Chapter 212
Combining Japanese, Western, and Chinese elements, in addition to the pufferfish dishes, ecohaki (rice rolls), New Year's Eve soba noodles, red bean and rice cake soup, and miso zōni (soy sauce stew) that are essential for welcoming the Japanese New Year, there are also many Michiko, American, Italian, and even Chinese imperial medicinal dishes, all served in small portions on small bowls and plates, thanks to the American palates of Vera and Vera.
Well, except for someone's portion.
"Cough..."
Vera blushed, a rare occurrence for her.
This is messed up.
But she wasn't afraid; she calmly wiped her palms with disinfectant wipes.
Being able to eat is a blessing.
Michiko teased from the side.
Upon seeing this, Shintaro Takayama smiled gently, and Saburo Arasaka laughed heartily.
Perhaps Arasaka's thriving business was truly making him happy; the rejuvenation of his body had also boosted Saburo's appetite. "Let's begin today's family dinner. A little indulgence is fine."
After saying that, he first drank a sip of miso soup, then picked up a piece of freshly killed pufferfish meat, dipped it in a little yuzu-flavored soy sauce, and put it in his mouth.
Vera only started eating after Saburo had started.
Since things have come to this, let's eat first.
During the meal, Saburo also ordered his servants to open a bottle of sake and a bottle of rice wine.
As an ace pilot who came from the old army, it was impossible for him not to have an alcohol addiction, but his aging body made him quit.
It was clear that after more than a year of recuperation and conditioning, Saburo's body had indeed become much younger. Vera immediately activated her Geass field to probe Sano Arasaka's emotional fluctuations. How to put it? Melancholy, frustration, inner turmoil—and resolute?
Um?!
Vera, maintaining an elegant posture, scooped soup and slowly fed herself paella, her hand holding the spoon paused almost imperceptibly, her eyes narrowing slightly. Finally, Norinobu couldn't wait any longer?
How long does he plan to lie low?
While toasting Shintaro Takayama, Michiko, and Wako, Vera drank several glasses in a row, putting on an act, all the while thinking.
The power struggle between Norinobu and her over the past year, which has been a silent battle, has been tacitly approved by Sanlang. It all depends on who has the stronger ability and energy, and who can take on more tasks.
Vera was confident that if Norinobu didn't have the prestige of Hawks had cultivated his influence for nearly half a century and his family background, she could defeat him as easily as an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. Even if she were to use her own strength to injure him, she could still overwhelm Norinobu with her sheer strength.
The reason why Norinobu and Vera could fight each other without breaking off relations is because she was also Hawks who advocated war against Militech, the New America and its allies. On this point, Norinobu and Vera shared the same considerations.
The difference is—
Norinobu wants to destroy the world order dominated by corporations through Corporate War. The war between Arasaka and Militech is just the first step. He will continue to provoke and intensify conflicts, and take the opportunity to drag more companies into the war.
Vera's goal is to destroy Militech and New Beauty, and with her outstanding military achievements, ascend to the pinnacle of Arasaka, leading Arasaka to the top of the global rankings. The larger-scale Unification War the Earth will be planned gradually. Arasaka cannot be destroyed, at least not the Arasaka that belongs to her.
Now, she has laid the foundation for seizing power.
The question is, how can we make Saburo and Norinobu successfully stage a 'filial piety' drama?
Norinobu had been secretly plotting to steal the Progenitor Virus sample from the [Solaris Staircase Project]. This was easy to guess. By leveraging his status as the only male heir of the Arasaka family, who was striving again, Norinobu possessed considerable charm and could easily attract some stubborn, blood-obsessed individuals to his side, thus infiltrating his network of informants.
Leave a loophole and let him steal it.
Coincidentally, in the Resident Evil, a new type of Super Virus that can greatly enhance physical abilities has already made progress...
Anders Herman's second-generation Relic prototype chip has also been created, and it is said to use the soul imprint of Johnny Silverhand, the number one terrorist who caused the nuclear explosion at the Old Arasaka Tower in Night City in 2023.
Come to think of it, Johnny Silverhand was the idol who inspired Sano Arasaka's determination to rebel against the giant corporations, which explains why he chose to steal it.
I also need to set up a scheme in Night City.
The Fifth Corporate War must be prepared by New Year's Day 2078 at the latest, while also making and perfecting countermeasures against Rosalind Miles's sneak attack and contingency plans for an early war.
[CODE GEASS] The development of the world's goddess of love, 'Freya', annihilation bomb needs to be accelerated. The 'Sakura Dite' bomb is just a dessert, not enough.
The integration and mass production of other technologies, within six months—and we also need to strive to upgrade and improve the modular component system of that [battle armor] as soon as possible. It's not just a life-saving tool, but also a direction for future development...
Just as Vera was pondering how to set up a trap in Night City, after a few rounds of drinks, the atmosphere at the Arasaka family banquet became relatively relaxed and less serious, when Michiko's voice came.
"Vera, Jurassic Park are you planning to build in Night City? Mechanical dinosaurs, or fossils?"
Michiko was very curious about the conversation that had just been interrupted between them.
"It is naturally a real dragon."
Vera put down her knife and fork, wiped her mouth with a napkin, took a sip of ice water to clear her throat, and smiled gently.
"Starting with a rudimentary idea, could we extract dinosaur genetic information from the blood of ancient mosquitoes trapped in amber, and then use this genetic information to breed dinosaurs, thus bringing back to life prehistoric animals that have been extinct on Earth for 65 million years?"
"I already have a rough idea for the dinosaur resurrection project. With some marketing strategies and a not-too-complicated supporting renovation plan, a rough idea has formed in my mind."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Saburo immediately became interested and said, "Continue."
"Let me tell you the story, sir."
206
Chapter 206 Nian Yu, the Disguise for War Preparations - Night City Jurassic Park Project.
Time: 2077-1-1.
Presenter: Vera Adelheid Arasaka Russell.
Title: [Jurassic Park Project]
[Breeding and breeding dinosaurs, developing genetics, building up cloning technology, implementing environmental restoration projects, constructing ecological parks, creating and showcasing the image of the new pioneers of Arasaka, and bringing life back to the wasteland]
The initial idea for this project came from an unexpected find of ancient mosquitoes in amber.
Using modern, significantly advanced gene repair and programming technologies, we will cultivate a new generation of dinosaurs unique to Arasaka.
God bless me. After proposing the idea, the process was difficult but smooth. I successfully extracted the dinosaur's genetic information and used it to cultivate the first batch of dinosaur embryos belonging to Arasaka.
—[Note: The dinosaurs mentioned here are genetically modified organisms]
Because the genetic information extracted from the blood of ancient dinosaurs is incomplete, it is necessary to fill in the genetic information with the genes of other animals to artificially complete it. Therefore, none of the dinosaurs born through genetic engineering are natural. Strictly speaking, the dinosaur products of the "Jurassic Park Project" should be biological weapons in the shape of dinosaurs.
This is just my personal, albeit limited, opinion.
Weapons, in addition to providing emotional value, are the second purpose I've been looking for for the dinosaurs.
Emotional value, as the name suggests, refers to the 20-minute park effect—urban spaces that satisfy people's emotional needs.
By creating urban ecological parks, we aim to meet the emotional needs of our employees, as well as prominent figures in politics and business, allies, investors, collaborators, and supporters, beyond the pressures of work and the complexities of life, thereby reducing stress and providing people with the emotional value they need in urban life.
For example, a dinosaur-themed park could be built in the new district of the Arasaka Research Center in Night City to showcase dinosaurs to the outside world.
Making a profit is one aspect, but more importantly, elevating the overall message is crucial.
Protecting and extending life is a great undertaking, Arasaka will continue to plan for the future of human technology.
In this new era, rebuilding and restoring the atmospheric ecosystem will be one of the important responsibilities of Arasaka as a global giant.
—— [Future Outlook]——
No. 1, Commercialization, primarily featuring herbivorous female dinosaurs, an ornamental ecological park, introducing hydroponics and vertical farming techniques. Once the technology for resurrecting dinosaurs matures, its application will be gradually expanded, such as to arenas, selectively bred miniature pet dinosaurs, complementary dinosaur food, toys and related merchandise, and the Mewtwo movie...
No. 2, weaponization, primarily carnivorous dinosaurs, hybrid dinosaurs, with targeted programming of savage predatory genes, taking advantage of strengths and compensating for weaknesses, such as the short forelimbs of Tyrannosaurus Rex, which are structures that need to be eliminated. If necessary, the phased research results of the [Solaris Staircase Project] and [Quinque Project] can be applied, and cybernetic modification can be carried out based on the successful example of the Cybernetic Tyrant.
No. 3, technological reserves, identify differentiated tracks, and realize value transformation through the simple reuse of accumulated potential energy, including continuous investment and practice in environmental remediation engineering, ecological restoration technology, biological cloning technology, and organ-directed cultivation technology, to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
No. 4, to mass-produce dinosaurs at low cost and continuously improve the breeding and reproduction process.
No. 5, cultivate specialized meat dragons, pursue a high-end product route, and market dragon-eating culture.
Specific content: Draft of Phase I of the construction plan.
Night City Jurassic Park
Night City Artificial Island
Santa Rosa Island - Santa Cruz Dinosaur Breeding Factory and Large-scale Ecological Experiment Base
—Details can be expanded [Top Secret #Distribution and unauthorized viewing of this document will result in immediate execution#]—
By constructing Night City Jurassic Park and a dedicated dinosaur manufacturing plant, and employing a targeted, point-and-line combined strategy, they further circumvented the treaty restrictions of the Second Alvin Agreement, secretly increasing underground research institutes and clandestine intelligence societies. This allowed them to infiltrate the West Coast of North America on a larger scale, across more areas, and at a deeper level, deepening their control and obscuring the number of troops stationed and the forces available at the start of the war...
[Underwater Facilities]
Didi.
[Saved successfully]
After typing the last character on the virtual retina screen built into the Kiroshi Eye, the blue and white data stream light flashing in Vera's eye socket immediately went out.
Done.
Vera, sitting at her desk in her bedroom, picked up a steaming cup of black tea and took a sip.
At the New Year's Eve banquet in the Arasaka Family Estate in 2076-2077, the first draft of the "Jurassic Park Project," which Saburo had asked her to explain in detail, was finally completed.
Because Saburo was urging her so urgently, and it wasn't an informal meeting, Vera didn't continue polishing her words; she simply organized her ideas a little.
After reviewing the document twice to ensure there were no errors, she clicked "send".
[Sent successfully]
Thump, thump.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Miss Vera, it's time for breakfast."
It's New Year's Day again.
Upon hearing this, Vera put the teacup back in its place, stood up and stretched her limbs as she calmly said, "Please come in."
Squeak~
Upon receiving permission, the Arasaka family maids filed in.
Practice makes perfect, and with her experience as Holy Britannian Empire with the [CODE GEASS], Vera was already used to this kind of scene. Without any affectation, she walked to the dressing table and sat down, accepting the maids' service in a very natural manner.
After washing up, tying her hair up, putting on light makeup, changing into her finest clothes, wearing jewelry, putting on her shoes, and greeting the maid beside her, Vera stepped out of the bedroom.
Descending the stairs and passing the spiral staircase, Vera's indigo eyes gazed out at the snow-covered rockery courtyard as a waiter thoughtfully opened the shoji door leading to the porch.
It wasn't the guest room where she stayed during her New Year's Day break, but rather a separate mansion that belonged solely to her.
The courtyard is much more spacious, combining Japanese and Western styles. It features German geometric lines and contrasting volumes, as well as American-style trimmed trees, planting beds, and lawns.
It was eight o'clock in the morning. After the night snow, the clear sun and white snow complemented each other, creating a scene of jade trees and white flowers. Inside and outside the palace, everything was dressed in red and white, sparkling with crystal brilliance under the sunlight.
Taking a deep breath of cool air, though she wasn't actually feeling cold, Vera tightened the fur-trimmed cloak around her shoulders and looked at another building connected to the courtyard by the corridor.
Michiko's.
A flash of Crystal Blue Halo passed through her eyes. The Geass field spread out, and although the distance was a bit far, she couldn't detect the specific emotions, but she could still vaguely sense the movement trajectory of the source of the emotions.
Seeing the commotion, Michiko woke up.
Let's go find Old Deng together and ask for New Year's money (equivalent to lucky money).
Vera tossed her cloak aside and, surrounded by servants from her residence, walked unhurriedly toward the old Japanese-style house where Michiko lived.
The mansion was much larger than hers, and had an antique feel. After all, it was the former residence of the eldest Crown Prince, Kei Arasaka, and had been vacant for nearly half a century.
There's no need to argue about this; it's just a place to live, and the property should be returned to its rightful owner.
Vera shook her head, silently thinking of other things.
Norinobu...
Another traditional Japanese-style mansion.
Thump, thump.
"Norinobu, it's time to go to the Imperial Palace for breakfast..."
The waiter knocked on the door cautiously.