Tap, tap~
David Martinez jogged into Arasaka Academy, heading straight for his classroom.
"Hey, did you hear? Alan from Comprehensive Class 3 jumped off a building."
"Oh, he should've done it ages ago. No money, a bookworm, arrogant as hell, and he still wanted to get into the School of Management? Maybe in his next life! Hahaha..."
The grating laughter of corporate employees' children along the way made David purse his lips in distaste.
David did not like his classmates.
The enthusiasm he had felt at the start of the term had long since been drowned by this twisted environment.
That dreamlike touch of pale gold seemed to be gradually fading from his memories as well. David knew very clearly that he and that so-called upperclassman were simply people from different worlds.
"Ugh." Sighing, David entered his classroom. The moment he stepped inside, several fawning voices rang out.
"Wow, Katsuo, because of you, today's supposed to be the practical experience event jointly organized by the Security Department and the academy, right? Oooh, my dad said it's incredibly rare. Is the Mobile Garrison Unit coming, or people from Security and Protection?"
"Yeah, yeah. I heard the Security Department already picked you internally? Some higher-up thinks highly of you?"
Those two again—one tall and one short, one fat and one thin. One round as a ball, the other ugly as a blond delinquent. Like little lapdogs, they kept chirping around the mushroom-haired boy whose father was an Arasaka middle manager.
That guy named Katsuo Tanaka clearly did not want to pay them any attention. Heh, so what made corporate employees' children special was their willingness to press hot faces against cold asses. What shameless bootlickers.
David thought maliciously.
Because of his good grades, he had been assigned to Comprehensive Class 1. Before advancing to the second year and branching off into different professional academies, his class had the largest number of corporate employees' children.
Katsuo Tanaka ignored his lackeys and lay directly on his seat instead—an ergonomic recliner equipped with a Brain-Computer Interface, various connecting cables, and teaching equipment.
Soon, the class bell rang.
At the podium, the teaching AI appeared, formed from blue data cables and wearing the face of an intelligent bald woman.
"Good morning, students."
It looked around the room.
"Everyone is present. Very good."
"Before the year-end summer assessment, today is the practical activity you have all been looking forward to. It has been confirmed that this year, the Night City Arasaka Security Department will be coordinating with the academy. In half an hour, Security Department agents will come to randomly select several academically outstanding students for the experience."
"Please welcome it with your fullest enthusiasm and most serious attitude."
Wait, the Security Department?
David's eyes widened abruptly.
That person was from the Security Department, wasn't she?!
Human Connections and Social Etiquette
After taking a quick shower at her home in Westbrook and grabbing the healthy breakfast prepared by the robot chef to try on the way, Vera took her hovercar to Corporate Plaza as usual and entered the internal landing pad of Arasaka Tower.
Buzz... buzz...
The landing struts touched down. Stepping out of the luxury hovercar she had paid to customize herself, Vera carried her breakfast wrapped in an oil-paper bag and looked back over the landing pad twice. Mm, in terms of sheer size, her Holy Sword was probably the toughest and most rugged one there.
Reinforced armor, newly installed electronic warfare units, anti-intrusion puppets, detachable modular armor carrying attack drones, a dedicated external compartment for Combat Robots, smart-controlled autocannons, miniature hive rockets...
But it was still not enough.
Once she graduated from the Arasaka Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo, she would get an Octant Heavy Combat Drone from Zeta Technologies to remain on standby and follow her at all times.
At that thought, Vera's lips curled into a faint smile before she quickly reined in her thoughts.
"Officer Vera, this is the practical experience activity between our department and Arasaka Academy that you ordered for this year... This is the randomly selected personnel list. The agents have already departed. Please review it."
The Security Department administrative clerk in charge of coordinating with Arasaka Academy had been waiting at the landing pad exit for some time. Seeing Vera, he froze for a moment, then smoothly moved closer. Following behind her with a PAD tablet in hand, he began his report.
"That'll do. As for the practical experience location... mm, arrange it at the Mobile Garrison Unit barracks in the Badlands. Let the students try target practice, then have them stand guard for half a day and get some exposure to the Nomads of the outside world."
Vera casually glanced through the data list he had sent over.
Tsk, randomly selected...
And yet they were all people with connections.
"No need to be polite. Treat them normally. Oh, tell the people below that there is no death quota. Don't cause any bullshit involving dead students."
"Yes!"
The clerk answered repeatedly. Only after Vera had gone far away did he look at the revised list she sent back after approving it.
Besides the children of current Security Department personnel.
There were several additional names.
Katsuo Tanaka... Oh, Tanaka from R&D, the one responsible for testing a certain project.
David Martinez.
Uh, never heard of him... His grades seemed pretty good. A civilian genius?
List review approved
Send
Read.
Entering the floor where the Security Department offices were located, Vera turned left and right, not heading to her own office immediately but toward the office of the Deputy Security Director.
James Thomas.
The security inspection passageway was pitch-black. Two machine-gun turrets hung from either side, while a scanner in the middle emitted blue data lines and scanned with a series of beeps.
AI: Visitor authentication completed and approved
"Uncle Thomas."
The automatic door opened, and Vera immediately saw James Thomas sitting on the sofa and drinking coffee.
He wore a tailored dark suit, with a silver chrysanthemum pin overlaid with the Arasaka logo clipped to his tie, symbolizing his past service as a soldier. His hair had grayed slightly, but it was combed neatly and without a strand out of place, giving him a dignified appearance.
"Oh, Vera, have a seat..." As he spoke, he suddenly paused. "Huh... Vera, at first glance, I thought I had mistaken you for someone else... Did something good happen? You even put on makeup today?"
Uh...
Vera knew that after last night, she seemed more energetic and radiant, but was it really that obvious?
"Ah, I put on a little makeup."
She had not actually worn any.
Carrying the oil-paper bag, Vera sat down with easy confidence. Pulling out a ham-and-cheese sandwich as if she were perfectly at home and handing it over, she said, "I tried adjusting the program on Caroli's multifunctional housekeeping robot."
Vera called him Uncle rather than by his position because she had come to build familiarity in daily life. Since there was no conflict of interest between them, Thomas naturally would not refuse to give her face. He accepted the sandwich with a smile while preparing to make coffee.
"You're in such a good mood. Share it with me. What good news is it?"
"My application for an admission slot at the Arasaka Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo, was approved."
Thomas paused, then handed the brewed coffee to Vera without changing his expression. "That is good news. Congratulations. When are you leaving?"
"Next spring. I'll leave when Tokyo University begins its term."
Thomas immediately understood what Vera had come for.
"What do you plan to do about the Special Rapid Response Unit?"
"I'll continue to oversee it. Admissions through internal slots like this are more like night school. Graduation is harder, but it offers plenty of freedom. While I'm studying, I recommend Jimmy, captain of Team 6, serve as temporary assistant and help me manage the Special Rapid Response Unit."
Vera walked out of the Deputy Security Director's office, lowering her head to look at the additional bag of premium hand-ground coffee in her arms. Her brows rose slightly.
James Thomas had "given" it to her.
He had ground it himself. Apparently, he had not used a learning chip and had learned the skill personally.
Rich people liked this sort of thing. In the past, learning through chips had been expensive. Now, natural learning was expensive. Either way, they favored whichever method took more time and effort.
Naturally, she accepted it, just as he had accepted the sandwich she made.
The implication was clear. I've looked after your interests this time. Next time, when you rise and hold power, you must look after my interests and those of my descendants. It was an exchange of interests.
Returning to her office, Vera placed her things in the refrigerator, then shifted her gaze to the interface on her office terminal.
-Email-
Sender: Night City Biotechnology R&D Department
Supervisor Russell, we must remind you that your Umbrella personal laboratory has been vacant for one month and seven days. Please fulfill your part-time obligations.
Rustle...
Her fingers brushed over the desktop, and Vera revealed a rather mischievous smile.
Very good. The excuse had arrived.
For the time being, I would shift my focus to biotechnology research and product improvements.
Please, my other self, obtain the T-Virus source solution and the accompanying virology research data.
"Resident Evil"
Umbrella Industrial Park, San Francisco.
The female director of the Umbrella Black Umbrella Department, who was enthusiastically accompanying Pentagon officials on an inspection of the drone production workshop and explaining the relevant product specifications, showed a hint of helplessness.
"Ms. Russell, can we try operating them ourselves?"
The general from the Pentagon did not notice the fleeting change in Vera's expression. Having been persuaded, he was now interested in the prospects of drone technology development that Vera had described.
"Of course."
She gestured for the workshop foreman to hand several assembled drones over to the Pentagon personnel, then assigned inspectors to teach these American soldiers how to operate them.
Amid cries of "Oh my gosh," several soldiers who had participated in overseas combat expressed amazement at the drones' responsiveness and clear reconnaissance capabilities.
Seeing even the general personally operating one, the Umbrella employees in the production workshop all looked delighted. This deal was going to happen!
Only Director Vera wore a thoughtful expression.
It was not because of the California industrial park, but because:
"The Raccoon City incident will happen this summer."
Militech in Resident Evil
A sudden explosion rang out along with a burst of intense white light, followed by the soldiers' startled cries. Amid the noise, Vera saw the Pentagon general turn his attention toward her again. She smiled back and temporarily set aside her thoughts about Raccoon City.
For now.
Her plan to make money and get aboard the Pentagon train was more urgent.
"General, you and your team are very talented. You figured out derivative applications for civilian drones so quickly."
Clapping lightly, Vera stepped forward and offered a compliment.
Just now, after watching the Umbrella drone operators' demonstration, several soldiers had suddenly thought of loading a flashbang into the controllable recessed slot of a detachable drone undercarriage attachment. They flew it to Umbrella's testing grounds, dropped it into the U-shaped underground flight-testing tunnel beyond the wall, and hit the target precisely.
Mm, the flashbangs were also made by Umbrella.
Vera understood the importance of staying grounded and building connections.
Umbrella itself was a high-tech medical corporation with quasi-defense industry characteristics. After she took over as director of the newly established Black Umbrella Department, that trend had undoubtedly accelerated greatly.
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