Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

"Border wall...looks like the higher-ups are planning to increase troop deployments too..."

Ignoring the pretentious and empty rhetoric above, he opened the subpage in the task attachment.

—"The Feasibility of Partial Concessions, a Strategic Retreat to Advance, to Encourage the Deployment of Troops at the Night City Border Outpost"—

"Let Arasaka divide his forces. It seems the higher-ups still have their eyes on Vera Adelheid's 'Stairway to the Sun' project. In that case... Faraday can't just give up. He needs to find more desperados to constantly confuse Arasaka's security forces..."

“No, one Faraday isn’t enough. If the mercenaries suffer too many casualties, he’ll lose his influence. I need to develop more intermediaries…”

...

The Azure Building.

The magnificent Zijinshi Banquet Hall.

The floor was covered with a warm, silky red carpet, and crystal-clear, gilded chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The lights were dazzling, and the interplay of light and shadow created a dreamlike atmosphere, as if a galaxy had been poured out.

2076/1/24|19/42

At this point, the banquet had entered its second half.

Men and women, dressed in well-dressed and expensive clothes, gathered in twos and threes, chatting quietly. They were warm but polite, and their voices mingled together, some entertaining, some serious, and some deep in thought.

Without exception, the topics included the confirmed bombshell news that Arasaka had reinforced Night City.

The events that occurred at Arasaka Beach have already spread and are fermenting among the people, and it seems to have caused quite a stir so far.

But in the end, it was just talk; it didn't help Washington or military technology, and their situation only worsened. Nobody wanted them to reunify.

Below the stage in the banquet center, at the head table, Vera withdrew her gaze, her indigo eyes reflecting orange-red data streams.

[Jimmy: Director, the cleanup mission is complete. Based on the location parameters provided by the Counterintelligence Department and the operational objectives of protecting the informant, Adam Hammer swept through the North Industrial District of Watson City. In addition to the military technology agent team, a Baskin Company support team was also eliminated.]

Baskin Company, a cyberpunk-themed corporate espionage firm.

"Understood. After the banquet, order Heavy Hammer to come to the Azure Building to see me. Also, have Jenkins give me a complete account of the entire mission."

Vera nodded.

"The Security Department? Is it some kind of military technology stunt..." Vera was standing next to Michiko Arakasaka.

With her legs crossed and her signature blue mohawk, Michiko looked at Vera thoughtfully.

Vera smiled and said, "Interested?"

"no."

Michiko waved her hand, indicating that she had no interest in such military operations. "But what about the new establishment and construction of the Night City Arasaka Comprehensive Research Center? Saburo really likes you, Vera... I'm even thinking of dragging you into Dangerous Girls... Hmm, what are you doing?"

Before she could finish speaking, Michiko saw Vera suddenly stand up and walk towards a corner of the banquet hall.

There were several bodyguards with an air of military discipline, and sitting there was a bald, muscular man, white, with highly modified combat cyborgs, who was still wearing a black V-neck T-shirt and combat trousers even at a banquet of this level.

Michiko recognized her.

Kurt Hansen. The victor of the Santo Domingo gang war and the leader of Dogtown.

Oh, so you've beaten up the dog that military technology has recently raised, and now you're seeking Arasaka's support?

------

PS: The mission to uncover Baskin's undercover corporate spy is one of the best performance indicators for V, the corporate dog, to get promoted in the original timeline of the 2077 game.

Chapter 098 Making Friends and Scheming (4.5K)

The Gum Bik Orchestra played soothing and melodious classical music on the marble stage of the banquet hall.

bang bang...

Under the watchful eyes of countless people, some overt and some covert, Vera left her seat and walked to the wall-mounted booth sofa at the edge of the ballroom's dance floor.

Two plainclothes officers from the Ghosthounds stood on either side of the booth. When Vera, one of the two main characters of the banquet, walked straight over, they were stunned for a moment. Just as they reacted, whoosh!

Several cyber ninjas from the Arasaka family compound moved even faster, their large hands, heavily modified with combat prosthetics, pinning them down and forcibly dragging them aside.

A pair of military-grade electronic eyes, flashing with dark red light, suddenly approached, coldly scanning their prosthetic body parameters and biosignals almost face-to-face.

"Mr. Kurt Hansen."

Vera stepped over the small step of the recessed booth and looked at Hansen, who was sitting on the sofa with a big knife and a golden horse, seemingly lost in thought.

Yes, a burly white man with a buzz cut and a shaved head, wearing a belt under his arm with a holster for a knife that had been confiscated by the security guards of the Glamour Building. He wore a dog tag around his neck, leaned slightly forward, and placed his hands symmetrically on his thighs with an upright posture. Clearly, the habits from his military career still deeply influenced him.

It fits the stereotypical image of an old-fashioned American tough guy.

"It's an honor to meet you here."

The key is "here," meaning in the Azure Mansion, not in your Dogtown's "Gemstone Blue." "Gemstone Blue" refers to the Dogtown's Luxurious Banquet, an upscale social venue run by the Ghost Hound Gang.

"It is also an honor to meet you, Ms. Vera Adelheid Russell, Director."

Out of respect and because he genuinely needed Hansen's help, he stood up, straightened his T-shirt (which wasn't particularly neat), and spoke in a deep, magnetic voice.

Hansen had heard of Vera before.

Saburo Arasaka's biggest driving force behind regaining his youth, the chief director of the "Stairway to the Sun Project" that Arasaka has touted as miraculous, predicted by various assessment and media organizations to be the future leader of the Arasaka department in North America, and a candidate for "national-level director"...

A polite handshake.

Hansen couldn't help but scrutinize the dignified and imposing woman before him.

Wearing a sharp, dark Arasaka-style suit with a silver chrysanthemum brooch featuring a circular clover logo on the collar, she appeared quite aloof and imposing. Indeed, he felt an inexplicable pressure emanating from this woman, along with a murderous aura. This woman, like himself, had also fought her way through a hail of bullets.

“Congratulations, Mr. Hansen, you have broken free from the shackles of the past.”

Ignoring the gazes that had gathered around, Vera first congratulated Hansen on destroying the Sixth Street Gang, as he subtly scrutinized Wiling.

"I wouldn't presume to say that; it was merely an accidental conflict that arose by chance. Fortunately, the Sixth Street Gang and their supporters are not as powerful as they portray to the outside world. Their relationship is also not as unbreakable as they claim."

"Luck can sometimes be a form of strength."

"Is it luck? Is it innate, or acquired?"

Hansen emphasized the words "the day after tomorrow" in his tone.

Vera just smiled.

"That depends on how Mr. Hansen interprets it."

“Director Russell, you’ve come to see me in person, not just to discuss philosophy with a roughneck like me, are you?”

“Mr. Hansen, it’s not unreasonable for you to think that way. You and your Dogtown are worthy of my attention and conversation. And when it comes to making friends, what’s the difference what we talk about?”

With a faint smile, Vera took out a black and red gradient business card from the chest pocket of her suit jacket and handed it over.

Hansen's eyes sharpened as he looked at Vera's face, which wore a faint smile.

"You'll need it, Kurt."

Vera looked at Hansen with her deep, beautiful eyes and said, using a form of address that showed more sincerity and friendship.

After a pause, Hansen finally accepted the business card handed to him. "Perhaps... Your friendship is truly an honor."

He certainly didn't want to get involved in company politics, and his judgment was enough to guess the role Arakawa played in the Santo Domingo conflict.

The large amount of military technology and supplies found in the Sixth Street Gang's stronghold, the insult of Washington's refusal to comment, and the growing resentment of Dogtown members, who were originally veterans of the NUSA advance team that stormed Night City, towards the new America...

All of this fueled his resentment towards his former employer in Washington.

If this place doesn't want me, there are plenty of other places that will. If no place wants me, I'll just go to a deserted place!

Why get hung up on one thing?

"Having more friends means having more options, doesn't it, Mr. Hansen?"

Vera laughed.

His smile was very gentle, and he seemed to have no ill intentions whatsoever.

“It was a pleasant conversation with you, Mr. Hansen. Best regards, and have a good time.” She glanced at Hansen one last time.

Vera then turned and left.

Released from their grip by Arasaka's cyber ninja, the two plainclothes officers from the Ghost Hounds approached Hansen with a mixture of fear and shame, bowing their heads.

"Colonel, I'm sorry..."

“That’s a ninja-style cyber lone wolf raised by the Arasaka family…” Hansen didn’t scold them. He waved to his confidants to go about their business, then sat down again with a somewhat heavy expression.

Without a doubt, the Arasaka family compound is one of the safest places in the world. The cyber lone wolves from the Arasaka compound are also among the deadliest killing machines in the world.

"'Lone Wolf Hundred'"

It is said that even the servants who attend to Saburo's daily life, the servants who clean the courtyard, and the gardeners who trim the flowerbeds within the Arasaka family compound are all powerful cyber ninjas.

It is no exaggeration to say that any seemingly insignificant eunuch picked from the Arasaka family compound, such as the gardener watering the flower beds, would be strong enough to single-handedly break through the full security of most bars or nightclubs in Night City.

"I never expected Vera Adelhead to have bodyguards of the Arasaka family level... Her relationship with Michiko Arasaka is definitely not that of a superior and subordinate in a company. Could it be that Saburo is really grooming her as a junior?"

After a moment of contemplation, Hansen held up the business card in his hand and began to examine it.

The entire piece features a black and red gradient, a slightly cool and silky feel, and a quality far superior to the platinum membership card of the trauma group. It's clearly very expensive.

As he moved, the surface of the business card began to change; the dark red pattern turned grayish-white, rotating, intertwining, and changing until the exquisite Arasaka Clover logo appeared.

Finally, a name appears: Vera Adelheid Russell.

Squinting, Hansen activated his prosthetic eye to scan, identifying a highly encrypted video channel and a data storage unit. A hidden door—at least he hadn't found it yet…

Huh? Impossible!

Subconsciously, he opened the data unit, and instantly, as if he had been electrocuted, his whole body stiffened.

【annex】

[Subpage]

——Chimera——

—Neural Matrix—

——NUSA Undercover Agents - Clues——

At that moment, Hansen felt a chilling breath travel through his body from these words, leaving him feeling empty and numb in his hands and feet.