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

"Alright, let's do everything we can to survive."

Tread-tap-

Valerie strode away, glancing back as she reached the door.

Jenkins understood what she meant and turned off the signal jammer, which was clearly a Dogtown product.

Valerie continued forward, her figure disappearing behind the door.

"Ding-dong, the visitor has left. There is one pending matter in your schedule—the special forces have assembled and are awaiting your next instructions."

"Biomonitoring has detected minor damage in your mouth. Would you like to call a healthcare professional?"

When only one person remained in the room, the AI ​​appeared on its own initiative.

Jenkins picked up a bottle of water, rinsed his mouth, and calmly replied, "No need."

"Understood. Please fill out the injury report. Did something unpleasant happen during the meeting just now? I noticed a broken wine bottle on your floor."

"It's nothing, the task was too heavy, and I was a little distracted."

After he casually filled out the injury report, Arasaka Tower's AI, with a high degree of anthropomorphism, comforted him:

"Director Jenkins, please take care of yourself. The Counterintelligence Department and the agents are still waiting for your leadership. Arasaka Corporation is a united and loving family. We join hands and form an unbreakable fortress to protect everyone within it."

As one's status rises, Arasaka Tower's AI attitude towards internal employees also changes. At the director level, the attitude is basically gentle and persuasive, constantly instilling various ideas beneficial to Arasaka.

It used to sound quite interesting, but now, Jenkins only felt a nausea and vomiting.

What a big family! In order to protect the interests of the "parents" at the top, they have to sacrifice "family members" like him who have worked hard for decades.

Such a family, oh…

Jenkins stood up and looked around the luxurious office, every piece of furniture of which he had personally arranged. He spent far more time here than at home.

Unfortunately, I'll be leaving soon.

"Don't worry, this was just an accident. After all... I'm inside such a sturdy fortress, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are inside the fortress and are absolutely safe!"

The AI's answer made him laugh out loud, but that smile will probably never reach his heart again.

"Go change into something appropriate. There's an important meeting later, and we'll take a hovercar there."

Valerie stepped out of the emergency exit and, smiling, gave instructions to her female assistant.

The female assistant, who had been feeling uneasy, felt her heart slowly settle down when she saw her gentle expression: "Okay, I'll go to the changing room right away. Do you need me to arrange for anyone to accompany you?"

"Yes, arrange three Emperor 620 Lagna cars and three teams of agents. Have them wait near the Rebirth Bar."

"Understood, I'll go right away."

After dismissing her female assistant, Valerie didn't return to her office but went to the restroom.

The floors were so clean they reflected light, the tiles were pristine white, and there was a cool, floral scent in the air. It's no exaggeration to say that most of the residents of Night City's homes weren't as comfortable as Arasaka's bathroom.

At the same time, this is one of the few places where employees can have some privacy.

Valerie went into a cubicle, turned around, and locked the door.

On the right side of the cubicle is a simple facial retouching device, next to which is an interface for diagnostic biological monitoring.

She brought her face close to the device, and the glass automatically switched on, reflecting her face, which was both heroic and beautiful.

"Let me see... I need to reapply lip balm. Night City's environment is terrible, much worse than Europe."

She did her makeup touch-up just like any other female employee, muttering to herself as she did so.

Then, she stared wide-eyed at herself in the mirror and said abruptly, "That's the truth, isn't it, Miss Valerie..."

Valerie remained silent in the mirror.

A few seconds later—she suddenly shook her head!

of course,

This is, after all, a material world; the reason the person in the mirror is shaking their head is because the person looking in the mirror is shaking their head.

"That's not right! The truth is definitely not like that!"

Valerie's eyes shone with a fiery light, a radiance born of curiosity and excitement.

Intuition was warning her, intuition was boiling, intuition was telling her—a crucial piece was missing from this complex jigsaw puzzle of the upheaval in the eastern suburbs!

The speculation she had previously told Jenkins was merely a deduction based on existing intelligence, a conclusion reached jointly by the Arasaka think tank and the super AI.

The conclusions reached by the other companies are likely to be similar.

but--

She knew perfectly well that there was definitely something wrong with this, and that a piece of the puzzle was missing, possibly a piece that could overturn all the above conclusions!

Her innate, extraordinary intuition, honed over the years, had reached new heights. When she saw the intelligence on the Immortal Squad, she issued a frantic warning—there was something wrong with this squad, with L, V, and Vera!

A grand performance is underway, with four actors dancing on stage, but there are five people listed as actors!

So what role did L play in this great show?

Can someone who is always at the center of a storm really be completely unaffected by the dramatic changes in the eastern suburbs?

She had a premonition that the last piece of the puzzle was there, and she was going to find it and learn the whole truth.

"Chaos is not an abyss, chaos is a ladder."

Valerie meticulously styled her hair, like an actress about to go on stage, striving for perfection in every detail.

"The show is about to begin! Once again, victory!"

Chapter 320 Leo: "Shocking! V-Shockwave Unit 3 has appeared!"

Back in the lobby, Valerie met her female assistant, who had already changed.

She changed into an Arasaka uniform, styled like a cocktail dress, which was a proper outfit provided to female employees for important occasions.

"It's beautiful, let's go."

Valerie made a casual comment and led her toward the hovercar garage.

As she walked forward, her gaze naturally swept over the surrounding offices, finding them almost unchanged from an hour ago.

The counterintelligence agents have all gone out on field missions, leaving only some newly joined "intern" to struggle with their daily tasks.

These are all lucky individuals who have obtained their diplomas from higher education institutions and received job offers as they wished.

They had to stand and work in the lobby corridors for a whole year before they had the opportunity to take a grading exam and become the lowest-ranking full-time employee.

During their internships, they could not refuse any work assignments from full-time employees and could only rely on terminals fixed to the wall to complete 14 hours of high-intensity work every day.

Arakawa calls this the "root test".

In Japanese, this word primarily refers to a person's inner resilience and tenacity, especially the perseverance and indomitable attitude shown when facing difficulties.

In order to test this excellent quality, Arasaka went to great lengths to create difficulties for the interns.

Parents who think that sending their children to big companies will solve everything probably don't realize that their children are treated like expendable resources and livestock.

Of course, Valerie had never personally experienced such hardship—she was a college graduate and a full-time employee with a workstation as soon as she joined the company.

After passing through the lobby, they entered another security passage and were only able to enter the airship garage after undergoing multiple scans.

At this moment, a large number of Arasaka agents were gathered in a corner of the garage, and Jenkins was speaking loudly in front of the crowd with his hands behind his back.

Their eyes met in mid-air, and Valerie stood at attention respectfully with her head bowed.

Jenkins nodded dismissively, then turned his gaze back to the crowd.

Taking this opportunity, Valerie, using the key information, led her female assistant to a small passenger hovercar.

This is a passenger vehicle model manufactured by Arasaka Corporation. It is stable, comfortable, and its protection is not bad—unless it is deliberately crashed, it will basically not be knocked down.

Unlike the armored airborne vehicles used by the agents, this model is not equipped with weapons and does not even have a driver. It relies entirely on Arasaka's self-developed navigation AI for driving and can only operate within urban areas.

"Get in the car, you can sit across from me."

Valerie took her seat first and casually pointed to the opposite side.

The female assistant reached out and pressed down on her skirt, then happily sat down next to her.

In today's society, owning a private hovercar makes you a person of the highest social standing. It's something that poor people can't even dream of owning.

As a junior employee, even Valerie had only ridden in the hovercar a few times, let alone a junior assistant like her.

"Floating vehicle key detected. Welcome aboard the Arasaka Floating Vehicle. Please provide your desired destination."

Valerie glanced at her female assistant across from her and said calmly, "Drive out of the garage first, and try to get as high up as possible. I want to see the view from above."

“Okay, but I need to remind you that Arasaka Corporation has a height restriction policy. Also, our airships cannot approach the top floor of Arasaka Tower.”

"Hmph... Fine, as high as possible."

hum-

Upon receiving the instruction, the doors of the hovercraft closed automatically.

At the same time, the protective glass inside the vehicle opened, revealing four glasses of champagne that were still emitting cold air.

"Jenkins knows how to enjoy himself!"

Valerie had already placed herself above Jenkins, and reached out to pick up two glasses of champagne, offering one to her female assistant.

"The director keeps these fine wines for himself. Come and have a taste; you might not have another chance if you miss this one."

The female assistant was initially hesitant to reach out, since it was Director Jenkins's private stash, but Valerie shoved the glass into her hand, leaving her no choice but to accept it.

"cheers!"

Valerie clinked glasses with her and took a small sip of her drink.

It has a rich flavor, intense fruitiness, and a slight tartness, just like life, which is bound to have some regrets.

The female assistant hesitated for a moment, then took a sip. Not noticing anything amiss, she breathed a sigh of relief: Miss Valerie's mood was noticeably different today; she was more lively than usual. Had something good happened to her?

Valerie ignored her and suddenly said, "Pull up the regional analysis data."

AI responded quickly: "According to the latest data report, the eastern suburbs are in a state of high turmoil, with several companies engaged in a standoff around the Dongfang Border Inspection Station. Apart from this, the situation in other areas is currently within expectations."

"Well, let's go."

"Received, vehicle starting, please hold on tight and sit down."

The panoramic imaging system was activated, and the panel on the left side of the hovercraft began to become transparent, revealing the outside view.

Accompanied by the pleasant sound of the engine, the hovercar smoothly drove out of the garage and arrived outside the Aragaka Tower.

After emerging, the hovercar moves forward a few meters before vertically ascending, like a helicopter.

Valerie and her assistant both looked out the window, watching the hovercars from different companies flowing past below.

At the edge of the view lies a bustling company square. From this distance, pedestrians look like tiny ants, and the two giant holographic koi fish appear like small ornamental fish in a fish tank.

This is the novel feeling that comes from looking down from the top of the company building.

No wonder so many people want to climb to the top...

"I remember you said your goal was to stand at the top of Arasaka Tower?"

Valerie said calmly.

The female assistant was stunned for a moment, not expecting that she would still remember the bold words she had casually uttered in the training camp.

"Uh... I was too naive and immature back then, it was just something I said casually. Only an elite like you is qualified to stand at that level. I just hope to have the opportunity to stand behind you and look up to your heroic figure."

She lowered her head, feigning a shy and bashful demeanor.

But Valerie knew she was lying.

Even without using her intuition, she could sense an uneasy tremor from the other person's body language and the atmosphere around them.

After staring at her quietly for a while, Valerie slowly shook her head: "If you like it, take a look. Although it's not the top yet, this level is already something that ordinary people can't reach in their entire lives."

The female assistant subconsciously looked out the window and realized that it was really high up here; even the famous nearby dome shopping mall was diagonally below them.

Standing atop the Arasaka Tower, that dream seemed so unattainable.

If only I could reach that level, roughly the level where department directors are...