Chapter 88

By consumer market standards, biotechnology and nanotechnology are still quite novel. But in Europe, Bio-Components are developing rapidly, and the region is the cradle of advanced bioengineering technologies.

This is also why Saburo chose to cooperate with European Bank. The "Solaris Staircase Project" aligns well with the technological research and development directions in Europe.

As for biotechnology, just look at the company's name; its expertise and business focus are self-evident.

For cyber mercenaries like Maine, 'Rejuvenation Surgery' is a distant prospect, but Flex Stimulant Implant Neutralizer Inhibitor are within reach.

It was a lifesaver, but also something that imprisoned him and emptied his wallet. To sustain his body, which had reached its limits, he had to desperately prolong his mercenary career with stimulants and inhibitors in order to earn more money.

As the team leader, he had to keep his promise—for Dorio, for Pilar and Rebecca, for Kiwi, and for Lucy's dream of going to the moon...

It's not that I can't take jobs from the company; I just need to say some nice things and act like a pushover. It won't hurt me. It's just that the reputation of Corporate Dog is really terrible in the old-school 'legend' of the underground mercenary world!

Just as Maine was caught in his final dilemma—

Didi.

A voice communication that blocks video.

[Gloria: Maine.]

The voice, tinged with urgency, belonged to a woman. It instantly reminded Maine of one of his former employers, a woman who had once saved him and was kind to him.

"Gloria?"

Gloria: It's me. To make a long story short, you've probably heard that my son David attends Arasaka Academy. Breaking news, from one of David's classmates whose family members hold mid-level management positions at Arasaka, confirms that the situation in Night City will be tense for a while... Maine, please be careful.

"... I understand. Thank you, Gloria."

[Gloria: Take care.]

Beep beep. The call ended.

Maine: "..."

Well, I have mixed feelings.

Is having connections at a company really that easy? Gloria, an ordinary office worker at the Night City Medical Center, somehow became well-informed just because her son got into the Arasaka Academy and through chatting and joking with her classmates?!

Suddenly I feel like this is just a bunch of mercenaries...

Like the last straw that broke the camel's back, Maine made up his mind.

"Kiwi, you said that in 'Afterlife' you've reached our level, which is awkward and neither here nor there. If you want to earn more money, you have to get involved with the company. Since you'll have to get involved sooner or later, you might as well get involved now. Instead of hiding like a lone wolf, you should seize the opportunity and climb the social ladder."

He stared intently at the doorway, at the team's key strategist.

At the psychic shop, Kiwi, who seemed to be discussing divination with Jackie's girlfriend Misty and Lucy, turned her head away upon hearing this. Her yellow sclera and red irises narrowed, she took a deep breath, exhaled a smoke ring, and slowly asked, "Have you decided to gamble your life?"

"Bet!"

All in!

Try your luck and your bicycle might turn into a motorcycle.

As cyber mercenaries, none of them are afraid of death. They just don't want to die meaninglessly, doing jobs with no chance of winning that lead to certain death.

"Maine didn't come out, so the deal is done."

Upon hearing this, the cyberpunk girl Lucy looked up, a cigarette between her fingers, her gaze fixed on the three tarot cards that Misty had drawn for her, lost in thought.

0 The Fool, X Wheel of Fortune, XVIII The Moon.

0 is both an end and a beginning, representing infinite possibilities; X represents the fickle nature of fate, a new beginning that must be accepted; XVIII represents confusion, bewilderment, and unease...

Your fate will be in the hands of others.

This is Misty's interpretation of Lucy.

Although Lucy only viewed this cyberpunk-era idealism with a playful attitude, when this sentence echoed in her mind, she couldn't help but think of her past, how she was discovered by Arasaka in the orphanage, and how she did her best as a Consumable Deep Diver to help Arasaka salvage and excavate the remnants of the Old Net data.

Does this mean my fate was controlled by someone from the very beginning?

How utterly hopeless! Lucy thought to herself with a self-deprecating laugh.

What about the moon? Once she gets to the moon, Arasaka, those evil tentacles of those Major Corporations shouldn't be able to reach her anymore. Once she's there, she should be free, uncontrolled, right?

"What's the mission? To find Faraday, or to continue working for this 'new hand,' Mr. Wells?" Lucy asked, having not fully participated in Maine and Jackie's conversation.

Unlike other Cyberpunk who aspire to become legends in Night City, she was simply trying to save money to go to the moon. She always seemed out of place in the team and had no interest in the kind of communication between "big shots" and "leaders." She only asked what the mission was.

"Wait," Kiwi said.

"Wait? Wait for whom?"

"Mr. Wells's partner, a big shot to you and me."

"A big shot..." Lucy was inexperienced but not stupid, and immediately became extremely vigilant. She guessed, "Someone from the company?"

" From Arasaka."

As Kiwi's voice fell, Lucy instinctively froze on the spot.

Inside the arena, it seemed as if only a cold wind was blowing.

Memories flooded back, making her feel a heavy pressure and unable to breathe.

Lucy's mind flashed with images of the 'cage facility' and the terrifying black and white clover symbol. She stared blankly at the three tarot cards she had drawn on the table, lost in thought.

"I... I have something to do, I'll head back now."

She said she had a conditioned reflex to want to escape.

He bumped into someone. It was Pilar, the big-armed, long-armed guy. He had been watching the sex dolls dancing across the street from outside the psychic house, and he spoke with a comical yet rude emphasis, "Please be careful, Miss Lucy... Wait, Lucy, how did she just leave... What happened? Did the job fall through?"

"It seems she's hiding her past. Her connection with Arasaka..." Kiwi strode out, hands in her pockets.

Sizzle—

The sudden, ear-piercing screech of brakes brought the car to a stop outside the shop.

Lucy, who had just stepped out of the psychic house, stopped in her tracks as a matte black Villefort & Bochum V5000 drove into the shadows.

The driver's side door opened, and a woman stepped out with brisk, decisive steps.

Dark red suit, red turtleneck shirt, office casual shoes, and a sharp red shaved head of hair.

Arasaka!

He's still an Arasaka Corporation dog with a job title.

At that moment, Lucy felt her whole body stiffen. The shadow of her childhood made her subconsciously take a step back, and the expression on her face became very fragile and subtle.

This is something that cannot be compared to those exploited Corporate Dog at the grassroots level who rush to catch the tram.

Did they blackmail her?

No, no, she couldn't hack the ICE on Corporate Dog of this caliber instantly. At this close range, the other party would have enough time to react. Besides, Chinatown is close to the City Center, and if they attacked Corporate Dog with a title in Arasaka, Maine and the others wouldn't help her...

Lucy's eyes flashed with rapidly increasing orange-red data, and her mind raced.

V looked at Lucy, who was walking out of her best friend's shop, with considerable surprise.

The other person's stiff, blank expression, her pale rainbow-colored bob with a side part, her eyeshadow but not seductive, her youth and clean appearance—she didn't seem like a sex worker. Could it be that her best friend has developed a taste for this? And...

The intelligence officer reacted instinctively; his prosthetic eye swept over the area, and V's gaze turned cold.

A port in the cerebral cortex, a hacker deep-sea device? Or is it the Arasaka model?

"Who are you?"

Just as Lucy was completely at a loss for what to do, a cheerful exclamation suddenly came from behind her, "Hey, V!"

"This is one of the two top-notch cyber hackers in the team I was talking about. Pretty good, right?"

A smile instantly appeared on V's originally cold face.

"Jackie," she nodded, "A very good online shopper. That's thoughtful. I hope you didn't get scammed. Is the area safe?"

Jackie patted V on the shoulder familiarly.

"I'm old Jackie, a native of Night City, with Heywood blood running through my veins. I've seen a lot in this area. I can't be sure about other things, but I trust Maine's reliability. There are very few bosses this responsible in 'Afterlife'. This street is my little circle, after all. It's a run-down place, nobody's going to fight you for it. Faraday... he's not that powerful."

"Ha, you haven't changed much."

Shaking her head, V looked at the long-armed, big-handed man, Pilar, who was clearly a nobody. "You... keep an eye on that Curtiss V5000 for me. Don't let me see a scratch on it when you come back." Her eyes warned him.

"Tch, you're getting more and more stylish."

"Hmm." V raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying, then looked at Lucy, who had a strange Lucy, "You, come inside with me."

Lucy remained silent.

[Kiwi: Follow Lucy. I don't know what your connection is with Arasaka, but this is an opportunity, a chance for you to step out of the shadows. Of course, it could also lead you astray. But don't let Maine's efforts go to waste.]

It was a communication from Kiwi, the mentor who guided her through her life as Edgerunner.

She clenched her fist, and white finger marks were faintly visible on Lucy's palm. In the end, she gave in; her identity had not yet been exposed, and she could not escape.

Ta-da.

Enter.

The back room.

"A shot of vodka, on the rocks, lime juice, ginger beer. Oh, and most importantly... a little love. I only came up with the recipe at the very end. How about it, Wellster cocktail. You're the first person to taste it."

Jackie pushed the cocktail he had personally mixed in front of V.

V downed her drink in one gulp without saying much, her gaze fixed on the burly, brown-skinned man across the broken coffee table.

"Military-grade [Sandevistan], [Projectile Launch System]..."

V grinned, "You haven't gone crazy after using it? Not bad, not bad, very good. Although a large part of it is due to the effects of our company's new drug, I acknowledge your abilities. Add two veteran hackers, a few good technicians and breachers, and that's enough. Let's talk about cooperation."

She glanced around at the Maine's crew present, her gaze lingering longest on the white-haired hacker and the tall, blonde hacker with a bob haircut.

"Cooperation, it's starting already?" Maine asked incredulously.

"Otherwise what?"

Taking the initiative, V smiled arrogantly.

"You're not worthy of being remembered by Arasaka. To show my sincerity, I'll pay a partial deposit first." She ostentatiously took out Separate Chip containing euros and placed it on the beer crate that was temporarily serving as a coffee table.

"200,000 euros."

"Please remember, Arasaka's money isn't so easy to get. Just pretend you've never met me. I need you to go see that Faraday and take on his commission... You know what I mean."

Seven or eight minutes later.

Maine's crew has left.

"V, is this all you've got for your detailed discussion?" Jackie retorted.

"That's right, let's talk in detail." V clinked glasses with Jackie lightly. "It's about taking the initiative, using our power to intimidate him, and bluffing him. We need to understand his weaknesses and give him what he needs. Saying more is pointless and will only make us seem less confident."

"Wow, V, that's awesome. If this deal goes through, will you get promoted again?"

"It's not that simple. If Faraday really has received strong support in Militech, the Counter-Intelligence Department alone won't be able to deal him a heavy blow. Just wait and see. After having a few drinks with you, I need to go pick him up from the airport."

"Picking me up from the airport?"

"They said they were picking her up from the airport. Actually, I was just there to make up the numbers. Director Vera Adelheid is already en route to Night City International Airport. My department head, and that bitch who doesn't get along with him, are both rushing off to meet her..."

Beep. V turned on the TV in the room.

Night City Inquirer Channel.

The headline read, "Vera Adelheid Russell is about to arrive in Night City."

The host was enthusiastically describing the grand scene of high-ranking officials from Arasaka flocking to the international airport.

Clang. They clinked glasses again, and V was about to remark with Jackie on the other's rocket-like promotion speed when suddenly...