Infinity, progress from Arasaka

One can imagine the diplomatic and public opinion pressure that military technology faces.

After the Metal War, almost everyone in the world did not want the USA to be unified again.

In the end, Arasaka took a step back and gave Military Technology a face and a way out, and Washington compromised on the condition that it would purchase Behemoths, Demon Lizards, and Manticores from Military Technology as part of the vehicle components for increasing the garrison.

After listening to Qi Wei's explanation, the other members of Mann's team sighed.

[Rebecca: That girl named Vera, why does the old emperor of Arasaka value her so much? What kind of unpolished jade or precious stone is this...]

[Qi Wei: I'll play it for you guys. Wait a moment.]

Soon, "…her weight in my heart exceeds the total weight of the escort forces and escort formations sent this time."

An old voice speaking in a Tokyo-accented Japanese.

"If President Miles hadn't stopped me, I would have continued to send more guards. This is an elder's love for the younger generation, and it's never enough. I don't want her to be harmed by the sinister plots of people with ulterior motives. I've suffered such pain before..."

Doodle.

[Qi Wei: Well, I intercepted the news, the original words of Arasaka Saburo. Who knows the authenticity. I guess Saburo is just looking for an excuse to increase the troops. People like him... forget it, this matter has nothing to do with us. ]

【Mann: It seems that our decision to approach Arasaka was the right one.】

【Qi Wei: That’s the way it looks now.】

"call..."

On top of the scrapped water tower, Mann exhaled a breath of foul air, data characters flashing in his eyes. He continued to shoot a new type of inhibitor from Arasaka into his arm, while shaking his head and saying with emotion: "Then this Vera is indeed heavyweight."

"Guards, these are all the guards given to her by the old emperor... Damn, these are guards? I'm so envious! What is this very important noble doing now? Is it on the news?"

[Qiwei: Yes, she is having lunch with Arasaka Michiko at the Blue Sky Building. Why, do you want to go?]

【Mann: I would like to, but I am not qualified. 】

[Qi Wei: Okay, stop talking nonsense, Mann, let's get to the point. I have already downloaded the pictures and audio to the separation chip. Those box trucks and large sealed chambers should be what Faraday wants. What are you going to do? ]

Mann grinned. "That's blackmail, of course! This situation is much more serious than he described. You have to pay more to continue. And there is no guarantee of success."

【Qi Wei: Where is Mr. Wells? 】

"Give out the locations of those four teams..."

【Lucy: No, it's Team 6.】

Without interrupting, she hacked into the local area network and dropped a signal coordinate in the channel.

[Their people almost found me. The signal of this network access warehouse is very familiar. It is similar to the frequency of the military technology training chip. I am not sure if it is Faraday's people. If he had not been in contact with another team sent by Faraday, I would not have found him... There is another team, I am not sure. ]

"enough."

Mann inserted a disposable communication chip and sent out an encrypted email.

【Brother Jack, this is what you wanted. 】

【Muy bien (Spanish, very good), stay safe, buddy.】

After sending the email, Mann crushed the chip. After observing for a while, he signaled Dolio to change positions. As soon as he got off the water tower, hum——

The engine roared, and an Arasaka armored hovercraft flew through the air and headed north.

"So fast?"

Running through the narrow alley, Mann looked up.

Without waiting for him to move with Dolio.

In the team channel, Lucy posted a picture.

The background was the northernmost end of the old industrial zone. A large black iron object with very poor clarity suddenly jumped off the hovercraft several dozen meters above the ground.

drip.

Then, Lucy captured and uploaded two more pictures.

In one photo, an explosion occurred on the tall chimney of an old factory building, emitting thick smoke and dust.

The second photo shows several shredded humanoid figures falling from the top of a chimney. In the broken gap of the chimney, a tall, pitch-black "Big Machine" stands in the interweaving of flames and smoke, holding some kind of severed limb with red and white liquid flowing in its hands.

Mann recognized it.

Product manager of bar drinks at 'Laisheng' nightclub!

"What the hell, Adam Sledgehammer?!"

------

PS: I am back to life.

Chapter 097 Exchange

Do you know where all the legends of Night City gather?

In the grave.

Who will bury——

"Hammer! It's Adam Hammer!!"

Boom! With a sharp explosion that cut through the air, a hideous black metal body fell from the top of the chimney, piercing through the reinforced concrete ceiling of the old factory building like a battering ram, the wall exploded, smoke and dust and debris surged...

Instantly, gunfire rang out, flames rose, and the image transmission from the surveillance camera was obscured.

"Stop looking at me, run!"

Mann dragged Dolio out of the narrow alley, got into a shabby van, and stepped on the accelerator to the bottom.

After the car rushed out, he continued to yell in the team communication channel: "Qiwei, let Pyrrha, Rebecca and the others retreat! Be careful not to interfere with Arasaka and cause them to be tracked. We don't have any friendly signs in Arasaka!"

drip.

[Qiwei: No need for your reminder, it has been sent.]

In the team's encrypted channel.

Lucy continued to upload the battle video and audio she collected.

The audio was extremely noisy, with loud shouting mixed with the crackling sounds of bullets and busy tones of blood gushing out. The sound quality and picture quality were greatly reduced due to environmental interference and long-distance transmission.

The sound stopped abruptly after a sharp whistle of an energy electromagnetic projectile weapon.

In the blurry picture sent back by the surveillance camera:

Adam Hammer, wearing a heavy exoskeleton armor with the Arasaka clover logo, stepped out from the smoke and walked through the ruins full of bullet holes and body parts.

The anti-material heavy machine gun, which was originally designed to consolidate defensive positions and be mounted on armored vehicles as a fixed suppressive firepower, was held in his hand with one hand, as if he was carrying a submachine gun.

The damaged hacker chair, portable chassis, switches, and display screens were scattered on the ground like garbage, leaving only a cyborg who was swung out and punched through the factory wall and was still struggling.

His face was covered in blood, one of his prosthetic eyes had exploded, his combat uniform was torn to pieces, revealing the severely damaged implant structure inside, the artificial muscles on his chest and the subcutaneous armor were dented, his gorilla arm was torn off, and his knee equipped with a mantis knife was also blown to pieces, blood and off-white prosthetic maintenance fluid were exposed, and electric sparks flashed.

After a shot sent the agent's head flying off his shoulders, Adam Hammer turned sideways, his face as pale as if dead skin had been pasted on a lump of iron.

He raised his gun and fired.

boom!

sizzle-

The screen is interrupted.

Wow! Lucy suddenly opened her eyes after rising from the bathtub filled with ice water. The data was disconnected and she was just gasping for breath.

"You didn't overestimate your own abilities and invade that monster called Heavy Hammer, did you?" After putting on her bra and panties, Qiwei picked up Lucy's clothes and threw them over.

"I'm not that stupid." Lucy took the clothes and shook her head while putting on her underwear. "I've dealt with the mission with Arasaka, but what about the one with Faraday?"

"That's not a problem for Mann." It was Falco.

After putting away the monitor, portable host and other auxiliary network hacking equipment, Falco picked up the suitcase and gave Lucy a thumbs up.

"Lucy, you have to trust Mann's experience as a veteran cyber mercenary. He's probably cursing Faraday right now..."

...

Meanwhile, Faraday is in a safe house at the Haywood Ridge resort, with the curtains drawn.

Jingle Bell.

【Caller: Mann】

Beep, connected.

"Faraday, fuck your mother! What kind of commission did you send?! Is this for Arasaka to purchase goods? This is a war! They are all military-level combat troops. If you have the guts, come to Arasaka Beach and take a look. You still want to steal their data? Arasaka can't kill you..."

Farah's fourth eye condensed almost at the same time, and the orange light representing telephone communication flickered. As a supporter of the new militarism and authoritarianism of large companies, the insults from the offline mercenaries made his face even uglier.

"Mann, you know who you're talking to..."

"I'm cursing you, you bastard. Did you know that Adam Hammer showed up?"

Mann rudely interrupted Faraday on the other end of the phone.

"It's Adam Hammer! Can you fucking translate for me what Adam Hammer means? I quit if you don't reveal such crucial information! The commission doesn't match the work, and you want me to play Hammer? Damn it, don't even think about returning the deposit! Also, this is the latest live broadcast of Arasaka Beach that you wanted! Watch it for yourself..."

beep.

After cursing, Mann hung up the phone.

pat.

Faraday crushed the cigarette in his mouth, his face turned livid, and he was so angry that he almost wanted to kill Mann.

But thinking about what Mann said later, he calmed down and clicked on the data unit in the email attachment sent by Mann.

Zizi...Boom...

Looking at the blood and flesh splattered on the screen, Faraday took a few deep breaths. Even someone as flattering as his superiors and bullying his subordinates, he had to admit that Mann was right. Even if Mann made public the fact that he had torn up the commission in the Next Life Nightclub, no one would blame him too much.

After all, that was Adam Sledgehammer...

There is a gap between legends.

If Rogge, who owns and runs Afterlife, is regarded as a legend, it is because of her legendary experience and her identity as the most powerful middleman in Night City today.

Adam Hammer is a legend among legends, the maker and undertaker of Night City legends.

He was a man who killed people with real knives and bullets, and was famous for his use of force, violence, and murder.

Among cyber lone wolves, perhaps only Morgan Blackhand can compare.

How could Faraday, a mere middleman in the district of Saint Domingo, have the qualifications to send someone to beat Adam Hammer?

The deposit would not be returned, and he could not take revenge on Mann in the short term.

This was considered a violation of the rules of the underworld. The commission was seriously mismatched with the difficulty of the mission. It was discovered by others during the execution of the mission. This kind of unilateral termination of the commission with reason and evidence was recognized in the cyber mercenary world.

Then Faraday made several more calls.

There has been no news from three of the four teams of mercenaries he had tricked.

One team started cursing as soon as they opened the microphone.

Listening to the background noise, it seems that someone is running away on the road.

Beep, hang up, nothing to talk about.

Faraday lit another cigarette and thought for a while, then activated another encrypted communication chip in the network access compartment and dialed the number of his military technology liaison.

drip.

The call is connected.

Exhaling a puff of white smoke, Faraday spoke in an annoyed tone: "How can you expect me to steal this level of military force without making it clear in advance? Even Adam Hammer is here. Unless you find me a tough guy like Morgan Blackhand, this job will be difficult!"

"With Morgan Blackhand around, will it be your turn to eat meat?"

On the other end of the phone, the military technology liaison officer chuckled.

"I'm asking you to do it because it's difficult. I'm not asking you to deliver it immediately. Just give it a try. We still have time. Those soldiers can't stay on Arasaka Beach forever... Arasaka's force projection this time is almost testing the edge of international public opinion. Washington has no choice but to accept it."

He seemed to have already encountered the situation that Faraday would encounter.