2077: V really knows how awesome he is

She looked out the car window. Although it was a bustling street, she felt completely detached from it all.

"Without friends or enemies, having lost all connections and no longer having anything to do with others, is this liberation or exile? Those who helped me, encouraged me, bound me, and hindered me are gone. Am I still the same person I used to be?"

V began to think about things she had never thought about before, but before she could come up with an answer, a phone call suddenly came in.

The other party seemed to have high privileges, as the call was connected automatically without V's consent.

A stern-faced man appeared on V's prosthetic eye projection, impatiently demanding, "V, where are you? Have you forgotten today's routine meeting? The counterintelligence team is waiting for you!"

V was so surprised that his mouth dropped open: "Jenkins? You recognize me?"

"Have you been obsessed with black lace? Of course I know you! I personally don't advocate interfering in employees' personal lives, but knowing there's a meeting today and still daring to go this far..." Jenkins sneered, "Wow, V!"

V: ...

"Get back here right now!"

The phone hangs up.

V felt a mix of emotions.

The good news is that someone in this city still remembers her; the bad news is that this person is not quite the same as she expected.

Well, friends will forget you, enemies will forget you, but your boss will never.

Whether you've traveled through time or been reborn, as long as you're alive, even if you run to the ends of the earth, your boss will call you back to work!

This damn working life!

However, it's good that someone remembers.

So let's embark on a journey to revisit familiar places, in every sense of the word.

"Old De, Arakazaka Tower!"

V curled the corners of his mouth.

------------

Municipal center, company square.

"Ding-dong, welcome to Arasaka Tower, Vice-President V."

The friendly greeting from the mechanical female voice made V feel momentarily disoriented.

Compared to last time, the greeting now includes the title "V Vice-Minister V," and she no longer carries the X-MOD2 baseball bat.

Why would someone with a good education choose a street weapon like a baseball bat?

V felt it was because she was fed up with too much red tape.

As Jack said, she lost everything when she was fired from the company, including her constraints. Deep down, she craved destruction and chaos. While a life of conformity was certainly stable, she truly desired thrilling adventures.

As a result, he ended up back where he started, once again becoming a "company dog" that everyone both envied and hated.

The last choice has proven to be a mistake, so should we correct it this time?

There's nothing wrong with following the rules, right? Doesn't Mrs. Wells often say "peace is a blessing"?

With the advantage of "knowing the future", I can definitely help Jenkins defeat Abernathy. In this way, Jenkins will advance further, and I can also sit on the throne of the counterintelligence department. When that time comes, even if I can't use the combat prosthetic body, I can still rest easy.

After all, power is the most powerful weapon in the world.

V walked toward the elevator.

I passed by an operating terminal that was attached to the wall, and there was a camera directly above it.

It's something like a suggestion box. Employees can leave messages through this terminal, thus directly communicating with senior management and making requests and suggestions to the company.

Of course, that's just a nominal statement. Johnny said that this approach was already outdated around 2020 and eventually became a tool for "loyalty testing." It's something that has long been thrown into the dustbin of history, an ancient relic among ancient relics.

By 2077, almost no company would engage in this kind of formalism anymore, except for Arasaka.

After all, the leader of Arakaza, Saburo Arakaza, has lived for 150 years. It's probably a case of old people appreciating each other.

150 years.

V couldn't help but sigh.

She couldn't understand Saburo Arasaka in the past, but now she can understand him a little.

Watching familiar faces grow old and pass away one by one, until he was left all alone, Saburo Arasaka must have pondered the "meaning of existence."

Just like her, if no one in the world knew her, would she still be the same person?

That's why Saburo Arasaka loves his family so much. Even though his son, Yoriyuki Arasaka, challenges his authority time and time again, and even steals the Relic chip from him, he is always willing to give him a chance to correct his mistakes.

V stepped into the elevator with one foot, paused for a moment, and then stepped back out.

She walked toward the suggestion box.

He pulled the personal connector from his wrist and deftly plugged it into the terminal.

The Arasaka Tower lobby was bustling with people, but at this moment everyone stopped and looked at V in surprise.

They couldn't believe that anyone would actually dare to voice their opinions to the company!

Isn't she afraid of being fired by the company?

click!

The camera above the terminal lowered and stared directly at V's handsome face.

Then, the cameras in all directions in the hall turned around, like a swarm of ants disturbed, reacting in unison to the intrusion and looking in V's direction.

The entire hall was deathly silent, creating a palpable sense of oppression.

but……

V just can't help but touch things a little.

Peace is certainly a blessing, but she didn't return to 2076 just to enjoy it.

She wants to make up for past regrets, undo past tragedies, reclaim everything that belongs to her, and show everyone how amazing she is!

If she can't do that, she'd rather die in a roadside trash can.

So, come on.

I will transform my broken body into a raging fire, and see how many people I can illuminate this time!

Does Saburo Arasaka love his family?

Bullshit! He's nothing but a parasite trying to possess another body in order to achieve immortality!

V chuckled and typed his message on the terminal.

"The Arasaka Tower is too dull. I suggest playing some music. I recommend The Rebel Path, and the cello version is the best."

After finishing writing, V pointed the V sign at his own camera, flicked his wrist to retrieve the data cable, and walked confidently into the elevator.

Only after the elevator doors closed did everyone in the lobby breathe a sigh of relief.

They communicated with their eyes, and even though they had a thousand words in their hearts, they dared not utter a single comment.

Because in the Arasaka Corporation, or rather in the entire Night City and even the entire world of 2076, "the supremacy of power" is an unshakeable truth.

No matter what V did, she was someone who could take the elevator to the 60th floor or above, which was an unattainable goal for 90% of the world's population. As a lower-level employee at the bottom of Arasaka Tower, she would never dare to criticize her behavior.

But lower-level employees dare not, while some employees who are not so low-level dare.

The elevator doors opened, and V walked toward the counterintelligence department's office.

This is the 62nd floor, where the Counterintelligence Department, Special Operations Department, and some other departments are located. Simply put, this is where the company's upper management is located, but these so-called upper management are nothing more than higher-level employees. Although they have good salaries and benefits, they are ultimately just servants employed by Arasaka Corporation, no different from lower-level employees.

The company might give you a mansion and a luxury car today, but they could kick you out tomorrow.

The higher you climb, the more you'll understand this.

Therefore, the company's top executives on the 62nd floor cannot stop; they will strive to climb higher and enter the board of directors and the decision-making level.

Therefore, they are willing to commit crimes, murder, and arson without hesitation.

But V understands that even if he enters the decision-making level, he still cannot change his fate, because there are still direct members of the Arasaka family above him. They are the true controllers of Arasaka, and everyone else is just a pawn and a plaything in their hands.

Saburo Arasaka controls the Arasaka headquarters in Japan, while in North America, it is controlled by Michiko Arasaka, Saburo Arasaka's granddaughter and a third-generation member of the Arasaka family.

V was recalling the structure of Arasaka Corporation when he was unexpectedly stopped by several people as soon as he stepped out of the elevator.

One of the leaders looked arrogant, while the others, both men and women, all gave V a gloating look.

"What's up?" V raised an eyebrow.

"No, I just wanted to see you. I've met plenty of bold people, but I've never seen anyone bold enough to give feedback to the company. By the way, our Special Operations Department is quite short-staffed, why don't you switch jobs and come work for us?"

"Stop joking, this idiot might get fired tomorrow, what's the point of poaching her?"

"Haha, that's true. He's supposed to be the V deputy director of the counterintelligence department? I think he's just a stupid dog."

"This silly dog's face is actually quite nice, and it seems to be natural. Come and be with me after you get fired from your company."

"You can't find any face you want now, are you stupid to still want to keep her as a mistress?"

"You're the idiot. Once I'm tired of playing with her, I'll sell her to Cloudtop. I can make a good profit that way."

Wow, that's clever!

"Hahaha!"

The group burst into laughter, and V laughed too, though he was furious.

It's true that she can't use combat prosthetics, but this isn't the street.

This is Arasaka.

There are rules for the streets, and there are rules for the Arasaka.

"You know I'm Deputy Director V?" V said coldly. "A bunch of ordinary employees from the Special Operations Group dare to block my way? Who gave you the guts! Believe me, I can submit a report and you'll all be out of here in less than ten minutes. You think you're so important to me? Fuck your mother!"

The smug expressions on the faces of the group of people instantly froze. The Special Operations Department was a department personally authorized by Michiko Arasaka, and it had been doing very well lately and was highly regarded, to the point that the subordinates had become arrogant and complacent.

But as I said before, Arasaka believes in "power above all else." Most people are afraid of retaliation from the Special Operations Department, so they will try to keep quiet. But if they encounter someone like V who is very businesslike, they will be the ones who suffer in the end.

"Um...we...we're not..."

"If you don't want me to report this, then get out of here right now!"

"Yes, yes." The group quickly made way for them and bowed again. The woman who had said she wanted to take care of V was so scared that she cried and kept apologizing carefully while her eyes were filled with tears: "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

V took a few steps forward and saw Jenkins leaning against the corridor, looking in their direction.

"Hey, Jenkins," V greeted him, "You saw me and aren't going to help me?"

“If I had shown up, I wouldn’t have seen this good show. Those bastards in the Special Operations Department need to be taught a lesson.” Jenkins, who was always serious, walked towards the conference room first: “Let’s go. I’ve made up my mind. You’re coming to Europe with me on a business trip tomorrow.”

"what?!"

Chapter 4 A different road

The routine counterintelligence meeting was uneventful, consisting mainly of representatives from various offices reporting on their work, with Jenkins, the head of the department, rebuking them one by one.

More than two hours were spent in this kind of verbal battle, which is quite efficient. On the other hand, this format also tightened the screws in each office, making them dare not slack off in their future work, thereby improving efficiency.

So, is it true that the lower the efficiency, the higher the efficiency?

V wanted to laugh, but held it in.

She was once one of those "tightened screws," but after going through so many ups and downs, not only her combat skills, but also her composure and reaction speed are now at their peak. Jenkins's superficial words can't fool her at all.

After the routine meeting ended and everyone dispersed, Jenkins called on a few people to stay, including V, who was the second-in-command.

"Please sit down. If you want to drink, just go to the liquor cabinet and get some yourself."

Jenkins' personal office was even larger than the previous conference room. Although the host seemed quite approachable, everyone was more tense than before.

Small matters are addressed in large meetings, and big matters in small meetings. If they don't even understand such a simple principle, then all their years of work have been in vain.

Routine meetings are just playing house with children; now it's time for adults to have a real conversation.

Sure enough, Jenkins startled everyone as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Tomorrow, Vice Minister V and I will be going to Europe on a business trip. We'll be leaving everything in your care while we're gone."

"So sudden?" Everyone discussed among themselves, and one person couldn't help but ask, "But what about Director Abernathy? She and her Special Operations Department have been eyeing us covetously. If you leave, no one will be able to stand up to her, and she will definitely take a big bite out of us."