Infinite Progress, Starting with Arasaka

The amount this time was quite large. Not only was I tired, but my limbs felt weak and my head was pounding.

Jingle jingle.

As the notification appeared before her eyes, a communication request immediately connected to Vera's comms implant.

[Care Physician]

"Supervisor Russell, I apologize for the intrusion. 'Quantified Insight' just received a notification stating that your biological readings have shown significant fluctuations, indicating something is amiss. My duty requires me to ascertain your physical health status."

Quantified Insight, a rehabilitation center in cooperation with Arasaka.

Before Vera could respond.

Jingle jingle.

Another communication request connected. It was from [Trauma Team].

"Respected Ms. Vera Adelheid Russell [Platinum Member], we have detected that your body is experiencing..."

"Stop. I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired after a long period of high-intensity work. My personal experimental project has yielded some new insights, and I got a little too excited. Order me some calming medications."

Vera cut off the [Trauma Team]'s emergency rescue and then assured her care physician at Arasaka that she was alright.

"Hoo..." After hanging up, Vera rubbed her throbbing head and stood up. She glanced at the metal case, sealed it, and put it into storage. Then, she closed the laboratory door and walked towards the bedroom on the second floor.

In any case, a nap was in order.

Chapter 41: Stepping Stone and Senior's Attention

()

Russell Residence Apartment 414.

"Zzzz..."

Vera opened her eyes.

Gently massaging her slightly heavy forehead, Vera couldn't help but lick her dry lips. Every time she took something from her alternate "multidimensional temporal self," she would feel extremely fatigued that day and enter a deep sleep. It was truly a good way to maintain high-quality sleep.

"Hoo, it's really tiring, but the feeling is... amazing."

From groggy to fully awake, it felt like an electric current passing through her forehead, a tingling sensation that made her tremble slightly.

Compared to the time she took the 'paper,' and the subsequent tests involving constant interaction and taking small items, the 'amount' she took this time was significantly larger. Vera had felt completely drained at the time.

Fortunately, her recovery ability was exceptionally strong. Despite the mental fatigue and the stimulation of spiritual consumption, after one night, not only was her thinking sharp, but she felt unusually clear-headed.

It was not much different from her estimation. A standard suitcase was still within her tolerance. There were no major issues, except for a few days of diminished spirit, energy, and vitality.

Her soul sea still needed to recover and be refilled.

Practice makes perfect; she still needed to train more.

Gurgle gurgle~

"I'm hungry."

A sense of hunger.

Rubbing her flat stomach clockwise, Vera tilted her head. Orange-red light flickered in her eyes as a signal connected and a command was sent: "Housekeeping Unit One, prepare breakfast. Change the menu. Triple the usual lunch portion."

She rolled out of bed and padded barefoot towards the bathroom. After a quick shower, brushing her teeth, and rinsing her mouth, she put on the Arasaka uniform inner lining and slippers handed over by the smart control service robotic arm, and Vera headed towards the biological research laboratory in the basement.

The automatic sensor door opened upon recognizing Vera's biological signals. She entered the password for the storage room door and took out the metal case containing the T-Virus and its vaccine from the powered-on refrigerated safe. Placing it properly, she opened it.

She pulled out a green, spirally shaped container with her bare hands and examined the slightly viscous, pale green liquid inside.

"I need to find an opportunity to experiment with this."

Now was not the time to take it out.

Vera never considered using it as a weapon. This was a cyberpunk world, and it was already 2075. Cybernetic augmentation of the human body was all the rage.

Anyone, even if not a modification fanatic, would find it normal to have outdated synthetic stomachs, lungs, or esophagi installed. Even if one wasn't a mercenary, preventing illness from consuming unclean food or drink and thus avoiding higher medical expenses was a survival skill.

Vera suspected that some modification fanatics could actually drink the T-Virus like water and be completely fine, because they barely had any real flesh left on their bodies. How would the T-Virus infect them?

It was an RNA virus. Could it infect synthetic meat containing metal elements and chemical plastics?

If the T-Virus were poured into rivers severely polluted by cyber wars, making them completely uninhabitable for life, how long would its viability last?

Stepping back, if someone were infected by the T-Virus and turned into a zombie, going around biting people... could they even bite those metal contraptions?

Moreover, in the world of cyberpunk, although not everyone was as wild as those in Night City, it was a fact that everyone carried guns, and there were more guns than people. The aggressiveness of most people was not comparable to those in a world like the biological crisis.

If the common folk here encountered a staggering, grimacing, bleeding figure lunging at them with ill intent, they would most likely not scream and freeze in fear, but rather grab their weapons and shoot them a few times to make their intentions clear.

The value of the T-Virus in this regard was in creating B.O.W.s with extremely high physical strength, like Tyrants and Pursuers.

Then, supplemented with specialized cybernetic implants, weapon modules, and electronic brain control devices, they could be made into intelligent cybernetic weapons that were immune to pain, devoid of emotion, and had no limit to their cybernetic capacity, or whose cybernetic tolerance far exceeded that of normal individuals.

Unearthing the byproducts of the T-Virus research was its greatest value.

Umbrella, by researching it, developed a large number of high-quality medical products, ranging from effective beauty and health care to everyday anti-inflammatory, cough relief, and pain relief, to highly professional open wound healing and repair, and even the 'elixir of life' that slowed down the aging of human cells and tissues...

The former was worth a try, and Arasaka might be interested, but it was unlikely they would have high expectations.

Exoskeletons, individual power armor, and larger mechs were the fields that Arasaka's manufacturing departments were focused on, and they had already achieved results and deployed them for many years.

The power armor army of the Arasaka Tokyo military base, along with legions of heavy vehicles, the air force, navy, and the aerospace forces that the company will heavily invest in in the future, are the true trump cards of the Arasaka Corporation's armed forces.

They are directly controlled by members of the Arasaka family, or rather, by Saburo Arasaka himself and his trusted confidantes.

Other entities like Militech and European banks operate similarly.

Vera's current Security Department possesses a significant military advantage over most countries, gangs, and small to medium-sized companies. They can slaughter gangs and mercenary groups at will; to them, Vera's mobile units are heavy assault forces.

However, once a corporate war breaks out, Vera's mobile units become light infantry. They wouldn't be cannon fodder, but calling them line fillers wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Vera's trip to Tokyo University for further education was an attempt to see if she could make a significant leap forward and become a truly trusted confidante, capable of commanding a portion of Arasaka's real military forces, even if it was just a power armor detachment.

It's difficult, but one must have dreams.

The latter, a byproduct of T-Virus research, was the stepping stone Vera had prepared.

"How to present it logically will require some planning. I need to set things up before the official enrollment in spring..."

Lost in thought, Vera placed the T-Virus vaccine back into its metal case, clicked it shut and sealed, then returned it to the safe before leaving the laboratory.

Ding dong.

Precisely on time, as per Vera's request, the household robot that had prepared a high-carbohydrate, high-calorie meal began serving the dishes one by one onto the dining table in the living room.

Ramen with rice, miso soup, steak with fried chicken, and tempura – a fusion of Japanese and Western cuisine, a standard Arasaka Corporate Dog's menu, exploding with carbs.

Soon, Vera filled her empty stomach, comfortably patting it while drinking ice water. The physical depletion caused by mental exertion was satisfied. After a short rest, she stood up, put on her coat, adjusted her state, and headed out towards the helipad.

Boarding the hovercar, she was a bit late, but it wasn't a major issue.

During this period, Vera had been mostly on standby in Night City, preparing for her upcoming studies at Tokyo University's Faculty of Law as an Arasaka special recruit.

With no field assignments, her work at Arasaka Tower was just clocking in and out. The workload wasn't heavy; the important thing was to make appearances before her subordinates and colleagues.

Grabbing the PAD tablet from the seat, Vera reviewed the files compiled by her subordinates.

[Evaluation Report on Arasaka Tower Academy's 2074 Year-End Practical Experience Activities - Security Department]

Shuta Furuta.

Terry Woolf.

Katsuo Tanaka.

David Martinez.

She clicked it open.

Her gaze naturally settled on the half-body portrait of the young man with a mohawk, whose eyes still radiated a pure, foolish innocence.

Security Department Personnel Assessment: Despite being unsociable, from a poor background, and having no cybernetic modifications beyond basic implants, this student's academic performance is excellent, demonstrating high personal initiative and good physical potential. A more detailed physical examination and observation are required for a comprehensive evaluation...

Vera thoughtfully lit a cigarette, tapping her fingers on the armrest of the seat, a smile she couldn't suppress playing on her lips.

"Calculating the time, his performance is good, he has the foundation, and he's learned a few things. 2075, that's about now..."

While she was away in Tokyo for further education, she couldn't let such a good bodyguard, someone who could take a bullet for her, be poached. Especially that small, light-colored silver-white thief cat wandering the subway.

Hmm, let's orchestrate a meeting between a senior and a junior.

"Poor? Then I'll grant you a low-interest student loan."

She added David Martinez's name to the list of outstanding students receiving the Security Department's practical experience gift.

[Confirm] → [Send]

"Little guy, how will you repay me?"

Through the car window, Vera looked towards the City Center, towards the gradually approaching dark, towering structure.

Watson District, Santo Domingo.

The old H4 Apartment skyscraper.

Broken security bars, peeling paint revealing yellowing rust. Despite being populated by vagrants and the accumulated garbage that permeated the entire building, this old apartment complex remained intact.

Inside a cramped, unremarkable rental unit.

"Mom, you're sleeping on the sofa again. Your body will fall apart like this..."

"Ah, David, I'm sorry... I was just too tired. And, huh? Why are you still home at this hour?"

"Don't change the subject, Mom. Today's the weekend, and school's out. You were so happy when I participated in the academy's practical experience activity a while back, how could you forget!"

David, dressed in casual clothes, stood before Gloria, who was sleeping on the sofa, his expression a mix of anger and helplessness.

"...Ah, you caught me."

Gloria tried to deflect with a laugh.

On her face, there was both pride and deep helplessness. Pride in her son's excellence and his concern for her, and helplessness because she was useless, struggling to scrape together money for tuition and software upgrades.

"Mom, if we really don't have the money, I don't have to..."

"David."

Gloria's stern gaze silenced David. "This isn't something you need to worry about. Not going? Do you know how rare the opportunity is to be selected for Arasaka Academy's practical experience activity? I... so..."

Just as the mother and son in the room were about to erupt into another argument about money, "Holy shit! Corporate dogs!"

"Get out of the way."

"Hurry, hurry..."

A noisy commotion came from outside the door.

Then, a clear knock, knock knock...

Gloria looked up, her face deathly pale with fright. "Could it be... we've been exposed..." As a dark cloud passed over her face, click, David opened the door.

"What's up... uh, ah?!!" Before he could finish, David was struck as if by lightning, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Two corporate security agents in black uniforms with red Arasaka stripes, one of them carrying a briefcase.

"David Martinez, participant in the Frontier Practical Experience Event, a student from the 2074 Arasaka Academy?"

One of them asked coldly.

"I... I am."

"Lucky kid, this is your outstanding practical experience award."