Chapter 263
With Arasaka's tireless efforts in developing Night City, all the Smiths had food to eat.
And Saburo's appointment of the rising star Vera signaled that Arasaka was transforming from a regional company dominated by a single Japanese family bloodline into a truly global enterprise.
Vera is from Night City, and the fact that she is not of Japanese descent yet became 'Arasaka' is a factor that could influence many people's choices.
Regional differences are always an extremely important factor. Don't assume that Westerners don't have regional discrimination.
Night City made its choice, siding with Arasaka.
Or rather, they should side with Arasaka, who is in power in Night City.
The attitude of the Free State was similar to some extent, siding with Arasaka, who was in power in North America.
Vera's decision not to excessively pressure Night City's Militech division is a rare bottom line in Cyberpunk warfare—a consistent principle among large corporations: it's okay to accidentally injure a hundred or so people, compensation can be made afterward, but don't excessively affect the business of peers of the same level, and the unspoken rule of nuclear weapons use is that they cannot be targeted at the headquarters of Major Corporations.
This was Night City Corporate Plaza, a cluster of corporate regional headquarters. She was almost certain that a nuclear bomb was buried beneath the Militech building. And it was a strategic-level one.
The principle of equivalence applies: if we can't blow it up here, let's try somewhere else.
Turning her gaze away, Vera dialed a number.
"Hansen, it's me."
"Miles gave me such a big surprise in San Francisco, it wouldn't be right not to reciprocate. Would you be interested in helping me return the favor?"
Chapter 257 Vera left her loyal Night City.
Boom boom boom—!
After the flashes of light and the earth-shaking tremors, a surging, turbid wave swept across the land, and a gigantic mushroom cloud rose from the ground, hovering over the red Badlands east of Santa Fe City, clearly visible for tens of kilometers around.
Without a doubt, it was a nuclear explosion.
A crimson sky, rising ashes, collapsed buildings, scrambling crowds, twisted and burning vehicles, and mangled corpses.
The Military Affairs Wide Angle taken remotely by the media was thus captured.
"Nuclear War? The Fifth Corporate War - New Mexico Battlefield, Second Nuclear Bomb Detonated!" — Independent reporter for Night City Inquirer.
Noisy, damp, cold, shivering, and annoying ticking.
The moment he regained consciousness, David Martinez abruptly opened his eyes.
The Optical Cybernetic Eye Lens focuses: a transparent cover emitting a gentle halo, throngs of people, moving ruins... As the sounds become clearer, the environment is noisy and chaotic, hum! The familiar and comforting sound of the hovercar engine.
That's right! The 536 Building Defense Position I'm in charge of! The Lazarus Mech Unit is attacking fiercely! Teammates! Covering, caught, about to be executed—the fragmented connection is reconnected, David's pupils suddenly contract, then relax again.
In the end, it seems I was saved by Adam Smasher.
He recalled the terrifying black shadow that was indiscriminately grinding flesh among the ruins and rubble.
Thank goodness, we weren't captured.
"I, excuse me... cough cough... uh, hiss ha."
After seeing the Arasaka logo on the EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) combat uniform that was moving around him, David was about to speak when he suddenly felt a sharp pain all over his body, inside and out, and he couldn't help but clench his teeth.
"Martinez, if I were you, I would close my eyes and get a good night's sleep right now."
EMT turned his head and said, "Tanaka, he's awake."
Soon, the EMT carrying the stretcher on the right made way, and Katsuo Tanaka, with a bandage wrapped around his forehead and his arm in a sling, limped over, his face showing joy and a heartfelt sense of relief on his tired face.
Before David could ask, Katsuo Tanaka said, "The war has begun."
He lamented, "But our war is temporarily suspended."
"The entire newly formed SAT-6 N squad, except for you, me, Suneo, and Wu Lai, was killed in action. I was the least injured. Suneo and Wu Lai weren't much better off than you."
"Don't talk. You're very weak. Don't even think about making phone calls to ask questions. Apart from the basic systems, your central processing unit has been shut down by the doctor. Get some rest."
After saying that, he turned to look at the mushroom cloud of nuclear explosion in the distant sky.
Whoosh, the sense of space and field of vision suddenly rises.
David knew that this was because the EMT team had put him onto the heavily armored Medical Hovercar.
He subconsciously turned his head to look.
"That is..."
David's eyes widened.
Dozens of kilometers away, a dark gray-black cloud column, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, hung high in the sky above the eastern suburbs of the city, which had been transformed into a purgatory of thick smoke and a sea of fire. Countless grains of sand and concrete dust fell back to the ground under the force of gravity, and the dim red light of the sky lingered for a long time...
This city is finished.
"It was a nuclear explosion."
One EMT said, "Tactical type, about 20,000 TNT equivalent."
"That's what everyone up there is saying: an eye for an eye, revenge for the San Francisco Nuclear Attack."
As he spoke, he seemed to notice the confusion on David's face and patiently explained while moving David's isolation-style stretcher, "Our Seventh Fleet Carrier Strike Group was almost hit by a nuclear bomb in San Francisco, and the Golden Gate Bridge collapsed."
David nodded, his expression revealing an expression of "So that's how it is."
Only then did he belatedly check his condition: a human stump.
How so? Looking at his torso covered in tubes, David gave a wry smile.
My mom will be terrified if she sees this.
Thump, thump.
Tanaka finally boarded the Medical Hovercar.
Seeing this, the EMT team leader, who had the Star of Life Emblem on his arm, waved and said, "Go."
Whoosh! The four Vector Engine of the hovercraft responded by increasing their power.
As altitude increases, the hatch closes.
David took one last look at the ravaged city he had fought for.
Just like an ant colony whose nest has been disturbed, countless refugees scattered and fled, their lives as worthless as wild grass, utterly miserable; moving upstream from west to east were the intelligent soldiers and heavily armored units of the Netherhound.
He was then pushed into the vehicle-mounted Medical Cryo-pod by the EMT. As a Life Support Fluid of Fat Emulsion, Amino Acid, and glucose was injected, he felt exhausted and closed his eyes again.
War is never a good thing.
Night City.
Watson District, the Underground Shelter of the Afterlife club.
News Channel 54 is currently broadcasting.
"Ms. Vera, could the Santa Fe Nuclear Explosion be interpreted as Arasaka's rebuttal to the White House Side 'Legend of the Past Re-employment Theory' regarding the San Francisco Nuclear Explosion Incident?"
"No, the Santa Fe Nuclear Explosion has nothing to do with Arasaka. If Arasaka chooses to retaliate with Nuclear War, North America will be devastated. We, Arasaka, have reservations about the San Francisco Incident, but regarding the Santa Fe incident, I think the conclusion is not complicated. 'Give me liberty or give me death,' is a famous quote by Patrick Henry, Old USA, and President Miles' actions have clearly hurt the hearts of Free People a second time."
"Um, ma'am, you might as well put it more clearly."
"The Santa Fe nuclear explosion was a tragic accident caused by the extreme emotions of the Civilian Western Cowboys who were disappointed with the White House's policies after President Miles announced the start of the Second Metal War..."
"Whispering sound!"
The Queen of Afterlife laughed, "Turning black into white, lying through the cracks, twisting concepts, treating human life like dirt..."
Rogue muttered about how these Major Corporations were all equally despicable, "Johnny, really, you damn bastard."
"I must have been blind to have fallen for you, to have believed your bullshit and gone to blow up the Arasaka Tower twice, and in the end, nothing changed..."
Watching the Blonde Beauty on TV being interviewed by rival media, speaking at an appropriate pace, with clear logic and eloquence, Rogue's voice unconsciously softened. She lowered her head, her expression somewhat desolate.
"Even in death, they cannot find peace; their corpses are whipped..."
Miles's attempt to pin the San Francisco nuclear bombing on these Legends of the Past, a seemingly wasteful argument, left Rogue with mixed feelings.
Washington's propaganda machine has been spouting nonsense online these past few days, claiming that the nuclear bomb did not come from the New America or the Militech arsenal, but was one of two nuclear devices acquired in 2023 by Johnny Silverhand and Past City Legends.
Dog shit!
As a participant in the incident, Rogue did know there were two nuclear bombs, but the problem was that only one was detonated.
All evidence had long been erased by the successfully detonated Tactical Nuclear Weapon, leaving no way to verify the facts. It was unexpected that a boomerang from more than half a century ago could still be used by Militech to hit her.
They were completely taken advantage of.
Fortunately, they completely ignored her.
Rogue glanced at Vera on television as she left immediately after her brief interview.
"Well."
He let out a long sigh.
After downing the whiskey in the shot glass on the coffee table, Rogue leaned back on the sofa.
I'm mentally exhausted.
She was considering retiring completely from the business.
"Johnny, if you were still alive, would you give up?"
The thought popped into Rogue's head for no reason, but she quickly shook her head and laughed, "No! You bastard, you'll definitely go bomb the Arasaka Tower, and you might even try to get me to go with you. Maybe you'll even add the White House to the target?"
Smiling, he poured himself another glass of wine and drank it all in one Rogue.
Arasaka Tower.
Vera walked through the Atrium Corridor after finishing her interview with News Channel 54.
[Vera: Based on the examples you provided, I've already crafted the reasons for you to present to the media. Now, you can wrap it up.]
[Kurt Hansen [Barghest CEO]: Understood. Look at the spontaneous actions of several former NUSA veterans from Texas were deeply involved in Operation Midnight Storm. Their hatred has grown as deep as their past love, and their opposition as strong as their past support, all due to Washington's renewed war efforts. What do you think?]
Vera smiled as she listened to Hansen's rather witty and humorous summary.
[Vera: You can polish it a little more when you publish it.]
[Hansen: So, what's the origin of the nuclear bomb?]
[Vera: I don't know, and neither does Arasaka. But you've been running this Black Market in Dogtown for so long, building it from scratch into something this big. You said some collectible Anteiku 'Black Nukes' originating from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Ukraine leaked out and transited through here—isn't that normal?]
[Hansen: I understand.]
Didi.
The communication was disconnected.
"Let's plan our trip to the San Francisco Bay Area."
Vera said to the Cybernetic Ninja Servant who followed her, "I'll leave after the military meeting this afternoon... Hmm?"
As she was speaking, her irises lit up with a red light.
A report email from the Security Department's SAT Unit was delivered.
[SAT Unit on the Santa Fe Frontline have completed rotation]
[Attachment: List of Personnel]
Expand document:
[SAT-2 Newly Formed M Squad [Expandable]]
[SAT-5 Newly Formed K-Squad [Expandable]]
[SAT-6 New N-Squad [Expandable]]
—Katsuo Tanaka, David Martinez ...
Vera's eyes flickered.
Didi.
[Rest Area Change: Night City → San Francisco Bay Area]