2077: V really knows how awesome he is

"Okay, I can work with you one more time, but just this once!"

V shook his head: "Sorry, I suddenly don't want to work with you anymore."

"Damn it, you're messing with me!" Meredith Stock was furious. She'd already taken her pants off, and now he was saying he wasn't in the mood? Who could stand that?

"Don't be angry, I just think you don't have the right bargaining chips."

"Of course I can!"

"Really? Give me an example."

"I……"

Meredes Stock got stuck.

She's not Anthony; she can't sell out company interests without any burden, and she doesn't have much to offer.

"Damn it!" Meredith Stock knew V was deliberately driving up the price, but she had no choice but to give in. After all, she'd already taken her pants off, and once her desire was aroused, she couldn't stop.

"Tell me, what do you want? As long as it's not too outrageous, I... I can have it! But remember, just this once, only this once!"

"It's a real pity, I was really looking forward to working with you long-term."

Meredith Stock remained silent, her face dark. She would be an idiot to believe V's nonsense again.

Seeing that the blonde, slicked-back-haired woman was about to turn red, V stopped teasing her: "In exchange, I want military-grade exoskeleton technology."

"Damn, impossible! That's a core project of the military science program; we've staked our entire future on it!"

“You can take your time to think it over. Let’s deal with the immediate problem first.” V looked into the distance: “They’re here.”

At the edge of the horizon, where the sky meets the earth, Ara-saka's convoy sped towards them, kicking up dust.

Meredith Stock, holding his binoculars, scoffed, "The moment the female lead appears, the male lead swarms around like a fly that's smelled shit. That bastard Anthony is right behind her."

Connecting to the perspective of the unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, V spotted a convoy of military technology vehicles approaching from another direction.

The Arasaka convoy traveled from north to south, while the military science convoy traveled from east to west. They crisscrossed to form a cross, turning the vast badlands into a chessboard.

V represents the person who makes the move.

“When are you going up?” V asked Meredith Stock.

"No rush." ​​The blonde, slicked-back-haired woman lit a cigarette. "Let them fight like dogs first."

The Arasaka team unexpectedly encountered the military technology team, and a fierce battle ensued.

Gunshots and shouts rose and fell, and the meaning of life was insignificant at that moment.

Arakasaka was unprepared, but his military technology was well-prepared. The difference in skill was immediately apparent, and Arakasaka's forces were quickly annihilated. This is a classic example of a defeated army collapsing like a mountain.

“Sometimes I feel sentimental,” Meredith Stock suddenly said.

V asked curiously, "What are you feeling sentimental about?"

“I’m struck by how terrifying Arasaka was,” Meredith Stock replied. “Even when fighting to the last man, Arasaka’s soldiers didn’t flee. Why don’t we have soldiers like that in military technology?”

Before V could answer, a burst of laughter suddenly rang out.

She and Meredith Stock looked in the direction of the voice and saw Anthony wearing combat gear, laughing triumphantly: "Haha, I'm fucking awesome! What Arasaka elites? They're no match for me!"

V shrugged and said to Meredith Stock, "Now you know why, right?"

Meredith Stock stubbed out his cigarette hard: "Got it, another reason to get rid of that bastard Anthony."

"Let's go, it's your turn."

As soon as V finished speaking, a sudden change occurred on the battlefield below.

Suddenly, the doors of Arasaka's mobile experimental vehicle swung open, and a huge figure leaped out from within. Its central part was a human, but its limbs had all been replaced with huge, thick metal limbs.

As soon as it appeared, it launched an attack, smashing a military-technological demon dog armored vehicle to pieces with a single, deafening punch.

The military technology soldiers next to it immediately raised their guns and fired at it, but with a hum, the huge protrusions on its arms lit up with red light, forming an invisible barrier in front of it to block the bullets. This also caused the military technology soldiers to drop their guns, which turned in the air and then spat fire at their former master.

Da da da da da da!

Gunfire continued unabated, and a group of military soldiers immediately fell. Anthony was horrified and quickly retreated into the armored vehicle, roaring into the comms: "A bunch of useless trash, get the hell out of here!"

The military soldiers moved again, but they were nothing more than toys for the monster. In less than a minute, Anthony's team had lost a third of its men.

V was incredibly surprised, because that "monster" was none other than David Martinez.

Damn, I even took S.A.S ...

"Hey, are you alright?" Meredith Stock's voice interrupted V's thoughts. The blonde, slicked-back-haired woman asked, "You're from Arasaka, how could you be scared by Arasaka's products?"

"No, it's a different problem."

Meredith Stock didn't press the issue, because she had more important things to confirm right now.

"That thing is?"

V nodded: "Prosthetic body."

"What is it using?"

"Gravity field weapon".

"Next-generation weapon?! Arasaka is fucking awesome!" Meredith Stock gritted his teeth, feeling both worried and happy. He was worried because Arasaka was one step ahead of military technology in product iteration, but happy because, judging from the current situation, that bastard Anthony would probably be out of commission without him having to lift a finger.

David drove the cybernetic robot and wreaked havoc, but after each attack he had to pause for a while so that the cybernetic robot could inject him with an inhibitor, causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood before he could move again.

Meredith Stock, a seasoned veteran, immediately saw through the situation: "Is the burden on the cybernetic body really that heavy? This is completely disregarding the user's humanity. The pilot will probably die after this battle, but that's fine too, I can suffer fewer losses."

V's face was ashen. She knew she should stick to her original plan, but she still stood up and prepared for battle.

Saving David wouldn't derail the plan too much; she just didn't want to have another stomachache.

V convinced herself, but before she could make a move, a slender figure rushed into the center of the battlefield.

It was a girl in light blue who skillfully weaved through the chaos. The monomolecular lines on her arms served as both weapons and grappling hooks, causing her to drift like a leaf in a stormy sea. In the end, she miraculously broke through the encirclement and tightly embraced the pilot of the cybernetic body center.

Meredith Stock was dumbfounded: "Holy crap, this works? Who is that woman? Is she a high-ranking ninja from Arasaka?"

“She’s not from Arasaka, nor from the Military Science Institute. This battle has nothing to do with them.” V sighed softly. “Her name is Lucy. The reason she’s fighting so hard is probably because she doesn’t want to be a cyber widow.”

"Cyber ​​Widow?" Meredith Stock looked at Lucy, who was trying to wake David. "Are they lovers?"

V nodded.

Meredith Stock couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Am I watching some ancient fantasy movie? Love? What's the use of that? This pilot has obviously been injected with psychotropic drugs, and the cybernetic body is further tearing at his nerves. He's a cybernetic psychopath now, his mind is full of killing, killing, killing. Forget about his girlfriend, even his own mother couldn't wake him up!"

"is it?"

"Of course! There's experimental data to back this up. We should trust science!"

V pointed to the battlefield, and Meredith Stock looked over, only to be shocked by his prosthetic eye.

David's eyes returned to tranquility after Lucy gave him a tender kiss.

Steel and flesh, young boys and girls, a breathtaking scene frozen in the air, like a masterpiece painted with humanity.

“Love is the best inhibitor.” V stood up. “Let your people go.”

Meredith Stock was taken aback: "Now? Wouldn't it be better to let the cybernetic robot kill all of Anthony's men?"

V shook his head: "He can't do it anymore."

"why?"

"Because although the prosthetic body is very strong, it is only controlled by a child."

As V said, the battle on the field has taken a turn for the better.

David regained his senses, but lost his indomitable courage.

He wanted to protect Lucy, but he couldn't reap lives without any burden, and was quickly overwhelmed by the professional soldiers with military technology.

The saying "whitewashing weakens it threefold" is roughly like this.

"Lucy, I'll hold them off, you go!"

"No, David, let's go together!"

Anthony snorted coldly: "Don't worry, none of you are getting away. Go! Blow them to pieces!"

"Yes!"

Several armored vehicles deployed their rocket launchers, and at a command, a deluge of rockets rained down.

David and Lucy's expressions changed drastically. They hugged each other tightly, waiting for the end to come.

But the roar of the engine pierced the darkness like thunder. A Nazaré motorcycle rushed into the battlefield, drifted, and stopped in front of the boys and girls. The rider, wearing a death mask, put one foot on the ground and raised one hand. As his eyes emitted a blue light, he fell into the battlefield of 0 and 1. The rockets in the sky were simultaneously destroyed by the ICE, emitting beeping sounds and exploding in the air.

"My God!" Lucy was utterly shocked. As a hacker, she knew best what had happened. Cracking double-digit numbers of ICE servers in an instant and uploading the self-destructing puppet—was this even humanly possible?

David, however, was overjoyed: "The Masked Lady!"

Masked Lady, what is that called?

V paused for a moment, then looked to his left with a serious expression.

Several military personnel crept over quietly, about to raise their guns to fire, when V gave them a single glance, and they all clutched their heads and collapsed to the ground, howling in pain.

Lucy's eyes widened. This was [Synaptic Melting], instantaneous, plural.

More military personnel rushed in from the right. V turned his head and glanced at them again. These soldiers, out of control, pointed their guns at their own heads and shot themselves in terror.

Lucy swallowed hard. This was [Self-Destruction], still instantaneous, and multiple times.

Anthony's main force regrouped and launched an attack from the front. V still glanced at him, and one after another, the military soldiers began to cough, bending over and spitting out their melted internal organs and prosthetic bodies.

It was a "collateral infection." Lucy breathed a sigh of relief; finally, there was something she knew how to do.

But V then instantly unleashed multiple instances of [Cyber ​​Overheat], causing the soldiers affected by [Collateral Infection] to explode with a loud bang, scattering debris everywhere.

Linked Puppet Program!?

Does this work too?

Never heard of it!

Is it still 2076 now?

Lucy decides to make peace and stop comparing herself to the "Masked Lady" because there is no comparison between humans and monsters.

V pulled out a pneumatic syringe, inserted it into his chest, and forcefully injected Type IV into his body to begin repairing the brain tissue damaged by the overload.

After her battle with Lieutenant James, her intelligence level reached 15 points. The reason she was able to wipe out most of the soldiers in the military science unit was because she activated "brain-computer interface overclocking" mode. In this state, she can temporarily ignore RAM limitations, but the cost is that her brain cells will die rapidly due to overwork, making it a typical double-edged sword.

Stop looking and get to work.

V said in the communications that an electromagnetic surge had occurred on the plains, and Meredith Stock's troops had deactivated their optical camouflage and were becoming visible one by one.

David and Lucy were both startled, but V calmly reassured them, "Don't panic, they're one of us."

own people?

David and Lucy looked ahead and saw the newly arrived military science unit attacking the previous military science unit. Their combat skills were extremely high, and their strength far exceeded that of the latter. They quickly gained the upper hand and launched a one-sided massacre.

"I...I surrender! I surrender! We're all from the same company, I have a wife and daughter, please spare my life!"

Anthony was dragged out of the car. He was no longer the high-spirited man he had been moments before. His face was covered in snot and tears, and he looked terrible.

Meredith Stock stepped forward and stomped on Anthony's face, then had one of his men insert a lie detector into his neural slot to begin the interrogation.

During this time, V asked about David's situation.

"How did you get into this state?"

David spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube, including how he installed Krenzikov and Mann's revenge operation.

"Are you all idiots? Do you think a bunch of street mercenaries like you can mess with Arasaka? Damn it, you're just causing me trouble. I should have just sent you to your deaths!"

David was so ashamed of his words that he couldn't lift his head. Lucy quickly came to his rescue, explaining, "They were just trying to be kind..."

"Good intentions gone wrong, it would have been better not to do it at all!" V glared at Lucy, almost scaring Lucy so much that she didn't dare to utter another word.

She didn't think her ICE was thicker than a soldier with military technology.

With a bang, Meredith Stock killed Anthony with his own hands.

"Great! I've wanted to do this for ages!" Meredith Stock walked over to V with a satisfied look and said, "We've got the confession and the brain chip. The evidence of Anthony and Abernathy's collaboration is conclusive. You can take it to your Miss Michiko and ask for credit."

Meredith Stock handed over the chip, but V did not take it.

“My men have been captured by Abernathy.”