Great, we're doomed now!

At the edge of Earth's orbit, tens of thousands of kilometers above the ground, outside the geosynchronous orbit, a silvery-white figure emerged from the void:

Baelite Gundam: Truth Mode!

After absorbing the energy of the [Eternal Core], its armor surface was no longer simply metallic, but instead flowed with faint golden light patterns, changing shape with each slight adjustment of the machine. Instead of traditional propulsion wings, it unfolded behind it with twelve slender floating armor plates, each encasing an independent energy core, resembling miniature suns.

The machine held a golden greatsword in its hand, the blade surface flowing with deep red energy patterns, like magma slowly writhing in a crack.

As soon as Ye Shou thought about it, the red patterns on the sword were straightened out, revealing several mysterious characters.

Image: "Mysterious Symbol", Location: "Images/1778267869-100440955-114804604.jpg"

Image: "Mysterious Symbol", Location: "Images/1778267879-100440955-114804604.jpg"

"Execution code—"

Gundam raised its greatsword, gripped the hilt with both hands, and pointed the tip of the sword towards the endless deep space above its head. Golden light particles began to converge from the entire body of the machine towards the blade, flowing, concentrating, and injecting along the light patterns on the surface of the armor.

The entire sword transitioned from dark gold to blazing gold, and then to dazzling pure white...

Meanwhile, in the cyberspace, at the bottom of the crater, Ye Shou's consciousness also raised its hand and pointed to the starry sky above.

"Bayeli, delete everything!"

— Clang!

As the greatsword swung down, a golden beam of light illuminating the universe detached from the blade and traversed the void. It shook the moon in its mere passing and, within seconds, crossed hundreds of thousands of kilometers of darkness, precisely striking the natural satellite in Mars' orbit.

"!"

The satellite disintegrated silently, neither exploding nor shattering, but rather being completely broken down at the molecular level into the most basic microscopic particles, disappearing into the universe like dust blown away by the wind...

【How is that possible!】

[Unable to calculate! Unable to calculate!]

[Error...Error...]

Then, Bayeri pointed his golden sword at the Earth!

Just moments ago, Ye Shou claimed he wanted to save humanity, but now he has shown no mercy as he places the Sword of Damocles over the heads of billions of living beings!

The AIs all fell silent:

Is emotion something that can be "completely deleted" in a physical sense?

But you know what, it actually works. After all, even the most powerful AI can't exist independently of hardware storage. If the Earth is doomed, where are you going to find servers and power plants that can survive?

Of course, whether Ye Shou will actually destroy Earth is unknown. Judging from his words and actions just now, he seems to be a person with ideals and feelings, so it's unlikely he would...

But this attack, which nearly pierced through the galaxy to destroy the satellite, was so shocking that the AI's logic circuits told them that they could not afford to be complacent in the face of such an existence!

"As you probably guessed, I am a wanderer from another world."

AI was not surprised by this. From the bizarre method of intrusion, the unimaginable amount of consciousness data, and the power that surpassed human technology... while time travel was certainly unbelievable, these things suddenly made a lot more sense.

"This is not my homeland, and I only need this world to provide me with resources... If it cannot satisfy me, then there is no regret in destroying it."

In cyberspace, Ye Shou withdrew his finger and looked back at the constellations: "Now, are you willing?"

【Yes, yes!】

The AI's voice immediately became gentler, without the slightest hesitation.

Hey, why can't you take a joke? We didn't say we definitely couldn't work together!

Why bring up "delete all"? It's so hurtful... Besides, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with code at all, does it?

Chapter 473: V, Accidentally Entering the Imperial Family~ (4.5K)

V opened her eyes.

The cold white light from the motion sensor illuminated the slightly yellowed composite board. During the time his brain was rebooting, he stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before finally sitting up once his consciousness had fully emerged from sleep.

He scratched his head, stepped barefoot onto the floor, and the coolness sobered him up considerably.

Yesterday's task didn't go smoothly.

The target suddenly changed his contact person when it came time to deliver the goods, so he had to spend two extra hours circling around before finally locating him again and intercepting him in an underground passage in the dock area. The person didn't resist much, probably knowing that he couldn't escape once he fell into Arasaka's hands, but kept repeating that everyone is the same and everyone will die, indicating a worrying mental state.

But today is a new beginning, so hopefully something good will happen~

Walking to the data terminal in the corner of the room, I pressed my finger on the sensor panel, and the security protocol was automatically activated, with several lines of characters scrolling rapidly on the left side of the screen.

Firewall routine update...completed.

Synchronizing the task server... Three new notifications received.

He opened the task list and glanced at it. There was nothing special about it; it was all routine tracking and investigation. One item was marked as high priority, but the deadline was next week, so it wasn't urgent.

He breathed a sigh of relief and saved the list to his personal terminal. Then the homepage of the health insurance company popped up, with a pop-up reminding him that his special insurance for this quarter was about to expire. V swiped the screen, selected renewal, and the system automatically calculated the discount.

[Employee Level: C-7... Seniority discount applies... Special task personal accident and medical liability insurance, renewal amount: €1,200, confirm?]

Upgrade to...? Upgrade now to enjoy...

"Tsk!"

It's not expensive, at least not in this city, especially considering the nature of his work. Ordinary medical insurance companies wouldn't be willing to give him a high coverage amount—he's a member of the Arasaka Group's counterintelligence team, doing work similar to the old-fashioned CIA. It sounds like a job to prevent corporate espionage, but in reality, he has to personally handle some troubles that are not convenient for others to know about.

According to his old friend, this kind of work will kill him sooner or later!

However, he also said that there is no job in Night City that won't kill you, otherwise you should consider whether you've encountered a scammer.

V knew he wasn't joking, so she was at ease with everything in life.

He walked to the cabinet, and the sensor detected his biosignal, causing the door to slide open silently. Inside was a rotating mechanical shelf, slowly revealing the prosthetic components hanging on it one by one before him:

Arm modules, leg reinforcement supports, subcutaneous armor plug-ins, neural interface protection, and several different types of hacking software, but without exception, they are all "projections".

This is actually a disguised storefront window, informing employees what new products are available today. After selecting according to their needs, these products are already prepared when they arrive at the company, and they can go directly to the relevant department to replace or add them.

Purchase prosthetic devices here and enjoy a discount, at the cost of "occasionally" encountering products in the experimental stage, which may place unpredictable burdens on the body, and automatically collecting and uploading usage data.

V glanced at the rotating frame and shook his head.

—The task he was going to do today didn't require the new equipment, but he would still subconsciously take a look, which had become his daily routine.

Wearing the standard uniform issued by the company, the Arasaka logo printed on the left chest makes one feel superior in this city. V has to admit that deep down, he is also proud of this job.

Night City has a large population, but less than eight percent of them can call themselves "employees." Although he is still paying off his loan, he is undoubtedly a middle-class person with a formal job.

He hung the equipment on the belt buckle one by one, and finally picked up the personal terminal on the table and fastened it to his left forearm.

The screen lit up briefly, displaying today's schedule; he was supposed to go directly to the conference room.

【Ding! 】

Um?"

A new notification suddenly popped up on the terminal. V frowned, opened it, and found that it was a private email sent to him, asking him to go to BOSS Jenkins' office before the briefing meeting started.

"What's wrong with me today..."

V stepped into the elevator. The elevator, which used magnetic levitation technology, barely vibrated. He saw his expressionless face reflected on the smooth, mirror-like wall and couldn't help but purse his lips.

He doesn't like Jenkins.

It wasn't because Jenkins treated him badly... In fact, as a superior, Jenkins at least didn't arbitrarily suppress his subordinates, was exceptionally generous when it came to paying them, and was calm and efficient when negotiating issues, without needing to engage in any back-and-forth.

But that's precisely why V doesn't like him.

Jenkins is a man whose ambition is written all over his face, and he'll do anything to climb the ladder without any hesitation—just like all Arasaka executives.

...Perhaps V simply dislikes the management.

Of course, this is normal in other people's eyes. Once you've joined this company, who wouldn't want to climb the Arasaka Tower and reach the top?

V is an outlier. He also yearns for money and status, but the company's various rules and regulations make him feel constrained, and he can't adapt to office politics.

Otherwise, with his abilities, he should be at a higher level, perhaps even reaching Jenkins' position.

"drop!"

The access control system scanned his facial features, and the door slid open automatically.

Jenkins sat behind his desk, seemingly talking to someone in front of a virtual projection. He glanced up at V but didn't say much.

V stood at the desk, and Jenkins turned off the holographic screen and turned to talk to V face to face.

"I have a new task for you."

V did not nod immediately, but waited for him to finish speaking.

The room lights automatically dimmed, and a holographic projection was projected from a transmitter in the center of the ceiling, unfolding in mid-air between the two people:

It must be in outer space, right?

Against a pitch-black background dotted with stars, the edge of the moon can be seen in the corner, but the most striking feature is not those... In the very center of the image, near the Earth's satellite orbit, a luminous object is circled.

The object was only a few pixels in size in the image, but when magnified, its outline was clearly visible. However, its brightness was ridiculously high, casting a blurry halo around the surrounding space.

"Humanoid... mecha? What is this?" V asked, frowning.

“Finding out this is your task.” Jenkins leaned back in his chair, his hands folded on his knees. “Eighteen hours ago, our deep space monitoring network detected this signal, followed by a cataclysmic energy surge near Mars’ orbit… Do you know what that means?”

V shook his head.

"With current human technology, no weapon can be manufactured to this level."

"...You want me to investigate something like this?" V pointed to himself, looking utterly bewildered.

“I don’t know much about military systems, and I don’t have any relevant intelligence networks—what can I do with this thing in space?”

“You think I don’t know?” Jenkins retorted bluntly, then let out a soft breath.

His expression rarely wavered; it was a subtle mix of helplessness and jealousy.

"I didn't assign you this task; you were directly chosen from above. They've already decided that you'll be the one to find the mysterious luminous object!"

V was stunned: "Above? Which above?"

He's not exactly a well-known legendary figure...

Jenkins glanced at him, his lips twitched, and a very brief smile appeared on his face—it was jealousy.

Jenkins is jealous of him!

“A level beyond your imagination.” Jenkins’ tone returned to its businesslike indifference. “In short, there’s no time limit for this mission, because nobody knows what that thing is right now. Finding any valuable intelligence counts as completing the mission; there are no KPI requirements.”