Gearbound: Cyberpunk 2077-Chapter 180

Jackie couldn't help feeling a bit smug.

"So? Check me out—I'm in a suit now, heh heh. Looking good, right?"

Leo gave him a glance. "Not bad. Just... that hairstyle doesn't match the outfit."

Jackie rubbed his topknot thoughtfully.

"Ever thought of changing it up? Maybe something like Arthur Morgan's, or Geralt's?"

Jackie waved it off. "Nah, I think this works for me. What suits you best is what you stick with."

...

The Azure Suite, 42nd floor.

T-BUG had picked the room herself. It followed the same cool-toned decor style as the rest of Konpeki Plaza.

An in-wall aquarium gave the space a sleek, upscale vibe.

In respect to varying cultural preferences, the room offered both sofas and floor cushions. Even the bathroom screamed luxury.

The three of them stood in the room while Jackie gave an impressed whistle.

"Damn, this is fancy. Shame we're not staying overnight. Good eye, BUG."

"I didn't pick it for the decor. It's the fastest route to the network admin—the Arasaka netrunner—and the surveillance hub."

"Sí, sí, me acuerdo," Jackie muttered, nodding.

V scanned the room with her Kiroshi optics. "BUG, you said the Flathead's going through the vents, right? I found the duct."

"Then let's get it moving."

"I can do it," V offered.

Jackie's netrunning skills were... not quite there. If hacking were football, Lucy and V would be midfielders running the field. Jackie and Leo could only cheer from the sidelines as fans.

Jackie waved dismissively. "C'mon, this is easy. Don't look down on me, V."

He opened the case and slotted the control chip into his neural socket.

His cyberoptics lit up blue as he took command. The Flathead's thermo-optic camo engaged. It shimmered, blending into the environment—practically invisible.

Still, if you looked closely, you could just barely make out a shimmer in the air where it moved.

In a shadow, it would vanish completely.

Jackie guided the Flathead down from the case and into the ventilation system. Under T-BUG's guidance, he piloted it through duct after duct, crawling past multiple rooms.

Eventually, it reached the surveillance center where the Arasaka netrunner operated.

Konpeki's surveillance hub and server room shared the same space—it was huge. But only one netrunner was stationed there.

Anyone else wouldn't have made it past. Crawling through the vents would've gotten them spotted in seconds. But the Flathead's stealth armor made it possible to slip in unseen.

Then it struck—burning the Arasaka netrunner alive right there in his chair.

"He's down. That was slick."

"What about the Flathead? Should we pull it back?"

"No need. Leave it. It'll stay connected to the hotel's subnet. You're good to disconnect now, Jackie."

Jackie disconnected from the Flathead and looked like hell.

"Jackie, you okay?"

"Don't... don't talk to me. I'm gonna hurl."

Leo quickly grabbed a trash bin and shoved it in front of him.

Jackie threw up immediately. The Flathead was still a prototype—technically experimental. And Jackie had been using a hacked control chip made by the gang instead of the official version.

That bootleg chip let them bypass the original restrictions and drive the Flathead—but the trade-off was clear: intense physical strain and limited operating time.

He finally sat back, pale and groaning.

"Next time, you and Lucy can handle this crap."

In their four-person crew, Lucy had the best netrunning skills.

V came second.

Jackie had figured, "How hard could it be to steer a bot?" and volunteered. Now, he regretted it.

V gave a soft thump to her chest. "Alright, next time it's on me."

Leo grabbed a bottle of water from the minibar.

"You done puking? Drink some water."

Jackie rinsed his mouth, then took a few gulps.

"BUG, what's the status? When can we move?"

"To disable the penthouse security, I've gotta break through Konpeki's ICE. It's thicker than I expected—it'll take a few hours."

"A few hours? That long?"

Leo glanced out the window. Dex had called them to Afterlife back in the afternoon.

Now the sky was dark.

Right around the time the evening news on Seris was airing. They hadn't planned on staying overnight.

The original plan was to be out before the weather report. But if cracking ICE was going to take hours, that meant they'd be working well past midnight.

What if Yorinobu returned to the penthouse?

There'd be no way to sneak in and grab the Relic then.

"Can't you speed it up?" V asked.

"What, and fry my brain? Sit tight and enjoy those designer suits."

"Alright." Jackie sighed and turned to Leo and V. "When we came up earlier, I saw a bar downstairs..."

Leo hadn't responded yet, but V was already facepalming.

"Jackie."

"What? I'm not saying we go now! I meant after the job—maybe bring Misty here sometime."

He wandered over and sat on the bed. Softer than any bed he'd ever laid on. Jackie couldn't help but flop down and close his eyes. "This place is swanky. Wonder what a night costs here?"

Leo responded coolly. "Judging by the suite class? Easily over ten thousand eddies per night."

Jackie stared, slack-jawed.

"Damn, that much? These rich folks must be made of money. How can they just throw it around like this?"

Leo walked up to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out over Arasaka Waterfront.

Even with the lights on, you could see the workers down at the port, toiling like ants.

"It's not from the wind blowing money their way. It's squeezed from the backs of ordinary people. The ones who create wealth for them. They throw back scraps—just enough to keep the machine running. The rest, they keep."

"That's how they build towers like these. That's how they live in hillside mansions, sipping champagne and eating real food."

Jackie looked at Leo's back. "Even if you're right... so what? This world belongs to the corps. Only a bigger corp can beat one."

"Even the New United States couldn't reclaim Night City with Arasaka backing it. What chance does anyone else have?"

Leo collected his thoughts.

"Maybe not now. But the future... who knows?"

He clapped his hands, chasing off the heavy mood. "Alright, enough of that. You guys hungry? We've got hours to kill—might as well eat and rest."

"Fill up, rest up. Work smart."

V looked uneasy. "Dex booked us the room, not the food. Isn't that gonna be extra?"

Leo shrugged. "So what? I'll front it. We finish the job, Dex can cover it. You want us starving when it's time to move?"

V still looked unsure, so Leo ordered a bunch of her favorite dishes anyway.

Jackie saw Leo meant it and didn't hesitate. He ordered a whole spread—stuff that looked good and expensive.

After all, it wasn't their bill—it was going to Dex, that slick Jesus wannabe.

...

Meanwhile.

Inside a private booth at the Afterlife nightclub.

"It's gonna take hours to break through ICE? No other way? ...Alright, understood."

Dex ended the call with T-BUG, then turned to the guard waiting just outside the booth.

"Get the car ready. We're heading to the No-Tell Motel."

The guy blinked. "They failed?"

"No. Not yet, anyway. But better safe than sorry."

The guard nodded and left.

Once the door shut, Dex placed another call.

"Tomorrow morning's shuttle—still got any seats?"

"...Only one left?"

"Fine. One's enough."

...

Arasaka Tower Plaza.

A flight squadron from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force descended onto the airstrip behind Arasaka Tower.

On the tarmac, senior execs and a specialized medical team stood waiting in formation.

All eyes were fixed on one of the descending aircraft.

Saburo Arasaka stepped out.

The moment he touched down, the medical team rushed to meet him.

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