Infinity, progress from Arasaka

【Evaluation Report of the 2074 Year-end Practical Experience Activity of Arasaka Tower Academy - Security Department】

Furuta Hideta.

Terry Woolf.

……

Katsuo Tanaka.

David Martinez.

Click to open.

His eyes naturally stopped at the half-length portrait of the boy with a Mohawk hairstyle and a clear and silly look in his eyes.

Security Department tester's evaluation: Although he is not sociable, comes from a poor family, and has no prosthetics other than basic plug-ins, this student has excellent academic performance and has demonstrated a high level of personal enthusiasm and good physical potential. A more detailed physical examination and observation is needed for a specific evaluation...

Vera lit a cigarette thoughtfully, tapping the armrest of the seat with her fingers, with an uncontrollable curve at the corners of her mouth.

"Calculating the time, his grades are pretty good, he has a solid foundation, and he has learned something. 2075, that's the time..."

When she went to Tokyo to get rich, she couldn't let such a good, gun-resistant thug be pried away by others, especially the light-colored silver-white thieving cat wandering in the subway.

Well, let's create a chance encounter between the senior and the junior...

"Poor? Then I'll give you a spot for a low-interest student loan."

beep.

She included David Martinez's name in the list of outstanding students who received the Security Department's practical gift.

[Confirm] → [Send]

"How are you going to repay me, little guy?"

Through the car window, Vera looked toward the municipal center and the dark tower that was gradually approaching.

......

River Valley, Santo Domingo.

The old H4 apartment skyscraper.

The old apartment building has broken security nets, peeling paint and yellowed rust. Although there are homeless people everywhere and piles of garbage surrounding the entire building, it still remains intact.

In a small, ordinary rental house.

"Mom, you're sleeping on the sofa again. Your health will collapse..."

"Oh, David, sorry... I'm so sleepy, and, uh? Why are you still home at this hour?"

"Don't change the subject, Mom. Today is the weekend and school is closed. I participated in the college's practical experience activities some time ago. You were obviously very happy. How could you forget it?"

David, dressed in plain clothes, stood in front of Gloria, who was sleeping on the sofa, with an angry and helpless expression.

"...Ah, you found me."

Gloria laughed it off and changed the subject.

Her face showed both satisfaction and deep helplessness. She was pleased with her son's excellence and his concern for her, but she was helpless because she was useless and it was so difficult to raise money for tuition and upgrading teaching software.

"Mom, if I really don't have money, I can not..."

"David."

Gloria's stern look silenced David. "This is not something you should consider. Don't you want to study? Do you know how rare it is to be selected for the practical experience activities of Arasaka Academy? I am so..."

Just when the mother and son were about to have another argument over money, "Fuck! Company dog!"

"Get away."

“Go, go, go…”

There was a loud commotion outside the door.

Then, there was a clear knock on the door, dong dong...

Gloria raised her head, her face pale with fear, "Could it be that I've been exposed..." Just as her face was filled with uncertainty, David opened the door with a click.

"What's the matter...uh, ah?!!!" Before David could finish his words, he stared straight ahead as if he had been struck by lightning.

Two company security agents wearing black Arasaka uniforms with red patterns, one of them carrying a briefcase.

"David Martinez, who participated in the border practice experience activity, is he a student of the 2074th class of Arasaka Academy?"

One person asked coldly.

"I...I am."

"Lucky boy, this is your practical activity excellence award."

------

Chapter 042 Vera and the Younger Generations

“Excellence Award…Is there such a thing?”

David was shocked when he heard this.

He has been attending Arasaka Academy for more than half a year. Isn't it the school's nature to only admit students but not let them out?

"Student ID card."

Not wanting to explain, the agent from Arasaka security extended his hand.

"Oh, wait, please wait a moment..." David said as he ran into the room and rummaged through the drawers around the computer desk not far to the left of the door. During this time, the two agents looked around the Martinez family's rental house.

Just like Saint Domingo, it is deserted and old.

The room is not big, and it is obvious at a glance. There is no porch. The living room is also the bedroom. There are two small spaces on the left and right. The larger one on the left is the bathroom, and the smaller one on the right is probably used as a storage room. There are a lot of unused tools and furniture with damaged surfaces piled up in the sofa area in the sunken area.

Although it is shabby, it is very clean compared to the surrounding residential environment.

A red-haired woman who looked extremely tired was lying on the sofa, wearing a yellow jacket and looking at them. There seemed to be a hint of dullness in her expression.

The two agents glanced around habitually, their eyes flashing orange, and retrieved the woman's identity information.

David's single mother, Gloria, works at Night City Medical Center.

"This kid lives here? It looks like he has no chance to receive preschool education."

"But his grades are not bad, and he's lucky enough to be recognized by the higher-ups... maybe he can become one of us."

Just as two Arasaka grassroots field agents were communicating, "Found it, found it, sorry, sorry..." The young man with a Mohawk punk hair waved his trainee ID card over in a panic.

beep.

【Target determination and collection】

The agent's eyes lit up and he picked up David's trainee ID card and scanned it briefly, "Keep it." He handed the trainee ID card and the suitcase over, and David took it slowly.

Click.

They just left.

"David?"

Gloria breathed a sigh of relief at first, then looked puzzled.

"It is an outstanding award for the college's practical activities..."

David closed the door, blocking the neighbors' inquiring gazes, and placed the suitcase with the big Arasaka Clover logo in front of his mother. He raised his head and said with a heavy nasal voice, "I will try my best. Don't be so tired."

"Didn't the big shot from Arasaka say this at the beginning of the school year? Family, responsibility, obligation. I don't want you to collapse from exhaustion after I finally climb up to Arasaka Tower..."

After all, he is a young man at heart, and after achieving success he wants to show off in front of his mother.

"David." Gloria, with a gentle smile suddenly on her face, stood up and hugged David in her arms, "I'm proud of you."

"Okay mom... let's see what we have first."

Click.

David opened the suitcase and saw:

A commemorative card with information certifying the practical activities of the Night City Arasaka Security Department and Arasaka Academy students in 2074, a finely crafted shield-shaped metal commemorative medal, three separate chips, a long card, and a simple pistol.

The receiver is dark, the slide is bright, and the bottom of the grip is red.

"Kenshin."

"Security department..." Gloria's eyes flashed with complexity. JKE-X2 Kenshin is one of the submachine guns produced and sold by Arasaka.

Although it may seem strange to give pistols to students as a practical excellence award at first glance, this is Night City, the place with the most lax military-level gun control in the world. The department that is coordinating with Arasaka Academy for the practical activities this time is the Security Department, and it is normal for security personnel to issue pistols.

The good news is that David seems to have been appreciated by the Security Department, the largest department in Arasaka. The worrying thing is that David has been appreciated by the Security Department of Arasaka. The Security Department is one of the departments with the highest number of field missions and casualties.

Will David become an Arasaka security soldier or agent...

Gloria's motherly nature meant that the joy on her face did not last long.

"Wow, Mom! Our family is rich!"

At this moment, David's shouting brought Gloria back to her senses. She saw him take out a separation chip and plug it into the chip slot behind his ear. His eyes were flashing orange light and he looked excited.

Personal account: [5000 received]

Transfer party: Night City Arasaka Security Department

"5000 Euros, there is a 5000 Euro scholarship."

The money is very little, sometimes not even enough for someone like Vera to enjoy a day's food, cigarettes and alcohol. But for the Martinez family, it is a lot and can solve their urgent needs or even save their lives.

With these 5,000 euros, Gloria no longer has to be so anxious and stressed. At least she can take a breather and she doesn't have to worry about supply interruption for most of half a year. Her ability to bear risks has been greatly increased.

"Hey."

After the transfer program in the chip memory was activated, this separate chip became useless. David pulled out the chip from the slot behind his ear and handed it to his mother without any reluctance. Then he pulled out the second chip, this time, "Uh..." David showed a lack of interest.

Pulling it out and putting it aside, David then began to pull out the third chip, while Gloria picked it up, inserted it, and examined it. It was a commemorative speech, an evaluation of David's performance and a formal encouragement.

"Mom, I think you'd better take a look at this." David took out the third chip with a thoughtful look on his face and handed it to Gloria. Gloria took it and inserted it. The words "Arasaka Academy Low-interest Student Loan" appeared in her eyes.

"Student loans..." Gloria fell into deep thought.

David picked up the last long card and read the letters under the clover logo on the card. "Borrowing card? Library borrowing card..." He looked interested.

Being a loner in school doesn't mean he doesn't desire knowledge, it's just that he has no money, no qualifications, and no connections, so the paid library of Arasaka Academy (various knowledge chips) is not open to him.

David was somewhat tempted.

"I heard that the intelligent control library of this kind of graduate school is open 24 hours a day, as long as you are qualified." Gloria came over and said with a smile: "If you want to go, put on your uniform and go to Arasaka Academy. I want to order another set of uniforms for you to change into."

"Then I'll set off."

David was very active. He simply dressed up, changed into his school uniform, put on his Arasaka library card, and went out happily.

During the holidays, he mostly stayed at home watching TV, or accompanied the perverted cyborg doctor to watch Black Mewtwo, or went to the nearby baseball field to play basketball with the basketball chip he found.

No matter how far away, Gloria would not allow him to wander anywhere else except in the direction of the municipal center. After all, this was the Night City with its 'simple folk customs'.

"David boy, what are those two Arasaka company dogs doing at your door? Did you get into trouble at the academy?"

There was a decadent old man I knew lying next to the railing of the aisle and talking.

It was no secret that Mrs. Martinez supported her only son to attend Arasaka Academy. David wore Arasaka uniform to school every day. The neighbors were not blind, and many of them even watched for fun.

"well enough."

There was no point in explaining it to them in detail, so David just hurried down the stairs, ran up the ramp, passed the tall buildings, and headed towards Arasaka Academy in the city center.

"Welcome, David." The scanner at the entrance to the school recognized the voice.

David recalled the location of the Comprehensive College Library.