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

Leo had only ever seen that cold, murderous expression on her face when they first met.

This person is truly angry!

Chapter 431 Our spy located in the enemy's headquarters - Arasaka Yorinobu!

Sensing the tense atmosphere between the two, Leo knew he had to intervene.

While calling Vera is one solution, it's only a temporary fix. Ultimately, he has to resolve the romantic entanglements he created himself.

At this point, you should stop the more impulsive one to prevent them from actually fighting.

"V!"

He stood up, pulled V into his arms, and recited Vera's lines.

"We're all on the same side, don't fight!"

V didn't speak, but she didn't try to break free either. She grabbed Leo's arm with her other hand, once again asserting her dominance.

Valerie tilted her head and smiled, speaking with self-righteousness: "I never intended to fight with your little wife; it's just that she's always threatening to kill me. But it's not hard to understand. I once taught myself psychology to deal with the spiritual mentor that Arasaka forcibly assigned me. V's condition can be diagnosed as paranoid personality disorder, though the degree is uncertain."

From a single-parent family, she was homeless from her early teens, possessed moral standards that ordinary street urchins lacked, to the point of being self-critical, and always kept to herself. Her life had been difficult before she met you… It's normal for her to have some mental health issues. I have mine too, though not the same type as hers.”

These days, in a godforsaken place like Night City, at least nine out of ten people have mental illnesses, and those who are mentally healthy like Leo are actually a minority.

V thought for a while and reluctantly accepted her explanation, because she had indeed been very anxious and a bit sensitive and suspicious lately.

Valerie looked at V, who had calmed down a bit, and continued:

"Your situation is an exceptional case among exceptional cases. A street mercenary and a rich young master sparked a romance and were able to get together smoothly. It's like a fairy tale."

You could say that you unintentionally gained a partner who was far beyond your control, which is why you are so anxious and afraid that he will be taken away by someone else.

But how to put it... being too controlling isn't a good thing; it will only make your partner more and more tired, especially if you're already in a weaker position.

The first half of the statement makes a lot of sense, but the second half is not quite right.

Leo looked down at V and just happened to meet her gaze.

Both of them had similar complex expressions in their eyes.

It's important to understand that before Leo obtained the Mother Box and completely turned the tables, V was the one in a dominant position.

It was precisely because the power dynamic had suddenly reversed that she felt inexplicably anxious…

Valerie keenly sensed the change in their emotions and realized that she had misjudged the situation.

But it doesn't matter. She's new here, it's normal that she doesn't know the situation yet. Let's take it slow.

Under Leo's gentle persuasion and Valerie's calm analysis, V's volatile hostility slowly dissipated.

Leo breathed a sigh of relief; his V-shaped counter to V was showing initial success, and he felt the effect was acceptable.

"But I am indeed quite curious, why me? If you're really jealous, Vera, Sasha, and Rebecca from Mann's team all arrived before me, and I haven't seen you get angry with them."

Before Valerie could finish speaking, Leo's heart sank, and a strong sense of suffocation washed over him.

Why bring up something you shouldn't talk about...?

Valerie... she didn't care about her friend's injury!

Her reminder made V, who had been blinded by his own involvement, suddenly realize the truth and recall many details.

That makes sense.

Vera kept saying strange things like "family" and "mother of the family," which was really suspicious.

Sasha keeps hanging around Leo all the time, which is really suspicious.

Rebecca… She wasn’t familiar with the other person and hadn’t noticed anything yet, but her tone was always sweet and coquettish when she spoke to Leo, which was really suspicious.

Everyone was suspicious; it turned out the enemy had been lurking among her all along!

V was completely flustered, and for a moment she didn't know whether to be angry or what to do.

Leo glared at Valerie, clearly displeased with her "overdoing it," before quickly pulling the dazed V upstairs to comfort her gently.

After a series of heartfelt words like "Of course, you're my favorite," V's emotions finally stabilized.

She seemed to want to say something to Leo, but considering Valerie was at home, she arranged to talk later that evening.

When the two returned to the living room, Valerie had already diligently tidied the dining table and brewed a pot of tea.

Leo saw a cunning look in her eyes, like a fox that had stolen a chicken, and felt that there was something more to her gaze.

Seeing that the atmosphere between the two of them was still somewhat dull, he quickly used the excuse of getting down to business to distract them.

"Quiet down, everyone. I need to make a call to our mole in the enemy's headquarters!"

V and Valerie both looked over curiously, wondering who this undercover agent who could excite Leo was.

【Pure White, did you find the phone?】

"Found it, and the timing is perfect. Arasaka Yorinobu has been in a great mood these past two days. After attending an emergency meeting last night, he downed a whole bottle of strong liquor in one go. He's just woken up from his hangover and is still resting in his room."

The above is the intelligence that Deep Blue and I intercepted from the agents monitoring him. He always refuses entry to his room to AI; however, by bypassing external surveillance, we can secretly communicate with him.

[Well done! Set up secure communication; make sure no one discovers it.]

【Understood, leave it to us.】

A few seconds later, the call was made automatically.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

*

"Buzz...buzz..."

As Arasaka Yoriyuki lay on his back in bed, pondering whether this crisis could be of use to his advantage, his thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.

Is there another emergency meeting at this hour? Have other organizations in Arasaka been attacked?

With this hopeful expectation in mind, he reached out and took the phone.

To avoid having implants that could be tampered with, he had to use a relatively outdated smart device like a mobile phone.

Caller ID - Unknown...

Ok?

That shouldn't be the case. How could an unknown contact call him?

The people my father arranged to wiretap should have just cut off those calls...

He hesitated for a moment, then sat up straight, staring at his phone with uncertain eyes.

Suddenly, the answer button on his phone pressed automatically, "helping" him connect the call.

Cyber ​​hackers!?

When attacked, Arasaka Yorinobu's first reaction was not to throw away his phone, but to quickly move to a more secluded corner, remain silent, and wait for the other party to speak first.

"Hello, Mr. Arasaka Yorinobu, leader of the Steel Dragon, anti-corporate fighter, and my best ally in the Arasaka family."

The phone rang with the energetic voice of a young man, seemingly without a voice changer.

Every time he mentioned a "title," Arasaka Yorinobu's brow twitched as he pondered whether it was an enemy of the Arasaka family or yet another test arranged by his father.

To be on the safe side, he read out his prepared statement: "The Steel Dragon has been destroyed, and I have reconciled with my father and returned to the Arasaka family. I think I have nothing to talk to you about, Mr. Uninvited Mysterious Man."

"Really? Even if I single-handedly caused the Arasaka Corporation's stock market crash, the attack on the military base, and the bombing of Arasaka Academy?"

That’s a different story!

Arasaka Yoriyuki's expression turned serious as he realized a flaw in that statement.

"Arasaka Academy was bombed?"

"That's right. To show my sincerity in cooperating, I will blow up Arasaka Academy near Night City Company Plaza tonight. Of course, I will control the blast radius this time, so it won't be as big a commotion as last night~"

Arakasaka Yoriyuki didn't believe his nonsense. The explosion that occurred on the outskirts of Night City and the explosion that occurred near the company square were completely different things.

This has nothing to do with how many people die.

That's the company square. If he really dares to do that, it would be equivalent to threatening the lives of all the company's senior executives and powerful and wealthy people. They will never let it go!

"Who exactly are you? Making such terrifying remarks will be reported to the family's emergency response team! Don't think that just because you're a good hacker, Arasaka's hackers can't find you!"

"Hehehe, you won't, Mr. Arasaka Yorinobu. I know you—you hate Arasaka, you hate Japanese imperialism, you hate the existing corporate system, you're completely different from them. But luckily, you're on the same side as me!"

So... who exactly are you?

"A person who intends to end corporate rule and make the world a better place. We can cooperate. Tonight, I will demonstrate my sincerity and ability first, and then it will be your turn."

Arasaka Yoriyuki was a man who had experienced many trials and tribulations. He could tell that the other party was probably not sent by his father, but he would not easily trust them.

If the other party has something to ask for, then it's worthwhile to talk.

"what do you want?"

"A special RELIC biochip contains the soul imprint of Johnny Silverhand, a legendary figure from Night City. Your father, Saburo Arasaka, will be coming to Night City tomorrow; this is the perfect opportunity to strike. If you need support, I can send a super hacker to help you."

“RELIC biochip…”

Arasaka Yoriyuki actually knew about this thing. His father had devoted all his energy to the secret research institute in recent years, and he would never have shown his face if the situation hadn't recently become risky.

It seems that the person who called him was indeed Arasaka's enemy. Could it be someone from another large company who was eyeing Arasaka's research results?

"You actually know about this... Never mind, it's not important. Do you really need Johnny Silverhand's chip? What's so special about this chip?"

"It's special because I'm a Johnny Silverhand fan!"

"..."

"Haha, just kidding. That chip is different from other mass-produced products. I'll tell you the specific differences once you bring it to me."

Arasaka Yorinobu disliked being led by the nose: "Are you so sure I'll help you steal the chip? Old man... my father takes this very seriously, the defenses will be very tight. Besides, what would I gain by taking this risk?"

"You're the leader of the hawks. Don't tell me you've done nothing all these years except wait for your father to die so you can inherit his position. As for what you'll get... a powerful ally who's hostile to the corporate system, and knowledge of your father's sinister plot, some of which involves you personally."

I know there's no point in continuing now. Like I said, I'll blow up Arasaka Academy first as a gesture of goodwill, and then I'll call you. Hopefully, we can make more progress next time we contact each other. Mr. Arasaka Yorinobu.”

"Click."

The other party hung up the phone.

Arasaka Yorinobu waited a few minutes and found that the hacker his father had arranged had not intervened. He opened the call log and found that the last call was in the early hours of last night.

It's hard to say about other things, but the hackers from this mysterious force are indeed quite capable, bypassing his father's arrangements.

Blow up Arasaka Academy...

He used his computer to log into the Arasaka Corporation's internal network, retrieved information about Night City, and pretended to be concerned about the turbulent situation there.

The information about Arasaka Academy was found. So far, the academy is still operating normally and there have been no abnormalities.

Let's wait and see if they'll "show sincerity" tonight.

Chapter 432 Vera: "Being a family together is more important than anything else."

After hanging up the phone, Leo looked at the two beautiful ladies with a smug expression.

To show off, he made the call on speakerphone!

As expected, they all looked surprised, and V's prosthetic eye remained constantly lit, searching for data.

"Arasaka Yorinobu..."

V found basic information about the Arasaka family online.

"Huh!? -- Isn't he the only male heir of the Arasaka family? According to Japanese tradition, he's highly likely to succeed Saburo Arasaka. Would someone like that really help us deal with the Arasaka Corporation?"

It's worth noting that Saburo Arasaka is 157 years old this year. Although he looks quite robust and has a clear mind, it wouldn't be surprising if he suddenly died at any time.

Even with today's technology, living to this age is quite a long life.

Valerie, as a former Arasaka employee, has a deeper understanding of Arasaka Yorinobu:

"Yorinobu Arasaka, the hawkish leader of the Arasaka Company, also known as the rebel leader. It is said that he had a bad relationship with Saburo Arasaka. After graduating from university, he ran away for several years, recruiting homeless people in Tokyo and founding a biker gang called 'Steel Dragon'."

They dedicated themselves to fighting the evil Arasaka Corporation, openly raising the banner of anti-corporateism. However, in the eyes of the corporation, such a grassroots organization was at best a large ant; when they got serious, they were quickly wiped out. At his brother's funeral, Arasaka Yorinobu also reconciled with his father and returned to the Arasaka family.

I investigated the Arasaka family. At first, I thought he was just a spoiled brat who would behave himself after being beaten up. I never expected this…”

A sly glint returned to her eyes. "He didn't give in; instead, he planned to dismantle Arasaka's rule from within."

"Yes."