2077: V really knows how awesome he is

She calmly pulled out a pneumatic injector and gave herself a powerful shot of the Type IV antidote, then leisurely waited for the decryption to be completed.

boom! boom! boom!

94%...96%...99%...

Abernathy missed V's shot on the first try, and then came the final... 100%.

With a click, the cables connecting Mann and the others automatically detached, and V also retracted his personal data cable.

She glanced at Abernathy, who was so frightened that he fell to the ground and scrambled away.

“That’s more like it.” V chuckled. “Run away, scream, struggle, despair—everything you’ve done to others, I’ll shove it all back up your ass!”

Chapter 23 Earth is the Moon's Moon

Abernathy had never been so disheveled. Her face was covered in blood, she looked back in terror, screamed, and then desperately tried to climb upwards.

Hurry! Hurry up! As long as we get there... as long as we can get to that place, that's enough...

With a bang, one of her prosthetic eyes exploded, spraying out a mixture of blood and lubricant, causing Abernathy to let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"No, no, no, don't kill me! V, Vice Minister V! I was wrong, I really know I was wrong, please don't kill me!"

Her answer came from a pair of blue eyes floating in the darkness.

With a crack, her left arm exploded, and the expensive prosthetic body, worth a fortune, flew out like trash.

"Aaaaaah!!!" Abernathy screamed in agony. No longer daring to take any chances, she clutched her severed arm and continued to run away.

V remained calm and quietly followed.

With each floor V ascends, he destroys one of Abernathy's prosthetic bodies. By the time he reaches the 100th floor, Abernathy is in a terrible state, with only a few good pieces of flesh left.

"Help, help me!" Abernathy crawled on the ground, his voice hoarse like that of a rotting zombie: "Miss Michiko, help me..."

“This is your trump card? How disappointing.” V stepped on Abernathy. “Don’t you understand? Since Ms. Michiko didn’t stop me from the beginning, she tacitly approved of my actions. Abernathy, you’ve become too complacent, to the point that you’ve forgotten the code of conduct for company employees. All our achievements are built on the premise of obedience, but you’ve learned to act on your own.”

Abernathy paused, his expression hardening: "Did I cross the line?"

"Give up, Miss Michiko won't save you."

V pulled out Arasaka Shinmura, aimed it at Abernathy's head, and was about to pull the trigger when a cold voice suddenly rang out.

"stop."

V looked up in surprise, and Abernathy looked up in delight.

A beautiful girl with cat ears descended from the realm of the gods to the mortal world. Dressed in a sailor uniform and small leather boots, she exuded an incredible majesty despite her strong anime/manga vibe.

This is Michiko Arasaka, the highest leader of the Arasaka Corporation in North America!

"Miss Michiko, please save me! I'll give you anything, anything at all, please save me!" Abernathy desperately tried to grasp at this lifeline.

“V, that’s enough.” Michiko’s words were concise: “Your grudge against Abernathy is now wiped clean.”

reason?

No need at all.

If I had to pinpoint one reason, it would be because Michiko Arasaka is Michiko Arasaka.

This name represents all rights.

She can allow V to storm the Arasaka Tower, and she can also save Abernathy from V's clutches.

When she's happy, she can make the entire city live a life of luxury; when she's bored, she can kill half the city for her own amusement.

The law is meaningless to her, and morality can be arbitrarily molded according to her whims.

If she says it's over, then it has to be over.

She said that if we can wipe the grudges clean, then those grudges must be wiped clean.

“Ms. Michiko…” V wanted to try again.

"Are you going to cross the line too?"

"I……"

Before he could finish speaking, a violent explosion suddenly came from the window. David and the cybernetic body were blasted in from outside and crashed to the ground. Immediately afterwards, a tall and resolute man climbed in through the window, carrying Adam Hammer's mangled body.

“You bastard!” David rolled over and was about to retaliate against the man, but V stopped him.

"V Deputy Minister?"

"You can't beat him."

The man was wearing sunglasses. He glanced at V, then turned his head away dismissively.

He tossed the heavy hammer in his hand to the ground like trash, and said contemptuously, "Trash is trash no matter what. To be defeated by a mere brat, Adam Hammer, you're getting worse as you get older. Miss Michiko asked me to save your life out of consideration for our past relationship, but remember, there won't be a next time."

Adam Hammer's electronic eyes looked at Michiko, but Michiko didn't even glance at him.

The red prosthetic eye flickered a few times; no one knew what Adam Hammer was feeling at that moment.

“V.” Michiko spoke again: “Release Abernathy.”

"No!" Before V could speak, David roared, "Abernathy has done so many bad things, causing so much harm to Mann and the others, how can we let her go!"

The man in sunglasses looked at David: "Kid, want me to beat you up again?"

David felt a sudden jolt, and even his breath became viscous, like a frog being stalked by a venomous snake.

V stepped forward, conveniently blocking the sunglasses-wearing man's view, which made David feel much better.

“Alright, since it’s Ms. Michiko’s request, I will comply. From now on, my grudges with Abernathy are wiped clean. Director Abernathy, should I call the trauma team for you?”

V extended his hand in a friendly manner, but Abernathy slapped it away.

“Fuck you!” Abernathy yelled.

David panicked. Even as a student, he understood the principle of letting a tiger return to the mountain.

"Vice Minister, we can't let her go! We've gathered so many people's strength and endured so much hardship to get here. If we let Abernathy go now, all our efforts will be in vain!"

V glanced at David: "Shut up."

David looked aggrieved.

“Very good, V, I appreciate you. From today onwards, you will report directly to me.”

V bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance."

"Kenichi, see you off."

The sunglasses-wearing man, known as Kenichi, extended his arm: "Please."

V turned and left without hesitation, and David, though unwilling, had no choice but to follow.

Abernathy caught up, appearing harmless on the surface, but whispering in a venomous voice, "Don't think this is over, V. I will definitely kill you, I definitely will!"

David glared at her, but V smiled strangely.

Abernathy was taken aback: "What are you laughing at?"

V did not answer, because the dead need no answers.

A dagger, like a venomous snake, plunged into Abernathy's neck, causing blood to gush out like a fountain.

"Hah...hah..." Abernathy gasped for breath, staring in terror at the man behind her: "Why...why...?"

Kenichi remained silent, not because he was malicious and didn't want Abernathy to die knowing the truth, but because he simply had no reason to.

Michiko Arasaka could make V give up his hatred without any reason, so she could also kill Abernathy without any reason.

In 2076, human life will be the cheapest thing.

To Arasaka, his own executives were no different from beggars on the street; he could kill them whenever he wanted, without needing any reason.

Kenichi swung the dagger and severed Abernathy's head.

"Congratulations on your promotion, this is a gift."

Looking at the heads, David couldn't help but shudder.

V calmly accepted it: "Thank you."

"No need, just fix this thing for me." Ken tossed Adam Hammer into the elevator.

As the elevator doors closed, the cabin fell silent.

David couldn't help but ask, "Who exactly is that person?"

Adam Hammer answered: "His name is Kenichi Saburo, Michiko Arasaka's personal bodyguard. Before I completely abandoned my physical body, I had feelings for Michiko Arasaka. He came and threatened me to leave Michiko Arasaka, or he would turn me into a pile of scrap metal and minced meat."

David was taken aback: "You agreed?"

"Not only did I agree, but I was so scared that I fled Night City overnight." Adam Hammer calmly recounted his dark history, probably abandoning not only his physical body but also his sense of human shame.

“Kenichi Saburo is the only person who can fight Morgan Blackhand head-on without being at a disadvantage. And with Morgan Blackhand's whereabouts unknown, it’s no exaggeration to say that Kenichi Saburo is the world’s undisputed strongest lone wolf.” Adam Hammer looked at V: “Do you have a chance?”

V crossed his arms and said, "Taking off his sunglasses shouldn't be a problem."

100 floors.

Michiko Arasaka nestled in a sofa shaped like a cat's paw, holding an antique controller, playing antique games on an antique TV and an antique game console.

After all, she's an old-fashioned person.

Kenichi Saburo returned: "They're gone."

"Ah."

"Ms. Michiko, I don't understand. Arasaka has suffered such a huge loss, and other companies might take advantage of his misfortune. Aren't you worried at all?"

"They don't dare."

"why?"

"Because Arasaka has V. If she can reach the Arasaka Tower, then she can reach the Military Science Tower, the Biological Science Tower, and the Comtau Tower."

Will she obey orders?

“V is an employee of Arasaka. She didn’t refuse when I asked her to let Abernathy go, which means that Arasaka is still useful to her.”

"You mean she's pretending to obey in order to take advantage of Arasaka?"

"Otherwise, she could have killed Abernathy in one blow, but she insisted on chasing him all the way from the 66th floor to the 100th floor. Someone who can single-handedly turn Night City upside down wouldn't act so emotionally. Her goal from the beginning was to force me to show myself."

Kenichi Saburo's face darkened: "She wants to kill you?"

"It's not that exaggerated, because if she killed me, she wouldn't be able to control Arasaka. She probably planned to put me under house arrest and then issue orders in my name. It was probably because she saw your presence that she changed her plans at the last minute."

"I'm going to kill her right now."

"Need not."

"why?"

"Because she needs Arakawa, and Arakawa needs her too."

"Can……"

"Kenichi, you're the strongest lone wolf, but can you manage a company?"

"I……"

"You can't, and neither can I."

"Ms. Michiko, you don't need to belittle yourself."

“I’m telling the truth,” Michiko said honestly. “Back then, my father, Arasaka Kei, committed seppuku. To protect myself, I established the ‘Dangerous Girl Detective Agency,’ which seemed to be thriving, but that was my limit. Later, I returned to the Arasaka Company in Night City, but I didn’t achieve anything there, which led to the rise of Conto. And now, Arasaka is even struggling to keep up with military technology. Anyone with eyes can see that Arasaka is declining, and all of this is because of my incompetence. Now that I have a talent like V, of course I have to hold on to him tightly.”

Kenichi Saburo quickly bowed and said, "Ms. Michiko, you flatter me. It is precisely because of your presence that Arasaka Corporation has been able to regain its footing in North America."

“I will not ignore my efforts, but I will not ignore my shortcomings either. Kenichi, humans are social animals, and no one is perfect. Even my grandfather was just an ordinary air force pilot. In terms of intelligence, he was not as good as Arasaka's researcher, and in terms of strength, he was not as good as Arasaka's high-ranking samurai. The reason he was able to succeed was simply because he knew how to use people well.”

"We are high above, but we know that this high position does not stem from our own abilities, but from the countless talented people who have lifted us up. Now is an era where human life is cheap, and many things have changed, but the only thing that hasn't changed is that talent is the foundation of everything. Many people have forgotten this truth, but I still remember it. What humanity needs is unity, not infighting, because only a peaceful environment can cultivate more talent. Only by discovering talent, seizing talent, and using talent for our own purposes can the Arasaka family endure."

Setting down the controller, Michiko looked at the bright moon in the night sky and said, "People say we are gods, but even gods know they are still mortals. The moon is Earth's moon, and Earth is also the moon's moon. Humanity has come from barbarism to where it is today through cooperation, so we should move towards the future through cooperation."

Michiko Arasaka's philosophy is just like this, which is why she became a dove.

Kenichi Saburo bowed deeply: "I will remember your words. If V ever harbors any disloyal intentions in the future..."