Night City boasts countless skyscrapers that pierce the clouds; it's a magical city that can make people addicted. It can fulfill people's dreams, but it can also destroy countless hopes.
Countless young people, full of passion and yearning, rush into this city of dreams. Just like Ben, if he hadn't met Jack, he might have struggled to survive even a week...
He wouldn't have died in some foul ditch, and it's highly likely he would have ended up lying on the floor of a Scavenger's den, or perhaps in a can at some food processing plant.
In short, with a dream in your heart, anything is possible.
As a 'good person,' Jack could only take in a limited number of vagrants. More often than not, these vagrants usually didn't end up well, aside from frequently signing contracts they couldn't understand at all. It was even more likely that they wouldn't even have the qualifications to be exploited.
In Night City, survival is this cruel. Where there are dazzling holographic neon lights, there are also dark sides that are never illuminated.
Jack is currently in a dilapidated alley, facing their long-neglected base of operations—the Puff Bar. Upon entering, he found it was surprisingly clean inside, unlike the outside, likely due to meticulous daily cleaning.
A moment later, Jack was wolfing down the food prepared by Ben. Since his transmigration, he hadn't eaten for over fifteen hours. It was still morning, not yet noon, and there was no one else in the bar, just the two of them. The others were still out and hadn't returned.
"By the way, Ben, do you know any skilled Hackers nearby?" Jack rubbed his stomach comfortably, asking first and not giving Ben a chance to speak.
The reason he asked this question was because Jack had used Sandevistan, Berserk chips, and a Hacker build when he completed Cyberpunk 2077. He didn't think he was cowardly; he simply preferred the Hacker build. With one glare, a large group of enemies would drop dead... it was simply too satisfying.
"A Hacker? And a skilled one?"
"Jack, why are you asking this? This isn't something a street punk like me can access. If you really want to find one, you'll probably have to contact a middleman..."
"..."
Jack continued to eat, thinking to himself, 'So Hackers are that high-end? I used to feel like I killed many of them every day in the game...'
"En, I understand. I was just tormented by NCPD people all day yesterday, and I think my brain might have a virus, so I wanted to find a good Hacker to take a look."
Ben nodded, half-understanding. It was his first time hearing that a Ripperdoc with a virus needed a Hacker's help...
"By the way, Jack, I also found what you asked me to find. I'll bring it to you right away."
Jack watched Ben scurry away and retrieve a sealed iron box from behind the bar. He was stunned and asked,
"What is this?"
"Succubus Model II Fully Automatic—Juicer!"
Jack nearly spat out the drink he had just swallowed. What would he do with that? Pretend to be a girl?
"...I see. Just put it here."
Ben saw Jack's bewildered expression and remembered that Jack's memory was a bit muddled, so he quickly added, "This is the Cybernetics that Isa, our bar's affiliated employee, asked you to buy! She doesn't have money for a new one, and I found this at a second-hand market. I bought it when I found a suitable one..."
Jack nodded thoughtfully. The so-called affiliated employees likely referred to the sheltered sex dolls. So, not only was he the Leader of Destiny Church, but he was also the manager of a pleasure house!?
Just then, the vagrants who had returned later began to trickle in. The entire Destiny Church, besides Jack himself, including Ben, currently had a total of seventeen people, both men and women. Those who returned at this time, besides them, also included vagrants rescued from a Scavenger's den, some of whom wanted to follow Jack and seek protection.
If Jack hadn't known they were his own people, walking outside, he would surely have thought it was a gathering from some wilderness vagrant camp.
In front of everyone, Jack took a deep breath. He looked seriously at Ben and said,
"Ben, I have a very serious matter I want to entrust to you. Can you help me with this?"
Ben was affected by Jack's serious expression. He wiped the sudden sweat from his forehead:
"Jack, just say it. You saved my life, so even if you want me to go through fire and water, I'm willing!"
"Good. Since that's the case, let me ask you another question, and all of you can think about it... In Night City, do you want to become famous throughout the world... or remain unknown?"
As Jack's words fell, a brief silence descended upon the bar.
Suddenly, Ben's veins bulged on his forehead, as if he had used all his strength. He clenched his hands, and his excited expression affected everyone present except Jack!
"I... I want, I want to be famous throughout the world!!"
Others couldn't help but clench their fists and shout in agreement, howling like ghosts!
"Famous throughout the world!"
"Famous—throughout the world!"
"..."
Everyone looked at Jack's calm smile, and the surging emotions in their hearts continuously spread and rose.
Jack gestured with his hand, and under everyone's fervent gazes, he said, "Since that's the case, then from now on, Ben, you will be the Leader of Destiny Church."
Ben immediately braced himself on the table, stood up, and loudly declared, "No, absolutely not."
Jack raised an eyebrow: "Didn't you say you'd listen to everything I say?"
"But, but this just won't do!"
"Don't worry, making you the Leader of Destiny Church doesn't mean I'm leaving. Your wish is to become famous throughout the world. I'm different; I just want to remain unknown, but I won't refuse to help you... become famous throughout the world!"
"Alright, this matter is settled. The rest of you, do what you need to do. If anything comes up, I'll still call you. Now, Ben, come out with me."
Ben took a deep breath to calm the confusion in his heart. He nodded, "Okay."
Stepping out of the bar, Jack said,
"Let's go. Take me to see my workplace."
Soon, Jack, following Ben, arrived at a small workshop not far away. Looking at the piles of scattered parts inside, the messily arranged operating table, and the various medical instruments next to it...
Jack felt that with his university-level physics knowledge, it would be difficult to understand the structure of these things. He couldn't help but silently call out in his heart, 'System, system, come out and save the day...'
However, nothing happened.
Jack waved at Ben and could only say,
"I'll be a bit quiet these next two days. You all should continue as usual. Now that you're the Leader, you must remember to take good care of the brothers!"
"Jack... I, I can't do it!!"
"Go on, I believe in you."
"Bang—"
Jack didn't give him a chance to say anything more and decisively closed the door.
Now, finally, only he himself was left in the workshop. Jack leaned back in the leather reclining chair.
'Damn it... I finally feel like I can relax for a bit. That damned Leader of Destiny Church, how am I supposed to act? Professionals need to be assigned to professional tasks.'
'Now, it's time for me to figure out how to use this system!'
'I need to find a way to get through the current crisis, and then see if I can find traces of Mann Squad. It seems Sasha should be the first to have an accident, followed by David, and then the Living King of Hell.'
After stopping his wild thoughts, Jack opened his neural interface. After a blue light flashed in his eyes, he also discovered that his balance was 3200 Euro...
Jack chuckled self-deprecatingly. What could that money do?
'You're the famous V, right? I have something I want to ask for your help with: kill Adam Smasher. Do you think 2500 Euro is enough...'
'3000 Euro should be enough for V to blow up the entire Arasaka Tower??'
(Regarding the issue of prices, a brief note: there's a huge discrepancy between Cyberpunk 2077 and the anime. V usually doesn't have much money after completing the main story, but David's later mission had a deposit of 500,000, which would be world-destroying wealth if V had it! So, I've made slight adjustments by combining the two situations.)