Infinite, Progress Begins with Arasaka

It wasn't some perverted aesthetic desire to keep pets.

That said, since she always had another version of herself whose perspective could see plants and animals, Vera hadn't developed that feeling, much less the habit wealthy people in this world had of buying strange animals as decorations.

"Let's extract the leech DNA first."

Watching the internal view appear on the display after the lid was closed, Vera immediately got to work. Carrying the metal case, she headed for the small laboratory in her temporary residence.

Though small, it had everything it needed.

It had been a requirement Vera specifically requested, and given her rank, Arasaka Tower in Tokyo naturally accommodated her.

It wasn't excessive, either. A little inquiry would reveal that Vera's personal interest in biology had been around for a long time.

Taking a leech from the metal case and placing it inside a sealed glass vessel, Vera put it into the laboratory's sealed glass cabinet, precisely slotted it into place, and activated the machine. The gene reader and extractor began operating.

Leaning against the cabinet nearby, Vera's pupils glimmered orange-red. Her artificial-eye plug-in was linked to the instrument's data interface, and all kinds of indices and parameters streamed across the grid of the virtual display built into her eyes.

One word described it best: foolproof. Convenient!

In fact, biotechnology and gene programming in the Cyberpunk world were not weak at all.

There was gene programming that made the human body compatible with cyberware and overcame rejection; biosynthesis technology that created all kinds of new medicines and foods; nanotherapy that treated multiple diseases; rejuvenation drugs that extended human life...

There were even advanced cybernetic bio-modification technologies, such as synthetic human technology capable of creating entirely new forms of life. As early as 2014, sixty years ago, a team from Japan Seimei Craft Union Company had successfully completed fourth-stage human clones with neural development and activity...

What they lacked were Super Viruses like the Progenitor Virus and T-Virus, viruses that allowed infected tissue cells to proliferate from nothing, escaping the law of conservation of mass as though they drew matter from subspace to mutate, grow, and multiply.

Vera's cooperation with Dangerous Girl's rehabilitation business mostly relied on improved results derived from Umbrella's experience researching Super Virus byproducts.

And that was still on the foundation that the Cyberpunk world had undergone a major technological regression.

In terms of the normal technological tree, Umbrella was far inferior to the Cyberpunk world. They had merely been fortunate enough to discover and possess the Progenitor Virus and the various Super Viruses derived from it, an unconventional "treasure trove."

They had taken another path and overtaken on the curve, achieving technology in a few fields that rivaled or even surpassed the Cyberpunk world.

Beep, beep.

After a complex series of procedures and reactions, purified leech DNA was injected into a specialized container. Hiss! Taking out the container, Vera examined the translucent white liquid inside for a while before placing it in the refrigerated cabinet.

According to the T-Virus cultivation process used by Umbrella's Dr. James Marcus and Dr. William Birkin in her memories, for the sake of stability, they should have first injected the Progenitor Virus into leeches with strong environmental tolerance and adaptability, then extracted the T-Virus after cultivation.

But Vera considered the Cyberpunk world's technological reserves.

What if I first try synthesizing leech DNA with the Progenitor Virus?

Hmm, this little home laboratory still didn't feel sufficient. She would borrow a laboratory in Africa once she got there. After all, she also held a side position as an Arasaka biotechnology researcher.

She would extract a few more purified leech DNA reagents.

After her law classes ended tomorrow, she still had to borrow a laboratory from Todai's medical faculty to compare the differences between this leech DNA and Umbrella's specially cultivated leech DNA in detail...

"Lord Norinobu..."

"Didn't I tell you not to bother me?"

Tokyo Metropolis, Chiyoda Ward. Within an extravagantly luxurious estate near the Imperial Palace, one whose grounds were no smaller than the Imperial Palace's and whose grandeur was thoroughly presumptuous.

Knock, knock.

A retainer bearing the Arasaka Family's exclusive emblem came before a Japanese-style sliding door, knelt on the luxurious yet understated dark-yellow tatami, lowered his head, and delivered his report.

When an impatient middle-aged voice came from behind the door, he pressed his head even lower to the floor.

"Lord Norinobu... we have confirmed that it was the Night City Security Department executive summoned after Lady Wako left the family estate last time. Our people intercepted a surveillance report from Shintaro Takayama's subordinates. Lady Wako attaches considerable importance to her..."

Swish—

"Who?"

The door was shoved open. A middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties or fifties, wearing a blue-striped shirt and black jacket, his features gaunt and sickly from constant strain, stood with his arms folded and looked down at him.

Sano Arasaka.

The heir to the massive Arasaka Group, Saburo Arasaka's youngest and only surviving son. In the eyes of most people, the Crown Prince who would inevitably inherit Arasaka after Saburo's death.

"Vera Adelheid Russell, Night City Security Department General Security Bureau..."

"Send me the file." Sano Arasaka interrupted the retainer's lengthy explanation. "At this time, I don't want anyone disturbing me. You understand?" He turned and looked back at him.

"Yes!"

Swish.

The door closed again. Walking across the all-wood floor that reflected a soft glow, Sano Arasaka approached the low table holding a data pad and phone with a gloomy expression. He picked up the data pad and began reviewing this rising star hailed as the future of Arasaka's North American Headquarters in Night City.

That old bastard Shintaro Takayama credited his entire life to Saburo. An old dog absolutely loyal to him. If he was watching Vera, there had to be a reason.

Was he personally vetting an Arasaka junior capable of shouldering great responsibility? Checking whether she possessed the loyalty needed to seek an audience and be received by Saburo?

Sano Arasaka didn't see it that way.

That old bastard was arrogant beyond measure.

Sano Arasaka swiped across the touchscreen.

He ignored all of her riot-suppression and security achievements. His gaze stopped instantly on Vera's repeated cooperation with Michiko Arasaka—his so-called elder brother's daughter, his niece—in the rehabilitation business.

Self-taught?

Personal hobby?

Regenerate... rejuvenated users by activating dead cells through some form of technology... It promoted health, relaxed muscles, treated strain injuries, and refreshed the mind...

Sano Arasaka saw that much.

He cursed under his breath. "You old bastard, do you really want to become immortal?!"

No one knew a father better than his son. In an instant, he understood Saburo's intentions.

His old bastard of a father consumed almost every "rejuvenation drug" and "immortality drug" sold by corporations around the world like side dishes, all to stay alive and extend his lifespan. His drug resistance had long reached its limit.

Saburo Arasaka had never been stingy with rewards for any drug that could activate cells, or anyone talented enough to invent one, if they could be brought under his control.

And his sister Wako was conservative, protective of, and attached to family.

That old bastard Saburo had used Wako. He had specifically arranged for her to have dinner with Vera's classmate. The "Pheasant faction," meaning the Conservatives, was ultimately still that old bastard Saburo's will. Otherwise, Wako might have met Vera, but she never would have taken the initiative to speak with her so much.

That Vera attended the Arasaka Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo, didn't she?

Arasaka had opened every door for her, allowing her to major in law and minor in biology and virology.

When she graduated and returned to Night City, a promotion by one rank was guaranteed. Once she built seniority, as long as she made no mistakes, she would be fully qualified in the future to compete for the position of Second Assistant Executive at Arasaka's North American Headquarters in Night City. The First Executive was Michiko Arasaka.

Troublesome. With someone of that rank under Saburo's nose, he couldn't easily make a move against her. He also couldn't easily manipulate the Hawks behind the scenes to suppress her... Vera belonged to the North American faction in Night City. Michiko Arasaka would see it as him targeting her and would inevitably strike back.

And infighting at that level wouldn't destroy Arasaka at all. Instead, it would only get his own forces cut down...

He still needed to endure.

Clouds of uncertainty crossed his face. After pondering for a moment, Sano Arasaka narrowed his eyes and began carefully reviewing Vera's security achievements. "A combat faction. Her style is Hawks. She joined the Security Department to inherit her late parents' aspirations..."

"Don't you want to inherit your father's position? Then go accumulate work experience and achievements. Go out into the field... Keep working. Give her South and North America, the South Pacific, riot-suppression missions, bodyguard contracts, and public-security stabilization contracts. Keep her moving. Don't give her time for hobbies. Drag this out until that old man dies!"

Even if other major corporations possessed outrageously expensive new drugs, they would never want Saburo to continue living.

Saburo didn't have many years left!

"Her experiments..."

Rehabilitation...

A new immortality drug on the market, one without drug resistance and right under his nose—he would never allow it to appear! Even if it could be invented and released, it would have to wait until after Saburo died!

Sano Arasaka looked toward the engraved Arasaka Clover emblem on the black marble slab in the room. Determination flashed across his face. "Whether it has any chance of success or not, find an opportunity to leak it to rival corporations..."

Just watch, Father. I will save the world from the terror you brought upon it! I will destroy Arasaka! Destroy this dark world where capital rules everything!

Wako, wait for me. I swear that one day, I will rescue you from that cage!

New PPT: Solaris Staircase Project

When the first ray of Tokyo's morning sunlight shone through the adjustable one-way transparent glass onto the tatami floor of the detached house.

After washing up, Vera stood before a full-length mirror. Having slept soundly through the night and unaware that she had formally been drawn into the Arasaka Family's internal struggle, she leisurely arranged her appearance.

Smoothing out the last crease in her collar, Vera looked at her neat, unremarkable reflection in the mirror and nodded slightly.

This wasn't vanity.

It was a practical necessity.

"Meeting begins."

Only the lowest ranks of the corporation were permitted to wear clothing with sexually suggestive elements, and even then only to a certain extent. Corporate executives, whether male or female, should wear attire befitting their position at all times and in all places.

Behind Vera, the room's automatic partition was pulled open by motorized shafts, revealing a broad projection screen—

"Director Vera, this is Jimmy."

It was a direct line. On the screen, before the circular Arasaka Clover emblem, stood a burly white man in heavy combat suit, helmetless, with a close-cropped haircut.

Jimmy, captain of Special Rapid Response Unit Team 6, was Vera's adjutant assistant in Night City.

California's time zone was UTC-7, while Tokyo's was UTC+9. Japan was sixteen hours ahead of California. It was 8:00 a.m. in Tokyo for Vera, while Night City was around 4:00 p.m. the previous afternoon.

This was the daily work-reporting time Vera had set for Arasaka Security Department's Special Rapid Response Unit in Night City after leaving for advanced studies in Tokyo.

She had not been relieved of her post. She had only temporarily stopped performing her duties, with Deputy Director Thomas acting in her place. In reality, Thomas had not touched Vera's base support at all, retaining considerable autonomy for her to direct things remotely. Jimmy served as the temporary executor.

Vera returned the favor and didn't blindly micromanage.

While granting Jimmy a degree of independent authority, she had Jimmy report more often to her Uncle Thomas and let him make the decisions. During this period of her advanced studies, her role would be more like that of a third-party supervisor and listener.

It was nothing more than showing her presence to her subordinates more often, proving that she was still here and preventing her influence from fading.

"As of midnight last night, our department completed three tactical support requests from the Counter-Intelligence Department. Working covertly to provide support and extraction, we successfully withdrew one intelligence team intact from Militech's Night City branch. Two teams were struck by Militech counter-intelligence units: three dead and one injured. One team was wiped out. The other used a gang informant's staged firefight as cover, and we worked with counter-intelligence agents to rescue the injured operative."

After Jimmy finished reporting, swish!

The screen shifted, moving into a split-screen view in the lower right. The captain of the Mobile Garrison Unit stationed at the checkpoint camp in Westwind Estate, southern Night City, began his report.

"This is the Eighth Mobile Garrison Unit. In response to the Animals Gang repeatedly attacking corporate vehicles on the City Center overpass and Overseas Bridge, and in accordance with our NCPD public-security stabilization contract, our unit issued warnings and organized a strike operation. All identified participants in the City Center attacks have been eliminated."

"This is Special Rapid Response Unit Team 3. We have completed our overseas security defense operation in Argentina and returned to the Night City Barracks for rest and reorganization..."

"Dogtown in Pacifica is unsettled again. Bloody clashes have occurred with the NCPD, Voodoo Boys, and Animals Gang. Supposedly another shipment has arrived—a massive one, including heavyweight weapons and Soshikah cargo."

Once the official task-process reports ended, Jimmy remained behind to continue briefing Vera on the major news from Night City.

After the global internet collapsed, the only way to learn about the global situation was through media giants like News 54.

But the media always lagged behind. Either their information was false, or the key details were concealed. So if one wanted accurate information from thousands of miles away, they still needed their own people, their own channels, and people who could truly investigate on the front lines where events occurred.

"Should we get involved?"

"Not yet. Soshikah, the new CCCP, Militech, the new USA... old rivals from the Cold War. Let them fight each other."

Leaning against a red velvet high-backed armchair, Vera thought of something pleasant. A smile played on her lips, her eyes half-lidded. Her right hand supported her cheek while the fingers of her left hand rapidly tapped the armrest.

"That group of NUSA rebels entrenched in Dogtown... tsk, they're an excellent nail. The signing of the Arvin Accord made them hate Militech and New America to the core. When that bomb goes off, it will give them quite a surprise."

The Arvin Accord, New America's unification treaty, was a peace agreement signed by Arasaka and Rosalind Miles, Militech's former CEO and the current president of New America.

In 2069, she had led the Unification War in an attempt to make America great again. But under Arasaka's forceful intervention and the overt and covert obstruction of corporate giants like Soshikah, she ultimately failed.

New America's forces withdrew from California. Its ambitions of reunifying the East and West Coasts and expanding its territory vanished into smoke. Night City and Northern California continued to exist as Free States.

And the gang entrenched in Dogtown called Barghest was actually the NUSA elite advance force that had pushed into Night City near the end of the 2069 Unification War. The signing of the Arvin Accord made them feel abandoned and betrayed, so they rebelled and declared independence. It could be said that they really, really, really couldn't stand Rosalind Miles and Militech.