From Gotham to Night City, my infamy is known to all.

It seems he's run out of options, so he's decided to play all the cards he can and gamble on luck.

That's really stupid, but it's also good, because now I have room to maneuver.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

The next second, the call connected, and a worried-looking Jenkins appeared in the upper left corner of his retina.

"Valerie, what's wrong?"

Are you still in the office?

"Yes, but I'm leaving soon."

"Wait there, I have some new findings, it would be best to discuss them in person."

"Later, I'll go first—"

"Now, if you want to live, wait there! See you in ten minutes."

Without waiting for a reply, she hung up the phone decisively.

Boom boom——

With a throttle press, Mizutani Jun sped off like a bird in flight.

I was going 80 miles per hour, and I was super excited!

Jenkins' clumsy trap, ironically, allowed her to glimpse the true nature of the truth.

Kangtao, Military Science, Biotechnology, Anti-Araizaka Alliance—she had figured out what the think tank was hiding, and she also understood why they forced Jenkins to sign a pledge—this fool was a pawn chosen after the power struggle among all parties!

Even the counterintelligence department was discarded as a pawn, all to cover up the truth.

Arakawa wanted to use the death of a senior executive to put an end to this matter and arrive at the "truth" that "there was a traitor among Arakawa's senior management."

Even if they know that's not the truth.

The "Summary of the Intelligence Department" issued after discussions between the board of directors and the Arasaka family is wrong, and it was deliberately wrong!

The culprit is almost certainly a high-ranking member of Arasaka's inner circle.

The correct conclusion is to look at it from the opposite perspective:

[The culprit is almost certainly not a high-ranking member of Arasaka's organization.]

This wasn't something Arasaka did, but he insisted on admitting it because admitting it was the best outcome; other, more likely outcomes were what Arasaka didn't want to accept!

After speeding all the way, Valerie went home first and took out a small device.

Then contact Jenkins and bring the device to his office as evidence.

Seeing Valerie rush into the office, Jenkins felt a rare pang of guilt: "What did you find out? Why the sudden rush?"

"I went to the Laisheng Bar."

Snapped!

The small device is automatically activated when it is placed on the table.

Jenkins' expression changed: "A signal jammer? What are you going to do?!"

Valerie has already gone to the Resurrection Bar, so she must already know she's been sold out. So this is... revenge!?

Can't you?

He had thought about it beforehand—this was an open conspiracy. Even if Valerie realized the truth, she was intelligent enough to make the right decision. What was she trying to do by suddenly pulling this stunt?

Chapter 317 Valerie's Astounding Wisdom!

"Don't be nervous. This little toy is used to block Arasaka Tower's AI and can provide 15 minutes of private conversation time."

Valerie's explanation eased Jenkins's mind a little, but only a little: "Is it necessary? This is my office, I have the highest authority. According to my settings, the AI ​​will automatically block itself when there are visitors."

"You've set it up, but that doesn't guarantee it will work. Don't forget, above you are senior directors, vice presidents, the board of directors, and the Arasaka family. Do you even have anything to do with the word 'highest'?"

Jenkins fell silent.

The power pyramid operates on the principle that senior management monitors subordinates, and subordinates in turn monitor their subordinates. In large companies, this is considered a given.

Valerie pulled up a chair, sat down with an air of authority, and said, "Time is limited, so let's get straight to the point. First of all, who came up with the terrible idea of ​​sending me to the Afterlife Bar? It was such a stupid idea, I don't think it was you."

Jenkins licked his teeth, feeling that the scheme had already reached this point, and there was no need to hide it anymore. He simply opened the drawer and took out the chip containing the "real-name whistleblower letter".

"This is--"

"It was given to you by my assistant, I know."

Valerie reached out and snatched the chip, quickly examining it.

"How did you know?!" Jenkins exclaimed in surprise.

Valerie answered as she read, "She's been acting really uncomfortable around me these past few days, like I'm about to kill her. That's when I started to suspect she was hiding something from me. I thought she'd messed up the work I assigned her again, but I never expected her to actually betray me."

Hmph… interesting. They were so certain they saw me heading towards the biotechnology building, suspecting I was a spy. Then they suspected I had an affair with that L, saying the people around him were my sisters, and that I might also have a connection to Kang Tao…

Tsk tsk tsk... You have quite the imagination, reporting me based on such flimsy evidence. But, it's enough, really.

As she spoke, a hint of murderous intent flashed in her eyes.

This evidence is ridiculous, but it's deadly enough in these extraordinary times—even if the company doesn't accept this testimony, it will still make a note of it in her file, and she will encounter many obstacles when she wants to get a promotion in the future.

They're here to kill her...

"I brought her out of the training camp because I thought she was relatively smart among all the idiots. It seems I overestimated her. Alright, I understand. Leave this to me."

Valerie took out the chip and casually tossed it back onto the table.

"Now that we've finished discussing personal matters, let's talk about business. You're dying, Jenkins. You're like a burning candle, getting shorter with each passing day, until you disappear completely in fifteen days."

"Gudong..."

Jenkins was taken aback by her soft tone, swallowed hard, and adjusted his tie.

“I know, I’ve already signed the pledge, you don’t need to tell me how critical this is.”

“That’s a trap,” Valerie said calmly.

"What!?"

“The pledge was a trap, and that emergency meeting was a trap too.” Valerie looked deeply into his eyes. “If you don’t believe me, go and investigate. Just follow your line of thinking—the damaged air convoy couldn’t have gone far; it must still be around Night City. Go and investigate. I assure you, you won’t find anything.”

"Valerie...stop beating around the bush! Just tell me what you've found out, don't act like if I die, the rest of the department won't have to die. We're all in this together!"

Jenkins couldn't sit still anymore; the once comfortable chair now felt like it had thorns, making him feel uncomfortable all over.

Valerie snorted and leaned back in her chair:

"Let me state the conclusion first. I've discovered that Hanako Arasaka is lying, and Abernathy is lying too. The so-called conclusions drawn from the Arasaka think tank and the super AI are simply lies—"

The probability of this sudden incident being orchestrated by Arasaka is extremely low; on the contrary, it's clearly aimed specifically at Arasaka!

"What!?" Jenkins was completely baffled. "This doesn't make sense. If Arasaka didn't do it, why are the higher-ups so insistent that there's a traitor within our ranks!?"

"Because this is the most advantageous outcome for Arakawa Company—"

Think about it: there's a traitor within Arasaka's organization, possibly colluding with other companies. He did this on his own, perhaps for personal gain, or perhaps to incite conflict between companies, but Arasaka was unaware of it; Arasaka is also a victim.

This is exactly the result the board wanted.

But there's a problem here. If Arasaka is to admit to this, he'll need at least one significant person's head, along with some supporting characters, to demonstrate his fury and silence the public and other companies.

"I...I...I don't understand. Why should I admit to something that wasn't done by Arasaka? Tell me more."

Jenkins tried to pour himself a drink, but his hands were shaking.

Valerie's eyes flashed, and she swung her hand, knocking the bottle out of his hand.

Snap—crash—

The bottle hit the ground, scattering shards of glass everywhere.

The crimson wine flowed freely, like a pool of dripping blood.

Jenkins gaped open.

Valerie spoke up before he could: "This is a matter of life and death, don't fucking drink anymore! You're not exactly a genius to begin with, if you keep numbing yourself, you might as well just wait to die!"

Jenkins' lips trembled uncontrollably, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Is there any justice in this?!

Is there no law left?!

The subordinate started scolding the leader!

He was furious and immediately decided... to let her finish speaking first.

"Then go ahead and say it...it'll make you seem more capable..."

Valerie withdrew her hand dismissively; if the other person still wasn't sober, she would have slapped him across the face.

"I'll first give you the existing intelligence, then I'll tell you some new intelligence, in order, so you won't have any trouble understanding—"

First, around 1:30 p.m. today, the Contau Power Plant was bombed, launching a targeted EMP attack towards the Sonora Mountains to the east, powerful enough to take down the airborne convoy.

Secondly, a joint convoy of military and biotechnology equipment went missing.

Third, the five major companies searched the entire eastern suburbs but couldn't find any clues. They couldn't even find a single bullet casing at the suspected site where the airborne convoy had crash-landed. This was a perfect crime.

Fourth, since they couldn't find any clues, they could only work backward from who benefited, who was the most suspicious, and who could do this silently, and found the most suspicious person—Arasaka.

Fifth, the deputy director of security operations at Kangtao appeared in the eastern suburbs, leading two other companies that had also suffered heavy losses, and together they surrounded the border checkpoint in Arasaka, where they are currently conducting a forced search.

These are things that have already happened, and you already know them.

Jenkins nodded obediently. After listening for a while, his mind became active, and he began to follow Valerie's train of thought.

"Next, I'll tell you something you don't know—"

Sixth, I noticed that the bombed power plant in Kanto was a negative asset, or even a burden. Occupying such a prime location, it incurred millions of euros in losses annually; its only purpose was to enhance the image of a certain leader who had returned home for a promotion.

Seventh, apart from the undeniable fact that the power plant was bombed, all other information is—listen carefully—all the information is what military technology and biotechnology themselves have said!

They claim their convoy and personnel are missing, but offer no leads. To date, there is no physical or eyewitness evidence to prove that their alleged attack actually occurred.

That was a floating convoy that fell from the sky and was then taken out of Night City. How could it not have left any trace?

But that's how it is now. The convoy vanished into thin air, without any signs of fighting or eyewitnesses. It just evaporated into thin air.

Then those three big companies insisted that Arasaka did it because they were all victims, only Arasaka benefited, and only Arasaka could have done it!

But the truth is—not like Sakiyama Rei is!

Valerie's eyes lit up.

Step by step, she unraveled the mystery, and the joy of solving it made her beam with delight.

"Assuming all seven points are true, there is one possibility that is so terrifying that the Arasaka think tank considered it but dared not write it in the report."

The group that the mercenaries jokingly called the Anti-Arasaka Alliance was not formed after the fact, but was planned in advance to deal with Arasaka together!

Think about it, there were nearly a hundred people in the joint convoy, but they left no trace of resistance or fighting. Could it be because—they didn't fight at all, or even had no need to fight?

He was saying that Kangtao suffered the most severe losses, having lost a power station that lost money every year.

They lost military and biological technologies, including war vehicles and cargo, but could not provide any evidence that their convoy had been attacked.

So, is it possible that the Kanto power plant was bombed by them, and that the joint convoy was not attacked, but simply stopped somewhere to create the illusion of a forced landing, and then turned around and left through the southern border controlled by military technology?

In this way, as long as military technology and biotechnology are employed, this convoy and its people can disappear without a trace. At worst, they can simply avoid coming to Night City again.

Jenkins was stunned. If this was the truth, then wouldn't that mean...

"Those three companies are putting on an act? They were targeting Arasaka from the start? They... they wanted to frame Arasaka, wait for Arasaka to deny it, wait for Arasaka... to retaliate!?"

"Yes! This is the most terrifying possibility, the one that Arasaka least wants to see—those three companies have been secretly working together all along, and this time they're targeting Arasaka."

They put on an act together, trying to create the image of a victim, forcing Arakawa to become the perpetrator, the great sinner who started the corporate war!

Once the Anti-Arasaka Alliance obtains a legitimate reason to declare war, Conto can launch a blitzkrieg attack from its homeland on Arasaka's headquarters in Japan. Meanwhile, a combined military and biotechnology force can attack Night City, and subsequently seize the Free State of Northern California, continuing the war of unification!

"This is impossible!" Jenkins exclaimed in shock. "What are they trying to do?! Arasaka has allies, and even if things go wrong, the Soviet Union's oil and gas companies and the European Space Agency won't let them do this!"

"Why not? Peizhuo Petrochemical is a potential ally of military science and biotechnology. Add Kangtao to the mix, and they'd be enough to wage a world war!"

Moreover, they didn't need to go to such extremes. If either side gained the upper hand, Arasaka's reputation and stock would plummet, shaking their dominance in Night City and even mainland Japan—something all members of the anti-Arasaka alliance would be happy to see!

"The Fifth Corporate War... They're going to destroy the world..."