Infinity, progressing from Arasaka

The fire at the Arasaka Industrial Park has long been extinguished, and the restoration of the city's power supply is ongoing.

"This is Vera. Um... okay, I understand. Gather all the bodies of the terrorists who have been killed for the media to see and report on..."

"What? The body is too fragmented? Have the forensic pathologist and morgue team from the city medical center wrap it in body bags and count it according to human tissue, one vertebra for each body, one skull for each body..."

With the biological research building, half of which had been bombed, as the command center, Vera, who knew very well that she would have to make an appearance on the world stage after this incident, was concentrating on fulfilling her role.

That's counterterrorism!

She currently lacks the courage to start a war, and she doesn't want to be labeled as extremely arrogant and domineering. However, she does have the audacity to mobilize troops under the guise of counter-terrorism, which means mobilizing some soldiers wearing exoskeletons, light armored vehicles, and armored vehicles.

Not only does it exist, but it's also very large.

In any case, counter-terrorism is a legitimate cause.

This is not a baseless incident. There are no mech or powered armor units involved, and no main battle tanks or near-ground armed airships have been deployed, so it's not too provocative to the nerves of the Central African Republic's "friendly neighbor."

"Commander Russell."

Just as Vera was pondering how to make the most of her temporary position to make her presence felt, a senior executive from the local Arasaka Transportation Department came to her side.

"Latest news from the airport tower: the people from the Tokyo headquarters will arrive in about half an hour."

Vera slightly raised her eyes.

It seems her debut is coming to an end.

It's time to go back to Tokyo and battle it out with Old Deng and Old Old Deng.

------

P.S.: A tidbit of information that may or may not be useful: Johannesburg is one of the world's top ten spring cities.

Ugh, because of the meeting that took up time, I'll just get 5K today.

Come again tomorrow.

Chapter 060 Leaving South Africa, Meeting Sanlang, Presenting a Big Pancake (4.5K)

On the afternoon of June 8, after an hour or so of handover and reorganization, Vera rose from the leisure terrace next to the rooftop landing area at the Johannesburg International Hotel.

She had changed out of her battle-worn, blood-stained uniform, washed herself clean, and put on a clean white shirt and black trousers. She wasn't wearing a tie, and she wore mid-calf boots. She had transformed from a terrifying battlefield killing machine into a smart and capable office lady.

"Crunch..."

Holding a South African sandwich wrapped in parchment paper—a dish of roasted spiced meat and fresh vegetables sandwiched in bread—Vera leisurely took a small bite, chewing as she looked towards the horizon, her cheeks slightly puffed out, towards the direction of the international airport.

Black dots are growing larger and rushing towards us.

Her private jet has arrived.

“Director Russell, I’m so sorry that our negligence caused such an unpleasant incident to your study trip to South Africa.”

A lean, middle-aged white man with slightly sunken eyes and a receding hairline stepped forward and said apologetically.

It was the head of the Johannesburg Arasaka branch. He looked exhausted, clearly under immense pressure and accountability from his superiors due to the major terrorist attack in the early hours of the 7th.

"I guarantee the Johannesburg branch will give you a satisfactory answer. We may not be able to guarantee the safety of terrorists who have escaped Gauteng province or the city limits, but those rats trapped in the city, I will find them one by one and grind them into mincemeat!"

He made his promise to Vera very seriously, even through gritted teeth.

Vera appeared satisfied, nodding to indicate that her anger had subsided. She felt this misfortune couldn't be entirely blamed on the Johannesburg branch; it was a result of a combination of factors, including border outposts and the sudden unrest among Central African warlords…

But deep down, Vera shook her head.

Hahaha.

Don't be fooled by his current submissive and humble demeanor; he's probably cursing you in his heart. He's definitely blaming you for doing your research and planning in his territory, which led to you being targeted. Why can't you go to Cape Town, Pretoria, Tokyo, or your Night City?

Vera could easily see through his act, and even if she flew into a rage and berated, pressured, and mocked him, he would never dare to retaliate.

What is your status and what is mine?

In South Africa, let alone your Johannesburg branch, even in Cape Town, the Arasaka office building can only be called a building, not the headquarters or Arasaka Tower.

There are only three headquarters in the world: Tokyo in Asia Pacific, Paris in Europe, and Night City in North America. It's an unwritten rule that employees from these three headquarters are naturally half a level higher than employees from other regions.

Not to mention that Vera's temporary position as Commissioner Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary has not yet been officially terminated. No matter how you argue about it, the terrorist attack occurred in his jurisdiction, and he was the primary person in charge.

Vera could even act first and ask for permission later, and in a fit of rage, beat him up.

But it is not necessary.

With no grudges against her, Vera's identity and job nature meant she didn't need to act overly aggressive or display a prickly, threatening demeanor to those around her.

Because she's really not someone to mess with.

Unless your surname is Arasaka, or you are one of the heads of key departments in the company's intercontinental regions.

While Vera was chatting idly with the branch office staff, hinting that she might consider lifting the city lockdown—

hum... hum...

The largest black dot, a thick and massive shadow, slowly approached, its engines roaring, blowing across the landing area, creating a violent gust of air and a deafening noise.

Boom!

The multi-functional armored gunship hovering near the landing zone activated its belly detection system, and laser lights quickly drew a crimson landing safety cordon, completely filling Vera's field of vision.

Oh open?

Vera sized up the menacing steel behemoth.

It is enormous in size, heavily armored, and equipped with large anti-gravity modules, vector thrusters, buoyancy stabilization devices, radar beam generators, as well as massive missile launchers, multi-barrel Vulcan cannons, electromagnetic guns, particle laser cannons, and large-caliber live-fire artillery...

Tsk, even the most ordinary weaponry mentioned above could turn over 95 percent of the world's population into a steaming, bloody mess with just a single shot.

This is not comparable to the NCPD's civilian products in Night City, nor to the 'Mortal' armored hovercraft of the Terrorist Mobile Squadron, nor to the 'Demon Lizard' armored vehicle that ended up in Badlands. Perhaps only a few advanced military heavy vehicles sealed by the NUSA rebels in Dogtown can compare. It is a genuine Arasaka Army standard heavy main battle vehicle.

Arasaka's three major divisions, besides banking and security, include the manufacturing division, which boasts one of the proudest products in the military heavy industry sector.

These types of heavy military products are never advertised in the same way as service products or light industrial products, and they rarely provide services to the public.

Because their main clients are, and can only be, large corporations and a small number of political parties and state apparatuses that hold power.

Completely prohibited items.

That kind of war machine that, once it arrives in Night City, will immediately astonish friendly nations, exacerbate the situation, intensify conflicts, and even ignite a war.

This is one of the rare consensuses reached by many large corporations, including Arasaka and Military Technology, to strictly control distribution and prohibit sales to any unstable individuals or groups.

Click.

Accompanied by the sound of heavy mechanical shafts turning.

The steel hatches of the airship slowly opened to both sides.

Under Vera's curious gaze, several pairs of cool, full-coverage scarlet goggles lit up, and a group of Arasaka soldiers, dressed in more sophisticated and form-fitting exoskeleton armor, stepped down with guns.

"Director Russell."

Standing at the front of the waiting line at the junction of the landing area and the leisure terrace, Vera was like a striking beacon, instantly drawing their attention.

"it's me."

I'm so tired, so alone

Vera nodded, then quickly finished the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) in her hand. She waved casually, handing the oil paper to the hotel receptionist while signaling the Arasaka soldiers who had followed her to the Grand Hotel to hand over her research findings.

The branch's Arasaka soldiers swiftly passed by Vera, handing over metal boxes containing experimental infectious agents, samples of the Sun Ladder Flower, and extracts of the Progenitor Virus to the people from headquarters.

"Everything is ready. Let's hand it over now."

Vera crossed her arms and said it quite naturally.

After inspecting the metal box and cooling cabinet with a multi-functional scanner, the elite exoskeleton soldier from Tokyo headquarters nodded to Vera and said indifferently, "Director Russell, in accordance with the resolution of the Tokyo Operations Oversight Committee meeting, your special military authorization has been revoked."

...

Just as the main landing zone atop the hotel building was completely occupied by Arasaka's special assault team from Tokyo headquarters.

Accompanied by their companions, they landed in the secondary landing area in armored airships that appeared quite small in comparison. A group of investigators, counterintelligence personnel, and interrogators also arrived in Johannesburg.

"The guys from Tokyo actually came with us. That's efficiency, holy crap. And the scale and security, wow. With this level of attention from above, it probably won't be long before Commander Russell becomes our boss's boss."

Harry, a burly, kind-looking black man, stared wide-eyed as he carried his briefcase and muttered to V beside him.

“Harry…that’s for the big shots. Let’s think about how to do this job first. A lot of people are watching this. If we do it well, a promotion and a raise are within reach.”

V behaved very calmly.

Harry nodded, pondering, "But speaking of the mission... being coveted by so many, aren't you curious about what those metal boxes are?"

“The more you know, the faster you die, Harry. For people like us, curiosity is a good thing; it helps us discover different things and provides different perspectives. But at the same time, curiosity can sometimes lead us to our graves.” As he spoke, V patted his friend Harry on the shoulder while looking towards the main landing area.

A beautiful blonde figure, surrounded by a large number of Arasaka operators, is talking to an exoskeleton soldier from Tokyo.

Vera Adelheid Russell.

Any Arasaka employee working at Night City would probably be familiar with this name: rising star, big shot and super big shot reserve, ruthless character, the young lady who feels like she's coming home when she enters Arasaka Security Department...

However, thanks to her, the status of Arasaka's employees in Night City has improved considerably since she took office.

This increase doesn't mean that Arasaka's market value has soared again, but rather it represents an invisible and intangible deterrent force.

Large companies all have a deterrent effect, but in recent years, Russell's executives have realized Arasaka's 'deterrent effect' exceptionally quickly and fiercely.

Many habitual criminals, gang members, fearless cyber lunatics, fringe mercenaries, and teams that used to extort money from the company were relentlessly pursued and killed by the Arasaka Security Force under his leadership.

The reward threshold for commissions related to Arasaka has been forced to rise sharply in the Night City underworld and through intermediaries, which is a manifestation of the increased intangible deterrent power.

Currently, it may only be limited to Night City, but the scraps and bits of cake that have changed there are enough to support a large number of vested interests.

V thought of an old friend of his who had worked in the Valentino gang.

A true friend I met by chance.

A big guy who values ​​friendship, loyalty, and family above all else is a rare find in Night City, a place rife with materialism, betrayal, and vendettas.