Cyberpunk: New Era

NETRUNNER

In the Pacifica district of Night City. a lone hooded figure stood still, gazing at the neon-lit skyline. "So beautiful," she murmured to herself "If only the beauty wasn't a lie."

She was surrounded by bodies scattered across the roof. Oddly, there wasn't a single drop of blood around—just thin trails of smoke rising from each head, their brains cooked from the inside out. These were NCPD guards who had tried to ambush her. They didn't stand a chance.

With a smirk, she nudged one of the bodies with her foot. "Guess they didn't get the memo," she muttered. "You don't mess with netrunners."

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Zach made his way through the crowded, gritty streets of Kabuki, heading to meet their new fixer. Mikey had started trusting him with these kinds of meetups lately, sending him to talk with dealers and make connections. He was ready for it—or so he told himself. Since he was most of the time quit childish and reckless.

Kabuki was the infamous market district just outside Pacifica. The place was packed with stalls and stands selling everything you could imagine—and a lot of things you'd rather not. Neon signs in Chinese and Japanese flashed overhead, lighting up displays of sleek cosmetics, cheap souvenirs, and racks of cyberware. The air smelled like spices mixed with oil.

But under all that chaos, Kabuki was as dangerous as it was lively. The Mox gang held control over the district, which kept things from getting too out of hand. They weren't the violent type, and they kept the peace just enough for business to thrive. Still, gangs like Tyger Claws and Maelstrom had their fingers in the place, too.

And of course, you couldn't ignore the iconic Lizzie's Bar, the Mox gang's pride and the very place they'd formed to protect. It was known all over as the hottest Braindance (BD) club in town—a place where people came to escape reality, one simulation at a time. (Braindance technology, or BD, was all about hooking straight into your senses, giving people anything from wild memories to combat training, a thrill of a lifetime, or, for some, a dark, torturous experience. It was probably the most widely sold non-lethal tech in history.). Tonight, Zach was here for a meeting with his fixer, not a night out.

Just as he neared the entrance, a girl in fishnets and electric-blue hair stopped him. "Are you new around here?" she asked, looking him up and down. "Don't think I've seen you before."

Zach nodded. "Yeah, first time."

She grinned, her gaze narrowing. "You look younger than the regulars. You sure you're not a minor?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Like you guys care about age. All you sell is BD tech; doesn't really matter who's watching."

She let out a small laugh. "Fair enough. But just so you know, we've got some rules. No touching the girls walking around, no exceptions. If you like one, you can check in at the front desk—they'll set you up with a BD. And if you've got a gun, keep it tucked away. Or we won't hesitate to turn you into a cocktail." The girl laughed on her own joke.

"Got it," he said, already focusing on why he was really here. The rules might come in handy, but he had no plans to linger.

With that, he stepped into the bar. As Zach made his way across the crowded bar, he could feel the thumping bass of the music vibrating through the floor. The flashing neon lights bounced off the glossy surfaces and flickered over the faces of the bar-goers lost in their BD fantasies. It was loud, chaotic, and everything that made Night City, Night City.

His fixer was easy to spot. In a place where most people were half-dressed and lost in a BD trance, Arnold stood out like a sore thumb. Arnold's dark suit screamed business. He was one of the top 10 fixers in Kabuki. He sat in a shadowy corner, surrounded by a group of heavily armed thugs.