Chapter 270
Vera's lips curled into a wicked smile.
What were once insignificant thoughts in my heart have gradually come to fruition.
Rosalind Miles —while she was indeed determined to kill him, that didn't stop her from learning from Miles's, and even the 'advanced' experience of Miles's predecessor, Elizabeth Kres.
As for her feelings in [Resident Evil]?
If we don't use you as a warehouse, who will?
[Call of Duty XI] and [Ghoul]'She's powerful but not in charge, which makes things inconvenient for her. When in danger, she can provide the [Vera Collective] with the local specialties she has on hand.
The "she" in "Ghost in the Shell" and "Jurassic Park + World" is still a cow and a horse. The former is a special forces soldier and agent, while the latter is a civilian genetics PhD, whose positioning is more focused on scientists: learning knowledge and exploring new technologies.
At least for the current stage.
As for 'her' in [CODE GEASS], she has the role of a warehouse, but she can't compare to the unrestricted nature of the military science in [Resident Evil]. She has too many concerns, and there are too few positions that can simultaneously meet the conditions of being readily accessible and being trusted by the country.
If dangerous items are targeted or seen by someone and stolen, the consequences can be difficult to handle.
For example, if one of Vera's cheap relatives were to suddenly visit with eerie red eyes, would Vera's security guards stop them? And right after such a surprise visit would be a professional table-flipping team, the kind with exceptionally skilled and unconventional techniques.
It's better to be safe than sorry.
It can be considered a level 2 warehouse of [Vera Collective].
Finally, let's leave aside the 'she' from Jormungand + Black Lagoon... well, let's not talk about her for now.
In short, stop thinking and indulge in pleasure.
The latter undoubtedly has the conditions for warehouses, but unfortunately, that world has no special products, and other worlds can provide what it can, resulting in a lack of investment and a small but highly efficient force.
In Cyberpunk parlance, this is a small weapons manufacturing company and international arms brokerage firm, much like a Malorian (Note 1).
Furthermore, as the "joker" of the [Vera Collective], she is required to travel the world freely to provide emotional support to the [sisters], relieving stress and negative emotions.
Positioning itself as a three-tiered warehouse providing modern weaponry?
Vera smiled slightly.
That's enough.
Temporary.
"Please give me a cup of refreshing herbal tea."
Vera stretched very lightly and then turned to give the order.
Arasaka nodded. "Yes."
Before long, small porcelain teacups were served.
Taking a sip of tea, Vera stretched her long legs, finished with her business, and stole a moment of leisure to start a rambling chat with her 'warehouse manager' from Resident Evil.
"The security recruitment by the Military Science Institute in 2004 was probably the last vestige of the Cold War for the US Military. After the collapse of the CCP, they went downhill. As the older generation gradually retired, and as time went on, the Pentagon's decay became a complete collapse."
"Looking to international recruitment? Forget it. With the CCP gone, the USA is already the best of the worst. It seems it's time to significantly increase the proportion of independently trained personnel in the military science and technology sector."
"It would be a shame if the KGB authoritarian legacy of the Security Department, the last vestige of the Cold War spirit of the US military competing to be better, were contaminated by thieves, drug addicts, and the poison of political correctness. Better to have none than something bad. Perhaps you should also start using Intellitron robotic technology on your end."
"A clean network without the Rogue AI and the Bartmoss virus."
"Speaking of building New America with military science, in politics, during the November 2, 2004 election, did you really offer Simmons your policy ideas in private? Buying Greenland from Denmark, annexing Canada into America, organizing a Panamanian referendum following Hawaii's precedent, or something like that?"
"If these words were to get out, I would definitely be labeled a Great Americanist and a discriminator."
"However... in 2004, the hegemony was still stable, and the tiger skin was still intact. If things were handled properly, it might actually succeed."
Leisure time is always fleeting; the flower tea is finished, and the airship has arrived at its destination.
Buzzing.
A dedicated air-floating vehicle garage atop the Arasaka Building in East Bay, Oakland.
As the gates opened, the plasma engines at the stern of the airship gradually died down, while the blue flames of the Vector Engine at the bottom of the aircraft grew stronger, propelling the massive black and red aircraft slowly into the building.
During the AI-driven scheduling in the garage, the airship's landing gear touched the ground.
Vera got out of the car.
Tap, tap.
The Oakland branch manager, who had been waiting for a long time, came up to greet them in small steps.
"Has everyone arrived?"
Vera asked casually.
"Everyone is here."
Nodding, Vera gently smoothed her dark formal attire, buttoned up her coat which she had unbuttoned during the ship's rest, and strode toward the elevator.
The journey was smooth and unobstructed.
Passing through the heavily guarded access control and scanning corridors, and arriving at the entrance of the Central War Room, we saw two bodyguards standing tall and solemn as Vera approached. Almost simultaneously, they operated the control panel beside them, and the heavy, intricately carved four-panel doors opened outwards.
Vera kept walking.
Inside, the executives of the Manufacturing Sector of Night City Arasaka Tower (regional headquarters) and the senior military officers of Arasaka, who were seated, turned their heads when they heard the noise. At the appropriate time, some slowly and some quickly, everyone stood up.
This includes intelligence officials and frontline commanders who were unable to attend in person due to important duties and participated via projection.
Vera walked past the gilded metal grille screen that resembled a sea of clouds, scanning the crowd as she went.
"Please, everyone, have a seat."
After saying that, she took the seat in the empty main seat at the central luxury stone conference table without hesitation.
"The theme of this meeting is very simple: the Central Offensive."
Without any preamble, Vera placed her hands together on the table and got straight to the point.
"The war, which has been going on for so long, has finally reached the point of head-on confrontation."
"The Allied forces in Sacramento will be placed under my and Arasaka's unified command, an advantage we did not have in our last confrontation with Militech."
"The battle on the southern front is intense, while the battle to capture the central strongholds and the outpost battles on the northern front have already begun. Our new and fresh troops are still landing in North America in droves."
"It is the right time to learn from past mistakes, avenge wrongs, and wipe away past humiliations."
As she spoke, Vera leaned forward, her eyes brimming with high spirits, "Gentlemen, let us unite as one, treat this power with care, use it prudently, and unleash it with courage."
A battlefront stretching for thousands of kilometers, with jagged, interconnected lines of defense in the central states.
On this barren land weathered by time, countless battles of attrition, assault, infiltration, covert warfare, and skirmishes are unfolding. In just three days, at least several thousand soldiers have shed their blood on this Badlands.
It may have involved at most a hundred people, but it was far more bloody.
On April 26, 2077, the fourth day after the start of the war, an even larger-scale battle ensued.
The Arasaka armed forces and the main force of the Free State Border Garrison clashed with the Militech armed forces and the New America Field Forces after destroying several cities and Nomads camps of their respective supporters.
The second major battle of the Fifth Corporate War broke out in the Grand Ed Norfolk- Omaha urban belt in central Nebraska!
Chapter 265 For Whom the Bell Tolls
Ring ring~
"Hey V, I bet you've been busy with all the woes of the war lately, haven't you?"
V: Uh, it's alright, Jackie. You know how it is in our line of work; chaos is the ladder. As long as you don't get killed or choose the wrong side, you can make a lot of money, and opportunities for promotion are everywhere.
"Oh? Well, I was going to say a couple of grand, witty remarks to ease your stress. It seems you're in good spirits, while I'm having a rather dull time."
April 27, 2077, Night City, Watson District.
A street-side barbecue restaurant that is open for business on Farrier Street.
Jackie Welles sat in the corner of the shop, holding a glass of tequila in his hand, the ice cubes clinking in the glass.
The barbecue bar was bustling with noise. Blinding holographic advertisements and super-dreamy projections danced on the walls. Flames rolled on the iron plates and grills. It looked dirty but smelled delicious. Turkish-style extra spicy kebabs, made of some kind of meat paste, sizzled and dripped with oil. The sound of clinking glasses was incessant.
Even with the shadow of war looming over North America and countless people fleeing, Night City remains a prime example of rampant consumerism and hedonism.
Guns, nationalized; food, perhaps nationalized, OK, let's keep the music playing and the dance going!
So even if I get killed by the idiot Corporate Dog during this high-energy event, it's worth it.
This city itself is a tombstone of humanity.
It is also a reflection of most Cyberpunkification cities.
Jackie, whose prosthetic eye was flashing with communication light, shook his head and grinned.
"Um, let me think, what's this called again? A woman's beauty salon, a man's gas station, a power stimulant that nourishes you, my good sister."
[V: Haha, maybe. But my little thing is nothing. Chatting, babysitting, counter-espionage— the Counter-Intelligence Department is now completely under the control of my new boss (Jimmy). No wonder he's a frontline combatant from the Security Department; he does everything himself, running around everywhere. The organizational structure of the intelligence department is nothing like it was under Jenkins and Abernathy.]
V's voice came from the other end of the phone, sounding a little tired, but at least it didn't sound like a leaky vent.
"Chatting companionship? Babysitting?"
Jackie laughed, "Damn, what the hell did you put me here for? This is supposed to be counterintelligence work?"
[V: Hey buddy, you know the rules of Arasaka, that's roughly the gist of it, but it's pretty important.]
"OK, OK, I understand."
Jackie leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the crowd in the barbecue area. The smile on his face faded, and his expression turned serious. "Let's get down to business. I just want to ask, in this damn war, what are the chances of Night City being hit by another nuclear bomb..."
V remained silent.
Jackie didn't urge him.
After taking a swig of chilled tequila, he turned his gaze to the large ceiling-mounted TV screen in the barbecue area.
The content is naturally war, war, and the most damn war ever.
From the fierce battles between mercenary groups on the southern front, to the large-scale counterattacks by regular armies on the central front, and then to the stalemate of heavy forces on the northern front:
"Damn it, Arasaka! I've turned my apartment into a temporary shelter."
"I hope we don't need it, but it's better than nothing," a resident of Keese, a small border town in Oklahoma near New Mexico, told N54. "This is my home, where else can I go?"
"The streets are filled with Arasaka tractors, armored vehicles, and drones. The cleanup and dredging work in the Golden Gate Strait has been underway for four days. The Geiger counter is beeping all day long, damn it, Miles!"
San Francisco residents told WNS, "The whole city is stockpiling food, ammunition, and radiation protection drugs. Who knows when the second nuclear bomb will come?"
"We are standing at a crossroads in history."
Military analysts, speaking to neutral media, warned that "if Arasaka and his Militech continue their self-deceptive nuclear attacks, and the hot war escalates into a full-blown Nuclear War, the entire Americas will be destroyed, and the world will be plunged into an unprecedented catastrophe."
Apart from these few mainstream media outlets, the rest are all exclusive footage captured at great personal risk by independent journalists or war correspondents.
Clearly, the barbecue restaurant owner is a ruthless character who values money over life and has very unconventional methods.
They know what the bloodthirsty audience of Night City, indulging in their lustful desires, wants to see.
The chicken is censored!
Only cowards watch this! We want blood and gore!
A small Kansas that was razed to the ground by war.
Once, this place was rugged and majestic, surrounded by a vast private CHOOH2 farm. Now, the city is engulfed in flames, the farm has been set ablaze, and only broken walls and charred remains remain on the once vibrant commercial street, marked by bomb craters and tire tracks.
"Why?!"
Beneath the ruins, the local sheriff, covered in dust and dirt, knelt before the ruins of his police station, roaring and questioning.
"Why should we become victims of your war?!"
Meanwhile, the independent journalists cleverly focused their cameras on the Arasaka airships and large swarms of drones passing through the background airspace.
On the ground, armored vehicles roared past, crushing farms in the countryside, while the sounds of explosions and gunfire in the background never ceased.