Chapter 37: Acute Failure

Night City is a massive metropolis with a population of 7 million. The intense urbanization has brought about various architectural marvels, and its loose and corrupt law enforcement has given rise to its unique urban style. The NCPD does a cursory job, and citizens have the primitive right to seek blood for blood, freely living in the worst city in America. As Leo felt the stench rising from the sewers and heard the wind blowing in from afar, carrying the sound of gunfire— Leo suddenly remarked, "Night City is a bit too urbanized." They had slightly modified the car's appearance to avoid detection, planning to ditch it once they got into the city. "Live like this for a thousand years~ until your son takes over~" V was humming a tune in the passenger seat, resting one hand on the car door, relishing the familiar sights. Jackie, who was driving, showed a curious expression, "What's that song? Did you write it for Saburo Arasaka? Talking about sons taking over and all." V pointed at Leo lying in the back seat, "Ask him—anyway, I find it pretty amusing. But you wouldn't get it, you broke-ass." With that, V shook her head and sighed dramatically, as if a tragic barrier had formed between them. This made Jackie grind his teeth. "So what exactly did you do in Atlanta? Did you really make a lot of money?" Leo replied, "Not that much, really. It'll be gone in no time if we start spending it." "Then why come back?" V chimed in, "Remember that cyber-monster? I was lucky to take him down, but I don't think I can handle killing one every day." "No way!" Jackie was shocked. "You were involved in that? So what really happened? Is Kang Tao really going to war with Militech?" "The real situation was much worse than what you saw on TV. Just like I said, sparks flew everywhere, and that guy's stomp cracked the asphalt. There were probably two full platoons of Militech soldiers, fully armed, and then I used the Nekomata to cut them down—" V pretended to hold a sniper rifle and mimicked a few shots, but Leo interrupted her mercilessly, "She's exaggerating. Just know we made a little profit from it." V rolled her eyes, shrugged, and exchanged a glance with Jackie, pointing at Leo and mouthing: "Sneaky bastard." Then she pointed at herself: I'm the honest person, listen to me. Jackie took one hand off the wheel, giving a thumbs-up: I'm in. V nodded: You're in. Leo didn't want to keep arguing with these two. The immediate priority was to get to Vic's clinic for a check-up. Ever since they'd driven onto the overpass, he'd been feeling more and more drowsy, his vision even starting to black out. "Leo?" V glanced back and noticed that Leo had already closed his eyes, but he didn't look peaceful. His body temperature had dropped sharply, his lips were pale... "Damn it, Jackie, step on the petal! Leo seems to be having another episode—" "Got it—looks like two gangs up ahead are about to throw down." "I'll handle it." V pulled out her "Dying Night" pistol and leaned halfway out of the car. Two vans were driving side by side ahead. One belonged to the Valentinos, the other to the 6th Street Gang. The punks inside were trading trash talk when suddenly gunfire rang out from behind— "Get the hell out of the way!" The punks in the vans, their heads hot with adrenaline, looked back. Their cybernetic eyes scanned V's implant list— They saw that her list was filled with combat implants: subdermal armor, recoil control, reinforced tendons, skeletal reinforcement, bionic joints, Kerenzikov, neural coordinator, blood pump, reflex tuner. They quickly pulled their heads back into their vans— "Holy crap, a cyberpsycho!" "Hah—" Leo felt as if his chest had been stuffed with a ball of fire, the heat radiating outward from the center, just like the first time V had given him a shot of something. When he opened his eyes, he was on an operating table, and the doctor was old Vic. Are we at the clinic? Did I sleep through it? "Easy there, kid, easy. You were in pretty bad shape. If Jackie and V hadn't acted fast, you might not have woken up." "What happened?" Leo spoke, only to realize he was already on a ventilator. He saw V sitting nearby, looking less cheerful than before, and Jackie standing to the side, his expression complicated. Vic wiped his glasses and said, "You used that thing again, didn't you? And not just lightly." "Had no choice, Vic—life's tough." "Sigh..." Vic looked at the ceiling, "I've got to say, you've got a will of iron, but your implants have triggered a severe immune response and further burdened your body. Willpower alone won't overcome that. This violent implant system has accelerated your pre-existing problems, especially yesterday." "When you activated that implant in your spine, your oxygen consumption spiked, and it completely wrecked your respiratory system. Since last night, you've been suffering from acute pulmonary failure, leading to insufficient oxygen supply, which caused your coma." "You're talking about the Sandevistan?" Vic nodded, "Honestly, I'm more and more convinced that thing isn't like the Sandevistan you find on the market—it's a suicide implant. The human body just can't handle that kind of stress. And you're even more of a freak—your brain already burns through energy faster than normal, and after repeatedly pushing it beyond its limits, your already weak internal organs are under even more strain. Your lungs were the first to go from chronic to acute failure, and as long as you keep using combat implants, this is just the beginning." Leo stared at the ceiling, his brain slowly clearing as oxygen seeped in. The operating room was quiet; everyone was waiting for someone to speak. Finally, Leo broke the silence, "Start with synthetic lungs, Vic. I can't just lie here forever. And while you're at it, set me up with a full bio-monitoring system. Top-of-the-line gear." Vic forced a smile, "I forgot you've got cash now, kid. But there's another problem—your body's too weak. Your respiratory system can barely meet the minimum requirements, and now with acute lung failure, installing synthetic lungs might just make things worse, even causing necrosis." "So what's the plan?" Leo's mind was sharp as ever. "Should I go find a live lung for transplant?" "Not a bad idea, but the chances of triggering more issues from the immune response would be higher. You'd be popping pills for the rest of your life." Another silence fell, and Vic finally said, "Maybe... you should focus on enjoying the time you have left." V silently watched Leo, waiting for his final decision. If Leo chose to retire, she would respect that, but it would mean they were on different paths from now on. Given Leo's life expectancy, maybe he'd drop dead in six months, and in two years, no one would remember this friend. At that moment, a new notification popped up in Leo's other world. [New Event: Matt has found a genetic biology expert for you, Professor Connors Scott.] [Professor Scott is an expert in genetic biology, and he's very interested in the DNA degradation you're experiencing. He invites you to join his research team.] [You agreed.] [Professor Scott's research is in its early stages. They've had some success combining different spider DNAs, and now he wants to study lizard DNA.] [According to him, this research could potentially reverse the degradation of your cellular vitality.] [However, the technology is at a bottleneck and requires further exploration.] Leo immediately made his decision— What wasn't possible in 2011 is possible in 2076. "Vic," Leo used all his strength to sit up, "It's way too early for me to retire. What good is 500k? I'll get myself a new lung—might as well go with MoorE Technologies. Prep the synthetic lungs. As for the other issues, we'll handle them with immunosuppressants for now, and I'll figure out something else." "That's the spirit!" V jumped up, "As an old friend, I'll give you a 20% discount on whatever help you need!" Leo smiled, "Shouldn't it be free?" Jackie looked impressed, "Amigos, not everyone faces death with that kind of attitude. I'm glad I still have the chance to see if you're as amazing as V says." "You will, Jackie." Vic watched the three in the operating room and shook his head with a smile— Maybe death will come one day, but courage can always drive away the darkness.