Arasaka Tower, 66th floor.
"Ma'am—V and the Chrome Goliath have entered the tower! They're taking the elevator straight to our floor—w-we've completely lost control of the situation!"
"Don't panic!" Abernathy barked, forcing calm. "I've prepared for this. With him here, V is dead for sure!"
A massive silhouette stood in the shadows, only a pair of blood-red optical implants glowing.
Abernathy nodded at the figure.
"Don't disappoint me, Adam Smasher."
V received a welcome she did not expect.
Several departments had already defected to support her—
thanks entirely to Carter, the guy who didn't even have a proper office.
"Deputy V! I knew you weren't dead—thank god you're back!"
V was honestly impressed.
She never realized Carter had such a silver tongue.
He'd saved her a lot of trouble.
"Well done."
V patted his shoulder.
"Leave the rest to me."
"Yes, ma'am!" Carter saluted.
"Deputy V—you must win!"
"That bitch Abernathy's been grinding us under her heel for years. Deputy V, we're counting on you!"
"The departments above the 30th floor declared neutrality—please be careful."
"Please avenge us, Deputy V!"
V accepted their support—
their hopes—
and stepped into the elevator to the 66th floor.
Ding.
The doors slid open—
and a hail of bullets greeted her instantly.
The Spec-Ops unit had been waiting.
The moment V appeared, they opened fire.
BANG-BANG-BANG!
David moved first—
the Chrome Goliath's massive body shielding her from every bullet.
V tilted her head slightly—
her eyes flashed neon-blue—
—and every enemy brain in the hallway cooked into gray slurry.
"Move."
One word.
V and David advanced.
The 66th floor was huge.
Abernathy had transformed it into a fortress.
Spec-Ops troops poured out from every angle, using the terrain to mount a final stand.
"Kill. No mercy."
David inhaled deeply.
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Chrome Goliath barreled left.
V went right alone.
These weren't neutral employees.
These were Abernathy's loyalists.
There was no room for mercy.
"Black ice incoming!"
"The Chrome Goliath is breaking through our line!"
"They're running military-grade chrome!"
"They're too strong—TOO STRONG!"
"ICE is breached—she's hacking our entire system!"
"N-no—no! I don't want to—"
Silence.
V and David had carved a mountain of corpses.
David's breathing was ragged.
He was still just a student.
"Maine and the others should be on this floor. Find them."
"R-right."
V had already located them through the network—
she only gave David the order so he'd stop thinking about the blood.
Soon, his comm pinged.
"Deputy V! Found them!"
"On my way."
They met outside a glass-walled lab.
Inside lay Maine, Dorio, Rebecca, and Sasha—alive, but limbless, unconscious, their neural sockets wired to machines.
"MAINE!"
David rushed forward to yank the cables free—
V grabbed him.
"Don't. These lines run directly to their brains. We have to exit them from the program first."
V extended her personal data jack and connected to a nearby terminal.
"Ugh—"
She winced.
"Deputy V! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just a—"
"A trap!"
A voice screeched.
V and David turned.
Abernathy strutted in, gloating.
"Oh V… you make me adore and hate you. I never knew you hid such formidable netrunning skills. If you worked for me, I'd make you second only to myself. But no—
you chose to stand against me!
And now look at you—
right in my trap."
V's eyes flared blue.
Abernathy sneered.
"Don't bother. Knowing your strength, of course I prepared. That line you jacked into? It goes straight to the Arasaka mainframe. You're up against corporate-grade ICE.
No one survives a counterattack like that.
Your brain's going to boil—HAHA—huh?!"
Her laugh died.
V spun the monitor toward her.
A simple progress bar crawled forward.
1%…
2%…
3%…
Slow, but unstoppable.
"This is impossible!" Abernathy shrieked like a banshee.
"No single person has the compute to break a corporate mainframe!
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?"
"You senile bitch," V said flatly.
"I'm the legendary V."
"YOU—!"
Abernathy glared murderously.
V glared back.
They issued commands simultaneously.
"David—kill her!"
"Smasher—tear her apart!"
David surged forward—
but from behind Abernathy, a colossal chrome body lunged out.
CLANG!
Metal slammed metal.
Sparks exploded.
Air shockwaved violently.
David staggered back—eyes wide.
His opponent replaced almost everything with chrome—
only half a brain remained.
The monster grinned.
Adam Smasher.
David's shock faded.
No matter the opponent—
he would not retreat.
He triggered his gravity field—
Smasher's shoulder armor warped slightly—
but before the gravity weapon fully activated, Smasher blasted out of range and opened fire.
Bullets grazed David's waist—blood spilled.
They faced off again.
"Kill that brat, then finish V!" Abernathy shrieked.
V barely looked up.
"Careful—that's Adam Smasher.
Cyberware conversion: 96%.
Night City's only living legend.
David, hold for three minutes.
I'll finish things here."
David blinked—
then grinned.
"Three minutes is fine—
but killing this Adam Smasher guy is also fine, right?"
Smasher laughed—an electronic, hollow laugh.
"I've waited decades for someone who could kill me.
But nobody even makes me feel pain anymore.
Kid—try."
Before the last word finished—
David launched himself forward.
His punch smashed into Smasher—
sending the legend flying like a missile.
Chrome Goliath punches could crack a Militech Hellhound APC—
and Smasher weighed only five tons.
David didn't hesitate.
Two gravity blasts shook the tower.
Missile ports snapped open along his arms—
he unleashed a storm.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!"
Explosions thundered.
22 seconds of uninterrupted bombardment.
Finally—
smoke cleared.
A tall silhouette stepped out.
"No… way…" David trembled.
Smasher walked through the dust—
chunks of exoskeletal armor falling off with each step.
The outer plating had saved him—
but now that he'd shed it, he was faster.
"Not bad," Smasher said.
"I felt a tiny sting. Like a mosquito bite.
As repayment—
I'll crush you to paste, insect."
He vanished.
David had no time to react—
Smasher's punch hurled him across the room.
"I have multiple Sandevistans, idiot," Abernathy cackled.
David spat blood mid-air.
He crashed down—
Smasher was already there, pummeling him mercilessly.
"You thought installing a Chrome Goliath made you special?
Moron. You were never unique."
"I won't lose—
I'll protect everyone!"
David swung—
Smasher easily dodged and drove a knee into his gut.
Blood sprayed.
Smasher sighed in pleasure.
"You remind me of a dog I killed at eight years old.
Tied to a leash but still barking and trying to bite.
So I chopped up her pups, cooked them, and ate them in front of her.
She screamed and threw herself at me again and again—
until the leash strangled her."
"YOU FUCKING MONSTER!"
David erupted—electric arcs forcing Smasher back.
But the moment he stood—
Smasher kicked him like a cannonball through two walls.
David collapsed.
Smasher crouched beside him.
"You have potential.
But not enough.
If you want to save your friends—
throw everything away.
Logic. Morality. Conscience. Humanity.
Become truly strong."
"You want me to turn cyberpsycho?"
"Exactly.
Do that—and you'll have a 1% chance of beating me.
Think about it.
Break your leash, kid.
I'm giving you a gift."
David trembled.
"…I refuse."
"Wrong answer."
Smasher stomped him into the floor.
His consciousness sank—
drowning like wet cotton sinking in water.
I failed again.
I'm sorry, Mom.
Sorry, Maine.
Sorry, Lucy.
Sorry, Deputy V.
I'm useless…
I disappointed you all…
[No one is useless.
If you feel powerless—
you find a way to become stronger.]
David's mind jolted.
Deputy V!?
[David.
Open your eyes.
Let me show you what a real fight looks like.]
David opened his eyes—
and saw his body moving.
Not by his own consciousness—
but by the other presence inside him.
V.
Remote overclocked puppeteering.
Smasher charged V—
V watched calmly.
Her eyes glowed.
Smasher activated self-ICE—
no intrusion came.
CLANK.
A metallic sound behind him.
He turned—
astonished to see "David" standing.
"Impressive willpower. But a defeated worm—what are you—"
David's arms glowed red—
multiple gravity blasts fired.
Smasher dodged with Sandevistan—
until he realized "David" was already waiting where he'd land.
Impossible.
This kid was too green to predict movement.
David struck.
Smasher blocked—
they locked.
David smirked.
"Sandevistan's cooling, right?"
Smasher's optical lenses contracted sharply.
"HAAA!"
Smasher braced for a punch—
but David feinted.
Instead he kicked Smasher's leg.
The Chrome Goliath's monstrous strength broke his balance.
Then the real strike came—
a shoulder throw that smashed Smasher down through the floor.
BOOOOOOM.
He crashed from 66th to 65th.
"Fuck!"
The legend stared upward in disbelief.
But before he could rise—
David descended, Chrome Goliath foot aimed at his chest.
Smasher rolled away—
but David anticipated again, switching stomp to kick—
and sent him flying like a steel soccer ball.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two walls shattered.
Smasher stabilized—
eyes murderous.
Every missile port on his body opened—
over a hundred micro-rockets locking onto David.
David scoffed.
Kerenzikov—activate.
Time slowed to a viscous crawl.
He drifted through the missile storm—smooth, precise, graceful.
Smasher roared and opened fire with his palm cannons—
David's Kerenzikov ended.
Bullets rained.
He didn't dodge.
Lightning crackled over his flesh—
skin-armor overclocked—
and the rounds ricocheted harmlessly.
Smasher froze.
"You calculated even this…?"
David's punch came—
Smasher blocked—
but it was another feint.
The true blow came from David's left—
a fully charged strike.
CRUNCH.
Smasher's defense shattered.
He counterpunched—
David parried, flowed, borrowed momentum—
and tore off Smasher's right arm.
The Chrome Goliath unleashed a storm of blows—
Smasher crumbled under the barrage.
These punches were too seasoned.
Too polished.
Too precise.
Not from a student.
From a veteran.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?"
David ripped a steel beam from the wall.
"Who am I?"
The beam swung.
The world cracked.
Smasher's metal body flew apart—
gears, steel, circuitry flung like shredded paper.
David roared:
"I'm the legendary V!"
Both fists ignited.
Boosters flared.
All pain—all fury—
converged into one motion.
Chrome Goliath launched upward—
ramming Smasher through floor after floor—
66…
67…
70…
80…
90…
99…
Until—
100th floor.
David smashed through the rooftop—
punched Smasher into the sky—
and the metal titan crashed onto the Arasaka rooftop.
News AVs and drones spun their cameras.
People across Night City looked up.
At this moment—
the entire city witnessed an unknown boy
stand upon the crown of Arasaka Tower.
Meredith Stout and others were speechless.
"Adam Smasher… beaten?
By a kid?
FUCK—within three minutes I want his full dossier!"
Every major power stared at David.
Inside the tower—
V's eyes dimmed.
She spat a mouthful of blood.
Remote puppeteering required absurd compute—
even she could only survive it through neural overclocking.
She didn't regret it.
She wasn't a saint—
but she wouldn't watch a good kid die.
She wiped the blood, shook her head.
Last time it was Relic malfunction.
This time, brain overheat.
She really was good at fighting while half-dead.
V looked at the terrified Abernathy.
"Not gonna run?"
Abernathy jolted—
then pulled a gun and fired wildly.
V didn't bother dodging.
Abernathy's hand shook too much.
She calmly injected a MaxDoc IV,
stood still,
and watched her progress bar.
BANG—BANG—BANG.
94%…
96%…
99%…
Abernathy hit nothing.
Then—
100%.
Click.
The cables on Maine's team detached automatically.
V withdrew her data jack.
She looked at Abernathy.
The woman collapsed, scrambling backward in sheer terror.
She crawled away, whimpering.
V smiled.
"That's better.
Run.
Scream.
Struggle.
Despair.
Everything you did to others—
I'm going to shove it all
back up your ass."