Cyberpunk 2077: Wildfire - Tales from Night City
We thought of starting with a sort of "origin story" for our legendary V, out of nowhere and immediately able to show what he is made of by climbing the ranks of the clandestine fighting in the megalopolis. Furthermore, exactly as CD Projekt did with the game's missions, we decided to associate the title of the episode with a piece of music that is similar in terms of themes, contents or even just sensations to the proposed story. Here, then, is Wildfire, the first episode of the Tales from Night City dedicated to Cyberpunk 2077.
Wildfire
I met him! Well, not really known; not in person. But I was there when he beat Razor Hugh. In fact, I saw all of V's fights that evening.Yes, that's right! Is there anyone else who can say the same? As I imagined. Then shut your mouth and get the veterans to talk.
It must have been eight in the evening or so. I was already drunk, but it would have been like comparing myself to a teetotaler than I'm used to.
Bill once had to close early because I ran out of supplies. True Bill? Not that he has many, eh. I don't want to give you the idea that I'm someone who "raises his elbow" more than he should. No sir. I am perfectly capable of controlling myself. It's about my liver ... at least I think it's about my chromium liver (or whatever devilry it is made of).
Anyway, as I said, it must have been eight or half past eight when I arrived in Arroyo. There weren't too many crowds, just a few drifters and a few of those from Sixth Street. This is because one of them, I don't remember the name, was the fighter who would face V.
I practically had the seats in the front row. I could see and hear everything from broken bones to the cursing of those who were losing a lot of money. The Sixth guy was a military man, one for whom "fighting for the homeland" means receiving free upgrades. You should have seen it. Left arm and right leg entirely in chrome, old school.
V at the time, however, only had cheap implants on his arms; not even the best, I think. Otherwise, he was pure as a child.
Nobody knew who he was or where he came from. He had come out of nowhere, with no supporters, but with a nice sum to put on the plate. Not only! The bastard had so much nerve that he upped the ante by convincing the Sixth guy to put his shotgun up for grabs. Russian stuff, the one that doesn't even miss a target, if you know how to use it.
I let you imagine the laughter people had. But not me. I had seen something in that boy.
What is it? You do not believe me? Well, think what you want, but I had actually seen something in that little boy with the white headband and the most battered wind pants across the Mississippi. What is Mississippi like ?! But look what I have to hear! What am I talking to do with you? That's a lot of wasted breath.
Sixth Street (or whatever his name was)
Let's go back to the match. While everyone was laughing, the stakes against V had skyrocketed. I don't remember how much, but I almost wanted to bet something - but I didn't, for the obvious reasons I have already tried to explain.The disagreements towards the boy grew even more when he got to his chest naked. And even today I don't understand why. On the other hand, he was certainly not the first to fight without a shirt.
The fight finally began. The soldier hopped from one side to the other of the ring created in an underpass among debris and garbage. He looked like a hare. You've probably never seen one, but it's an animal that hops just like the guy did.
In short, between one dance step and the next, Sixth Street suddenly sprinted towards V, who immediately dodged it.
Hop, hop, in the end the soldier tried his luck again. He launched himself on the boy with special forces speed. This avoided him again, but this time he responded with a well-placed blow to the side. The soldier doubled over in pain, but recovered quickly.
Posts, hooks and so on and so forth. Sixth Street managed to hit V a couple of times, who seemed visibly worn by the blows. Suddenly, the guy hit him in the shin with his adamantine leg. Thing? I don't care what material it was, Roger. It was just to give you an idea of the swine evil he had done to him.
V fell to his knees. Sixth Street thought he had victory in hand. He was a bully, he threw it at his companions, he demeaned his opponent. The crowd was in a frenzy, the bookies in turmoil.
Sesta approached the opponent, ready to finish him off with a devastating hook. But, in a flash, V struck him in the armpit and then on the throat with speed and force that disintegrated his windpipe.
Not even the best scalpel in town could fix that mess . He can only speak through a speech synthesis software. Insulting others must not have been the same since that evening. Or at least I think it still is. I don't know what happened to that poor dog.
The fact is that V won the match and moved on to the next round. Of course I saw that too, but first let me cool my throat.
César
From Arroyo we passed to Glen, where V would collide with César, a brat with lots of dreams and little salt gourd.From what I understand, he had spent a lot of money on implants and other bullshit despite his girlfriend being pregnant. That was supposed to be the fight that would raise that poor idiot's credibility (and bank account). To up the ante, he even put his car on the plate.
The place was very bright. I don't think I've ever seen such a bright spot in the back streets of Glen. Probably the two cases of beer I drank between meetings didn't help. The fact is that I saw little and nothing of the meeting. What I do know, though, is that César didn't spend his money well.
His implants allowed him to move very fast, more than I could follow with my eyes, but he certainly could have saved on the gold plating to buy something more "performing".
While César jumped from one side of the basketball court to the other, V studied him carefully, parrying those two or three hooks that the boy tried to put sign.
After that, V pulled his arm back and struck him with an uppercut right under the chin. César flew in the air for nearly a meter, until he tumbled to the ground.
Slowly, he got up, evidently stunned by the blow. He tried again to use his speed to his advantage, but failed.
V intercepted him with a hook on the jaw. He had turned it off. At that moment I seriously thought he had killed him.
After a few seconds, however, César stood up and smiled at V, holding out his hand and motioning for him to follow.
He sat down near the wire mesh and started talking to the newcomer.After a while the pregnant girl also arrived. She looked furious.
V interjected. I don't know what they said to each other, but judging by the fact that he left without winning, I would say he did a good deed, which is very rare here in Night City.
Rhino
Era The time has come to move to Rancho Coronado, in the middle of the Animals territory.I'll tell you the truth: even when I was drunk I was having a hard time. I have always been terrified of those mountains of steroids and continue to do so.
Being inside their headquarters, then. An experience that I would not repeat. Especially thinking of all the effort I went through to get into it. The bouncer didn't want me in, can you believe it?
Anyway, here V had to face Rhino, the queen of clandestine fights. She said she had never been beaten by anyone in her life. At least until she faced V.
Oh, come on! Don't make that face, we all know how she went. There's no point in suspense if you already know how the story will turn out. It's my point of view that matters here!
So where did I stay. Oh yes! Rhino was about to take them from V.
As they went down into the pit, the bets went up. Rhino, despite V's excellent performance that night, was still considered the one and only eligible candidate. And no wonder! Have you ever seen it with your own eyes? Sure, she's a bit withered today, but I would still avoid talking to him for fear of offending her and seeing her rip my new liver.
The fight began immediately with a loud punch on V's snout, who took a few steps back. , dazed enough that he no longer knew which was right and which was left.
Rhino charged him with such fury that he smeared him against the iron wall. Meanwhile, she gave him two "very light" punches on the abdomen and one on her side. I am convinced she took a lot of the blow, as I felt a couple of ribs crumble.
Rhino gave him some air to recover. V found himself on his knees again, but miraculously got back on his feet.
I'll be honest: I would have stayed on the ground. But, on the other hand, he is the legend, not me.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, V was ready to continue the fight.
Rhino charged him again, but this time the rookie dodged her, even giving him a good blow on the kidneys. I saw the giantess smile at him, telling him to keep fighting.
From there I didn't understand anything anymore, partly because it was all a tangle of bodies and fists, partly because the red of the lights was doing a fight all his own with my eyes, which were evidently losing.
Be that as it may, the last blow, the decisive one, I saw. A hook so strong that Rhino blew one of his front teeth.
The queen was on the ground. The rookie was standing. A memorable moment, which would have been enough to mark the annals, but the night had not yet come to an end. The final fight was missing, the one with Razor Hugh.
Razor Hugh
It had been a crazy evening. V was winning against everyone, I was on my fourth case of beer and half of Night City had rushed to the last fight of the evening. Maybe it wasn't half, but it still seemed like a lot of people when you consider that the ring was in that fossilized toilet in the Pacifica shopping center.We were all high. On the one hand, the legendary Razor Hugh. On the other, the unknown V.
The first rumors were already beginning to circulate. There are those who said that he came from the Badlands and that the money he had staked came from a series of heists made with a band of Nomads; others claimed that he came from the street, from some suburban neighborhood, and that he was linked to a gang which, however, had repudiated him; still others that he was a corporate outcast, betrayed and used as a scapegoat for who knows what corporate hindrance.
Anyway, he was someone whose life had reserved only slaps in the face. And the fury she unleashed against his opponents proved it.
Suddenly, the gong. The two in the middle of the ring, facing each other. The boy's tattoos glowed in the light. So did the tangled vein web that pulsed under Razor's oiled skin. They moved in unison, creating a kind of circle. The tension was sky high. It was Hugh who took the first step. He sprinted at V and ... and ... Oh, goddamn it. I do not remember! Damn brain. Couldn't I get the chrome one too? I only remember waking up the next morning in a dumpster in Kabuki. Or was it the day after that?
Okay, but I was there when he won! I told you so! And you who didn't believe me. "Always believe what the older one says, because he has more experience". I don't remember who said that, but it sure was someone important. Or was it Lance from the B12? Oh, what the hell! Rather Bill: untap me another one.
This was the first episode of Tales from Night City.
Please let us know what you think and if you can guess what the title song is to the episode. You will find the right answer in the last appointment, in which we will publish the playlist with all the songs that inspired the various stories.
We are waiting for you in the comments!
