Chapter 94

Farah's fourth eye narrowed almost simultaneously, the orange-red light representing telephone communication flashing. As a supporter of Major Corporations -style neo-militarism and authoritarianism, the insults from the offline mercenaries made his face grow increasingly ugly.

"Maine, you know who you're talking to..."

"I'm cursing you, you bastard! Adam Hammer has appeared, you know that?"

Maine rudely interrupted Faraday on the other end of the phone.

"It's Adam Hammer! You fucking translate what Adam Hammer even means!! You didn't even reveal such crucial information, I'm quitting! The commission doesn't match the work, you want me to hit a hammer? Damn it, don't even think about getting your deposit back! Also, here's the latest live stream of Arasaka Waterfront that you wanted! You fucking see it for yourself..."

After finishing his rant, Maine hung up the phone.

Snap.

Crushing the cigarette between his fingers, Faraday's face turned ashen; he was so angry he almost wanted to tear Maine apart and kill him.

But thinking about what Maine said next calmed me down, and I opened the data unit in the email attachment that Maine sent.

Sizzle... Boom...

Watching the blood and gore splattered on the screen, Faraday took several deep breaths. Even someone as obsequious to his superiors and bullying to his inferiors as he was, had to admit that Maine was right. Even if Maine made it public at the Afterlife club that he had torn up the commission, no one would criticize him too much.

After all, that's Adam's Hammer...

There are differences between legends.

If Rogue, who owns and manages 'Afterlife,' is considered a legend, it's because of her legendary past and her status as the most powerful middleman in Night City.

Adam Hammer is a legend among legends, the creator and executor of Night City legends.

It's a bloody crime committed with real weapons and live ammunition, known purely for its force, violence, and killing.

Among cyber lone wolves, perhaps only Morgan Blackhand can rival him.

Faraday, a mere middleman in Santo Domingo, what right did he have to send someone to fight Adam Hammer?

He couldn't get the deposit back, and he couldn't retaliate against Maine in the short term.

This incident can be considered a violation of the rules of the underworld, as the commission was severely disproportionate to the difficulty of the mission. Being discovered during a mission and thus having a legitimate reason to unilaterally terminate the commission is an acceptable act in the cyber mercenary world.

Then, Faraday made a few more phone calls.

Of the four mercenary teams he had lured, three have already disappeared without a trace.

One team started swearing and cursing as soon as they opened their microphones.

The background noise suggests someone is fleeing on the road.

Beep, the call ended. There's nothing to talk about.

After lighting another cigarette and pondering for a while, Faraday activated another encrypted Comms Chip in the network access bay and dialed his number with the Militech liaison officer.

Didi.

The call was connected.

Exhaling a puff of white smoke, Faraday spoke with annoyance, "How am I supposed to steal this level of military force deployment without prior notice? Even Adam Hammer is here. Unless you find me a ruthless character like Morgan Blackhand, this job is going to be difficult!"

"With Morgan Blackhand around, would you even have a chance to eat meat?"

On the other end of the phone, the liaison officer for Militech chuckled.

"We only asked you to do it because it was difficult. We're not rushing you to deliver immediately. Just give it a try. We still have time. Those soldiers can't stay on the Arasaka Waterfront forever... This time, Arasaka's power projection was almost testing the limits of international public opinion. Washington had no choice but to accept it."

He seemed to have foreseen the situation Faraday would encounter.

Faraday: "Didn't you also lose a team of elite agents? Aren't you heartbroken?"

"Don't use your shallow perspective to judge the company's strategic resolve."

The liaison officer's tone remained calm.

"Bringing out Adam Hammer is valuable... Don't rush, our cooperation is long-term. Let Arasaka keep up their defenses. We'll strike when their new Night City Comprehensive Research Center breaks ground. The higher-ups have put a lot of effort into this shipment from Arasaka..."

"Keep up the good work, Faraday, the best is yet to come... Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, the company has agreed to all your requests."

After saying that, the phone beeped. He hung up.

"..."

Faraday looked extremely unwell.

"Pretentious."

Then, he got up and dialed a number back.

As the first mercenary to react, relay intelligence, and escape, Maine's team was quite capable. Being able to escape is a skill in itself, so let's continue to keep them around.

"I am Faraday Maine. I was also caught off guard by this request..."

At the same time, in the Corporate Plaza, at the Militech building.

The intelligence department's office floor.

Having just ended his call with Faraday, the Militech employee responsible for liaising with Night City's intermediaries covered his face with a bitter expression and rubbed his temples.

Isn't he in a hurry?

No, he's in a hurry!

"Fuck, the Foreign Affairs Bureau is a bunch of idiots! They didn't even notice Adam Hammer's return to Night City... and another agent team got caught up in it. The information they got... hmm."

As if his head was spinning from overthinking, he felt a surge of stomach acid and quickly got up from his workstation to wash his face in the bathroom to clear his head.

But as soon as he lowered his head, his mouth felt sour, and he vomited with a "whoosh".

"Cough cough..." The health monitoring device inside his body beeped, and he murmured, "Is it because of too much stress..."

Back at his workstation, after taking his blood pressure medication, he pulled up the operation report for this reconnaissance mission.

The money given to the middleman and the losses suffered by the special agent team are all company property, and the higher-ups need him to write a loss report.

He reviewed it several times, but alas, the internal evaluation score wasn't high.

Didi.

A new email appeared on the terminal screen. The man glanced at it while writing his report, and was immediately drawn to it.

From: Baskin Company

[Message: We're sorry, your business order has failed...]

More bad news.

This is truly an unlucky year.

"Arasaka, who tramples on chariots!"

He cursed under his breath, took out a performance-enhancing drug from the drawer next to him, and after taking a sip, his eyes immediately lit up with an orange-red light.

"It's me, from the intelligence department. I have important news to report... no, it's not about the reinforcements at Arasaka Waterfront... I'm sorry, sir, our undercover agent who infiltrated the Watson Arasaka Automation Factory has been exposed by Arasaka's Counter-Intelligence Department..."

The routine report is now complete.

After submitting the inspected damage report, the man leaned back in his chair and brought up the main UI of the company's intelligence department.

New assessment tasks have been assigned from above.

—"Assessment: Feasibility of Expanding and Adding Border Checkpoints to Better Manage the Night City Border and Protect Citizens' Lives and Property"—

[Source: Washington, Virginia Militech Headquarters]

"Border wall... looks like the higher-ups are planning to increase troop deployments too..."

Ignoring the pretentious and empty rhetoric above, he opened the subpage in the task attachment.

—"The Feasibility of Partial Concessions, a Strategic Retreat to Advance, to Encourage the Deployment of Arasaka at the Night City Border Outpost"—

"Let Arasaka divide his forces. It seems the higher-ups still have their eyes on Vera Adelheid's ' Solaris Staircase Project. In that case... Faraday can't just give up. He needs to find more desperados to constantly confuse Arasaka's security forces..."

"No, one Faraday isn't enough. If the mercenaries suffer too many casualties, he'll lose his influence. I need to develop more intermediaries..."

The Konpeki Plaza.

The magnificent Zijinshi Banquet Hall.

The floor was covered with a warm, silky red carpet, and crystal-clear, gilded chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The lights were dazzling, and the interplay of light and shadow created a dreamlike atmosphere, as if a galaxy had been poured out.

2076/1/24|19/42

At this point, the banquet had entered its second half.

Men and women, dressed in well-dressed and expensive clothes, gathered in twos and threes, chatting quietly. They were warm but polite, and their voices mingled together, some entertaining, some serious, and some deep in thought.

Without exception, the topics included the confirmed bombshell news that Arasaka had reinforced Night City.

The events that occurred at Arasaka Waterfront have already spread and are fermenting among the people, and it seems to have caused quite a stir so far.

But in the end, it was just talk; it didn't help Washington or Militech, and their situation only worsened. Nobody wanted them to reunify.

Below the stage in the banquet center, at Chief head table, Vera withdrew her gaze, her indigo eyes reflecting orange-red data streams.

[Jimmy: Director, the cleanup mission is complete. Based on the location parameters provided by the Counter-Intelligence Department and the operational objectives of protecting the informant, Adam Hammer swept through the North Industrial District of Watson City. In addition to the Militech agent team, a Baskin Company support team was also eliminated.]

Baskin Undercover Company, a specialized corporate espionage firm set in Cyberpunk world.

"Understood. After the banquet, order Heavy Hammer to come to the Konpeki Plaza to see me. Also, have Jenkins give me a complete account of the entire mission."

Vera nodded.

"The Security Department? Is it some kind of Militech stunt..." Vera was standing next to Michiko Arasaka.

With her legs crossed and her signature blue mohawk, Michiko looked at Vera thoughtfully.

Vera smiled and said, "Interested?"

"No need."

Michiko waved her hand, indicating that she had no interest in such military operations. "But what about the new establishment and construction of the Night City Arasaka Comprehensive Research Center? Saburo really likes you, Vera... I'm even thinking of dragging you into Dangerous Girl... Hmm, what are you doing?"

Before she could finish speaking, Michiko saw Vera suddenly stand up and walk towards a corner of the banquet hall.

There were several bodyguards with an air of military discipline, and sitting there was a bald, muscular man, white, with highly modified Combat Cybernetics, who was still wearing a black V-neck T-shirt and combat trousers even at a banquet of this level.

Michiko recognized her.

Kurt Hansen. The victor of the Santo Domingo gang war and the leader of Dogtown.

Oh, so you've beaten up the dog that Militech has recently raised, and now you're seeking Arasaka's support?

Chapter 098 Making Friends and Scheming (4.5K)

The Gum Bik Orchestra played soothing and melodious classical music on the marble stage of the banquet hall.

Clang, clang...

Under the watchful eyes of countless people, some overt and some covert, Vera left her seat and walked to the wall-mounted booth sofa at the edge of the ballroom's dance floor.

Two plainclothes officers from the Ghosthounds stood on either side of the booth. When Vera, one of the two main characters of the banquet, walked straight over, they were stunned for a moment. Just as they reacted, whoosh!

Several Cyber Ninja from the Arasaka Family Estate moved even faster, their large hands, heavily Combat Cybernetic Modification, pinning them down and forcibly dragging them aside.

A pair of military-grade electronic eyes, flashing with dark red light, suddenly approached, coldly scanning their prosthetic body parameters and biosignals almost face-to-face.

"Mr. Kurt Hansen."

Vera stepped over the small step of the recessed booth and looked at Hansen, who was sitting on the sofa with a big knife and a golden horse, seemingly lost in thought.

Yes, a burly white man with a buzz cut and a shaved head, wearing a belt under his arm with a holster for a knife that had been confiscated by the security guards of the Konpeki Plaza. He wore a dog tag around his neck, leaned slightly forward, and placed his hands symmetrically on his thighs with an upright posture. Clearly, the habits from his military career still deeply influenced him.

It fits the stereotypical image of an old-fashioned American tough guy.

"It's an honor to meet you here."

The key is "here," meaning in the Konpeki Plaza, not in your Dogtown's "Gemstone Blue." "Gemstone Blue" refers to the Dogtown's Luxurious Banquet, an upscale social venue run by the Barghest Gang.

"It is also an honor to meet you, Vera Adelheid Director Russell, Director."