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

"no!"

The chief security officer's panicked shouts rang out.

The meeting room erupted in chaos.

If everyone is exposed to the AI's attack range, wouldn't all of them, the higher-ups, be doomed? It's obvious that the enemy will prioritize attacking them!

Abernathy coldly observed his colleagues' disgraceful behavior and calmly said, "Transfer the classified information as soon as possible. Let the other party take the less important information. For a large company with an AI cluster, that data is at most icing on the cake."

Sometimes, the more you say, the more mistakes you make—that's a wise saying.

For example, right now, the CIO seized on her linguistic flaw and launched an attack: "Even less important intelligence is a valuable asset that the company has accumulated over a long period of time. Can you take responsibility for making such a decision so easily?"

“Of course I can.” Abernathy looked at him coldly, then turned to the AI ​​and issued an order, “Notify the rapid reaction force to assemble in the floating garage. I will personally lead the team to Arasaka Academy!”

She knew that this might be her last time commanding a battle, and that she might never return.

But... dying on the battlefield, dying while on a mission, at least she died with honor, and the company will treat her family well.

It's much more dignified than committing seppuku...

The meeting room fell silent. The shrewd people who had risen to the top all sensed the tragic and heroic aura emanating from her, a aura of resignation to death.

Abernathy was a good woman. After she dies, people will say a few good words about her and thank her for taking all the blame to her grave!

[Please wait a moment, Director Abernathy, there's one more thing I need your instructions on.]

The AI, understanding the principle of not bothering two different people with the same task, spoke again.

[Given last night's attack on the military base, the possibility that the enemy is carrying nuclear weapons cannot be ruled out. According to the cooperation agreement signed between the companies, we should inform other companies and residents around Arasaka Tower of the risk. Should we issue a warning?]

"No!"

Abernathy refused decisively.

"If anyone dares to detonate a nuclear bomb near the company plaza, they will be the common enemy of all the companies! This is the most advantageous option for Arakasa in the worst-case scenario!"

The high-ranking officials present nodded in agreement.

If we don't let them have an easy time, then no one should have an easy time either. A lose-lose situation is better than a win-win situation!

Abernathy, resigned to his fate, strode away.

One minute later, NCPD officers and agents from various companies patrolling near the company plaza suddenly saw the Arasaka Floating Caravan move out.

A large group of more than twenty armored airborne vehicles sped away in silence.

A covert operation?

What happened again?

As part of their duty, they sent inquiries to the convoy and Arasaka Company, only to find that no one paid any attention to them.

Something's wrong...

The agents immediately alerted their respective companies, boarded vehicles, and began tracking the levitation convoy.

The moment I stepped on the gas, I saw the floating convoy stop. Their destination was—Arasaka Academy?

Arakazama is in trouble again!?

Why is it always you?!

While the allies were still in shock, Abernathy had already led his team to storm into the lower levels of Arakawa Academy.

Well, calling it an incursion isn't quite accurate; they encountered no resistance and easily entered the academy.

As soon as I entered, I heard deafening gunshots.

Looking in the direction of the sound, one could see a group of people putting up a fierce resistance in the lobby on the first floor.

The resisters were dressed in academy uniforms, and the one in the center directing them was the principal of Arasaka Academy.

Their enemies are Arasaka's patrol drones and robots.

"Reinforcements! Reinforcements have arrived!"

Someone spotted Abernathy and her rapid reaction force and shouted excitedly.

Holding an HJSH-18 assault rifle, Abernathy calmly surveyed the entire area, raised his left hand, and waved it forward: "Eliminate the enemy within one minute!"

"Hi!"

The rapid reaction force launched an attack, and its powerful firepower instantly tore through the mechanical legion's defenses.

Abernathy approached the principal and questioned him sternly.

The unassuming principal nervously rubbed his hands together and reported:

"Director Abernathy, I was just handling official business in my office when I suddenly heard a huge explosion. All electronic equipment automatically locked down, and the mechanical legion launched a rebellion without warning. I organized forces and launched several counterattacks, but the enemy was too strong, so we could only fight and retreat, all the way here..."

His reasoning was fairly clear; he explained the cause and effect in just a few words and even found a reason to exonerate himself.

Looking at the distant battlefield and confirming the mechanical legion's retreat, Abernathy immediately made a decision: "You all stay here and don't let anyone leave. We're heading to the Internet Data Center; the enemy is launching a cyberattack on Arasaka Tower from there."

The principal opened his mouth, about to say something, but upon hearing the second half of the sentence, he immediately shut his mouth.

He had initially thought that once the main combat troops arrived, faculty members like himself could leave, but he never expected the attack on the academy to also involve Arasaka Tower…

They should stay in the hall and keep watch. If they leave even a step, they'll be guilty of dereliction of duty. That's why they didn't dare leave the academy earlier.

Abernathy stopped looking at him and led his team on a quick breakthrough.

Arakasa Academy is, after all, just an academy. There aren't many robots, drones, or defensive turrets here. From the very beginning, no one expected that a large force would launch a mad attack on it.

Surprisingly, someone actually dared to cause trouble, risking the infamy of attacking the academy...

They advanced rapidly, encountering almost no significant resistance, and arrived at the door of the Internet data center located on the second-to-last floor.

The real enemy is inside!

"Hacker!" Abernathy shouted softly.

The accompanying hackers shook their heads awkwardly.

Today's operation was like a mere decoration; they couldn't break through the enemy's network defenses at all, and now they can't even do something as simple as opening a door...

"Useless! Load breaching grenades and blow the door open!"

At a command, demolition experts quickly mobilized and set up the explosives.

Ten seconds later,

There was a loud bang!

The alloy security door was blown open, leaving a gap.

Several heavily armed assault troops equipped with gorilla arms stepped forward and, accompanied by a tooth-grinding metallic scraping sound, forced the door open.

The imagined hail of bullets and bomb attacks did not occur; the internet data center was quiet, as if no one was there at all.

The information is wrong?

Or did the enemy move out in advance?

Abernathy checked the internal communications channel and found that the soldiers sent to other areas had not encountered any enemy regular troops.

How is this going?

She waved her hand forward, and a squad of shield-bearing soldiers formed a shield formation and quickly advanced inward.

The information was quickly relayed back.

"Report! No enemies or unusual activity detected!"

"Explore again!"

A moment later, the reply remained unchanged.

Abernathy, his brow furrowed, led his team into the vast internet data center.

I quickly looked around, and it really wasn't right! Something seems to be missing some equipment!

After carefully checking against internal documents, it appears that the AI's motherboard and related equipment are missing.

As expected, enemies have been here!

The intelligence was correct, but where have they gone now?

The hackers quickly rushed to the computers and terminals to check the equipment, while the others spread out to keep watch.

Inside Arasaka Academy, all signals to the outside world were blocked, leaving Abernathy to unravel the mystery on his own.

*

Has the enemy really withdrawn?

The answer is—that's right!

Leo did indeed withdraw, and the withdrawal covered a distance of 38.4 kilometers, directly from Night City to lunar orbit.

The popping sound that the employees of Arasaka Academy heard was the sound effect of the sound channel being activated.

He planned to blow up Arasaka Academy, but didn't want to harm innocent people and wanted to frame Lilith, so he resorted to this desperate measure.

【Honey~ The big fish has been caught!】

A pure white voice awakened Leo, who was admiring the beauty of the universe.

[A big fish? Are there really high-ranking officials willing to risk their lives?]

Leo reviewed the video footage sent by Pure White and immediately recognized Abernathy, whom he had met just two days prior.

Director of Special Operations at Arasaka Americas Headquarters: This fish is indeed quite large.

I thought she was about to commit seppuku to atone for her sins, but I never expected her to choose such a dramatic way to die. Oh well, at least this way of dying isn't so pathetic.

Leo never showed mercy to his enemies; when he saw a fish take the bait, he immediately began to pull in the net.

No one who enters Arasaka Academy should be allowed to leave alive, lest information be leaked.

Goodbye, you unlucky guys!

Extend both arms horizontally—

A dazzling laser beam gathered in front of him, illuminating the universe in an instant, just like the light of a supernova explosion!

Massive space-based laser weapon!

When the light condenses to its extreme, the attack unfolds.

A terrifying laser beam launched from lunar orbit, traversing vast cosmic space with destructive force, and struck precisely at Arasaka Academy on Earth.

Wherever the laser passed, the vacuum seemed to be scorched, leaving a fiery trail. Tiny meteorites along the way were instantly vaporized, leaving only nothingness.

Within the City of Night, countless people witnessed the Sword of Judgment from beyond the heavens, so dazzling!

The laser reached Earth in the blink of an eye, striking Arasaka Academy with overwhelming force.

In an instant, the academy building shook violently under the impact of the laser. The sturdy outer walls melted rapidly under the high temperature, then vaporized, turning into plumes of scorching gas that rose into the air.

The situation was even worse for the insiders; the flesh and blood of carbon-based lifeforms were utterly vulnerable to space-based weapons. Their prosthetic bodies emitted the loudest alarms before dissolving along with their flesh.

Before she died, Abernathy took one last look at the melting ceiling and realized how beautiful the night sky was, something she had never noticed before.

Then darkness enveloped everything, and there was no more pain or suffering.

A catastrophe, like the end of the world, struck in an instant and vanished just as quickly.

A dozen seconds later, the light disappeared.

The company agents, who were only a few dozen meters away from Arasaka Academy, were trembling with fear, staring blankly at the large, square crater in the distance.

The once glorious Arasaka Academy has been completely wiped off the face of the earth by that laser.

Space-based laser weapons – knowledgeable people immediately recognized this type of attack.

Given its enormous size, did it originate from a space station or a lunar base?

Could it be... the European Space Agency!?

Chapter 440 David: "I woke up to find the sky had fallen..."

Arasaka Company attacked again!

A mysterious force launched a space-based laser weapon from lunar orbit, wiping Arasaka Academy out of Night City in one fell swoop!

When this ridiculously fake news reached the ears of the powerful and wealthy, many thought it was a belated April Fool's joke.