personal visit—preferably while stringing him up and beating the hell out of him. But since it wasn't him, there was no need to stir up trouble.

"You guys planning on taking some BDs home? These custom ones are rare—you'd be missing out if you didn't grab a few."

Karl sipped his sweet tea, uninterested in the hedonistic experiences Lizzie's had to offer. This wasn't exactly the kind of place that sold instructional combat BDs, after all. But he did remember that Oliver loved this kind of stuff.

"I'm gonna try one first and see."

Oliver picked out his BD and headed toward one of Lizzie's private booths. The bar had plenty of open BD stations in the main hall, but he wasn't that shameless—no way he'd risk certain reactions in public.

"Jack? David?"

"Not my thing. I'm just here to hang out with you guys."

Jack shrugged, then turned to David. "You gonna try one?"

"I think I'll pass on this kind of BD…"

David looked a little embarrassed at the sheer amount of explicit content Lizzie's had on display.

"A pure little schoolboy, huh? Yeah, I get it."

Karl smirked. "Well, let's get another round of drinks, then. This one's on me.

"Also… this bar doesn't serve any real food? Do they not care that people might pass out from overindulgence and lack of nutrients?"

"They've got Mexican tacos here… though they taste like plastic mixed with sawdust."

"Even you are complaining about the food?"

"Hey, I am Mexican, you know."

Jack finished his sentence, but just as he was about to say something else, his words cut off abruptly. He gestured toward Karl, signaling him to look in a certain direction.

"What is it?"

Karl followed Jack's gaze and immediately understood why he'd gone silent.

"Arasaka people? In a place like this?"

Karl spotted three men in full Arasaka corporate uniforms.

It wasn't like Arasaka employees couldn't come to Lizzie's Bar—plenty of them did—but they usually tried to be discreet. Walking in so openly like this? There was only one reason for it.

Official business.

What the hell was going on?

Karl, Jack, and David weren't the only ones wondering. Other customers, still waiting to slot into a BD, turned to watch as well. Under their stares, the three Arasaka suits made their way toward a well-dressed, middle-aged man who was already looking at them in sheer terror.

One of the Mox enforcers moved toward the group, probably to check what was happening, but she didn't even get close before one of the Arasaka agents held up a hand, signaling her to stop.

"This is internal corporate business. It won't be handled here."

Hearing that, the Mox backed off.

As long as no one started shooting or breaking things inside Lizzie's, the club didn't really care what happened between customers.

"What do you think's going on, Karl?"

"Most likely just another faction war sacrifice."

Karl wasn't particularly interested in the inner politics of megacorps. Corporate power struggles were just too common to waste time worrying about. But then, he noticed the expression on David's face.

"Curious, huh?"

"What happens… in internal conflicts?"

David stared at the pale-faced middle-aged man as the three Arasaka agents surrounded him, grabbing him roughly and dragging him toward the exit.

Somewhere deep inside, David felt a sense of dread.

"I already told you—he's a sacrifice. What do you think happens?"

Karl set down his now-empty can of sweet tea and stood up. "If you wanna see for yourself, I'll take you. Jack, we'll be back soon."

"Be quick."

With Jack's response in the background, David got up hesitantly and followed Karl.

They squeezed through the dense crowd inside Lizzie's, trailing just behind the Arasaka enforcers. Before long, they exited through the back door, stepping into the alley outside.

"Take a good look, David," Karl said casually. "If you're planning to work at Arasaka, you'll have to get used to this."

David's eyes widened in horror.

The middle-aged man was forced to his knees by two of the Arasaka agents, each holding one of his shoulders. The third agent, standing in front of him, drew a gun.

David recognized it instantly.

A Kenshin.

"Wait—!!"

BANG.

Karl's voice was calm. "Execution."

The gunshot wasn't particularly loud, but David could feel the impact.

The middle-aged man's body twitched from the force of the bullet, then went completely limp. The two agents holding him let go, and his lifeless body collapsed to the ground with a dull, sickening thud.

Thud.

The sound echoed in David's mind.

It slammed deep into his heart.

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