I kept thinking about how the flashbacks in 'Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence' work with the silent protagonist idea. The writers don't just have the character clam up; they build the world so other characters assume you're just another merc, a blank slate, which is the default state in Night City anyway. Your past gets buried under a mountain of new chrome, new gigs, and new enemies. The real protection comes from the city's own culture of not asking questions. If you act like you belong, and your skills back it up, no one digs deeper. It's less about active deception and more about the sheer, overwhelming noise of the present drowning out the whispers of the past.
V from the game is a perfect case study. Whether you pick the Corpo or Nomad life path, that history is just a prologue. Once you're thrown into the main story, that identity is effectively dead. You hide the past by letting the city consume it. You become the legend you're building, not the person you were. The relics of your old life—like Jackie's garage for the Street Kid—become private sanctuaries, not public knowledge.