Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

"Nguni, Soto, Tsunga, and Venda (re-branch tribes of the ancient Sobantu language branch in South Africa)... I never thought that one day when we were on a field surveillance mission, we would be learning some useless stuff... Pshaw!"

Using a support frame made of sand and gravel, the sniper, who was lying on the ground using the scope of the Asura sniper rifle as a telescope to observe and protect the target, opened his mouth and found that his mouth felt dry, and he could still feel the squeaking sound of sand rubbing against the reinforced steel teeth.

Five days! Do you know how they spent those five days?!

Instead of flying directly from Cape Town to Gauteng Province in an airship, the other party traveled across the barren and desolate land between South African cities in a convoy, taking photos, comparing, and searching for some kind of damn ruin.

The target convoy could set up camp in those ruins, but the other side would have to endure the elements. After hoisting the convoy, they couldn't get too close and had to be careful to stay hidden.

At the same time, since the other party is a high-ranking figure in the company's reserve force, even if it's a real trip, and the plan is deemed immature, these little Karamis still have to ensure the other party's safety.

"Boss, what value do those ancient ruins of uncivilized barbarians have? Even if they have antique and collectible value, I've only ever heard of antiques from the South Asian subcontinent and the Far East being sought after and making more money. In Africa, aren't the ancient ruins of Egypt and Carthage, which have any value, all in the hands of European devils in North Africa?"

Agent Arasaka, referred to as the "boss," ignored his subordinate's grumbling. With his broad and muscular frame, his eyes flashed with data streams as he operated his tactical terminal, pulling up monitoring charts of the communication frequency bands, while simultaneously raising a precision infrared rangefinder to perform calculations.

Suddenly, "Sixteen o'clock."

He squinted. On the small screen of the tactical terminal, through the integration of information from multiple directions, he saw a dark figure, even more furtive than them, lying on the ground a kilometer away from the ancient ruins of Pingdingshan.

The communication signals are quite active, and they are even moving westward and retreating.

Without even fully deciphering it, the cybersecurity specialist listened to the English interspersed with various incomprehensible words and rap-like intonation in the communication channel, and he recognized words like 'fat,' 'fresh,' 'big fish,' and 'rob.'

"Damn. Reconnaissance? Is it a wandering group of native nomads?"

*Beep!* He connected to the internal communication system. "West Group 3, did you see that black man? Follow him. If I'm not mistaken, there's a bunch of idiots who are overestimating themselves and trying to tear some flesh off the company. Clean them up quietly."

His eyes turned cruel in an instant.

As the leader of the security team, he naturally knew how much importance the higher-ups placed on the target's plan. He couldn't let those scum from the African wilderness disturb the target's research; those brilliant flashes of inspiration were crucial.

After issuing the order, he paid no more attention to the black man and Agent Arasaka continued to calculate the distance.

“After this ‘Mapungubuwe Cultural Landscape’, she should leave South Africa and enter Zimbabwe…” After comparing the proposal submitted by the target, which clearly stated that she would most likely go to the Congo in Central Africa, Agent Arasaka sighed softly.

"Notify all groups to prepare for another relocation."

......

"it's a pity."

Vera also felt that she was quite capable of causing trouble.

Calm and unperturbed, she half-squatted on the ground, her gloved hand picking up a clump of sticky, slightly fluorescent soil.

The pollution in South Africa is too severe.

She shook her head as she watched the liquid, painstakingly pumped up from the underground canal, floating with unknown chemicals and emitting an intoxicating, oily odor.

When she first encountered the stagnant water in the underground ruins of South Africa during her exploration of the first site, the smell and the pungent odor almost made her fall over.

Having overly acute senses is not all good.

Extortionate industrial mining and pollution have silently eroded this land and the creatures that live here with various chemical toxins.

She searched the underground thoroughly, looking for small animals that lived in the dark, and living flowers and plants, but she didn't see any. Instead, she found some weathered and dried remains of dead animals, as well as some rotten leaves and fungal spores that had accumulated under the soil and stone slabs.

After collecting some samples, Vera obtained a series of periodic tables of elements with lethal content and various synthetic chemicals by relying only on a portable analytical instrument made by biotechnology for rough screening.

Da da.

Surrounded by Arasaka quick-response soldiers, Vera, holding a data tablet in one hand and feeling her way along the rock wall with the other, climbed the steps from the bottom up, returning to the surface from the violently broken-open basement.

Upon seeing Vera safely return to the ground, the captain of the Cape Town Security Force's rapid response team signaled to the surrounding soldiers to maintain vigilance, while he himself stepped forward.

"Director Russell, have you found anything?"

“The groundwater is severely depleted, the pollution is too severe, and no vegetation survives. Based on the harvesting of the dead plants, they don’t match the characteristics of the special flower I know. There’s no point in continuing to linger in South Africa. Let’s set off for Zimbabwe.” Vera turned around. “Thank you for your trouble.”

"Yes!"

Without asking any questions, only about the needs, the team leader nodded, then turned around and began to gather the personnel to prepare for the transfer.

During the process, Vera took one last look at the so-called Mapungubwe Palace ruins.

It was nothing more than a group of earthen and stone buildings that looked like sheds, with sand and dust everywhere, and the whole place covered with pits caused by wind and sand.

Because it had been neglected for a long time, most of it had already collapsed. Inside, there was dried excrement from homeless people who had stayed there, and there were bullet holes and traces of explosions on the collapsed walls, both old and new, indicating that more than one fight had taken place there.

hum...

Amidst the engine exhaust, the convoy set off again.

After driving across the seemingly endless wilderness for nearly 10 minutes...

“Director Russell, we have crossed the South African border and entered Zimbabwe. According to the map of ancient Bantu tribal ruins you provided, we should be able to reach the next tribal ruin in about 35 minutes.”

Inside the Behemoth armored transport vehicle, after dusting off her sleeves and placing some mutated mushroom samples, Vera began to focus on writing in her journal.

Well, at least it seems like they've calmed down.

How can you conduct serious research without keeping a log?

2075/5/31

【Mapungubwe Ruins】|×

No plants that met the criteria were found.

It is speculated that due to half a century of natural changes and environmental degradation, the rare and precious flower species discovered by the mining and transportation company may have become extinct. Lowering expectations reduces the feasibility of the project…

"Raise alert!"

"Hmm?" Vera looked up.

The guards outside her cabin immediately stood up, simultaneously opening their vehicle-mounted weapons and firing ports to patrol both sides. After a while, the squad leader's voice finally reached Vera's ears through the internal communication channel.

"Director Russell, something's up. It seems to be a vicious killing in the Badlands."

Swish. On the detachable monitor wall, the footage synchronized with the drone recorder was projected onto Vera's screen.

A hundred meters away from the road, behind a small hill, lies a campsite in complete disarray. Several dilapidated cars, modified countless times, are covered in blood and brain matter, along with mangled corpses that would have to be blurred out on any official television station.

"Oh..."

Vera looked thoughtful, then a slight smile appeared on her lips as she operated the external camera in the carriage, looking towards the distant Stone Ridge Mountain.

Aragaka's special agent, huh...?

When she was at the ruins, she could roughly determine the location of the spy.

The spyers who had been following them all along.

"Request another detachment from the Cape Town branch, adjust the route, expand the drone reconnaissance range, increase vigilance, and continue forward." Let's give you a bit more challenges.

"...yes!"

After sensing the team's acceleration, Vera put down the data panel and closed her eyes to rest.

"almost."

She murmured silently in her heart.

After leaving South Africa, she needed to find an opportunity to bring out the sun terrace flower in a reasonable and logical way.

Leaving South Africa meant leaving the area dominated by Ara-saka. North and West Africa were the territory of the European Community, while Central Africa was a buffer zone without a dominant power and a world of warlord conflicts.

She must keep herself in top condition.

Although she was quite certain that the Arasaka Rapid Response Team was far more capable than the African nomads, and with Arasaka's security agents following and monitoring her, protecting her life was one of their top priorities, as long as she wasn't meeting with military technology or ESA personnel to discuss switching jobs.

But we still need to remain vigilant until everything is successfully concluded.

Vera knew very well that they couldn't be relied upon.

She didn't know how Arasaka Yoriyuki, the hidden landmine within the Arasaka organization, Saburo's dutiful son, would deal with her, this "loyal" Arasaka. Would he plant his own people among the staff, or deliberately leak information to divert trouble?

If Lai Xuan backs down, Vera wouldn't want to see that either, because she needs Lai Xuan's targeting to 'play the victim'.

If things are obtained too easily, without going through some hardships, how can her dedication and importance, as well as her 'loyalty' to Arasaka and the great Saburo-sama, be shown?

...

Well, there were no hardships, just a bumpy ride, and nothing happened along the way.

Vera is looking up as she leaves the ancient cultural site of Great Zimbabwe and heads toward the dried-up source of the Congo River.

It's been three days.

She requested that the Cape Town branch send another rapid reaction team, which has already rushed over overnight.

On the Stairway to the Sun project, she explored the Kami site in Zimbabwe and the Matobo Mountains. She kept updating her logs, sometimes raising expectations and sometimes lowering them. She even had several bloody clashes with local indigenous warlords, but she still didn't get any outside 'friendly' companies involved.

Okay! No confusion, I'll take it anyway!

See my update log.

2075/6/3

Great Zimbabwe Ruins |

Although no plants meeting the criteria were found, a significant discovery was made.

Based on observations of the stone wall and the style of bronze, wood, and mask remains at the local ruins, it is speculated that they have arrived at the location where the mining and transportation company discovered the special and precious flower plants, as recorded in the original records...

"Director Russell! We are about to arrive at the Congo River ruins."

Vera stopped updating her log, her pupils flashing orange-red light. Her prosthetic eye plug connected to the vehicle's external camera, which displayed a dim yellow color—the Congo River, the Congo River without water.

The wide riverbed is now exposed, and the river, which once had one of the world's largest flows, is now just a series of gullies and cracks.

After a brief moment of preparation, Vera said excitedly, "Release all the drones. I'll operate them."

The connector makes a soft 'humming' sound.

At this moment, Vera demonstrated the terrifying computing power befitting a powerful figure in the Night City Arasaka Security Department, taking over the authority. On the monitor wall in front of her, the images scattered by the drones were constantly being compared and scrolled.

Barren hillsides, dried-up wells, piles of waste, and old towns crisscrossing the wasteland, most of them buried by sand. Oh, and the ruins of ancient, mud-brick tent-like abandoned tribes...

“The ancient Bantu language tribes once had their largest settlement in the Congo River basin.” Nodding, Vera then stood up. “Stop the car.”