Ahem, after all, she had to fully demonstrate her rigor and reliability. If researching a virus somehow turned into a Resident Evil incident, how embarrassing would that be? Next.
With the faint hum of a small lift, another laboratory mouse was delivered into the spotless, gleaming experimental chamber.
In the world of Cyberpunk, laboratory mice were probably among the few animals whose numbers had barely declined compared to before environmental deterioration. They all lived in specialized breeding rooms in research institutions, and laboratory mice were cheap.
After all, their genes were highly similar to human genes—around 90% alike. They were natural biological testing materials.
"Squeak, squeak."
A pair of clear, large eyes blinked as they looked toward the tall blonde beauty outside the chamber, who held a data pad in her arms.
Eighteenth dosage test. Adjustment: continue increasing the injection volume...
Vera controlled the thick needle. Stab!
"Squea—"
Stability, tolerance, adaptability.
After heavily marking those three key factors, Vera put down the data pad again and looked into the experimental chamber. A mutated zombie mouse was frantically attacking and gnawing on another laboratory mouse.
Scratches and bites from infected subjects caused bodily fluid and droplet exchange, both of which carried an extremely high probability of transmission... This virus likely could not spread through the air, but more experiments and observations were needed to confirm it.
That was the preliminary conclusion she had reached by placing two laboratory mice in the same cage, infecting only one of them, keeping them separated, and using low-light observation equipment to collect and identify the chamber's air composition.
Vera naturally already knew that, but she needed to make it seem as though she had learned it through experimental verification.
She checked the time.
22/49. Hmm, it was getting late. Time to get off work.
No, wait! This was her summer vacation. Why had it somehow turned into a regular job...
After pressing the button and sterilizing the experimental chamber once more, Vera straightened up and lazily stretched.
Then, after writing down a new line of thought regarding stability experiments on the console's data pad, she cast one last glance at the protective window in the distance.
Through cybernetic technology, cutting-edge biotechnology equipment was steadily fusing leech DNA with the Progenitor Virus sample.
"What a foolproof operation," she murmured.
She now somewhat understood the mindset of those virology maniacs. Personally creating a Super Virus capable of promoting human evolution, turning it from uncontrollable to gradually controllable, taming it... there really was a peculiar thrill in the process.
Though Vera was only imitating them, so she did not feel it too deeply.
Question William, understand William, become...
Bad luck. Vera had no interest in injecting herself with an uncontrollable virus.
She absolutely could not become him!
She had to take him as a lesson and avoid repeating his mistakes.
Casting those stray thoughts aside, she rubbed her temples and left the laboratory.
After a series of safety-compliant procedures—spray disinfection and ultraviolet sterilization—Vera changed out of her protective suit and walked out of the Arasaka biological laboratory in Johannesburg, South Africa.
"Huh? They still haven't given up. They've been tailing me for days..."
The moment she stepped out of the industrial park, Vera could sense several more gazes following her.
There were far fewer than when she had gone to Central Africa.
Were they Saburo's people, or Norinobu's?
After leaving the main gate and instructing the Arasaka guards and laboratory security at the industrial park to remain strictly vigilant, she unhurriedly headed toward the landing pad. Time to go back to the hotel and sleep.
You father and son could keep pretending to love each other. What did that have to do with an Arasaka "loyal subject" like her? Everything she did followed procedure, and she filed reports and applications for every action at the first opportunity.
Fight all you wanted. She had left everything here. If they could pull off something ruthless, that was their skill. She was the victim anyway.
Ding-dong.
After boarding the hovercar and disabling the information block, three messages rapidly flashed across the virtual grid of Vera's cybernetic eye interface.
One was from Dangerous Girl, briefly urging her to quickly produce new improvements for the rehabilitation and recuperation business.
One was from Tokyo University. They subtly reminded her that since her study trip had ended, she could return to Tokyo. Tokyo's laboratories were better, and an intense thirst for knowledge and enthusiasm for research were good things. After seeing Vera's recent log reports, they had also become interested in the so-called Sun Stairflower and hoped that Vera would return to Tokyo after completing her preliminary research.
The one from Arasaka's Night City North American Headquarters was from Jimmy. Vera's adjutant was reporting on work. Since she had run off to South Africa for her study trip, there had been a gap in work reports for some time.
Without thinking much about it, Vera replied to each one.
In her reply to Tokyo University, she emphasized that she would begin her return journey the day after tomorrow.
In a decrepit building a thousand meters from the industrial park, a tall shadow holding military-grade high-powered binoculars suddenly had orange-red light flash through his eyes.
"B2 reporting. The target has left the industrial park. Over."
As he spoke, he swept his gaze around the room. Boxes of weapons were piled in the corners, while agents who had arrived in Johannesburg in batches and infiltrated the city over the past few days lay, sat, drank, smoked, and took drugs on the battered sofa.
They were sprawled everywhere, and their cybernetic eyes also flickered with orange-red light. Clearly, they were connected to the same communication channel.
"Latest intelligence update: Vera Adelheid Russell will leave Johannesburg and return to Tokyo the day after tomorrow."
"You should all know what she obtained in Central Africa after reading the materials. The Sun Stairflower. According to information sent back by the intelligence department's informant at Tokyo University, it is an extinct 'flower of longevity,' likely the only one of its kind in the world, with extremely high pharmaceutical research value."
"It has basically been confirmed that this is the medicine keeping that old dog Saburo Arasaka alive, as well as one of the main products Arasaka's medical division plans to launch in the future. Whether it is to strike at Arasaka's financial strength or shatter Saburo's dream of immortality, this operation is necessary."
"We cannot determine whether Vera Adelheid will return to the hotel tomorrow as usual or stay overnight in the laboratory. Her strength was tested with the blood of our Night City colleagues. She will not be much easier to deal with than Adam Smasher. Tonight is our best opportunity."
"The higher-ups have already contacted the Black Warlords in Central Africa. They have long been dissatisfied with Arasaka's continuous exploitation and encroachment. Tonight, they will send troops to cause trouble and pressure the South African border checkpoints, helping us divert attention."
"After C3 destroys the power hub supplying electricity to the Arasaka Industrial Park, the higher-ups require us to infiltrate Vera Adelheid's laboratory immediately."
"Remember, time is tight. You have no more than fifteen minutes. If infiltration fails, force your way in. If we cannot obtain the Sun Stairflower, then it has no value. Let that flower vanish from the face of the Earth completely."
"Prepare yourselves!"
"Yes!" ×N
As Long as Director Vera Arrives.jpg
On the outskirts of Tokyo, at the Arasaka Family Estate.
Drip... Drip... Shintaro Takayama, the estate's security director, stepped lightly across the fully wooden floor, polished to a soft sheen. He rounded the corner of a corridor and arrived at a viewing platform beside a natural mountain pond, where he respectfully bowed behind a lone figure.
It was Saburo Arasaka.
Wind chimes swayed beneath the eaves, ringing crisply in the breeze.
Saburo reclined sideways in a wheelchair fitted with countless cutting-edge health-preservation technologies. Facing the first light of dawn, he seemed to be enjoying a morning sunbath. Under the sunlight, the yellowed hair at his temples seemed even thinner against the wrinkles on his forehead.
Medical staff carefully used relay connectors to calibrate his various basic cybernetic limbs and artificial neural circuits, carrying out daily health checks and administering minute doses of the "longevity medicine," to which his drug resistance had long reached its limit.
He was too old.
His physiological functions had already approached the concept of "dying of old age" infinitely closely. His body could no longer withstand further replacement with cybernetic prosthetics or biological organs. Even injections of the "longevity medicine" had to be strictly controlled, for fear that even slightly stronger effects would inflict new damage.
After a long time, when that day's examination and maintenance were complete, Saburo Arasaka finally spoke in a hoarse voice. "I really am old, Shintaro... In this state, I am so frail and so ugly."
"You must not abandon yourself, Lord Saburo! Lord Norinobu, Lady Hanako, and Lady Michiko are all still unable to shoulder the burden of leading Arasaka!"
Without hesitation, Shintaro Takayama dropped to his knees in the manner of a retainer and said with absolute conviction, "Arasaka still needs your wise leadership!"
With a sigh, Saburo Arasaka did not continue dwelling on the subject.
"What misfortune for this family."
He muttered it coldly, then said, "So, what has that unfilial son of mine been doing lately? He suddenly accessed Vera Adelheid's files. His people have no contact with Russell and no overlapping interests with her, so why did they recommend her? Secretly probing and stirring up discussion and criticism... Judging from his moves, he wants to transfer her back to Night City to continue carrying out the Security Department's duties?"
"His information network really is well connected. He is so impatient for me to die..."
Shintaro Takayama naturally knew what Saburo was talking about.
It looked as though the outstanding Night City junior he valued truly intended to turn the plan into the "Solaris Staircase Project." Naturally, that had drawn the attention of Norinobu, who could not wait to take over after his father died. Since it involved the Arasaka family's private affairs, Shintaro could not easily comment.
Even though he greatly disapproved of Sano Arasaka's past recklessness and looked down on the kind of man who had first abandoned Arasaka before crawling back in disgrace, believing him inferior in every way to the eldest young master, Kei Arasaka, a retainer was still a retainer. He could not overstep his bounds. After all, Norinobu was Lord Saburo's son.
His only remaining son.
"Shintaro, what do you think of Vera Adelheid's Solaris Staircase Project, and the evolution of human DNA through the Progenitor Virus?" Saburo Arasaka asked, as though he had finished venting his criticism and dissatisfaction toward his unfilial son.
Shintaro Takayama carefully chose his words.
"Judging from the current situation, she has already found a lead. She truly discovered the 'sacred flower' once used by chieftains of primitive African tribes to treat illness and extend life beneath the ruins of the ancient Tuban tribe in Central Africa. She was also fortunate enough to extract the substance she needed from it. I believe her experimental reports and deductions are not without basis..."
To be honest, Shintaro Takayama was astonished.
Although he and Saburo Arasaka had both noticed Vera, their focuses were different.
At first, based on the Security Department's need for a new generation of core personnel and Arasaka's North American strategy, he had selected Vera after considering her personal combat performance, achievements, company reputation, and background.
Lord Saburo, however, was likely more focused on his personal needs...
Ever since Vera had "recovered" the so-called Sun Stairflower from Central Africa, Lord Saburo had mentioned and paid attention to her with visibly increasing frequency.
"According to Vera Adelheid's preliminary experiment reports from Johannesburg, South Africa, she has already completed the extraction and cultivation of the well-preserved Sun Stairflower. The problem of the flower's virus-related properties degrading after being removed from soil has temporarily been addressed... She will return to Tokyo by June 9 at the latest."
As Shintaro Takayama explained, the imaging device beneath the eaves emitted faint static.
Various images and documents sent back from Johannesburg were projected in midair. The enlarged pages allowed Saburo to see everything clearly.
The Sun Stairflower successfully transplanted and cultivated in the laboratory, the discovery and extraction of the Progenitor Virus, repeated dosage injection experiments on laboratory mice, the infected mice's astonishing vitality, Vera's targeted cultivation experiments to improve the Progenitor Virus's stability... all of it was listed on the screen in chronological reports.
"Very good."
Saburo Arasaka suddenly opened his eyes from their false slumber. A flash of sharp light passed through his originally cloudy gaze.
His hunched body leaned slightly forward as he stared intently at the holographic image. Under the operation of the pale blonde woman in protective gear, the footage moved and enlarged, showing the changes occurring in the laboratory mouse within the glass experimental cage.
Its fur had ulcerated and fallen away across its body, leaving it bleeding. After enduring dozens of tests that should have been enough to kill it, the shocking thing was that the laboratory mouse was still alive, though its movements had become slightly sluggish.
Saburo Arasaka stared at everything, afraid of missing even the smallest detail.
Only after the pale blonde woman in the footage completed a blood draw, injected the mouse with an even larger dose of virus, killed it completely, and sterilized the remains did he reluctantly pull his gaze away.
He took a light breath and excitedly turned his eyes toward Shintaro Takayama, who stood beside him. That look was like that of a drowning man seeing a life-saving straw.
Saburo Arasaka ordered in an unquestionable tone, "Shintaro, raise her security level. Transfer a new special security unit from Tokyo as well. Protect her and the results of her project research. Dispatch a private aircraft to transport her. There must not be the slightest mistake!"
"As for the little moves of that unfilial son of mine, I know he wants to muddy the waters. Perhaps he has never abandoned those naive and childish ideas of his. Warn the people under him that even if they seek the merit of supporting a ruler, they must know the proper time. They need to know what should be done and what must not be done. I am not dead yet. It is not his turn to give orders in Arasaka."
"What I give him is his. What I do not give him, he cannot seize."
Saburo Arasaka spoke with incomparable coldness and arrogance.
"Tell Norinobu that I can give him life, and I can take it back as well. I can let him possess everything, and I can also make him lose everything."
"Yes, Lord Saburo!" Shintaro Takayama lowered his head humbly, accepted the order, and withdrew.
Drip... Drip... As the sound of footsteps gradually faded away, Saburo Arasaka leaned back in his wheelchair. The hawk-like sharpness in his eyes slowly vanished, returning to cloudiness.
He slowly brought up a bird's-eye view of Johannesburg. The brightly lit Arasaka buildings and clearly distributed Arasaka armed personnel were displayed across it. It was currently the dead of night in South Africa, and Vera Adelheid had already returned to her quarters to rest.
"Relic... I hope it will not be needed... Vera Adelheid has no suspicion of colluding with enemies, and there are no problems with her background or loyalty. Then I will entrust her with an important responsibility... She has ambition... then I will give her a platform upon which to display it."
He murmured to himself.
As Saburo Arasaka enjoyed the morning sunbath in his rare good mood, eagerly awaiting Vera's return to Tokyo with the Sun Stairflower and Progenitor Virus samples the day after tomorrow, static suddenly crackled.
"!!!"
Saburo Arasaka abruptly opened his nearly closed eyes. Before him was a field of dark red.
Before you continue