Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

Unaware of this subtle change, the deputy director in charge of the matter, leaning back in his chair, continued to chair the meeting with his hands clasped on the table.

"Vera Adelheid's behavior is indeed very unusual. It's possible she discovered or gained something from behind the 'black wall'... The network crash, the AI ​​rebellion—Bartlemos, that arrogant and stubborn idiot, messed everything up. And if the White House has decided to increase its investment in infiltrating the 'black wall'..."

"Internet surveillance is easy to solve," he said.

Picking the easy target is fine; let's solve this one thing first. Tell me, did I do anything or not? Things that can be solved with money aren't really problems; the key is—

"Deep-sea diving and crossing, is it 'conventional' or 'unconventional'?"

The FIA ​​official gave the lark a meaningful look.

A gaze that seemed to hold pity.

For large companies, "routine" means risking their lives to train a large number of mass-produced hackers to delve into the "black wall" and dig out old network data.

In short, all large companies are players in this field. Those who voluntarily become elites are a different story.

'Unconventional' means targeting extremely rare super hackers, providing as many as possible on hand, capping the compensation, maximizing enhancements, and pursuing breakthroughs from a single point.

For example, there are street hackers who want to play deep-sea games and end up killing themselves, veteran hackers who are mercenaries, gang hackers with some backup and considerable financial resources, and a few talented and supported super hackers who are backed by corporate conglomerates.

The difference between the upper and lower limits is extremely large.

Of course, for large companies, both are fundamental. They have both the 'surface' and the 'points'. It just depends on which the bigwigs at the top prefer at this stage.

Judging from President Miles's cultivation and continuous transformation of Miss Nightingale over the years, the president clearly prefers the latter, and has already reaped considerable benefits.

"Both."

The lark maintained her indifferent demeanor, her face like that of a mechanical doll, and said in a businesslike tone, "Before the operation begins, Mr. Deputy Director, the President needs you to rebuild the new transportation station and open up the Dogtown intelligence network as quickly as possible."

"The new batch of supplies to the Sixth Street Gang should not be suspended. The president has approved the dispatch of NUSA veterans to Night City in batches. The Coronado Farm in Santo Domingo cannot be lost; that is the bottom line."

Soon, after discussions on topics such as "whether to hinder the pilot policy for security publicity in Vera's Lijiang Scenic Area", "to give Huangban's overseas intelligence stations a blow", "to mix sand into Huangban's new research center area", "to promote the expansion of Night City's border outposts", and "to allocate more special funds for secret operations to hire cyberpunk hyenas", the discussions concluded.

The lark strode out of the conference room.

"real."

As she was about to leave FIA ​​headquarters, a private video call came in, the location marked as the White House.

drop.

[Akimi. Great news! The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) has released a new prototype experimental product that will take your computing power to new heights.]

The lark's eyes flashed with red light.

[Song Zhaomei: Yes, Your Excellency. I'll be there shortly.]

...

Night City.

The air route from the company square to Westbrook.

The visual imagery features cool colors such as blue and purple, along with dazzling neon lights, towering skyscrapers, and enormous billboards.

A formation of armored airborne vehicles on barren land.

At the center of the formation was a red and black intertwined aerospace-type hovercraft, made of extremely luxurious materials. Its streamlined body, adorned with silver clover-shaped patterns, resembled a triumphant phoenix, hovering against the gray city skyline, surrounded by an entire formation of heavily armed flying armor.

Jingle Bell.

Vera projected the video call signal onto the car's in-car camera, exited the deep dive, removed the scalding hot headband repeater, and sat up straight, feeling refreshed, from the comfortable seat woven from memory foam and smart fibers.

Caller: Kurt Hansen

Connected.

"I hope I haven't disturbed you, Director Russell."

It's the same old outfit he always wears: a T-shirt, combat trousers, a belt with a dagger sheath, a dog tag, and a buzz cut.

Hansen glanced at Vera, who looked as if she had just woken up, her hair slightly messy, and was still tidying her clothes, and said.

"It's alright." Vera picked up a steaming cup of black tea from the car's beverage bar, took a sip, leaned slightly forward, crossed her legs, and raised the corners of her mouth, exuding a very lazy aura. "It's Mr. Hansen who contacted me specifically, so he must have something important to discuss."

"Is the parent project of 'Neural Matrix,' 'Little Beidou Project,' enough of a priority?"

Without any hesitation, Hansen threw out his trump card.

"Huh? That's certainly important enough."

Vera's pupils narrowed slightly, a hint of surprised curiosity appearing on her face. "Did you get your hands on the access code for the key?"

"As expected. You really do know everything."

On the projection screen, Hansen showed an expression of "I knew it," followed by a slightly stiff smile. "It seems that the so-called 'Little Beidou Project' doesn't require my explanation."

Vera smiled.

"You can never have too much intelligence."

Upon hearing this, Hansen replied, "Okay." He didn't mince words, and sent a notification: a new email with attached data files.

Vera glanced at it a few times.

The "Little Beidou Project" is one of the top secrets of the new United States and its military technology level.

In its early 21st-century development, its purpose was to use captured AI in cyberspace (the old web) to enhance the weapons of military technology companies and assist hackers in order to combat the Soul Killer of the Arasaka Corporation.

However, prior to the data crash in 2017, it was abandoned by military technology for unknown reasons. The research results included the 'neural matrix' hidden inside the mainframe and the 'hellhound' maintenance robots that roamed the Little Beidou bunker facility.

Currently, Hansen has already excavated most of it.

"what do you want?"

Since Hansen was so straightforward, Vera naturally didn't bother with any of the pretense and asked directly.

“A guarantee,” Hansen said, arms crossed. “Or rather, I want a friendship. A true friendship with you. I invite you to the Sapphire Blue Feast I’m hosting in Dogtown.”

He had naturally heard about the badlands.

NUSA's Joint Intelligence Agency and military technology received a severe blow from the board.

It's said that new equipment has appeared on the desolate plate, and Adam Hammer praised it after using it. Meanwhile, Hansen noticed the drastic changes in the Sixth Street Gang's structure and realized that some companies were starting to cut corners. He desperately needed the support of a powerful force of equal stature.

"Great! I've been wanting to experience Dogtown's culture and customs for a long time. But—"

Changing the subject, Vera suddenly gave a cryptic smile: "I also have a condition."

"Tomorrow, I will inspect the construction progress of the new Watson North Wasteland Research Center. The Badlands still harbor 'bandits and criminals,' and the homeless are not to be trusted. As for the cleanup work, I will hand over the employment contract on behalf of Deputy Mayor Wilton Holt, and the Ghost Dog will be in charge. What do you say?"

Vera smiled faintly and raised her glass, saying, "Since we've decided to change the old policy of 'closing ourselves off from the world,' let's make the change thorough."

That's right. Just as Hansen wanted her to completely stand by the Ghosthound on behalf of the Wasteland, Vera also wanted to completely eliminate any possibility of Dogtown returning to NUSA.

------

PS: Yin and Yang alternate, and Yin reaches its extreme and Yang is born!

Cough cough cough, I overslept and almost missed my time. My apologies, my apologies.

The prevailing view on the Black Wall is that it is an artificially created AI created in cooperation with giant corporations for network surveillance. Its main function is to deal with viruses and mobile AI in the old network, and all existing human local area networks are under the protection of the Black Wall.

In Shadows of the Past, there are only two possibilities for V's use of the Black Wall to attack. One is that he actually controlled the Black Wall to attack, but I think that's impossible because if he could really control the Black Wall, then the Lark would be invincible. I am more inclined to the second possibility, that he found a vulnerability in the Black Wall, partially stole and called the Black Wall's own defense and counterattack mechanism, and then all sorts of messy Black Wall data rushed over.

Chapter 106 Vera's Ghost Hound Mercenary Group

A sunny morning in northern Watson.

"Threats are being investigated."

"Sector 25D-30, clear".

On the desolate outskirts of the city, soldiers in military-style camouflage combat uniforms, adorned with fluorescent yellow-green graffiti, skull faceplates, and hound-headed badges, thronged with their engines roaring, passing through spiked fences, impoverished suburban communities, and wastelands with Joshua trees, heading north.

February 27, 2076, morning.

A fully armed force of the Ghosthound Gang marched out of Dogtown in a grand procession, under the watchful eyes of numerous media outlets including WNS News, News 54, and Night City News.

Leaving Taipingzhou, head north along the Santo Domingo Valley Avenue, pass through the Outer Ring Road under the watchful eyes of many, cross Westbrook, pass through Japantown, and arrive at the North Badlands of Watson.

The NCPD and the Arakawa City Sheriff accompanied and escorted them.

It was almost like traversing the city from its southernmost to its northernmost point, covering most of the night.

Undoubtedly, this was a public political statement.

Not long ago, at the city hall, Deputy Mayor Wilton Holt publicly stated to the citizens that, thanks to Arasaka's friendly consultations, the normalization of Dogtown had made encouraging progress. The Ghost Dogs announced the lifting of the 'closed-off town' policy and, as residents and citizens of the Taipingzhou community, received an administrative order from the Night City government with a 'funding' component.

To contribute to the new phase of urban infrastructure development in Night City.

A second safety inspection was conducted on the undeveloped land in the northern bad soil area, namely the oilfield area and minefield outside the city.

Incidentally, this also serves as a warning to the homeless in Adcado and the night owls of the badlands: just focus on your work and don't get distracted. And some 'little secret jobs' that are best left unsaid.

The elite special operations team that Kurt Hansen specifically assigned arrived even earlier.

bang bang bang-

The chaotic, intermittent gunshots echoed through the garbage camp beneath rusty wind turbines, in the ruins of collapsed old buildings, on the hills of the barren wasteland, and in the mass graves…

The hound dug deep into the filthy earth, slaughtering people according to the information and requests provided wholeheartedly by a certain insider.

The mixed bodily fluids spilled into the desert, briefly staining the withered yellow sand with a layer of crimson.

The bleeding corpse tumbled heavily with its kinetic energy, and was almost half buried by the sand in an instant.

There were unlucky night owls who ran into the line of fire, military technology and federal intelligence agents who were still stuck in a corner of the minefield due to Arasaka's continued blockade and sweep, and unregistered personnel whose affiliation was unknown. Some were handed over by Arasaka, and some were caught by the Ghost Dogs themselves...

After the minefield was cleared, the members of the Ghost Hound executed more than a dozen detainees in front of WNS News and Night City Inquiry reporters who were following them offline.

boom!

Sparks flew from the muzzle of the gun, and as fire and pieces of flesh silently scattered in the air, the captured men, kneeling on the sand dunes, leaned forward, their heads buried in the sand, their bodies convulsing.

These detainees were dressed in various styles, but they all shared one characteristic: obvious signs of cybernetic modification. They were all injured, with many missing limbs, broken skulls, and kneeling motionless on the ground, some with bloody gashes behind their ears where the network access modules were located. Clearly, their brain nerves and access modules were damaged during the violent data extraction process.

The Ghost Hound soldiers calmly finished off the remaining enemies, firing two shots into the chest and one into the head.

This blood-stained scene was captured steadily by the camera.

The author may have acted without intention, but the viewer may have taken it to heart.