Chapter 109: Holy Sh*t

Biotechnica Tower. Director of Technology and Development, Joanne Koch, was reporting nervously. "...There was a major incident in Project Nightingale. Project manager Emilia Morton ordered Special Operations Team Leader Diana Kuno to illegally disperse gamma-rabies samples in the experimental area to clear out a batch of nearly expired drugs and vaccines from the company." "After Project Nightingale test subjects were infected with gamma-rabies, the DNA decay model exhibited unknown mutations, leading to a large number of deaths." "After the incident, I immediately instructed undercover Agent #1919 to conduct a cleanup, erasing key parts of the leaked information, while also following company protocol to fire Emilia Morton." "During this operation, Agent #1919 died in the line of duty, but the evidence was successfully cleared." "Emilia Morton contacted journalist Manuel Mendoza for a meeting at City Center Subway Station, where another journalist, Zora Barnes, who was investigating Brad Norwood, happened to be present." "Brad Norwood is a senator supported by our partner Militech. Zora Barnes may have come into contact with Project Nightingale." "Senator Norwood took over the subway station lockdown contract from NCPD and handed it to Militech's Mark Carroll." "Mark Carroll reached an agreement with us to simultaneously eliminate the above targets." "However... Mark Carroll encountered a terrorist attack while carrying out the operation." "Cleanup targets: Manuel Mendoza, Zora Barnes, Emilia Morton, and Brandon Murphy—status unknown." "Given the above situation, I believe the risk of company secrets being leaked is extremely high, and I request an increase in security levels." After Joanne Koch finished speaking, she lowered her head, not daring to breathe heavily. The person on the other end of the line was silent for a moment, then let out a snicker: "So, after all this, you only managed to kill Diana Kuno." "Dr. Koch, the company is seriously doubting your competence." "The company cannot halt operations over such an incident; the current security level is already the highest." "Our clients are very dissatisfied—they've invested so much money, seen no results, and now they're dragged into this big mess." "Lastly, the commotion caused by the Nomads in Heywood has made other companies and the NCPD very unhappy, which puts us in a difficult position." "Go home and reflect for a few days—don't stay at the company." Koch felt a chill in her limbs. Go home and reflect? Once she leaves the company, where would be safe?! What if those Nomads stormed her home?! "But I—" Wait, why is she being sent home when the company is in trouble? Unless the person on the other end is convinced the Nomads are after her. If that's the case, there's no need to strengthen security too much—just get rid of the troublemaker. "Dr. Koch." The voice on the other end remained calm, but it made Koch feel like she'd been struck by a hammer. She held her breath, waiting for the other person to finish speaking. "That's it." Click. The call ended. Koch collapsed onto the sofa, her face blank. She frantically, with a contorted expression, dialed another number. Contact: Mark Carroll. Beep—beep— Joanne Koch: "Carroll, what the hell are you doing?!" Mark Carroll: "What's the point of this now? Because of your mess, I've already been demoted three levels!" Mark Carroll: "I should've never gotten involved with you, damn it." Joanne Koch: "So what do we do now? Do you still have people on hand? I could hide at your place for a few days..." Mark Carroll: "Get lost, find somewhere on your own." Mark Carroll: "Damn it, because of your mess, I now have to watch every single Makinaw in the city—do you know how many of those cars are in the city?!" Joanne Koch: "Please! I really have nowhere else to go!" Mark Carroll: "...Ugh, for the sake of our years of cooperation—no, you can't come over, but I'll tell you what just happened during my report at City Center." Mark Carroll: "This whole situation—it's neither big nor small, but in the end, the higher-ups reached a consensus." To call it big—it's half an official operation. The initial problem was just Koch's, then it became Senator Norwood trying to get rid of a nosy journalist. In the end, it escalated into deploying troops to fulfill NCPD's municipal security contract—that was the justification for this operation. For a single lockdown, two platoons were more than enough, just a routine mission. The problem was, over thirty people died—that's what blew things up, Militech lost an entire platoon in the city center. Mark Carroll: "...My superiors suggested issuing a citywide wanted order—guess what? No one objected." Joanne Koch: "Even Arasaka didn't object?" Mark Carroll: "Not a word—they either have no one backing them, or they've already fled." Mark Carroll: "NCPD is symbolically deploying the counter-terrorism unit to patrol—just for a couple of days, and the company's troops will continue patrolling, and no one objected." Mark Carroll: "So you'd better find somewhere to stay, and arrange a flight to get out of here." Between the lines, Carroll was saying—that group of lunatics has probably already left. They got what they wanted and bolted, so no one's going to mention it during briefings. No one would think that group had no backing—being able to hack a Behemoth armored vehicle and use a restricted Nekota sniper rifle clearly points to someone orchestrating this. However, this wasn't good news for Koch; it only deepened her understanding of her situation. As the Director of Technology and Development at Biotechnica, at this moment, no one cared about her survival—she was on her own. But no matter what, since there were still Militech and the counter-terrorism unit patrolling the city center, she should be safe for the time being. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Koch clawed at her hair, muttering frantically to herself. ... "Are you sure this thing can hold both our weights?" "Of course, just try it out already." Due to his physical condition, Leo had to hang onto Jackie—both of them were strapped together using the magnetic harness device, back-to-back. It looked a bit odd, but it was the only way—this also freed Leo's hands to control the jammer. By now, Jackie and V were equipped with the magnetic gloves, which interfaced with their cyberware systems via neural links. V had already climbed up using the gloves— In her visual system, a new set of information appeared: [Current Surface Friction Coefficient: 1.42] [Bio-static System Functioning Normally, Current Module Normal Force: 9100N] [Total Normal Force Estimated...] [Total Friction Force Estimated...] [CHOOH2 Fuel Consumption Rate] [CHOOH2 Fuel Efficiency] [CHOOH2 Remaining] V was stuck to the wall, raising one arm while remaining firmly attached. She curiously observed the glove, its surface constantly shifting as it adjusted its operational mode. "Whoa... this thing is seriously insane, but what's with all this stuff popping up?" Leo replied over the comms: "Oh, I forgot, that's developer mode." After Leo finished speaking, V's visual window was reduced to just a few lines of text: [Adhesion Status: Stable with Excess Capacity] [CHOOH2 Fuel Remaining: 99%] The text was still green, though as V raised one hand and one leg, it turned yellow. Very clear and easy to understand. "Not bad... you two, hurry up and follow me!" V excitedly moved quickly across the wall, climbing towards the top of Delamain Enterprises— Jackie soon started moving as well, though his pace was much slower due to carrying Leo, but he was steady. The Delamain headquarters building wasn't too tall, but it was still a high-rise— The three of them watched as the street below grew narrower and narrower, and the buildings that once blocked their view slowly shrank. Finally, they reached the highest point of Delamain Enterprises. From there, nothing obstructed their view of the gigantic tower on the company plaza. It was an entirely new experience. Climbing a skyscraper and riding an elevator to an apartment to view the city through glass are two entirely different experiences. The wind brushed against their faces. Leo's voice came through the comms: "Alright, now for the final test—" Web-swinging. V looked at the web shooter on her wrist, then at Jackie and Leo. "Well, let's give it a try." Thwip— A thin white web shot out, sticking to a nearby skyscraper. V grabbed the web line, taking a deep breath. Then she leaped! The sensation of weightlessness electrified V's nerves, and the whole world seemed to slow down— "Woo~~~" The web's tensile strength held firm against V's weight, swinging her like a pendulum towards another building! V's eyes widened as the wall approached rapidly! "Don't just stand there like a fool!" Leo's voice rang out, and with a kick from her Kerenzikov, V flattened herself, crashing into the wall. The gloves and shoe covers had built-in shock absorbers modified from recoil control systems, but even so, the unprepared V still got quite a jolt. As V regained her senses, realizing she had just crossed several meters of open air at tens of meters high, she suddenly felt exhilarated: "Holy shit!!!" Watching V on the other building, Leo sighed in relief, then patted Jackie on the shoulder. Jackie scratched his head, both envious and scared. "Are you sure this web can hold both of us?" "I'm sure—it could hold a train, but be careful, don't knock yourself out on the wall. You don't have neural accelerators, so we can take it slow." Jackie nodded, shot out the web, and took a deep breath. Then, he too leaped! Jumping off the building's edge, the colorful streets of Night City appeared beneath them— Both Jackie's and Leo's hearts skipped a beat— "Holy shit!!!"