2077: V really knows how awesome he is

As he spoke, he noticed the lizard by the door and his eyes widened in surprise: "What... what is this?"

Bridget was scanning the room when he glanced at it and said, "A lizard, looks like a species from the Lesser Andres Islands."

"An animal? Which tastes better, it or chicken?"

"There are probably only ten of these left in the whole world."

Placid's eyes lit up immediately: "Then I must try it."

As he spoke, he grabbed the lizard by the neck and killed the poor little creature with a single stroke, then stuffed the bloody mess into the inside pocket of his expensive suit.

"Damn, that thing is priceless, and you actually want to eat it!" Even Bridget couldn't stand Placid's bizarre cursing, but he only cursed once: "Get down to business, go get the Relic chip!"

As she finished speaking, a safe popped out from the floor in the corner of the room. Bridget pulled out her personal data cable and plugged it in. A few seconds later, the safe opened slowly with a hiss, revealing a high-tech container made of a new material.

The container was 60 centimeters long, 50 centimeters wide, and 50 centimeters high, and it looked like a large suitcase.

Placid grabbed the container, looked at the display screen, and excitedly read, "Biochip integrity 100%, that's it, we did it!"

Bridget pulled back the data cable: "Let's go!"

The two ran towards the elevator, only to find to their surprise that it had descended sometime earlier and was now ascending again.

"Damn it, what's going on?!" Placid cursed.

Bridget glanced at the security camera at the Konpaku Building and instantly turned pale with fright: "Arasaka, Arasaka Yorinobu is back!"

Placid was also taken aback, his forehead immediately covered in cold sweat: "What... what do we do?"

"Hide!"

Where are you hiding?

Bridget was frantic, pacing around in circles: "Fuck you, look for it, you idiot!"

However, the penthouse suite features an open design, emphasizing a wide and unobstructed view. The two searched for a long time but couldn't find a hiding place. In the end, V couldn't bear to watch any longer and helped them open the hidden door in the TV wall.

Sure enough, without anyone reminding them, the two old black men went looking for it on their own.

“This is for maintenance… but how did it open by itself?” Bridget finally realized something was wrong.

Placid didn't care about any of that. As the elevator approached the hundredth floor, the once arrogant man was now trembling with fear: "Forget everything else, boss, let's get in! Arasaka Yorinobu is coming!"

Bridget's expression tightened, and he finally gave up thinking and squeezed into the small maintenance space behind the TV wall with Placid.

V's calm voice came through the communicator: "Time?"

“Arasaka Yorinobu arrived at the top suite 12 seconds later, and the airship arrived at the top helipad 33 seconds later.”

"Alright, the error is within the acceptable range. Let the blackfish become the audience."

The hidden door to the video wall slowly closed, and both Bridget and Placid saw shock and fear in each other's eyes.

"Boss, did you do this?" Placid asked in a low voice.

“No!” Bridget said through gritted teeth.

"Then how could this door...?"

"Something's not right. There are other people. There must be other people!"

Who else?

Just as Placid was about to ask that question, the lights in the penthouse suite suddenly came on, the elevator doors opened with a ding, and Arasaka Yoriyuki walked out aggressively, followed by his tall and burly bodyguard.

"Damn it, it's Adam Hammer! We're dead! We're absolutely dead!" Placid trembled like a dehydrated fish, his dark face covered in large beads of sweat.

"Shut up! Otherwise we'll really die. This glass panel doesn't block out sound!"

The two of them dared not even breathe, clenching their teeth tightly.

Compared to their tension, the communication was eerily calm.

"The hovercraft has landed, and the whale has surfaced. Stride length 0.7, pace 1, 22 meters from the helipad to the top suite, three staircases, 55 steps, expected to reach the calf in 38 seconds."

Arakasaka Yorinobu paced back and forth in the room, irritated: "Have they arrived yet?"

The room's AI replied, "Just arrived at the helipad, on my way."

"Report the calf's physical parameters."

"Blood pressure 162, heart rate 141, sympathetic nerve activation, increased secretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline."

“If you’re too nervous, you’ll ejaculate prematurely,” V said in the communicator. “Koch, cool down the baby whale.”

“Received,” Joanne Koch replied. “Change the air circulation system to directional ventilation, fan speed 3, diphenhydramine 60, doxylamine 120.”

"Don't go too far, we still have to watch the baby whale's performance later."

"Don't worry, these two medications are for blocking, not for releasing. The more you suppress it now, the stronger it will be when it erupts. I guarantee our young man will be harder than steel bars in a moment."

"Okay, you're the expert, I'll listen to you."

As a gentle breeze swept over him, Arasaka Yorinobu gradually calmed down.

He calmly sat down on the sofa, unscrewed the bottle of red wine, took a sip, and even picked up his tablet to reply to Evelyn's message.

Arasaka Yorinobu suddenly realized that his father wasn't so scary after all, but why was that?

After thinking about it carefully, he realized that he had grown up.

I've been through so much, and I'm completely different now. Today, I'm not afraid of anything anymore!

"The whale has arrived."

Dengdengdeng.

The first person to descend the stairs was a middle-aged bodyguard, followed by the elderly Saburo Arasaka.

Even with prior warning, gasps still filled the communication channel. This frail old man was none other than one of the highest beings in the world, possessing a human appearance yet transcending humanity—a god!

Yoriyuki Arasaka continued tapping away on the tablet without even looking up.

Saburo Arasaka slowly descended the stairs, his hands behind his back, looking up as he surveyed the room's layout and furnishings.

Neither the father nor the son looked at each other; they did not exchange any words or communication, yet they were engaged in a silent confrontation.

Saburo Arasaka's bodyguards dutifully began scanning every corner of the room. When they got to the TV wall, Bridget and Placid held their breath in tension.

“Should we stop him?” Meredith Stock asked.

“No need,” V replied. “The Gambit Building underwent a hardware upgrade a few days ago. They purchased the latest polymer quartz glass from Comtasia to replace the old optical lenses and projectors.”

"What do you mean?"

"That means this glass is not only strong, but it can also block most optical scans. Unless acoustic scanning is used instead, this bodyguard will not be able to see these two audience members at all," Xu Zhong replied proudly.

Sure enough, the bodyguard's scan yielded no results, and he quickly moved on to the next location.

"Damn, Chinese glass is amazing!" Meredith Stock exclaimed in admiration. "I'll get one for my office too!"

“And my lab,” Joanne Koch added.

Xu Zhong was very loyal: "Leave it to me."

At this moment, the conversation between the father and son began.

Saburo Arasaka was the first to give up, because he saw the large potted plant display at the entrance of the penthouse suite.

"Night City is as crude as ever. We should put an animal here to neutralize the energy. Michiko is still too young."

Now that the outcome has been decided, Arasaka Yorinobu no longer intends to remain silent.

He put down the tablet and said coldly, "Michiko does have a lot to learn, but her father is dead, and her only grandfather, who should have protected and taught her, has ignored her and abandoned her alone in Night City for decades. You have no right to reprimand your granddaughter!"

“I don’t like her. She grew up in America, and her mother was just a lowly Japanese-American. I’m already being kind enough to give her Arasaka’s business in Night City.”

Arasaka Yorinobu's face was full of disgust: "Your arrogance is as repulsive as ever."

Saburo Arasaka didn't answer, but said to the bodyguard who was still scanning, "Let's talk alone."

The bodyguard quickly turned around: "Lord Arasaka, I haven't completed the full scan yet."

"No need, this is my son, I trust him."

The bodyguard bowed: "Should I retrieve the stolen items?"

"Leave it to me, you can go."

"Yes."

The bodyguard headed towards the elevator, and Arasaka Yoriyuki gave Adam Heavy Hammer a wink. The living legend then entered the elevator with the bodyguard and left.

"The main event is coming," V announced over the comms. "Kochi."

“Don’t worry, I’m keeping an eye on it.” Joanne Koch calmly gave the order: “Switch to circulating air, speed 2, monitor the calf’s body parameters, hydrochlorothiazide 25, prepare for an erection.”

“You’ve grown up.” Saburo Arasaka was very satisfied with Yoriyuki Arasaka’s composure. There weren’t many people who could remain unmoved under his pressure.

Arakasaka Yorinobu, however, showed no appreciation: "We've already agreed that you won't interfere in my affairs anymore!"

Saburo Arasaka said slowly, his hands behind his back, "You think I wouldn't know I lost something?"

“I know you know,” Arasaka Yorinobu scoffed, “but I don’t care at all.”

"The calf's blood pressure begins to rise, and its sympathetic nervous system is reactivated."

“Now!” Joanne Koch seized the opportunity: “EPO20! Codeine 15!”

Arasaka Yorinobu had already finished speaking, but a sudden surge of irritation made him add, "I fucking don't care!"

Saburo Arasaka was visibly surprised, as this was the first time his son had ever sworn in front of him.

"If your deceased mother saw how rude you are, she would be very disappointed."

"Don't mention my mother!"

Arasaka Yorinobu grabbed a bottle of sake and smashed it on the ground. He stood up abruptly, his eyes red, and roared, "That's your problem! Arrogance! You think everyone has to obey you, but let me tell you, I don't, not in the past, not now, and not in the future!"

“Holy crap, his blood pressure is 180.” Joanne Koch laughed: “Saburo Arasaka is such a great help. He might drive Rai Xuan crazy without me even having to lift a finger.”

That was the original storyline, but now, V prefers to take control of the future.

“Lai Xuan, you have no idea what you’re doing,” Saburo Arasaka said earnestly.

"Hmph, the same old story, the whole world is your enemy, isn't it?"

“That’s right, the whole world is our enemy except me. And yet you want to hand over our achievements to the Westerners, to the Chinese—to those outsiders with our future.”

"This has nothing to do with the future!" Arasaka Yorinobu interrupted his father. "Besides, who says the future has to belong to you? Everyone has the right to choose, everyone has their own future, and we are no different from them. But you, you only care about yourself and your twisted conspiracy!"

“You’re wrong. They are different from me. Most people are pedantic and foolish. There must be someone to rule them.”

"No, you're wrong. It's you who deprived people of their right to education, you who made them ignorant, because only in this way can you maintain your rule. If you gave people the same resources, they would replace you!"

Saburo Arasaka's eyes turned cold: "I created this empire with my own hands, is it wrong for me to maintain my rule?"

Arasaka Yorinobu also refused to back down: "Your empire is full of suffering and tragedy. I can't stand it. Is it wrong for me to overthrow you for the sake of the people?"

“This empire raised you.” Saburo Arasaka stepped forward slowly, stopped in front of the TV wall, and said in a low voice, “I knew this day would come. Your shamelessness would cross my bottom line sooner or later.”

"Where do you think this shamelessness comes from?" Arasaka Yorinobu pointed at his father: "It's inherited from your genes!"

Saburo Arasaka did not offer any rebuttal, but instead straightened up.

At this moment, he was no longer a father; he had transformed back into a god who had abandoned all emotions.

God said, “I have always been tolerant of you, but betrayal is intolerable.”

Arasaka Yorinobu stopped moving: "You're going to kill me?"

“No,” God said. “I will imprison you, and you will never see the sun again. You will spend your life in regret. When you die, you will clearly realize one fact—your life was meaningless, even your regrets were meaningless.”

Arasaka Yorinobu trembled slightly.

"His breathing quickened, his pupils contracted, and adrenaline began to surge. Oh no, Arasaka Yorinobu is scared!"

V immediately shouted, "Koch, stop him!"

“I’m doing it, I’m doing it!” Joanne Koch quickly adjusted the drug’s ingredients and ratios, but it didn’t have a noticeable effect: “It’s already at its limit. Increasing the dosage further could trigger Lai Xuan’s health monitoring system and leave evidence in his blood! I can’t make a decision, V, do you want to take a gamble?”

V did not answer.

“V!” Joanne Koch asked again, “Want to take the gamble?”

"Wait a little longer!" V gritted his teeth.

"There's no time left. Medicine can only help; it can never truly control people's hearts!"