Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Doesn’t Want to Become a Night City Legend

Chapter 173 Arasaka Yorinobu's Secret

【wiwowiwo————】

The long, drawn-out siren echoed throughout Night City. Thick smoke billowed into the sky from inside the Azure Building. Many residents looked up and took photos using the built-in camera function of their prosthetic eyes, then sat cross-legged on the ground, discussing the cause of the explosion with those around them.

This is a city brimming with dreams, but its residents are often worn down by life, becoming numb and indifferent, and it's commonplace for them to use dead people's lottery and terrorist attacks as everyday topics of amusement.

Even the most shrewd people could never have imagined that after the fire was extinguished, they would be hearing that astonishing news on television stations around the world.

Saburo Arasaka, the leader of Arasaka Company, passed away today.

The perpetrator is suspected to be a mercenary.

[Unveiling the Life of Legendary Mercenary L]

[The legend is underway, the first shot fired in the rebellion against the company]

[Stupidity or ambition? The mercenary's rebellion]

Countless news stories flooded in, and reporters reported them like bloodthirsty sharks, swarming together and chattering away.

But people only care about the truly important information within the news.

Saburo Arasaka is dead.

[Lu Mingfei was killed by mercenary L]

No one thought there was a problem with it.

My first reaction was, 'Someone dares to kill Saburo Arasaka? Are they crazy? Impossible.'

My second reaction was, 'What? The person who killed Saburo Arasaka was L, the one who stormed Arasaka Tower and slaughtered Adam's Hammer? Oh, that makes sense.'

Lu Mingfei's reputation is so useful. Although he doesn't enjoy any international status, he makes people feel that he has the courage and motive to take action against Arasaka.

After almost everyone believed this intelligence, multiple factions quickly emerged.

Those watching the spectacle were mostly residents who had become numb to the ways of Night City: "Good riddance! It would be even better if they killed Arasaka Yorinobu too!"

Those who supported Lu Mingfei were mostly mercenaries and residents who still harbored rebellious feelings towards the company: "I support Lu Mingfei! He is the one everyone wants!"

And finally, those who are hostile to Lu Mingfei
Okay, then it must be a very small number of people within the Arasaka Corporation. Because of Saburo's death, the Arasaka Corporation was in chaos, and work projects came to a standstill.

However, most of the employees at Arasaka Corporation, apart from being concerned about whether they would be laid off after Saburo's death, did not have any particular reaction to this matter.

Nobody cares about an individual's life or death.

In short, Night City is in chaos, with various factions scrambling to act for their respective allies. Amidst this chaotic storm, what about the 'opposing sides' that they are all watching?

Arasaka Yorinobu.

He appeared in the media spotlight immediately after Saburo's death, expressing his condemnation of the thugs and his determination to fight L to the end.

Because they had a clear enemy, a banner of righteousness, and the identity of the only male heir.

Arasaka Yorinobu easily mobilized a large number of Arasaka's elite troops back to Night Castle from afar.

It looks like war is about to break out.

However, these are only the aspects presented to the media and the public. A closer look at the movements of other factions within the Arasaka family reveals that Hanako Arasaka is already planning her return to Night City.

In this incident, although Arasaka Yoriyuki could have used the confinement of Takemura Goro to conceal the fact that "Lu Mingfei was brought in by himself," thus achieving the effect of framing someone, he did not do so.

Goro Takemura reported the information he knew: the entire Arasaka organization was in chaos, and a power struggle between Hanako Arasaka and Yoriyuki Arasaka was brewing, with the former having an absolute advantage.

Arasaka Yorinobu's final "reign" lasted less than a week.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lu Mingfei...
Neon lights flashed on the metal wall amidst a buzzing sound, and a man named Jack Wells rested in his hospital bed.

The edges of the medical breathing mask dug deeply into the skin, and oxygen condensed on the transparent surface, forming fleeting patches of mist, one after another.
The room had a strong smell of disinfectant and a pungent, bluish-white hue that was irritating to the nerves.

V leaned against a seat not far away, her arms wrapped around a samurai sword wrapped in black cloth, a gun hanging from her fingers. Although she was resting with her eyes closed, her breathing was shallow, as if she would be awakened by the slightest noise.

This is not Victor's clinic.

They weren't foolish enough to expose their coordinates so easily. This was a safe house that V had prepared in advance; they simply invited Old V over to treat Jack in the safe house.

Da da.

Swah——

Opening her eyes, V looked at the ward door and nodded slightly only after she could clearly see the face of the person who came in.

"You should rest, V."

Dr. Victor's face also showed signs of fatigue.

“Jack’s condition has stabilized. The clotting agent was administered in a timely manner, and the proper bandaging also slowed down his blood loss to some extent. And—you made the right bet.”

The old man walked over to the cluster of monitors in the room, glanced at them, and confirmed that the values ​​were stable.

"The Relic chip is a soul killer. Although it is different from what Arasaka advertised in the advertisement, this chip can indeed directly affect the human brain and cause subtle changes to the body."

"Although the injuries are too severe and there is probably no way to save him, the combination of the two has ensured that Jack's life is safe."

"Don't worry too much, I'll take good care of him. Right now, you need to rest."

V was speechless in the face of Victor's comforting words. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but that she had been silent for so long that she realized her throat was dry.

Nodding, the girl picked up her weapon and left the room.

She didn't go far; she simply sat down on the portable bed outside the door and curled up.

Mercenaries all have a way to quickly restore their stamina, but V is actually a conservative—she simply likes to take a bath and then take a nap.

But she's afraid to sleep now.

Although she confirmed that she hadn't been followed when she arrived, V dared not let her guard down now that she had gotten involved with Arasaka. Based on her understanding of Arasaka, she knew that a sniper rifle from several kilometers away could pierce through the gaps at any moment and kill her, as well as Old V and Jack inside the room.

She must maintain a certain degree of clarity.
“V”.

Her eyes, which had been closed, opened again. Her blurry vision cleared up, and after a while, she could see who it was.

"You're back." "The patrol is over, don't worry, they haven't deployed any more personnel yet."

Lu Mingfei leaned against the mottled wall. As the shadow slid from his Adam's apple to his collarbone, the muscles in his shoulders and back were clearly defined and strong beneath his clothes.

Looking at him this way, the boy seems much more mature than before.

His expression was not as soft and relaxed as usual.

—The current time is less than half a day after the incident at the Gum Pik Building.

After Lu Mingfei unleashed that Judgment, he fled in the opposite direction of the opening created by the Judgment, deliberately drawing away the vast majority of the combat force.

Afterwards, V and Jack got into the pre-prepared Delaman car and sped away at top speed, shaking off some of Arasaka's pursuers.

Lu Mingfei also spent some time dealing with the pursuers one by one before successfully returning here.

Where did those dozen or so Arasaka elites who had troubled him back then go?

[Frontline Report—The severed heads of employees of Arasaka Corporation have been displayed at the entrance of the military technology, Kangtao branch, suspected to be a provocation by mercenary L against Arasaka! The ultimate insult!]

[A major battle is about to erupt! The strongest mercenaries in history vs. a corporation! The underdog rises to the top!]

If he were to fight with his bare hands, Lu Mingfei could still kill elite monsters all by himself, provided he spent a little more time.

V saw the news headline her brain-computer interface received, gave a wry smile, and at the same time, she recalled what had happened in this battle.

A burst of light suddenly erupted when he and Jack were trapped in a deadly situation.

Lu Mingfei used the power of words to pave the way for them.

V also knows that this world holds many secrets, not just common-sense things like prosthetics, but much deeper ones. And Lu Mingfei is the one with the biggest secret.

But, is it really true?
V couldn't help but smile.

Initially, V joined L's team because he and Lu Mingfei hit it off immediately in the burning Arasaka Tower, and after confirming that the boy had extraordinary action and ability.

However, she actually always had a barrier in her heart.

Will L show the same level of sincerity towards himself and Jack as he did towards David's team?

No one knows that now.

But now it seems that even with the infamy of killing Arasaka Yorinobu, he still couldn't abandon his comrades.

In Night City, there's a silly kid who's devoted to you and would never give up on his friends.

It's really quite rare!
"As expected of you."

"what?"

Lu Mingfei was puzzled as to why V suddenly looked at him with such gentle eyes.

"More importantly, although I know you need to rest, V, please tell me about the situation on your end first."

Lu Mingfei sat down next to V, who didn't mind and covered her face as she began to recount the situation.

"It's pretty much as you guessed. We were tricked by Yoriyuki. I originally wanted to control him directly, but Yoriyuki hid his strength. He was carrying a combat prosthetic body, and we were no match for him."

V's expression was a bit strange. Actually, she had a good intuition, but even so, she didn't initially see any fighting spirit in Lai Xuan.

But faced with reality, she had nothing to say.

“But before leaving, I had Jack take away the relic that I had noticed earlier, which was in Lai Xuan’s room.”

"After that, Jack and I were on the run. During the escape, Jack was shot. To keep him alive, I installed a relic port on him."

Suddenly, V smacked his head.

"Damn, if Jack hadn't taken that thing, he might not have been shot."

“Don’t think like that,” Lu Mingfei said. “Relic is our negotiating tool, and without it, Jack might not have been able to be saved.”

Lu Mingfei was making plans in his mind.

All of this happened too suddenly, and he couldn't see through Arasaka Yorinobu's purpose.

Recalling the loneliness in Lai Xuan's eyes when they wandered around Night City that day, Lu Mingfei felt that he had never truly understood that person's true self.

after all--

"There's one more thing."

Lu Mingfei asked.

“Jack was kept alive by a highly effective clotting agent, that’s true—but if I remember correctly, neither you nor Jack like to carry that stuff around, right?”

That thing is fragile. Although it is important to mercenaries, they usually only carry the smallest portable version. Jack had shot him in the abdominal artery wound, so it was useless.

Then comes the problem.

Where did Jack get the clotting agent he used?
the answer is.
"In the box."

V answered quickly.

She turned her head to look at Lu Mingfei and said seriously.

"Just as you guessed—the clotting agent was placed in the box storing Relic."

"It was as if they had guessed we would need that."

"And those who can do this."

There was only one person.

"If I recall carefully, the turrets of the self-defense system of the Azure Building were not activated at all that day, and the hacker team was not started either."

"If he really wanted to kill us, his methods would be far too frivolous."

so.
"It was Arasaka Yorinobu who harmed us, but at the same time, he also saved us."

(End of this chapter)