"..."
Vera did not linger on the subject. She skipped over it and said, "Have Jimmy, captain of Special Rapid Response Unit Team 6 and my deputy assistant, prepare a press conference. The news of my temporary departure can be released."
"Yes!" ×2
She raised her glass again and drained it, letting the melting sensation flow down her throat. Vera looked out the car window.
Tonight, she would retrieve the Progenitor Virus sample and the Solaris Staircase flowers that had lost their original properties after being brought back to America.
As for the Solaris Staircase flowers growing in the underground ruins of the Dubaiya Tribe that still possessed their primordial properties... there would be a chance. Wasn't another "her" going to take over and reorganize Umbrella?
The African Research Center in Dubaiya, West Africa, absolutely could not be overlooked.
Night fell over Night City, balanced at the border between light and darkness.
Tap, tap...
His face wrapped in white gauze, David Martinez carried a small bag containing bruise medicine and supplements. Humming a tune, he stepped briskly onto the tram. He could not wait to get home and tell his mother that he had spoken with an Arasaka Big Shot and received encouragement.
He lowered his head and looked at the little bag in his hand.
Haha, this was his first—oh, second—time getting something free from Arasaka Academy, aside from the excellent scholarship delivered to his door that morning.
Thinking that, David could not help rising onto his toes and shaking his leg.
Normally, he could only see these supplements on billboards, television, or shopping platforms. Their breath-stealing prices were simply beyond his reach.
I could probably sell some online as secondhand goods. And the supplements could help Mom recover and make her feel better... David thought.
He had no intention of using them himself.
If getting beaten came with benefits like this, maybe he would not mind getting beaten... No, David. That blond bastard insulted your mother. Have some backbone!
Slap, slap. He patted his face, using the slight pain to clear his head. David looked up and saw that there was still some distance to go on the display. He decided to listen to music first. Just as he was about to take out his earphones, he frowned. "Huh?"
David narrowed his eyes. On the tram window, hiss... just now, it seemed like a glowing white figure had flashed past.
He looked left and right, but saw nothing.
The tram was still as filthy and rundown as ever. In one corner, someone was even performing piston motions...
Well, he should think about how to explain the scrapes and bruises on his face to his mother first.
"Arasaka."
In a corner on the other side of the tram connection, a white-haired woman wearing eyeshadow, a white off-shoulder cropped jacket, and a black Midriff-Baring Tight Outfit looked down at the Comms Chip in her hand.
"Tch. Just a reserve corporate dog from some small company."
She spat lightly, her face full of disgust.
That Mohawk punk in Arasaka Academy's black-and-red uniform, that smug, carefree little brat...
She glanced at him as he got out at Santo Domingo Station. He seemed to have arrived and was about to make a call, only to realize his Comms Chip was gone. Panic spread across his face as he searched through the slot behind his ear.
"A self-important little Arasaka corporate dog. This is your first lesson."
Whoosh—
The tram continued onward, leaving the boy on the platform clutching his head and howling.
"Ahhh! Damn it, why am I so unlucky? A pickpocket stole my Comms Chip!!"
The white-haired woman continued wandering through the tram, searching for Arasaka corporate dogs who fit her target criteria.
Until, ring ring.
Orange-red data light flickered through the woman's pale violet eyes.
"Hello, this is Lucy."
"Lucy, are you doing that low-skill stuff on the tram again? And only targeting Arasaka? Be careful. One day you might bite off more than you can chew, and it won't be good if Arasaka's Counter-Intelligence Department notices you."
"Arasaka's hierarchy is notoriously strict, even among Major Corporations. How could elites with status and real strength possibly take the tram?"
Lucy, the edgerunner punk girl, stopped what she was doing. "Kiwi, what is it?" She did not respond to the question. Her attitude was obvious: I heard you. I'll be careful, but I'm not stopping.
"Hmph. As long as you know your limits. You did well on that fixer job last time. Maine wants you at a gathering."
"Huh? Another bonfire party? How many has that been this month?"
"You need to get used to it, Lucy. People like us can call it freedom if we want to sound nice, but if we don't, it means we never know where our next meal is coming from. One day, someone could blow our heads apart on a job, or a netrunner could fry our brains, and we could die in the streets. There'd be nothing strange about it. Whether you say Arasaka's way or Kang Tao's way... 'Enjoy today's wine today.' Live in the moment. Same old place. We'll wait for you."
The other side ended the call.
"..." Lucy fell silent and clenched her fist. Through the tram window, the vehicle happened to pass between skyscrapers. Above, the silver-white, gleaming full moon was clearly visible.
"That's why I'll escape from here." She seemed to be speaking to the moon, talking to herself.
More than twenty minutes later, the tram arrived at another station.
Lucy stepped down the old stairs, their surface covered in dust and grime, in black knee-high boots. After winding through twisting alleys and slums, she reached an outdoor bar converted from an abandoned parking lot and motel.
Bonfires, barbecue, beer, sex workers, poker, rock and heavy metal music, street singers, cheap projectors broadcasting strip shows, bare-chested edgerunners, foul-mouthed and hot-tempered mercenaries...
Compared with the corporate districts and wealthy neighborhoods of City Center, Corporate Plaza, and Westbrook, this was a completely different, real world.
Smelling the strange greasy blend of alcohol and grilled synthetic meat in the air, Lucy entered the venue and quickly found her companions—the companions she had worked with for more than half a year.
Maine, a broad, muscular man with brown skin, blond hair, and sunglasses; Dorio, the burly blond woman sitting with him and making out with him; Pilar, thin and equipped with exaggeratedly long cybernetic arms and giant hands; and Rebecca, a twin-tailed petite girl covered in red tattoos.
And there was Kiwi, a tall woman in a long robe patterned with red DNA strands, speaking with Falco, the driver. She wore a red iron mask, with a cigarette stuck through one of its breathing holes. When she saw Lucy, she waved.
"Yo, Lucy."
"Kiwi."
Kiwi grabbed a beer from the table and tossed it over. Her tone was cool. "I really don't know why you like doing that kind of thing."
Without answering, Lucy caught the beer. Pop! She removed the cap, dropped down beside Kiwi, gulped it down, then slapped away the lecherous long arm reaching toward her.
"Whoa! Bro, you got ruthlessly rejected again!" Rebecca laughed.
"So, Maine, did you get another job from a fixer?" Lucy looked toward the team leader and asked.
"No. I turned this one down."
Wiping away the blood from his nose after Dorio had hit him for being too crude, Maine shook his head. He grabbed a beer, tiny in his huge hand like a bottle of medicine, chugged it down, and let out a burp before pushing his sunglasses down slightly.
"Corporate work pays well, but you need to live long enough to spend the money. That bastard wanted us to investigate one of the big shots heading the General Security Bureau under Arasaka Night City's Security Department. Her name was Vera Russell, supposedly in charge of military affairs. He said any intel we found would count, and he'd pay based on value. Fuck that. Does he take us for idiots?"
"The scheming between Major Corporations. Either Militech or some other company sent him. Cast a wide net, and eventually some reckless fools will bite."
Kiwi exhaled a smoke ring and took over. "The better the terms and the looser the requirements, the more impossible it is. We'd really die. The whole team would get wiped out. Better to turn it down instead of getting greedy."
Lucy did not even drink her beer anymore. Hearing Arasaka's name, the light in her eyes visibly dimmed.
Kiwi glanced at her.
"Maine, then what job did you take? You even specifically called Lucy over..."
"Hehe. So I picked up an easier one, but it needs both you and Lucy. It's netrunner work. A fixer wants us to investigate a murder case. NCPD didn't touch it. It seems the victim was a gang member. Mainly, there are no leads. Once we find out what happened, we give him the evidence, then kill the bastard responsible for the murder."
Maine leaned forward and rubbed his hands together. "It's tedious, but the eddies are good."
"What about you?" Kiwi asked Lucy.
"If there's money, why wouldn't I do it?" Lucy shrugged. When it came to Arasaka... her feelings were complicated. She wanted revenge, but she only dared do petty things like stealing chips on the tram. Facing an Arasaka Big Shot, though she did not want to admit it, she simply did not dare. She was afraid...
"Woohoo! Then tonight, we party till dawn!"
Maine waved a huge hand and called for the owner to bring up several more cases of beer and the finest passable synthetic meat skewers the place had.
No one slept that night.
Dawn came. Lucy rubbed her throbbing forehead as she rose from a broken sofa, only to see Maine, Pilar, and the others still full of energy, competing to see who could drink more.
The cyberware age really was different. Staying up late, eating and drinking heavily—there was no fear of wrecking one's body. If they got tired, one shot of stimulant would restore them to full strength.
When she turned her head again, she saw Kiwi remotely turn on the television mounted on the outdoor bar's wall.
"Welcome to News Channel 54. We now bring you the latest local news."
"Ms. Vera Adelheid Russell, head of the Special Rapid Response Unit of Arasaka Night City's Security Department and chief of the General Security Bureau, will temporarily leave her post to further her studies at Arasaka's Tokyo Headquarters. Let us thank Ms. Russell for her achievements and efforts over the years in maintaining Night City's public safety and stability."
The anchor's formulaic speech made Lucy sneer.
"You're watching this? It's nothing but nonsense and hypocritical lies."
"It never hurts to watch."
The anchor happened to switch footage. "Next is on-site coverage from our station's reporter at Arasaka Tower."
The camera shifted.
A towering, dark-toned dome. The Arasaka Clover logo embedded in massive black marble.
At the podium, a tall beauty with pale golden hair was giving a speech.
"...My time serving in Night City has been an honor... I will temporarily step down on February 17, 2075. This is only a temporary parting. I believe the cooperation between NCPD officers and Arasaka in maintaining public order will continue, and will better protect the lives and property of our citizens..."
Lucy's eyes widened. She had not listened to the "blah blah blah" nonsense, but this woman... she seemed familiar somehow?
Kiwi watched her expression thoughtfully.
"Interesting... It seems you didn't tell the whole truth. Your connection to Arasaka..."
February 18, 2075.
Arasaka's private aviation terminal at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo.
Tap, tap—
Carrying a suitcase, Vera stood on the boarding stairs and narrowed her eyes slightly. She gazed at Tokyo Metropolis, whose skyline was denser, taller, and broader than Night City's. The cold wind rushing toward her stirred the hair at her temples.
Below, a standard Holy Sword hovercar was parked nearby. A Japanese Arasaka Agent in a black suit and sunglasses, with a cold expression, had been waiting for a long time.
Her own hovercar was only for short trips and could not cross the Pacific. If she had a sky luxury hovercraft like New America's president, capable of entering low Earth orbit, she would not have needed to transfer. Unfortunately, that was still far beyond her reach.
"Supervisor Russell."
After confirming Vera's biometric data and corporate ID, the Arasaka Agent from Tokyo Headquarters stepped forward.
Vera tightened the collar of her coat, walked down the boarding stairs, and nodded. "Thank you for the trouble."
"This way, please."
She got in. The hovercar immediately started, and Vera placed her suitcase beside her. As she watched Tokyo's skyline draw closer, the solitary black tower at its center—surrounded by the city, with no other structure able to stand alongside it—was her destination.
Arasaka Global Headquarters.
She probably would not get to meet Saburo Arasaka, but Sano Arasaka...
The wedge to pry into the Arasaka Family would begin with Sano Arasaka.
After all, didn't he want to destroy his father's Arasaka?
Then let her add fuel to the fire.
She wondered what expression that dutiful son, who had long awaited his father's death, would make when, during her work at Tokyo University, she "accidentally discovered" the Progenitor Virus through personal interest—a special virus capable of greatly extending the human lifespan.
Vera was now brimming with motivation and impatience.
Vera in Tokyo
Things did not always go as smoothly as planned.
Ring ring—
Hongo, Bunkyo Ward, Arasaka Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo.
Before you continue