Cyberpunk: Rise of the Gang Queen

I open my eyes. The glare above is blinding. Instinctively, I raise a hand to shield my face, but a violent throb of pain lances through my skull. "Boss, you're finally awake!" A cool, crisp female voice comes from my left. I pause, waiting for the dizziness to pass before I force my head to turn. A young woman with short blue hair is leaning over me. The mechanical implant in her right eye flickers with a faint blue glow. I try to speak, but my throat feels like it’s been roasted over an open flame. "Water..." I rasp. The blue-haired woman hands me a glass from the table. I snatch it and gulp it down, only to immediately choke and break into a fit of coughing. What the hell is this? It tastes like liquid metal—vile and nauseating. "Easy there, Wan Ning. You were poisoned. It's a miracle you're even alive," says a middle-aged man in a grimy white coat standing nearby. He sounds genuinely impressed. Wan Ning? My name is Wang Lin. Did he mishear me? I was just an ordinary corporate drone. I stayed up late working overtime last night... until I died suddenly. I struggle to sit up. The sight before me makes my breath catch. This is a cramped, dimly lit medical room. It’s filled with medical equipment I’ve never seen before, most of it pulsing with an eerie light. My arm is connected to several tubes and data cables leading to a nearby machine. What shocks me even more is that I am sitting on the operating table in nothing but my underwear. And my left arm—from the shoulder down—is entirely mechanical. Silver-gray metal gleams with a cold, icy luster. I flex my fingers. It moves just like a real arm. I reach over with my right hand and touch the mechanical left. It’s cold. Hard. Then I raise my hand to my eyes. No glasses. Yet I can see with perfect clarity! This isn't my 600-degree myopia! "What... what is this? Where am I?" My voice trembles. "In the underground clinic at Twilight Bar. Are you feeling okay, Boss?" the blue-haired woman asks, puzzled. "Should we do a brain scan?" Twilight Bar? Brain scan? More words I don't understand. Sensing the danger, I instinctively refuse. "No. My head is just a mess. I need a minute." The man in the white coat taps the screen a few times, checking the data. "All indicators are normal. Looks like you're fine." As he speaks, he yanks the tubes out of my arm. Suddenly, he grins. "Wan Ning, I'd really love to dissect your brain." "Cut it out, Pavi!" Before I can react, the blue-haired woman snaps coldly. The man shrugs, hands in his pockets, and heads for the door. "Alright, alright. Mercury, you're so boring. Keep an eye on them. I've got other things to do." With a soft hiss, the metal door closes, plunging the room into silence. It's just me and this woman named Mercury now. I open my mouth. "Please..." Halfway through, I remember her calling me "Boss" and swallow the rest of the words. "What?" "Nothing. Get me a jacket." I change my tone, forcing a note of command into it. She doesn't question it. She walks to a rack and grabs a black leather jacket covered in studs, handing it over. It's a very street-style look, nothing like my usual wardrobe, but I silently drape it over my shoulders. "Mercury, tell me what's going on." "Two days ago, we found you unconscious and brought you here. Dr. Pavi said you were poisoned. We all thought... you weren't going to make it." I slowly digest this information. Once I confirm this isn't a dream, I realize the truth: I've transmigrated. The original owner of this body was named Wan Ning. She's dead. And I, Wang Lin, who died from overworking, have taken her place. "How did the poisoning happen?" "I checked the surveillance. That day, you came to the bar and went straight to the private VIP booth on the second floor. Only one waiter entered twice to bring drinks. It was most likely in the alcohol. And after that, the waiter disappeared." Good heavens! Someone wanted the original host dead? Now that I've replaced her, am I in danger too? My head is spinning. I need to figure out my identity and situation first. Meanwhile, Mercury is observing her boss. She is secretly shocked. Upon hearing that someone tried to kill her, the boss didn't fly into a rage. She remained so calm! Something is off. Until the boss asks a stupid question: "Who am I?" "Huh?" Mercury freezes, her brain failing to process the question. "It's probably an after-effect of the poisoning. My memory is a bit scrambled." Only then does Mercury's expression turn serious. "You are Wan Ning. Owner of the Twilight Bar. Leader of the Iron Fist Gang." Owner? Leader of the Iron Fist Gang? What is this nonsense? I suppress my inner shock and force myself to stay calm. "Today's date?" "April 16th, 2100." I feel a wave of vertigo. Seventy years into the future. "Are you sure you're okay? Should I get Pavi back?" "No." Ignoring her worried look, I continue to pry for information about the current state of affairs. This isn't the Blue Star I knew. It must be a parallel world. The city is called Shengxing City. Located in the southern part of the Federation, the entire metropolis is controlled by megacorporations. High tech, low life. The lower classes struggle to survive amidst chaos and disorder. Street crime is rampant—robbers with illegal mods, gang shootouts—it's endless. The city has five districts. The original host's Twilight Bar is located in the Black Crow Alley block of the Pai Nan District. This run-down slum is the Iron Fist Gang's entire territory: three narrow, garbage-strewn alleys, a bar with a flickering, faulty neon sign, and the underground clinic hidden behind it. In this world of neon and blood, gangs like Iron Fist are as numerous as cockroaches. According to Mercury, the Iron Fist Gang has only twenty-five members. Our finances are perpetually hovering between barely scraping by and total bankruptcy. There's simply no money to be squeezed from this neighborhood. Iron Fist Gang—the name alone screams "cannon fodder." After getting the general idea, I silently roast the situation in my head. There are six core officers in the gang currently: Dr. Pavi (the man in the white coat), handles the clinic. Mercury (the woman in front of me) is a VR developer. She creates virtual scenes for the bar's immersive services. The assassin Viper and the enforcer A-Man are high combat power, handling security for the clinic and the bar, sometimes taking mercenary jobs. The bar manager Ishikawa handles daily operations and intelligence trading. And the mechanic Gray Owl is setting up a repair shop for the gang. All these people had direct contact with the original host. For all I know, the murderer could be among them. And my identity as a transmigrator cannot be exposed. If I'm discovered, the best-case scenario is being treated as a freak; the worst is ending up like the original host. Just as I am deep in thought— Knock knock knock. The virtual screen beside the door lights up, showing the person outside. "It's Viper and the others," Mercury glances at it and warns me. My heart leaps into my throat. Oh no! I won't recognize any of them! I lower my voice. "Don't let anyone know about my memory loss." Mercury gives an almost imperceptible nod. Only then do I put on a deep voice. "Enter." Three figures step into the room. The man on the left speaks first. He wears a suit, metal-framed glasses reflecting blue light. His features are plain, instantly forgettable, but I can see something gun-like peeking from his cuff. His voice is gentle: "Big Sis Wan, Pavi said you woke up. We came to check on you." "Ha! Knew Big Sis wouldn't die!" booms a thunderous voice. A two-meter-tall bald brute waves his massive mechanical arms. He clinks his watermelon-sized metal fists together. "That quack Pavi installed my new lungs backwards last time!" "A-Man." A hoarse, grating voice comes from the right. The person is tall and thin. Under his black bangs, the right side of his face is covered in bionic scales that reflect cold light. His reptilian vertical pupils seem locked onto my throat. A viper tattoo coils up his left arm, looking ready to strike. Viper.The name surfaces in my mind automatically. "As if!" A-Man's prosthetics whirr as he waves them. "He said Big Sis would be a vegetable..." "Ishikawa," Mercury suddenly cuts in, "no guests at the hotel?" The man in the suit pushes his glasses up. "Don't worry, I can handle it." He answers irrelevantly, but his gaze scans me like an X-ray. "But Big Sis... are you truly alright?" So this is Ishikawa. "I'm fine." I keep my answer short to avoid mistakes. "Speaking of which..." Viper's mechanical arm strokes his chin. "Last time, Ishikawa proposed selling Neural Enhancers at the bar." The air turns to ice. Everyone's eyes are pinned on me, waiting for my stance. Stance? Stance my ass! When was "last time"? What the hell is a Neural Enhancer? But it definitely doesn't sound like anything good. Help! Is it too late to run now? My brain races, sweat beads on my back, and my heart pounds with anxiety, but my face remains a mask of indifference. "What was my stance last time?" I force my chin up, staring straight ahead. Viper's vertical pupil contracts, his bionic scales rustling. "Are we really going to leave triple the profit on the black market?" It seems the original host vetoed the proposal. I breathe a secret sigh of relief, but it's not enough. I raise my volume, sweeping my gaze over them, enunciating every word: "What. Was. My. Stance. Last. Time?" The intimidation left behind by the original host is fermenting. Everyone feels the pressure bearing down on them like bullets. Only A-Man tries to recall honestly. "Big Sis said..." He scratches his head as if stuck. "Twilight Bar doesn't touch neuro-drugs, uh... because it'll attract those lunatics from the Tox-Mech Gang?" "See? Big Sis was thinking of our safety," Ishikawa smooths things over, looking at Viper. "Let's drop it for now." "Heh, someone was probably already preparing for it while the boss was out cold," Mercury sneers, looking at Ishikawa. "What are you pretending for?" Viper curls his lip in mockery. "Your sister at Cyberway Academy... I heard you haven't paid her material fees in months." "You..." Mercury's fingers clench instantly, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. "Enough!" I roar, cutting them off. The internal strife in this gang is severe! "Regarding Neural Enhancers... no more talk of this!" I press a hand to my temple, feigning a headache, my brow furrowed. "Now, everyone get out." A-Man's mechanical fingers fidget nervously. He looks around, then obediently shuffles out the door. Viper gives me a meaningful look, a cold smirk on his lips, and follows. "Get some rest, Big Sis," Ishikawa says, pushing his glasses up as he turns to leave, considerately closing the door behind him. Only Mercury remains. "Boss," she says softly, looking at me suspiciously. "You really... don't remember anything?" I raise an eyebrow. "What about it?" "N-nothing. You rest. I'll get back to work." She turns and leaves the medical bay. The metal door hisses shut once more. On the virtual monitor, I watch Mercury's figure disappear completely down the corridor. Only then do I let my tense body relax. Now, I am truly alone. How the hell am I supposed to keep up this big-shot act?