2077: V really knows how awesome he is

V nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes!"

"V, you will pay the price for your arrogance and conceit!"

With these pronouncements, Jefferson Peralez lay down on the medical bed and began a full-body scan.

Countless people around the world gathered in front of their television sets, their eyes glued to the screen, waiting for the result.

then……

"Big Steel Cannon, all night long, every single night!"

"Hold!!!"

Countless viewers of different skin colors, faiths, and nationalities united at this moment and shouted out the universal language.

V was very satisfied with the result. After all, the more people criticized it, the higher the viewership would be. She had spent real money organizing this global live broadcast, so of course she needed to recoup her losses.

Fortunately, the advertisements for the big gun are always simple and clear. After twelve seconds, the scene returned to the medical bed.

The procedure, performed by renowned medical expert Dr. Joanne Koch, involved scanning Jefferson Peralez's body from bottom to top with orange light.

"Both leg prostheses are normal, the digestive system is normal, the hand prostheses are normal, the respiratory system is normal, the bionic throat is normal, the prosthetic eyes are normal..."

With each test showing no abnormalities, Jefferson Peralres wore a victorious expression. He had spoken out for humanity and fought for the interests of all mankind. He had always been extremely cautious in installing the prosthetic body, so there was absolutely no way there could be any problems.

But just as he was thinking this, an alarm suddenly went off. The scanning beam was fixed on his brain, causing the machine to emit a continuous series of alarms.

“Anomalies were found in the brain, with 77% of the neurons showing clear signs of manipulation. I don’t know who did it, but these newly formed neural connections strongly suggest that someone has theoretically controlled Jefferson Peralez’s brain.”

Joanne Koch displayed a hologram of the brain on a large screen, with the original parts in red and the modified areas in blue. The blue color covered almost the entire brain, especially in the brainstem, where it was a deep, almost purplish blue.

Those watching the live stream were all amazed. They might not understand advanced medical knowledge, but they knew that modifying the brain would definitely affect a person's memory and cognition.

The person who found it most unacceptable was Jefferson Peralez himself, who practically roared, "This is impossible! This must be a smokescreen! My brain is fine, I have free will, and I know exactly what I'm doing!"

"Do you know what you're doing?" V sneered. "Then let me ask you, how often do you visit your brother's grave?"

"My brother? I don't have any brothers, I'm an only child!"

V looked at Sasha, who immediately posted a household registration information on the live stream, which clearly showed that Jefferson Perales had an older brother.

People were stunned, and Jefferson Peralez was stunned too.

V asked, "Should I call a few more people from your hometown to share their experiences?"

With just that one simple sentence, Jefferson Peralez's defenses were completely shattered.

"What the hell is going on? And who is messing around in my head? Biotechnology, Arasaka, or Kangtao?"

"Neither," V replied. "It's the Night Corporation."

"Impossible! Ye's is just a materials company; it's impossible for them to have such technology!"

"is it?"

V winked, and Jack entered the live stream, accompanied by a short-haired woman—the same woman V had rescued from the ice-water bathtub in the Cleaner's lair during the "prologue" of his previous life.

V was never fired from the company in his lifetime, so that deal was done by Jack alone.

The short-haired woman was a little excited to see V, after all, he was a famous figure in Night City and even the world. But she quickly remembered her mission and, at V's prompting, came in front of the camera and took out a small chip.

“My name is Sandra Dorset, a senior employee of Night Corporation. After more than a year of undercover work and investigation, I have ample evidence to prove that Night Corporation is secretly conducting an illegal experiment called ‘Life is Short.’ This experiment uses an artificial intelligence codenamed ‘CN-07’ to modify the brains of employees in order to achieve the evil purpose of controlling humanity!”

This statement shocked the world.

While the claim that V is colluding with and smuggling AI is merely a baseless rumor, the fact that Night Corporation controls human minds is irrefutable evidence.

Jefferson Perales's revelation was nothing compared to Sandra Dorset's truly massive exposure!

V's face was ashen. He immediately ordered, "From this moment forward, the Night Corporation is an illegal organization. Night City will arrest its key members. If there is any resistance, open fire at will!"

Chapter 83 The Dream Continues

At V's command, Arasaka 2077 immediately sprang into action.

Back in the day, Arasaka's main business was security, and Arasaka 2077 naturally inherited that strength, making its paramilitary force the undisputed best in the world!

Led by David Martinez, with Lucy Martinez in charge of network support, the security force bearing the Arasaka 2077 logo launched an undisguised armed takeover of the Night Corporation.

This is indeed against procedure and regulations, but so what? In Night City, if V says someone is going to die at midnight, he will never let them live until dawn!

Military armored vehicles roared through the streets, and heavily armed security squads advanced rapidly in orderly formation.

Such a chaotic scene should have caused panic, but instead, the streets were crowded with people cheering loudly.

Why didn't you dodge?

Because I am not afraid!

These soldiers have protected Night City time and time again, proving their significance with their actions. Since they are one of us, one family, why should ordinary people be afraid or hide?

Not only were they not afraid to dodge, but they also gave way, cheered loudly, reminded the young men to be careful, and honked their car horns to encourage them.

Ordinary people may not have high levels of education and may not be able to analyze complex international situations, but they are not stupid; they know who is good to them. Their current good life was all thanks to V, so V's enemies are their enemies. If the Night Corporation is causing trouble, then they will destroy the Night Corporation!

"So the Night Corporation was the 'lurking danger' all along." Jack stepped out of the frame and returned to Misty's side, saying with a smile, "Now that President V has discovered this hidden danger and is taking action to deal with it, you can rest assured now."

Misty felt something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on it, and could only say, "I hope so."

Seeing his wife still looking worried, Jack kindly comforted her, "Don't worry, the Night Corporation is no match for Arasaka 2077. With David leading the team himself, this matter will be smoother than sandpaper!"

Just as Jack said, the operation went very smoothly.

The Night Corporation also has its own security, but it's just that—security. Arasaka 2077's forces are even capable of going toe-to-toe with a regular army, so dealing with these rookies is a piece of cake.

Even before the battle officially began, the Night Clan's security personnel defected.

They also watched the live stream, fearing that they too would be controlled by the Ye family's "life is short" plan. How could they possibly risk their lives for the Ye family group? When they saw Aragaka 2077's large force, it was like seeing their own father. Not only did they not fire a single shot, but they also voluntarily shut down their automatic turrets, calling out "sir, this way" repeatedly, and only offering food and drink to welcome the king's army.

Once inside the Ye Corporation building, even ordinary employees acted the same way, becoming guides without a word.

While some viewers were surprised, they couldn't completely accept it.

After all, what humanity is most proud of is free will. Now the Ye family is playing with brain modification and conducting mind control experiments. This is not only disgusting, but also purely anti-human!

Yes, V did not stop the live stream. She was fed up with the boring and ambitious people causing trouble time and time again, and this time she was determined to make an example of them.

V has never been a saint, nor has she ever thought of overthrowing the system. In fact, she still uses the company's old methods, which is why the company can tolerate her. The only difference is that she has bad table manners; she always drops bread crumbs when she eats bread.

These breadcrumbs saved Night City, turning eight million ants back into humans. But some creatures, instead of remaining human, choose to be insects, and V will crush them without hesitation.

Ye's Company is this one!

As employees of the Night Clan defected, Arasaka 2077's security team quickly occupied various offices, arrested Night Clan executives and shareholders, and network experts immediately took over the server room, cracked the security lock, and obtained the highest level of access to the Night Clan's network.

Thus, the Night Corporation, which once founded Night City, has been completely overrun. With just one order from V, the company will disappear from both the real world and the internet.

Johnny, who was watching the live stream at Kerry's house, looked on with emotion.

"What's wrong?" Kerry asked curiously. "You look like someone has violated your anus but forgot to apply lubricant."

“Fuck you, I’m not into that stuff!” Johnny cursed, then sighed, “V told me that only a company can beat a company.”

"Isn't this common knowledge? Don't you believe me?"

“I didn’t believe it at first, but after seeing V destroy the Night Corporation in just 20 minutes, I had no choice but to believe it.” Johnny took a big gulp of his drink. “When I woke up in Saburo Arasaka’s body and found Arasaka Tower still standing there like a chicken’s fin, do you know what I was thinking?”

"What are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking that if I had taken a nuclear bomb to bomb Arasaka Tower 50 years ago, I would have looked like a fucking idiot!"

Kerry patted Johnny on the shoulder: "Be confident. Remove the image, and you'll look like an idiot."

Johnny slapped Kerry's hand away in annoyance, wanting to retort, but then felt disheartened.

"Do you think those who died in the nuclear explosion will hate me?"

“No,” Kerry replied immediately.

Johnny's face lit up with joy: "Really? Because they know I'm rebelling against the company and the system, so they won't hate me?"

"Of course not. What I mean is, people are dead, they've turned to ashes, so of course they won't hate you. The only ones who will hate you are the survivors." Kerry said earnestly, "Be grateful for Saburo Arasaka's face. If Johnny Silverhand had really come back to life, you would have been torn to shreds by now!"

Johnny's expression froze. Just as he was about to explode in anger, the live TV broadcast suddenly switched to a man in a suit with bright blue eyes.

"Channel interference? What kind of terrible quality is your TV?!"

"It's not a channel mix-up, the live broadcast signal was hacked." Kerry tossed his tablet to Johnny: "All the other TV stations are the same, they're all idiots from this company!"

Johnny was a little surprised. He knew how powerful Arasaka's network technology was. The fact that the signal could be hijacked showed that this blue-eyed man was something else.

At the same time, the man on the television spoke.

"I cannot reveal my real name, but you can call me Mr. Blue Eyes. For years, I have been secretly controlling the Night Group, and my goal is to regain control of Night City."

“V, you won a small victory and crushed the Ye Corporation. I acknowledge your excellence, but that’s all.”

"Because I am not an individual, I represent a collective, a will, and there are countless people like me, while the Ye Corporation is just a target we set up in the open."

"V, congratulations on destroying the Night Corporation. Now that we're back in the shadows, how are you going to find us and capture us?"

"Airborne attack?"

"A land attack?"

"But how can you keep us silent?"

"You can't stop us, you can't find us. We will expose your deeply hidden true face. We will tell the whole world that you are not human, but a traitor lurking among humans. You are a lackey of roving AI, a Trojan virus that could explode at any moment!"

"We don't care what you want to do or how you want to do it; you can't change anything."

"You will never, ever stop us from catching me..."

Before he could finish speaking, a loud crash came from off-screen. Mr. Blue Eyes turned his head in surprise and saw the fully armed Ghost Hound squad burst into the frame. Without saying a word, Kurt Hansen raised his hand and smashed the butt of his rifle into Mr. Blue Eyes's face.

"what!"

Just moments ago, the arrogant blue-eyed man was knocked to the ground, screaming like a little girl. The Ghost Hound Squad consisted of either extremely straight men or women, showing no mercy whatsoever. They surrounded him and began punching and kicking him repeatedly. The sounds of blows echoed continuously. About 15 minutes later, they dragged the beaten-up blue-eyed man out of the frame, leaving only a thick drag mark made of blood on the ground.

The scene was completely silent.

The audience was speechless.

Hijacking a global live broadcast signal, making such a grand entrance, and this is the result?

Johnny snapped out of his shock and cursed irritably, "Damn, where did this idiot come from?"

“Exactly!” Kerry chimed in, “Even more of an idiot than you, the moron who used a nuclear bomb to blow up Arasaka!”

Johnny glared at Kerry, who glared back defiantly, and the old couple... the two old brothers then started fighting.

"Ahem, there was a small problem earlier, but it's been resolved now." V reappeared on screen, and a few minutes later, Mr. Blue Eyes was brought before her.

"V, I won't say anything!"

"It's okay, it doesn't matter whether you tell me or not, because I'll go get it myself if I want to know!"

As V spoke, his eyes lit up with blue light, instantly breaking into Mr. Blue Eyes' personal ICE system, violently dismantling his core operating system, extracting data from his brain, and copying all the information he possessed.

Although this method might damage Mr. Blue Eyes' brain, turning him into a mentally challenged person who can only drool, nobody cares.

V's compassion is reserved for good people; his only kindness to his enemies is to eradicate evil completely and eliminate them at the root!

As expected, Mr. Blue Eyes had a lot of crucial information in his head, including evidence of his control over the Night Corporation over the years, various details of the "Life is Short" plan, a list of brainwashed individuals, and his superior, the artificial intelligence "CN-07".

That's right, CN-07 is that one, the friend who shared life and death with Delaman.

The key technology for the "Life is Short" plan was provided by CN-07. The Night Group believed they had developed this artificial intelligence, but little did they know that it was deliberately developed by them.

“Make this evidence public.” V handed Jenkins a document.

“Have our men take control of all these guys.” V handed another list to Sasha.

“This is all the information for the ‘Life is Short’ plan. See if you can remove the control.” V sent the complete set of technical data to Joanne Koch.

Joanne Koch was frowning as she read when Jefferson Perales suddenly yelled, "Give me a copy! I want to see it for myself!"

V did not refuse and sent him the technical information about how short life is.

Although Jefferson Peralres didn't understand the technical jargon, as a high-achieving student, he had basically grasped the underlying principles and knew that V was not lying.

"Have I really been brainwashed?" The usually confident middle-aged man was now filled with panic. He grabbed his hair and let out a low growl: "Damn it, damn it, damn it! Which of my memories is real? Who can I trust? Do I really have a brother?"

People at the scene cast sympathetic glances at him.