Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 826, Section 36: Arasaka, will become the world itself.
"This is an experiment in immortality."

Arakawa Hanako's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Akechi's mind. He finally understood Arakawa Hanako and her group's true purpose—in this power game in the steel jungle, what is more important than factional struggle?
eternal life.

Without a doubt, this is the ultimate question that transcends all disputes.

No matter how rebellious or skilled in combat Arasaka Sei, he ultimately cannot escape the constraints of human lifespan.

Even if he could drive the opposing factions to the brink of collapse, forcing them to flee in panic, all of that would vanish when his life came to an end. He could only struggle madly in his limited years, tearing at everything within his reach like a trapped beast.

Even more tragically, he could never be sure whether his will could be inherited by future generations. This anxiety about inheritance was like a bone-deep affliction, forcing him to make a desperate gamble before death. It was the shackles of lifespan that forced him to choose such a tragic way of living.

But later, he changed.

Because someone appeared—someone who shared his ideals and embarked on the same path.

Lifespan suddenly became unimportant; he no longer needed to gamble everything. His will could continue in another way: the inheritance carried by 'immortality' was far more eternal than the continuation of flesh and blood.

But to his opponents, this spiritual legacy is nothing but a fleeting illusion.

They arrogantly scoffed, their eyes fixed only on the tangible immortality that belonged to them. The immortality of the body was the only true power; the continuation of the soul? That was nothing more than a fairy tale for the self-comforting of losers.

This is precisely the most fundamental difference between Nobuyuki Arasaka and his opponents.

When Sei-nobu chose to pass on the torch of will among like-minded people—as long as there are still people living with the same beliefs, this path will continue to extend and grow, converging into an inextinguishable river of thought.

His adversaries, however, took a completely different path: imprisoning their self-awareness within an immortal body, wandering alone in the eternal desert of time.

That is a path to immortality that can only be walked alone.

They have no companions, no need for successors, and cannot even accommodate a second consciousness. Their immortality is like an exquisitely crafted crystal coffin, dazzling yet cold and suffocating, forever able to hold only one person's soul.

The immortality of the will is a burning belief that spreads like wildfire among countless hearts; the immortality of the body is to forge oneself into an immortal tombstone. Which one is true?
The answer to this question may lie in the initial desire of every seeker, like a road in the cold wind.

Some fear that the flame will be forgotten, so they choose to burn themselves, becoming the flame so that fellow travelers can feel warmth and continue on this cold road; others fear death itself, so they use technology to freeze their dying breaths into eternity, forever existing in a cold coffin where they cannot feel the cold, remaining beside the cold road, forever existing, but never moving forward again.

It is impossible to say whether these two choices are superior or inferior, because from a human perspective, everyone's choice has its own thoughts and reasons, and cannot be generalized. However, if we consider only ourselves as an individual, we cannot say that we are superior or inferior.

Wisely prefers the former.

After all, he can't really do much on his own; he knows his own limitations.

Akechi took a deep breath, the cold air circulating in his lungs, making his mind clearer. He stared at Hanako Arasaka, his voice low and cautious: "Has this experiment reached the completion stage?"

"No, it's not finished yet." Hua Zi shook his head: "We did collect KK's biological samples through special channels, and we successfully cultivated cloned embryos. We even 'borrowed' the latest paleontology technology from biotechnology through spies, and improved it for the cultivation of clones, but..."

Her voice gradually took on a strange tone: "But these embryos always have developmental defects. Although they can be used with difficulty, but..." Hua Zi paused, as if choosing her words carefully, "the physiological functions of these bodies will always inexplicably and rapidly fail. The research team speculates that this may be due to a mismatch between the rate of consciousness transmission and the carrier."

'Mismatch?' 'Exhaustion?'
Does that mean there were many failed products?
It would be a lie to say that Akechi had any particular feelings about those failed copies of himself as Karl.

Although those things were cultured using his biological samples and were, in a sense, part of him, in Karl's mind, they were like mosquitoes sucking blood.

The embryos cultivated by Hanako Arakawa's scientific team, which contain a part of themselves, do not possess any will. In other words, they are more like cultivating organs. Isn't this just enjoying the fact that mosquitoes suck a part of their blood and use the nutrients to nurture their offspring?

Mingzhi thought of a funny comic he had seen, which said that a child born from the blood of a mosquito is a child of the person being sucked, and in a sense, the child of the person being sucked, but that was just for laughs.

In fact, mosquitoes sucking blood is a form of feeding, no different from humans eating. It's absurd to say that the next generation is the offspring of food just because humans eat food for nutrition and to reproduce.

So that's how Karl feels right now.

He feels that the experimental team stole his hair, blood, nails, and other possible biological materials to feed on and create 'children' that bear some traces of him, but to say that it is himself is not quite accurate.

It's more like a green sea slug. Once this creature eats a certain type of algae for the first time, it doesn't need to eat anymore because it steals the chloroplast genes from the algae and integrates them into its own chromosomes. This allows it to perform photosynthesis like a plant, using solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into nutrients to sustain its survival.

To some extent, this is also part of the existence of fusion genes. Karl felt that it would be more appropriate to describe the experimental team's current behavior as a green leaf sea slug.

After a series of thoughts flashed through his mind, Zhi Ming's gaze became focused and profound, as if he wanted to see through every detail behind the experiment.

“Miss Hua,” his voice carried a deliberately suppressed excitement, “regarding the issues of mismatched consciousness transmission rates and bodily exhaustion, is there any possibility of optimization?”

Hanako Arasaka's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

The wise response was exactly what she wanted—the gleam in those eyes was the undisguised desire of every seeker of immortality. Clearly, this subordinate was already on the path she desired and in the midst of her longing, which was exactly what she had done. She slowed her speech, making each word carry an alluring weight: "Currently, the research team is exploring a completely new direction."

She said, "We call it the 'hybrid carrier program'."

"Hybrid vector program?"

“That’s right. We plan to retain the unique advantages of KK while using the transplant recipient’s DNA as the main framework. In theory, this hybrid vector can not only inherit the stability of the KK sample, but also resonate perfectly with the transplant recipient’s consciousness.”

Hua Zi looked directly into Mingzhi's eyes and said, "This is true immortality."

Clearly, in the previous conversation, Hanako Arasaka had been testing Akechi's attitude. She seduced him step by step, constantly using immortality as bait to keep Akechi's expectations hanging, in order to make Akechi reveal his true self.

She was already very familiar with this method, to the point that it was almost subconscious. In her opinion, everyone has something that can tempt them, and as long as you grasp that temptation, you can make it work for you and put the other person on the same path. In her view, immortality was obviously the greatest temptation, and the way Mingzhi had acted had convinced her of this.

Indeed, no one can escape temptation and their own grasp.

Hanako Arakawa revealed a satisfied smile.

This subordinate, who had previously demonstrated unwavering loyalty, now enjoys maximum protection.

Faced with the allure of profit and a tempting future, he would fight to the death for himself until the day his value ceases to exist.

Behind Arakawa Hanako and Akechi, Oda Santao's expression changed slightly as he listened to their discussion.

This change came from Hanako Arakawa's words.

'From what Miss Hanako is saying, if this experiment succeeds, will Akechi be one of its users?'

After a brief hesitation, Oda Santao's thoughts quickly settled, and then a cold logic unfolded in his consciousness.

Yes, that makes sense—no, it's the optimal solution.

If such an experiment in immortality succeeds, it will inevitably require a group of reliable pioneers to verify its stability.

In a company environment rife with betrayal, what better experimental subject than a loyal dog that one has personally trained? They have long been tamed, trained, and branded with Arasaka's mark.

When they are granted the power of eternal life, they will not question or betray it; they will only wag their tails and beg for a bone, grateful and tearful.

When the experiment is finally completed, and when Miss Hua Zi truly enters the hall of immortality, this technology will no longer need to be hidden. It will spread like a plague and seep into the marrow of every powerful person like poison.

Those high-ranking corporate directors, government officials, presidents, kings, dictators—they may be able to resist the corruption of money, they may be able to ignore the threat of violence, but who can refuse eternal life? Who can resist the temptation of immortality?

At that time, Arasaka's will will become the will of the world.

Oda Santao's prosthetic eye flickered slightly, data streams rolled silently deep within his iris, and a slight smile unconsciously appeared on his lips, as if he had glimpsed some kind of sacred truth.

correct.

Miss Hanako's scheme goes far beyond defeating Arakasaka Seigen, or even ruling Arakasaka. Her ambition is to reshape the world order and make the Arakasaka emblem the cross of the new era.

Those powerful figures who consider themselves the masters of the world will eventually kneel before the altar of immortality, offering their loyalty, their wealth, and their souls to Arasaka.

And all of this began at this moment, in this laboratory, and in Miss Hua Zi's consciousness.

Arakasaka will take control of the world.

No, to be more precise—

Arakasaka will become the world itself.

As Hanako Arasaka, Akechi, and Oda watched the experiment, pondering various thoughts, the number of people left behind in the North Oak District to be used as sacrifices was already very small. In North America, even if the Pheasant Faction tried their best, they could only manage to rescue Hanako Arasaka. They were far from being able to fight against Nobuyuki Arasaka, who had the support of Michiko Arasaka.

Flames raged through the streets of North Oak, the acrid smell of burning methanol fuel mixed with the scorching metallic odor filling the nostrils, turning this villa district, which was originally unaffected by Night City, into ablaze reminiscent of the flames that drove away the homeless during the city's redevelopment.

The twisted wreckage of the vehicle, like a skeleton gnawed by a giant beast, groaned under the intense heat. Goro Takemura stood in the middle of the inferno, the scorching air lifting his clothes and sparks flying around him, but they did not shake him in the slightest.

A twisted piece of metal lay in his palm.

The object had been squeezed so hard by external force that it was almost unrecognizable. Its edges were jagged like tears, and its surface was covered with charred marks. When Takemura's fingertips traced its curves, muscle memory immediately awakened some long-forgotten knowledge.

As a former bodyguard who once protected Saburo Arasaka, Goro Takemura clearly had a deep understanding of the 100 Ninjas, or in a sense, he could be considered the leader of the 100 Ninjas.

He was all too familiar with the texture of this special alloy in his palm—light as a cicada's wing yet stronger than steel. When subjected to critical impact, it would break rather than bend, just like the code of Bushido. This material was only used in one place: the special ninja tools of the Hundred-Man Squad.

The weapons of the 100-man ninja group are all specially forged. Just like the lances of ancient cavalry that break upon impact to protect the rider, these ninja tools will also break and spread into the target's body after being blocked, causing more damage.

The metal sheet was slightly warm in his palm.

Goro Takemura already knows who the mysterious group that attacked the villa area is.

Having come in person at Arasaka Seigen's request, he understood that Arasaka Seigen insisted on having him come.

He had previously refused the Pheasant Faction's request for help and informed Arasaka Seigen of the situation. Now, Arasaka Seigen has entrusted him with handling the Pheasant Faction and the 100 Ninja Group.

Clearly, this is a test of trust.

Goro Takemura gripped the metal piece tightly; the metal piece in his hand couldn't even penetrate his skin.

He will capture the members of the 100-man ninja group and the Pheasant Faction. He will bring back Hanako Arasaka because he has never changed; his loyalty is to the head of the Arasaka family.

The wailing of NCPD sirens echoed from the perimeter of the fire, but Goro Takemura's figure had already disappeared into the thick smoke, leaving only a piece of debris that had been abandoned, which gradually glowed a dark red in the flames.

(End of this chapter)