"Marcus, how did the final exams go? Any talent worth bringing into R&D?"
It was a small internal meeting at Arasaka Academy.
As a private academy founded by Arasaka, it regularly supplied the company's R&D department with all kinds of talent.
The speaker was Tanaka Tatsuo (he had no name in the anime, so I picked one myself), a manager from Arasaka's R&D department.
The man was pinching the bridge of his nose. Arasaka had run into trouble again over the past two days.
There had been a battle at the border. The field team reported that they had joined Militech in intercepting a suspicious shipment of contraband near the Great Wall.
Yet the enemy had escaped right in front of more than forty people and over a dozen drones from both sides!
Not only had they escaped, they had crippled both teams. Only the two squad leaders had made it back on their feet!
The footage showed that the enemy really had accomplished all of this in an instant. It appeared to be some kind of smart weapon mounted on a vehicle, yet it required a person to operate it...
And that targeting speed and hit rate were simply unheard of-
What kind of brain could lock onto so many targets in an instant while also helping a smart weapon accelerate its computations?
But if it was a hardware system, none of the smart weapons currently on the market could achieve that level of efficiency, unless the vehicle had an accelerator unit installed.
But... was there even room for hardware like that in that wreck of a car?
In short, there were plenty of unanswered questions. R&D currently agreed that it was probably an Eight-Star Shotgun, an enhanced version of the Shōtō shotgun. Adam Smasher also favored that shotgun model, and the Eight-Star Shotgun was an upgraded version custom-built for people like him.
But...
The specifications for the Eight-Star Shotgun Kang Tao had sold to Smasher showed nothing remotely this powerful. Legal was negotiating with Kang Tao, but the other side had kept its lips sealed. They had gotten nothing out of them.
Intelligence's assessment was that there were only two possibilities: either the other side had done an exceptional job of keeping it secret, or they didn't know either.
Because of this incident, upper management had made them launch another project, leaving them somewhat short-staffed.
"I've already recommended a group of students according to your requirements, Mr. Tanaka, but I found a promising talent in the continuing education school.
"He scored beyond full marks on the entrance test, and his brain waves remained stable throughout. He seemed to handle it effortlessly. He should be well worth cultivating."
"I'm talking about people we can use right now. You can decide things like that yourself."
Despite saying that, Tanaka Tatsuo began looking through the data file sent over to him.
"Hmm... full marks across the board on the class A license training entrance test? It seems his self-taught knowledge is quite solid too. He really is talented. Dennis... Burger King?
"Another street punk. What kind of person comes up with an alias like that... Marcus, did you not finish reading this report?"
Tanaka paused just as he reached the "Student's ideological outlook" field. The AI-generated report had quoted Lier's exact words:
"Only a fucking idiot would do this job."
"Uh... personally, I believe his thinking can be corrected. We have ongoing internal courses on preserving Arasaka's spiritual and cultural legacy, the great Saburo Thought, and the theoretical framework of liberalism with corporate characteristics."
"Enough. I said you could decide this yourself. Still, I think he's just a street punk."
Tanaka took off his stylish glasses and reclined on the couch, snatching a moment of rest while receiving Marcus's list of students ready for work.
Unlike his son, who actually got five days off after finals, plus two days of adjusted leave.
That added up to a vacation seven days long!
Arasaka treated its students far too well.
He needed to sign his son up for extra classes.
[You have mastered practical technology: General Technical Engineering (beginner)] [Tech points +30]
"What the hell is this? Saburo Thought? Quite a name he's come up with. That Japanese bastard's been living so well it's gone to his head. Thinks he's the emperor now?"
After studying all day, Lier had received a complimentary course from Arasaka Academy, supposedly meant to arm his mind.
But the moment he opened it...
Lier hurriedly hit delete, terrified that it might contaminate his brain-computer interface.
Saburo was no successful entrepreneur. He was a genuine remnant of Imperial Japan, a World War II pilot!
Anyone familiar with history would know that Saburo was a monster through and through. He had even contemplated suicide after the emperor announced Japan's surrender.
Then he had suddenly had an epiphany. If that old bastard had killed himself back then, this world probably would have turned out very differently.
Like hell Lier was studying that.
Setting aside the ideological education so ridiculous he didn't know where to begin, Arasaka's official teaching materials were actually excellent.
The courses were divided into two parts, one of which required attending a physical classroom where students could use Arasaka's learning pods.
The immersive learning was highly efficient. It even made Lier curious about what they taught at the actual Arasaka Academy.
Soon, after finishing that day's tech specialist and ripperdoc courses, he moved on to basic education.
What Lier was looking for was DNA editing technology.
Two leading companies fit his requirements: Moore Technologies and Biotechnica.
Decades ago, the renowned Biotechnica had pulled the world back from the brink of an energy crisis through the discovery of CHOOH2.
Biotechnica specialized in genetic engineering, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and microbiology.
Moore Technologies, meanwhile, had started out in human organ transplants. Following the boom in cybernetic implants, it had released artificial organs and components such as the Synthetic Lung Lobe and auxiliary hearts.
However, as the global economy and trade developed, both companies eventually released plenty of competing products of the same types.
Biotechnica had the advantage in market capitalization, but Moore Technologies seemed more closely aligned with Lier's needs.
"The development of genetically modified animal breeding... Biotechnica, genetically modified organism farms... All Foods' largest supplier."
"Moore Technologies, damage to DNA telomeres caused by excessive cybernetic augmentation, unique cellular adaptation techniques to reduce these side effects. A breakthrough in epigenetics? That might be useful too..."
Anyone who saw Lier studying so diligently would surely have taken him for a bookworm.
But they would have changed their minds after hearing what he was muttering.
"Who should I rob first..."
"Who should you rob?"
"Hey! Can you focus? Studied yourself stupid?" V nudged Lier while chambering a round.
Time moved on to the following evening.
Padre had given them a job. The targets were Sixth Street, who apparently had their eyes on The Glen and wanted to drive out Padre's Valentinos.
The gig didn't pay much. It was essentially Lier doing Padre a favor in return for that fake Burger King identity he had used to enroll.
Lier snapped out of his thoughts and casually glanced at a surveillance camera in the distance.
Using the camera as a stepping stone, he hacked his way into an alley over a hundred meters away, where some Sixth Street punks were warming themselves around a fire.
"Three people, three guns. Arasaka Tamakages... ugh, lousy guns. The demon will finish uploading in thirty seconds. Get ready."
The Tamakage was a pistol that had been in production since the early twenty-first century. Even its replacement parts had been discontinued. Not only was its firepower outdated, maintaining it was a pain too.
It seemed their boss had no intention of equipping them with good guns.
The most advanced cyberware they had was the weapon monitor in their leader's hand...
Its black-market price was probably around three thousand eddies. It looked like something Sixth Street had made themselves.
"Why do you seem so unenthusiastic?"
Lier spread his hands. "What am I supposed to get excited about? It's just three punks. Even two thousand eddies would be generous for this gig, and there are three of us!"
Actually, Lier understood Padre's intention: he wanted them to provoke Sixth Street a little first.
Honestly, Padre was being pretty decent about it. Lier had originally thought he would send them to kill a minor Sixth Street boss.
Sixth Street had been constantly harassing Valentinos territory lately, leaving the streets unsettled.
"Fair enough." V deflated too. "Boring. Shame we can't fence anything right now."
Jackie scratched his head. "Is two thousand eddies really that little? Besides, this is a killing job. How are you two so calm?"
V and Lier exchanged a glance. "Man, you're too broke for me to explain it to you. Just get ready."
"Oh, right." Lier suddenly remembered something. "Don't kill them. I need some practice."
Thirty seconds later, the three Sixth Street soldiers warming themselves around the fire suddenly felt hot-very, very hot. Then they abruptly burst into flames!
The bizarre sight made them realize instantly that there was a hacker!
Unfortunately, a man and a woman charged around the corner a moment later. After a few gunshots, they couldn't hear anything anymore.
There wasn't the slightest pressure. V even started yawning-
An antique gun like the Tamakage couldn't even penetrate her subdermal armor.
Looking at the three unconscious men on the ground, V sighed again and poked Lier beside her with her gunstock.
"Can you take the crew on another big run? This is seriously boring. Calling it an after-dinner treat would be giving it too much credit."
"Hmm... I'm thinking about it. I just haven't decided who to rob."
[Matt reports: Your appointment with Dr. Connors is set for noon tomorrow. Don't sleep through it.] [You: Okay. How's the office renovation coming along?]
Over in the Marvel Universe, Lier had decided to rent the room Mr. Rigordo had vacated as a temporary base for the company. Skye had nowhere to live anyway, so sending her over there to work around the clock wouldn't be a bad idea.
[Matt: It'll take a little longer, but you'll have to ask John and Anthony for the details. This isn't my line of work.] [You: All right. I'm ready.]
Back in the Cyberpunk world, Lier suddenly said, "I'll have a plan soon. I'll tell you the day after tomorrow."
"Woohoo! Let's pull off something big!"
Unlike the excited V, Jackie remained unfazed. "All right. Let's see what you two call a big job."
Just as the three of them began bundling up the unlucky bastards, a guy with a mohawk on the ground suddenly started yelling:
"I'm Malik Plant! Lay a hand on me, and Sixth Street won't let you get away with it!"
The three exchanged looks. Finally, V asked, "Are you famous?"
"I... fuck! The sergeant sent me here to take charge of these rookies harassing the Valentinos. What do you think, dumbass?"
He really is a minor boss? Lier froze for a moment, then gestured to V.
V knocked the guy out with a sharp smack.
They still had to drag him away.
Before you continue