"...Good morning, Night City."
"Yesterday's death lottery, the final count was a full thirty!"
"Thanks to endless gang wars, Heywood alone accounted for ten."
"But one police officer also died, and I think you all owe compensation because the NCPD definitely won't let this slide..."
Berry woke up with a yawn, quietly turned over the still-sleeping V, and sat on the edge of the bed.
She blinked to clear her head, ran her fingers through her messy hair, and then got up to switch off the radio playing the morning station.
Casually grabbing one of V's jackets to throw over herself, Berry walked to the automatic vending machine in the room, pressed a few buttons, and with a few clangs, cans and plastic packages dropped into the bottom tray.
Two cans of black coffee, one bag of instant burritos.
This was their breakfast, and the start of their day.
Berry was always the one who cooked, because V always liked to sleep in.
However, calling it cooking was really just dumping the burritos onto a plate, putting them in the microwave for a few minutes, and often, when in a hurry, even eating them cold.
In 2077, various instant foods were everywhere; as long as you had money, they were plentiful and filling.
Synthetic protein paired with high-sugar dough would meet your energy needs for the entire day; as for whether it was healthy, that was none of your concern.
Instead, organic vegetables and fresh meat became the exclusive domain of the wealthy.
Every morning, drones would punctually deliver freshly picked and slaughtered vegetables and fresh meat from greenhouses, packaged, to the back kitchens of their mansions.
Chefs would process them into presentable dishes, unlike the unrecognizable gruel and one-dollar pizzas with a 20-30% mortality rate that the poor ate.
"Woo~" V let out a sound like a kitten and woke up, sitting on the bed with narrowed eyes for a long time, looking uncomfortable.
"Damn it, I shouldn't have finished that bottle of tequila last night. It was fake booze; my head is still spinning."
V clutched her head, looking miserable.
This only happened when she drank too much the previous day or when her period came.
"Yeah, you shouldn't have finished it."
Berry, taking the plate out of the microwave, gave V a sidelong glance.
She was beyond complaining; V had done this many times, but each time, after a while, she'd bounce back, forgetting her current self-reproach completely, until the next time she suffered a setback.
After all, in the game, V was a tough character who would boldly put on any unknown braindance she found in the streets and alleys; she was the most punk of the punks in the Cyberpunk world.
"Besides, Sister V, you should get up. Didn't you say Jackie needed your help this morning?"
"Oh, right, I think there was something about that."
Tapping her forehead, V had to get up, however reluctantly.
She wasn't someone who liked to break appointments, and she particularly hated waiting, whether it was others waiting for her or her waiting for others.
There wouldn't be someone who had an appointment but kept delaying, leaving others waiting for ten days or half a month, would there?
Berry opened the window and pulled back the blinds, revealing the busy and hurried street outside, even in the early morning.
At this moment, V had also finished washing up and sat on the sofa, taking her share.
The can was frosted, and the plate held half a burrito mixed with tomatoes and beef bits, still steaming from the microwave.
"Ugh, I grabbed the wrong one. This is yours, Berry."
After taking a sip of coffee, V scrunched up her face, almost throwing up.
She had taken the wrong cup.
This Berry, she might have been a little coca-cola taste-tester in her past life; she had an exceptional passion for this carbonated bubbly water.
Even her coffee had to be mixed with some of this bluish cola.
"Without little coca-cola, half the fun of life is gone," Berry snorted, took the cup, and took a big gulp.
Grabbing their forks, the two finished their halves of the burrito; neither had a big appetite, so half a burrito each was enough.
"Burritos and coffee, I never get tired of them!"
Finishing the last piece, V smiled, very satisfied with this cheap pleasure.
"Oh, by the way, Sister V, I have a gift for you."
As if remembering something, Berry put down her fork, pulled her black duffel bag from the sofa, unzipped it, and rummaged through it.
"Oh, what is it?"
Seeing Berry's mysterious look, V was very interested and put down her fork.
"A gun I modified, big and thick, definitely enough to turn your enemies into sieves!"
Berry said, holding up a submachine gun she pulled from her bag.
"M-221 Saratoga model, produced by Militech.
These Americans are unethical, but the gadgets they make are pretty good."
"I added a laser sight, an automatic calibration chip, and an extended magazine to the gun.
The gun body also underwent some adjustments, increasing its power and reducing horizontal recoil."
Taking the submachine gun, which was half an arm's length, V fiddled with it, nodding repeatedly.
"A masterpiece! Berry, your talent is wasted as a Mercenary.
Go to Militech or Arasaka, become a technician, and you'll definitely make big money."
"No, I like my freedom. I don't want to be a corporate dog dog."
Although she said that, Berry still puffed out her chest proudly, showing no modesty at all regarding V's compliment.
Just kidding, this was a good item recognized by the system as [Rare] quality, much stronger than the common goods seen everywhere on the street.
Berry has a system.
For some unknown reason, she seemed to have brought the system from the Cyberpunk game, able to add attribute points and skill points to improve her various abilities.
She originally planned to focus on Strength, becoming a physical brute, blasting her way up Arasaka Tower with a shotgun, or focusing on Reflexes, trying to sweep enemies with a submachine gun or pistol.
But in the end, she chose the seemingly non-combat-oriented Technical Ability, because she found that this was the true divine skill.
In the game, crafting ability was limited to making firearms, clothes, or chips that enhanced weapons and cyberware.
But in reality, there is no such restriction.
She can make anything—robots, tanks, combat armor, even nuclear bombs—as long as she has enough materials, she can build them.
She alone is the combination of the world's top machine tool and the top engineer.
Berry's current stats are like this:
"Level: 29
Body: 8
Reflexes: 14
Technical Ability: 18
Intelligence: 5
Cool: 5"
Berry's Technical Ability is almost maxed out; eighteen points in Technical Ability are enough for her to craft [legendary] level weapons.
The only thing limiting her is money—not enough money to buy components and materials.
With the system's blessing, Berry is almost a human high-precision machine tool; give her two discarded radios, and she can build you a 4080ti.
However, other aspects are much worse.
Her Body is eight points; an average person is about three points.
Eight points are equivalent to the physical qualities of a professional athlete.
But this is only compared to ordinary people; compared to mercenaries who have undergone modification surgery, it's not worth a glance.
But 14 points in Reflexes still give Berry sufficient combat capability.
Using a revolver, combined with her reaction ability comparable to a dynamic camera, hitting a hundred out of a hundred is just basic.
With this skill, Berry is enough to make a name for herself in Night City.
However, Berry deeply understands one thing: in this Cyberpunk world, there is no shortage of formidable individuals.
Johnny Silverhand, quite formidable, right?
He blew up Arasaka Tower with a nuclear bomb, truly a legend among legends.
But even someone so strong was still taken down by Adam Smasher.
Adam Smasher, for all his power, was nothing more than a Bodyguard for the Arasaka Family.
And the famous V from the game's storyline, a living legend of Night City, even destroyed the Arasaka Corporation in the Sun ending.
But then, she only managed to become the boss of the Afterlife Bar.
And look at Saburo Arasaka, just a wrinkled old man, yet he is the head of the Arasaka Empire, whose influence spans the globe, and he directly orchestrated or participated in four Corporate Wars, turning half the world into a chaotic mess.
In the Cyberpunk world, even someone as strong as V cannot change this terrible world.
Her near-maxed Manufacturing ability allowed her to create almost every technological product existing in The World, provided she had a sample or blueprint, and sufficient and suitable materials.
Technology is the primary productive force, and she alone was a technology company, the kind that could lead The World.
As long as she could establish her own faction in Night City, she believed she could completely change the tragedies that befell V, Jackie, Silverhand, and countless others, and fundamentally change this world, sweeping the corporate giants into the dustbin of history.
To achieve such a grand goal, she needed the help of V, who was standing before her. Berry looked at V with fervent eyes and sweetly spoke.
"...Sister V, uh, can you lend me some more money?"
Berry, who had been determined to change The World just a second ago, rubbed her hands, looking embarrassed.
A single coin can defeat a hero. Her plan required massive financial support, and she had already drained the commissions she earned from her own missions.
And now, she had no choice but to borrow money from V again.
Not only was she eating V's food and living in V's home, but she was constantly asking V for money. Berry herself felt extremely awkward, her eyes darting around, her face burning up.
"Oh, I knew it. It's not a holiday today, so why were you suddenly so kind as to think of giving me a gift? Turns out you were waiting for this moment."
V grinned, amused by Berry's awkward posture, and began her interrogation.
"Please, I promise I'll pay it back!" Berry pressed her hands together, leaning forward to showcase her meager 'ammo reserves'...
"Alright, alright." V chuckled and waved her hand.
"It's for your 'Grand Plan' again, isn't it? Didn't I tell you before? My money is your money. Don't feel embarrassed."
"So, how much do you need this time?" V asked easily, gesturing with her hand.
"Haha, not much, just three thousand eurodollars."
"Three thousand!?" V, who was drinking coffee, nearly choked when she heard the number.
That was the money she earned from two or three major jobs.
"Hehe!" Berry covered her mouth with her small hand, laughing sheepishly, and blinked at V in a cute manner.
"Fine, alright." Although her heart ached, V shakily transferred the money to Berry.
Thanks to this Girl who spent money like water, V's life was much tighter than in the game. Even her plan to buy a car had fallen through.
However, as compensation, Berry used her superb craftsmanship to find some secondhand materials and quickly fixed V's old car. Whether that was good or bad remained to be seen.
Although V didn't know what Berry was planning, she still supported her. After all, she was like her own Girl, wasn't she? Thinking this, V felt much better... This was a classic example of self-inflicted PUA.
"That's great, V!" Berry cried out in surprise, pouncing on V like a kitten and tackling her onto the sofa.
"Alright, alright!" Berry was burrowing her head into V's chest. V laughed and affectionately stroked her hair.
"You're a grown woman, yet you still act like a child." Although she said that, there was no blame in her expression.
Smelling V's body scent, Berry was very excited.
With V's generous contribution, the remaining materials could be gathered, and her first generation product was about to be revealed. How could she not be thrilled?
In her excitement, Berry buried her head deep again and took a big sniff of V's ample 'ammo reserves'.