Arthur Vale quietly gazed out of the car window as the red Herrera Thug GTS glided smoothly through the streets of Night City.
The neon lights reflected off the polished hood of the car, blending into streaks of color across the glass.
Arthur sighed softly.
Now that the world of Cyberpunk 2077 had become his reality, the scale of Night City felt far greater than anything he remembered from the game.
The city seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction.
Skyscrapers towered over the streets like mechanical mountains.
Roadways twisted through the city like glowing arteries filled with moving vehicles.
Compared to the digital world he once played, the real Night City was hundreds of times larger, louder, and more alive.
Tonight had been… interesting.
Arthur had met nearly all of the future main characters of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
Maine.
Dorio.
Rebecca.
Pilar.
Sasha.
And of course…
David Martinez.
Arthur leaned back slightly in the driver's seat.
The only people he hadn't encountered yet were Lucy and Kiwi.
Those two would be far more difficult to locate.
Lucy especially was a ghost in the system.
A netrunner who avoided attention like the plague.
Arthur smiled faintly.
But sooner or later, their paths would cross.
That much he was sure of.
The Herrera Thug GTS hummed quietly as the navigation system guided him through the streets.
Ten minutes later, Arthur arrived at the place Evelyn Shaw lived.
Elsa Apartments.
The building stood on the edge of Corpo Plaza, one of the most prestigious areas in the entire city.
Night City's layout had changed very little from the game.
At the center of everything stood Corpo Plaza.
This was the territory of the mega-corporations.
The beating heart of corporate power.
Here, towering skyscrapers housed the headquarters and branch offices of global corporations.
Arasaka.
Militech.
Kang Tao.
PetroChem.
The skyline of Corpo Plaza was the tallest in all of Night City.
Even at night, the buildings formed a massive wall of steel and glass that seemed to cut into the sky.
Arthur slowed the car slightly as he drove through the massive circular plaza.
The view outside the window was breathtaking.
The towering skyscrapers looked like enormous black giants.
They stood side by side in silence.
Majestic.
Beautiful.
Yet also cold.
And filthy beneath the surface.
This was the true heart of Night City.
Corpo Plaza.
Above the roundabout area floated two massive holographic fish.
They swam slowly through the air, glowing softly in shades of blue and white.
The holograms moved in endless circles.
Swimming.
Turning.
Repeating the same movements forever.
Arthur remembered seeing them when he played the game.
Back then, he thought they looked incredible.
But seeing them in real life was something else entirely.
The scale was overwhelming.
It felt like watching giant spirits drifting through the sky.
For a moment, Arthur thought they looked like the freest creatures in Night City.
Free from corporate chains.
Free from cybernetic overload.
Free from the brutal struggle of survival.
But that freedom was only an illusion.
Everything in Night City was owned by someone.
Even the sky.
Arthur shook his head lightly and focused on driving again.
In the passenger seat beside him, Evelyn Shaw was still unconscious.
Arthur occasionally glanced at her to make sure she wasn't about to vomit.
After all—
This was his new car now.
And he definitely didn't want it covered in alcohol.
Soon the navigation system guided him toward the underground parking area of Elsa Apartments.
The security system recognized the room card Evelyn had given him.
The gate opened automatically.
Arthur drove inside.
He parked the car smoothly and stepped out.
Then he lifted Evelyn over his shoulder.
She was surprisingly light.
Arthur walked toward the entrance of the apartment building.
Even on the first basement floor, there was a reception desk.
Behind it stood a woman whose appearance immediately caught Arthur's attention.
Her entire body was covered in gold plating.
Her arms.
Her neck.
Her cheeks.
Every visible surface gleamed like polished metal.
From a distance she looked almost like a statue.
A living golden sculpture.
Arthur blinked once.
He really didn't understand this aesthetic.
Gold plating?
Seriously?
Personally, he thought silver or matte black cybernetics looked far cooler.
Much more cyberpunk.
If the receptionist looked like a Cybertronian Autobot or Decepticon, Arthur would probably appreciate it a lot more.
But a walking gold statue?
That just felt strange.
Still, he didn't comment.
Cybernetic fashion trends in Night City changed constantly.
Thanks to technological progress, cyberware had already evolved to its fourth generation.
Compared to the third generation—which focused heavily on combat efficiency—the fourth generation emphasized aesthetics.
Design.
Luxury.
Style.
Unfortunately, those improvements came with problems.
Fourth-generation cyberware was more delicate.
More complicated.
And far more prone to breaking.
Users often needed to return to the manufacturer for expensive repairs.
Of course, not all fourth-generation technology was useless.
Some products were incredibly advanced.
Biological detection systems.
Pressure analysis implants.
Advanced neural processing units.
But those high-end cyberware models were designed exclusively for the elite.
Corporate executives.
Government officials.
Ultra-wealthy clients.
And because their engineering was so precise, they were extremely expensive to produce.
Which meant only the privileged class could afford them.
The poor of Night City?
They could only watch from the sidelines.
Arthur stepped into the elevator while carrying Evelyn.
The elevator had no floor buttons.
Instead, a smart identification system scanned the room card.
The doors closed automatically.
The elevator began to rise.
Quiet.
Smooth.
Efficient.
A moment later, the doors opened again.
Arthur had arrived at Evelyn Shaw's apartment.
The interior looked exactly as expected.
Elegant.
Luxurious.
Filled with advanced technology.
Smart furniture lined the living room.
Holographic displays floated near the walls.
Even the lighting adjusted automatically based on the time of day.
Arthur also noticed several green plants placed around the apartment.
Real plants.
Not synthetic decorations.
That alone made the apartment feel incredibly expensive.
Compared to Arthur's current residence behind the Puff Bar, the difference was enormous.
Without wasting time, Arthur walked into the living room.
Then he casually dropped Evelyn onto the sofa.
She bounced slightly but didn't wake up.
Arthur checked her pulse briefly.
Stable.
No danger.
Good enough.
His job here was done.
He turned around and walked back toward the elevator.
---
Arasaka Academy
Morning arrived.
The sun rose over Night City, casting a pale golden light across the towering skyscrapers of Corpo Plaza.
Corporate employees filled the sidewalks.
Everyone walked quickly.
Everyone looked busy.
Everyone had somewhere important to be.
This area was the most expensive real estate in the city.
Only the richest corporations could afford to build offices here.
Any company that managed to establish itself in Corpo Plaza automatically gained enormous prestige.
Even on a global scale.
Among these buildings stood a unique institution.
Arasaka Academy.
A prestigious school founded directly by Arasaka Corporation.
Because land in Corpo Plaza was so valuable, the academy couldn't occupy large surface areas.
Instead, most of its facilities were located beneath the roundabout plaza.
Only a small section of ground space was reserved for the academy's teaching facilities.
This was the age of advanced technology.
Traditional classrooms were already obsolete.
At Arasaka Academy, the primary learning method was Braindance education.
Students entered classrooms filled with comfortable reclining chairs.
They simply leaned back.
Placed a Braindance device on their heads.
And connected directly to the learning system.
Within seconds, they would enter a dedicated virtual environment.
Inside that digital world, lessons unfolded instantly.
Students could experience simulations, historical reconstructions, and interactive training programs.
Many classes focused on corporate culture.
For example:
The history of Arasaka Corporation
The achievements of Saburo Arasaka
Corporate hierarchy and etiquette
Loyalty and obedience to the company
Other subjects were even more practical.
If a student planned to work in Arasaka's food industry after graduation, they could simply install a training chip.
Instantly, they would understand food handling.
Ingredient preparation.
Preservation techniques.
Cooking procedures.
All downloaded directly into their brain.
Schools that still relied on sports fields or physical classrooms were considered outdated.
Dirty.
Unprofessional.
If a school advertised basketball courts and soccer fields, most wealthy parents would walk away immediately.
Those facilities were seen as useless distractions.
Modern education in Night City was about efficiency.
Braindance learning was faster.
More accurate.
And far more profitable.
Combined with cognitive enhancement cyberware, students could achieve incredible academic results.
With the right implants, a child could easily become a prodigy.
Of course—
Those enhancements were not available to the poor.
They were luxuries reserved for elite families.
And Arasaka Academy was the most prestigious school in Night City.
Its admission standards were brutal.
Students needed:
Exceptional intelligence
Perfect academic performance
And extremely wealthy family backgrounds
Without those three conditions—
Admission was impossible.
Inside one of the academy's classrooms, a boy had just placed his backpack on the floor.
His name was David Martinez.
He had barely sat down when a group of students called out to him.
"Hey!"
One of them smirked.
"Isn't that David Martinez?"
Another student leaned back in his chair.
"Come here," he said coldly.
"We need to talk."
David froze for a moment.
Around him, several students were already watching.
And none of them looked friendly.
The tension in the room grew heavier.
Because everyone here knew one thing.
David Martinez didn't belong at Arasaka Academy.
And the rich kids of Night City loved reminding him of that.
-------------------------------
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