Infinity, progress from Arasaka

Climbing up the bare, wind-eroded flat-topped hill at the end of the smooth road, Vera looked around the hill and saw construction machinery busy at work on the horizon. She pointed there and said, "Pick a piece."

"Gangs are ultimately not worth showing off. Do you have any idea of ​​reorganizing the Nether Dog Gang into a company? The main business will be what you are best at, smuggling, black market, and mercenaries." He looked at Hansen.

dong dong.

His heartbeat seemed to suddenly speed up, and Hansen's breathing became a little heavy.

Vera chuckled.

Once people have needs and concerns, they have something to control. Well, she is the same.

"As we all know, Emil Lazarus was a retired former NUSA colonel when he founded the Lazarus Mercenary Group. Are you interested? Colonel Hansen."

Lazarus Mercenary Group is one of the world's most famous heavy labor dispatch companies.

If giving him the title of honorary chief fulfills Hansen's final pursuit of honor as a soldier, the real gift is the semi-legalization of the Hellhound.

As long as it complies with the "Excessive Firepower" restriction law, has the support of large companies, and Hansen is able to smooth the relationship, he can reorganize the Hellhound Gang into the Hellhound Mercenary Group.

As for big companies, they are even more detached from the rest of the world.

What Vera didn’t say was why Lazarus was successful, because he gained the appreciation and personal friendship of Donald Lundy, the then CEO of Military Technology.

Hansen naturally knew the success stories of these celebrities. He looked at Vera with emotion and complexity, "If you support me, I will not be worse than Emile Lazarus." He saw a mixture of cautious pride and condescending ambition on Vera's delicate ivory face.

Vera is comparing herself to former Military Tech CEO Donald Lundy.

"So, are the 'threads' of the broken lotus root still connected?"

With a gentle smile that made people feel like spring breeze, Vera just asked.

Hansen's brows furrowed.

The pledge of allegiance has already been made.

There is no going back to the New America and military technology.

It may seem glorious to sit on the fence, but in fact he has been trying to balance the various forces in Dog Town for the past six years, struggling to survive in the cracks between giants such as Arasaka and Military Technology, and taking advantage of almost all external conditions he can.

Too tired...really...

Now that things have come to this, let's choose a side! He has been pushed to the edge of the cliff by Vera, but he can't say anything wrong. This kind of conspiracy of using power to suppress others is the most difficult to defend against.

After taking a deep breath, Hansen's eyes suddenly became determined.

"No more. Director Vera."

He is a director, not a managing director. This director is not a director of Arasaka, but a director of the Hellhound mercenary group which has not yet been established.

popping.

Hansen's answer made Vera applaud softly.

In the midday sun, she pointed to the commercial land to be built under her feet and said, "Choose a site for the headquarters of the future group. I will give you support in policy and public opinion diplomacy, and the rest is up to you." Vera patted Hansen on the shoulder and left with Deputy Mayor Hott.

Only Hansen was left standing on the flat-topped hill for a long time. He stared blankly at the blueprint in his hand, and then at the large expanse of land on the distant horizon that needed to be leveled and solidified... After a long time, he chuckled.

"What a terrible woman."

Hansen smiled bitterly and couldn't help tapping his forehead with the scroll of the new district planning drawings.

"I was completely led by the nose... Why do I feel like a new soldier who was punished by taking off his pants in front of her... She is less than 25 years old... Did that old man Sanlang teach me?"

"Forget it... This is the problem that bitch Miles should worry about..."

------

PS: The busy June is finally over. It feels like all kinds of things were squeezed into this month. It was really busy. Well, you know.

Chapter 107 Afterglow (4.5K)

Night falls.

After finishing her inspection of the progress of the new area of ​​the Arasaka Research Center today, Vera returned to her home in Westbrook.

hum…

The vector engine spewing blue tail flames turned from propulsion to verticality, and the huge dark body slowly landed on the inner ring private helipad of the company community.

Inside the cabin, Vera raised her head, and the flashing orange-red data light from the prosthetic eye plug-in in her eyes stopped.

"We must ensure that the seniors return home safely."

【Jimmy: Yes, Director.】

call ended.

"Are you going to make a move..." After putting down the PDA terminal and stretching, Vera first patted the headline of the News 54 magazine on the table with a playful look: "Shock! Hellhound - Terrorists Whitewashed!" Then she picked up the hot coffee in the corrugated cup at hand and walked down the side gangway.

As she passed the green landscape platform with a wide view, she looked out at the heavily armored soldiers of the Arasaka Cyber ​​Ninja Squad and the Special Assault Force patrolling back and forth in the courtyards and corridors of the Dabie Mountains below her.

Vera watched them, her eyes rising, past the Westbrook corporate community, northward—

As Night City's recognized top entertainment center, Japan Street is filled with bustling crowds after dark, as if the desolation, decay and blood seen in Watson and the Badlands just now were all illusions.

The world is so bleak under the embellishment of neon lights and holographic projection advertisements. Looking around, all the buildings appear colorful in the hazy halo, making people feel dazzled and dizzy.

Just a wall, a district, and a street apart, the difference between heaven and hell is so great that it makes people feel as if they are not living in the same city.

Looking at the downtown skyline and feeling the warm evening breeze, Vera sipped her hot coffee while thinking about the meeting that had ended not long ago.

Not Kurt Hansen.

He is a visitor to an underground weapons research institute, a secret agent society, and an intelligence base. Before the nuclear explosion of the old Arasaka Tower in 2023.

"The old guys are asking for a lot." Vera muttered softly.

Doing multiple things at once is Vera's style.

During the day, in addition to inspecting the construction of the new district in Watson North and chatting with Hansen, Wilton Holt and others, she took the opportunity of the dinner and the new district development fundraising conference to meet with her confidant Jimmy and the old predecessors who had contacted him in Washington State, Oregon and Idaho during this period.

The leaders of the remaining forces left in North America after the hasty death of her adoptive father, "Prince" Kei Arasaka, whom she had never recognized and had never met.

Having been sent abroad before 2023, the real age of those former Arasaka elites is now at least in their seventies or eighties.

If for no other reason than the impact and damage these idle pieces could cause to Washington and the military technology behind it once they are activated at the right time.

This is enough for Vera, who is eager to make a big splash on the West Coast, to win him over at all costs, or hold him tightly in her hands.

Although the talks between Vera and the old Arasaka men did not last too long, the high degree of agreement on the idea of ​​"revenge" and finding a way to deal with military technology made the conversation between the two sides reach a fairly harmonious atmosphere.

The endorsement of Saburo Arasaka, the recommendation of Michiko Arasaka, Vera's past achievements and personal assurance, and the highly feasible PPT plan that partially revealed how to make 'Arasaka great again'...

As a result, the two sides quickly reached an agreement from trial to trial.

As for the details, that was not what Vera needed to pay attention to.

The king chooses his ministers, and the ministers choose their king.

The meeting between the two parties is equivalent to an interview.

I look at you and you look at me.

Vera's image, style and policy orientation obviously suit the tastes of this group of old hawks.

Under the circumstance that the general direction remains unchanged, in the subsequent implementation of the cooperation, the loyal elites from the post-era Arasaka Tower have plenty of time to accompany these "old hands" to carefully consider, verify the feasibility of the agreement and evaluate the other party's loyalty.

"Loyalty is such a sweet word." Vera murmured in her heart.

It doesn’t matter whether we are truly loyal or not. What matters is that we have the same enemy and the same interests.

Click.

After finishing her coffee, Vera turned around and threw the corrugated cup into the trash can on the green landscape platform, which was cleaned and replaced every day, and walked towards her duplex apartment.

It’s still the same building.

It's not that someone suggested that Vera move to North Oak, but she refused.

Reason: homesickness.

The location of this corporate community is very good. It is located in the middle of Westbrook, just across Japantown from the Civic Center. It is also located between Charter Hill and North Oak. It has a relatively high geographical location, good greenery, and a commanding view of Night City.

Moreover, with Vera's promotion to the general management director, when she was still working in Tokyo, many lucky people in Night City Arasaka Tower began to try to please her, and the area of ​​the courtyard of the Russell mansion was expanded. The security level and occupancy level of the company's community were also raised by several levels because of Vera.

Click.

The automatic door opened, and Vera returned home happily. The Arasaka Cyber ​​Ninja who followed her all the time also automatically disappeared.

After entering, Vera took off her office shoes and changed into slippers. She leaned on the back of the soft sofa and stretched lazily. She grabbed the PDA personal terminal on the coffee table, beeped, and after biometric recognition, she gave the household robot in the family kitchen an order for a midnight snack, and then she swiped the touch screen.

"Well, it's time to report to Lao Deng... ahem, Lord Saburo."

Blue light flickered in the cyan pupils, reflecting countless data and observations.

[Recipient: Arasaka Family Compound, Tokyo]

[Plan: Proxy War - "Ghost Dog Mercenary Group"]

——Attachment 1, expand——

Sincerely,

Lord Saburo, these are some of my humble opinions.

Regarding the Fourth Corporate War, the Lazarus Mercenary Group has always been the most steadfast ally of Militech Corporation... The company's business strategy of temporary support agreements with veterans and free lone wolf groups in multiple countries and regions has enabled the company to mobilize an army of more than 5 million people, five times the number of all company employees, within a month...

This is what we should pay attention to. Just like the story of "Tian Ji's Horse Racing", which you told me (referring to the Arasaka family library), it is irrational and extremely uneconomical to use Arasaka's well-trained elite employees on Lazarus mercenaries of uneven quality. We need to learn lessons and prepare for the next war. Prepare enough "low-quality horses" without spending a lot of salary and training time.

Due to the nature and geographical location of our company and the special historical origins of Night City, Western state cities, wanderers, and underground cyber lone wolves, direct recruitment and temporary support agreements are neither advisable nor credible. We need an agent. Even if it is just a cover that everyone knows.

We need to develop and package a hero.

A patriotic hero who went against the tide in the war, made great achievements but was betrayed, and finally had a great enlightenment and chose to restore order.

Col. Kurt Hansen.

He has the ability, the troops, the territory and the achievements, and the potential to soar to the sky. What he lacks is the opportunity to break through the shackles, the time to develop, and the outlet of the times. Arasaka can give him all these.

Most importantly, his experience of being betrayed by Miles is beyond reproach. No matter how it is beautified or diluted, this will be Washington's Achilles heel. His existence is a mockery of the ideology emphasized by Rosalind Miles, and a crack that cannot be reshaped by the universal values ​​of the new American dream.

The existence of him and the Hellhound mercenary group is a bright banner for the people of the West Coast to resist the oppression of Washington and the Eastern States, and will attract enough people with lofty ideals to join them. We need to raise this banner and make it more colorful in the encirclement of military technology and Washington.

Donald Lundy (CEO of Military Technology during the Fourth Company War) has the Lazarus Mercenary Group founded by Colonel Emil Lazarus. We Arasaka should also have our own North American Mercenary Group, with its headquarters on the West Coast, and let it compete with Lazarus. The days when Lazarus was the only one in the past should become a thing of the past...

Here, I sincerely believe that it is because of the presence of a stabilizing force like you, Saburo-sama, that Arasaka will eventually return to its peak and this move on the west coast can be made. Your presence and health are the guarantee for the outside world to maintain confidence in Arasaka Corporation.

Of course, if Lord Saburo gives any instructions, I will re-evaluate the arrangement of this "Proxy War"...

Sincerely,

Salute. Vera Adelheid. 】

...

After clapping her hands, Vera couldn't help but smile.

Ha, it’s not all flattery and kissing up.

Because Saburo Arasaka has returned to health and has appeared in external meetings many times, Arasaka's previously stable stock price has once again become excited.

In most people's eyes, Saburo is the pillar of Arasaka.

drop.

【Sent】

drop.

【Received】

Vera put down the tablet, took the American dirty hot dog wrapped in a paper box that the housekeeping robot just handed to her, took a light bite, and chewed it. She looked thoughtfully at the holographic TV that was broadcasting today's news of "The Ghost Dog Out of Dog Town".

The follow-up plan has been submitted to Saburo.

Tanaka's 'Cyborg 2.0' is progressing rapidly under her encouragement and support.

New Tyrant bodies are constantly maturing and being equipped, and adapted to Cyborg. The Cyborg Tyrant force led by Adam Hammer is rapidly taking shape.

According to the Alvin Peace Agreement and the International Convention on the Prohibition of Excessive Firepower in Cities, Adam Heavyhammer's DaiOni powered armor is not allowed to enter the city. To be honest, Heavyhammer's prosthetic skeleton and body that are no less powerful than main battle tanks are already exploiting loopholes in these treaties.