Chapter 84
Meanwhile, in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo Metropolis, at Norinobu's residence.
Patio.
A cold wind swept by, carrying a snowflake that swirled in the air. Inside the courtyard, several old trees were covered in a thick Xueyi, their branches drooping low, much like Sano Arasaka's state of mind at that moment.
Clutching his phone tightly, Norinobu, wearing a thick monzakatsu haori, slid open the sliding door, sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, and stared blankly at the crystal-clear icicles under the eaves of the distant corridor.
Beside him were opened bottles of strong liquor and ceramic cups and bowls.
On January 1st, the New Year, Norinobu's residence remained closed, with only a few lights occasionally illuminating the main house.
Normally at this time, although he and Sanlang disliked each other and would never attend the so-called family dinner, they would still enjoy themselves. Geishas and sex dolls were a must, and they would throw parties, doing whatever was decadent they wanted to spite Sanlang. But this time, he had completely lost interest.
Just now, his worst fears came true.
Saburo may have found a new successor...
"That old codger Saburo... actually chose Rei, letting Vera Adelheid inherit that beast's 'legacy'? Could it be that he intends to hand over Arasaka to an outsider... Haha... It seems that old codger isn't as completely incorrigible as he claims..."
Norinobu muttered sarcastically to himself.
"Hypocritical, selfish, arrogant... It seems you've finally succumbed to reality."
Since Saburo Arasaka regained his youth six months ago, the interim results of the Solaris Staircase Project have sold well in the global market, and he has reached some cooperation agreements with Biotechnology and European Bank, his life has become difficult.
Saburo's first task was to investigate spies, and his second task was to guard against them.
Perhaps Saburo did not strip him of his control over the 'Hawks' under his command, but Norinobu could feel that his wings were being restricted and that more and more of his former subordinates were becoming distant from him.
He had absolutely no access to accurate information about the [Solaris Staircase Project], and he didn't even have a chance to contact Vera Adelheid. All the people he sent out were intercepted by Saburo's men.
From then on, Norinobu noticed something was amiss: Vera Adelheid was going to the family compound far too often.
Even Anders Hellman, the head of the Relic Project whom Saburo once valued most, was not so favored.
Looking back at Vera Adelheid's past, she is not a pure scholar or researcher. She is very young, has a clean background, is exceptionally talented, and is a genuine front-line combat commander from the martial arts faction, as well as a high-ranking official in Night City's Security Department.
In some ways, she was a perfect fit for Arasaka's strategic direction and tactical needs for growth and expansion...
As he pondered, a cold wind brushed his face, and Norinobu couldn't help but lick his dry lips. An unprecedented emptiness and fear enveloped his entire body. He was not afraid of death, nor did he care about the power he held.
What he fears is failure.
To infiltrate Arasaka's heart, he humbly returned to his family, living a life of ignominy and indulgence for forty years, all to lull Saburo into a false sense of security so he could seize the opportunity to strike decisively, destroying Arasaka from within and taking the chance to dismantle this distorted world where the company ruled everything.
All of this is predicated on him being Saburo's successor!
A hint of anxiety flashed across Norinobu's brow as he instinctively tried to stop Vera Adelheid from accepting his damned older brother's inheritance.
Perhaps that old codger Saburo just wanted to force him to compete with Vera.
He must fight for it!
He had to go see his father.
Admit your mistake...
The thought of seeing Saburo's arrogant, smug face again, and how he needed to go against his conscience to please him, made Norinobu feel nauseous, but he had to go. He couldn't lose his right to the inheritance!
"Mother, please bless me."
The festive conversation, presented via a two-way projection screen, concludes in a lighthearted yet Order atmosphere.
At least Vera is in a good mood.
She didn't get much of a chance to speak, but the biggest advantage was that she got to show her face in front of the powerful local figures in Arasaka's world.
After the casual conversation at the New Year's luncheon, Vera reported to Saburo on the timing of another 'Rebirth Potion' injection and the progress of the [Solaris Staircase Project], some new ideas in her personal research, and preliminary plans for returning to Night City. Then, Vera bid farewell to Saburo, Shintaro Takayama, and Wako.
Escorted by Goro Takemura, they headed towards the private helipad inside the family compound.
It sounded like the roar of a hovercar engine.
Without changing out of her glamorous gown, Vera stood at the intersection between the corridor and the helipad, raising her hand as snowflakes drifted down, and said, "A good snow promises a good harvest. 2076 will be a bountiful year for Arasaka..."
"Director Russell, I wish you success." Goro Takemura bowed deeply.
Just as Vera nodded in return, and several Arasaka maids were about to hand over the suitcase containing Vera's change of clothes, a noisy commotion broke out.
"Who?" Takemura frowned, about to reprimand, "Norinobu?! What brings you here..."
"Takemura -kun, as a member of the Arasaka Family, do I need to report to you when I go home?"
Takemura quickly bowed his head, "I'm sorry, Arasaka..."
Completely ignoring Takemura, Sano Arasaka's gaze was fixed on the tall, elegantly dressed woman beside him.
The two looked at each other and saw surprise in each other's eyes.
"Vera Adelheid?"
"It is I, Norinobu."
Vera her skirt and bent down, giving Norinobu a standard, elegant lady's bow.
She really didn't expect Norinobu to come back.
In a gentle tone, Vera glanced at Takemura, who looked like he was being scolded, and said, "Of course you are Arasaka. Once you are Arasaka, you will be Arasaka for life."
Perhaps life really is like a play, and it all depends on acting skills; she spoke very naturally. Her tone was sincere, as if she had no idea what the other person was thinking.
"Norinobu, it is an honor to meet you. Farewell, Vera will not disturb your rare peaceful reunion with your father and family."
The moment Norinobu's face froze, Vera walked towards the helipad and boarded the hovercar that had been waiting for her without looking back.
The moment the hatch closed, Vera couldn't suppress her joy, and the corners of her mouth turned up.
If not now, when?
Although she really wanted to stay and observe the filial piety between father and son that followed, it wasn't appropriate.
Norinobu, since this is what your father hopes for, then our 'struggle for the Contend for succession's shall begin.
Chapter 089 The Butterfly Effect (4.5K)
In the drizzling rain of the Night City, the company buildings stood motionless amidst the misty white fog, like towering giants piercing the clouds.
Drip, drip. Raindrops tapped against the soundproof glass, making a very faint, crisp sound.
David Martinez, an 18-year-old graduate of the 2076 class of the Security Department at the Arasaka Academy, is in an indoor CQB training range, holding a training Nowaki assault rifle issued by the academy.
With its sharp chamfers and unadorned steel, this classic rifle, manufactured by Arasaka in the early 21st century, has been phased out by the company's combat units, but it is more than adequate as a free training weapon.
"Begin!" The instructor gave the order, and David, wearing noise-canceling tactical headphones, responded and moved.
First, he threw a training stun grenade behind the obstacle wall, then kicked the door. He held the gun with both hands, aimed at the human-shaped target behind the obstacle, and fired. With a muffled 'bang,' he felt the real recoil feedback on his shoulder, something that the training chip and the Super Dream course could not provide. David's medium-caliber full-charge bullet hit the target's head.
He then proceeded quickly, conducting a search and scanning operation.
With the two-way recorder on the tactical goggles equipped with an infrared thermal imaging sensor, your eyes must be scanning every aspect of the room so that the AI scanner can determine whether you have accurately completed the operational search criteria.
Then, he used stun grenades and smoke grenades, reloading as he darted into the doorway of the second room, which was constructed of obstacles and a barrier wall. Inside were ten targets, each of which could only be fired three times. He then left, reloaded again, and entered the third room.
Crouching down, David quickly manipulated the tactical terminal display on his wrist. The Puppet Virus plugin [Target Location] was activated, and several lines of intrusion protocol code flashed rapidly on the tablet, the target being the simulated prosthetic signal in the room.
[Target Positioning] is a very practical type of magic puppet.
It can help intruders understand the distribution of enemies and equipment in the invaded area.
By 2076, it had become the most widespread and basic puppet plugin, a skill that any slightly more mainstream Cyberpunk must master and learn.
The training puppets at the Arasaka Academy are pre-programmed mass-produced chips, making them incredibly easy to operate. David simply needs to locate the target and activate the release mechanism.
Before long, through the wall, as if seeing through it, several humanoid targets made up of flashing red 01 scrambled numbers appeared in David's field of vision via the Data Panel Connector. Without hesitation, David raised his gun and pulled the trigger, firing through the wall in bursts.
Reload, then it's the fourth room...
It took a total of 1 minute and 47 seconds until David walked out of the training field exit.
"Trainee David Martinez, Zone 1 target, head, 10-ring, search completion rate 100%, time 7 seconds, Zone 2 target..."
"Slow down, David, Katsuo is much faster."
As David unloaded the magazine, checked the safety, and returned the weapon, tactical terminal, belt, and tactical pouch, a David of medium build with curly blond hair who looked like a delinquent immediately approached him.
"How can I compare to Katsuo?"
David shook his head. "But you, Suneo, didn't you get a prosthetic body? Your grades aren't much better than mine, this 'pure flesh' poor guy... Hehe, judging from your unsteady gait, you must have gone out and had some fun."
David then took off his goggles, tactical headset, and other self-purchased items and stuffed them into his backpack. He turned to the blond-haired young man, lowered his voice, and winked, "You're not really going to Twist Street..."
"Don't talk nonsense, I didn't, I didn't! I just watched a few Mewtwo movies for my friend!"
Xiao Fu's voice grew increasingly weak, "Ahem... if my dad finds out I went to Twist Street... he'll definitely break my legs..."
Twist Street is located in Japan Street —the most upscale entertainment and leisure area in Night City.
It is a famously sexy and erotic place for trading experiential dolls, Mewtwo, and Black Dream.
David couldn't help but retort, "You're such a lecherous bastard!"
Clearly, he and this classmate Xiaofu have a good relationship.
Or rather, ever since the news of him receiving the Outstanding Practice Award from the Security Department was made public in early 2075, and a certain bully was severely punished and forced to drop out of school for bullying him, the students at the Arasaka Academy seemed to suddenly become friendly towards him.
Even because of his participation in the 2074 Arasaka Academy year-end Security Department practice activity, he was accepted by some small groups of students, and his extremely depressing and abnormal academy life suddenly became colorful.
Although the days were far removed from the school-themed stories depicted in the pirated, nearly new, low-quality Anteiku chips he found at the Mewtwo market, at least he felt like he was going to school normally.
This is much better than when David was studying at Santo Domingo Community College and was initially met with disdain and passive-aggressive treatment upon entering Arasaka Academy.
After a year of normal interaction, they became much more familiar with each other.
Just as David, unable to contain his curiosity, was about to ask for details, a harsh male voice said, "Knowing that, why did you still go?"
The girl with the straight bangs and blue bob is none other than Katsuo Tanaka.
Tall and strong, with a round, ball-like body like a sumo wrestler, Fat Tiger followed behind him.
"Here you go." With steady steps, Katsuo walked over with one hand in her pocket and tossed the toss over.
David instinctively caught them, and upon closer inspection, he saw that they were two Separate Chip. "What are these?" he asked Katsuo.
"The basic training chip for the Arasaka Security Department. You can use it if you want to practice."
Katsuo casually offered an explanation.
"If you train well, you'll be able to pass the graduation exam. For students like you who are purely physically strong, the assessment standards will be much more lenient than ours."
"Thanks." David took the chip box out of his bag, carefully packed away the two training chips, and said gratefully, "Katsuo, I'll pay you back after I join the company..."
"Unnecessary."
Katsuo simply refused.
"It's just a small amount. Didn't I tell you? I trust the Security Department's assessment specialist's judgment; consider it an investment in you. If we're assigned to the same team, don't hold me back. I'm leaving now; I can't chat with you any longer. I still have a few extracurricular tutoring classes and private military training sessions to attend..."
Today's quiz is over. Students who have completed the training can now move around freely after returning their equipment. Whether you choose to leave the school or go to the library for self-study is up to you.
Locker room.
After changing out of their light combat uniforms and into the academy's black and red uniforms with the Arasaka logo, David, with a backpack slung across his shoulder, followed behind Fat Tiger and Katsuo as they walked out of their Security Department's standalone teaching building.
"Fat Tiger, I heard you're going to the Security Department's guard unit?"
"Yeah. I'll go wherever Boss Katsuo goes, but my family says my physique is more suited to police or security work..."
"David, you still don't have a decent prosthetic body. Although you're number one among the pure physical trainees, the Security Department's work is very risky..."
"Sigh... I can't help it, my family is poor. Scholarships and low-interest loans have already covered tuition and fees, there's simply no money left to buy a prosthetic body. I plan to get a discounted loan to buy a military-grade prosthetic body after I get a job..."
The group chatted as they walked toward the school gate.