Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 713, Section 127: Yes, Your Excellency.
"Mr. Goro."

“Mr. Wise”.

"Lord Akechi."

The calls of address echoed in the enclosed equipment room. Mingzhi walked expressionlessly past the group of agents standing ramrod straight, his tactical boots, which he had put on not long ago, making a crisp sound as they stepped on the metal floor.

Twelve pairs of eyes followed his movements, each trying to demonstrate their worth with the most standard posture and the most focused gaze.

These were all people he had carefully selected—those chosen by him from the chaotic North American branch of Arasaka all had some skill, although Akechi wasn't sure if their skills were as genuine as described in the documents.

After receiving full authority from Oda Santao, Akechi finalized the list of the special operations team in less than twenty minutes, keeping the number of members to twelve, which was sufficient to deal with the complex situation in Dogtown without alerting the enemy due to its large size.

His gaze swept over each team member in turn:

Two technicians are debugging portable detection equipment; they can set up a temporary command center in thirty seconds.
The hacker was a young woman wearing neural interface glasses. Her fingertips danced across the virtual keyboard, and she had already hacked into three surveillance nodes on the edge of Dogtown.
The sniper was as still as a stone, adjusting his sniper rifle as if he were caressing a lover.
The medics are taking stock of the first aid kits; the nano-hemostatic gel and adrenaline injectors are enough to sustain a small skirmish.

Apart from the five personnel who included technical, medical, and support staff, seven combatants stood on either side like two drawn blades.

Their ceramic composite armor gleamed with a cold, eerie blue light under the overhead lights. Each armor plate had undergone nano-level polishing, capable of deflecting 25% of kinetic energy impact. The magazines neatly inserted on their tactical vests were filled with armor-piercing incendiary rounds, and the electromagnetic pulse grenades hanging from their waists were enough to paralyze a company of combat robots.

Most notably, they have a heavy-duty protective layer implanted under their skin—a carbon fiber mesh structure implanted through military-grade surgery, which can effectively resist direct hits from smart bullets.

These twelve individuals were all top elites selected from the Arasaka headquarters and North American branch. Each of them had a corresponding resume, and their previous evaluations were comparable to those of Akechi.

The two members of the technical team had previously represented Arasaka in providing support and guidance for the construction of facilities for the Costa Rican army;
The hacker girl holds the record for being among the top 100 in Arasaka's internal network penetration testing;

A sniper once took down a moving political figure from 3,000 meters away;

Medics possess an impressive track record of performing organ transplants in battlefield environments;
As for the seven combatants, each of them had at least two perfect raids against medium-sized enterprises recorded in their files—each of them was capable of single-handedly destroying an ordinary security force.

These twelve people can be considered the most elite personnel that the Pheasant Faction can currently muster in North America. If it weren't for the unexpected event of the new US president's plane crash today, which could affect the world and necessitate action, they should be waiting and maintaining perfect condition to deal with the guards around Ms. Arasaka Hanako tomorrow. But now, Akechi has mobilized them all for this operation.

A wise assessment of the team.

Although his identity as a counterintelligence agent meant that his combat ability was the lowest among the group—at least on the surface, that's what he had to appear—his other side, as Carl, was well aware of the team's value. Twelve elites, each with their own strengths, could potentially take down Hansen in Dogtown if they coordinated properly. As the protected and commanding officer, the stronger they were, the better.

Mingzhi calmly adjusted his gloves and said, "We'll be leaving in five minutes."

His voice cut through the heavy air of the equipment room like an ice scalpel, instantly silencing all the subtle conversations.

“Remember the code of conduct: I need precise intelligence, not pointless killing.” He paused for half a second, “unless someone interferes with the mission.” This wise second half of his statement made all seven combatants tense up simultaneously.

“I think you all know perfectly well that this operation will either bring you triumphant achievements that will allow you to rise to higher ranks, or you will remain forever in the ruins of Dogtown to rot. I have great faith in your abilities and am willing to give you this opportunity to create merit, which is why I chose you among so many people.”
"You have every reason to be proud, because you are the best people I chose on behalf of Miss Hanako and Mr. Oda. You are the most outstanding and most likely to complete the mission, chosen in the name of those two gentlemen."

“Look at me—not with your prosthetic eyes, not with your tactical goggles, but with the nerves that still have flesh and blood left in you, with the fire that you refused to extinguish when you were crawling and rolling in the mud.”

"Do you know what Mr. Oda promised me? Power? Wealth? No, something even hotter—an opportunity to rewrite the rules. Those arrogant thoughts that flashed through your minds when you were paralyzed in your hibernation pods after the simulation training, those moments of 'If only I could…'—I'm telling you now, those delusions didn't even touch the edge of reality."

Mingzhi spread his hands: "Am I saying this to make you envious, to make you jealous? No, neither. I want to tell you that I will not enjoy this glory alone, not because of generosity, but because—you deserve it."

You possess sufficient ability, you have outstanding skills, you are the best. Therefore, those standing here today are not just any of the other candidates, but the twelve selected, the most outstanding—twelve!

"What do you want? Promotion? Respect? Or simply to prove your excellence? I don't care about any of that." Mingzhi's voice was calm and sincere. "Listen—after this mission, what you want will be more than you can imagine. Everything you think and desire, I can give you, as long as you have the courage and proof to back it up."

No one doubted Mingzhi's words, not only because the twelve men knew the status Mingzhi would receive after completing this mission, but also because Mingzhi's words and eyes convinced them of it.

He was like a shining star; everyone who looked up at him could see his brilliance, his dazzling presence, his overwhelming presence.

The twelve elite members of the Pheasant Faction believed this based on Wise Words, and they responded accordingly.

With their hands behind their backs and standing facing each other, everyone now revealed their most genuine feelings towards this superior who had previously only shown respect because of his position.

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

(End of this chapter)