Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 268 Analysis [5.4K]

"Sir, you should take a look at this."

It's practically impossible for anyone to distinguish the work environment of military technology from that of the new U.S. defense building; since this giant corporation, which has expanded its international business with arms, vehicles, and the like, and formed a perfect and deep bond with the new U.S., it has in fact completely replicated the appearance of a military-industrial complex government.

The sergeant who came in was wearing the service uniform only Marines wear, and he was holding a document in his white gloves.

Lucas stopped what he was doing and reached out to take the documents handed to him by his subordinate.

Modern documents aren't made from ordinary office printer paper. When you feel that thickness in your hand, it's most likely a record made using thin, realistic paper.

One-time use only, destroyed after viewing.

All other important data is stored within a heavily guarded military technology subnet. Some say that the hacking style of military technology is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito; whether it's a lone hacker or a group trying to access that data fortress, they will suffer devastating damage. As for whether they can bring the data back alive, it all depends on how sensitive the enemy hacker's two-way risk isolation device is...

"Please calm down, everyone."

When Lucas started speaking, his subordinates realized that he was on a conference call and that they had rushed in without checking the CEO's to-do list.

The young military officer standing to the side, barely daring to breathe, felt uneasy, listening to the familiar voices of the board members coming from other screens—the decision-makers of this powerful military-industrial giant…

"Um…"

The head of the military science department, who was carefully examining the documents in his hand, remained extremely calm throughout. He even murmured as he read, seemingly deep in thought.

The other board members also patiently awaited the words of Miles' successor.

During their leisure time at meals, employees of the military science institute jokingly refer to the process of the CEO taking office as a "Spartan election"—meaning that it is difficult for someone without absolute control and military backing to sit securely in this position.

Donald is a living example.

"It seems our meeting today will have to be delayed a bit. How did this document get leaked?"

Lucas asked the officer earnestly.

The officer snapped out of his anxiety, walked quietly to Lucas's side, covered his lips with his hand, and said to him in a low voice, "It's been twenty-four hours. It's already a miracle that we were able to get this thing. After all, this is Night City. Other companies should be at roughly the same level as us."

Lucas then frowned deeply. "Night City? Ugh... this damn place again."

The officer dared not respond to his superior's complaints, but he still had to do his job as an assistant secretary. "Sir, last time Arasaka cleaned up our infiltrators, and this was delivered by one of the few Secret Service agents—it came from the White House."

Lucas flipped the thin paper screen with a gentle touch, revealing a picture of an African American man and his military service record.

“Li De…”

Lucas's focus was clearly not on the agent; he also sensed Miles's attempt to curry favor and claim credit—it seemed Miles owed this guy a considerable debt. Of course, even as CEO, he wouldn't associate such a minor figure with a war of unification.

Since Miles has done that, Lucas can't just give him a break.

After reading some "irrelevant" information, Lucas glanced at the several holographic screens floating above. "Gentlemen... we haven't even cleaned our own mess yet, and now they're making us clean it all over again."

After saying that, he threw the document in his hand in front of him, looking very distressed.

The more radical female shareholder, who had previously been at the conference, began to speak, counting on her fingers, "The former network operating secret facilities, that warlord's small town in Taipingzhou, and biotechnology, our collaborative project with biotechnology—"

"We've done everything perfectly, so what's the problem?"

Another shareholder cleared his throat. “Trouble, all trouble—we’re becoming less and less efficient at solving problems, which isn’t our style.”

Some people say, "Where are those freeloaders in New America? When something goes wrong, they're clutching their money tighter than my dad. I want to ask, is it even enough for those people in Congress to spend?"

Not only that, but some people directly expressed their perfect feelings at that moment: "son of B*** (son of the beach) —"

Lucas knew things weren't going well lately. Arasaka, who had already suffered losses several times, somehow managed to produce something that could counter the military-grade Black Wall receptor. That wasn't all; the fact that Arasaka, the old man they all thought was dying, was still alive made him think that this underhanded trick was entirely his fault.

As for Lai Xuan...?
From the perspective of the military science department, this is a spoiled brat with a criminal record who still manages to inherit his father's mantle, and his methods are extremely radical.

Nobody really wants to look down at the files being transmitted from the site, because who knows what kind of bug might need to be plugged.

However, Lucas simply lit a strong, coffee-flavored cigarette—the kind only soldiers in the military smoke—and squinted at the board members, a look he often gave them.

Just like in America in the past, the people at the table, from father to son.

There are many dark horses among them, but they are often bound together by the collective.

It's like smoke that can't escape from a room, completely solidified.

"Good thing!"

The guy who yelled the loudest was the most excited, shouting, "Damn it, Arasaka, he's messed himself up this time!"

The others exchanged bewildered glances. The supplementary information they had on hand revealed who the kneeling figure in the image was: a top representative of Arasaka's combat prowess, possessing unparalleled high functionality. The military technology's desire to bring the former lone wolf back to the forefront of the conflict in Night City was precisely to serve as a benchmark.

An arms race in a certain sense.

"So what are you hesitating for? It's the perfect opportunity."

Others echoed this sentiment.

Lucas glanced at the young officer beside him, which aroused the officer's suspicion.

Everyone seemed to be talking about their own things; some were engrossed in watching, while others were saying God bless the new America... a perfect picture of the diverse world.

Everyone quieted down on their own when they realized that the sect leader was not speaking.

Lucas didn't sit in this position by patiently waiting for others, but by his own silence, which gave him the confidence that no one dared to make a decision.

"All done? Very good. Let the technical experts talk about this string of information that has been submitted. Problems, doubts, all sorts of things are welcome—in short, let them finish speaking first, and then I will give you my opinion, friends."

Only then did technocrats gain a voice. This was a rule set by Donald, much like the initial setup for military technology, where a portion of the board was always focused on honing their skills.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Lucas never asked the young man next to him to leave.

Good heavens, the child's chin was already dripping with sweat; he looked extremely nervous.

"President Lucas, I have a question—is Arasaka really that stupid? Please forgive my opinion, but such an advanced experimental prosthetic body would likely require a long time for cybersecurity agencies to remove its backdoor program..."

Technocrats who are not good at speaking are the stereotypical researchers, not the military scientists in their suits. They are more suited to sitting in a university classroom assigning extracurricular papers to students.

"It's hard to estimate the timeframe, and we've basically no information on large-scale deployment and testing of such a high-intensity prosthetic body. Is it a complete set? Or an improved version? And how does it connect to the Black Wall?"

As soon as these terms were mentioned, everyone looked down at the document.

Lucas loved these "blacksmiths" very much. They were quick-witted and unambitious—if they were, it was only within their own field. They were often more effective at seeing things than bureaucrats who were blinded by infighting.

"So this was Arasaka's own test of the cybernetic body? Damn it—do the Japanese even have this technology? Putting aside the network access pod that can perfectly counter the Black Wall carrier, the entire set of equipment would probably squeeze the space of the network access pod if it were to function as a combat system."

At this moment, a thin man spoke up.

“No…no, Ryan, it’s unlikely to be a test.”

A woman next to the researcher quickly flipped through a tablet she was writing on. "If the intelligence is correct, there should theoretically be two Arakasaka Kurogane receptors. Let's do a simple calculation."

Everyone's attention was focused on the center of the venue, where a one-to-one replica of Adam Hammer's holographic image was displayed.

“We’ve studied that prosthetic body before, Dragon Knight… The problem is that Arasaka has added a lot of his own ideas to it, adding self-developed technology that isn’t part of the product specifications. That kind of thing is probably beyond what a human can handle; it’s an isolated case, and an unsearchable one at that.”

Everyone looked up and stared intently at the slowly rotating holographic image. Adam's connected tubes, his misaligned jaw, and his white, swollen head made the people present feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Is this still a fucking human?"

Some people feel that watching this stuff is less enjoyable than watching dead people.

"OK... Let me put it this way. The Dragon Knight and Adam Hammer's self-modification, after being modified by Arasaka, actually put 40 times more strain on their nerves than Sianwistan. To give a hypothetical example, when a weightlifter recruits nerves, the load is 300KG. On average, we call that nerve stress—of course, the reality is more complex."

"So Adam Hammer's neural load exceeded 12000 kg, which is no different from a person carrying an elephant. This is also the biggest advantage of high-functioning cyberpsychosis. We have analyzed Adam Hammer seriously. He is an extreme exception. Even high-functioning individuals do not necessarily have the consciousness of obedience."

Aside from whispering among themselves, everyone present wore an expression of utter disbelief.

How did Arasaka manage to save Adam Hammer's life during the nuclear explosion?

To be able to retrieve someone using only a brain—in some respects, Arasaka's technology can't be called advanced, it's simply terrifying—perhaps this is also related to their leader's advanced age? "I mean, if!"

Just as everyone was still wondering if high-performance military technology was even possible, the technocrat said with an extremely grim expression, "Now that something has actually defeated Adam's Hammer, does that mean Arasaka has a three-person squad? If such a squad were to participate in infiltration operations, how many soldiers' lives would we need to hold them off?"

Utter silence…

Someone swallowed.

"But...didn't the intelligence say that one of the Black Wall individuals is missing, and another one has already broken ties with Arakawa?"

The reply from the other end was: "As I just said, the possibility is very small. Would those guys from Arakasaka not install a backdoor on the prototype? What the hell are they thinking? Damn it, for this kind of dangerous weapon—we even took action against those cyber police!"

Most of them couldn't sit still any longer.

In order to prevent the situation from escalating, each side retrieved their respective Black Wall receptors. Military technology suffered losses due to its overly aggressive approach, resulting in them having to clean up the mess.

What now?
The Lark is usable now, but those two are clearly better suited for company-wide confrontations.

At this moment, another intelligence expert suddenly spoke up, "If I remember correctly, that thing was made using the technology of the Lark's predecessor, right? We've analyzed it, and it was made by some defecting scientists—Arasaka's improvement capabilities are that strong? How did he manage to make such a heavy-duty basic device work successfully?"

"two?"

"I think we should consider whether Arasaka can mass-produce highly functional madmen."

The technocrat retorted confidently, "Aren't all the members of Night City's Terrorist SWAT team highly functional lunatics? Even lunatics have their limits. Are they all just monsters with nothing but brains?"

Everyone felt a sense of despair.

After the company war, Arasaka, who had been continuously suppressed, seemed to be showing signs of turning the tables...

Seeing that the time was right, Lucas clapped his hands.

He has achieved his goal.

That is to make those who are looking for opportunities see reality clearly.

After all, it's a business, and opportunities are undoubtedly important to businessmen. But when it comes to such a giant corporation, especially one that is inextricably linked to the new American political system, the sheer number of opportunistic individuals becomes an extremely troublesome issue.

[Under President Donald's old team, even Arasaka's dogs could infiltrate. But under Lucas, the team must absolutely maintain its military-science purity.]

“Then let me share my opinion. This is very likely a divide-and-conquer strategy employed by Arasaka to prevent information leaks—pushing out the new prosthetic project and then cutting it off.”

"We will continue to take measures to prevent other companies from getting involved in the matters concerning Arasaka, Dogtown, and us, but we will make Arasaka pay the price he deserves."

The illusory trace that flashed through the smoke as Lucas's hand touched the image paper and the hammer fell to the ground completely froze the entire scene.

"Find a way to let the other companies in Night City know that Arasaka is doing these underhanded things. If that's the case, then verify Arasaka's purpose. If it is Arasaka's will, then this is the limit of the charade. It would be better to escalate the internal conflict."

"Just see how Arakasa reacts."

The process of arranging and processing matters in Lucas's brain-computer interface never stopped for a moment.

Under the expectant gazes of everyone, Lucas immediately connected Arasaka's current situation with the whole affair.

No one knows where this new president's intelligence network came from.

He first informed Michiko Arasaka of the Night City branch about her current weakness and being sidelined, then clarified the difficult situation of Michiko's faction within the internal faction being unable to obtain the Black Wall technology. On the other hand, although many issues were vague, intelligence analysis revealed that the current head of the North American branch of Arasaka harbored hostile intentions towards the Black Wall recipients...

Some plans were thus born out of necessity.

Are you sure this won't cause problems at the company level?

Lucas stood up. "Sometimes we have to help the enemy conceal the fact that he is injured, so that we can be among the first to benefit from his wealth—we are happy to see the Black Wall Receptor and Arasaka completely turn against each other."

It must be said that Lucas has a keen eye. He is not as easygoing as he seems. On the contrary, his decisiveness on certain issues frightens even the radicals.

"In that case, there's no need to waste time speculating on baseless things. Let's follow their divide-and-conquer strategy and help them make their charade real."

“Kazuya Nitta faces immense pressure within the Arasaka family. The Arasaka family exercises family-style control over the company. The Military Science Academy can provide Nitta with the best solution for his current situation—if Nitta fails, we can also obtain information and a large amount of intelligence about Arasaka.”

“Night City is a good closed observation dish. The receptor is safer there than in the area where we are fighting against Arasaka, which is a good thing... And even if we can get our hands on the Black Wall receptor, that's a problem we need to solve later.”

Lucas took one last drag of his cigarette, stubbed it out in the ashtray, and looked nothing like a man over middle age.

Sharp and ambitious.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's get moving."

In the young officer's eyes, those at the top of the company, which controlled a million employees, all expressed their obedience in their own ways, such as bowing or saluting...

Throughout this process, Lucas never got stuck or lost his tongue.

All they have is absolute control over the company.

He involuntarily shook hands with the officer, his hands behind his back, his gloves completely wet.

Lucas dusted off the cigarette ash and adjusted the brooch on his suit jacket. The guy who was fiddling with the brooch with a crooked mouth looked like an uncle who was going to his daughter's wedding. You couldn't tell at all what he had just done.

"Ah... young man, I almost forgot about you."

Lucas smiled and reached out to pat the arm of the young boy beside him, who stood up straight—a boy who seemed to be radiating energy and vitality.

A standard greeting from a North American elder.

"That's good. How is your father?"

After resting for a moment, the officer replied, "Everything is fine."

Lucas nodded. "Your father was a veteran of the unification war. Seven or eight years have passed, and you've gone from a mischievous baseball boy to a soldier. What are your thoughts today?"

As the CEO of a giant corporation, Lucas often personally subsidizes veterans who served the new America. This is more like a habit, and also a way of proving that he has never forgotten his origins.

The child before us is a flower that blooms after a good deed.

"A brilliant decision, Sir!"

Lucas was amused by the childishness; brilliant…

This brat knows the word "superior," which means he didn't waste his time at the military academy.

"Keep it up, young man, you'd better work like crazy—because you know there are plenty of people here who want to replace you. Go report to the operations department, and go check out Night City too. The world is big and complicated, and you have to maintain your dignity above all else."

The young officer's face twitched, and his nose wrinkled as he tried to hold back the tears welling up in his eyes.

"Yes, sir."

Watching the young man walk out with confident strides, Lucas stopped looking and instead stared quietly at the data on the guy who had caused repeated losses to military technology.

The cybernetic bodies infiltrated by agents, the Dogtown facilities, the successive killings of former lone wolves—including the near-death experience of Lark.

This is a loss for the nation, and a shameful scar.

Lucas wasn't going to let this young guy off the hook. He wanted to set his arch-rival Arasaka back on track, or at least put him on the same starting line.

A full-scale war was not what he wanted. Only by holding back Arasaka and getting that old man, who might never see God again, to leave could Lucas consider his mission accomplished.

This is the Military Academy, and only here can one see a clear shadow of that old country.

"cold?"

“A terrible name.”

Lucas said so.

……

……

(End of this chapter)