Cyberpunk: 2075

"Braindance? What's that?"

After finishing their meal, on their way to check out some apartments, Carl couldn't help but be curious about the term Oliver and Jackie kept mentioning.

"Wait… is it like Poké—"

"Dude, what the hell are you even talking about? No, it's just Braindance. Plain and simple."

Oliver knew Carl wasn't familiar with a lot of things, so he patiently explained.

After Oliver's quick crash course, Carl finally got the gist of what Braindance was.

Basically, it was like an advanced VR experience—except instead of just visuals, it fully recorded the recorder's entire sensory experience and then played it back to the viewer directly through their nervous system.

Pain, pleasure, fear—everything could be relived exactly as the original person experienced it.

Braindance was the most popular form of entertainment in 2075, and every household had a BD headset, the same way people used to have smartphones.

Carl was intrigued.

"That actually sounds pretty cool. I wanna try it."

Jackie and Oliver, already used to Carl acting like some lost nobleman from a forgotten era, immediately changed course toward a Braindance store.

First-Time Buyer

A basic, personal-use BD headset wasn't too expensive.

1,000 eddies was all it took to get a brand-new model, complete with a few complimentary popular BDs.

Oliver browsed through the freebies that came with the purchase, muttering to himself.

"Let's see… 'Heartstrings,' 'Soul of Light,' 'Gate of Swords'… Why the fuck are they all just games?"

Jackie snorted from the other side of the aisle.

"Because nobody buys that shit. Sure, they're popular, but in Night City, you get more thrills just taking a walk outside."

Then, Jackie pointed at a shelf.

"Hey, 'The Old Man and the Sea' looks solid."

Carl raised an eyebrow. "Wait… Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea?"

Jackie's eyes lit up.

"You've read Hemingway?!"

"Uh… it's literally a classic?"

"Classic?"

Oliver scratched his head. "What's it about?"

Carl gave him the shortest possible summary.

"An old man fishing."

Oliver frowned. "Fishing? Dude, all the waters around Night City are polluted as fuck. I can't even imagine that shit."

He immediately lost interest.

Carl, on the other hand, grabbed the BD off the shelf.

"I'm actually curious how they turned a classic novel into a Braindance."

As Carl continued browsing, his eyes landed on something… different.

"What are those?"

Carl pointed to a section of BDs in the far corner, where the shelf looked like it had been drenched in black blood.

"Oh, those?"

Oliver glanced at them, then casually explained.

"That's the hardcore stuff. Blood, gore, porn—you name it."

Carl's curiosity spiked.

"How gory are we talking?"

"Well, if it's being sold in a store, it's not that bad. Definitely not Black Braindance level. At most, probably gunshots to the chest and stomach."

Carl raised an eyebrow. "Gunshots to the chest?"

Stepping closer, he skimmed through the titles.

One caught his eye—"My Years in Trauma Team."

The description?

A first-hand account of a Trauma Team medic's experiences on the job. Guns, gang violence, high-risk rescues—everything.

Carl was intrigued.

Checking the price, he noticed that these gore-heavy BDs were slightly more expensive than the others.

Still, it was only 70 eddies per episode.

Considering that an average Watson resident could eat 20 meals with that money, it wasn't exactly cheap.

But Carl?

Carl had over 40,000 eddies in his account.

He could afford a little entertainment.

So, he bought all three volumes of My Years in Trauma Team, which got him a 10 eddie discount for buying the full set.

And while he was at it…

He also grabbed:

"A Mercenary's Combat Log""The Champion's Journey""The Samurai's Last Stand"

Unlike the Trauma Team series, these weren't bundled, but they were cheaper—all three combined were only 180 eddies.

Big-Spender Carl

Seeing Carl drop 1,430 eddies in one go, Oliver couldn't believe his eyes.

"Damn, Carl, you really just buy whatever you want, huh?"

He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Back in the day, even when I wanted to buy a little... spicy Braindance, I'd hesitate and check my wallet for, like, an hour. And you? You just walked in and bought six in one go!"

Carl simply shrugged.

"You guys said Braindance lets you fully experience what the recorder did, right? I just wanna test something."

Sure, part of him was just curious about this whole BD thing.

But more importantly—

Carl had a theory to test.

If he could fully absorb the experiences from the Braindance memories…

Then these BDs weren't just entertainment.

They were personalized, one-on-one training sessions.

That meant…

The Trauma Team BD? Medical training.

The Mercenary BD? Combat training.

The Champion's BD? Hand-to-hand fighting experience.

The Samurai BD? Sword techniques.

If it worked the way he hoped…

Then this wasn't just about watching Braindance.

It was about learning.

"Verification?"

Jackie blinked, not entirely understanding what Carl meant, but he didn't dwell on it. Since they had all come into money, he decided to pick out a few BDs he had been interested in for a while and head to checkout.

Between Carl's stack, Jackie's picks, and even Oliver's selections, today was shaping up to be a record-breaking sales day for the BD shop owner.

Unfortunately, his happiness was short-lived.

The shop's front door suddenly burst open—

BAM!

Three men stormed in, their faces concealed beneath black hoods, each wielding a Lexington pistol.

The moment they entered, they raised their guns, aiming directly at everyone inside.

"Nobody move! This is a robbery!"

Just Another Day in Night City

"Wow… now this is Night City."

Having three guns pointed at him, Carl felt confident that he could drop all three guys with headshots in an instant.

But… that would still be a bit risky.

Besides, if these guys were only here to rob the place, it wasn't worth making a scene.

So, he simply raised his hands, signaling that he wasn't going to do anything stupid.

Oliver and Jackie exchanged a glance, then followed suit, cooperating just as well.

After all, muggings like this were nothing new in Night City.

Quick & Dirty Heist

The three masked robbers didn't seem interested in hurting anyone—they were only after money.

With a devastated look on his face, the BD shop owner begrudgingly handed over all the cash in the register—roughly 700 eddies.

The only silver lining for the owner?

He hadn't finished processing Carl and the others' purchase yet, so at least he didn't lose more.

Aside from cash, the robbers also grabbed a few BD game chips before leaving.

However, they didn't bother taking any BD headsets—probably because those had unique serial codes. Wiping them required a professional, and these low-level thugs clearly weren't that skilled.

Worried about NCPD showing up, the entire robbery took less than two minutes.

Once they had what they wanted, the masked men bolted, slamming the door behind them as they rushed out.

The BD shop owner let out a long sigh, his face filled with frustration.

"Fucking scumbags… I gotta call NCPD and get them locked up."

Just as he was about to grab the phone—

GUNSHOTS.

A series of gunshots echoed from outside.

The moment Carl heard the distinct sound of a Lexington, he immediately recognized it.

And then—

BANG!

The shop door was violently kicked open again—

A mangled corpse tumbled inside.

Its shredded black hood revealed its identity—one of the robbers from earlier.

Carl exhaled deeply.

"Looks like shit just went down."

This… was Night City.

Without a word, he, Oliver, and Jackie instinctively reached for their guns—perfectly in sync.