The hospital where Holt was staying was in the North Oak District of Westbrook, a degraded version of a Japanese medical company that had been crushed after Arasaka came ashore.
Arasaka had used all kinds of methods to crush most of the businesses in Watson District, including the Japanese medical company that had once been in Kabuki. The company's assets and employees had been reorganized in North Oak District, and its scale had shrunk considerably.
As a Japanese company, Arasaka wouldn't support its fellow Japanese businesses for the sake of "the national interest." On the contrary, it would use any means available to attack them and achieve a true domestic monopoly-
But for now, its monopoly hadn't yet reached its peak.
To be honest, Holt hadn't been seriously injured when he was hit by two grenades on the Arasaka Waterfront.
The Emperor Ragnar, especially the version supplied to corporations, had outstanding blast resistance. It couldn't be pierced by one or two stray rounds like those.
At most, Holt had suffered a few minor scrapes and bruises. He'd been admitted to the hospital more because he'd been frightened, and he'd started working again before long.
But that choice had nearly cost him his life.
The scene was even more outrageous than Lier had expected. Unlike a place bombarded by grenades and heavy firepower, Holt's quarters had been hit by an actual bomb.
Woolie's automatic Grenade Launcher had more or less lightly blasted the building across a wide area. It looked horrifying, but to use an analogy, it was more like the building had been skinned.
Besides, the Apartments he'd attacked were entirely residential, and their construction was mediocre. Most of what had shattered and broken apart were non-load-bearing structures.
Holt's building was different. From the outside, the blast area wasn't as