2077: V really knows how awesome he is

Sasha puffed out her cheeks, and V couldn't help but burst into laughter. Seeing V laughing so happily, Sasha also laughed happily.

"V, thank you."

You're welcome, Sasha.

"Shall we begin today's lesson?"

"it is good."

With the teacher and students in place, the lesson began.

"I'll teach you a new trick today, it's my secret weapon," Sasha said mysteriously.

"Oh?" V became interested: "Show it to us."

"That's it."

Sasa sent over a packaged puppet program, which V received and saw was named "Cyber ​​Psychosis".

[Cyberpsychiatry]:

Upload time: 1.5 seconds; duration: 60 seconds.

RAM usage: 22.

Creates an illusion, forcing enemies to attack the nearest friendly or hostile target; if there is no target, the enemy will commit suicide. Each stack of [Cyborg Malfunction] reduces RAM usage by 6, stacking up to three times. Each other type of puppet effect increases the puppet's duration by 25%, and also increases the enemy's attack power by 25%.

V had heard of this puppet's name in her past life. At the time, she thought that this puppet could really turn people into cyberpsychotics, but now she realized that it only induces actions through hallucinations.

It sounds complicated, but it's not too difficult for hackers who casually burn through other people's brains. Basically, it involves hacking into the enemy's brain chip and then playing misleading images through their prosthetic eye to deceive their senses.

Like a brain in a vat.

V remembered that he had also obtained the immortal-grade blueprint for this puppet, and after searching through his memories, he found it.

"I think this puppet can be improved."

Sasha was stunned: "Improvement? You? My leg is broken, and your brain is broken?"

"Do not believe?"

"Of course I don't believe you. You're a newbie, what are you pretending for..."

Before Sasha could even finish her sentence, V sent over the modified puppet.

Most of the effects remain unchanged, but the effect of "increasing the duration of this puppet by 25% and the attack power of the enemy by 25% for each other type of puppet effect" has been changed to 40%.

"Wow, you really changed!" Sasha's mouth dropped open, and she remained in a state of surprise for a long time before saying with a fearful look, "Do you have ulterior motives towards me?"

V: "What?"

“Otherwise, with your level, why would you need me as your teacher?” Sasha said shyly. “If you want to do *that*, just say so. It’s not like I disagree. Why beat around the bush?”

V: "..."

She delivered a karate chop to Sasha's forehead.

"Hey!"

Sasha covered her forehead with tears in her eyes.

"I think you're so frustrated down there that you're pent up up too. Stop thinking about all that nonsense all day long."

"Then tell me, why would a hacker of your caliber need me as a teacher?" Sasha asked angrily.

"I just learn quickly; I'm exceptionally gifted."

"Exceptionally talented?" Sasha looked at V's suit trousers: "Are you trying to look like a superhuman?"

"I don't!"

V sighed and rubbed her forehead in anguish. What happened to her pure and innocent pink cat? Was it possessed by a wandering AI that was now spouting lewd jokes?

"If you don't have it, you don't have it. Why are you yelling?" Sasha looked disappointed.

You're disappointing my bubble teapot!

V's lips twitched, and he decided to change the subject.

"Mann really fired you?"

"Haha, just kidding, but they really intend to let me rest for a while. They said they would work hard to earn money, and once they have earned 50, they will install an exoskeleton for me. However, the money will be considered a loan, and I will have to work like a slave for them to pay it back after I recover."

"I see." V nodded. "You have a group of good friends."

“Yes, I’m probably the luckiest person in the world.” Sasha’s eyes lit up; that’s what hope looks like.

As V was sighing, Sasha said coquettishly, "But they also said that if I successfully get you to support me, they won't have to work themselves to the bone. So think about it again. Although I'm only half usable, my fingers and tongue are really flexible."

"Damn it, is this never going to end?!"

"Haha, after all, it's really fun to tease a beautiful woman like you!"

After lunch, V arranged for a hovercar to take Sasha home.

In the afternoon, she had a heated negotiation with biotechnology representative Joanne Koch, which reportedly ended badly, with the noise heard throughout the 66th floor.

That night, V put on the Grim Reaper mask and took down another Vortex Gang stronghold.

The second day, the third day, every day was the same; the life of a corporate employee is just that simple, unpretentious, and boring.

On the fourth day, her negotiations with Joanne Koch finally came to a conclusion.

Biotechnology gave up the locust farm outside Night City and the entire synthetic meat production line, and Arasaka also provided Biotechnology with a security force consisting of 500 samurai and 100 Takeda-class mechs.

Arasaka's main business is security services, and no one can find fault with that.

Of course, a team of 500 people is nothing to the company. Michiko Arasaka is someone who eats real meat and drinks real water, and doesn't care about locust farms or synthetic meat at all.

The reason for the exchange was simply to send a signal to the outside world: Arasaka and the School of Life Sciences are now in cahoots, and anyone else who wants to take action against the two should think twice.

Although everyone in Night City hates Arasaka, the fact that everyone hates him speaks volumes about Arasaka's strength.

Now that Arasaka has raised his banner, the encirclement of biotechnology has naturally come to a halt. With Abernathy's help, Comto and Zeta Technologies have also joined the alliance between Arasaka and Biotechnology. However, everything has its order, and Comto and Zeta Technologies arrived a step later, losing the initiative and only able to pick up scraps to satisfy their cravings.

Michiko Arasaka was satisfied with the current outcome. It wasn't that she didn't want to be the leader, but as a dove within Arasaka, she wanted to be the leader of the alliance, not the overlord. Her goal was to build a new interest group headed by Arasaka, instead of the current situation where large companies fought each other like monkeys waging wars among themselves.

She lost her father in the war, and she understands that kind of pain.

So Michiko Arasaka praised V once again for making everything happen, but remained silent about Abernathy.

This is undoubtedly a signal.

V instantly became the most sought-after celebrity in Arasaka, with everyone vying to curry favor with her. Only Abernathy smashed a total of seventeen desks.

"That bitch! That bitch! I'm going to kill her, kill her right now!"

Abernathy was born into a wealthy family, had a smooth life from childhood, received higher education, and possessed extremely high intelligence.

But she never encountered any setbacks.

Today, for the first time, she tasted the bitterness of failure and jealousy.

I cannot lose, and I will never lose!

Abernathy's face twisted in pain: "If you send that thing out, I'm going to die tonight!"

His subordinate, sweating profusely, stammered, "But that thing isn't very stable yet; it needs some time to be debugged."

"Debugging, debugging, it's all debugging every day! I didn't pay you guys so much money to just keep debugging. If you like debugging so much, go back to debugging your mother!" Abernathy said through gritted teeth, "I don't care if it's stable or not, even if it breaks down after one use, it doesn't matter. We have to move out tonight, we have to take down V, or you can die, understand?"

"Yes, everything is as you wish, Ms. Abernathy."

Chapter 14 Encounter

Night, Watson Industrial Zone.

V walked out of a building, drinking a can of beer as he dialed Joanne Koch's number.

"I've sent you the location, come and pick it up."

"Damn it, here we go again! I can't shut this down any more times!"

"Isn't more experimental material always better?"

"But you can't send over five hundred madmen from the Whirlpool Gang in seven days!"

"understood."

Joanne Koch had just breathed a sigh of relief when V continued:

"Starting tomorrow, I will switch to sending street cleaners."

"Damn, that's not what I meant..."

V chuckled and hung up the phone.

She is in a good mood.

On the one hand, because sufficient experimental materials would help in the development of the nano-repair solution, she probably wouldn't have to wait until 2077; on the other hand, with the strong support of the Vortex Gang, her hacking skills had improved significantly.

According to the system's detection, her intelligence level has increased from 9 to 14. Not only has her RAM capacity increased by 1 point, but her computing power has also increased significantly. As long as she wreaks havoc on a few more Vortex Gang locations, she is confident that she can raise her intelligence to 15 points and reach the extraordinary level.

The five indicators used to assess an individual's abilities are physical, intellectual, reaction, composure, technical, and self-assessment procedures, with each indicator having a maximum score of 20.

3 points for a newbie, 9 points for an expert, 15 points for a pro, and 20 points for a legend.

V doesn't know who designed this system, but everyone is using it.

Who could blame us for the complete collapse of the internet back then? Not only was a lot of data lost on the other side of the Great Firewall, but even history was lost.

Drummond's car arrived, and V got in.

"Let's go back."

"Yes."

The vehicle drove smoothly along the road, from the gloomy, dark Watson Industrial Zone to the brightly lit company square.

"Old De."

"I'm here."

"In just one month, his intelligence increased from 3 to 14, and his hacking skills went from zero to the point where he could wipe out a gang's stronghold. What level is that?"

Drumman paused for a few seconds before giving his answer.

"Unprecedented, and unbelievable."

Really?

V was not surprised by this answer.

She also noticed that her growth rate was a bit too fast, especially in terms of computing power, which was terrifying. You have to know that the Vortex Gang is by no means weak. They have undergone high-intensity cybernetic modifications and naturally take precautions against network intrusions. However, their ICE is useless in V's eyes. In just one second or even less, V can easily crack their data matrix.

V's only auxiliary prosthetic is the "Arasaka Type IV Network Access Module". Even the Arasaka Type IV is not a prosthetic specifically designed for network hacking. It is more like a CPU in a computer, providing comprehensive support for network intrusion. The main source of computing power is still V's brain.

Brain, can you believe it?

In this age of widespread cybernetic implantation, the original human body has always been synonymous with frailty. This is not prejudice, but a fact.

So the ability to crack advanced ICE behavior using only brainpower is even stranger than Saburo Arasaka being a black man.

Am I really gifted?

Or is it because I'm starting over, that I'm different from others?

Without Relic holding him back, how could his brain be so strong?

What on earth is happening to me?

V fell into deep thought.

Delaman's car drove into the company square. Even at night, the square was still brightly lit. The streets formed by the roundabout were lined with the super skyscrapers of various companies, while the inner side was a memorial park with pedestrian streets and sky bridges. Gun shops, clothing stores, and restaurants were also available. Above all of this, two huge holographic goldfish, one red and one blue, kept rotating, symbolizing the flow and the future, and also commemorating the past and suffering.

Indeed, the memorial park was built to commemorate the countless victims of the nuclear bombing. It was once a place for people to express their grief, but over time, it eventually became a paradise of consumerism.

The square is always bustling with people, including corporate employees, NCPD members, and even fully armed corporate security guards. This makes it clear that the so-called prosperity is nothing more than a facade built on capital, and peace and order have never been a part of Night City.

V sighed with emotion, looked out the window, and then froze.

It's so quiet.

There wasn't a single car on the street, and not a single person in the park.