Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

Lucy continued uploading the video and audio footage of the battle she had collected.

The audio was extremely noisy, with loud shouts mixed with the crackling sounds of gunfire and the gurgling of blood. The sound quality and picture quality were greatly reduced due to environmental interference and long-distance transmission.

The sound abruptly stopped after a sharp whistle from an energy electromagnetic projectile weapon.

In the blurry image transmitted from the surveillance camera:

Adam Hammer, clad in heavy exoskeleton armor bearing the Arasaka Clover logo, emerged from the smoke and walked through the ruins riddled with bullet holes and limb fragments.

The anti-materiel heavy machine gun, originally designed to reinforce defensive positions and serve as a fixed suppressive firepower mounted on armored vehicles, was being carried by him with one hand, looking like he was carrying a submachine gun.

Damaged hacker chairs, portable computer cases, switches, and monitors were scattered all over the ground like trash, leaving only a cyborg who had been thrown out and smashed through the factory wall still struggling.

His face was covered in blood, one of his prosthetic eyes had exploded, his combat suit was torn to shreds, revealing the severely damaged implant structure inside, the artificial muscles in his chest along with the subcutaneous armor were dented, his gorilla arm was torn off, and his knee, which was equipped with the mantis knife, was also blasted to pieces. Blood and off-white prosthetic maintenance fluid were exposed, and sparks of electricity flashed.

After a single shot sent the agent's head flying off his shoulder, Adam Hammer turned to the side, his face deathly pale, like a dead man's skin plastered onto a lump of iron.

He raised his gun and fired a shot.

boom!

sizzle-

The screen is interrupted.

Whoosh! Lucy jerked her head back from the bathtub filled with ice water, her eyes snapping open. The data connection was gone, and she was just gasping for breath.

"You didn't overestimate yourself by invading that monster, Hammer, did you?" After putting on her bra and underwear, Qiwei picked up Lucy's clothes and threw them at her.

“I’m not that stupid.” Lucy caught the clothes and shook her head as she put on her underwear. “I’ve dealt with the errands at Arasaka, but what about Faraday’s?”

“This won’t stump Mann,” said Falco.

Packing away his monitor, portable host, and other auxiliary network hacking devices, Falco, carrying his suitcase, gave Lucy a thumbs-up.

"Lucy, you have to trust Mann's experience as a seasoned cyber mercenary. He's probably cursing Faraday right now..."

...

Meanwhile, in the safe house at the Haywoodley site, Faraday's curtains were drawn.

Jingle Bell.

Caller ID: Mann

Beep, connection established.

"Faraday, you son of a bitch! What kind of crappy commission did you send?! Is this Arasaka sourcing goods? This is a war! It's a whole army-level combat unit! You dare come to Arasaka Beach and take a look? You think you can steal their data? Arasaka will fucking kill you..."

Farah's fourth eye narrowed almost simultaneously, the orange-red light representing telephone communication flashing. As a supporter of corporate-style neo-militarism and authoritarianism, the insults from the offline mercenaries made his face grow increasingly ugly.

“Mann, you know who you're talking to…”

"I'm cursing you, you bastard! Adam Hammer has appeared, you know that?"

Mann rudely interrupted Faraday on the other end of the phone.

"It's Adam Hammer! You fucking translate what Adam Hammer even means!! You didn't even reveal such crucial information, I'm quitting! The commission doesn't match the work, you want me to hit a hammer? Damn it, don't even think about getting your deposit back! Also, here's the latest live stream of Arasaka Beach that you wanted! You fucking see it for yourself..."

beep.

After finishing his rant, Mann hung up the phone.

pat.

Crushing the cigarette between his fingers, Faraday's face turned ashen; he was so angry he almost wanted to tear Mann apart and kill him.

But thinking about what Mann said next calmed me down, and I opened the data unit in the email attachment that Mann sent.

Sizzle... Boom...

Watching the blood and gore splattered on the screen, Faraday took several deep breaths. Even someone as obsequious to his superiors and bullying to his inferiors as he was, had to admit that Mann was right. Even if Mann made it public at the Rebirth Nightclub that he had torn up the commission, no one would criticize him too much.

After all, that's Adam's Hammer...

There are differences between legends.

If Rogge, who owns and manages 'Afterlife,' is considered a legend, it's because of her legendary past and her status as the most powerful middleman in Night City today.

Adam Hammer is a legend among legends, the creator and executor of Night City legends.

It's a bloody crime committed with real weapons and live ammunition, known purely for its force, violence, and killing.

Among cyber lone wolves, perhaps only Morgan Blackhand can rival him.

Faraday, a mere middleman in Santo Domingo, what right did he have to send someone to fight Adam Hammer?

He couldn't get the deposit back, and he couldn't retaliate against Mann in the short term.

This incident can be considered a violation of the rules of the underworld, as the commission was severely disproportionate to the difficulty of the mission. Being discovered during a mission and thus having a legitimate reason to unilaterally terminate the commission is an acceptable act in the cyber mercenary world.

Then, Faraday made a few more phone calls.

Of the four mercenary teams he had lured, three have already disappeared without a trace.

One team started swearing and cursing as soon as they opened their microphones.

The background noise suggests someone is fleeing on the road.

*beep*, hang up. There's nothing to talk about.

After lighting another cigarette and pondering for a while, Faraday activated another encrypted communication chip in the network access bay and dialed his number with the military technology liaison officer.

drip.

The call is connected.

Exhaling a puff of white smoke, Faraday spoke with annoyance: "How am I supposed to steal this level of military force deployment without prior notice? Even Adam Hammer is here. Unless you find me a ruthless character like Morgan Blackhand, this job is going to be difficult!"

"With Morgan Blackhand around, would you even have a chance to eat meat?"

On the other end of the phone, the liaison officer for military technology chuckled.

"We only asked you to do it because it was difficult. We're not rushing you to deliver immediately. Just give it a try. We still have time. Those soldiers can't stay on the Arasaka coast forever... This time, Arasaka's power projection was almost testing the limits of international public opinion. Washington had no choice but to accept it."

He seemed to have foreseen the situation Faraday would encounter.

Faraday: "Didn't you also lose a team of elite agents? Aren't you heartbroken?"

"Don't use your shallow perspective to judge the company's strategic resolve."

The liaison officer's tone remained calm.

"Bringing out Adam Hammer is valuable... Don't rush, our cooperation is long-term. Let Aras keep up their defenses. We'll strike when their new Night City Comprehensive Research Center breaks ground. The higher-ups have put a lot of effort into this shipment from Aras..."

"Keep up the good work, Faraday, the best is yet to come... Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, the company has agreed to all your requests."

After saying that, the phone beeped. He hung up.

"..."

Faraday looked extremely unwell.

"Pretentious."

Then, he got up and dialed a number back.

As the first mercenary to react, relay intelligence, and escape, Mann's team was quite capable. Being able to escape is a skill in itself, so let's continue to keep them around.

"I am Faraday Mann. I was also caught off guard by this request..."

...

At the same time, in the company square, at the military technology building.

The intelligence department's office floor.

Having just ended his call with Faraday, the military technology employee responsible for liaising with Night City's intermediaries covered his face with a bitter expression and rubbed his temples.

Isn't he in a hurry?

No, he's in a hurry!

"Fuck, the Foreign Affairs Bureau is a bunch of idiots! They didn't even notice Adam Hammer's return to Night City...and another agent team got caught up in it. The information they got...hmm."

As if his head was spinning from overthinking, he felt a surge of stomach acid and quickly got up from his workstation to wash his face in the bathroom to clear his head.

But as soon as he lowered his head, his mouth felt sour, and he vomited with a "whoosh".

"Cough cough..." The health monitoring device inside his body beeped, and he murmured, "Is it because of too much stress..."

Back at his workstation, after taking his blood pressure medication, he pulled up the operation report for this reconnaissance mission.

The money given to the middleman and the losses suffered by the special agent team are all company property, and the higher-ups need him to write a loss report.

He reviewed it several times, but alas, the internal evaluation score wasn't high.

drip.

A new email appeared on the terminal screen. The man glanced at it while writing his report, and was immediately drawn to it.

From: Baskin Company

[Message: We're sorry, your business order has failed...]

More bad news.

What a bad time.

"Arasaka, who tramples on chariots!"

He cursed under his breath, took out a performance-enhancing drug from the drawer next to him, and after taking a sip, his eyes immediately lit up with an orange-red light.

"It's me, from the intelligence department. I have important news to report... no, it's not about the reinforcements at Arasaka Beach... I'm sorry, sir, our undercover agent who infiltrated the Watson Arasaka Automation Factory has been exposed by Arasaka's counterintelligence team..."

The routine report is now complete.

After submitting the inspected damage report, the man leaned back in his chair and brought up the main UI of the company's intelligence department.

New assessment tasks have been assigned from above.

—"Assessment: Feasibility of Expanding and Adding Border Checkpoints to Better Manage Night City's Borders and Protect Citizens' Lives and Property"—

[Source: Washington, Virginia Military Technology Headquarters]