Three days remained until the parade festival.
At that moment, Arasaka Corporation was working tirelessly to set up and secure Japantown in preparation for the event. It was also during this time that Karl and Johnny Silverhand arrived at a construction site across from the Arasaka Industrial Complex. Standing atop an unfinished building, they overlooked the massive compound across the road.
Their plan was to infiltrate the parade float on the day of the festival—but to pull that off, it was clear they couldn't go in blind.
Never mind the agents, snipers, and netrunners hidden along the route—the float itself had high-level defense protocols that posed a serious challenge. To infiltrate and retrofit it to allow physical entry during the parade, they had to act now. The plan: inject malware into the float's system in advance to weaken its defenses.
And the float's production site was conveniently located within the Arasaka Industrial Complex—that was the very reason Karl and Johnny had come here today.
Before sneaking into the float itself, they had a warm-up mission to handle: infiltrate Arasaka's industrial grounds.
"Of course, you could also see this as a little test, Mr. Johnny Silverhand." Standing on the rooftop, Karl let the wind brush past him and turned to Johnny. "The legendary Johnny Silverhand—surely you're not saying you can't pull off a solo infiltration and malware upload?"
The taunt, half-mocking and half-provocative, worked like a charm. After observing the terrain of the Arasaka complex from his elevated perch, Johnny simply snapped, "Watch me," before leaping from the construction site and sprinting toward the compound with impressive agility.
From his movements, it was obvious he'd grown increasingly accustomed to his new body. Whether it was due to the chip or just Johnny's own talent for adapting, Karl couldn't help but see shades of "Ball-Ball" in him.
Back then, after extensive upgrades by the team, Ball-Ball had become a top-tier netrunner and combat unit—capable of tearing through elite corporate security forces with ease. And these weren't street punks—they were Arasaka-tier, equipped with military-grade tech. Even among Afterlife mercs, few could match that level.
Now, Johnny had that same level of capability—and he could use it fully. A place like Arasaka's complex? It wouldn't hold him back for long.
Karl watched as the black-and-white figure vanished from sight. Then, casually, he found a place to sit on the rooftop. He pulled out a backup phone and opened the latest news broadcast.
On screen was the image of Saburo Arasaka's son, Saburo Sene, speaking at what appeared to be a press conference:
"Today I'm making an important announcement: I'm doubling the number of security personnel in Night City. President Myers claims this violates the Alvin Accords and views it as a provocation—as an affront to New America and Militech. But let me ask you—was assassinating my father not a provocation? Was that not a challenge—"
Saburo Sene's voice was passionate and sharp, filled with disdain for Militech. But suddenly, the broadcast was cut off.
Karl glanced at the channel on his phone—News54. Everyone knew News54 was backed by Militech, effectively their propaganda outlet. Sene appearing on their platform was clearly intentional—Militech likely wanted to paint him as a warmonger by highlighting his troop increase.
But they clearly hadn't expected Sene to bring up his father's death. Once he did, the broadcast was pulled immediately.
Apparently, even now, Militech hadn't figured out which faction was actually behind Saburo Arasaka's assassination. They were still pointing fingers and rooting out moles within their own ranks. Until they confirmed who did it, they weren't ready to start another corporate war with Arasaka.
So the situation was this: Arasaka, enraged over Saburo's death, was mobilizing under Saburo Sene. Meanwhile, Militech was locked in internal chaos, too paralyzed to act.
Having pieced that together through the news and his own mission history, Karl shut off the phone and looked toward the rooftop stairwell. He'd heard something odd.
And then, a creature rarely seen in Night City appeared before him.
A cat. More specifically, a Canadian Sphynx.
After the Avian Protection Act, birds had vanished from the city—then dogs followed. Now, cats were all that remained, scattered few and far between.
Karl had seen a few before. There was one near Vik's clinic. Misty used to feed it and had even considered adopting it. But he never expected to see one here, at an abandoned construction site.
The cat stretched lazily in the stairwell, climbed onto a stone railing, and lay down without fear, locking eyes with Karl.
After thinking for a moment, Karl pulled an octopus-pancake-flavored energy bar from his pocket, tore it open, and squeezed out a bit of the pastey contents, waving it at the cat as an offering.
He'd taken it from V's ride recently, partly for nostalgia—mostly because it was so revoltingly bad that it was rare. Curious whether even a cat would eat it, he decided to test it out.
The cat, having caught the scent, didn't hesitate. After a brief glance at Karl, it hopped down and approached. It sniffed the bar… and then licked it.
One second… two… three…
Still licking.
"So I guess it's just me—the cat doesn't mind the taste."
With a shrug, Karl squeezed the rest of the bar onto the ground and let the cat continue licking away. He stood and looked toward the industrial complex.
Off in the distance, within the complex, he could faintly make out a black-and-white figure in motion. Judging by the trajectory, everything seemed to be going smoothly.
"Cats and dogs, huh. Used to be everywhere. People got so used to them they became a nuisance. And now? You can barely find one. Kinda crazy how fast the environment changes."
As the wind blew past him, Karl noticed the hairless cat had finished eating. It came over and rubbed up against his pant leg.
"You want me to adopt you? Sorry, I'm not into taking care of pets. Don't count on it."
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he was probably overthinking it. The cat seemed to just want to rub against him, maybe as a thank-you gesture. After that, it trotted away, paused briefly at the stairwell, gave him one last look… and disappeared.
Karl remembered something he'd once heard: cats rub against people to leave their scent, so they can recognize them later.
So… does that mean it wants to find me again?
Surely it's not planning to come back just to mooch another terrible energy bar... right? That stuff's awful—and it liked it?
The thought led him elsewhere.
In ancient Egypt, cats were considered sacred, symbols of protection and prosperity. A cat's visit was often seen as a good omen, a sign of good fortune to come.
A good omen.
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🔥 CYBERPUNK: THE RELENTLESS
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🔥 THE STORY DOESN'T STOP HERE. NEITHER DOES HE.
Night City breaks people every day.
Some crawl away.
Some disappear.
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Cyberpunk: The Relentless has 500+ chapters ahead available for readers who want to keep going.
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⚡ NO BRAKES. NO MERCY. NO TURNING BACK.
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Every victory creates another enemy.
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