Infinite, Progressing from Arasaka

There were even more contracts of the bodyguard variety, but only two required Vera to go in person.

One was on the South Asian subcontinent. Some super-rich man in Bharat was holding a wedding for his daughter, but his business had ties to organized crime, he had plenty of enemies, and there were religious conflicts involved as well.

So he paid a hefty sum for Arasaka security services. Vera happened to be at Tokyo Headquarters receiving commendation at the time, and for the generous tip, she went over as high-end combat strength and a frontline commander to stand guard for several days.

The second was Arasaka's own cultural festival, Aratama-matsuri.

Every such festival saw members of the Arasaka Family make an appearance. At the 2074 Night City Aratama-matsuri, the one who appeared was Michiko Arasaka. As senior security personnel, Vera made a round of that luxurious floating palace.

Mission accomplished perfectly.

This month, Vera's focus was on the Chile Branch in South America.

Chile was rich in mineral deposits, forests, and aquatic resources. Famous worldwide for its copper production, it was an important raw material import region for Arasaka's Manufacturing Sector. Recently, Militech seemed to have extended its "evil little hand" over again.

It had backed some local gangs and civilian agents, secretly shipped in Weapons, and stirred up social discontent. It seemed ready to give Arasaka a real show and make a big move.

The Intelligence Department detected it and reported it. Vera was notified, and after discussion with her superiors, they decided they could not let Militech have its way. She immediately assembled three hundred-man rapid assault units and part of the heavy armored forces to support the Chile Branch.

Vera parachuted in to coordinate the overall situation.

She cut through the mess with swift, decisive action. Before the locals could make a big move against Arasaka, she made one against them first, eliminating the security risks. At the very least, the local forces would not be able to reorganize anytime in the next few years—unless Major Corporations like Militech poured in resources.

Just as the Chile Branch matter concluded and Vera was preparing to return to Night City, trouble broke out in Australia.

This time, no outside forces had intervened.

At least, Arasaka's Intelligence Department had not uncovered any.

When Arasaka's upper management looked around, Vera's support force was already stationed in the Pacific Rim region. Following the principle of using a useful tool until it broke—and promising promotions as long as you held out—a single transfer order sent Vera turning toward Australia.

Sydney.

Not everywhere was Night City, and not everywhere had been funded with Weapons by Major Corporations and turned into a breeding ground for gathering live combat data on the newest cyberware and weapons. Sydney was quite peaceful.

Compared to Night City, it could practically be called peaceful!

There was not so much rampant cyberware or weaponry, nor so many chaotic gangs. People were merely protesting on their own because Arasaka's plazas polluted the environment and water supply, while Arasaka's outsourced jobs paid too little and demanded excessively long hours.

Their reasons for protesting were entirely just.

Vera was not bloodthirsty. Unless necessary, when facing an unarmed crowd, all she needed to do was complete the mission and disperse them.

Break some skin, beat a few bones into fractures, smoke their eyes swollen... There was no need to bring out shotguns for suppression.

Sigh... I'm becoming more and more like a Corporate Dog.

If she wanted to get ahead, it was really hard without the Arasaka name.

She had to think of something...

Maybe she should apply for further study.

Go back to school or something.

I Want to Get Ahead So Badly

Sydney International Airport.

Bzzzzzzzz—

A massive roar of air currents rose. The cabin door closed, and amid a faint tremor, Vera looked through the porthole at Sydney's cityscape gradually moving away, rising and receding into the distance. Perhaps because she truly had no interest in this sort of suppression mission, she had worn an utterly bored expression from beginning to end.

"Officer Russell, the Intelligence Department has already identified and screened out the ringleaders behind the agitation. Are we really leaving early like this?"

The leader of the Arasaka soldier security team stepped forward. Letters marking him as combat command were displayed on his left arm and right collar wing, while data cables and a hacking terminal were mounted on his chest. He handed over the tactical terminal in his hand and spoke uncertainly.

"Are you so hungry you'll eat anything?"

Vera gave a faint smile and waved a hand to show she had no interest. "When all's said and done, this is the Sydney Branch's 'family matter.'"

"We're an outside force here—an outside force brought in to clean up. Stealing the host's thunder only earns resentment."

Australia was exceptionally rich in resources, known as the continent that "sat in a mine cart" and "rode on the backs of sheep." Like Southeast Asia, it was regarded by Arasaka as an important raw material base in the Pacific Rim region, and was central to the interests of Arasaka's Manufacturing Sector.

The polluted rivers and estuaries visible through Vera's aircraft window were proof enough.

Garbage and unknown chemicals floated across the river surfaces and coastal waters. Dozens of kilometers beyond Sydney's urban area, gigantic smart-controlled factories stretched as far as the eye could see, belching thick smoke and wastewater as haze filled the air...

Industry was power. Heavy industry was military power—the guarantee of money and everything else.

Precisely because it was important, Arasaka's upper management feared that the labor dispute would grow and trigger a chain reaction across Australia. The local forces were therefore stationed in their own districts, watching over them and avoiding action whenever possible, afraid of disrupting production and affecting stock prices.

Calling in outside troops was most suitable. That was why they had conveniently diverted Vera, who had been on her way back, to the area—to use her murderous aura to hold the line and intimidate the crowd.

At the first sign of the situation turning into a riot, artillery and machine guns would work with the Sydney Branch to suppress it.

Now that the worst had passed, the Intelligence Department had confirmed that no "friendly nations" or "friendly corporations" had been secretly stirring things up, and the alert level had been lowered. That meant the Sydney matter was over.

Vera immediately applied to return to Night City.

Only she knew the real reasons. On one hand, she truly was being considerate toward allied forces. This was not the Americas, not her home ground. She was a guest here; the more capable she looked, the more incompetent they would appear.

On the other hand, the remaining cleanup work was simply too filthy.

No matter how indiscriminate she was, she would never willingly touch that kind of thing.

Better to avoid it if she could.

Call it putting up a memorial arch after becoming a whore if you wanted—at least she hoped her hands could be a little "cleaner" than those of other Corporate Dogs.

After adjusting her airplane seat, Vera had no intention of explaining further. She dismissed her subordinate, stretched out, lay back, closed her eyes, synchronized her thought process with the Central Processor, and opened the virtual grid's mail panel.

-Application-

Sender: Vera Adelheid Russell, Night City

Recipient: Arasaka Tokyo Global Headquarters

Scholarship and Internal Arasaka Recommendation Quota for Admission to Tokyo University's School of Law

The thought-data interface reflected its user's face, while a deliberative orange-red glow flickered in Vera's pupils.

Her current promotion had already reached its limit.

As an outsider to the family, she had stacked buffs such as "orphan of loyal retainers," "second-generation direct-line Corporate Dog," and "descendant of officials." Reaching such a high position at only twenty-one was already rare. If she wanted to rise further, no matter how many ordinary achievements Vera accumulated, she would still need to spend several years building seniority before she could be moved again.

If she did not move up another one or two ranks, it would be inconvenient for her to reveal Umbrella's true knowledge and technology in virology!

Vera could clearly sense that her pull toward the spacetime counterpart who served as Umbrella's Black Umbrella Director was growing stronger and stronger.

Beyond illusory, abstract knowledge lay tangible substance...

If her rank was not high enough, she could not present those "discoveries" to the highest authorities, personally meet Lord Saburo Arasaka, and lay out the prospects of Eternal Life and longevity through the T-Virus and G-Virus. That meant she could not maximize her own interests.

Waiting around was no good either!

It was too passive.

And for some earth-shattering achievement, was Vera supposed to blow up Militech's Night City headquarters and drive Militech's forces out of Night City?

That would probably mean the Fifth Corporate War was about to begin.

In that case, Vera needed to find another path and switch tracks.

Why not go to school?

In this day and age, schooling was undoubtedly as useful as farting after taking off your pants to mercenaries, Badlands runners, and people who hung around Afterlife or Lizzie's Bar. It was completely useless—might as well sell your ass.

But in the eyes of this world's true ruling class, the Dragon People, that sort of thing was very important.

Not some mixed-bag community college, nor one of those intermediate academies attached to Major Corporations, but a real university.

The kind of university where, after graduating, you realized that executives from every corporation, government dignitaries, and wealthy tycoons from here, there, and everywhere had all been your classmates or upperclassmen.

For example, Berkeley-Asaga University in New America. The Perales, candidates for mayor of Night City, White House officials in New America, and members of Congress—many of them had graduated from that university.

Vera's target, Tokyo University, was the cradle of Arasaka upper management and political dignitaries from nations across the Pacific Rim. Sano Arasaka had graduated from there as well.

It had been almost two years since she graduated from Night City Arasaka Tower Academy.

She had probably accumulated enough real-world experience.

I'm so driven, so eager to improve. Since my graduate internship, I've taken part in no fewer than a hundred operations, large and small, and rendered outstanding service. I'm not short on money either, so there's no need to worry about me becoming a bad debt.

Arasaka, I advise you not to be ungrateful!

Sent.

Arasaka Tokyo Headquarters.

Analysis Department Headquarters.

Vera's application was prominently displayed on the information exchange interface.

"Vera, the rising star of Night City's Security Department. Chief of Security, head of the Special Rapid Response Unit, rich in combat experience. I hear she also has a good relationship with Adam Smasher."

"Her files and record are clean. The only daughter of Fred Russell in North America. Beautiful, clean, young, talented, and ambitious—she wants to Climb up to the top of Arasaka Tower."

"She enjoys biotech research and joined the Security Department to inherit the wishes of her late father and mother? Perhaps. But I suspect she wants to Climb up even more. Her lust for power is intense."

"Based on my assessment, she cannot possibly be a hidden corporate spy, and the chances of Arasaka's enemies turning her are nearly zero. A scholarship application? She probably doesn't need one. Given her past academic ability and grades, the Chief graduate of the Class of 2070, the possibility of bad debts or wasteful expenditures is very low."

"My recommendation is approval."

"Agreed."

"Submit the list to Lord Saburo Arasaka for his decision."

Perhaps because of the exhausting travel these past few days, Vera had little interest in the matters currently on her plate. She slept all the way back to Night City, until her subordinate cautiously woke her from her nap at the prompt of the flight attendant AI.

Lying on her back with her mind blank, Vera Hearing this rolled over and sat up. Through the porthole, she saw Night City gradually drawing closer and coming into focus beneath the night sky.

This was her home ground.

Night City International Airport was roughly fifteen kilometers from Corporate Plaza in the city center. Vera already knew this route like the back of her hand.

"The application has been sent. Now we wait."

After taking a Hovercar to Arasaka Tower, handing over her mission, and notifying the logistics department to report losses in equipment and supplies, Vera wandered around the office for a while before going home from work, thoroughly bored.

"Welcome home, Miss Vera."

Upon returning home, Vera stepped off the landing platform. Gentle, soothing music slowly played by her ears, and the humanoid robot—which had received the signal as soon as Vera returned to Night City and had been waiting for quite some time—stepped forward to take her suitcase, bowing with convincing formality.

Over the past six months, every home security service Vera had subscribed to had been put in place.

Although she often had to go out on field assignments, she couldn't skimp on protecting her home.

Especially now that her status within Arasaka had been steadily rising.

Security in the corporate residential district was certainly guaranteed, but Vera still didn't dare neglect her personal home defenses.

Caroli's brand-new line of home security robots was only one part of it. They could fight, but they were geared more toward basic security and household tasks. They could cook, sweep the floor, and even play the piano. In short, Vera found them very comfortable to use, so she bought several.

For dedicated combat robots, Vera used her position among Arasaka Security's upper ranks to buy an Arasaka Combat Robot Squad of five at an internal discount.

She even got herself an Arasaka Automated Combat Mech and parked it on the landing pad in her backyard.

There were also other defensive measures: Intrusion Countermeasure Units and a Home Network Firewall ordered from Network Surveillance; AS-1 Sentry Turrets ordered from Kang Tao and installed at several elevated points around the apartment; upgrade and modification services for her hovercar arranged through Rayfield Company...

Money flowed out like water.

If the Russell family hadn't already been quite wealthy, and if Vera's rank-based salary and bonuses after field assignment evaluations hadn't been so high, she really couldn't have afforded to spend like this.

Whew, the Security Department really was great. Dangerous, sure, but field assignments came with quite a lot of lucrative benefits.