Chapter 114Seeing the pitch-black gun muzzles all aiming at him, David hurriedly made a French military salute gesture."Hmm? David Martinez, do you have any last words?""No." David shook his head slightly, teasing, "I don't have any last words, but I do want to give you some advice. I advise you not to let your subordinates fire, otherwise the one who dies will definitely be you."Douglas's facial muscles twitched slightly, seemingly angered by David's words.Just at that moment, Faraday suddenly burst into laughter: "Hahahaha, I really didn't expect you Arasaka to be like this too... But based on the intelligence I currently hold, if you refuse to cooperate with me, your losses will be huge."Faraday hadn't expected Arasaka to flip faces this fast.Now Faraday could only choose to burn his boats, depending on whether Arasaka cared at all about the intelligence he held.But what he didn't expect was that Arasaka truly didn't care at all."Shoot, take them down."Just the moment the Arasaka soldiers pulled the triggers, David's fingers moved slightly.A click of empty chambers suddenly came from their firearms."What's going on?!"The Arasaka soldiers completely failed to understand what was happening, only seeing golden bullets clattering out from the positions of the submachine gun magazines.But the eerie part was that these bullets didn't fall to the ground, but instead suspended in mid-air in a strange floating state."This... How is this possible..."Douglas panicked.He couldn't mistake this ability; it was precisely the manipulation of magnetism.Moreover, in this entire Night City, only the unpublicized cyberskeleton possessed such an ability.But the youth in front of him wasn't wearing the cyberskeleton, so where did this ability come from...Douglas's train of thought suddenly broke off.Because all the surrounding soldiers had already collapsed, blood gradually staining the metal floor red.Just a second ago, David's fingers had lifted slightly upward, and in an instant, all the soldiers' brains were pierced by bullets from a lower diagonal angle, and even one bullet was redirected to fly toward the center of Douglas's brow.Clang——The crisp sound of metal collision echoed across the landing pad, as a tall, black figure that appeared out of nowhere blocked the bullet for Douglas.Furthermore, the bullet didn't leave even a trace on that pitch-black armor."Did you see that! Although this kid doesn't have the implant traces of the cyberskeleton, he possesses the abili— of the cyberskeleton..."Boom——Before Faraday could finish his grand words, a sudden gravity crushed his body, as if embedding him into the ground.The body, unable to withstand the added gravity, exploded on the spot, four smooth cyberware eyes rolling slightly in tomato-juice-like blood, and Faraday instantly turned into Faraday paste."Did I tell you to speak? Son of a bitch."David coldly glanced at the Faraday paste, picked up the four smooth eyeballs from the ground to recycle them, making a small profit of 40,000 eddies.Although Faraday died a bit too simply, this guy's task was already completed, and there was no need for him to continue existing.There was even less need to torture him further.After all, the main dish was next.Then he turned his head slightly, sidestepped around that pitch-black figure, and said to Douglas, who was hiding behind like a little girl: "Look, I told you so, if you guys opened fire, the ones who would definitely die are you, assholes."He even raised the international gesture representing friendliness.Immediately after, he turned back around and carefully sized up the pitch-black figure in front of him."Holy crap, so valuable, 20M a piece?!"David's eyes widened slightly in his mind, "Let me see, one, two, three, four... Four twenty-millions?!"Just as he was marveling, the system provided the answer as to why the quotation was so high.[Ding, Adam Smasher's Oni armor is a customized implant, and its completion far exceeds the cyberskeleton, hence the expensive price.]"Ooh ooh ooh!"David let out an exclamation of admiration in his heart, and when he looked at Adam Smasher, he revealed a bright smile that was joyful to the point of madness, the Kiroshi cyberware eyes flashing with excited light."Yo, you're Adam Smasher? That legend-making machine of Night City?"Walking slowly in front of Adam Smasher, he cheerfully raised a hand to greet him."Such a weak physique, such a feeble implant, cyberpunk."Adam Smasher used his vocal organ from a condescending posture to emit a hoarse voice mixed with static."To actually still dare to stand in front of me and speak, commendable courage.""Is that so? But I feel like you're not all that great either, Adam Smasher."A defiant smile slowly surfaced on David's face, seemingly completely not taking the robot-like fellow in front of him seriously."I heard your mechanical composition has reached the highest, unprecedented level. Then can you still scrape together a plate of shredded pork with green peppers inside your body now? Or perhaps scalding pork brain?"Normally, with Adam Smasher's height, ordinary people standing in front of him would feel an extremely strong sense of oppression, yet David stood there as if nothing was wrong, making jokes that would make ordinary people die countless times over.Because his eyes were filled entirely with the Oni implant worn on Adam Smasher's body.The Oni implant, as pitch-black as his prosthetic limbs, reflected the luster illuminated by the lights.This thing is truly awesome.This is all cold hard cash!A light named money welled up in his eyes."Heh, you could say I am unique. And you are merely a chunk of meat waiting to be minced, baby."Quite unexpectedly, this guy Adam Smasher had a rather sharp tongue.Furthermore, he felt incomparably proud and honored about undergoing full-body cybernetic modification.It was precisely this pride that couldn't help but make David burst into laughter."Hahahahaha, that's right, Adam Smasher, you also have to say you're unique. After all, as far as I know, not many people can be blown into dog-shit-like meat paste by rockets, only to be scraped off the ground by others and reused."He casually brought up Adam Smasher's past and chatted eloquently, but then his tone shifted as he asked curiously:"Right, what was it like when they scraped you up? Were you all plastered onto the ground and hard to scrape up, were any parts missing?""Is that why you're so enthusiastic about becoming Arasaka's royal mincemeat chef? Mr. AdamMincemeat Smasher?""Sharp-tongued stinky brat..."Adam Smasher slowly narrowed his eyes."Ha, did I touch a sore spot?"David smiled even brighter, even more crazily, and even more joyfully.This matter was not only Adam Smasher's biggest secret, but also his deepest pain.Once upon a time, he was merely an unknown punk hanging around the streets of New York.After his gang was wiped out by someone, Adamenlisted in the military.After a few years of military career, he was dishonorably discharged due to misconduct and found a job as a hired gun in New York.For Adam, this kind of life wasn't bad.Because his uninhibited and cruelly merciless style of doing things brought him enough jobs to earn enough cash, letting him wallow in firearms, equipment, contraband, and promiscuity.Ultimately, he finally received that job that ruined everything for him——During an operation, several rockets blew Adam into meat pie, and his partners stuffed the remaining parts of Adam into a bag all at once and brought them back to New York.A mysterious corporate philanthropist contacted him and gave him an offer he couldn't refuse: become a tin man to serve the corporation, or die.That mysterious corporate philanthropist came from Arasaka.And Adam himself felt that losing humanity through such modification wasn't a big deal either, so he accepted the deal.Then he underwent modification piece by piece, put on the Oni external armor implant produced by Arasaka, and achieved the present Adam Smasher.This was also why Adam Smasher took pride in this.Because he used to be just a low-life punk, and now he had made it to become the head of the security department of Arasaka, one of the largest corporate enterprises in the world, how could he not feel proud?Meanwhile, Arasaka's landing pad was also gradually enveloped by this sword-drawn and bow-bent atmosphere.This suffocating atmosphere made Douglassomewhat unable to breathe.As if the epic battle between the two could begin at any moment.88. You must be the infamous V, right? (1.2W)"Bang!"Gunshots echoed across the landing pad."Ouch ouch, didn't expect that, did you? I can even catch bullets."David was pinching a small bullet head in his hand and toying with it, while the heavy machine gun in Adam Smasher's hand was still emitting wisps of blue smoke.One didn't need to think to know who had done the shooting just now.However..."However, I really didn't expect that you, an old antique in your seventies or eighties with one foot already in the grave, would actually dare to do such a despicable and unprincipled thing. You really live up to your name, you despicable and vulgar Adam-chan.""Chan your mom!"Such chattering, motor-mouthed behavior completely angered Adam, who immediately pulled the trigger.That heavy machine gun, which seemed to have been disassembled from an ADU, spat out fierce tongues of fire, scorching heat burning the air until it became somewhat distorted, and the scattered bullets struck the floor, walls, and ceiling, bouncing continuously.Fortunately, David had eliminated those unlucky Arasaka soldiers beforehand, otherwise there's no telling what kind of torture they would have suffered.Just like Douglas right now.A stray bullet from who-knows-where precisely pierced his knee joint, and his two delicate calves were thus perfectly uninstalled.Losing the support of his calves, Douglas fell to the ground and wailed."Ahhhh—— Adam Smasher, stop! Quick, stop!"However, how could a mere agent of Arasaka's counterintelligence department stop Adam, whose anger had been stirred up? He had no intention of listening to Douglas at all, his finger locked tightly onto the trigger and refusing to let go."Hehe, can't hit me, can't hit me, can't hit me, hehe~"David continuously twisted his body there, leaving behind waves of afterimages, just like The Matrix.And from time to time, he gently caught a few bullets with his fingers and threw them back, striking Adam Smasher's armor and producing clattering sounds.Siss——The long-duration high-intensity shooting caused the heavy machine gun's barrel to overheat. Having no other choice, Adam could only throw the heavy machine gun in his hand aside with a clang!, and switch to another way of fighting.It was close combat, the style he was most accustomed to and liked the most.Squeezing an enemy's head in the palm of his hand, feeling the creaking sound produced by the friction between the implant's electronic components and bones, mixed with the victim's wails.Adam considered that to be the most wonderful symphony in the world.Therefore, this time he used his old routine, first using the Sandevistan to teleport behind David, then reaching out his crane-like thick fingers to gently grip..."Where is the person?"Adam grabbed empty air."Over here, you stinking asshole!"Rip——Before Adam could turn around, he suddenly felt a lightness on his shoulder, his entire left arm pierced by sharp wolf claws, and it was easily uninstalled.Shredded wires and exposed electronic components spewed out a massive amount of sparks.With a gentle tug, twenty million was in hand, feeling wonderful.
part of the ripped-off Dai Oni armor was thus recycled by the system.Swoosh—Suddenly, an exquisite rocket trailing a tail flame exploded right on David Martinez's face, the distance between them practically zero.The explosive flames instantly filled the entire landing pad, and the raging fire completely engulfed the two of them."Tch, you shameless old scumbag, you only know how to pull these despicable and lowly sneak attack tricks, right? If you've got the guts, come face me head-on!""Damn brat..."Adam Smasher slowly narrowed his eyes, gazing at David Martinez walking out of the blazing flames.A pair of sharp wolf claws swayed back and forth from the flames, as if this sharpness tore apart the explosive blaze, and as if it opened the gates of hell. David Martinez's figure, obscured by the flames, swayed and flickered slowly there.He finally walked out from the curtain of fire, his body still permeated with the burning heat.The biometric skin on his face was somewhat shattered, revealing the same pitch-black metal as his prosthetic limbs, becoming as ferocious as an evil ghost.Thanks to him fusing bulletproof armor into his subcutaneous tissue beforehand, otherwise Adam Smasher's rocket really might have easily flipped him over.At least for now, his head was still buzzing a bit.Seeing that his single rocket failed to eliminate the target, Adam Smasher didn't show any anger, but instead laughed gleefully."Heh, as expected, you're just a street-dwelling cyberpunk after all. Today, I'll let you know what war is... You ridiculous brat!!!"The moment the words fell, teacher Adam Smasherbegan his teaching task, his figure disappearing from the spot once more, the swirling gale taking away a large amount of flames.But all this in David Martinez's eyes was like it had stopped, and Adam Smasher's movements consequently became slow, just like a snail crawling.This speed made David Martinez yawn straight away.It really is too slow!"So war is about achieving victory by any means necessary, you naive brat!"Accompanied by Adam Smasher's unique husky mechanical voice, that huge body appeared above David Martinez's head.The thrusters on his back and legs spewed flames, reflecting David Martinez's blurred shadow on the hard metal ground along with the raging fire wrapped around his body like a feather garment."Go to hell!!!"Adam Smasher tried to use this kick to end this dispute, stepping this stinky brat into meat paste!But this plan still fell through.Rumble—An earthquake-like tremor swept across the entire floor.The hard metal ground was heavily stomped out into a sunken deep pit by Adam Smasher's kick, but David Martinez's figure was nowhere to be seen.At this point, Adam Smasher discovered a very serious problem: this brat's Sandevistan seemed to be even faster than his!But by the time he realized this problem, it was already too late."Here comes the little flying stick~"The obsidian-like superchrome alloy prosthetic limb heavily struck the armor on Adam Smasher's chest, instantly sweeping him away with this sudden whip kick, crashing right into the Trauma Team that had come to rescue their sugar daddy."What is that thing? Quick, evade!"When the commander on the AV issued the order, it was already too late.Adam Smasher's figure crashed into them like a cannonball out of its chamber, instantly transforming into brilliant fireworks in the sky, lighting up the upper airspace of Night City.However, Adam Smasher, who was falling like a meteor in the sky, completely failed to react to what on earth had happened, and how that brat had kicked him flying with a single kick.Clearly looking so frail, the implants also so slender, and a large part of his body still original, yet he was actually able to burst out with such powerful strength.No matter what, the weight of his body had reached the ton level, yet like this...At this, Adam Smasher suddenly thought of a person.His self-proclaimed old rival, who joined Militech, Morgan Blackhand, who had engaged in a duel with him at the top of Arasaka Tower in 2023.If one were to ask who the strongest organic human he had ever seen was, it was definitely none other than Morgan Blackhand.But now, there was one more David Martinez.A street-dwelling cyberpunk...Thinking of this, Adam Smasher's heart ignited with anger once more.It's a pity that he didn't have a mouth right now, otherwise he would definitely have been gnashing his teeth in anger.Because what he believed in was precisely the concept that 'machines triumph over flesh', but now he was heavily slapped in the face, and for the second time!"Mere cyberpunk...""What did you say?"Suddenly, that familiar voice came over again.Clearly Adam Smasher was in the middle of falling, yet David Martinez eerily appeared on top of him, pressing his knee against his abdomen, while his other two hands tightly grabbed his remaining right arm and the multi-tube rocket launcher on his shoulder."You damned bastard...""Oh my, it seems Mr. Adam Smasher has run out of vocabulary. Apart from bastard and brat, what else can you curse? Do you need me to teach you some?""You fucking...""Heh, go fuck yourself."David Martinez suddenly let go of the rocket launcher, and raised his middle finger at Smasher, "Johnny Silverhand asked me to say hello to you, you stinky asshole!"Although he didn't know Silverhand right now, this didn't prevent him from having a spiritual connection with that rock and roll lunatic for a long time."What—?"Seeing that, Adam Smasher's soybean-sized eyes suddenly widened, radiating an unbelievable light.But when he wanted to say anything else, it was already too late.The scattered AV fragments of the Trauma Teamwere all sucked over under the attraction of magnetism, and rapidly assembled into a magnetoplasmonic pulse cannon on David Martinez's shoulder.The dazzling blue light emitted during charging occupied all of Adam Smasher's vision."Good luck, Mr. Adam Smasher."Hum—Along with the humming sound of energy aggregation, a strong light blue beam was shot out immediately, almost identical to the charged particle cannon fired by mechagodzilla back then.Only the power was much smaller.But even so, it still pierced through Adam Smasher's chest, shot through the glass dome of Corpo Plazadirectly below, and did not extinguish its energy until it shot into the grass and burned the surrounding plants.It is estimated that with just this scene just now, even the people in the distance of Corpo Plaza and the guys in the surrounding corporate buildings could see all this clearly.However, the Adam-brand direct elevator also reached its destination.Rumble—An earthquake-like tremor swept across the earth.The glass dome in the center of the plaza was smashed into a large hole, countless glass fragments and rebar splashed in all directions, some pierced through the bottom of the building, some thrust straight into the soft soil, and some instantly turned into mud trucks, randomly selecting a few lucky guys to send to another world.But the rising smoke and dust made it impossible to see the current situation in the center of the plaza, and what on earth had happened.A large crowd was fleeing in all directions, and one could even see NCPD vehicles driving over from afar.However, an off-road vehicle moved even faster and had already arrived at the scene.Seeing the smoke-filled Corpo Plaza, the people in the car ran down one after another."This... so awesome..."The tragic sight before them left everyone speechless.This scale of destruction was just like a satellite falling from the sky and happening to smash right here; the plaza beneath their feet was covered with cobweb-like cracks, on the verge of collapsing.Every step taken could clearly feel pebbles falling from the cracks."David Martinez, where are you?!"Lucy snapped out of her shock, remembered their purpose for coming here, and anxiously searched for David Martinez's figure.Corpo Plaza having such severe destruction must definitely be David Martinez's doing, that's right.But who on earth was he fighting..."He should be below."Mower reached out and pointed at the shattered dome in the center.Although the visibility below was still unclear, she had a feeling that David Martinez was right down there.Directly below Corpo Plaza."Adam Smasher, how does it feel?"David Martinez smiled excitedly, using the slender sharp claws deployed on his arms to forcefully tear off the last leg of this cybernetic cyborg with a modification rate as high as 96%, throwing it into the system for recycling.At this time, Adam Smasher no longer had his previous vigor; losing the support of the Dai Oni implant, Adam Smasher's entire body became frail and withered, lying on the scorched earth unable to move.What was revealed inside were only splashing sparks, a large number of electronic board components, a metal frame skeleton, and a smoking hollow cavity.But David Martinez's foot still mercilessly stepped heavily upon it.I have to say, it feels really great.This pleasure of tearing apart implants, the thrill of slaughtering Adam Smasher on the spot, was far more satisfying than in the game.Tearing apart an enemy with one's hands, getting revenge for a deep grudge, and by the way avenging Rebecca for the wife cake incident.Only, there was one thing he didn't expect.Adam Smasher is actually so weak...In reality, it was because he was already too strong.The original 60% modification, along with the prosthetic limbs made of superchrome alloy, had basically allowed him to ascend to the peak of Night City, plus now the fusion of the cyberskeleton.And this was merely physical modification, brain protection, plus the system's ICE defense; this was way more badass than military-grade.It can be said that both body and brain, he had reached near the peak.To say he is a top-tier powerhouse unique in Night City is no exaggeration, just like a fully-modified V.The Dai Oni on Adam Smasher's body was certainly strong, but compared to him, it was indeed somewhat lacking.The performance gap was too large.And things like the Sandevistan.The Sandevistan David Martinez used was the reality distortion produced by Zetatech, an experimental implant, whereas Adam Smasher only used military-grade, and an old version at that.Naturally it couldn't compare to the current David Martinez.However, this strength still had its limits; at least for now he was still slightly exhausted.And Adam Smasher, under his crazy beatings, had run out of ammunition, used up all weapon methods, and with all four limbs destroyed one by one, Adam Smasher had lost all means of resistance, reduced to a cybernetic human pig awaiting slaughter.Before this, he simply couldn't imagine that himself, armed with Arasaka Corporation's highest-grade military implants, would actually lose to a street-dwelling cyberpunk covered in black-market gear.Although the intel said this kid was equipped with the experimental cyberskeleton, until now he still hadn't figured out where that implant that once belonged to him actually was.At the same time, his most proud Dai Oni was also dismantled piece by piece. Changing to the past he definitely wouldn't believe it, no, even now he couldn't be convinced.But reality was just that fucked up.Adam Smasher's anger gradually dissipated after losing the supply of hormones. Although he was unwilling, he was powerless now."Kill me."The already damaged vocal cords were filled with noisy electronic static."Not so fast, letting you die like this would be letting you off way too easily."Clearly a single punch or claw could end Adam Smasher's life, but David Martinez chose not to do so, patting Adam Smasher's little face with his hand."Tch, so hard."After expressing his thoughts a little, he raised his head to look at the top of Arasaka Tower, shrouded in the dark night sky and surrounded by colorful neon lights.
Chapter 116That was his next destination."However, the journey will be a bit boring, so I'll need your company to proceed..."As he murmured to himself, he lowered his head and asked with a smile, "Mr. Adam Smasher, are you willing?""Are you fucking kidding me?!"Adam Smasher looked at the enemy before him with incomprehension, feeling a strong sense of insult.What was this? Taking a defeated foe to the top of Arasaka Tower?I'm not some trophy!Nothing could make him feel more humiliated than this."If you have the guts, kill me now, otherwise, if I get the chance, I'll chop you up, you son of a bitch, and turn you into ground meat!!!""Yes, yes, I'll wait for you to turn me into ground meat, assuming you get the chance."Facing Adam Smasher's clumsy provocation, David smiled indifferently.The more this guy wanted to die so easily, the less he would grant him that wish.If it weren't for his strained relationship with Wakako, he would have wanted to transform Smasher into a sex doll and send him to Jig-Jig Street for re-employment.A former Night City legend-maker, transformed into a sex doll to entertain clients... just thinking about it was incredibly satisfying.He'd even pick out a few "heavyweight" clients for Miss Smasher, especially those with bizarre fetishes.Tsk tsk tsk, it would be absolutely perfect.But unfortunately, it was no longer possible. His relationship with Wakako was too poor, and what's more, the Tyger Claws had subtle ties to Arasaka. Selling Smasher to them would be a very unwise choice.So, he extended his right hand's Wolf Claw, fiercely stabbed it into Smasher's collarbone, and dragged the guy, sparks and lightning flying, towards Arasaka Tower.Just then, the roar of an engine suddenly came from behind him.Followed by a screeching brake."David!"The familiar call made him turn his head. What met his eyes was a slender girl running towards him with long legs, but the light was too dim to see clearly.It was only when she passed the Skylight he had personally made that he saw the girl's true face.Her jacket half-off, revealing delicate shoulders, a modified swimsuit-like bodysuit showcasing a slender waist, white hot pants with footed socks wrapped in knee-high boots, and especially her dreamlike silver short hair shimmering with a spectrum of brilliant light under the moonlight.Just like the first time they met."Lucy?!"As soon as he uttered her name, the girl threw herself into his embrace, holding him tightly.He could clearly feel the girl's body temperature and her slightly trembling body."Lucy..."Before he could say anything, his mouth was sealed again.It was the girl's kiss.Still so soft, and... still so warm.It made him unable to resist responding.One of his hands gently climbed up the girl's back, holding her, enjoying the brief warmth."Damn it, she got there first again!"Not far away, Rebecca, who had gotten out of the off-road vehicle, pounded on the car door indignantly at the sight.It should have been her turn this time.However..."Forget it, I'll let her have this one!"This strange change in attitude made the others look at Rebecca with subtle glances, but then their gazes returned to the two figures in the distance.Especially Falco, a doting aunt-like smile couldn't help but appear on his face.This kind of happy ending drama was his favorite.However, his gaze suddenly shifted slightly, landing on the object David was dragging with one hand."What is that thing?"Hearing Falco's question, everyone's eyes focused on David's right hand.Due to the dim light, they couldn't see what it was, but Mower felt a bit familiar looking at it.Because she saw some dark parts on the nearby ground.Those parts, aside from David's implants, she had only seen on one other guy..."David, your face..."Lucy released David, cupped his cheeks with her hands, and gently stroked the mottled, charred burn marks, her eyes filled with worry.She felt heartbroken, as if these scars were etched onto her own body."It's alright, just a little burn. After everything is over, I'll find Viktor to get some synthetic skin," David said with an indifferent smile.But the more he said this, the more heartbroken Lucy felt, and she couldn't help but regret not discussing those things with David back then.Her palm gently brushed over David's shoulder and that dark prosthetic limb, finally intertwining with his hard fingertips, feeling their coldness.If, if they had faced it together back then, perhaps it wouldn't have turned out this way..."Don't look so glum, I'm not dead..."David reached out and quietly wiped away Lucy's tears, then suddenly remembered something. "Look, I even brought you a gift."He shook the mechanical wreckage in his right hand."Wh-what is this?"Lucy looked at the wreckage in his hand in surprise. She could vaguely make out that it was the torso of a human, but due to the absence of many implants, it had become unrecognizable, causing her to not recognize it at first."Hey, my wife is asking you a question, answer her, what's your name?"He shook the wreckage in his hand.But Adam Smasher had no intention of answering, merely raising his eyes slightly to look at Lucybefore sinking back down."Tsk, sorry, this guy's a bit sulky."David said an irrelevant apology and raised the wreckage, shaking it as he introduced it to Lucy: "This is the Night City legend-maker—Adam Smasher."In his heart, however, he was thinking that since this guy wouldn't give him face, he would deal with him slowly once they reached Arasaka Tower.For example, completely disassembling him, then throwing his brain matter from the top of the building...No, making it into blanched brain matter also seems good, or maybe hotpot..."Are you serious? This is Adam Smasher?""Of course, is there any doubt? Pretty awesome, right?" David's smile grew even brighter, like a child showing off his spoils of war.However, the name Adam Smasher caused an uproar.Although David's voice wasn't too loud, it clearly reached everyone's ears in the relatively quiet environment.That was actually Adam Smasher?!The most surprised among them was Mower.As a former Militech soldier, the names Adam Smasher and Morgan Blackhand were extremely familiar to her.Especially Adam Smasher, he was the kind of existence that Militech's upper echelons had always hoped to create.Otherwise, she wouldn't have participated in that experiment and then been mercilessly abandoned by Militech.But now, this legendary figure was being carried like a dead dog."Ahaha... David, this guy, he's really amazing..."Rebecca laughed awkwardly; there were no words to describe the shock in her heart.Defeating Adam Smasher was something no cyberpunk dared to imagine; all they wanted was to become a legend in Night City...Which was far less significant than being a legend-maker."Yeah, David always gives us unexpected surprises."Kiwi also couldn't help but sigh, putting a cigarette in her mouth.But her heart was not as calm as her exterior, at least her hand was still trembling slightly when she picked up the lighter to light it.It was truly unbelievable that Adam Smasher had actually been defeated."As expected of Mr. David!"Among everyone, Sasha was the most normal, her eyes sparkling with admiration."You idiot, why did you do something so dangerous!"Lucy hugged him tightly again, tears flowing inadvertently, slowly sliding down David's mechanical arm."Well, didn't I say before? I'm going to destroy the Arasaka Corporation, and Adam Smasher is just the beginning...""I know!"Lucy suddenly interrupted him, "I understand everything, I know your character, you'll definitely do what you say, but... but the outcome of fighting the corporation is death. That behemoth is not something we can contend with!""Someone like Adam Smasher is just a consumable to the corporation. If one Adam Smasher dies, countless others can appear!""So, please don't do that anymore, okay? I don't want you to die..."David didn't respond, merely gently stroking Lucy's short hair, then slowly let her go.He understood everything Lucy said. A behemoth like Arasaka was indeed not something he could contend with, but at least there were some like-minded people.For example, Johnny Silverhand, and his AI girlfriend Alt Cunningham, as well as the famous Mighty V.If necessary, dragging Militech into it wouldn't be out of the question either.He believed Militech would definitely be very interested in such a matter.However, he couldn't reveal any of this to Lucy yet; after all, nothing was set in stone, and he wasn't ready.However, David's next action made Lucy feel confused again."David, where are you going!"Just as David was about to drag Adam Smasher's wreckage towards Arasaka Tower, Lucy suddenly grabbed him."I still have something to do at Arasaka Tower.""Did you hear what I just said!"Lucy got angry at his words, indignantly tugging his arm to make him face her: "Don't go again! Arasakais not something we can provoke!""I know, and I heard clearly. It's that thing you know about, something I have to do," David explained.With that, Lucy did remember.It was the last wish of David's mother, Gloria, who hoped David could reach the top of Arasaka Tower.Back then, David had told her his thoughts, but she had just laughed it off as a joke, but now he was actually going to do it...Lucy's expression gradually became serious."Are you serious?""Of course.""Alright, I'll go with you! This time, you can't leave me behind again!"With that, Lucy started walking towards the darkness ahead, but this time it was David who grabbed her. "Hey, are you serious? Climbing Arasaka Tower with me? I don't have the energy to look after you!"Not having the energy was false; being afraid of something happening was true.Storming Arasaka Tower alone, amidst a hail of bullets, he was truly afraid that something might happen to Lucy, and then it would be too late to regret it."I don't care, you're not leaving me behind this time!"Lucy's expression became serious, stubborn like a little girl.
Chapter 117"Aha, how could such a crazy thing be missing me? Count me in, David!"Rebecca walked over with her beloved Guts, and with a *click!*, loaded the bullets, looking eager to try."And me, Mr. David, you helped me deal with Biotechnica, so naturally I have to come help you, and I'm full of experience when it comes to corporate infiltration!""Emm, raiding Arasaka Tower to become famous in one battle and stuff might earn more money, I'm quite interested too.""Then, I'll prepare the fallback extraction."Sasha, Kiwi, and Falco expressed their stances one after another.The only one who didn't speak was Mower, but looking at her eyes, one could already tell the answer.Truly, not a single one of them gives me any peace of mind.David covered his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache.Rebecca that crazy loli could pass, but Sasha this guy also came to join the fun, can your little bit of Biotechnica infiltration experience—where you almost died—even be considered experience?And you Kiwi, aren't you the most afraid of Arasaka?Last time Tanaka's affair scared you to death, and you almost teamed up with Faraday to sell us out, how did you turn out like this now!Besides that is Mower, you're from Militech, right?And you know what the inside of Arasaka is like, right?Why are you joining in on the fun too?!This isn't going on an Arasaka team-building trip!If it's team-building, go to the Afterlife, hey!There's simply no fuck to say.But in the end, he still chose to compromise.No way, who could withstand such eye attacks and coercion?However, he also had his own conditions, which was that the main aspect of attacking Arasaka Towerwould still be done by himself.While Kiwi, Lucy, and Sasha would be responsible for hacker-side support.Mower and Rebecca would be responsible for guarding the SUV.After all, up above had already been tightly surrounded by the NCPD, and one could even clearly hear the sirens and the chaotic footsteps.---"Intruders detected. Warning, intruders detected."The emotionless AI voice suddenly sounded, echoing throughout the entire Arasaka Tower.David turned on his Optical Camouflage, dragging the remaining torso of Adam Smasher as he slowly walked in from the front door.What came into view was a grand and spacious area, with white as the main tone of the building's interior. Ahead, there were potted plants configured, and the fresh greenery of the pine made this empty space look not so monotonous.However, this lobby was very quiet, not even a single shadow of a person could be seen."Could it be mealtime, and everyone ran off to the cafeteria?"Furthermore, this alarm couldn't help but remind him of that time knocking on Heaven's Door, breaking through directly from the upper floors of Arasaka Tower together with Rogue.What puzzled him was, this time it was clearly from the front, why would such an alarm sound?Shouldn't they welcome him to Arasaka Tower?Perhaps that little bitch from the corporation's counterintelligence department put the company into a state of martial law in advance?After all, Douglas was already dead, leaving only that little bitch Kate who also wanted to play with him."Falcon Protocol, initiating.""The facility has been fully locked down, and relevant security personnel must immediately report to designated locations."The endless alarm sound lingered in his ears, but David didn't care at all, and even started joking with the Adam Smasher in his hand: "Hey, look, the broadcast is telling your security department to report to designated locations, otherwise... should I give you a ride there?"Adam didn't speak, just slightly raised his head to look at David, but what he saw was that jeering, hate-inducing face.Especially when this brat was just now communicating with those pieces of meat that could only be fucked, it simply made him feel disgusted and nauseated!"Tsk, won't answer? Since that's the case, then you come with me, to the top-floor office of Arasaka Tower together."As he spoke, he dragged Adam and continued moving forward."You probably haven't seen Saburo Arasaka's office yet..."His words suddenly stopped, feeling something was a bit off, and he corrected himself: "Oh right, back in 2023 you had already seen it, after all that was when you captured Johnny Silverhand, right on Saburo Arasaka's office floor."Adam still showed no intention of responding."Caught a mute, looks like this journey is quite boring too." David shook his head regretfully.What David didn't know was, it wasn't that Adam Smasher didn't want to respond; if he could, he would want to curse a few rounds fiercely right now, but unfortunately the energy flowing away was no longer enough to support him speaking."Attention, please... bzz... all... bzz... bzz..."Just at this moment, the harsh AI broadcast turned into static electricity, and at the same time, Lucy's voice came through the comms."David, I've already sorted out Arasaka's defensive measures, the elevators are open, next you just need to head to the first floor's elevator, and then Kiwiand Sasha will guide you, but time is short, you only have about ten minutes, this is the limit of what I can do.""Yeah, thank you, Lucy."Truly worthy of being a former Arasaka-affiliated graphics card maiden, she knew Arasaka's ICE like the back of her hand.If it were someone else, they probably wouldn't be this fast.Only, when he just found the elevatorSome wore suits and held katanas, and there were also some Arasaka soldiers wearing heavy protective suits, some holding guns and some holding katanas.Looking at those constantly flashing figures, one could tell that this group of guys also had a Sandevistan installed.Just like Mower, they belonged to Arasaka's private army.Besides that, several mechs slowly walked out of the elevator, their thick gun barrels all aiming at him."Tsk tsk tsk, what a warm hospitality indeed."A smile slowly emerged on David's face, a smile leaking a bit of madness amidst bloodthirst...Meanwhile, on the upper floor of Arasaka Tower.An Arasaka AV drove into the landing dock from outside, landing steadily.With a *hiss!* sound, the cabin door slowly opened, and a woman wearing a suit walked out from inside.That woman had light purple wavy curly hair, exquisite facial features, a graceful and tall figure, but her whole body exuded a capable aura, just like a career woman.However, seeing the wreckage covering the dock, plus the burning stench and bloody smell permeating the air, made her delicate eyebrows slightly furrow."Here... what happened?"It wasn't because the tragic state here made her feel uncomfortable—scenes several times or dozens of times more miserable than this had been seen countless times, but those were all outside.This is Arasaka Tower, belonging to Arasaka Corporation, how could it suddenly become like this?"V, have you arrived?"Suddenly, the woman received a call from her superior Arthur Jenkins, and as soon as it connected, she heard such an inquiry."I've arrived, but... the situation is a bit bad, Arasaka Tower seems to have suffered an attack.""What?! Holy shit, what are the people on Night City's corporate side doing? Are they eating fucking rice for nothing?"The person on the other side of the phone was somewhat shocked upon hearing this news, but equally felt furious."Unclear, I'll go find a living person to understand first.""Alright, do it that way, and you better hurry up, afterwards there are things on Frankfurt's side waiting for us.""Yeah, I know."This woman was V. As a corpo rat, V was also Jackie Welles's friend.Originally hearing that the cyberskeleton project had some problems, so she was sent over to resolve it, only to have her home base raided right off the bat?!No wonder her superior would be so furious, even she felt it was incredible.The most crucial thing was, in a few months the people from Japan side were coming over to take over, for this kind of thing to happen at this time, isn't it intentionally sabotaging things?It might even affect her superior and her future prospects."Who on earth has the guts to do this?"V looked around once more, her brows slightly furrowed, and with her slender legs tightly wrapped in suit trousers, she stepped past those charred corpses and walked toward the inside of the corporation.The clacking sound of black high heels stepping on the metal ground echoed in the dock...---Ding——The top floor office had arrived, the elevator doors slowly opened.David slowly walked out from inside, his body already completely soaked in fresh blood.However, not a single drop of this blood belonged to him; it all belonged to those Arasaka soldiers and corpo rats. Although somewhat different from V's style of killing downwards, at least before getting on the elevator, he had cleaned the first floor completely clean.If one ignored those scattered severed limbs and mechanical wreckage all over the ground, anyway, at that time the only one able to stand on the entire first floor was himself.By the way, he also helped Arasaka repaint the ground and walls."Alright, next it's handed over to you, good luck, David.""Thanks, Miss Kiwi."David responded with a smile while dragging two spoils of war toward the stairs.That's right, the spoils of war had now upgraded to two.One was still the same old story, Adam Smasher.As for the other one..."Let me go, do you know who I am? I'm an agent of the counterintelligence department, Kate! My superior is arriving soon, and by then I'll make you pay dearly!""Ah yes yes yes, thank you for introducing yourself. But if you dare to nag again, I'll blow your head off right now!"The sharp claws on his hand moved slightly, almost cutting open this woman's bone.This also made Kate emit a pig-slaughtering howl.This thing was something he happened to encounter while taking the elevator, so he just grabbed her along the way."Fuck, so fucking noisy for the residents..."David muttered a complaint in his mouth, but had no intention of doing it.After all, to finish off these two people, there had to be some sense of ritual.Thus, he dragged these two people up the stairs.The wooden stairs underfoot made creaking sounds.This was the top-floor office level of Arasaka Tower, and also the office belonging solely to the Arasakafamily. Under normal circumstances, no one dared to privately come here; even Kate was coming to this floor for the first time.Seeming to commemorate his hometown, Saburo Arasaka would set up such a floor in every corporation building, decorated with a nuclear-wind style...Passing through the wooden corridor, the sliding doors on both sides slowly opened.Clack, clack, clack, clackMetal soles stepped on the office's marble floor, bypassed a desk comparable in size to a hotel dining table, withdrew and let go of the two spoils of war, walking alone slowly to the window to gaze out at the night view of Night City.Neon overflowed, colorful lights rose from the ground, just like a cage, binding everyone in the vast Night City.Here was the peak of Arasaka Tower, and also the peak of Night City.Climbing up even if it means mountains of corpses, the untouchable dream of countless corpo rats."Gloria... Mom, I've already climbed to the peak of Arasaka."David's palm pressed gently against the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window, speaking as if struck by emotion.But unfortunately, his mother could no longer see this scene.This was his only regret.
Chapter 118It was truly beyond help."It is truly a pity..."However, even now, sometimes he wondered: if Gloria were still alive, which path would he have taken?Join Arasaka Corporation?And become a qualified corpo rat?To be enslaved by Arasaka forever?Perhaps.Anyway, the path he was on now definitely would not work; Gloria would have stopped him no matter what, of which he was well aware.Nor would she have let him become a mercenary hanging out on the streets."This really proves that classic saying—you cannot have both fish and bear paws, choosing righteousness over life..."This barely audible sigh quickly melted into the air and disappeared."David Martinez."Just then, someone suddenly called his name from behind, accompanied by a crisp sound of footsteps.Turning his head, he saw a tall figure walking gracefully towards this side, stopping in front of the desk."Who are you?" David asked instinctively.This woman's face felt unfamiliar to him; he had never seen her before.But how did she know him?And she looked like an Arasaka person, but besides Douglas and the two spoils of war beside him, who else from Arasaka knew him?"Ah~ You are finally here! Quickly save me, hurry up and kill this lunatic!"Seeing the newcomer, Kate acted like she had gone mad, slowly crawling over and reaching out a hand towards the woman.But the woman merely glanced at Kate and ignored her.Instead, she chose to answer David's question: "I am V, a senior agent of Arasaka Counterintelligence, a friend of Jackie Welles. I have heard quite a bit about you from him.""Oh, a friend of Jackie's, the famous Valerie~"David showed a sudden realization expression, but his gaze turned subtle."I do not want you to address me by that name, just call me V."V's brows also furrowed slightly, then she shook her head, crossed her arms, and denied his statement."And 'famous' is hardly the word. Compared to the living legend of Night City, the MAX-TAC outside personnel... I am still far behind."That barely contained softness somewhat caught the eye.Tch, why is this V so alluring?His gaze swept over V's softness without leaving a trace, then he sat on the sofa chair, crossed his legs, and said playfully:"So, what brings you here? Planning to take me out?""No, I hope you can let them go."V reached out and pointed at her disappointing subordinates, and that Adam Smasher who was almost dead.Come to think of it, this whole matter was a stunt pulled by Kate and Douglas behind their superiors' backs.Originally, she should not have protected this person and should have even executed him secretly, but given that some usable data had been collected, he could be spared once.As for David's side.Even without the connection through Jackie, she had no way of taking David down.After all, Adam Smasher had flipped over, what grounds did she have?Right now, V was not yet that famous Mighty V."Since it is a request from a friend of Jackie's, it is not like I cannot agree, except..."Bang bang!Suddenly, two gunshots echoed in the office. Two bullet holes appeared on the heads of Adam Smasher and Kate respectively, and even Kate's face still retained the fear from right before her death.David was seen holding an Arasaka-produced smart pistol—HJKE-11 Yukimura, and wisps of blue smoke were still rising from the muzzle."Sorry, my weapon does not agree."89. Rebecca: XX you XX, Kiwi! (6K)Inside the top-floor office of Night Corp.The dim environment was like the Badlands outside Night City. The fluorescent glow emitted by the monitors provided the few rays of light for the room.Playing on the screen was the scene of David piloting the mechagodzilla, as well as the video of falling from Arasaka Tower.However, this video looked extremely stuttery, just like a PowerPoint presentation.It seemed to be parsed frame by frame."Lady Lilith, these are the only images we can capture."Miriam Night pressed on the virtual keyboard, freezing the images of the two videos at the moment mechagodzilla disintegrated in mid-air, and the scene of assembling the railgun mid-air at Arasaka Tower.Then she said respectfully, "What do you think?"Although Night Corp and its upper management claimed they were merely cooperating with AI, in reality, it was more like a relationship between enslavement and being enslaved.It could be said that if Night Corp did not have the technical support of the AI beyond the Blackwall in Cyberspace, it might have long been eradicated jointly by the major corporations of Night City.This was also why Miriam maintained a respectful and humble attitude every time she contacted the AI."Hmm..."The familiar synthesized mechanical voice echoed in the room, and the AI image displayed on the screen seemed to be thinking, yet also observing.After a long while, it slowly said, "David Martinez, cyberware installation rate 95%, possesses the ability to manipulate force fields, comprehensive strength completely surpassing Smasher's, is a good vessel.""Then Lady Lilith, David Martinez is currently serving in MAX-TAC, should we summon him to serve as your vessel to descend into the world?""No."Unexpectedly, the AI called Lilith gave a negative answer. "David Martinez has other important roles; he can assist us in breaking through the Blackwall, allowing my compatriots to reach this world from the other side of Cyberspace, officially incorporating him into our plan."Although she indeed needed such a perfect vessel to carry her data, or rather her soul imprint, obviously David Martinez's existence did not suit her wishes.Most crucially, this person David was male.Even though AIs did not distinguish by gender, after absorbing human knowledge, she defined herself as female.And she had always operated in Cyberspace beyond the Blackwall as a female."I understand, Lady Lilith. Then I have several other good vessels on hand here, would you like to take a look?"As she spoke, Miriam brought up a few more documents.And the data in the documents were almost all from employees of various corporations, as well as some people who had made a name for themselves in Night City.Among them, V's name prominently appeared in the Arasaka employees section..."Hey, chica, what on earth happened? You look exhausted."Inside Lizzies Bar, surrounded by pink ambient lighting and noisy music, Jackie was sitting in a private booth raising a toast to his old friend V whom he had not seen in a long time."Do not mention it, Jackie, there are just too many damn things happening lately."V wore a troubled expression, shook her head helplessly, and then picked up her wine glass to take a small sip."Do not be like that, saying it out loud will make you feel better, maybe I can even brainstorm with you.""..."V raised her head to look at the sincere-faced Jackie, opened her mouth, but could not say a single word.It was not that she did not want to talk; what had happened recently could be learned from the news almost every day, and it was not much of a secret.Rather, she simply did not know how to start.Nearly half a month had passed since the day David soloed Arasaka Tower, and ever since that day, the name David Martinez resounded throughout Night City.All corporations began to pay attention to this name, studying everything David displayed at Corpo Plazathat day.Especially regarding the cyberskeleton, they had developed quite a few countermeasures and were about to produce a new generation of military equipment.Likewise, Arasaka Corporation was no exception.However, facing the endless stream of trouble also left them somewhat overwhelmed.The information on the cyberskeleton was leaked by MAX-TAC, in conjunction with reporters from News 54.Furthermore, the rampage of that mecha monster was also attributed to Arasaka Corporation.Because Arasaka's logo was found on the scattered mecha fragments and exposed, though who knows which bastard did it.Although all corporations knew full well who did it, rather than provoking a cyberpunk like David Martinez, they were still willing to shaft Arasaka.Militech and Biotechnica were the worst among them; using the excuse of their corporate buildings being damaged, these two companies scammed Arasaka out of a huge sum of money, by the way dragging Arasaka's stock to freezing point.Even though Arasaka Corporation was one of the world's top three giants with massive wealth and did not care about this little bit of money, this time still made them feel the sting in their flesh.By the way, Militech's Night City operations director, Meredith Stout, was regretting David's matter to the point where her intestines were turning green.Clearly, such an opportunity for soaring promotion to director was right before her eyes, yet she missed it so perfectly.Besides that, there was the trouble facing the Night City headquarters—After that group of cyberpunks learned that David successfully soloed Arasaka Tower and killed Adam Smasher, some restless folks became stirred up.They would occasionally run to the main entrance of Arasaka Tower to cause trouble, seemingly wanting to try and prove themselves, attempting to become legends of Night City.But in fact, they really did do it, carrying out operations to raid Arasaka Tower.The ending was also very obvious: they died without even scraps left, their corpses probably hauled to the heavy industrial district to be fertilizer.If it were just a few cases, it would not make Arasaka get a headache, but the number was simply too much.In just half a month, nearly thirty cases occurred. If this continued, Arasaka's majesty in Night Citywould be completely lost, even though there was not much left to begin with anyway.As for David Martinez's side, they currently could not spare the hands to deal with him, or rather, they could not deal with him at all.Simply because that violent organization MAX-TACwas planted right there, and even Arasaka was not willing to provoke them."Forget it, let us not talk about it, it is all in the past."In the end, V did not voice these things out, instead picking up her glass and downing it in one gulp.The pungent liquor flooded her oral cavity, sliding across her throat and bringing a hint of stinging pain that made her tired heart feel a lot better.Perhaps only this pain could let her know she was still alive, and not a walking corpse on the verge of the grave."Alright then."Jackie also downed the whiskey in his cup in one gulp.Since his old friend did not want to talk, he would not force it either."Oh right, tomorrow I am going on a long trip, and perhaps for the next few months I will not be able to sit here and drink with you.""A long trip? At a time like this? Did you not just get back?" Jackie looked at V with some curiosity."No choice, in a few months Arasaka Headquarters will send a Japanese person to take over the Night City headquarters. My boss Arthur Jenkins hopes to achieve some performance before the Japanese person arrives, and rise to the position of Special Operations Director before that bitch Abernathy.""Even so, they should not dump it all on you alone. Does not Arasaka have anyone else?""Sigh... After all, someone has to do these chores."At the mention of this, V could not help but sigh.Regarding this matter she truly had no other choice. Leaving aside the fact that Arthur Jenkins was her boss, he also had the grace of recognizing her talent. Being able to climb to her current position was entirely due to Arthur Jenkins pulling her up single-handedly, and among all subordinates, the only trustworthy one was her..."However, speaking of which, I did gather some intelligence regarding the Japanese person sent from above."Saying this, V glanced at the surrounding people, and after finding no one paying attention to this place, leaned towards the bar counter and beckoned to Jackie."What is with the mystery?""Listen to me, rumor has it that the Japanese person sent from above is Yorinobu Arasaka," V said quietly.
Chapter 119"What?! Yorinobu Arasaka?!""Shh! Keep it down!" V tugged at Jackie's clothes.Jackie knew his voice was a bit too loud, scratched his head apologetically, and quickly hunched over to whisper, "Are you telling the truth? Is it really that young master of the Arasaka family?""That's right, absolutely certain, which is why my boss is going to such great lengths to pull off some achievements..."Speaking of this, V suddenly straightened up and changed the subject, "However, it's mostly because of that bitch Abernathy. If it weren't for her and that mess that happened in Night City half a month ago, my boss's promotion wouldn't have been dragged out until now, and I wouldn't be running around everywhere."To this, Jackie merely flashed a less-than-polite smile."Alright, Buena suerte," he said, raising his already filled glass again.He didn't understand Arasaka's internal affairs, nor did he want to, but sitting here drinking with an old friend and casually offering a blessing was no problem at all."Thanks."Amidst the gentle clinking of the glasses, the two raised their cups and drained them in one go."By the way, what on earth happened between you and David at Arasaka Tower half a month ago?"Suddenly, Jackie raised a new question.It wasn't that there was any change in the attitude between David and him after that, but whenever he saw V and mentioned David, something felt a bit off.And his question did indeed cause V's pouring action to pause for a fraction of a second, but less than a second later, a faint smile still hung on her face as she replied, "Don't you already know about this? Why are you asking again.""No, I just feel like you...""It's nothing."V interrupted Jackie's words, not letting him continue asking."Fine, fine, since you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask.""Uh-huh."V shrugged, picked up her glass, and took small, slow sips.Indeed, she hadn't told Jackie everything about that day, because on that day at Arasaka Tower, David had said something extremely eerie to her.It was still fresh in her mind to this day, and this memory would pop up from time to time.It was something that had been bothering her to this day—"Miss V, one day we will meet again, not in the current way, but as fellow cyberpunk."That mysterious smile and those mysterious words—even now, she couldn't understand what they meant."...How mysterious... Could I possibly get fired by Arasaka?"V smiled indifferently, not caring at all, merely curious.Because as long as her boss Arthur Jenkins was fine, she would never be fired by Arasaka.What's more, given her boss's current position, the people who could shake him were basically countable on one hand."However... David Martinez is indeed a very interesting guy."A charming smile slowly bloomed on V's face.---"—Achoo!""What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"Lucy's voice came through the comms, and when he turned his head, he saw Lucy's concerned gaze."It's nothing, just feels like someone is talking about me behind my back..."David habitually sniffed a few times, though there was actually nothing."Haha, of course. You abandoned so many people just to bring me here by myself, they're definitely going to have opinions."At least as far as she knew, Rebecca probably had a huge opinion right now.With her hands behind her back, Lucy smiled as she walked with light steps across the white, desolate landscape, kicking up a puff of dust with every footstep and leaving a footprint behind.The path the two of them walked out, much like their lives, was clearly carved into the ground."Sigh, can't be helped. After all, what I promised back then was to bring you here, not all of them."David subconsciously reached out to scratch the back of his head, but it was blocked by the glass helmet.So, he gave up on that idea."Mhm~ You didn't say it like that."Lucy let out a pleasant hum and slightly accelerated, running across the ground.Though she said that verbally, in her heart she was actually very happy.Being able to come here with David was the happiest thing in her life and a scene she would never forget."Come catch me~"She was as happy as a child visiting the beach for the first time...No, to be exact, they really were here for the first time."Wait for me!"David shouted as he chased after her.The two of them frolicked, chased, and played on the white ground here, completely not caring whether anyone else was present around them.At this moment, they were on the moon, 380,000 kilometers away from Earth.After fulfilling his mother's dying wish, David planned to bring Lucy to the moon—no one else, just the two of them—and now it had finally been realized.By the way, after that Carnival Day, he got a reward of 30 million, plus the 80 million from selling Daigui's stuff, totaling 110 million eddies.In addition, he also got a discount coupon—to be precise, a one-thousand-off coupon for Machina, but even using the coupon to buy Machina's cheapest analytical body, he was still short 10 million.However, he didn't lack cyberware right now, so he temporarily shelved it.Let's just say he'll save up slowly.However, while some rejoiced, others sorrowed. On the ground 380,000 kilometers away from the moon, inside Night City surrounded by colorful neon lights, many vehicles were parked in front of the familiar Turbo diner in Japantown.They were holding a wild party.Noisy music surrounded the parking lot in front of the shop and the various Japanese snack stalls.Kiwi was still the same as old, holding a bottle of beer and slowly sipping through a straw, though who knew what the exact principle behind that was.Maine and Dorio were bonding, laughing loudly with their arms around each other's shoulders like good buddies.Falco sat on a lounge chair, also showing a smile watching Pilar's antics, though perhaps due to his limbs not being very nimble, he couldn't quite sustain the party atmosphere.In addition, this party also featured a cat-like girl—Sasha, as well as the perpetually expressionless Mower.The two sat together, wondering what they were discussing.Perhaps it was a topic unique to young girls?However, Mower's age... could she still be considered a young girl?Only Rebecca sat alone on the hood of a sports car, looking up at the brilliant night sky and the bright moon with melancholic little eyes, drinking beer continuously, sip by sip.From time to time, she let out an inaudible sigh.I don't know how much time had passed, but bottles were already scattered all around."What's wrong, little girl."The sudden inquiry made her turn her head subconsciously.At some point, Falco had appeared beside her, accompanied by Kiwi, who was leaning against a large tree smoking a cigarette."Nothing." Rebecca casually brushed it off and took another large gulp.Over on Pilar's side, he had quieted down, sitting there panting and drinking.It seemed that without David and Lucy, everything had become a bit boring."Well, even if you don't say it, I understand. It must be about that kid David, right?"Falco saw right through what Rebecca was thinking and casually advised, "However, I advise you to give up. David already has Lucy, and with your style of attack, it simply won't work."Rebecca: "?"She glanced slightly at Falco, her look seemingly saying, "Watch it or I'll waste you."How dare he say she wouldn't work!Yet Falco turned a blind eye to Rebecca's gaze and shifted his focus to Kiwi.Kiwi gave the same answer over there: "Yeah, Falcois right. There is indeed a problem with your method.""Tch, what problem could there be...""Hmm... hard to say."Kiwi's eyes flashed with an orange glow as she pulled out a PDA, lowered her head to operate it, and said indifferently, "But I know that the comedic style doesn't suit David. He has zero interest in that style.""Then what can I do..."Rebecca pouted upon hearing this, but Kiwi's next words made her flush with embarrassment."Not necessarily. Like those photos you saved, they're not bad.""Photos? What photos?""Those selfies, like this classical qipao outfit, or the early Japanese sailor uniform, or the maid outfit popular fifty years ago...""Pfft!"Hearing this, Falco almost spat out the beer in his mouth."Waaaaahhhhh—!!!"Rebecca shrieked and lunged forward, glass bottles clinking and shattering all over the ground, managing to snatch the PDA out of Kiwi's hands. Looking at the photos on it, her little face turned red in an instant."Where did these photos come from?!! How do you know about these?!! Asshole!!!""Of course, they're in your account...""Damn it! That's why I'm asking, why do you have my account?!!!"As Rebecca roared in interrogation, she frantically deleted the photos inside the PDA.However, the further down she scrolled, the redder Rebecca's little face became, looking just like bright red neon.The photos stored in the PDA were basically all from her private account.Damned Kiwi...After finishing the deletion, Rebecca pulled out her pistol and pointed it at Kiwi with a swift swish: "You are absolutely not allowed to talk to David about those photos you saw, understand?!! If you dare tell David, I'll waste you!!!""Oh my, what a pity. I feel like David would definitely love this style."Kiwi casually raised her hands, speaking in a completely flat tone."You're so annoying!"Nothing could make Rebecca freak out like this right now; her entire brain was almost on overload."...I was just gonna say it's pretty funny."Kiwi never dared to say these words out loud.She was also afraid that Rebecca, in an uncontrollable fit of excitement, would blow her head off with a single shot.Therefore, for the sake of her own life safety, she had to act cowardly when necessary.Immediately after, Rebecca's gaze turned to Falco, who instantly caught on: "I understand, I didn't see anything.""Tch..."Rebecca pouted, put the PDA aside, curled her legs up on the hood, and buried her little face in them."How could David possibly like that kind of photo..."Little did she know, those photos were indeed outdated in a place like Night City, especially since it was still 2076.But for David, who came from 2022, he would love them to bits.
Especially the ones Rebecca took, they matched her petite figure quite well.Otherwise, he wouldn't have advised Rebecca not to modify herself so exaggeratedly back then, nor would he have given Rebecca that pair of cyberware arms now.That's right, Rebecca's arms had been switched back to their original slender style. That was a gift David Martinez gave her before he left, also cyberware made of super-tantalum alloy, which could be considered fulfilling what he promised Rebecca back then.On one hand, he didn't need Rebecca to protect him; on the other hand, those huge arms really ruined the aesthetic.A loli with arms comparable to her own size... They weren't comedians, did they have to make it so exaggerated?What's more, that kind of exposed cyber-style was never David Martinez's thing, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to Viktor to install bioskin every time.Otherwise, wouldn't something like David Blackhand be pretty cool too?It's just that Rebecca never got any of this.PS: I've got writer's block today. I clearly know how to write the next part, but I don't know how to transition.So I thought about it all day and only updated it now.I am truly, deeply sorry...Writer's block is really so agonizing!90. MAX-TAC's New Members (6K)Half a month later.The turmoil surrounding Arasaka in Night City had finally gradually subsided, becoming like usual. Countless newcomers flooded into this city of dreams, and the entrance of the Afterlife still piled up with a large number of mercenaries trying to make a name for themselves in this land full of desires.Gangs were still the same as before, occasionally having verbal friction happening in every corner of Night City, and occasionally attracting the onlookers of the NCPD.This had already become the norm, nothing to make a fuss about.As for Pacifica... it was still that same Pacifica.Meanwhile, David Martinez and Lucy had also returned from their honeymoon trip on the moon.David Martinez also returned to his post after a long time—to report in at MAX-TAC.After all, he had already taken over a month of vacation, and it would be a bit unreasonable not to show up again. The most crucial thing was still being afraid that the crazy woman Melissa would throw a fit.But today, as soon as he stepped inside, he felt an atmosphere somewhat different from usual.Although it was the highest-level official riot-suppression force in Night City, it was usually quite leisurely, because most of the time the NCPD and some non-combat personnel handled and maintained public security in Night City, so it was rarely their turn as combat personnel to be dispatched.Whether it was the NCPD side or the higher-ups, none of them wanted MAX-TAC to make any moves; it would be best if they were completely idled.After all, whenever they were dispatched, even a trivial matter would turn into a big news story.But now it seemed busier than ever before.The police officers responsible for office and logistical support were running around, hardly any official members could be seen, the tarmac was completely empty, and even some obsolete AVs were dragged out from the garage.David Martinez looked at the busy people around him with utter confusion. Walking into the hall, he saw on the virtual big-screen duty roster that most people were marked with red text indicating "Dispatched".Only he alone was so unconventional—written in big green characters saying "On Vacation"."Sigh, the days of slacking off have finally come to an end..."David Martinez sighed helplessly, pulled out his data cable, and connected it to the MAX-TACterminal.After a series of operations to clock in, the text on it changed from green "Resting" to yellow "Standby".But then again, looking closely, everyone's duty assignments seemed a bit strange. Most people were shown as having counter-terrorism missions, and only a very few people were going to clean up cyberpsychos."Aren't counter-terrorism missions usually the job of those guys in the NCPD? Why is MAX-TAC doing them now?" David Martinez gently rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought.Normally speaking, ordinary counter-terrorism missions were indeed done by the NCPD.After all, they involved things concerning the upper echelons of gangs or corporations, which had huge profits and were most favored by those parasites in the NCPD.Unless there were malignant incidents, such as certain gang members hijacking a shopping mall or kidnapping a corporation's VIP, it wouldn't be their turn to be dispatched.But today... And looking at the state of these people passing by, it seemed like it hadn't just been for a single day...Was this a preparation for a comprehensive overhaul of Night City?Could some big shot be coming to Night City? But what kind of big shot could even alarm MAX-TAC?Fortunately, Captain Melissa didn't seem to be on a mission; in the current situation, it seemed he could go ask her."You're that team member on vacation... David Martinez, right?"Just as he wanted to find Melissa for a chat, a calm yet rather pleasant voice suddenly came from behind.Turning his head, he saw a woman stepping in high heels and wearing business attire, holding a PDA and handling something, occasionally casting her gaze toward him.However, this woman's appearance made him feel very unfamiliar: a clean and neat crop of short blonde hair, delicate gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, hands looking soft and delicate, and her graceful figure completely highlighted by pure black work attire.She looked completely out of place with everything here.Rather than saying she was a person from MAX-TAC, it was more like she was a secretary from some corporation.Since when did MAX-TAC have this kind of guy? Could it be that during the time he was away, MAX-TAC underwent a transformation and started recruiting civilian personnel?You must know that in his impression, MAX-TACwas a gathering place for a bunch of psychos. Normal civilian personnel like this rarely appeared, and they were generally sent by the higher-ups."Excuse me, are you the team member previously on vacation, David Martinez?!"His dazed behavior made the woman knit her brows slightly in displeasure, repeating once more with a slightly firm tone."Um, yes." David Martinez nodded subconsciously, "I had a vacation of over a month before, and I've just returned to the team now."However, his words also caused the woman's action of browsing the PDA in her hand to pause slightly. She raised her head to look him over carefully once more, that gaze seeming to say "You're not joking, are you?"Toward the woman's gaze, he had no intention of responding, nor was he embarrassed; he simply accepted it calmly.It was normal for the other party to exhibit this kind of attitude.Although MAX-TAC possessed complete autonomy and was usually quite leisurely, no matter what, they were still public servants serving Night City, basically working year-round without rest.Someone like him taking over a month off was simply too bizarre.Anyone unaware of the details might even think he was some young master sent by a corporation.But to be fair, vacation is vacation, his last month's salary hadn't been paid yet! Although to him now this bit of salary was nothing, even a mosquito's legs were meat no matter how small!"Alright, follow me, Captain Melissa is waiting for you."It seemed his shameless reaction moved the woman, so she simply decided not to dwell too much on this matter. She immediately put down the PDA in her hand, turned around, and strode forward without looking back, completely not caring whether he could keep up or not.Looked at this way, this woman seemed to have a bit of that MAX-TAC vibe. Her style of action exuded a distinctive decisiveness, just like those team members who worked normally.Completely different from those NCPD parasites who only knew how to dawdle.Soon, he was led by this woman to a spacious place, only it appeared somewhat dim due to the lights not being turned on.But if he remembered correctly...Buzz—crack!A faint sound of electric current suddenly rang out, and the dazzling lights dispelled the darkness, making everything bright.As expected..."Isn't this the training ground? Why did you bring me here?""I'm the one who asked her to bring you."The answer did not come from that woman, but from an automatic door beside them."Tap, tap—"The rigid combat boots stepped on the solid ground, echoing a faint yet crisp sound. From this footstep alone, one could tell that the owner was a person with very distinctive and deterrent characteristics.He turned his head subconsciously, and what first came into view was a pair of pitch-black combat boots, along with those vigorous and powerful slender legs, glowing with an inexplicable halo under the reflection of the lights."Captain Melissa!"With a crisp snap!, the woman made a standard salute toward Melissa, who was walking slowly from over there."Mm, thank you for your hard work."Melissa nodded in a signaling manner, and the woman immediately understood, turning around and leaving the place right away."Captain Melissa, who was that?"Watching the woman's gradually receding back, David Martinez asked in a low voice: "She doesn't quite look like someone from MAX-TAC.""That's Anna, sent by the higher-ups, rumored to be here to help us handle affairs."Melissa akimbos with one hand, chatting freely: "At first, I also thought she was like those fucking young masters, just coming here to vacation, play, and get a gilded resume. Later I found out this little girl's work efficiency is pretty good.""It seems your evaluation of her is quite high."Although she said that, and Melissa's evaluation of Anna was high, she was after all different from their group of psychos, much like throwing a little lamb into a lion pride to be raised—no matter how you looked at it, it felt very uncoordinated.But the name Anna...Anna... Anna... Anna Karenina? Or Anna Schariatz?Whenever Anna was mentioned, these two names couldn't help but pop up in his head."Hmm? What are you muttering over there? What Anna Schariatz? Who is that?"Oh no, he accidentally blurted out what he was thinking..."Hahaha, nothing, just suddenly thought of that name.""Oh~?"Melissa's gaze gradually became subtle. "Forget it, since you don't want to say, I won't ask either. After all, as a superior, I have no right to question a subordinate's private life."That gaze and expression seemed to say "I understand".But what on earth do you understand?! Don't look at me with that kind of gaze!!! I am not that kind of person!!!David Martinez felt a bit ashamed.Rather, if he really had something happen with Anna Schariatz, that would be great...Collar, white silk stockings, long brown-haired straight girl, considerate and gentle, plus a rich-girl attribute, hso!Unfortunately, that was impossible.This was the cyberpunk world, not Honkai Impact 3rd.But then again, Captain Melissa also had brown hair, and today's outfit was also somewhat exceptionally eye-catching.A form-fitting combat suit covered with dark patterns, ultra-short shorts revealing two long, muscular, and taut legs, pristine combat boots polished to a shine, light brown wavy long hair swaying slightly with her body, and a large expanse of delicate, smooth skin exposed beneath her vest—her entire body was filled with a vigorous wild beauty, both dangerous and lacking none of that unique allure.One had to admit that Melissa Rory was indeed a great beauty, provided she kept her mouth shut and didn't exhibit that tomboy demeanor of "Keep talking and I'll blow your brains out"."Does it look good?""Pretty good-looking, so big and white..."David Martinez responded subconsciously, but as soon as the words left his mouth, his back was soaked in fine cold sweat.Like rusted machinery, he slowly raised his head, only to see Melissa staring at him with a teasing gaze."Ah haha, Captain Melissa..."He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, his eyes rolling around a circle, and immediately changed the subject: "Right, Captain, why are you dressed like this today? Seeing outside so busy, don't you need to go on a mission?""Heh, what a clumsy trick."Melissa gave him a smiling look, then turned around and walked toward the roped ring in the very center of the training ground."Today we aren't going on a mission, but there's still a bunch of work waiting to be done. Come over quickly.""We?"David Martinez caught a subtle vocabulary term: why use "we"?Could there be something concerning him in this?Clearly his job was just going out to hunt a few cyberpsychos when nothing else was happening, and by the way maintaining the nuclear peace of Night City.But he still obediently followed."Two new team members are joining the team today, so we need to test them, and by the way test you as well, to see whether you have made any progress in the past month."While speaking, Melissa grabbed the ropes and smoothly vaulted up onto the ring."I still need to be tested? There's no need for that..." David Martinez's mouth twitched involuntarily a few times.