Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

"Is this all there is to it?"

With a sigh, the blonde woman slightly moved her slender and nimble fingers, then turned her chair around, turned her back to her subordinates, walked to the cabinet by the wall, and gently turned the antique-style phonograph on the cabinet, playing a classical piece of music from an uplifting tune to a slightly melancholic phase near the end.

'Super monopoly capitalism...' a silent murmur.

The waxed counter reflected the blonde woman's slightly complicated gaze, which vanished in an instant.

"Commander Vera, the 'fish' has been caught. We have the necessary evidence, the personnel list is finalized, and our people are in position. Shall we begin the operation?"

Just as the blonde woman silently lit an expensive cigarette, letting the wisps of smoke slowly dissipate before her eyes, one of the Arasaka soldiers stepped forward.

"Phew... After all these days of petty squabbles, it's finally come to fruition after all our efforts to fan the flames. Hmm, time to close the net."

Vera exhaled a soft breath, a premium cigarette dangling from her fingers, and strode back to the big screen, looking at the overhead view that appeared on the screen in response to the change in perspective.

In the tactical command center, under the real-time monitoring and data locking of the Arasaka hacker equipped with high-end access pods, one gang leader after another, cyberpunk mercenaries, agitators, and corporate opponents were identified and marked from the crowd, and even from their homes and safe houses.

Vera knew very well that within an hour of her order being issued, at least a thousand people would be dealt with.

Accidental attacks are inevitable. Even the top-notch hacker Arasaka isn't omnipotent, and there will definitely be errors in the identified targets.

However, the company never cared about such a small error.

They're all the type to "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free." This applies to all companies.

The company requires Vera to be efficient, so she must be efficient in order to make progress...

She's gotten used to it, she's become numb to it.

From the moment she came into this world and decided to climb the social ladder, she had already alienated her former conscience.

Her only conscience was to kill these people quickly and decisively.

When faced with a corporation, especially a global giant like the Arasaka Group, the failure of these people on screen is already predetermined once the corporation decides to intervene. Giving them a taste of initial success is merely a prelude to maximizing future profits.

"First, they ignite a firestorm on the streets to generate buzz and exacerbate social tensions. Then, they subtly guide the demonstrations, launching an attack as the crowd approaches affluent areas or the city center. Using ordinary citizens as a shield, they incite riots against the city's upper and middle classes. Tsk, not bad tactics, but what are they after...?"

Thanks to the combined efforts of the field agents and intelligence analysts in Arasaka, the whole story of those who suddenly started the trouble was easily uncovered.

The cause of the incident is both complex and simple.

It's simply that the Brazilian authorities were exploiting people too much, making it impossible for them to survive, which escalated the conflict. Some people wanted to take advantage of the chaos, so they fanned the flames. Then, the fire did start, and whether or not there was any profit, or how much, is hard to say. But under the influence of many other external factors, the 'fire' got out of control and became this mess.

If no one from other large companies interferes or tries to confuse the issue, the report compiled by Vera should be basically accurate.

'Let these troublemakers die! They dared to resist and even kill my horse! These are no ordinary troublemakers; we must crack down on them.' This is probably the Brazilian authorities' mindset at this moment.

The situation was spiraling out of control; the person who started the fire might burn themselves to death or flee before it could end. But the Brazilian authorities, after careful consideration, decided to spend a large sum of money to hire the Arasaka Group for security services in order to put out the fire.

That's why Vera came to Rio de Janeiro.

Her assignment to the Arasaka South America Investigation Team was to complete the security services ordered by the Brazilian authorities from the Arasaka Group—suppressing local unrest, quelling riots, and eliminating terrorist organizations in Rio de Janeiro.

As for the definition of a terrorist organization, well... as long as the employer says so, that's fine.

Vera silently flicked off the ash and stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray after taking a few puffs. She didn't need to understand this problem too well, nor did she want to delve into it.

In any case, the root of the problem will eventually lie with the company.

Everyone says so. Even the vanished 'legends' of the past say so.

"By the way, analyze the surveillance footage we've collected over the past few days, find out who jumped the highest, and compare it to see who was absent when the real show started today. As long as they're still in Rio, deal with those who chickened out and backed down as well."

Thinking of something, Vera stopped pacing as she watched the Arasaka soldiers who had already begun their operation on the screen. Her indigo pupils flashed with a crimson built-in virtual screen grid as she issued a follow-up order to her subordinates in the special assault team who had walked out of the tactical command center.

If you're going to kill, then kill them all; if you're going to purge, then purge them completely!

To satisfy the Brazilian employers, to solidify the reputation of Arasaka Security Services in this land, and to ensure Rio de Janeiro enjoys a few more years of peace and stability...

The employers who suffered losses in this riot must hate her deeply. Reducing the losses of city residents is not her responsibility. As an outsider providing security and stability services, the more ruthless she is, the higher the employers' evaluation will be, the better her performance will be, and the more bonuses she will receive.

It's all for the sake of progress.

Since people are going to die anyway, let's make it a little harder for you all, so it'll be a good thing for everyone.

After adjusting her mindset as a model employee, Vera returned to her command post and instructed the technical staff in the tactical center to monitor the missions of each field team in real time. She then accessed the monitoring system and watched with great interest.

These small fry aren't enough to make her go to the streets to fight. After all, she's a middle manager in the company, well, a mid-to-lower-level cadre who's stepped into the leadership ranks, so she's still an official, isn't she?

According to the surveillance footage, the special assault teams she brought to Rio de Janeiro have already begun operations, and with the cooperation of the local Brazilian Rangers from the Arasaka branch, they are capturing and executing the 'terrorists' marked on the list one by one.

Among them was the execution of the leader of Rio's biggest gang.

name……

unimportant.

Anyway, in the past, this guy had swindled a lot of goods from the Rio de Janeiro city government, so he was considered a rather arrogant person.

Vera, of course, was there to avenge her sugar daddy. Luckily, she was well-informed and managed to seize a considerable amount of territory during the riots, so it wasn't entirely unjust.

However, "the reconstruction of urban infrastructure..."

Looking at the streets ablaze with fire and the buildings being looted and burned on the big screen, Vera's lips curled into a slight smile as she murmured to herself, "...Someone in the company should be interested." Before she finished speaking, her eyes flashed red with communication data.

"Night City Information Department, this is Adelhead, Night City Security Department, Special Assault Force..."

“That’s right, I’m currently on a security mission in Rio de Janeiro… Oh, and good news, I have some freshly made detailed blueprints and live footage of the damage to Rio de Janeiro’s urban infrastructure… I think that’s enough, you know what I mean.”

"Yes, let's go through the official channels. Contact our friends in the company's engineering and construction department. Want a piece of the Rio de Janeiro reconstruction pie? It's fresh in everyone's hands... Yes, nobody should be more qualified to speak on this than me, the one who oversaw the suppression on-site. Let them prepare the relevant plans for the city's reconstruction in advance..."

...

In the city center, corporate staff have already begun discussing the reconstruction of the city after the chaos, while in many other parts of Rio de Janeiro, the riots have ruthlessly destroyed all the tranquility of the city during this period of disorder.

Law-abiding citizens are filled with anxiety amidst gang warfare and the chaos of zero-dollar purchases, while the Arasaka Security personnel are also waging a vigorous campaign to maintain order.

Just as Vera never worried that the mission would fail, the 'terrorist organization' in Rio de Janeiro was nothing more than a rabble without the intervention or limited intervention of other forces.

It collapses at the first touch.

In a corner of the city, an exceptionally violent explosion shook the camp of Rio de Janeiro's largest gang, drowning out the howls of the henchmen who were still excitedly counting the spoils they had plundered from the wealthy district and shopping streets.

"Fuck you bitch!"

Someone shouted, their voice booming through the blast wave, hysterical and almost insane.

"Arasaka! Damn it, those spineless cowards hired Arasaka, damn it, military technology is son of a bitch, they don't even fight for that... That Arasaka bitch! She fooled me, damn it! It's never good when a corporate dog comes along, you bitch, don't let me catch you!"

A fierce-looking, bald, muscular Latino man rushed out, wielding an MK.31 heavy machine gun and swearing profusely.

Beneath the tattered, sparkling brown-red coat lies a heavily modified, muscular body, with artificial muscle fibers, steel bones, reinforced Achilles tendons, and subcutaneous armor clearly visible.

"Boys! Go, salvage our property! Whatever we manage to steal, I, 'Filer' Beard, will keep my word and give you half!" the burly man shouted.

In the world of street gangs, this is undoubtedly a very favorable and generous offer.

However, the quick-witted ones had already sensed that something was wrong, so they started stuffing valuables into their pockets and then made a hasty escape.

Arakawa? Sending them to stop Arakawa's people is just suicide, isn't it?

Some of the street thugs, perhaps caught up in the excitement of their previous looting and lost their minds, or perhaps influenced by the gang leader's long-standing authority, were incited by him and, with a frenzied, adrenaline-fueled expression, grabbed their weapons and charged into the gang camp that was on fire due to the explosion.

"You bastards, a bunch of ingrates!"

Although he was furious at those who ran away, especially his trusted subordinates who had been entrusted with important tasks because of their quick thinking, and wished he could shoot them and throw them into a meat grinder, Beard knew that running away was the priority now.

Hopefully, those high-dose lackeys can stall for a while longer.

With this in mind, he strode quickly, ripped open the nearest modified car, and rammed into it. The crude movement made the exposed weld marks on the car's interior rumble loudly. He started the engine, turned the steering wheel sharply, accelerated, and steered.

hum...bum...

Inside the gang's building, where the fire was spreading, gunshots, explosions, shouts, howls, the rumble of collapsing walls, and the crackling of burning building materials were all mixed together.

Boom! Boom! Boom—

No sooner said than done, and the firelight flickered.

Beard saw the scene of shifting light and shadow, and blood and gore, through the rearview mirror.

At the camp entrance, a gang member who had charged in with a howl just a second ago was pierced by an armor-piercing discarding sabot round, his entire body split in two. His torso spun helplessly in the air a few times before crashing heavily to the ground.

God knows how insane the weapons of those damned Arasaka killing machines are.

His gang members were as fragile as paper, crushed by the three heavily armed Arasaka soldiers who appeared.

The literal crushing, like a meat grinder, saw shrapnel flying everywhere under the firelight. Without exception, all the gang members blocking the way were blown up. The red-hot nano blades sliced ​​through the exposed, twisted bodies of the cheap prosthetic bodies as easily as cutting through plastic.

Beneath the iconic tactical helmet of the Arasaka soldier was a demon mask covered in blood and gore, with embedded mechanical tactical goggles flashing red, staring intently at him.

Having witnessed the brutality of the Arasaka heavy infantrymen, Beard felt a chill run down his spine, which was operating at full power, and unconsciously floored the accelerator.

He turned the steering wheel rapidly, cursing in Portuguese as he operated the heavy machine gun that had been illegally installed on the modified vehicle, aiming everything he could control at the Arasaka soldiers who were stationary. Wait! Stationary?

Why did they stop...?

"Oh no!" Beard sensed something was wrong.

moment.

Nourishes—

Beard suddenly shuddered, and everything went black before his eyes, as if he had been electrocuted.

The connection circuit for the prosthetic eye is short-circuited!

[Warning: Intrusion underway.]

Arasaka's Hacker!

Then, bang!

A muffled gunshot rang out, the car window shattered, and Beard felt a tightness in his chest, as if he had been struck hard by a sharp hammer. A sharp pain struck, and his whole body went limp as if all the strength had been drained away. The next moment, the world spun around him.

The out-of-control modified car crashed head-on into a trapezoidal stone block on the side of the road, suddenly bounced up, flew off the road, overturned, slid along the side, and crashed into a wall.

"vomit--"