Silent Flower was the title of a secret account about Hanako.
The book recorded the years of her youth, when she had been confined inside the old Arasaka estate.
As for how much of it was fabricated, Kai had no way of knowing. Back then, Yorinobu had never mentioned any of it to him.
As for how twisted the Arasaka family really was, Kai had always shared the same opinion as Johnny.
Johnny Silverhand would always pull a sour face and say, "See this expression? This is my 'not surprised at all' face."
A father coveting his own son's body.
And if you thought a step further, Hanako might have known all along about her father's plan to descend into a new body through his engram.
That was probably why she had cared so much about her brother's safety back then.
If Yorinobu really died, then the only reliable vessel Saburo would have left to choose from would be Hanako.
Kai had never told anyone about what he knew and guessed from his previous life, not even Jack.
Some things were enough for him to understand on his own. Saying them out loud would only create more panic.
As for the incest gossip between the Arasaka siblings, Kai had truly been joking around with Jack, but the so-called hidden history of the Arasaka family had been fake.
Still, who could really tell what was true and what was false?
The Arasaka family was hardly going to hold a press conference just to insist they had no ethical scandals.
And for the people of Night City, once a juicy rumor started spreading, whether it was true or not no longer mattered. It had to be accepted as fact.
Just as Kai and Jack were chatting, Maine arrived at the AV door with heavy steps, a briefcase in hand.
"Mr. Kai, I'm ready on my end."
Kai nodded, signaling him to get on.
Jack stood up at once, reached out, and hauled Maine into the vehicle.
"Come on, choom, get in. You really opened my eyes back there. Going up against Arasaka's спец team? Not bad at all!"
Only after sitting down inside the AV did Maine relax a little. Normally, he had a bold and easygoing personality, but when facing Kai now, he seemed somewhat restrained. He was nothing like the rough guy from their first meeting.
Kai knew that Maine looked like a reckless brute on the outside, but in reality he was someone deeply loyal and sentimental, the kind of person that was almost impossible to find in Night City.
When danger came, Maine had chosen to bear the pressure alone and use his own life to buy his teammates a chance to escape.
That alone was enough to make him worthy of being called a legend.
There were many kinds of legends. You could be strong enough, powerful enough, or do something sensational enough.
But what people truly admired was that sense of loyalty and human feeling people lacked most and valued most.
Because with that bond, people could huddle together for warmth and stop feeling alone.
It was what let them resist the cold mechanical cyber world, the abuse of technology, endless greed, and the numbness of suffering.
Jack still didn't know Maine, but he had already acknowledged both his strength and his character, so he introduced himself first.
"Back in Heywood, before talking business, we always get to know each other first. Call it a custom... or maybe just good manners."
"Jack Wells."
"Born and raised in Night City. Heywood blood runs through these veins."
"You've got spine, choom. Even if they took everything from you today, at least you still had that, right?"
Maine could hear the praise in his words. Being complimented for his backbone made him warm a little to this loud and straightforward Heywood native.
"Maine."
"Merc."
"Clawed my way out of that doghole in Watson."
The two looked at each other and smiled. Maine, who had seemed a little stiff just moments ago, loosened up quite a bit. Then he turned to Kai and asked, "Mr. Kai, where are we headed now? Going to install the cyberware? I can't wait anymore."
Kai started the engine and set the destination for Vik's clinic before replying, "We're going to a ripperdoc. There are still a few things to deal with before the installation."
Jack added, "Vik's the best ripperdoc in all of Night City. If he's the one installing that cyberware, nothing can go wrong."
But after seeing that Maine already had Gorilla Arms, plus an extra Projectile Launch System, and that nearly his entire skeleton, musculature, and skin had already been modified to the point his body looked swollen and overburdened, Jack kindly warned him, "Maine, you've already got more than enough combat implants in your body. If you add this military-grade Sandevistan too, I'm afraid your body won't be able to take it."
Maine did not care in the slightest and laughed heartily.
"For me, as long as it makes me stronger, I can install any cyberware!"
Jack admired that attitude and even respected it.
"That's right. In Night City, if you aren't strong enough, even strays will dare piss all over you!"
Maine burst into laughter.
Then Jack asked curiously, "Since you're this strong, you must make good money too, right? Then why didn't you choose something more advanced and more systematized when you got your cyberware installed?"
Maine's tone carried a hint of helplessness. "These old pieces have been with me a long time. I got used to them, so I never felt like changing them."
Kai caught the meaning beneath his words.
An edgerunner starting from the bottom and climbing all the way to where he was now did not usually have the conditions needed to install a coherent, high-end setup.
Most of the time, whatever came his way was what he installed. Getting stronger came first. There was never any room to think about options.
And if his body gave out and he removed the cyberware, then without strength to protect himself, he would probably die even faster in Night City.
You could say it was a road of no return. Once you stepped onto it, turning back became almost impossible.
Still, Kai reminded him, "Jack's right. The models and versions of the implants in your body are too mixed up. Once this Sandevistan is installed, even if you really use it in combat, it'll be hard to activate it more than a few times."
Maine just smiled with a kind of acceptance.
"Even if I can only use it once, it'll still be worth it!"
Seeing how stubborn Maine was, neither Kai nor Jack felt comfortable trying to persuade him further.
Everyone had their own burdens.
Just like Jack could not really understand why Kai insisted on not installing cyberware to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
But he still trusted Kai's choice.
Silence fell over the group.
The AV sped toward Vik's ripperdoc clinic.
Through the AV window, Maine looked out at the nightscape of Night City, neon blazing across its skyscrapers.
This was one of the rare times he had the chance to admire the city from high above.
After all, an AV cost millions of eddies, far beyond anything he could earn just by grinding gigs.
Even though he made a lot from each job, his expenses were just as high.
After paying out shares to his crew, he still had to update and maintain his cyberware after every fight, and if necessary, install new combat implants.
On top of that, he needed regular injections of immunoblockers every single day.
That was no small expense either. Immunoblockers could effectively ease the pain and erosion brought on by all that metal in his body.
Of course he knew high-end cyberware was better, especially the powerful new models developed by the corps.
They looked cleaner, sleeker, and closer to a real human body, while also offering stronger performance and better control.
The truth was, Maine could afford to buy them, but he could not afford to keep them.
The newer high-end cyberware was not only expensive to purchase, but also extremely costly to maintain and repair.
That was why he preferred hunting through the black market for cost-effective combat implants, and this military-grade Sandevistan was the very thing he had been after.
The source had been Gloria, who had taken it from the body of the cyberpsycho James.
Even though Maine knew the thing carried an ominous feeling, once he had seen the cyberpsycho James in battle, he had fallen for it immediately.
After surviving danger after danger, the item had finally ended up in his hands.
Maine tightened his grip on the briefcase.
No matter what, he had to install this cyberware.
(End of Chapter)
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