Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 231 The Ultimate Humiliation (Nine Updates)

Night City struggles to breathe and adapt to the new order, while outside the city, on the turbulent sea, the Arasaka White Whale carrier battle group is shrouded in a suppressed, impending storm.

Anger, like a deadly poison, is spreading fiercely along the power lines of Arasaka's upper echelons.

This goes far beyond the realm of military defeat—their proud "Onimusha" power armor legion was utterly crushed by that mysterious steel torrent, and the crucial Arasaka seaside logistics hub was reduced to ashes in just half an hour. These are losses that can still be calculated.

But at this moment, a humiliation that touches the very foundation of the empire is being laid bare before the world: the "manager" AI that Chen Yu pushed onto the stage to become the new ruler of Night City, has a core image and digital personality that is none other than the Crown Prince Arasaka, who fell fifty years ago, Arasaka Kei!

To the civilians of Night City, and even to analysts of military technology and Contau, this may simply be an efficient yet unfamiliar administrative procedure.

But in the eyes of Arasaka Yoriyuki, Takayama Shintaro, and especially the aging empire's ruler in his secluded Tokyo mansion, the appearance of that face—the heir whom countless resources had been poured into and who had been carefully cultivated as the empire's future blueprint—was nothing short of the most vicious blasphemy.

Inside the bridge command room of the USS Beluga, the air was so heavy it felt like you could wring water out of it.

Shintaro Takayama stared intently at "Takashi Arasaka," who was reading out city management regulations on the holographic screen. The veins on his forehead throbbed violently, and his clenched fists were so tight that his knuckles turned white, and he didn't even notice his nails digging deep into his palms.

Every calm syllable uttered by the AI ​​was like an invisible slap across its face.

Arasaka Yoriyuki, standing beside him, maintained his usual gloomy demeanor on the surface, but a more complex undercurrent was surging deep within his eyes.

There was shock at the fact that his half-brother, who had once tried to kill him, had "reappeared" in this way, and even more so, there was fury at Chen Yu's provocative behavior.

However, beneath this raging sea lurks a twisted sense of pleasure that even he himself is unwilling to confront—that "perfect successor" who has always been one step ahead of him, that indelible mark in his father's heart, has now become a puppet of his enemy. Isn't this the most biting irony for that old monster?
“How dare he… how could he!” Shintaro Takayama’s voice was forced out through clenched teeth, trembling with disbelief and boundless hatred. “Using the young master’s… this is blasphemy! It is the most vicious insult to the entire Arasaka Empire!”

Lai Xuan snorted coldly, his voice hoarse: "Of course he dares. He's telling us right now that in his eyes, Arasaka's past, present, and even future successor are nothing more than tools and data that he can use at will."

He understood the meaning of Chen Yu's actions better than Gao Shan. It was not just a slap in the face to Arasaka, but a deep cut to Arasaka Saburo's most sensitive and unwanted old wound.

This slap, spanning the vast Pacific Ocean, landed precisely on Tokyo, on that quiet, heavily guarded Japanese manor, like a tomb.

Saburo Arasaka, the old man who had ruled the Arasaka Empire for nearly a century, was deeply slumped in a specially designed chair. The regular, faint sound of his life support system contrasted sharply with his turbulent emotions.

On the holographic screen in front of him, the face of the "manager" AI was clearly displayed—a calm and serious face with a style of handling things and inner temperament that he was once extremely familiar with, and even secretly approved of, almost identical to his own.

Unlike the unconventional and resistant Yoriyuki, Arasaka Kei is a work that Saburo Arasaka truly created by painstakingly crafting according to the blueprint of the empire's heir, even though it involved rigorous refinement and ruthless scrutiny.

This son may not have fully met his initial expectations in terms of pioneering spirit and certain key decisions, and may even have concealed the fact that he had blood in the United States in his personal life. However, it is undeniable that, in most cases, Arasaka Takashi's performance was far closer to the standard of a qualified successor than Yorihiro's.

He was calm, ruthless, and shrewd, always placing the interests of his family above all else.

If it weren't for the unexpected tragedy of the Fourth Company War, Saburo would have already planned to gradually transfer power to his eldest son. For decades, Saburo forced himself to bury the pain of losing his son deep in his memory, devoting all his energy to consolidating the foundation of the empire and controlling and taming Yorinobu, his "second choice".

However, at this moment, Chen Yu not only dug Arasaka Kei out of the grave of data, but also openly transformed him into a "butler" AI serving the enemy!

This is tantamount to openly nailing the former crown prince of the Arakasaka Empire, the successor whom he, Arakasaka Saburo, painstakingly nurtured, to the pillar of shame, allowing outsiders to watch, comment, and even drive him around!

"boom!"

A dull thud broke the deathly silence in the room.

Saburo slammed his withered, claw-like hand on the armrest of the chair. Although the blow was weak due to his age, it revealed the raging fury churning within him.

His face, covered in deep wrinkles, twitched slightly uncontrollably, and a cold light, cold enough to freeze the air, shot out from his deep-set eyes.

For Saburo, who always maintained his composure even in the face of imminent collapse, this loss of composure was truly rare.

If the ruler is disgraced, the subject shall die.

This creed, originating from the ancient East and revered as a guiding principle in Japanese culture, now hangs like an invisible blade over the heads of every member of the Arasaka leadership of the Mokujima.

In ancient times, a warrior's lord could only be cleansed by bloodshed when he suffered humiliation—either by taking the enemy's head or by committing seppuku to prove his loyalty.

Even under the guise of a modern enterprise, this ideology of loyalty to the emperor, rooted in feudal tradition, stubbornly persists in the bloodline of the Arasaka Empire, and is even deliberately reinforced as a spiritual shackle to maintain power.

Shintaro Takayama's back was taut, clearly feeling the immense pressure.

The pressure came from the silent yet sharp gaze from that secluded mansion in Tokyo, as well as from the cold and piercing look of Lai Xuan beside him, but at a deeper level, it stemmed from the concept of loyalty instilled in him since childhood.

He knew better than anyone that if he couldn't respond in the most intense and decisive way at this moment, then he, Shintaro Takayama, would not be worthy of continuing to command Arasaka's fleet. The only way to show his loyalty to his lord was in the most "traditional" way—with his life.

All the calm strategic deductions and rational considerations of weighing the pros and cons were completely swallowed up by the overwhelming sense of humiliation at this moment.

The potential international condemnation that might result from bringing the fighting to the city center, and the possible subsequent military and political backlash—these considerations are no longer important.

Shintaro Takayama had only one burning thought in his mind—Night City, that so-called "sage" who desecrated Arasaka's honor, must pay the most painful price for their arrogance!
Only blood and fire can wash away this deep-seated shame.

(End of this chapter)