Chapter 265
It's definitely worth receiving her advanced training!
Kiwi must be so excited...
Lucy had already deeply realized the value of cutting-edge knowledge and the rarity of good mentors, thought to herself.
"I've reviewed your information. As a descendant of a company meritorious employee in the Paris-Tawau branch of the Arasaka region in Europe, you could have had a bright future, but instead you ran away from home, causing your family to break up and wasting more than ten years of your best years for learning."
As if she could read Lucy's mind, Song Zhaomei voiced her question.
"Before I teach you, I want to ask you, what did you gain after crawling and rolling in the mud? Don't tell me you only gained friends?"
Lucy froze as she looked for a seat.
Song Zhaomei watched her quietly.
A moment later, Lucy sat down in section B, opposite seat V, and asked, "Special training, do we need a second background check?"
"No."
Using her recently upgraded privileges, Song Zhaomei glanced at Lucy's information and said with a sigh, "I was just thinking that some people desperately want something but can't have it, while others discard it like trash. What a strange world this is."
"..."
V raised an eyebrow, realizing the atmosphere was a bit awkward, and waved.
"Set off."
The buzzing of the Vector Engine temporarily interrupted the less-than-pleasant conversation.
As for Lucy's henchmen (in the eyes of the Corporate Dog), Kiwi and Rebecca did not get on the bus.
Because they weren't qualified for this car, they were on another car.
Although Lucy did not hold a specific position, she still had a high-ranking biological father, a personal friendship with the counterintelligence director V, and a file with the 'real big shot' Vera.
Of course, Song Zhaomei needs to be taught, and the number of people she teaches her skills is certainly not limited to just this one.
With a humming sound, the Explorer-type airborne vehicle ascended into cruise mode.
An unexpected incident interrupted Lucy's good mood.
She instinctively turned her head to look at the transparent optical porthole.
Unbeknownst to them, the convoy had passed through the industrial zone in the north of the city and the Arasaka Research and Development Zone, which was still under construction amidst the roar of automated machinery.
Further Arasaka Waterfront, towering transport ships and landing ships are moored at the shore.
Extremely Badlands.
On the dry, dead Gobi Desert, various mottled, yellowish-brown convoys are moving.
Lucy knew that they were civilians fleeing the disaster, tribes of Nomads had chosen to stop working and seek refuge, and perhaps even adventurous gold diggers who came to Night City to pursue their dreams during 'good times'.
Seeing the Badlands, she inexplicably thought of Panam Palmer.
That hot-tempered female Nomads from the Aldecaldo Tribe.
In that damned heist mission, she lost many of her brothers—according to information passed on by Jackie Welles during this time, Panam, who received the money, gave Maine and his men, including her, a thorough dressing-down.
After learning the whole story, the wild woman fell silent. She was shocked to learn that her childhood rebellion, her running away from home due to ideological conflicts, and the subsequent falling out between father and daughter after the facade of 'filial piety' was stripped away, leading to the disintegration of the family, her imprisonment but miraculous escape, and her eventual survival after more than a decade of wandering by revealing her identity and returning to Arasaka, only muttered a word of hypocrisy before leaving.
Am I being dramatic...?
Lucy looked somewhat downcast.
It's not a pleasant feeling to admit that what I've done over the past decade or so has been a failure.
"Give."
At that moment, a black hand reached out in front of her.
It was Harry, a black man sitting in cabin B, a rare good-natured Corporate Dog world, and V's confidant.
The rather simple-looking Black man poured her a glass of sparkling wine.
"You can't live in Night City without friends. Even though we're heading to San Francisco soon, let's celebrate a fresh start."
He said.
"Thanks."
Lucy reached out and took it.
Friend, yes, I've also gained friends. All these years of wandering and hardship have been worthwhile!
Lucy looked away from the optical window and turned her gaze back to Song Zhaomei.
"So what if you only gained friends? My friends are more resilient than you think."
"A bullet doesn't care whether you're tough or fragile."
That's what she said, but Song Zhaomei didn't mean any harm; instead, there was a sense of nostalgia and envy in her voice.
V, who had taken in all of this, quietly gave Harry a thumbs-up.
Harry patted V on the chest.
"It seems you don't regret it, and that's enough."
Holding a wine glass and gazing at the crystal-clear bubbles rising to the surface, Song Zhaomei said, "According to my 'mentor,' if you play adult games, you have to face the consequences like an adult."
"Your mentor?"
Lucy was a little curious.
"Yes, my mentor on my path to becoming a secret agent, but he's dead. I even tried to betray him once, but he didn't die."
The amount of information was too much, leaving Lucy speechless.
This person is inherently rebellious.
Having understood Lucy's gaze, Song Zhaomei a bitter smile.
"I had no other choice. But I don't regret any of the choices I made after joining the Federal Intelligence Agency, including joining Arasaka. I'm just a little confused about the future."
She downed the champagne in one gulp, crossed her arms, leaned back in her airline chair, and said, "The most terrifying people are those who are single-minded and never confused."
It seemed to be addressed to Lucy, but it also seemed to be addressed to someone else.
The San Francisco Bay Area.
East Bay Oakland, City Center, top of the Arasaka Building.
Vera stood with her hands behind her back in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the distant outline of the Golden Gate Strait, now devoid of its suspension bridge.
"Feeling lost? You're not lost when you have a clear goal and a single-minded determination to see things through."
The orange-red light in her eyes faded, and Vera smiled calmly.
Just then, ding-dong~
An electronic ringtone requesting access.
"Please come in."
"Madam, the SAT Unit rotated from the Santa Fe Frontline have arrived in the Bay Area."
Chapter 260 Vera, who is well-versed in 'outer heavens'.
Arasaka Industrial Park, Oakland, Bay Area.
Next to the Institute of Life Sciences is a rehabilitation and convalescent center.
In the Surgical Department, a highly confidential surgery is being prepared.
"Wake him up."
"Hai!"
In a daze, David Martinez heard the voices of many people talking.
He awoke groggily and was briefly confused as he reflected on the cause and effect.
I wanted to speak, but felt uncomfortable all over; I wanted to see things clearly, but all I could see were double images.
The white-clad figures in front of him all had their backs to him and were bowing, as if they were reporting to someone.
"Your Excellency, he has woken up."
"Yes, let me talk to him."
I could vaguely hear a very familiar, cool female voice.
Tap, tap.
The human wall made way.
A long, golden ponytail swayed in the light and shadow as a tall, beautiful woman with indigo eyes walked out from behind the crowd.
"David, can you hear me?"
The visitor spoke warmly.
David's unfocused iris focused, and his eyes instantly became clear.
"Commander Vera... cough cough, cough cough! Cough... cough cough!"
David was so excited that the benefactor who would change the future of the Martinez family and the person he admired in his life was right in front of him, and his physical discomfort caused him to cough violently a few times.
"Call."
His breathing became heavy, and he said loudly, "Sir, I... I did not disgrace SAT-6!"
"I know."
Vera's eyes held a smile that seemed to be both satisfied and gratified. "So I came. Your contributions to the prosperity of Arasaka and to my strategy are beyond question. Thank you for your hard work."
Having shared a classroom, carried guns, and divided spoils together, and now having fought, bled, and risked their lives together, David's sense of factional identity and pride in his Security Department academy is already quite evident.
This is far more effective than having Vera keep him by her side as a bodyguard from the beginning.
Besides, she has too many things to do and has neither the energy nor the interest to be a confidante or mentor.
Occasional admonitions are sufficient.
"I will help you recover, but avenge yourself is up to you."
Vera said.
Is it really possible?
On the medical bed, David looked down and, with the help of the backrest, saw his condition: a human stump.
And this is still the least damaged one.
What's truly serious is the degeneration of the nervous system.
Even with continuous overclocking of the military-grade [Sandevistan], it still struggles under debuffs, even when immune suppressants are completely depleted.
Lazarus's Power Armor soldiers are not the poor bastards on the street; their built-in hacking modules are like leeches clinging to bones, meaning David's ICE is also operating at its limit.
David was no longer Little White. With a little concentration, he could vaguely sense the discomfort and stinging in his skull and the inside of his eyes, realizing that his neurons might be less able to withstand the strain of his Combat Cybernetics.
Even if Arasaka had the means to treat him, was he, a mere soldier, qualified to use it? Keep in mind, he had only served for a little over a year.
"You deserve it."
With a gentle smile, Vera said confidently, "Now let me give you a reward. Tell me your wish."
His mouth moved faster than his brain; almost subconsciously, David said, "I want to be Power Armor pilot."
His eyes seemed to burn with fire, the blazing fire of Santa Fe, filled with longing and hope.
"Can."
Vera's voice remained calm; she was not surprised at all by the idea of "wanting to pilot a Gundam." "When you wake up again, you will be reborn."
After saying that, she turned her head and said, "Prepare for surgery."
"Yes!"
Glug~