Chapter 1: Prologue - Heaven on the Left, Hell on the Right

Night City, whose history began in 1994, was founded by Richard Night, the founder of Night Corporation.

In the first four years, Night attracted investments from several mega-corporations through a series of preferential fiscal policies, allowing this small town originally located beside Morro Bay to develop and construct rapidly, and under reasonable urban planning, it became a livable, safe, emerging Coronado City.

Night's vision of building a perfect city seemed to be progressing, but after he was murdered by an unidentified attacker, the city lost its master, and in the following years it quickly degenerated into a paradise where gangs and corporations fought for power and acted with impunity.

More ironically, to commemorate Richard Night, the city was renamed "Night City." Even after the "Golden Age" of 2020, the Fourth Corporate War and nuclear incident of 2023, and the Unification War of 2070, this young city still stubbornly survived, like a malignant tumor constantly growing on New America, rotting and stinking.

In 2074—the 80th anniversary of Night City's founding—several super-corporations used this as an excuse to launch one celebration after another. Countless fortunes were pocketed by the corporations; the upper class indulged in pleasure and debauchery; even the poor commoners planned to scrape out a few eurodollars to celebrate properly.

In the shadows, vicious gang members lurked in secret, actively planning various criminal activities; the notorious Scavengers, like hyenas, searched for every corpse that could fill their bellies. And there was a group of people who took jobs from Fixers everywhere, from stealing data from rival corporations and eliminating criminals at the top, to running errands, delivering messages, and disposing of trash at the bottom; in short, wherever there was money to be made, their figures could be seen. They called themselves "Cyberpunk" or "Edgerunners," and were also a diverse part of the ecosystem of this sinful, free city.

In Night City, no one can sleep soundly through the long night; fools without vigilance become corpses, their last bit of value dug out by Scavengers, finally becoming nothing more than a lump of scrap iron and residue in a landfill.

Remember this, my friends: "In Night City, the living are trapped here; only the dead may leave."

The bell of New Year has already rung, and countless prosperity and chaos sweep over the myriad beings of Night City.

Several Floating Cars, carrying a piercing, deafening roar, cut through the night, disturbing peaceful dreams. It was MaxTac hunting the recently surging number of Cyberpsychos; from Watson to Santo Domingo, from Pacifica to Westbrook, everywhere was filled with celebrations and criminal activities, a scene of chaos, which also meant there were huge sums of money-making jobs to be done.

Many years later, facing a reporter from Night City Inquirer, the "Living Legend" Hitata Castedei would recall that distant night on January 8, 2074, when she received a small job from Rogue, the former Queen of the Afterlife and a Fixer.

"Cleaning up trash? Did I hear wrong? Rogue, that's it? I am the famous..." Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Rogue.

"Alright, Xida, stop wasting energy bragging about yourself. In Night City, solid performance records are proof of your strength. How many months have you been in Night City? Look at your peers, Mann, Jack... each one is an old hand who has struggled in Night City for years; you, a rookie just entering the profession, should honestly start with small tasks..." Rogue paused, recalling her first meeting with Xida; this lively short-haired girl was exactly like herself fifty-plus years ago. As if stirred by memories of the past, she unusually offered a few more words of advice.

"Cheer up, kid. Cleaning up trash doesn't sound very glamorous, but actually it's a good job with low danger and decent returns. Sorting and recycling valuable items from the trash, and deciding how much to hand over as the standard, depends on you... Good luck, rookie."

"... Thanks, Rogue. I don't know what to say... You are always so good to me." Xida, driving her four-wheeled beloved car, Sky Hera, which she had worked hard for months to earn, awkwardly thanked the Fixer Rogue on the other end of the phone for the kindness hidden in her words. She didn't understand why this famous Queen of the Afterlife would treat her differently, but she still understood the simple principle of repaying kindness.

"I must work hard, reach the top of Arasaka Tower, and become a legend of Night City!" She secretly made up her mind; youth is always reckless, and she, only 18 years old, was no exception.

Xida Castedei was not a native of Night City; months ago, her hometown town was burned to the ground by a small squad of gang cyborgs, she was separated from her relatives, and had to flee to the nearest city—Night City—to seek a way of survival.

Xida's gaze, through the window she had wiped clean, unexpectedly discovered on the road from Watson leading to the city suburbs, cars lined up in a long dragon, stuck together. At first, Xida thought it might be because the wealthy in the city were bored and wanted to form groups to go to the desolate suburbs for fun during the anniversary celebration, to throw parties, but a few seconds later, the sound of guns and cannons told her the answer.

"F***ing Night City, f***ing anniversary celebration, f*** MaxTac and f*** Cyberpsychos!" She irritably slapped the steering wheel, furiously cursing Night City and the culprits causing the traffic jam. In the short few months in this great dye vat of Night City, she had already transformed from a quiet young girl into a foul-mouthed, lone-wolf Mercenary who would pull a gun and fight if anyone disagreed.

Of course, pulling a gun and fighting depends on the person; naturally, there's no need to be polite with small-time hooligans, but facing those guys a few hundred meters ahead, the newly graduated rookie little Xida decided to obediently admit defeat.

It was MaxTac dealing with Cyberpsychos. No wonder she had heard a few loud roars of Floating Cars on the road earlier; Xida thought, crouching under the driver's seat, occasionally sticking her head out to peek at the battle situation ahead.

Fortunately, the driver's seat of her two beloved cars was big enough, she thought with a bitter smile, but instantly she began to worry whether her beloved car would be caught in the battle along with her, two corpses and one life. Although these two beloved cars looked tattered, with abrupt, asymmetrical corners on their square bodies, outdated halogen headlights, and scratches everywhere, "Ha, a typical Entropyism low-end product, truly not worth mentioning compared to its owner's beauty," she muttered to herself, then chuckled softly.

Xida was just such a heartless, slightly clever rookie Mercenary. Now she could only hide in the car, waiting for MaxTac to finish the hunt; the fools attempting to flee on foot had already had their skulls shattered by flying stray bullets.

But soon, she would meet a certain "person" who would change her life forever—one picked up from a landfill, but it didn't matter; legends don't ask about origins.