Cyberpunk 2077: Hyper Light Drifter

After a refreshing change of clothes, the sickly woman plopped back on the couch. A sigh of relief and comfort escaped her lips. She was starting to feel a bit lazy even though she knew she'd have to step out today. As she laid on her back and lounged around, holo Johnny stood directly beside her face. He looked down at her, the expression on his face unreadable due to the sunglasses.

Lei glanced up at him before yawning and getting comfortable. She didn't mind having him as company. She'd been wandering the radiation drenched continent for a while now. Night City was just another pitstop for her on the way to finding a cure. 

If there was no luck here, she'd move on. There was a reason that she was known as a Drifter. Her empty eyes flashed and a frown marred her face. 

"Johnny, you're blocking the TV." She complained. The arrogant man sat down right in front of her and stared. 

"Fuck the TV. It's all propaganda anyways. Come try our product! We'll milk you dry, get you hooked and have you dying for more." He pretended to be a corpo salesman. Lei rolled her eyes. 

"I know that already but you're still blocking the TV." She commented. Johnny frowned before slamming his fist on the table. 

BAM

"I thought we had a deal." He growled. 

"We do." She answered. 

"Then why the FUCK are you still lying around? We've got shit to do." 

The lazy and quite creepy - but also a bit sexy - woman slowly sat up. She crossed her legs before pointing to the other seat with her dainty foot. Johnny glitched into position. 

"So? What's our first move?" Lei asked.

"When it comes to impossible or incurable shit, that's when we look deeper. You reach out to the AIs of the world. You want to find a cure, I want to get a body."

"...Okay?"

"So we go past the Blackwall and look for a friendly neighborhood helper." Johnny revealed. Lei immediately frowned at his words. 

"Go past the Blackwall? We'll die in less than a minute." She said. 

Her tone was curt. It seems she was finally being serious. Not like her usual self when lazing around. 

"That won't happen. I know someone on the other side. We'll be fine. Just need to find a way. Find a place with enough security to let us operate in peace." He explained.

"You KNOW someone beyond the Blackwall? Who? An AI?"

"Her name's Alt. She's an old input of mine."

"An input? Alright…I guess I'll start looking around."

"Fuck that. There's an easier way."

"Oh? How?"

"We talk to Rogue."

"Who?"

"Rogue. One of my old inputs. She's most likely a fixer now."

"............." Lei was quiet.

"What?"

"Two inputs back to back. What's next, an old input who's actually a corpo CEO?"

"It's possible. Of course, they're all probably old hags by now."

"Rude. Don't say that about your loved ones." Lei admonished him.

"Whatever. Let's delta. Rogue should be in the Afterlife."

"Don't you need a reputation? A Night City specific reputation?" She asked. 

"Yeah."

"Then that means I gotta do shit for fixers, raise my rep before I can even talk to Rogue? No way."

"Then what the fuck else would you do?" Johnny mocked with raised hands. The eerie girl smiled slightly.

"I'll just walk in. Sneak in…if we're being technical."

"Plenty of good netrunners hang there. You'll get iced in no time." He said.

"I doubt it. I'll be sure to be discreet. Let's just see how it goes."

"You better know what you're doing."

Lei ignored him and proceeded to put on her gear. The infovisor covered her face along with the cloak's hood. Only a red glow could be seen within. Adding on the sleek black armor and gauntlets, she was ready to go. 

Her beam saber was clipped to her pants alongside the Burya which rested in a leg holster. The drifter gave herself a once over in the mirror before looking at Johnny. This legendary merc seemed unimpressed. 

"You only have one pistol. How exactly did you survive this long?" He questioned. Lei grabbed her beam saber and ignited it.

VRMM

The crimson glow of the blade illuminated the room. It thrummed with power. Slight bits of electric discharge jolted off. The sight was enchanting. Almost mesmerizing.

"............." She only stared at him. 

"Oh." He finally said. 

…

…

…

The sun had fallen, causing the neon lights to glow brighter in the dark. All of Night City was illuminated. Such was the way of a massive city that never slept.

In Little China of the Watson district, a plethora of people could be found loitering at a specific parking lot. They treated the area as if it were their hangout, knowing they wouldn't be able to get in the actual venue. 

This venue itself was a club. Nightclub to be specific, and only those with a good rep could get in. Lowlives that couldn't enter littered the walls. All in all it was not a lovely place. It even seemed old.

Nobody seemed to notice that a new figure had arrived in the parking lot, casually at a corner. This position gave a direct view to the closed door and the bouncer in front. At this moment, someone popular seemed to show up. 

A muscular man with a multitude of chrome approached the club entrance. The bystanders couldn't help but chatter. Gossip went around. 

"Whoa…isn't that Kleptomaniac?"

"What? No way! I heard he klepped a top secret data shard from Kang Tao."

"Kang Tao!? No way. If he did that, they'd have long since zero'd him, you gonk."

"Well I heard that he klepped a tank from Millitech."

"Cut the bullshit."

The bouncer nodded at the approaching man and stepped aside. There was no delay as the door slid open. It was paired with the bouncer's words.

"Welcome back, Klepto."

"Need a drink. Bad." Klepto grunted. 

Both the bouncer and Klepto failed to notice time slow to a crawl. The drifter had already entered the establishment through the now open door. No time was wasted as she explored the club in bullet time. 

She quickly noticed a hidden bioscanner that kept track of credentials in the building. An alarm would definitely go off if she left it alone. Lei casually breached into the scanner, and uploaded her bio as anonymous. There was no trace of her breach. A successful hack. 

Only then did she relax and allow time to speed up. The sounds returned, a constant thump of the bass vibrating through her boots. It was a club alright. Some people danced, while the majority stuck to their own areas. All of the inhabitants were mercs after all. 

Walking up to the bar, she flagged the bartender. A brown haired woman smiled while cleaning the cup in her hand. Her other hand pointed to the menu. 

"What can I get for you?"

"Just give me the recommended." Lei said. 

"Preem. Coming right up. That'll be 13 credits."

The drifter wired over the credits while taking a seat. As she waited for her drink, her gaze wandered around the room. While in bullet time, Lei hadn't been able to spot Rogue. There was no guarantee that she was here. 

Hopefully she was just in one of the private rooms. The bartender soon returned with the drink in hand. Placing it on the table, she gently slid it over. 

"Thanks, Claire." The drifter commented after scanning her. The bartender's eyes shined as she scanned back. 

"Anytime…Drifter?" Claire was confused at the name that came up. Obviously not the person's name. 

"Drifter, huh? That what you call yourself? Ain't seen you around here before." Klepto's voice came from a few seats away. 

Lei picked up her drink with a nod. It was a golden color, with sugar around the rim of the cup. She couldn't lie…it wasn't half bad. 

"Is Rogue in today?" 

"She should be. Most likely going over some gig with other mercs." Claire answered while making a drink for another customer.

"Preem."