Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

The Fourth Corporate War has begun.

The war began as a competition between two water treatment companies.

The two opposing sides, international maritime and ocean company CINO and marine technology and energy company OTEC, reached a stalemate in negotiations at the end of 2021 over control of the remaining assets of a third-party company, IHAG (International Merchant Shipping). The competition was fierce, and after a brutal financial confrontation, relations between the two sides quickly deteriorated into a heated battle.

As the war reached a stalemate in 2022, OTEC hired Military Technology, a multinational military industry company headquartered in Washington and controlling the new America, while CINO, not to be outdone, hired Arasaka, the de facto ruler of Japan's diversified industries.

Thus began the expansion of the Fourth Corporate War, also known as the Naval War, which officially broke out.

This war paralyzed global trade due to military action and market collapse. International trade routes were severely disrupted, and piracy became rampant. Global server clusters and databases were also devastated, and thousands of cyber viruses were released by both sides in the war.

In 2023, the Japanese government collapsed, Arasaka weakened, and his family suffered internal strife; the European economy recovered through the war, leading to the entry of new countries into the EEC economic system.

The most horrific event of the war was the "Night City Massacre".

In this raid, which was secretly funded by military technology, an attack team led by "Lone Mercenary" Morgan Blackhand and "Rock Kid" Johnny Silverhand successfully broke into Arasaka Tower, uploaded a virus to the tower's security database, and installed a regional containment nuclear device.

Ultimately, the raid nearly destroyed the heart of Night City. The explosion killed 50 people instantly, and subsequent disasters claimed an additional 25 lives. Johnny Silverhand is believed to have died in the attack.

Arasaka Kei, the eldest son of Saburo Arasaka and heir to the Arasaka Group, who succeeded Saburo Arasaka as CEO of the Arasaka Group in 1977, died in his room amidst the ensuing chaos.

After Arasaka Kei's death, the Arasaka Group finally admitted defeat, its influence in North America declined, and it was forced to retreat back to Japan to silently lick its wounds.

The military technology group emerged victorious, but suffered heavy losses just like its adversaries.

During the Fourth Corporate War, the legendary hacker 'God of the Internet', Lucky Bartmos, was killed by the Arasaka Army and the European Space Agency's orbital kinetic weapons, which were controlled by the European Bank. This triggered the death switch of the virus, releasing the DataKrash virus, which is now feared by internet regulators. It infected 78% of the network, and the already riddled old Internet collapsed completely.

The old internet was almost instantly filled with self-aware AI viruses and rebellious artificial intelligence, turning it into a dangerous digital wasteland.

The collapse of the old network, directly caused by the legendary hacker Lucki Bartommos, resulted in significant losses worldwide, with countless valuable data and information lost, and the development of cutting-edge technologies being directly disrupted.

2022:

The story of the mobile game "Cyberpunk: The Arasaka's Plot" begins with Sam Gibson, a "lone wolf" (a profession involving assassins, bodyguards, mercenaries, etc.), who has lost his memory and is accused of murdering the CEO of Arasaka. He then begins to search for the truth.

The Third Central American Conflict has ended. Neither side achieved a decisive victory.

2024–2070: Reconstruction and Reunification

Following the Fourth Corporate War, the sky near Night City turned a terrifying red due to the circulation of dust and radioactive material in the atmosphere, a period that lasted for nearly a decade and is known as the "Red Generation."

The Fourth Corporate War shattered various traditional cultures that had existed before 1980.

Global power is returning to the control of governments to varying degrees from corporations, and new laws are being enacted to curb potential corporate abuse of power.

However, this only means that companies will have to be more secretive in their illegal activities, but it also relatively loosens the tight control that giant corporations have over people around the world.

With most industrial and commercial infrastructure destroyed, the world experienced a technological recession.

All countries are focused on rebuilding their homes, and it took 30 years for cyber-modified technology to return to 2020 levels. If the old internet still existed, this revival process might have been much faster.

2035-2049:

The Cyberpunk Red incident has occurred.

2050:

Kangtao Corporation, the largest enterprise in Taiwan, was nationalized and reorganized by Colonel Hsu Shih-ming over a period of four years.

2054 10 Month 12 Day:

V, the protagonist of Cyberpunk 2077, was born in Night City.

Mid-21s:

Lucy was discovered by the Arasaka Group and, after passing through layers of selection, was recognized as having outstanding hacking talent. She began to receive exclusive private super hacking training from the Arasaka Group. Some time later, she escaped from the company and hid in Night City, where she lived (according to the official setting of Cyberpunk: Edgewalker, Lucy was 21 years old when she appeared in 2075).

2058:

Gloria Martinez, an emergency medical technician working at Night City Medical Center, gave birth to her only son, David Martinez. (According to the official Edgewalker setting, David is 17 years old when he first appears in early 2075.)

2069-2070:

The Unification War broke out, and the new United States, under the pretext of strengthening the nation, imposed strict federal control on the free states, which led to the free states' opposition to unification and their resistance.

Among these, military technology assistance was provided to the new United States, with the Arasaka Group acting as a military advisor to the Free State, supplying weapons to the Free State.

The end of the war resulted in Night City separating from the New United States and the Free State, becoming an independent city that could freely communicate with the international community. As a result, Arasaka, who was originally prohibited from entering other countries, took advantage of this to return to Night City and redevelop international commerce.

2074:

Sixteen-year-old David Martinez enrolled in Arasaka Academy with his mother's strenuous support.

2075:

Seventeen-year-old David Martinez attends Arasaka Academy but drops out due to his mother's death and being ostracized by his classmates. After meeting the mysterious Lucy (who is 21 at the time of his appearance), he becomes a cyberpunk.

2076:

David Martinez, 18 years old, a cyberpunk legend who became a legend in a year, the youngest legend, was killed by Adam Hammer in Night City's Desert Tower Plaza.

2077:

The main story of Cyberpunk 2077 takes place.

Company V, the Frankfurt incident.

Okay, let me briefly summarize (it's free anyway). Please don't relate this to reality. If there are any errors or additions, please feel free to point them out. (This is very important! This isn't something I wrote; it's the original work! The original work! The original work!)

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Volume One

Chapter 001 In Arasaka, I'm a Company Dog (Please Add to Favorites)

Noisy and bustling.

This is a charming and vibrant city. At least it used to be...

Buzz...buzz...

Under the bright sunshine, in broad daylight, flames and smoke rose up one after another, accompanied by the sound of martial law alarms, in the bizarre corners of the city.

The air was extremely hot and dry. It was filled with an indescribable stench of smoked and roasted lumps of protein meat that had not been bled or gutted, and the acrid smell of burnt electronic components.

The once-thriving overpasses and railcars have long since ceased operation, replaced by a concentrated display of the violent side of humanity and its creations.

Sirens wailed, and crowds surged.

The surging crowd, like a tide, rushed toward the police checkpoints on various streets. Next to the electrified warning line generator that produced sparks, a row of police officers and humanoid security robots stood armed, using armored police cars as cover.

"[Warning, warning. City citizens, your actions have violated the city's public security regulations.]"

Police security robots used loudspeakers to continue issuing formulaic recorded warnings to the out-of-control crowd that had escalated from a demonstration into an organized riot.

"[Final warning. Please cease all illegal activities immediately. This device is authorized by public order regulations in accordance with security guidelines...]"

"Fuck you stupid robots! Get out of our city!"

Amidst shouts and curses, a Molotov cocktail was thrown from the crowd. Bang! The fireball exploded on the front of the police car, flames shooting up. The city's security officers instinctively ducked and took cover. "Enemy attack!"

Unlike human police officers who might hesitate, the security robot's formulaic warnings stopped immediately. Following procedure, it pulled the trigger almost as soon as the crowd crossed the cordon, knocking the rioters to the ground.

At the same time, several security robots holding automatic machine guns turned their heads, and the red light of the scanners covered the crowd. The hooded man who obviously made a throwing motion and then tried to hide, as well as the men and women who were about to draw their guns or explosives, were reflected in the sensors. The gun muzzles were raised, locked, and large-caliber heavy bullets were fired. In an instant, gunfire erupted.

Da da da da da——

Just seconds later, a complex network of firepower covered the crowd in front of the road from multiple directions.

Whether innocent people were harmed or whether the sentence was too harsh is no longer important at this moment.

The bullet pierced through the crowd, struck an abandoned vehicle on the road, penetrated the prosthetic body, and tore through flesh. Instantly, a scene of blood and flesh flew everywhere, sparks flew, and a white liquid—whether engine oil, coolant, or nutrient solution—mixed with the remains of the damaged prosthetic body and chunks of flesh, splattered in all directions.

The screams of protesters, the curses of rioters, and the screams of those who had miraculously survived echoed through the area.

If viewed from above, one would see that on major city thoroughfares, explosions, fires, and electrical sparks from short circuits caused by damaged equipment erupted simultaneously, as if by prior arrangement.

The city is crying... no, perhaps more accurately, the city, which had long since run out of tears, has naturally reignited in flames.

...

Municipal center.

Arasaka Building.

Quiet to the point of being cold, with a dark metallic hue throughout, in a desolate and towering world, elegant Japanese classical music echoes.

It felt like entering another world.

Everything here remains orderly. Company employees are either diligently busy with their tasks or taking a break at the bar and tea room in the office area, chatting quietly about the fun happening in the city.

It was as if the riots in the city just a block away had never happened.

Mid-level tactical command center.

drip...

The faint sound of fingers tapping on a silent keyboard occasionally rang out, and the split-screen emitted light, illuminating the cold, impersonal faces bearing traces of cybernetic plugins.

Inside, a group of tall figures stood silently.

They wore heavy, heat-insulating black combat uniforms, two-piece armor like samurai, and were fully armed. They wore tactical helmets with stand-up decorations, and the black and white clover logo on their shoulder and neck armor reflected a faint fluorescence from the light of the computer screen.

Aragaka Security Department combat soldiers.

Surrounded by the Arasaka soldiers, sitting next to the control panel in the tactical command center, was a rather young-looking blonde woman leaning back in her chair.

Judging from her appearance, the woman was probably in her early twenties, with a tall and well-proportioned figure, and it was not obvious how much artificial enhancement she had undergone.

Her shoulder-length hair, a blend of gold and silver, was tied into a ponytail and fell behind her head. Her features were delicate, and her face was beautiful even without makeup. She was more than qualified to be the spokesperson for a cosmetics company and the public relations representative of the company. She wore a dark, fitted uniform with a high-tech feel.

rustle…

The blonde woman lightly traced the tabletop with her fingers as she watched the surveillance footage transmitted from various monitoring centers in the neighborhood: the city police were engaged in fierce firefights with crazed gangsters, mercenaries looking to make a quick buck, people buying things for free, ambitious opportunists, and a very small number of idealists with a sense of justice.

Funded by the company, heavy armored transport vehicles, packed with armed police officers and security robots from the city police department, arrived one after another at the front lines of the riots.

Currently, the police are only blocking roads leading to the city center; they do not yet require support from the company's armed forces.