Xu Zhong was driving; V sat in the passenger seat.
Glaive sped from Watson District toward Santo Domingo.
The young "acting president" was clearly nervous—back straight, eyes sharp, hands fixed at ten and two.
V glanced sideways and teased:
"Relax. Arasaka, Militech, and Kang Tao's security teams are all in the shadows. Even if Morgan Blackhand crawled out of his grave, he couldn't do a damn thing. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't strike right now."
Xu responded with a stiff "Mm," still hyper-focused on the road.
Seeing she couldn't convince him otherwise, V let him be.
Truthfully—she didn't dislike the feeling of someone being this worried for her.
Fortunately, nothing happened along the way.
Glaive arrived safely at Joanne Koch's apartment.
The home AI recognized the stored biometric entries and unlocked the door.
The moment V and Xu stepped in, Joanne's voice sounded through the wall intercom.
"I'm in the basement lab. Sit tight—I'll be up in a second."
V moved naturally to the fridge, grabbed a beer, cracked it open with one hand.
She raised a brow at Xu; he shook his head, all business, standing guard by the window.
Fine.
She drank alone.
She was halfway through the can when Joanne came upstairs carrying a cold-storage case.
"Stout told me your plan," Joanne said. "I was going to talk you out of it. But knowing you—pointless.
So I made this."
She opened the case.
A silver injector lay inside.
"What's this?" V asked.
"Second-generation Nano-Neural Repair Serum. Custom-built, V-only special edition."
Joanne spoke briskly. "I won't explain the principles—you wouldn't understand it anyway. Just remember: it's built from the combined top-tier tech of Arasaka and Biotechnica. Tailored specifically for your condition."
V froze.
"…It can cure me?"
"It can." Joanne nodded.
V's expression lit up—bright, unguarded joy flashing across her face.
Then Joanne dumped a bucket of ice water on it:
"But the price is a 37.44% chance of death."
"No!"
Before V could react, Xu Zhong's voice cracked in horror.
"That's too dangerous!"
V raised a hand, stopping him.
She drew a deep breath, steadied herself.
"Koch. Tell me everything."
"Fine. I wasn't planning to hide it anyway."
Joanne leaned on the table.
"The second-gen nano-gene repair system can heal you. But yes—it carries a 37.44% chance of total neural-cluster collapse. That's strictly theoretical. I never injected this into you for a real trial. The actual mortality rate might be even higher."
"And another thing," she continued, "your recovery has a time limit—not because of the drug, but because of you. I already told you: your nervous system mounts an immune-like response that attacks nanobots. So I wrapped these new ones in a protein shell to delay destruction. But delay isn't cessation. Once bot count drops below 75%, they can't sustain structural repair. Your neural cluster will deteriorate again. You'll return to your current state."
"That's insane!" Xu Zhong shouted.
"Not only does it fail to cure V-jie, but she has to risk death?! Can't you improve it?"
"Of course I'm improving it." Joanne sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"I've been trying to find why your nervous system rejects nanobots. Everyone else is fine—you alone trigger this bizarre anti-nano reaction. But solving it takes time."
She met V's eyes.
"But I won't give up. So you don't give up either."
"Don't worry."
V spoke with rare solemnity.
"I won't."
"Good."
Joanne handed her the silver injector.
"Your plan is dangerous. That's why I'm giving you this. But listen carefully—do not use it unless absolutely necessary. Give me some time. I'll make a next-gen version that, maybe, won't kill you as often."
V looked at her tired, sleepless face—truly exhausted.
She said from the heart:
"…Thank you."
"Go on. I have another test to run."
Joanne waved them away and vanished back into the lab.
V knew this woman blamed herself—
blamed her insistence on saving Megabuilding H4,
blamed the demotion that lowered security clearance,
blamed the breach that let Takemura slip in and nearly kill V.
The logic was simple—
but humans weren't logical machines.
Humans were chaos.
Contradictions.
Emotion.
A thousand unknowable variables.
V could crack corporate-grade servers with ease—
but she could never decode a song, a painting, or a guilty conscience.
They returned to the car.
Xu Zhong drove silently for a moment. Then he said:
"V-jie… I'll protect you."
V turned her head, surprised.
He continued:
"I grew up in the military. Didn't see much of the world. But even with limited contact, I knew it wasn't the paradise the Xu family claimed. Oppression is everywhere. Exploitation sticks to people like a shadow. Even Kang Tao's claim of being 'different' is just a self-painted lie."
He tightened his grip on the wheel.
"Kang Tao had a chemical leak in a refinery in Hangzhou. Over five thousand people died, directly and indirectly. The equipment was outdated—that was the real cause. But the company twisted the truth, blamed it on 'operator error.' The families got nothing.
Thousands of homes shattered—
and Kang Tao?
They popped champagne. Celebrated successful PR."
V stayed silent.
She had seen cases like this a hundred times.
Xu continued, voice trembling with controlled rage:
"PR costs more than the compensation would've. But they'd rather bribe officials and media than give a single cent to the people they killed."
He inhaled.
"I killed the Kang Tao executive in charge of the cover-up. At the banquet. With a ninjatō. I cut off his head—opened his chest. I thought his heart would be black.
But it was red—just like mine."
His voice cracked slightly.
"Why are humans so cruel to other humans? I couldn't understand. I still don't."
"When I got caught, I was expelled from the army. Stripped of status. Thrown into Kang Tao's Night City branch as a lowly security chief. My grandfather told me: 'Find evidence of Jiang Ping's corruption, and you can return to the family.'
I was too naïve.
Jiang Ping ruled Night City like a queen. A mere chief like me was nothing."
He glanced at V.
"Then I heard about you, V-jie. Heard you were her enemy. I deliberately put myself in front of you."
"You defeated her easily. Someone I saw as insurmountable—you crushed like nothing."
"I found the proof, brought her down. Grandfather honored his promise—I could've returned to Shenyang.
But I refused."
"Because returning meant nothing changes.
In Night City, I saw another possibility.
A possibility created by you."
V exhaled very softly.
She didn't interrupt him.
Xu's voice grew firmer:
"I don't know if I'm right.
But I know they are wrong.
Corporations don't have to be monsters.
People shouldn't tear each other apart.
Right now it's 70/30 darkness to light.
One day it'll be 60/40.
50/50.
It'll take decades—but with you here, it can be real."
"So I'll protect you, protect everyone who wants something better—no matter noble or lowborn. If they share our vision, they're my comrades."
"This will take time—maybe my whole life.
If I fail in ten years—I'll try twenty.
Fail in twenty—I'll try fifty.
Fail in fifty—I'll try a hundred."
"I'll build a new Night City.
And when I die—
I want my ashes scattered in Hangzhou.
To tell the victims in the next world—
their descendants will never suffer like them again."
He finished, gasping for breath.
V neither praised nor scolded him.
She simply listened.
Because people with beliefs don't need encouragement—
and won't stop just because someone warns them.
"Take me to inspect the projects," V said.
Xu changed course without hesitation.
They toured site after site.
V pointed out flaws, highlighted strengths, taught Xu everything she knew—
and Xu absorbed every word.
He'd managed these three days beautifully.
His title—Kang Tao's imperial grandson—carried weight V could never have.
Where she had to maneuver, Xu simply spoke.
He had power, legitimacy, and now—experience.
V felt relief.
She wasn't a saint.
Not always kind.
Not perfect.
She didn't understand everything.
She had limits.
She grew up ordinary—balancing the city, its corps, factions, interests—it drained her constantly.
But Xu Zhong was different.
Born high.
Raised high.
One sentence from him carried more force than ten from her.
Joanne Koch had been right.
V could not change the world.
But Xu Zhong… might.
Her past made her focus only on survival.
But now—for the first time—she imagined the future.
Maybe in a few years she could hand him the corporate alliance.
Maybe in a few decades…
Xu's ideal Night City could be real.
V wanted to see it.
When they finally parted, V told him:
"When you go to Hangzhou—take me with you.
I've never been to China.
And not as ashes."
Xu froze—then grinned like the 19-year-old he still was.
"Deal! When we go, I'll buy you West Lake vinegar fish!"
West Lake vinegar fish?
What the hell is that?
Chinese food was world-famous; she suspected she'd like it.
V actually looked forward to it.
The next few days passed quietly.
V appeared on a News54 interview.
On air, she thanked the public for their concern, condemned the assassin, and affirmed her faith in NCPD and MaxTac—that all crime would be brought to justice.
She declared she would ignore all threats and continue serving Night City.
Some scoffed.
Some smiled knowingly.
Most celebrated.
V was different.
The people of Night City already knew that.
She didn't need promises.
Her existence was the hope.
She and Xu continued visiting project sites daily.
This time, a full escort followed—NCPD patrols ahead and behind, MaxTac hovercars overhead, guarding her like a president.
"Holy fuck, what a circus," a new MaxTac heavy-gunner grumbled inside a hovercar.
"Even the mayor doesn't get this kind of VIP treatment."
"No shit," the assault trooper said. "She's the Arasaka boss of Night City. The mayor's basically a pet at her feet."
The heavy-gunner, already brain-dulled by too many steroid shots, still didn't get it.
"So what, we're supposed to be her dogs forever? Until we catch this 'mastermind,' we're just following her around eating shit?"
The Mantis trooper, their squad leader, finally snapped:
"Enough. Just bear it a few more days. It'll be over soon."
"How? With us guarding her, who'd dare attack?"
The heavy-gunner scoffed.
"We should fake loosening security and lure the enemy out!"
Dumb as he was, his instinct was right.
Mantis trooper sneered.
"You think she hasn't already done that?"
"Huh? But we're right here! How's she luring anything like this?"
"We're here—
but what about the Arasaka teams?
Think they're on vacation?"
"…Oh shit.
Boss—you mean—"
"Yeah. We're just a decoy. A sign flashing 'don't try this path.'
There's more than one way to destroy a person.
Killing her is just one.
Expose her secrets.
Cripple the foundation she relies on.
V's a corpo dog—no way she's clean.
If I were the enemy, I'd strike at her vulnerabilities while she's drawing attention to herself. And when they do—"
"They'll get a grand welcome from Arasaka's security division," the assault trooper finished.
The netrunner snorted.
"Not just Arasaka. Don't forget her ties to Militech, Kang Tao, and Biotechnica.
Whoever attacks her faces a multi-corporate joint force."
The sniper—who barely spoke—added coldly:
"She chose the battlefield.
She turned passive into active."
"Damn…"
Mantis licked his lips.
"I'd love to dissect a genius like her."
Everyone else stared, sweating.
"…Boss, calm down. She'd kill you."
"…Shut up."
V's strategy wasn't hard to guess.
MaxTac saw it.
The mastermind saw it.
She was using herself as bait.
But as Mantis said—
a person isn't only destroyed physically.
Joanne Koch's computer held far more than Saburo Arasaka clues:
underground factory intel,
her health data,
nanobot repair formulas—
Takemura didn't care, but the mastermind absolutely would.
V had too many weak points.
Any one of them could ruin her.
That—was the true bait.
And the enemy had to bite.
If they'd sent an assassin, it meant the Arasaka family struggle was nearing an end.
One side was losing—and ready to flee to Night City.
Which meant they had to erase V before they came.
V could wait.
But the mastermind couldn't.
They had to strike before total defeat.
V chose two battlefields:
the underground factory,
and Joanne Koch's biotech lab.
Her weak points—
and her strongest fortresses.
"Why doesn't the loser just join you and fight Tokyo together?" Xu asked as Glaive sped through neon-lit streets.
"Simple," V replied. "They don't trust me."
"They're already running for their life," she explained.
"Traumatized. Paranoid.
If they cooperate with me—what if I betray them?
Tokyo can offer the same benefits.
More, even.
If I can be bought by them, why not by Tokyo?
They can't risk it.
Even if I'm sincere, they won't believe it."
Xu understood instantly.
"…People really are dark."
"People are dark," V agreed.
"But people can be full of light too.
You don't need to change people's hearts—that's what gods do.
You just need to push back the dark enough to protect the light."
Xu nodded.
"I won't waver."
"Good," she said.
Five nights later—
the enemy entered the battlefield.
"They've taken the bait!"
Meredith Stout yelled over the comms—gunfire bursting behind her.
"Contact is confirmed!"
"Where?" V demanded.
"Factory or lab?"
"Both. They're attacking both at once!"
Smart.
V grinned.
"So you figured out my setup—
and decided to double down?"
Impossible.
Their numbers wouldn't allow it.
Splitting forces was a fake-out.
Only one site was the true target.
Xu had realized this too.
He laughed through the comm:
"Two Anders Hellmans, huh?
Feels like the solar plant all over again.
V-jie—want to bet again?"
"Sure. Same rules. Loser buys drinks."
"I choose the underground factory," Xu declared.
"I feel lucky."
"Luck doesn't favor children forever, little president," V teased.
"I choose the biotech lab."
As she loaded the second-gen nano-serum into her pouch, Xu seemed to sense it.
"V-jie… I'll protect you. Don't use the serum unless it's absolutely necessary."
V hadn't expected to feel something warm, steadying—
a teammate she could rely on.
She nodded softly.
"Mm. I'll remember."
She loaded her pistol.
"Now grab your gun, little chief.
It's our turn."