Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 832, Section 42: Old Rascal!
Miniature nuclear weapons.

Well, Akechi felt that he shouldn't be surprised by this.

What are miniature nuclear weapons?
In the classification of nuclear weapons, some people like to call nuclear weapons with an explosive yield of less than 1000 tons of TNT equivalent "miniature nuclear weapons." In the category of nuclear weapons, which is easy to make large but difficult to make small, this is a type of weapon that is more rare and practical, ensuring that it can accurately strike targets.

Akechi was already used to the fact that such weapons were hidden inside the Arasaka Tower.

When the military-technical nuclear bomb was detonated inside the Arasaka Tower in 2023, the initial public opinion, guided by the military technology narrative, accused the tower of harboring nuclear weapons. At the time, Arasaka did not deny this. While it was partly because he was overwhelmed with other issues—the death of his North American leader, Arasaka Kei—and had no time to deal with the military technology incident, the bigger reason was actually…
At that time, Arasaka did indeed have a nuclear bomb hidden inside the Arasaka Tower, and its yield was even greater than that of the one detonated by military technology. Arasaka's analysts were actually more curious about why the nuclear bomb's power was so small than they were about dealing with the military technology, since calculations showed it should have been more powerful.

It has to be said that this is a rather hellish joke when the truth is revealed later, but when the nuclear bomb hidden in the Arasaka Tower was handed to Akechi again, Akechi said that he couldn't laugh.

A while ago, when he was posing as Karl, he had raided a stronghold of the Pheasant Faction. During the raid, Karl checked the relevant storage logs, which recorded the storage of nuclear weapons. These records indicated that the weapons had been deployed during the Unification War to prevent military technology attacks on Night City, and were removed after the war ended.
Looking back now, if nuclear weapons were deployed on the outer perimeter at the time, how could Arasaka not have deployed them inside Night City?

However, judging from the size of this nuclear bomb, it is probably only large enough to destroy important documents in a critical moment.

This isn't to say that Karl looks down on nuclear weapons, but rather that the power of miniature nuclear weapons is indeed not that great.

What is the power of 1000 tons of TNT?

In Karl's memory, before he came to Night City, he saw a news report that the port of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, had caused a violent explosion equivalent to nearly 900 tons of TNT due to the long-term illegal storage of 2750 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate.

The disaster not only completely razed the port and surrounding area to the ground, but also shattered the windows of buildings 15 miles (about 24 kilometers) away, ultimately resulting in more than 6,000 injuries and 190 deaths—undoubtedly a shocking human tragedy.

However, the core blast radius of that disaster was not large. If we disregard the affected areas, the core blast radius of this tragedy was about 100 meters, and buildings within a radius of about 300 meters were leveled. That was a tragic accident that occurred in 2020.

In 2077, especially considering the past nuclear explosion that left a lasting negative impression, and the fact that the Arasaka Tower was built with nuclear-resistant materials and structures, the power of this miniature nuclear weapon, taking into account the floor and height of the explosion, would likely not be enough to significantly impact the military technology company opposite the Arasaka Tower. At most, it would only destroy the upper floors of the Arasaka Tower, causing it to collapse.

This was less about carrying the weapons buried in Night City, and more about a last-ditch effort to cover up certain secrets.

Akechi understood, and with a solemn expression, he took the suitcase from Hanako Arasaka's hands.

What if it doesn't work? So it might explode. It seems that old man Saburo Arasaka might have a backup somewhere. Considering that this nuclear bomb was obviously designed to destroy the upper Arasaka Tower, and Hanako Arasaka previously said that she brought out Saburo Arasaka's digital imprint from the Arasaka Tower, does that mean that there might be a backup of Saburo Arasaka hidden inside the Arasaka Tower, at least in the lower level?

That thing really is like a disgusting cockroach; if you step on one, you don't know how many more are lurking in the shadows.

But you won't get another chance to struggle.
When Akechi took the briefcase, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally swept over the items that Arasaka Hanako carried with her, which contained Arasaka Saburo's digital mark.

The mark won't disappear. You've already left your mark, and even if you have backups all over the world, I've already remembered it.

Whether you've scattered a bunch of Horcruxes around like Voldemort, once I've memorized them, you can't escape!

Akechi clearly saw through the scheme behind it all—this must be Saburo Arasaka's final instruction to Hanako: if the situation gets completely out of control, let her sacrifice herself, along with her rebellious brother and all the company executives who refuse to submit, and be annihilated in the nuclear fire.

Then, when his experiment on 'immortality' truly succeeds, this true tyrant will return once more and calmly take over everything in Arasaka.

For Saburo Arasaka, this was not a difficult choice at all. Sacrificing a daughter, a son, or even a group of high-ranking employees? He was already used to it.

He had faced even more severe tests. His most promising successor, Takashi Arasaka, died, and Nobuya Arasaka joined forces with the Japanese government to attack him. In the battle between military technology and Arasaka, military technology emerged victorious. But even after suffering such heavy blows, he still stood firm.

As long as he still possesses the technology of 'immortality,' everything is merely a temporary exit for him. Saburo Arasaka doesn't care about the survival of his pawns; all he cares about is Arasaka—and as long as he 'exists,' Arasaka's rebirth and resurgence will never be a problem.

He will always be the one holding the chess piece, and that will never change.
Carl's fingers unconsciously tightened around the suitcase handle. After obtaining the nuclear bomb, they returned to the elevator and began their journey to their designated floor.

Nothing is ever static.

This time, you've truly made me angry, Saburo Arasaka.

This time, Saburo Arasaka, you truly disgust me.

Carl once despised him.

I loathe his rigid thinking, which is stuck in the Showa era, and I loathe his old-fashioned, decadent manner of wielding a samurai sword and talking about glory and sacrifice, like a rotting corpse crawling out of the graves of old Japanese soldiers. That kind of old-fashioned, corrupt, and utterly despicable behavior is contemptible, but at least it can be classified as 'a kind of understandable evil'.

But now, Karl understands that all of that was just a facade; what he is feeling now is a deeper, more physiological nausea.

Saburo Arasaka's very existence is a desecration of the concept of 'human being'.

He had long since stripped away the last vestige of humanity; what flowed in his veins was probably a cold algorithm and the greed for immortality. He treated his children as replaceable parts, viewed death as a reversible operation, and even the destruction of his closest relatives could be calculated as a cold bargaining chip.

This is not hatred, which requires some emotion. This is pure disgust, like turning over a damp stone and seeing pale insects wriggling underneath—you don't hate them, you just feel a tightness in your throat and want to burn it all to ashes.

He was no longer just a shameful bastard.

He was a human-shaped filth.

It was the most 'human' thing Karl had ever seen in his life.

If the nuclear bomb were to detonate, Carl was confident he could escape. With his current abilities, getting out of the trap with V would be no problem at all. The legendary Morgan Black Hand was rumored to have a record of escaping everyone from an entire floor in a matter of seconds. But no matter how confident Carl was, he hadn't forgotten one thing.

Those present were not just V and his group, but also others who managed to escape the blast radius.

If it explodes, will I be able to make it in time?
in time.

Because he is KK, he will do it.

However, this is not a question of whether it is too late or not.

It is wrong to treat people like pawns and to disregard human life!

This is something that a human being should absolutely not do.

You old bastard, you're dead meat!

(End of this chapter)