Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 829, Section 39: The Loyalists
After deciding to go to Arasaka Tower and force the incompetent and rebellious son to submit to Saburo Arasaka's will during the first board meeting, the entire Pheasant Faction began a complete retreat.

On the surface, they were creating a smokescreen to cover the escape of Arasaka Hanako from Night City; in reality, they were secretly gathering manpower, planning to suppress Arasaka Seigen at the board meeting and then launch a sudden attack to subdue the other factions within Arasaka in one fell swoop.

Amidst this series of tense arrangements, Mingzhi, one of the core planners, secretly met with his direct subordinates outside the Badlands.

Most members of the Pheasant Faction have not yet been given sufficient trust—they have neither the opportunity nor the right to set foot in the highly classified laboratory beneath the Badlands.

It can be said that the combined value of all these people is far less than one ten-thousandth of the safety of the laboratory. Therefore, the responsibility of managing these Pheasant Faction members who still have some remaining value falls entirely on Wise's shoulders.

As a key figure in the Pheasant Faction, Akechi not only needs to work with Hanako Arasaka to plan how to break through the blockade and enter Arasaka Tower on time in a short period of time, but also has to lead this group of people to maneuver around in various places, both to attract attention and restrain the forces of Seigen Arasaka, and to ensure that he himself is not captured.

Adhering to Arasaka's tradition of "using it to the extreme if it's useful", Akechi undertook a huge workload.

However, Hanako Arasaka did not forget the contributions of this loyal subordinate. She promised him two things: if necessary, Akechi could abandon these pheasant faction members at any time, as long as he was safe. These people were essentially just pawns, and could be used as bait in times of crisis.
If the Pheasant Faction successfully regains control of Arasaka, Akechi will be appointed as the president of one of the Arasaka Towers in the global Arasaka region, truly ascending to the pinnacle of power.

Currently, although Akechi's position is only section chief, he already enjoys ministerial-level authority. However, above the minister is the director, who barely has the qualification to attend the regional Arasaka Tower meeting—that is merely an admission ticket.

Above them are the board members who truly control decision-making power, while the real rulers of each region's Arasaka Tower are the vice presidents and presidents. They can be considered the 'kings' of their respective regions. The president position promised by Arasaka Hanako is undoubtedly a very high reward for Akechi's loyalty and ability, which is by no means something that ordinary people can achieve.

Within the pheasant faction, if everything proceeds as expected, Mingzhi's promotion speed will surely set an unprecedented record.

Before this, no one had ever been able to climb to such a high position with such rapid momentum, and few could demonstrate such talent and absolute loyalty as he did. Undoubtedly, even for the traditionally conservative pheasant faction, this would be a significant 'blood transfusion'.

It is foreseeable that once Mingzhi actually takes the position of president, he will inevitably face a lot of doubts and even accusations from the old guard of the pheasant faction due to his rapid promotion and shallow factional foundation.

However, for now, the overall situation is still uncertain, and the plan is still underway—Akechi, who has already gained a certain degree of favor from Arasaka Hanako and Arasaka Saburo, is undoubtedly the key figure in actually taking charge of the entire Pheasant Faction's operations.

"If we don't make a move soon, I'll become the boss."

Mingzhi gazed at the assembled squad before him—members he had personally led and who could be considered his staunch supporters—and after a fleeting thought, nodded slightly and asked, "Is everyone here?"

"Everyone is present and awaiting your instructions, Your Excellency!"

The one who answered was Xizi, the hacker in Mingzhi's team. It had been a long time since she had seen Mingzhi, and her eyes seemed to sparkle.

It has been almost a week since the last mission ended.

This squad, carefully selected by the Pheasant Faction, was under close surveillance after Hanako Arasaka was imprisoned. Not only was regrouping impossible, but their personal freedom was also severely restricted.

If it weren't for Akechi's prior communication via covert channels and the dispatch of someone to bring them out, they would likely have already been secretly executed or eliminated by Arasaka's inner circle.

Think back to the members of the Pheasant Faction and the 100 Ninjas who sacrificed themselves to help Arasaka Hanako escape—which of them was less important than this squad, and which of them was less prestigious than them? Yet, in the end, it was they who survived.

There were clearly signs of shrewd manipulation behind the scenes, and every supporter present was deeply moved upon realizing this. This undoubtedly showed that His Excellency Akechi truly regarded them as his own people.

Mingzhi's squad originally consisted of twelve members, three of whom were killed before being replaced. Compared to the nine veteran members who had followed Mingzhi closely throughout the operation, the three new recruits felt an indescribable sense of emotion. This was the first time they truly understood the weight of the rumor that "Mingzhi values ​​his subordinates." They had been prepared to die and be abandoned, just as every superior they had ever encountered would have done, but they hadn't expected that under Mingzhi's command, they too would be seen as members worth saving—he not only informed them through covert channels but also personally led them out of danger.

This act, which was tantamount to saving their lives, deeply moved them.

As expected of His Excellency Akechi, he did not discriminate against them because they were newcomers. Instead, he included them in his protection without discrimination. The experience of being pulled back from the brink of death made these three team members truly identify with their leader from the bottom of their hearts.

And those who shared the same feelings were not just the twelve team members who were named "Mingzhi". Around them, there were more than fifty members of the Pheasant Faction. Each of them had originally been tacitly considered by the higher-ups as someone who could be sacrificed, but without exception, they were all saved by Mingzhi.

This kindness, this life-saving grace that is more important than life itself, is truly difficult to repay.

They stood there silently, their gazes all fixed in the same direction. No one uttered a word, yet a certain resolve was quietly forming in the silence. Even the abandoned would feel gratitude when they received kindness. They all knew perfectly well who had saved their lives.

No one who can enter Arasaka is a fool. They know they are pawns, and they know that what will save them is not the high-ranking officials or the 'great' Miss Hanako, but simply the wise man standing in front of them.

"Am I just imagining things? I get the feeling that you're deliberately trying to win people over."

Oliver, who was hiding among the pheasant pie crowd and disguised as an action team member, said on the channel, "This behavior is just like that of an ambitious man in a story who is about to do something big."

"Come on, what's with this talk of winning people's hearts?"

Faced with his companion's teasing, Carl's response on the channel revealed a hint of helplessness.

"Apart from my own subordinates, whom I brought out out of duty and trust, the rest—I have carefully reviewed their files. They are not deserving to die in this factional struggle. They are just forced to take sides because they are in Arasaka and have to work."

“You can say I’m soft-hearted, but I still see them as human beings. Most of them worked hard to graduate from Arasaka or other academies and passed the entrance exams one by one. They have complete families behind them. Don’t you think it’s a pity that they would die for this kind of inexplicable power game?”

"I think the only person who would care about this is you."

Arasaka is like a dynasty, and it's normal for many people to die during dynastic changes, especially when they were already enemies in some sense, and these were insignificant pawns.
But perhaps it was his friend Carl who inexplicably cared about strange things at strange points.

In his words, he might simply dislike seeing people die?

Oliver looked around at the pheasant pie members whose eyes seemed to be burning with some kind of flame, and felt that what he was seeing was very special.

Will a new faction emerge in Arasaka after the Pheasant Faction is eliminated?
It shouldn't be that bad, after all, that's only the number of people.

It's just a spark.

Hawks, doves.
Think about it carefully, if Karl wanted to, wouldn't he...
Oliver felt himself thinking about strange things again.

(End of this chapter)