Progress from Arasaka, Starting from Infinity

"Fuckin' bitch!"

Someone shouted, their voice piercing through the blast wave, hysterical as if driven mad.

"Arasaka! Fuck, those gutless cowards hired Arasaka, damn it, Militech's a bunch of bastards too, can't even compete... that Arasaka bitch! Deceived me, fuckin' hell! Soon as the Corporate Dogs show up, nothing good happens, bitch, don't let me catch you!"

A fierce-looking Latino Bald Thug, hauling an MK.31 heavy machine gun, spewed curses as he scrambled out in a hurry.

Beneath his worn, spark-flecked brown-red coat was a heavily modified, burly body—synthetic muscle fibers, steel bones, reinforced tendons, and subcutaneous armor were all obvious.

"Boys! Go, salvage our goods! Whatever you drag out, I, 'Rasp' Beard, keep my word, I'll split it with you half and half!" the thug barked.

In the world of street gangs, that was an undeniably generous offer.

But the sharp ones had already sensed trouble and started stuffing valuables into their pockets before slipping away.

Arasaka? They were supposed to stop Arasaka's people? That was suicide, wasn't it?

And whether it was because they'd gotten too high on the thrill of looting in the earlier action, fried their brains from the rush, or were just cowed by the gang boss's long-standing authority, some street kids were riled up by his words, wearing manic, hyped-up expressions as they grabbed their weapons and charged into the gang camp set ablaze by the explosion.

"Bastards, a bunch of ungrateful wolves!"

Though he was furious at those who'd bolted—especially the ones he'd trusted and promoted for their sharp minds, now running off like that, wanting to blow them away and toss them into a meat grinder—Beard knew that getting out of there was the priority now.

Hopefully those hopped-up grunts would buy him some time.

With that thought, he strode over, yanked open the door of the nearest modified car, and dove in. His crude movements made the weld-scarred cabin rumble. He started the engine, cranked the wheel hard, gunned it, and turned to accelerate.

Vroom... vroom...

Inside the gang's burning buildings, gunfire, explosions, shouts, screams, the crash of collapsing walls, and the crackling of burning materials all blended together.

Thump! Thump! Thump—

Fast as lightning, firelight flickered.

Through the rearview mirror, Beard saw the shifting shadows and gory scene.

At the camp entrance, the gang grunts who'd been howling and charging in moments before were pierced by armor-piercing discarding sabot rounds, their bodies torn in half, torsos spinning weakly in the air before slamming hard onto the ground.

Who knew how twisted those damn Arasaka killing machines' weapons were?

His gang's underlings were like paper, crushed by the three Arasaka Heavy Soldiers that appeared.

Literally crushed, like a meat grinder. Under the firelight, shrapnel flew everywhere. Every gang member in the way was blown apart without exception. Red-hot Nano Blades sliced through twisted bodies with exposed cheap cyberware wiring, as easily as cutting through plastic.

Beneath the Arasaka soldiers' signature tactical helmets with their vertical crests were demonic faceplates splattered with blood and gore. Embedded tactical goggles glowed red, locked dead on him.

Having just witnessed the brutality of the Arasaka Heavy Soldiers, Beard felt his fully powered cybernetic spine go cold. Without thinking, he floored the accelerator.

He spun the wheel frantically, cursing in Spanish as he operated the illegally mounted heavy machine gun on his modified car, aiming everything he could fire at the Arasaka soldiers standing still. Wait! Standing still?

Why were they stopping...

"Shit!" Beard sensed something wrong.

In an instant.

Zzt—

Beard's whole body jolted, his vision went black, as if struck by lightning.

His cybernetic eye's connection loop shorted out!

[Warning: Intrusion in progress.]

Arasaka Hackers!

Then, bang!

A dull gunshot, the window shattered. Beard felt a heavy pressure on his chest, like being slammed by a spiked hammer. Agony surged through him, his whole body went limp as if all strength had been drained in an instant, and the next moment, the world spun.

The out-of-control modified car crashed head-on into a trapezoidal concrete barrier by the roadside, lurched up violently, launched into the air, flew off the road, flipped, skidded, and slammed into a wall.

"Ugh—"

His head was foggy like paste. When Beard's senses returned, half his body was blown apart. The health monitor that had just come back online inside him let out a piercing shriek.

That sniper shot had opened a bowl-sized hole in his chest. His body, considered top-tier in Rio's streets, was twisted and deformed under the impact and the wreckage's pressure, exposing the mechanical structure inside. White coolant and blood pooled on the ground.

Tap, tap—

In the final moments of his life, Beard saw the Arasaka Heavy Soldiers step forward. The Arasaka Hacker, who had been hiding in a high position, also appeared now, holding a Nekomata Tech Sniper Rifle. He crouched down in front of Beard.

Then he pulled out the interface from his arm's cyberdeck terminal, grabbed Beard's blood-soaked head, and forcibly jacked in.

"[Warning: Unauthorized access...]"

Beard couldn't speak anymore. He could only let the Arasaka Hacker breach him, reading the data in his memory banks—everything, gang info, contingencies, funds, safe houses—all dug up one by one.

In less than half a minute, after squeezing out the last drop, the Arasaka Hacker stood up.

"'Rasp' Harkson Beard, executed."

The dazzling muzzle flash blazed harshly in Beard's fading vision.

'Fuckin' Arasaka, fuckin' Corporate Dogs.' That was his last thought.

That evening, the day-long slaughter in Rio de Janeiro was drawing to a close. Overall, the rioting had largely subsided, leaving only sporadic exchanges of fire.

The setting sun was like blood. Arasaka's Special Rapid Response Unit had completed its purge operation successfully. On the list, 1,328 marked key criminals had been executed, with countless collateral casualties.

Arasaka's prepared cleanup operation was devastatingly effective.

After the operation, the streets of Rio de Janeiro were cleared of gang leaders, fixers, mercenaries, and those with major criminal records with the corporations or city government—all swept away in one go.

Only a handful of the clever, the lucky, and the company's black gloves survived.

"It's over."

Finally, in the early hours, the last team of the Special Rapid Response Unit returned with their seized spoils. Vera, in her crisp uniform, stood with arms crossed, silently gazing out at nighttime Rio de Janeiro from a god's-eye view through the massive floor-to-ceiling window that covered the entire wall.

The streets of Rio had lost their lights. Only the neon signs of the City Center's skyscrapers flickered.

Here, it was paradise.

Outside the city center, it was a chaotic war zone, a purgatory.

Dawn would come as usual, but for many, there would be no second sunrise...

"..."

Turning around, Vera silently lifted her head to look at the three-dimensional layout of the building's interior and the prominent Arasaka Clover logo.

After a long moment, she looked away.

"Time to go back to Night City."

Walking toward the operations center, Vera called up the micro-display built into her cybereye. "This is Vera Adelheid. The Rio de Janeiro riot has been suppressed. Entering the mop-up phase."

Summary Report: Arasaka Group South America Investigation Team

[Arasaka Information Department, Operations Supervision Department Committee Meeting - Night City]

Executor: Vera Adelheid Russell [Arasaka Security Department, General Security Bureau Special Rapid Response Unit Team 6 - Night City]

Location: South America / Brazil / Rio de Janeiro

Mission Description: Provide security services to Arasaka's South American branches, suppress the riot outbreak in Brazil, and purge terrorist organizations hiding in Rio de Janeiro

Date: 2074/5/24

Status: In Progress → Pending Completion

Chapter 002: The So-Called Vera Adelheid Russell

Northern California, Night City.

City Center, Corporate Plaza.

Gray clouds gathered in clumps scattered across the sky. Beneath the clear sky, the massive 130-story building stood like a pitch-black tower, silently erected in the heart of Night City.

Compared to the neighboring Militech Tower and Kang Tao Tower, its design was conservative and unremarkable—entirely composed of black reinforced glass curtain walls and steel, giving off a chilling, oppressive feeling of grim slaughter.

From most areas of Night City, it could be seen clearly.

Just as its presence loomed over Night City, no one could ignore it—not even the "legends" who had once blown it sky-high.

Arasaka Tower.

Full name: Arasaka America Division Night City Headquarters.

The tallest building in Night City, and the symbol of the city's neomilitarism and Arasaka's hegemony.

Countless people hated its existence, wishing they could blow it to the ground. Equally, countless people yearned for it, willing to give everything just to climb Arasaka Tower, kiss its cold black marble plaque, and dream of rising above, getting promoted, and becoming someone.

"Hey, heard about it? The South America Investigation Team just pulled off a big one—executed over a thousand criminals in Rio de Janeiro."

"Your news is old. I heard the Company Engineering and Construction Department is swamped, working overtime to design Rio's urban reconstruction plan. The marketing negotiators already flew out to Brasilia."

"Brasilia's pretty satisfied with this security service. The Security Department's getting paid again. They should be back soon. This field mission bonus alone is probably worth months of our salaries. Looks like Ms. Adelheid's next promotion isn't far off."

"No comparison. The Security Department's the golden child of Arasaka. Us? Hah, we're the stepchildren..."

In front of the elevator leading to the Arasaka Counter-Intelligence Department's office floors, a woman with rolled-up sleeves, wearing a wine-red office uniform and a single-shave hairstyle, listened to her passing colleagues' chatter. She frowned, a contemplative look on her face.

"Security Department... Adelheid?" she murmured.

"No way, V. I remember you're from Arasaka Tower Academy too."

Beside her, her companion looked puzzled. "Ms. Vera Adelheid was a year ahead of you—your senior." He lowered his voice, teasing with a hint of envy. "Come to think of it, with that connection, why not give it a shot? Maybe you can pull some strings..."

"Fuck off!"

Hearing this, the woman called V turned her head. Her sharp-featured, handsome face instantly evoked the word "wild."

She quickly shut down her companion's unrealistic fantasy.

"Of course I know. Valedictorian of the 2073 graduating class, on the radar at Tokyo Headquarters, a promising big shot in the making. Me? I'm just a small fry—an intern who hasn't even officially transferred in the '74 program. Never even met her. How would I pull strings?"

The teaching model nowadays was nothing like the oral traditions of the last century.

Relationships between teachers, students, and classmates were thin. Unless you were top-tier and valued, almost all instruction was AI-driven.

V shook her head. "Different systems. She went to the School of Military Administration and Law. I went to the School of Information, Communication and Intelligence. Our required and elective courses are completely different—no connection at all. That's not how you name-drop."

She was assigned to the Counter-Intelligence Department.

Internal security was high, but the department's reputation wasn't exactly great.

"Barging in rashly would only bring trouble. In this company, if you're not close with someone, who knows if she'd sell me out and have me counting the money for her? I'm in no rush. I'll just let things take their course..." As she spoke, V waved her hand. Just then, the elevator arrived, and she stepped inside.

Silence all the way.

The elevator reached the floor where the Counter-Intelligence Department's office area was located.

"Well then, V, good luck."

"You too."

V parted ways with her companion and walked toward her own workstation. For now, only her acquaintance Harry was at his desk.

This black man, with a rather honest-looking face, brightened at the sight of V. He stood up and waved. "Hey, V. Jenkins wants you to go see him."

"Jenkins?" V murmured. Arthur Jenkins, a high-ranking officer in the Counter-Intelligence Department. She'd met him a few times. Could it be about her probation period ending? Her performance during the internship hadn't been bad.

"Harry, do you know why Jenkins is looking for me?" V asked in a low voice.

"No idea." Shaking his head, Harry spread his hands and put on an expression of ignorance. Something like that was definitely not something a low-level employee like him would know.

"Alright."