Infinity, progress from Arasaka

"Colonel, I'm so sorry..."

"That's the ninja-style cyber lone wolf raised by the Arasaka family..." Hansen did not scold them. After waving his hand to signal his confidants to go about their own business, he sat down again with a heavy expression.

There is no doubt that the Arasaka Family Compound is one of the safest places in the world. The Cyberloaf from the Arasaka Compound is also the most deadly killing machine in the world.

"'Lone Wolf, a Hundred Men'."

It is said that in the Arasaka family compound, even the waiters who serve Saburo in his daily life, the servants who clean the courtyard, the gardeners who trim the flower beds... are all powerful cyber ninjas.

It is no exaggeration to say that if you pick out an inconspicuous eunuch from the Arasaka family compound, such as a gardener watering the flower beds, his strength is enough to break through the full guards of most bars or nightclubs in Night City alone.

"I didn't expect that Vera Adelheid would have personal security guards of the same level as the Arasaka family members... Her relationship with Arasaka Michiko is definitely not that of a superior or subordinate company employee. Could it be that Saburo is really training her as a junior?"

Pondering, Hansen raised the business card in his hand and observed it.

The whole body is a gradient of black and red, with a slightly cool and silky touch. The texture is much better than the platinum membership card of the trauma team, and it is obvious at first glance that it is very expensive.

As he moved, the surface of the business card began to change. The dark red pattern turned grayish white, rotating, interweaving, and changing, and the exquisite Arasaka Clover logo appeared.

Finally, a name emerged: Vera Adelheid Russell.

Squinting, Hansen activated the artificial eye scan, and a highly encrypted video channel was identified, as well as a data storage unit. A secret door, at least he hadn't found it yet...

Huh? Impossible!

Subconsciously clicking on the data unit, Hansen suddenly felt as if he had been electrocuted and his whole body stiffened.

【annex】

【Subpage】

——《Chimera》——

——《Neural Matrix》——

——"NUSA Joint Intelligence Agency Undercover Agent-Clues"——

At this moment, Hansen felt a cold breath spread throughout his body through these words. He felt empty all over and his hands and feet were numb.

Every sentence above states a simple fact: I am watching you.

Hansen wasn't surprised that Arasaka knew about Chimera.

This thing was developed under the leadership of Dr. Filippo Andrews, the chief engineer of military-tech armor, and was put into use during the Metal War. However, he is currently carefully digging for the 'neural matrix' under the ground of Dogtown. There are also CIA sleeper agents inside Dogtown that even he doesn't know about. How did Arasaka know about it?!

Especially the 'neural matrix', which comes from the Little Beidou Project in the top-secret bunker originally set up by the New America and Military Technology. It is a top-level secret, and he has been keeping it tightly under wraps. Even Su Petrochemical, which has been supporting them and providing military rescue supplies, cannot possibly know a thing about it!

Finally, Vera casually helped him point out the clues of the NUSA's hidden agents. How many Arasaka spies are lurking in Dogtown?

How many of my trusted aides can be trusted? How many of the veterans he brought with him from Operation Midnight Storm have been bribed by Arasaka?

...

In fact, not much was bought.

He just waited for an opportunity to plant and bribe a dozen secret agents to fish in troubled waters in Dog Town.

There was no direct espionage action, but Vera had already started to arrange to act as a cyber troll and opinion gunman in Dogtown for years to spread hate speech against NUSA and military technology, which was a profound betrayal of her memory before she went to Tokyo University for further studies.

More Arasaka agents assigned by Vera who developed into offline members of the Hellhounds actually had no idea of ​​their own behavior.

After all, Arasaka's intelligence personnel never asked them for any information, nor did they ask them to take him anywhere to see the world. They just accompanied him and chatted and vented like good friends. Over time, they only knew that what you said was right, very right!

It was damn Washington and military technology that betrayed us, and they even raised new "mistresses" around us to deal with us in the future. We must get rid of them!

As for the Hellhound tinkering and repairing in Dog Town, the Chimera trying to restore its manufacturing capabilities, the digging and building something underground, and the old rival NUSA Joint Intelligence Agency agents, the Arasaka Intelligence Department knew only a little bit, with some key information being sporadic and unable to form a complete logic.

Hansen is indeed very good at hiding.

But that didn't stop Vera from speaking out.

The purpose is to give Hansen a memorable show of power.

If I know, it means Arasaka knows.

If you have the guts, ask Hansen to go to the Arasaka Intelligence Department to check.

But Vera was also sensible. She did not reveal the full name of the military technology brainchild Little Beidou Project, which was represented by the original name of 'Neural Matrix'. She only revealed half of many things, or even less than half, and deliberately inserted some wrong information, leaving Hansen to guess.

Compared to some Night City legends who are like madmen and are obsessed with dying together with others, Hansen is as stable as an "honest man" who follows the old ways.

He is not barefoot, he is a wealthy man...

With property comes constraints.

Soon, after having an elegant and lively conversation with some celebrities present, such as Arif Iqbal from WNS News, Stanley, the "old friend" from the radio station, and most importantly, Wilton Horton, the deputy mayor of Night City, Vera returned to the banquet center and sat down next to Michiko Arasaka who was sitting with her legs crossed.

Unlike the internal party in Arasaka that welcomed Vera, Michiko, who is also the founder and CEO of Dangerous Girls, has a much wider network of connections than Vera.

Her style is also more American, so the guests invited to this banquet are very diverse, including media, corporate people, independent investors, NCPD, and the city government...

"What did you talk to Hansen about?"

"Nothing. Make a friend. Make him Arasaka's friend."

"Is he qualified? What are you planning?"

"If that's enough, Kurt Hansen was able to build Dog Town in the chaotic Pacific Continent and establish the prestige of the Nether Dog. In a short period of time, he was able to breed a black market with international influence in that empty, unfinished building. He is barely qualified to be a half-chess player."

Vera shrugged.

Then he snapped his fingers at the waiter standing nearby.

Snapped.

Hearing the instructions, the well-trained, friendly-smiled dark blue waiter wearing a golden mask respectfully raised the tray and served champagne to Vera.

Handing the champagne glass to Michiko, Vera followed her line of sight: on the stage in the center of the banquet, a group of dancers were dancing to the rhythm of the music.

"Let's not talk about him. Anyway, the Tokyo headquarters is optimistic about you in terms of military affairs..."

Taking the champagne, Michiko pointed to the center of the stage with interest and said, "Your hobby is indeed very old-fashioned. Young people should not be so formal and old-fashioned."

The officials of the Blue Mansion are very familiar with Vera's preferences, and the style of the music played and the performance form are also classical. In Night City in 2076, this is no longer old-fashioned, but antique.

The type that a certain rock kid would burst into tears, jump up and smack his lips when he saw it.

“I like to listen to instrumental music.”

Vera did not deny it.

"Then do you want to listen to what belongs to me?"

As Michiko finished her words, bang!

"Now, please welcome Ms. Lizzie Weisz to the stage to sing for us."

Lizzie Weisz?

Since Vera had never been in the entertainment industry, she looked slightly inquiring.

Seeing this, Michiko was also a little surprised, "Did you really grow up in Night City? You don't even know Lizzie Weisz..." She shook her head and said, "I know why Saburo admires you..."

"Oh, you mean the singer who died on stage once?"

After thinking about it, Vera remembered.

In 2071, an actress committed suicide during a stage performance. She was immediately operated on. She was 'dead' for about an hour during the operation. She was then revived. She later completed the performance in Cyborg form.

It has been called one of the greatest works of performance art ever by countless media outlets.

The performer thus became a world-famous superstar.

At that time, Vera was still an intern at the academy, her mind full of thoughts about advancement. She just remembered this incident. She glanced at the news and didn't remember the name, but the iconic chrome skin, detachable prosthetic chin... she heard about it in subsequent follow-up reports.

That's when Lizzie Weisz's show began.

During the song, the holographic imager on the stage followed her movements, blooming in an instant, and thousands of pear trees blossomed. The changing light and shadows were glittering and colorful. To be honest, the visual effect was truly magnificent.

It's just...looking at Lizzie Weisz's chrome-plated face and detachable limbs all over her body, Vera could only say that this kind of art was still too advanced for her.

Fortunately, Lizzie Weisz was the finale of the banquet. Amid the applause, Vera lagged slightly behind Michiko by half a step and walked up to the stage almost side by side.

After Michiko gave a formulaic thank you speech as the province of Arasaka North America's CEO, Deputy Mayor Wilton Houghton took the stage in place of Mayor Lucius Lane, who was unable to attend due to illness, holding the land purchase agreement that the city council had just approved to jointly develop the city's northern area with Arasaka.

The lobby background changes to the Night City flag, Northern California Free State flag, and Arasaka logo at appropriate times.

The land purchase agreement was placed on a raised signing platform in the center of the stage.

After Michiko signed and Vera signed, the land purchase agreement took effect immediately.

With a stern expression and relaxed demeanor, Vera picked up the land purchase agreement. She was on the left, Michiko was in the middle, and Wilton Houghton was on the right. The three of them showed the agreement to the celebrities present.

clap clap-

There was immediate warm applause in the venue.

------

PS: Operation "Midnight Storm" is the code name of the military operation in which Kurt Hansen led his troops to break into Night City at the end of the Metal War in 2070.

Chapter 099: New Structure of Night City

"...What does it feel like to see so many Arasaka soldiers walking around in Night City at the same time? What do you think about the NCPD signing a police contract with Arasaka, and Deputy Mayor Wilton Horton presiding over the city council's deepening cooperation with Arasaka and signing a new land purchase agreement? Are you surprised...and panicked...that so many Arasaka supporters showed up in the Free State?"

"Never. Everything is back. Arasaka is just back."

“What would you tell President Rosalind Miles if you had the chance?”

"Bitch! Fuck you!"

The day after the big shots: Willa Adelheid Russell, Michiko Arasaka, and Wilton Houghton met with Night City celebrities at the Blue Sky Mansion and held a banquet and press conference.

On the street, reporters from News Channel 54 were conducting random interviews with passers-by.

Although reporters have tried their best to guide and set language traps, the result they get is often just a concise middle finger.

Most people don’t care about the unfair commercial targeting of military technology internationally. How many people died in the Six Street Gang, how many buildings were destroyed in Santo Domingo, and how much role Arasaka played and how much profit they made, what does it have to do with them?

All they knew was that Arasaka would soon develop an industrial zone in the north of the city and add a new research center area. This package of new area plans had already been announced by the municipal government and would provide a large number of jobs.

"I know, I know... Mom, I will be careful. The Liquor District has the Arasaka sheriff and the NCPD, so it's definitely safer than Santo Domingo."

On the Skytrain, David Martinez held the hanging ring with one hand and the backpack hanging on his chest with the other hand. His eyes, flashing orange light, stared at the Lijing District platform outside the window, where media personnel were interviewing citizens commuting to and from work.

"Well... I will behave well. I will graduate soon. We will move after receiving my first month's salary. Whoever wants to live in that crappy place of Santo Domingo can live there... There are gang fights all day long. The Six Street Gang is gone, and the Hellhounds are back. They came from Pacific Island where the murders are even more rampant... You should also be careful. Well, OK, I'm hanging up."

beep.

After hanging up the call with his mother Gloria, David took a deep breath and tightened the backpack hanging on his chest.

He stood because the train seat was a little dirty and he didn't want to dirty his freshly washed school uniform. He put his backpack in front to avoid pickpockets. He had learned his lesson after being robbed once.

As the train sped along, David looked out the window at the dim lights of the beautiful scenic area and the patrolling Sheriff Arasaka and NCPD. He had an inexplicably sad and dejected expression on his face.

Two worlds separated by a river.

In Santo Domingo, there was a fierce gang war, and the Hellhounds almost beat the Sixth Street Gang's pig brains out;

As for Heywood, he continued to live a life of singing and dancing, and drunkenness and dreams.

A few days ago, many residents of Li Scenic Area stopped on the river bank as if watching a show, and some even set up bonfires and barbecues, as if they were treating the gang battlefield in the Santo Domingo River Valley on the other side of the river as a topic of bragging and gossip, and as a battlefield reality show filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood.

Happiness is created by comparison.

Although both places have a huge gap between the rich and the poor and rampant gang activities, at least Heywood does not have old and crumbling infrastructure, nor does it have gangs that are so fierce that they drive armored vehicles, operate heavy unmanned mechas, have more powerful firepower than NCPD cops, and fight thousands of people in the streets.

Not to mention the locals, David Martinez suddenly found the NCPD, which guards important transportation hubs such as cross-river bridges, stations, and docks, pleasing to the eye.

Especially the Arasaka guys. The Hellhound who beat the Sixth Street Gang like his own son in Saint Domingo, immediately made a 180-degree turn in his attitude after seeing Sheriff Araji who was patrolling the Skyrail station in the River Valley District. He became so polite.

I didn't think so before, because I always heard my mom nagging about how good the company was, how Arasaka was the No. 1 in Night City, and that if you entered Arasaka you would be promoted... David knew it, but he didn't have a very sensitive and practical understanding.

Now, there was a gang war, several cars of people from the Sixth Street Gang were killed in front of his house, and the arrogant street boys were pinned to the ground and slaughtered like chickens by the even more arrogant Hellhounds. David had never been so eager to graduate.

As long as he graduates, he can become an Arasaka person whom even the Hellhound will treat seriously, and then take his mother away from that rotten land of Saint Domingo, so that his mother, who has worked hard for half her life, can at least have a rest.

As for the location of the new home.

David has already thought about the Highwood Li scenic area.

According to the inside information of Arasaka obtained from Katsuo, Commander Vera Adelheid seems to be planning to eliminate the remnants of the Six Street Gang in the Liquor District, and then have the NCPD and Arasaka Sheriff intervene to turn the Liquor District into a "model house" for the Arasaka police contract service in Night City...

Just as David was thinking about matters related to the college graduation examination, a shadow seemed to flash across the glass in front of him.