Cyberpunk 2077: How to Hack Meredith Stroud’s Militech Datashard

Meredith Stout needs someone to pin this debacle on, she might as well be dead. Here’s how to remove the virus from the chip in Cyberpunk 2077.

Who is Meredith Stout in Cyberpunk 2077?

Shortly after meeting Dexter DeShawn in the main mission, you’ll be tasked with the quest The Pickup. This will have you meet the dominating dame Meredith Stout, a Militech senior operations manager who’s in dire straits. A shipment’s gone missing, and if she doesn’t get it back, her head is on the chopping block.

Contact Meredith Stout to arrange a meeting. During that meeting, she’ll ask that you use an infected Militech Datashard to pay for the Flathead so she can track the goons who stole the shipment.

If you get Meredith to help you, she’ll want you to pay for the Flathead bot with an obviously spiked Militech Datashard. You can agree to do so and then remove the virus from the shard for good measure.

How to Romance Meredith Stout in Cyberpunk 2077

Meredith doesn’t offer a long-term romance, but she certainly offers an interesting cut scene and a unique weapon. To get both, you’ll need to help her solve her dilemma. This is what you’ll need to do.

• Before going to the All Foods Warehouse, call Meredith and meet with her.
• The dialogue options don’t particularly matter, and you don’t have to accept the Datashard.
  • If you didn’t accept the Datashard shoot Royce during the negotiation.
  • If you did accept the Datashard, don’t hack the datashard and give it to Royce.
• Complete the mission and defeat all the enemies.
• Meredith will eventually text you after the mission. Respond with, “Shame. Was starting to like you…”
• You’ll then receive an address and the quest “Venus in Furs”.

Meredith will be waiting for you at the No-Tell Motel on the first floor. After a very interesting cut scene, you can collect the Sir John Phallustiff. This iconic weapon does physical and electrical damage. It also vibrates when you have it equipped. Highly recommend.

Unfortunately, this encounter is a one-time thing. But it was nice while it lasted.

How to Get Rid of the Virus on the Militech Datashard in Cyberpunk 2077

Here’s how to remove the virus on the chip in Cyberpunk 2077.

• Open your menu.
• Select ‘Shards’ beneath the Journal menu.
• Select ‘Encrypted’.
• Then hack the Datashard.

To go more in-depth with that explanation:

Hover over Journal, and you’ll see a new drop-down menu labeled ‘Shards.’

Select it. Then scroll all the way down to ‘Encrypted.’

Here, you’ll find the Militech Datashard. Select it, and then you’ll be given two ways to decrypt it. The first option will allow you to remove the virus from the shard completely. The second option, which makes a copy of the daemon infecting the shard, will allow you to learn the virus as a quickhack, adding it to your repertoire.

If you want to simply remove the virus, here’s how to do so:

Choose ’55’ from the first row. This will change your selection range to vertical. Select 1C. This will change your selection row to horizontal. Select E9. And there you go. You won’t be able to get your quickhack, but the virus is off the Shard.

Should You Remove the Virus from the Militech Datashard in Cyberpunk 2077?

So, there are two ways this quest can go down.

If you don’t remove the virus, the goons you’re buying the robot from will catch on to the fact that there’s a virus on the shard. They’ll then attack you, and for good reason. But if you survive, Meredith will be happy. She’s also potentially a romanceable option.

If you do remove the virus, there’s a chance Meredith will be replaced/killed. To avoid this, you’ll need to kill (SPOILERS!!!) Royce. But if you don’t care about Meredith at all, just use the shard to pay off Royce and avoid the confrontation altogether.  

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