Limitless: Rising Through Arasaka

She thanked him sincerely.

[Kushinada Lucina: No need, just call me Lucy. We're in this together now, let's consider it a friendship. I didn't expect you to dare turn against your department head for Jackie Welles, who doesn't even work in Arasaka, which indirectly protected Maine and the others. Seriously, it has changed my opinion of you, this arrogant Corporate Dog.]

"You're Corporate Dog now too."

V smiled, changed Kushinada Lucina to Lucy, and said, "Just call me V."

As she spoke, she pulled out a red-shelled pineapple-shaped incendiary grenade.

[Lucy: Yeah, Corporate Dog, back to square one... Let's leave it at that for now. I'll be at the security dispatch and command center in the Lijiang area to support your cleanup operation and eliminate Jenkins's informants.]

"Um."

V nodded, paused, looked back at the dead end, pulled out the pin on the grenade, and tossed it gently. Boom! The incendiary grenade exploded on Carter's body, instantly igniting the grease and flammable material covering his body.

Even the Black Dream extraction technology cannot restore burnt brains.

Bathed in the firelight, V walked away without looking back.

The main road near the street was bustling with traffic, with vehicles coming and going incessantly.

Leaving the alleyway, the suddenly open view made V involuntarily look up at the towering skyscrapers.

It had drizzled last night, and the morning mist revealed a dazzling array of holographic billboards and neon lights.

This is the dividing line between the Heywood the Glen and the Lisboa area. On one side, the buildings are ugly and shabby, while on the other side, they are clean and pleasant. Although there are also old buildings, many new and beautiful buildings have sprung up.

Old and new, decadence and hope...

Just as the people of Night City flock to the promising Lijing area, V is doing the same thing: embracing the light and jumping off the sinking ship.

"Hi, V."

A black man wearing a baseball cap and with a rather honest-looking face had been waiting at the entrance of the alley for a long time.

"Harry."

"How many is this?"

Harry beckoned and stepped forward, taking the briefcase from V's hand, which still bore traces of blood, while handing him a steaming bowl of dirty American hot dogs. "Eight? Or more than ten?"

"Thirteen."

Last night, V was busy killing off his spies and secretly directing the elimination of untrustworthy personnel from the Third Counterintelligence Division. After a busy night with no time to eat, he took a big bite of a street hot dog topped with whatever kind of meat and sauce he could tell was smeared on it, and chewed, saying, "Or more. But it makes no difference to us."

"Too."

Harry was somewhat worried, but as a trusted confidant who shared an office cubicle with V and spent every day with him, he did not back down. He knew very well that if V was purged, he would definitely be finished as well, and he had no way to find another job. Therefore, after V revealed his infidelity, he immediately sided with him.

The two walked side by side like ordinary cyber mercenaries in Night City.

"By the way, V, do you remember Frank Nostra?"

Harry lowered his voice and reported, "It's the guy who worked with you on the mission at 'Icefall' on the East Coast."

"Frank?"

V thought for a moment, "I vaguely remember him, he should be one of Abernathy's men."

"Yes, he was originally Abernathy's mole planted in the Counter-Intelligence Department."

Harry continued, "But because Abernathy is dead, he's been asking around about you lately. Taking advantage of Jenkins' temporary inability to focus on counterintelligence, our people had him kidnapped to prevent him from doing anything wrong. But during the execution, he suddenly tried to claim ties with you, and our people couldn't be sure..."

"Get rid of it."

V was very decisive.

He was just a colleague with whom I had a brief but profound friendship.

At times like these, one must not be careless. This could be part of an investigation, and those above him are watching him closely. Therefore, he cannot gamble. He must handle things well, send Jenkins away cleanly, and solidify the 'solved' Abernathy case according to the official characterization.

"Clear."

Harry dialed the newly established internal communication line of Counterintelligence Section 3. The prosthetic eye plug-in flashed an orange-red beacon, transmitting the execution order.

[Harry: V means "kill him."]

"It's solved."

Less than three seconds later, Harry turned to ask for instructions, "There's a live video recording..."

"No. The finishing touches are the priority. The faster and cleaner we act, the less negative impact there will be when Jenkins is held accountable for his incompetence and removed from office."

A short while later, the two arrived at the parking lot.

V quickly devoured the large hot dog loaded with toppings, then bought a bottle of warm, dark-colored concoction filled with syrup and coffee powder from a mobile vendor at the entrance. After gulping it down to quench his thirst and rehydrate, he boarded Harry's vintage muscle car.

With a hum, the vehicle started and drove off the street.

At the same time, Vera convened a meeting of her trusted followers at the Arasaka Tower—

First, unify thinking, promote old officials, distribute the spoils, and announce the end of the "blood transfusion period" tacitly approved by the Arasaka Corporation.

It also emphasized uniting the troops and looking eastward, and discussed plans for military reorganization and preparation for war, updating equipment, expanding material reserves, intensifying the propaganda war, strengthening the armed forces of the Free State Alliance, and preparing to welcome the supercarrier Adelheid to its port, etc.

The schedule for the second half of the month is also packed full.

He successively scheduled meetings with Kurt Hansen, the mercenary Barghest, to visit Michiko Arasaka, to meet with the supporters of the 'Kei Arasaka Legacy', to meet with the leaders of the Free State Alliance, and to work on the development of his personal [Warframe] system and the Jurassic Park Project, among other things, some important and some not.

Therefore, it is foreseeable that they will be extremely busy.

Across the Pacific Ocean, Tokyo Metropolis under the cover of night.

Private residence of Sano Arasaka Chiyoda Ward.

The inner quarters.

The room was bathed in warm light that flickered between light and shadow, and a faint fragrance wafted through the air.

After a busy day Sano Arasaka lay back on the tatami mat.

The interior furnishings were simple: a few stools, cushions, and a table with picture frames and several professional-grade PDA tablets on it. Norinobu also had a PDA in his hand, which he held at an angle.

Didi.

The silence was broken by the notification tone of an incoming call.

[13-357 Encrypted Identity: Lord Norinobu, taking advantage of the personnel reassignment in Night City, the secure passage of the 'Solaris Staircase Project' biological experiment center has been opened. Upon investigation, the location of the 'tentatively named: Tyrant-Ghoul-118-09 fusion virus (TG-Progenitor-Veronica- Ghoul fusion virus)' discovered and cultivated by Your Excellency Vera has been determined.]

The blue light from the PDA screen reflected on his face, Norinobu's listless gaze, which had been fixed on the ceiling, suddenly sharpened.

"Phew, did we make contact?"

Norinobu his forehead. "Finally, that old man values the 'Solaris Staircase' so much. It's going to be really difficult for him to infiltrate our ranks..."

With a relaxed expression, he looked at the photo frame, which was a picture of him, Wako, and his mother Michiko.

"Mother... please bless me."

Norinobu's expression was resolute. By now, he had made almost all the necessary arrangements.

As the conflict in North America continues to escalate, although Vera has transferred many of his undercover agents to the biological experiment center, the core remains. After being replenished, only a few more points are needed to connect a complete entry and exit evacuation route. Anders Herman's Relic Project already has his people planted... It's time to prepare to completely break ties with that old man, Saburo. At most two months, he's had enough of pretending to be a good son!