Chapter 80
"Wait?"
"The fusion technology is not mature enough yet. And I don't want too many flaws to appear."
"Its twin Ukaku... This is the first time I've seen Ukaku with such a perfect form and intact activity... I plan to explore and research it for a while longer before incorporating them into my 'New Proto'... Doctor, what do you think is the success rate of perfectly transplanting and fusing Ukaku into a living Quinque armor?"
Vera's words made Hishikori Kouichi fall into deep thought.
As an expert in making Quinque, he instantly understood Vera's idea.
It would be a shame to turn a pair of twin Ukaku, with their excellent appearance, shape, and potential, into inanimate objects or integrate them into a Quinque. It would be a waste of their potential.
"New Proto" is a living organism that retains the characteristics of Kagune evolution and predation. Foreign Kagune will most likely be devoured indiscriminately, making perfect transplantation and fusion very difficult.
"Living organisms are not inanimate objects, and there must be differences between them. The 'co-eating' between Ghoul is an instinct, and the same goes for Kagune ... The key to transplantation and fusion is to solve the problem of how to prevent them from 'co-eating' when they are together."
When it came to their expertise, the Hishikori Kouichi spoke very seriously and formally, "I need time to calculate carefully..."
"Then, Doctor, what if the two Kagune primitives are father and son?" Vera suddenly interjected, a barely perceptible smile appearing on her lips.
"At least 60% certain."
"I can't believe how quickly I reacted," said Hishikori Kouichi.
"Wait, Ayato Kirishima, Kirishima? Is that the SS-rank 'Corpse Collector' Arata Kirishima?"
It should be noted that the raw materials for the "New Proto" living Quinque armor project in his possession were taken from Arata Kirishima's Koukaku.
Vera nodded calmly.
No wonder...
CCG Countermeasures Headquarters Building, Zone 1.
As soon as the door opened, Vera stepped out of the elevator carrying two Quinque, one white and one black.
A commotion arose in the corridor, and she looked in the direction of the sound.
In the reception area, next to the sofa by the window, Marude Souta was grumbling to a short, unfamiliar man with a sarcastic expression.
His attire was quite peculiar, with white hair and red eyes, and a neutral appearance; judging from his clothing, we can assume he was male.
Beside them were two burly men in suits and white dove pins. One was a middle-aged man with a buzz cut who looked kind and reliable. The other had thick eyebrows and big eyes and a stern face.
Special Investigator: Yukino Shinoara, Iwao Kuroiwa. The second of the seven Special Investigators of the Tokyo CCG, a veteran with distinguished service.
Vera walked over.
"Hey, you vicious Mash, bullying the newbie again?"
The person she greeted was naturally Marude Souta, whom she knew best and had the closest relationship with.
"What do you mean by 'again'?"
Vera's voice was still quite distinctive, and Marude Souta immediately turned his head away in displeasure. "I'm doing this for his own good. Look at his skinny arms and legs, am I right? I don't want him to die every time he goes out on a mission and encounters Ghoul..."
"Alright, alright."
It was Yukino Shinoara. Seeing that Marude Souta had turned his attention back, he immediately stepped in front of the thin, androgynous boy. "Marute... Suzuya's personal situation is a bit special... By the way, Special Class Investigator Russell, I heard you're going back to North America tomorrow?"
What an awkward change of topic.
"Okay. Just call me Vera. I've been in Tokyo for over a quarter now, and I need to go back to the CCG North American Headquarters in Washington to report on the details."
Nodding, Vera placed the Quinque case on the round table beside her and extended her hand. "Special Investigator Shinohara, I haven't formally thanked you yet. Thank you for giving it to me; without it, the battle in District 20 wouldn't have been so easy."
"There, there..."
Gently taking Vera's fingertips in a gentlemanly manner, Yukino Shinoara scratched the back of his head and laughed heartily, "As colleagues, it's only right to help each other. The resounding victory in the District 20 proves that I didn't do anything wrong."
"It is only right. But it is also right for me to express my gratitude."
Vera pushed the two Quinque boxes in front of Yukino Shinoara.
"K...this..."
"The 'Gun III Modified' is a guinea pig I designed and built; it should fill some of Shinohara Special Agent's tactical needs. The 'New Proto' was always yours; I'm just jumping the queue. Don't rush to refuse; like you told me, it should stay where it's needed. I'm returning to Washington to take up my duties, so it's not needed for now."
"Shinohara, just accept it." Iwao Kuroiwa patted his old friend on the shoulder.
"Sigh, alright... I'll return it to you when you get back, Vera..."
Since the meeting had not yet started and the Special Class Investigator stationed in various districts of Tokyo needed time to get back, after exchanging pleasantries for a while, Vera sat down in the circle of Marude Souta and Yukino Shinoara.
Marude Souta said, "Speaking of which, Russell... I heard you captured a Ghoul mother and daughter..."
"Ah, I was just about to tell you about this. After I leave Japan for the time being, please take care of them for me."
"Huh? Why would you do something so thankless, just because they have no criminal record? Cannibalism... even if it's the corpses of suicides... but is it because of your beliefs?"
According to Christian doctrine, those who commit suicide cannot go to heaven.
Vera smiled gently.
"Partly, but more importantly, it's about dividing and weakening the Ghoul. Recruiting Ghoul for our own use, whether for intelligence gathering or as temporary auxiliary fighting forces, I think this plan is feasible. As for an experiment, Marude, are you interested in trying it out?"
Marude Souta was naturally interested; he and Vera were the same kind of people, both particularly eager to improve.
Solving the Ghoul problem is a great achievement.
After thinking for a moment, he had only one question, "How do you solve the problem of feeding Ghoul?"
"They...eat people. If this problem isn't addressed at its root..." He made a throat-slitting gesture, "Ghoul is Ghoul. Legal Ghoul is still Ghoul. Use them and then kill them, that's my opinion."
Vera pulled a stack of documents from her coat pocket and pushed them in front of Marude Souta.
"[High Rc cell synthetic food —An Experiment on Food Edible to Ghoul]".
Marude Souta muttered to himself, then looked at Vera, "Are you confident?"
"Give it a try."
Leaning back in her chair, Vera crossed her arms. "It's just an experiment anyway. If it fails, they can only blame their bad luck."
"Getting back to the point, the Fueguchi Mother and Daughter are key to our future persuasion of Congress. With such clean backgrounds, harmless behavior, and no criminal record, and her husband being a member of the CCG's logistics system, they barely meet the standards of martyrs... It would be a shame not to make good use of them."
Marude Souta agreed with this point.
"Then let's give it a try... While you're back in Washington, I'll work with Shinohara and Kuroiwa to withstand the pressure and protect her."
Thank you.
Before long, all the Special Class Investigator had arrived, and the meeting was about to begin. Vera and Marude Souta stood up side by side and walked together toward the meeting room.
When are you planning to return to Washington?
"After the meeting."
Chatting casually, she walked into the conference room and glanced at the reflective metal door frame, where her reflection shone.
The gains from this trip should be enough for 'you' to digest.
Cyberpunk
Arasaka Tower Company Community, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan.
A woman with light blonde hair, dressed in the uniform of an executive at Arasaka Corporation, pushed open the door of the entryway, which was neither too big nor too small.
As I carried the suitcase, the light reflected in my eyes momentarily overlapped with my reflection in the full-length mirror in the entryway.
"Quinque," she muttered to herself.
Chapter 085 Vera has made progress again
Cyberpunk
Tokyo Metropolis, the heavily guarded private community of the Arasaka Corporation.
As night fell, the winter clouds were overcast, the north wind was biting, the cold fog was thick, and snowflakes were falling.
The villa is a high-end modern Japanese-style villa with the name "Russell". It features a courtyard and a semi-open indoor training ground.
Figures clashed, blades flashed, clang! clang! clang!
Sparks kept flying out from where the blades struck each other.
Suddenly, with a muffled thud, a figure flew backward, and the muscular man, losing his balance, slid across the floor, leaving a long trail. Just as he regained his footing, a flash of white light appeared, and a willow-leaf-shaped blade was placed directly against his neck.
The battle came to an abrupt end.
"You flatter me." Vera sheathed her katana.
Seeing this, the man's reddened prosthetic eye deactivated its combat mode. He stood up, bowed, and said, "Director Russell, your talent truly puts us all to shame..."
"They're just doing their jobs."
With a gentle smile, Vera turned and casually tossed her katana. The sword twirled in the air before precisely embedding itself in its scabbard on the weapon rack. "Thank you for sparring," she said. As she finished speaking, the automatic door leading into the room opened, and Vera stepped inside.
"Did you lose again?"
At this moment, the other agents in Man in Black were hiding in the corner stepped forward.
"She's copying and familiarizing herself with our combat methods. Skills are one aspect, but her physical strength reminds me of Adam Hammer... However, compared to Hammer, who's a lumpy iron body with hardly any flesh on it, Director Russell's implant should theoretically not have such a high output threshold."
The man raised his heavy, thickened training katana, its surface riddled with countless nicks and chips. The web of his hand, composed of dense bone, Elastic Joints, and the Gorilla Arms, seemed to tremble slightly, a burning sensation transmitted through the nerve synapses...
"Her compatibility with the prosthetic body is unheard of... I really don't know what she'll be like when she goes all out, even risking her life..."
"That's not our concern. Disperse. All groups, be on high alert... Ever since Director Russell's status as a Night City Council Member was officially announced, there have been more spies infiltrating Tokyo. At least eight espionage cases have been solved this month. Our mission is to ensure that no external forces disturb Director Russell's thoughts."
The house was warm and cozy, and the home's AI sensed the biosignal of the 'temporary homeowner,' causing the flames in the gas fireplace to blaze even brighter.
The orange-red firelight cast a faint red glow on the room, tap-tap-tap.
After getting off work and completing her routine warm-up to show that she hadn't forgotten her security duties, Vera returned to her bedroom with a cup of red tea in one hand and a soft briefcase in the other, and sat down at her desk.
"It's definitely enough for me to digest for a while."
As if muttering to herself, she pulled out a paper document.
[Arasaka Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo Class of 2075 Law Graduate School Professional Examination] In the Cyberpunk world, the older and more prestigious the colleges like the Todai, the more nostalgic they are.
2075/12/25
Vera glanced up at the digital clock.
She has been in the Faculty of Todai for almost a year since she enrolled in the spring semester.
During the spring, summer, and autumn semesters, through skipping grades and her photographic memory, she had almost earned enough credits, and according to the established procedure, she would officially graduate in early 1976.
After all, she was admitted through an internal recommendation from Arasaka Corporation, making her an unconventional student. She was a "Master of Gu" from Social Darwin Corporation, possessing outstanding abilities and precious time.
In this regard, the Todai will not make things difficult for Vera's graduation progress. As long as you can study, pass the assessments, and comply with the procedures, you will have a smooth path.
If it weren't for that trip to South Africa, which brought Vera into Saburo Arasaka's sights and made her the person in charge of the "Solaris Staircase Project," diverting a lot of his attention, she could have skipped grades much faster and might have graduated around September of this year.
It's safe to say that Vera has a lot to do in Tokyo right now.
She needs to micromanage and remotely control Night City's Security Department, personally instructing her elite Special Rapid Response Unit, while also overseeing her law major and virology minor at Todai, and managing the progress of the [Solaris Staircase Project], constantly innovating and showcasing results...
It's very complicated.
Comparing the three matters, the Todai's academic studies undoubtedly seem to be a slight priority, but Vera is not prepared to use her current political resources to push for a delay, or even to use privileges to cheat.
Open all three lines at once!
She came to Tokyo for only three things: progress, progress, and what He cherishes most is progress!
How can we make progress?
Naturally, it's about showcasing personal abilities to win the favor of that old man, Saburo Arasaka.
In Vera's eyes, Saburo is a workaholic who really likes the wolf-like culture.
While catering to his preferences and showcasing your undeniable personal talents and abilities, it is also necessary to appropriately demonstrate compatibility in personality and values.