"Destination reached. Please take all your personal belongings with you."
Leo snapped out of his daze and looked up at the display.
Mandela—the Delamain cab's AI—wore a perfect smile on the screen:
"I wish you a pleasant life, Mr. Leonardo, our most distinguished guest. Choose Delamain, and leave your worries at the door."
"You too… catch you next time."
Leo pushed open the door and stepped onto the sidewalk.
Looking around, Little Chinatown was still the same. Eccentrically dressed pedestrians bustled through the streets, and the air was thick with noise and the acrid smell of smoke.
As he appeared, a dozen gazes zeroed in on him—curious, suspicious, even malicious. The spectrum of emotions on display perfectly embodied the diverse ecosystem of the Watson slums.
[Shironeko, activate cognitive distortion shielding.]
[Understood. You have five minutes to choose your return point for the next trip.]
In an instant, an invisible field expanded from Leo's body.
Those who had been staring at him blinked dazedly, then quickly looked away, as if they hadn't seen anything unusual at all.
This was one of the unique abilities of the Singularity Space:
A five-minute window of invisibility before and after crossing dimensions, to avoid detection by locals or electronic surveillance.
With the protection active, Leo became a physical "ghost."
He moved quickly toward his first-ever stop in Night City—Misty's Esoterica.
Down the alley beside the shop, Prophet Gary was still rambling about centaurs from Alpha Centauri and lizardmen conspiracies.
Leo glanced at him in amusement and stopped in front of Misty's shop.
He didn't go in. Just stood there.
This was good enough. If he ever got badly wounded in Gotham and barely escaped back here, this would be the best place to receive treatment from Viktor.
Setting this as his "return point" was a smart move.
[Shironeko, forge my biometric signals and sync them with the departing flight to China—create the illusion I've left Night City.]
[Understood.]
Leo closed his eyes and glanced at the countdown in the upper corner of his vision.
[00:00:25]
Not much time left. Time to go.
The air, tinged with faint incense, filled his lungs. Inhale. Exhale.
He repeated the cycle a few times.
Then suddenly—everything changed.
The air grew clean. Bright light beamed in from all directions.
Leo opened his eyes…
…and found himself in the server room he'd built with his own two hands.
A petite, red-eyed, white-haired anime catgirl stood there, eyes wide, energetically waving at him.
"Papa!"
Shironeko ran up and jumped into his arms, giving him a huge hug.
Leo reflexively opened his arms, only to realize—her body was intangible. He couldn't actually feel her…
Even so, the embrace made her happy as hell. Her wildly wagging cat tail said it all.
Leo's attention drifted to that swaying tail for a moment before he remembered his actual task.
"Enough messing around. I need to reorganize the server room."
"All set! I've already mapped it out for you!"
He looked around. His stored supplies were stacked in one corner, and the blue glow now covered part of the equipment racks—indicating what needed to be cleared.
"Papa, please clear everything inside the blue-lit area to maximize storage space."
No need for more words. He shrugged off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.
To boost efficiency, he cranked his Kerenzikov to level 3, leveraging bullet time to maximize each movement.
With his mind laser-focused, he lost track of time.
By the time he'd hauled the last piece of equipment out of the blue zone, his shirt was soaked in sweat.
He ran to the air conditioner, basking in the cold breeze.
Watching the oscillating vent, something clicked in his mind:
"Shironeko, where does the server room get its power from? My backup generator can't have lasted this long, right?"
Shironeko had been tailing him like a little shadow this whole time. She quickly answered:
"That's correct. I'm not using your diesel generator. Devices inside the Singularity Space are powered by an unlimited energy source. The principle is currently unknown."
Unlimited energy… a perpetual motion machine!?
Leo's heart skipped a beat. He looked around the room again.
What a shame. If he'd known, he would've rented a bigger room—could've crammed in more gear.
And that glowing wall surrounding the room was such a waste of space. If only he could expand it…
As he was fantasizing, Shironeko spoke again:
"Papa, your time is almost up. Please prepare yourself for the next transfer."
"Huh!?"
Leo panicked.
"Wait, I just got here! Why am I already leaving!?"
He checked the countdown. Sure enough—only a few minutes left.
"Don't tell me I spent almost three hours just moving equipment?"
"Yes, and your speed was already exceptional. A regular worker would've taken all day."
She offered a sincere compliment, but Leo wasn't exactly thrilled.
Gotham was waiting on the other side… and he had zero desire to tangle with its oh-so-warm and friendly locals.
"…Before you leave, may I ask you a question?"
Leo looked at her curiously: "Go ahead."
"When you felt fear and panic… when you were desperately grasping for something to save you—why did you choose V over me?
After all, I was the first one to appear by your side."
"Uh…"
That was a tough one.
He honestly hadn't expected the question, so he'd never thought about it before.
Why V and not Shironeko?
Because… she wasn't even on his radar at first. He didn't know what she could do. But saying that might hurt her feelings.
She seemed to sense his hesitation. Shironeko crossed her arms, her fluffy cat ears flattening into full "airplane mode":
"I want you to fully trust me… the same way I trust you.
The Singularity Space is bound to you. I—and everything inside it—exist only because of you. If you vanish, the entire space will be devoured by temporal turbulence.
Please believe me—I am completely loyal to you. I would do anything for you!!"
That… sounded suspiciously like a confession.
Leo's gaze drifted across her face. He avoided eye contact out of guilt.
If he'd known she'd become like this, he never would've designed her in such a cringe-inducing anime style.
Now he couldn't even look at her without dying inside…
Still, seeing how serious she looked, he felt bad leaving it unsaid. He forced an answer:
"You and I came from the same world. At first, I didn't understand your capabilities, so I naturally turned to someone I felt more 'familiar' with."
"…Really?"
"Of course!" Leo nodded firmly.
Shironeko let out a relieved sigh and patted her chest. "Good! I thought maybe it was because of our 'father-daughter' dynamic… maybe you were too embarrassed to rely on me."
"In fact, if you'd prefer… I could call you something else."
Leo hesitated. After all, she might end up playing the team's netrunner in the future. Constantly calling him "Papa" could seriously tarnish his image.
Worse, people might misunderstand their relationship.
"Then… just call me Leo. No honorifics."
Shironeko's tail shot straight up, her little face lighting up like the sun.
"I get it! You don't want us to be just father and daughter anymore—you want us to be closer, right?
That's okay! I can't do it just yet, but I will find a way to obtain a physical body. Then I'll be able to comfort both your body and your soul!"
"That's not what I meant! Stop reading weird stuff online! I—"
"Leo, no need to say more. I read your media files every single day. I know you better than anyone!"
"I—I…!"
That was a threat.
That was absolutely a threat!!
Leo nearly spat blood.
His face turned red… then purple… then nearly black.
He was this close to dropping dead on the spot.
Meanwhile, Shironeko was unfazed.
"Your remaining time is five seconds. Have a pleasant journey!"
"Five… four…"
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