Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

River Valley, Santo Domingo.

The old H4 apartment skyscraper.

Despite the broken security bars, peeling paint, and yellowed rust, and the presence of homeless people and piles of garbage surrounding the building, this old apartment building remains intact.

Inside a small, unremarkable rental house.

"Mom, you're sleeping on the sofa again. You'll ruin your health like that..."

"Oh, David, I'm sorry... I'm so sleepy, and, oh? Why are you still home at this hour?"

"Don't change the subject, Mom. It's the weekend and school is closed today. I participated in the college's practical experience activity a while ago, and you were so happy about it, how could you forget!"

David, dressed in plain clothes, stood in front of Gloria, who was sleeping on the sofa, with an angry and helpless expression.

"...Ah, you found out."

Gloria laughed it off and changed the subject.

Her face showed both relief and deep helplessness. She was relieved by her son's excellence and his concern for her, but helpless because she felt useless, struggling to even scrape together the tuition and upgrade the teaching software.

"Mom, if we really don't have the money, I can..."

"David."

Gloria's stern gaze silenced David. "This isn't something you should be thinking about. Not going to study? Do you know how difficult it is to get a spot in the Arasaka Academy practical experience program? I..."

Just as the mother and son were about to have another argument about money in the room, someone shouted, "Holy crap! Company dog!"

"Get away."

"Hurry up, hurry up..."

A noisy commotion erupted outside the door.

Then, a clear knocking sound, knock knock...

Gloria looked up, her face almost deathly pale with shock. "Could it be... that we've been exposed..." Just as her face clouded with uncertainty, click, David opened the door.

"What's wrong... uh, ah?!!" Before he could finish speaking, David seemed to have been struck by lightning, his eyes staring straight ahead.

Two corporate security agents wearing black and red striped Arasaka uniforms, one of whom was carrying a briefcase.

"David Martinez, a student from the 2074 class of Arasaka Academy who participated in the Border Practice Experience program, is he?"

One person asked coldly.

"I...I am."

"Good luck, kid. This is your award for excellence in practical activities."

------

Chapter 042 Vera and Her Juniors

"An award of excellence...does such a thing exist?"

David was immediately shocked upon hearing this.

He's been attending Arasaka Academy for over half a year now. Isn't the school known for only taking in students and not letting them leave?

"Trainee ID card".

Too lazy to explain, the agent from the Arasaka Security Department reached out his hand.

"Oh, wait, please wait a moment..." David said as he ran into the room and rummaged through the drawers around the computer desk not far to the left of the door. In the meantime, the two agents looked around the Martinez family's rented house.

Just like Santo Domingo, it is dilapidated and old.

The room was small, the kind where you could see everything at a glance. There was no porch, and the living room served as the bedroom. There were two small spaces on the left and right. The larger one on the left was the bathroom, and the smaller one on the right was probably used as a storage room. The sofa area in the sunken area was piled with a lot of unused tools and furniture with damaged surfaces.

Although it's old and run-down, it's quite clean compared to the surrounding residential areas.

A red-haired woman who looked extremely tired was reclining on the sofa, wearing a yellow jacket and looking at them with a slightly dazed expression.

The two agents habitually scanned the area, their eyes flashing with orange light, and pulled up the woman's identity information.

David's single mother, Gloria, works at Night City Medical Center.

"This kid lives in this place? Looks like he won't have the chance to receive preschool education."

"But their grades aren't bad, and they've been lucky enough to be appreciated by their superiors...maybe they can become one of us."

Just as the two junior field agents from Arasaka were exchanging information, the young man with a mohawk punk hairstyle hurriedly waved his student ID card and handed it over, saying, "Found it, found it, sorry, sorry..."

beep.

[Target set for collection]

The agent, his eyes gleaming, picked up David's student ID and scanned it quickly. "Keep it safe." He handed the student ID and the briefcase over, which David accepted hesitantly.

Click.

They just left.

"David?"

Gloria first breathed a sigh of relief, then looked puzzled.

"It's an award for excellence in the college's practical activities..."

David closed the door, blocking the prying eyes of the neighbors, placed the suitcase with the Oolong Aragaka Clover logo in front of his mother, tilted his head back and turned his face away, saying in a slightly nasal voice, "I will try my best, you don't need to work so hard."

"Didn't that big shot from Arasaka say something at the beginning of the semester? Family, responsibility, duty... I don't want you to collapse from exhaustion after I finally climb Arasaka Tower..."

It's just the nature of a young boy; after achieving something, he wanted to show off in front of his mother.

“David.” Gloria, her face suddenly softening into a gentle smile, stood up and pulled David into her arms. “I’m so proud of you.”

"Alright, Mom... let's see what we have first."

Click.

David opened the suitcase, and what came into view was:

The package includes a commemorative card stamped with information about the Night City Arasaka Security Department and Arasaka Academy's 2074 student practice activities, an exquisitely crafted shield-shaped metal medal, three separate chips, a long card, and a simple pistol.

The receiver is dark, the sleeve is light, and the bottom of the grip is red.

"Humility and trustworthiness".

"Security department..." A complex look flashed in Gloria's eyes. JKE-X2 Kenshin, one of the submachine guns produced and sold by Arasaka.

Although it may seem strange at first glance to give pistols to trainees as an award for outstanding practice, this is Night City, the place with the most lax military-level gun control in the world. The department that is coordinating the practice activities with Arasaka Academy this time is the security department, so it is perfectly normal for security personnel to be issued pistols.

The good news is that David seems to have gained the appreciation of the security department, the largest department in Arasaka. The bad news is that David gained the appreciation of the security department, which is one of the departments with the highest field operations and casualty rates.

Will David become a soldier or agent for Arasaka Security...?

Gloria's maternal instincts prevented her from showing joy for long.

"Wow, Mom! We're rich now!"

At this moment, David's shout brought Gloria back to her senses. She saw him take out a discrete chip and insert it into the chip slot behind his ear, his eyes flashing with orange-red light, and his face full of excitement.

Personal Account: [5000 received]

Transferor: Night City Arasaka Security Department

“5000 euros, there is a scholarship of 5000 euros.”

The money was little, perhaps not even enough for someone like Vera to enjoy her food, drink, and cigarettes for a day, but for the Martinez family, it was a lot, enough to solve their immediate problems and even save their lives.

With these five thousand euros, Gloria no longer needs to be in such a hurry or pressure. At least she can catch her breath and won't have to worry about supply disruptions for more than half a year, greatly increasing her ability to withstand risks.

"Okay."

After the transfer program for the chip memory was activated, the separate chip became useless. David pulled the chip out of the slot behind his ear and handed it to his mother without any hesitation. Then he pulled out the second chip. This time, "Uh..." David showed a lack of interest.

David pulled out the third chip and set it aside. Gloria then picked it up, inserted it, and examined it. It was a commemorative address, an assessment of David's performance, and a formulaic encouragement.

“Mom, I think you should take a look at this.” David thoughtfully pulled out the third chip and handed it to her. Gloria took it, inserted it, and the following message appeared in her eyes: [Arasaka Academy Low-Interest Student Loan]

“Student loans…” Gloria fell into deep thought.

David picked up the last long card and read the letters under the clover symbol on it, “Library card? Library card…” He looked interested.

Being a loner at school doesn't mean he doesn't crave knowledge; it just means he lacks the money, qualifications, and connections to access the paid library (containing various knowledge chips) at Arasaka Academy.

David was somewhat tempted.

“I heard that the smart libraries in these graduate schools are open 24/7, as long as you are qualified.” Gloria leaned closer and said with a smile, “If you want to go, change into your uniform and go to Arasaka Academy. I’d like to order you another set of uniforms to change into.”

"Then I'll set off."

David was very efficient. He quickly tidied himself up, changed into his school uniform, tucked his Arasaka library card into his pocket, and went out happily.

During his holidays, he mostly stayed at home watching TV, or accompanied that perverted prosthetic doctor to see the Ultrasound Dream, or used the basketball chip he found to play basketball at the nearby basketball court.

No matter how far away, except towards the city center, Gloria wouldn't allow him to wander anywhere else, after all, this was the 'simple and honest' Night City.

"David, what are those two Arasaka company dogs doing at your doorstep? Did you get into trouble at the academy?"

A middle-aged man I knew, looking rather disheveled, was leaning against the railing of the walkway and making noise.

It was no secret that Mrs. Martinez was supporting her only son's education at Arasaka Academy. David wore his Arasaka uniform to school every day, and the neighbors weren't blind; in fact, many of them were just there for the amusement of the situation.

"well enough."

Explaining it to them was pointless; David simply walked briskly down the stairs, ran up the ramp, through the skyscrapers, and headed towards Arasaka Academy in the city center.

"Welcome, David." The scanner at the school gate recognized the voice.

David recalled the location of the university library.