"Bzzt bzzt bzzt..."
Only the dial tone came through Roqi's headset.
He shrugged at Mower, signaling it was no use.
This was his second attempt calling Judy, but it was like tossing a stone into the ocean—no ripple, no response.
Recompiling the training chip into braindance format came with a major challenge: debugging the BD itself.
And for that, only someone of Judy's caliber as a braindance editor could do the job.
The chip was highly sophisticated.
And the more advanced the chip, the higher the technical threshold for whoever was reworking it.
T-Bug was already jacked in, busy with complex recompilation procedures, and MaxTac's experimental division had linked up as well.
But since all their coordination took place in cyberspace, the physical world was left in an awkward silence.
The kind of quiet that makes the room feel uncomfortable.
Not being able to reach Judy—while not unexpected—meant their plans weren't going as smoothly as hoped.
"T-Bug, we can't get through to Judy."
Roqi opened the comms channel and pinged T-Bug mid-operation.
"No response? What's going on?"
She answered almost instantly.
"Called her a few times. Nothing. Just ringing."
Roqi replied honestly.
"...Give me a few minutes."
T-Bug fell silent.
They waited in boredom.
Roqi fiddled with the BD glove packaging. Mower sat beside him, staring blankly, still lost in the memory of her earlier training.
Melissa let out a long, exaggerated yawn.
T-Bug and Judy weren't strangers. Back during the Konpeki Plaza operation, Evelyn had recorded a BD of Arasaka's penthouse suite. Judy helped V analyze it.
She didn't just map out the security setup—she pinpointed the relic's exact location.
Braindance was a unique medium—richer than traditional video, packed with dense information.
Only elite editors could filter through all that data and construct a usable, immersive experience.
Even when used to find evidence or clues, a good editor could extract meaning from the smallest visual or auditory cues—sometimes without knowing what exactly they were seeing.
T-Bug and Judy were both top of their respective fields.
But when one asked the other for help, it always felt like a challenge to their pride.
T-Bug, as a netrunner, had a sixth sense for corporate networks and security systems.
Judy had that same gut-level instinct, but for BD content—she could pick up on anomalies no one else would notice.
In the original timeline—
T-Bug had died during the Konpeki Plaza escape.
Arasaka's netrunners hijacked the building's systems and intercepted her when she tried to open the automatic window doors for V and Jackie.
With defenses collapsing and her escape route cut off, T-Bug was swarmed by daemons and didn't survive.
They only got to work together once.
And jobs that required both netrunning and BD editing were rare—usually high-end commercial projects.
Which is why it was unlikely they'd get another chance to collaborate.
T-Bug jacked out of the system.
"What's the status?"
"Third call. Still no answer."
Roqi had called three times in the last half hour. No reply.
"Guess we can't count on her."
T-Bug wasn't one for waiting around. In her world, time meant survival. Every second mattered.
"I know another editor. Not quite on Judy's level, but close enough."
She looked at Roqi. "I'll call him in. But you'll have to cover his fee."
"Of course."
Roqi nodded. "As long as the final product holds up."
"I'll vouch for him," T-Bug said without hesitation.
"Then bring him in. No time to waste."
Roqi didn't insist on Judy.
The job paid well—well enough to tempt most editors. But top-tier talent like Judy, T-Bug, or Viktor didn't need to take jobs like this unless they wanted to.
Judy did freelance work for entertainment studios on the side. Lizzie's Bar didn't come close to covering the cost of her gear and R&D.
Sure, she was close to V. But not to Roqi or T-Bug. There was no expectation she'd prioritize them.
Especially since T-Bug hated relying on people she couldn't reach.
No need to risk friction with close allies over someone more distant.
MaxTac's experimental techs also joined the recompilation.
They were the only ones who truly understood the chip's architecture and materials.
To fully utilize it via BD headset, a flawless port was necessary.
Any flaw would reduce its effectiveness.
T-Bug's approach wasn't to copy the chip outright. Instead, she preserved its original data slot and designed a converter so the content could be displayed through a compatible bioware interface.
She then used the BD gloves to build a tailored interface for Roqi.
After all, neural controls were vastly more responsive than hand gestures, which felt too much like playing a game.
"I got you the best BD headset out there."
T-Bug dropped a larger box into Roqi's lap. "Expensive stuff. Add it to my bill."
"Haha… of course," Roqi smiled.
The packaging was clean, professional. Not some cheap plastic gimmick, but a full-on premium VR-grade unit.
A semi-helmet, built solid.
"This thing reads your brainwaves. Once you're inside, I'll activate dev-edit mode and link your neural signals to system commands."
T-Bug explained her plan.
But since this wasn't military-grade, she had also prepped custom parts.
With these mods, Roqi could simply think a command and the headset would send that instruction as if it were coming from a real bioware slot.
And that was just part of the process.
It sounded messy—but this was real R&D.
Soon after, T-Bug's backup BD editor arrived.
And hilariously—
He had no idea what "MaxTac HQ" really meant.
The moment he got out of his car and realized where he was, panic nearly made him piss himself.
Fortunately, Roqi intercepted him before any MaxTac operatives could rough him up.
When the editor spotted T-Bug, he was practically speechless.
Scarred face, tatted neck and shoulders—not exactly a gang boss, but not someone you'd underestimate either.
Thankfully, he was skilled.
Under T-Bug's guidance, he got to work fast.
"I've done gigs for government clients, y'know."
His name was Pavarotti, an Italian. Not the world-famous tenor from a hundred years ago, just a regular guy with a famous surname.
Like Da Vinci or Rossini, it's just a name—foreigners always assume otherwise.
"Yes, Mr. Pavarotti. You've mentioned that... several times," Roqi replied, trying to be polite but clearly losing patience.
Whether it was nerves or some weird flex, the man had repeated it too many times.
"Alright. Preliminary edits complete. You're good to go."
T-Bug stayed jacked in but switched to observer mode.
"You mean me?" Roqi asked.
"Who else? Get moving."
T-Bug gestured toward the gear.
The headset was already connected to the chip module. The casing had visible pry marks, wires stuffed in roughly.
The BD gloves had been modded beyond recognition—no longer sleek and cyber, but rough and post-apocalyptic.
Roqi glanced at Mower, then put the headset on.
"Whirrrr…"
The system powered up with a low hum.
"Ready? Starting system now."
T-Bug's voice echoed in his ears.
"I'm ready."
Roqi sounded like a yellow, square sponge.
A surge of white light and all-frequency static pulled his mind inward. He was yanked from reality, consciousness distorted and twisted.
Like a bullet train through a time tunnel, hurtling past cosmic background noise, until—
A massive gate swung open.
[MAX-TAC]
The logo of the Maximum Force Tactical Division filled his vision.
Just as Roqi thought he'd be watching a loading screen, the world fell away.
He landed in a three-dimensional space.
"Uh??"
The sudden transition left him dazed.
He tried to look at his hands—but his head felt mechanical, moving stiffly.
His view tracked like a mouse cursor—fluid yet unnatural.
"You in? Can you see it?" T-Bug asked.
"I'm in. Looks just like before."
When Mower had used the training chip, he'd seen her feed. The selection screen had been the same—pure white space.
"Alright, starting calibration."
T-Bug typed away. "I preloaded a universal control scheme. Finish syncing first, then we'll tweak it."
"Any issues?"
"Nope," Roqi answered. "Let's do this."
"First: camera movement."
Thanks to neural detection, Roqi didn't need to move his head.
The system mapped thought patterns to rotational input.
After several calibration passes, whenever Roqi thought about turning, his view snapped precisely where intended.
Fit accuracy: ~90%.
Unlike regular BDs, this setup didn't require physical movement.
Earlier motion data from his trials had been linked to his brainwaves with help from T-Bug and the lab team.
It was a long process.
No commercial setup could handle this.
The headset was modded. The gloves were modded. Even the chip reader was modded.
No one had done this before.
It was one of a kind.
Everything had to be configured manually.
Time slipped by.
And T-Bug had been right—
Sometimes, this city dragged time like molasses. Other times, it vanished like a glitch in the Net.
When all the initial syncs were finally complete—
Roqi stood in an endless white field, a katana in his hand.
The floor was a grid extending to infinity.
Three training dummies stood in a triangle ahead.
Phase One Combat Simulation — Begin.
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MY GIRLFRIEND'S A CYBERPSYCHO—WHO KNEW?
🤖💘 MY GIRLFRIEND'S A CYBERPSYCHO—WHO KNEW? 💘🤖
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📢 LOVE MEETS CYBERPSYCHOSIS! 📢
My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew? has 100+ chapters ahead available on Patreon! 💘💥
Romance is already complicated.
Now add:
🌃 Night City🦾 Cyberware🔫 Gunfights💀 Cyberpsychosis💥 Property damage❤️ And a girlfriend who might snap at any moment
Love hurts.
In this case, it might also come with bullets, broken walls, and emergency trauma care.
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