Infinite Progress, Starting from Arasaka Chapter 13

She landed, Vera flexing the Precision Thermal Katana in her hand alongside a Smart Shotgun suited for close-quarters combat, the Heavy Ballistic Helmet sealed shut, its crimson Holographic Tactical Goggles flaring to life.

At the same time, across the divide of time and space.

San Francisco, Umbrella Tower press conference venue.

Surrounded by burly black-suited bodyguards, Vera, in her capacity as Umbrella's Director, stood at the podium with an expression like she'd just buried her own father.

Below the stage:

"Director Russell, why, after receiving our joint letter, do you still choose to destroy nature, to destroy our shared home? Do you want our children to live in a cold world without greenery or animals?"

"Director Russell, word is that San Francisco's equality organizations are planning to sue you and Umbrella Corporation, accusing the company's recent hiring practices of racial discrimination. How will you respond?"

"Director Russell, cybernetic limbs and prosthetics—artificial steel replacing God-given flesh and blood. Facing opposition from the church, have you nothing to say?"

"Director Russell..."

With every question they hurled, the pent-up negative emotions surged. On this side of time and space, as if she were being interrogated firsthand, Vera's breathing grew heavier beneath the helmet.

"Hah... my composure still isn't up to par."

Since the 'me' in that other world couldn't let loose, I'd do it instead.

'Legitimate and lawful' release.

"Patrol and purge mission, commence!"

Slaughter time.

Chapter 015: Braindance Experience: Arasaka Slaughtering the Vortex

Running. Wind. Gunfire. Explosions.

"Hah!"

"Hah, hah!"

The man's mouth gaped wide, his windpipe feeling the scorching heat of the air he sucked in.

It was a desperate sprint, the pulse of breathing through both mouth and nose, his chest aching as if from the strain.

A suffocating tension hung in the air, as if behind him stretched endless darkness, a massive claw closing in.

He glanced back:

He could see the camp, marked with graffiti of a cracked skull and mechanical spider, ablaze with fire—the Vortex Gang's insignia.

Illegally modified hoverbikes littered the ground, cramped, dilapidated, grimy shacks and narrow alleys throbbing with heart-stopping noise.

Raucous heavy metal punk music, the roar of machinery, crude drunken chatter, inhuman howls of delirium, and—bang! Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Beneath a Arasaka Samurai Tactical Helmet fitted with a visor, a Demon Mask with crimson-glowing eyes sharpened into focus from the shadows.

Arasaka Heavy Soldiers.

Those corporate killing machines raised their massive M2067 Defenders, roaring louder than the heavy metal punk, muzzle flashes flickering to illuminate the dim, dusky sky of the Old North Industrial District's aging streets and alleys.

Skreeee—

Armor-piercing incendiary rounds slammed into walls, sending rubble flying. The Vortex freaks' cheap external cyberware shattered like glass under the impact, bullets punching through the electroplating beneath their skin, sparks erupting as flesh and machinery were ground together.

"Fuck! Corporate dogs, ambush!"

"Fight back, you gutless bastards!"

"Who the hell brought Arasaka here..."

The Vortex gang members spewed filth.

Easy to pick out—exposed cybernetic implants all over their bodies, grotesque modifications, flashy metal tattoos. Those lunatics who'd carved out their foreheads and replaced bone and flesh with spider-like cybernetic eyes—in Night City, you didn't need a second look to know they were Vortex.

"Supervisor Russell's orders: retrieve the intel division's lost cargo, recover company assets. Anyone showing hostile intent, kill on sight!"

That came from the cold, machine-like voice of an Arasaka soldier.

Boom!

His gaze followed the sound upward.

An Octant Heavy Combat Drone, emblazoned with the Arasaka Clover logo, screamed overhead. With a grating roar, its autocannon spat flames like elongated, stuttering lasers, licking and cutting across the ground.

Several expensive modified hovercars were blown to pieces, smoking and exploding.

The world spun.

He was thrown by the blast wave.

After a tumble, his body groaned in pain, shrapnel embedded in his torso. Blood loss blurred his vision, but his hearing remained sharp—gunfire of unrecognizable models rang out in waves.

Just then, with a piercing shriek that split the air, the security grille on a second-floor workshop exploded outward. Glass shards sprayed, broken concrete chunks and a twisted old air-conditioning unit crashed down, and a tall, dark figure leaped gracefully from the burning breach.

Like a javelin, it pierced the steel roof of a Vortex-modified van.

Creeeak—

Metal groaned in a teeth-grinding twist, exposed weld marks and rivet shards flying high. The vehicle tilted, the driver's head smacking into the door, while the passenger nearly flew out the window.

With his close vantage point, he saw who it was.

A terrifying figure.

A tall, slender form over 1.8 meters, with long legs, wrapped head to toe in black clothing and armor, sealed tight. Behind them, a black cloak with a red lining fluttered. The shoulders bore the Arasaka Clover logo, and the head was covered by a matte black helmet, on which a narrow V-shaped visor glowed with a sinister crimson light.

Sharp, elongated metal gauntlets were stained with blood, carrying a head whose cables had been brutally torn out, red and milky fluids dripping continuously.

The head of a heavily modified person, likely with little flesh left.

A Thermal Katana, its blade lengthened and straightened, was swung, ringing crisp and clear—zheng!

Like cutting through butter, the cockpit of a Vortex Gang street-modified armored van was sliced open. It all happened too fast; the blade grazed the faces of two screaming Vortex lunatics inside.

When that Arasaka woman left, the van tipped over, but the cabin fell silent, thick fluids oozing from the vehicle's gaps.

Boom—!!!

A violent explosion erupted as the black silhouette flashed past. The person behind, along with their vehicle, turned into a blaze of fire, wreckage skidding and sparking as it rolled away.

Boom, boom, boom, boom...

A barrage of rockets fired from the smart turret of an Arasaka Armored Hovercar, adding more fuel to the smoke-filled Vortex Gang factory.

Dozens of armed men charging out of the factory didn't even finish their shouts before being blown into shredded meat by the blast.

In a corner, a man struggled to his feet.

He also saw:

"Die!"

A massive figure, an extreme cybernetic madman even among the Vortex Gang, roared. The volume from his reinforced synthetic lungs was like a thunderclap as he charged at the black-clad woman, who was tossing the head to an Arasaka Heavy Soldier.

Pressing off the ground with a powerful leg, the giant shot forward ten meters in an instant.

The skin on the insides of both arms tore open in a flash, revealing heat sinks. Two scythe-like limbs, still coated in preservative fluid, sprang out like a mantis's arms, stabbing straight at the woman.

But she vanished.

Like a phantom, the woman disappeared in an instant, and the giant's attack hit nothing.

The man in the corner could only see that much.

He had no time to think further, because the black-clad woman's figure reappeared in his view.

Still so elegant, unhurried, holding the Thermal Katana behind her back with one hand. With the other, she raised a massive shotgun—seemed to be some Zhuo Type from Kang Tao—and pressed it against the giant's back.

A terrifying kinetic impact erupted across the giant's body. Metal and flesh alike were pulverized in that instant, the giant torn apart in the blast.

Like a bag filled with red, white, and gray paint, he burst into a pool of blood and meat paste.

Rat-a-tat-tat—

The slaughter continued.

Arasaka Heavy Soldiers wove a dense net of fire with machine guns and shotguns, covering the entire narrow street.

The woman kept going.

Elegantly continuing, a fighting style worlds apart from the street punks, moving like a dancer.

Blades swung with perfect timing, the rhythm of slashes and strikes blending. Vortex Gang thugs either lost their heads, rolled bleeding across the street, or slammed into obstacles, turning into piles of gore.

Evasion moves that never shifted an extra centimeter, like a twisted dance.

A bloody dance of slaughter.

Finally, the man's view was blocked by an Arasaka Heavy Soldier checking the area. A dark muzzle filled his entire sight. A flash of fire. Boom!

A kaleidoscope of colorful static.

"Aaaaaaah—!!!"

In a small room, on a worn-out leather sofa, a youth let out a cry that could be either pain or ecstasy. His body went rigid, arms raised high, legs involuntarily leaning forward, toes pointed and straining backward. He writhed like a fish out of water.

After a long moment, perhaps as the aftereffects faded, the youth pulled off the old-style Braindance headset. He flipped up, eyes wide with amazement, and blurted out, "Awesome!"

An unprecedented sensory impact, combined with the intense pain at the end of the experiencer's life, erupted simultaneously. For many in 2074, this was a peak sensory rush rivaling or even surpassing any drug or sex partner.

The youth pushed back his mop of dark brown mohawk hair, orange-red light flickering in his brown eyes.

As the built-in virtual dialog box scrolled, he let out an amazed sound.

"This feeling is incredible. Doc, this is way better than watching any movie! Your Braindance is insane."

Braindance, i.e., "Alternative Reality Process," a virtual reality technology that uses implants to record experience fragments including images, sounds, sensations, and spatial information.

It's both a popular form of entertainment and a disgust-inducing programming technique used in crime, as well as a military simulator. It can even be used as a psychological therapy tool—how it's used depends on the user.

Ring, ring.

Cybernetic Doctor: "Of course. The real genius is JK, who edited this masterpiece. A Braindance made from the fresh memories extracted from the still-warm brains of Vortex Gang modded freaks who died just two hours ago."

"Too bad it's not the full version. The one you watched was just a Vortex Gang grunt on lookout duty, fleeing after spotting Arasaka's forces, and accidentally witnessing all this from a bystander's perspective."

"Considered the grunt who lived the longest. JK used him as a promo experience."

"Last night in Watson North Industrial Zone was quite the scene. The real badasses were the true madmen fighting Arasaka's war machines. If their memories were clipped into a Braindance, that would be the real thrill. But the price would be another story."

"Arasaka..." At the mention of Arasaka, the youth's mood immediately sank, filled with melancholy.

"Are they really that strong? That good?"

He thought of the fully armed Arasaka Heavy Soldiers in the braindance, and the Arasaka female commander who treated the Vortex Gang's cyberpsychos like mere dogs and chickens.

Cybernetic Doctor: "Pfft, who doesn't know how strong Arasaka is? The number one super-conglomerate in Night City, the 'emperor above' us little people. But as for good... heh, depends on how you look at it."

"I mean, David Kid, isn't Mrs. Martinez trying to get you into Arasaka Tower's academy? She even bought you that braindance headset for studying, and here you are using it to watch this extracurricular stuff first."

"Yeah."