Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

......

Cyberpunk world, Night City, Westbrook, corporate community.

In the basement of Russell's apartment, there was a newly built, recently opened small microbiology research laboratory.

boom.

"hiss..."

The sound of metal being gently placed made Vera involuntarily recoil and plop down in the swivel chair, rubbing her throbbing head. "Cough cough..." she coughed, struggling to breathe, feeling extremely dizzy. "This time... it was really intense. What's with this feeling of release..."

It took Vera a while to come to her senses.

This time the amount was really large. I was not only sleepy, but also weak in my limbs and had a splitting headache.

Jingle Bell.

Immediately, a communication request was sent to Vera's communication plugin.

[Nursing Physician]

“Director Russell, excuse me for bothering you, but ‘Quantitative Enlightenment’ just received a notification that your biometric readings have fluctuated significantly and something seems amiss. It is my duty to determine your health condition.”

Quantified Enlightenment, a rehabilitation center in collaboration with Arasaka.

Without waiting for Vera's response.

Jingle Bell.

Another communication request has been received; it's from the [Trauma Group].

"Dear Ms. Vera Adelheid Russell [Platinum Member], we have detected the following in your body..."

"Stop, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired after working long hours of intense work. My personal research project has made some new progress, and I'm a bit excited. Order some calming and soothing medications for me."

Vera stopped the Trauma Team's emergency rescue and then told her nurse in Arasaka that she was fine.

"Phew..." After hanging up, Vera rubbed her groggy head, stood up, glanced at the metal box, sealed it away, closed the laboratory door, and walked towards the bedroom on the second floor.

In short, I'll get some sleep first.

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Chapter 041 The Stepping Stone and the Predecessor's Attention

(PS: Due to the influence of the movies, and because green is indeed easily associated with herbs, Capcom has changed its own settings again and again. So let's go with the standard that everyone usually thinks: green for the T-virus vaccine; blue for the T-virus.)

Russell's apartment building, number 414.

“Zzzzz…”

Ding.

Vera opened her eyes.

Gently rubbing her slightly heavy temples, Vera couldn't help but lick her somewhat dry lips. Every time she took something from another "multidimensional life form" of herself, she would feel extremely tired that day and fall into a deep sleep. This was truly a good way to maintain high-quality sleep.

"Phew, I'm really tired, but it feels so... great."

From drowsy to fully awake, it felt as if an electric current had passed through her forehead, sending a tingling sensation through her body and causing her to tremble slightly.

Compared to the previous test of taking 'paper' and the subsequent interactive handling of small items, the 'amount' taken this time was much greater, and Vera felt completely drained.

Fortunately, her recovery ability was exceptionally strong. Despite the mental exhaustion and the stimulation of the soul, after one night, she not only did not become dull-witted, but was also unusually clear-headed.

It was not much different from her estimate; a standard suitcase was still within her budget, so there was no major problem, except that she would feel listless for a few days.

Her soul's ocean still needs to be restored and replenished.

Practice makes perfect, but you still need to practice a lot.

Gugu~

"hungry."

Hunger.

Vera rubbed her flat stomach clockwise, tilted her head, and her eyes flashed with orange light. Signal connected, command sent: Housekeeping No. 1, prepare breakfast, change the menu to three times the usual lunch standard.

Vera got out of bed, walked barefoot to the bathroom, took a quick shower, brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth, put on the Arasaka uniform undershirt and slippers handed to her by the intelligent service robotic arm, and headed towards the biological research laboratory in the basement.

Swish.

After the automatic sensor door recognizes Vera's biosignal, it opens. After entering the storage room door code, Vera takes out a metal box containing the T-virus and its vaccine from the powered refrigerated safe, places it upright, and opens it.

Vera pulled out a green, spiral-shaped container with her bare hands and examined the slightly viscous, pale green liquid inside.

"We need to find an opportunity to experiment with it."

Now is not the time to bring it out.

Vera never intended to use it as a weapon. This is a cyberpunk world, and it's 2075, where human cybernetic augmentation is all the rage.

Even if you're not a modification fanatic, it's normal for anyone to have an outdated synthetic stomach, synthetic lungs, and synthetic esophagus. Even if you're not a mercenary, it's a survival skill to avoid overworking yourself by eating or drinking unclean things.

Vera even suspected that some modification fanatics could actually drink the T-virus like water and be completely unaffected, since they barely had any real flesh left in their bodies. How does one get infected with the T-virus?

It's an RNA virus, so could it infect synthetic meat containing metallic elements and chemical plastics?

If the T-virus is poured into rivers that have been severely polluted by cyber warfare and whose environment has deteriorated to the point where life can no longer exist, how long can their activity be maintained?

Even assuming someone gets infected with the T-virus and turns into a zombie to bite people, uh... could they bite through those metal lumps?

Moreover, in the cyberpunk world, while not everyone acts as wildly as those in Night City, it is a fact that everyone carries guns, and there are more guns than people. The aggressiveness of most people is also incomparable to that of people in the Resident Evil world.

If the local thugs encounter a staggering, bloodied, and grotesque fellow lunging at them with ill intent, they're more likely not to scream in terror and freeze in place, but rather to grab their weapons and fire a few shots at him to show him what's what.

The T-virus's value in this regard lies in creating BOWs with extremely high physical strength, such as Tyrant and Stalker.

Then, with the aid of specialized prosthetic plug-ins, weapon modules, and electronic brain control devices, they are made into intelligent cyborg weapons that are fearless of pain, emotionless, have no limits on prosthetic tolerance, or have prosthetic tolerance far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Its greatest value lies in exploring the byproducts of T-virus development.

Umbrella developed a large number of high-quality medical products based on its research, ranging from highly effective beauty and health care products to everyday anti-inflammatory, cough-suppressing, and pain-relieving products, to highly specialized open wound healing and repair, and even 'longevity drugs' that slow down the aging of human cells and tissues...

The former is something to try out; Arasaka might be interested, but he probably won't have high expectations.

Exoskeletons, individual powered armor, and larger mechs—these are the areas that Arasaka's manufacturing division is looking at, and they have already achieved results and deployed their equipment for many years.

The powered armor army at the Arasaka Tokyo military camp, along with the heavy vehicle legion, air force, navy, and the future aerospace force that will receive substantial investment, are the true trump cards of the Yan Corporation's armed forces.

It was directly controlled by the Arasaka family, or rather, by Saburo Arasaka himself and his trusted confidants.

The same applies to other areas such as military technology and European banks.

Vera's current security department has a significant military advantage over most countries, gangs, and small and medium-sized companies. They can slaughter gangs and mercenary groups at will. To them, Vera's mobile team is like a heavily armed force.

Once the corporate war begins, Vera's mobile unit will become light infantry; not cannon fodder, but not an exaggeration to call them line-fillers.

Vera went to the University of Tokyo to gain experience, hoping to see if she could rise above her station and become a true 'confidante' of that level, capable of commanding a portion of Arasaka's real military force, even if it was just a powered armor squadron.

It's difficult, but people should always have dreams.

The latter, a byproduct of T-virus development, was the stepping stone Vera had prepared.

"We need to figure out how to present it logically, and we need to plan that out before the official start of the spring semester..."

After thinking for a moment, Vera put the T-virus vaccine back into the metal box, clicked it shut, sealed it, put it back in the safe, and walked out of the laboratory.

Ding dong.

The housekeeping robot, having precisely timed the cooking and prepared a carload of high-carbohydrate, high-calorie food as Vera requested, placed the food onto the dining table in the living room.

Ramen with rice, miso soup, steak and fried chicken, tempura—a fusion of Japanese and Western styles, a standard Arasaka Corporation dog's menu, a carb explosion.

Soon, Vera filled her empty stomach, sipping ice water and comfortably rubbing her belly. The physical exhaustion from her mental exertion was satisfied. After resting for a while, she got up, put on her coat, and, feeling refreshed, went out and headed towards the helipad.

We boarded the airship a little late, but it wasn't a big problem.

During this time, Verado was waiting in Night City, preparing for the entrance exam to study at the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Law as a special admissions student of Arasaka.

There are no field assignments. Going to the office in Arasaka Tower is just a matter of clocking in and out. The workload is not heavy. The important thing is to appear in front of subordinates and colleagues.

Vera grabbed the tablet from her seat and browsed the documents compiled by her subordinates.

[Evaluation Report on the Practical Experience Activity at the End of 2074 of Arasaka Tower Academy - Security Department]

Shuta Furuta.

Terry Wolfe.

……

Tanaka Katsuo.

David Martinez.

Click to open.

My gaze naturally lingered on the half-body portrait of this boy with a mohawk hairstyle and eyes that still radiated a clear, foolish charm.

Security department testers assessed: Despite being unsociable, from a poor family, and lacking any prosthetic modifications beyond basic implants, this trainee demonstrates excellent academic performance, high levels of personal initiative, and promising physical potential. A more detailed physical examination and observation are needed for a more comprehensive evaluation…

Vera lit a cigarette thoughtfully, tapping her fingers on the armrest of her seat, a barely suppressed smile playing on her lips.

"Considering the timeline, his grades are good, he has a solid foundation, and he's learned some things. 2075, that should be around this time..."

While she's in Tokyo getting her resume, we can't let such a good, bulletproof thug get robbed. Especially that pale silver-white little thief cat wandering the subway.

Hmm, let's create a chance encounter between a senior and a junior...

"Are you poor? Then I'll give you a spot in a low-interest student loan program."

beep.

She added David Martinez's name to the list of outstanding trainees who received the Security Department's practical gift.

Confirm → Send

"Little one, how will you repay me?"

Through the car window, Vera looked toward the city center, at the approaching, dark tower.

......