The Mimetic Masking Shroud technology was the ultimate secret of the NUSA Logistics Bureau.
However, in a sense, Militech was the US, and the US was Militech, so it wasn’t surprising for a Militech operative to have this thing on their face.
But for anyone outside Militech and the NUSA, obtaining this thing meant certain death.
Ruan Xian finished reading Makoto Ito’s chat logs and immediately hijacked every street camera he could access, setting up an alert system to trigger the moment any Militech or 6th Street vehicle approached.
Then, he immediately returned from the Spirit World to reality.
“Talk about rotten luck.
Makoto Ito, you absolutely deserve to die.” Ruan Xian couldn’t care less about anything else now.
He rushed straight down to the basement, heading for the freezer where the cyberware was stored.
The Mimetic Masking Shroud cyberware was simply too important.
With it, combined with his Data Fortress, Ruan Xian could become absolutely anyone in Night City.
And with this gear, he’d have the leverage to pull off some crazy, fast-cash operations.
He’d even have ready-made scapegoats.
“Aha, here it is.
Figures.
Where else would they put it?” Ruan Xian cleaned out the freezer, grabbing the face-shaped cyberware first.
“Got it.
Perfect.
Though I can’t use it just yet.
No, I need to find a netrunner mentor.
This thing isn’t a Sharingan; you can’t just slot it in and expect it to work instantly.”
Securing his loot, Ruan Xian glanced at the monitors.
No suspicious vehicles or personnel were approaching yet.
“Still have some time.
Can’t just run straight out.
I need to find a way to divert Militech’s attention.”
Ruan Xian was highly confident in himself.
As long as he stayed low and played it safe, he was bound to become the king of Night City.
But he couldn’t face the ultimate boss right out of the gate.
Starting off like Zhu Yuanzhang with nothing but a begging bowl only to be instantly surrounded by a hundred thousand heavy cavalry was a losing game.
“I cleared out the bodies and cleaned up most of the house.
This is Arasaka territory, with the Arasaka Industrial Park just a bit to the left.
The gun I used to kill them was a Tamayura.
All the cameras on my way here were hijacked, so there’s no footage of me in the digital realm.
The only three Scavengers who actually saw me are dead, and their ashes are long gone.
And the doll was dumped outside before she even woke up.
The money I left her was cash I found in a trash can.” Ruan Xian quickly reviewed his actions.
“If Militech sends an idiot, they’ll never lock onto me with the current clues, so I won’t even need to worry.
If they have some high-tech black magic and a clever brain, they still won’t be able to breach my Data Fortress to get my real identity.
At best, they can only piece things together through forensic deduction to get vague intel.
What they’ll deduce is that I used a found Tamayura, paid with found cash, wore found clothes, and might be skilled in stealth, hacking, and using a silenced Tamayura.
Very strong, and maybe a bit of a clean freak.
Hmm, I might still need to wipe my fingerprints.”
Ruan Xian suddenly realized he didn’t even need to do anything extra.
Even if Militech showed up, they wouldn’t have any hard evidence to pin it on him.
Everything would be pure speculation.
And the potential conclusions they’d reach were already clear.
As long as he got out of here at lightning speed and didn’t get cornered, he’d be safe for a long time.
Once he got the Mimetic Masking Shroud working, he could change faces at will and be as safe as houses.
“Nigerundayo!
Time to show off my escape skills.” Ruan Xian immediately activated his Breath Concealment, preparing to make his exit.
To ensure all clues ended right in this house, he used his spiritual energy to directly erase the fingerprints and palm prints from his hands.
He then tossed all the small items he had touched, like keycards, straight into the Spirit World.
“Slip away invisibly, steal a new coat, and throw the trench coat and the Tamayura into the Spirit World.
Cash doesn’t matter.
Even Militech doesn’t have the power to trace every single eddy in Night City.
Then, I’ll forge a fake identity.
Damn, none of these three guys’ neural links can be salvaged.
Guess I’ll have to find a few more ‘lucky’ Scavengers and get some quick cash first.” Ruan Xian planned his next moves as he fled.
Although he hadn’t had a single moment of rest, it didn’t matter.
Things were finally on track.
* * *
“Clean…
very clean,” sighed Alex Mahone, Deputy Director of Militech Intelligence.
“Huh?
Director Mahone, didn’t we already find several suspicious fingerprints?” Sucre, a fresh-faced, clueless intelligence intern, voiced his confusion.
“Fingerprints are completely meaningless, kid.” Mahone looked at the dimwit, feeling a headache coming on.
This kid was a nepotism hire shoved onto him by the department head—the son of a major Militech shareholder.
But the kid just had to have a bit of ‘ambition,’ which landed him right in Mahone’s lap.
It was a massive pain in the ass, but there was no getting out of it; he still had to show him the ropes.
“Son, the data here is as clean as a freshly flushed toilet.
Aside from those three Scavengers and a doll, there’s absolutely nothing.”
Mahone popped a concentrated dopamine pill and began mentoring the kid.
“You’ve been shadowing me for three months now.
Tell me, what do you see?”
“Uh, well…” A panicked Sucre pulled out a datapad and glanced at the summary compiled by his colleagues in the Intel Division.
“Estimated suspect height is between 175 and 185 centimeters.
Wears a trench coat, possesses immense strength, shooting skills…”
“Stop.
I’ve read that garbage already.
You completed a full course in intelligence analysis and graduated with excellent marks.
What I want to know is what *you* see.” Mahone cut off Sucre’s rambling, starting to feel like a single dopamine pill wouldn’t be enough to take the edge off his anxiety.
“Yes, sir,” Sucre took two deep breaths and began.
“In my opinion, this job was likely executed by a tactical team supported by a top-tier netrunner.”
“We pulled the security footage from the surrounding three blocks.
Aside from NCPD cruiser 9527 with its two officers, the three Scavengers, and the kidnapped doll, no other pedestrians approached 221A Baker Road.”
“And the camera feeds inside the house were completely wiped.
Therefore, a top-tier netrunner must have cleaned up the digital trail.”
“Good.
Keep going.” Mahone was slightly surprised to see Sucre actually showing a bit of promise, and gave him an encouraging nod.
“A single operative, possessing incredible strength.
Strong enough to lift a full-grown adult off the ground and pin them against the wall.
They likely have high-output arm cyberware installed—Gorilla Arms, in my estimation.” Sucre grew more confident as his analysis was validated.
“Furthermore, their stealth capabilities are exceptional—so good they could stand directly behind someone without being noticed.”
“And they have a peculiar quirk.
Even though they could have easily strangled the targets silently, they chose to use a gun.” Sucre pointed at the large bloodstains revealed by the forensic reagent.
“Based on the ballistics and bullet holes, the operative used an Arasaka Tamayura.
It’s a very old model.
The shooter is likely an old-school professional, and quite possibly an Arasaka operative.” Sucre grew excited as he made his bold deduction.
“He neutralized Kiyoshi Ito on the first floor, then slipped down to the basement to eliminate Watanabe.
Neither target even realized someone was there before they died.”
“After that, he made his way to the third floor to interrogate Makoto Ito, securing all the information he wanted in a short amount of time.
Highly professional.”
“There should also be a transport team.
They cleared out all the cyberware in the basement, including the specific piece we’re looking for.”
“But they didn’t seem to use any vehicles, as we detected absolutely no tire tracks.
It was likely moved on foot.”
“There was quite a bit of cyberware here, yet none of the nearby residents noticed a large group of people passing through, and nobody in the wider neighborhood spotted any suspicious transport activity.”
“Therefore, the destination of the haul must be very close by.
And as it happens, Arasaka Waterfront is right in the vicinity.”
“They worked incredibly fast.
The operative and the netrunner were highly professional, yet their cleanup and transport operations seemed remarkably casual.”
“It was like they were just tidying up a room.
This is the part I don’t understand—especially since they didn’t even wipe their fingerprints.” Sucre’s clueless intern expression returned, betraying his rookie status once more.
“Not bad.
If you were leading this investigation, what would your next move be?” Mahone asked, his head still aching as he mentored the boy.
“Uh, hand the fingerprints over to the NCPD for matching.
If we get no hits, expand the search database to the NUSA,” Sucre replied.
“The analysis is barely passable, but your response is completely wrong.” Mahone shook his head.
“Let me tell you what actually happened.
Arasaka caught wind of that cyberware before we did.
They wanted it badly, but they didn’t know our progress.”
“So, they dispatched a top-tier solo, supported by a top-class netrunning team.
But in reality, only one person actually did the physical work here.”
Mahone led Sucre to the back door of 221A Baker Road.
“He entered straight through the back door—perhaps his netrunner bypassed the lock remotely.
Then he walked in like he owned the place and stopped in the kitchen.”
Standing in the first-floor kitchen, Mahone continued, “These Scavengers installed security cameras in the house, but nobody was monitoring them.”
“The solo could have had his netrunner upload a quickhack to flatline them, but that might have allowed them to make a sound.”
“So, the solo hesitated for a second and ultimately decided to use a gun.
Even when dealing with worthless trash like this, he chose the safest, most reliable course of action.”
Mahone walked down to the basement and stopped in front of the operating chair.
“His use of the Tamayura was highly professional—virtually silent.”
“After killing Kiyoshi Ito, he went straight to the basement.
Seeing Watanabe cleaning the operating chair, he could have interrogated him first.
But he didn’t.
Mahone led Sucre up to the third floor, stopping before the wall where Makoto Ito had died.
A faint impact mark was still visible on the plaster.
“Our solo kicked the target against the wall first, then began his interrogation.”
“Makoto Ito knelt here, begging, before he was lifted against the wall and had his neck snapped.
By that point, Ito must have spilled absolutely everything.”
Finally, Mahone and Sucre opened the armory door and stood before the single desk inside.
“This solo finished off Makoto Ito, came in here, entered the passcode, and opened the door.”
“He likely took a blade.
Judging by the dust outline on the desk, there was a shard in front of the weapon, which was also taken.”
“Question, Sucre.
Your very first lesson in this department was to identify key figures and high-risk assets from rival megacorps.
Who would Makoto Ito have to face to make him spill everything so quickly, without any real torture, after just a light beating?”
“Well…
*cough*.
The solo must have been briefed by his netrunner team, so he knew exactly what the three men inside were doing.”
“He ruthlessly put down two of them, bypassed them to the third floor, yet spared the doll to protect the secret.
Perhaps he didn’t take the other two alive because his priority was saving her?” Sucre ventured hesitantly.
“A reasonable deduction.
And then?” Mahone was really exhausting himself playing mentor.
“He carries that old-school Japanese sentiment…
uh, what’s the word they use?
*Ninkyō*?”
“Anyway, he saved the doll, used an old-school Tamayura, possesses immense strength and experience, and likely commands great respect among the Japanese.”
“That’s why Makoto Ito trusted him right before his death, voluntarily giving up the armory passcode and probably making some final request.
So…
wait, but how is that possible?” Sucre’s voice trailed off as he grew less confident in his own theory.
“Don’t be afraid to draw conclusions, kid.
A solo, heavy-duty, old-school, carrying a classic Tamayura.
Cautious, professional, master of stealth, backed by an elite netrunning crew at his beck and call.”
“Doesn’t give a damn about leaving fingerprints, can mobilize Arasaka personnel, holds massive sway among the Japanese, has a relatively honorable, trustworthy reputation, and loves wearing trench coats.” Mahone was deliberately guiding Sucre.
“Could it be…
Goro Takemura?
But isn’t he the personal bodyguard of the Emperor of Arasaka?
Why would he…” Sucre’s jaw dropped.
“It doesn’t matter.
It’s just a logical deduction; we don’t have a shred of proof.”
“Fingerprints?
Why would a guy running Gorilla Arms or some other high-output strength cyberware leave prints?
It’s a cheap trap meant to distract us.”
“Witnesses?
If we ask Arasaka, they’ll just tell us Takemura has never left the Japanese mainland.
Every single clue here points to Arasaka, yet we don’t have a single piece of hard evidence.”
“Why do you think that is?
Even if it wasn’t Takemura himself, it had to be one of Arasaka’s legendary, old-school heavy hitters.”
Mahone sneered slightly.
“We were ordered to find a target and retrieve an asset.
The target happened to be picked up by Scavengers on Arasaka’s turf.”
“We at Militech know Arasaka did it.
Arasaka knows Militech knows they did it.
But Militech has no evidence to prove Arasaka did it, and Arasaka knows we don’t have proof.
That’s why they deliberately left a few crumbs for you to find, just to make sure we know it was them.”
“It’s an unspoken warning to Militech to back the fuck off.
What the hell is our braindead Ops Division doing anyway, losing an asset like that?”
“Goro Takemura, or someone on his level…
To field a solo like that, what kind of massive op are they pulling?
What do we do?” Sucre felt completely paralyzed now.
“We do absolutely nothing.
Ops deployed the asset, and Ops lost it.”
“They haven’t even briefed Intel on what’s going on, keeping us in the dark about their operative’s real mission.
As of right now, that cyberware has in all likelihood fallen into Arasaka’s hands.
Let Ops deal with their own headache.”
“Great job on the analysis, Sucre.
You passed.
You’ll write today’s report and hand it directly to the director.
Pack it up!
Let’s go question that doll again.” Mahone figured the water was far too deep here; he’d better steer clear.
Sucre’s backer was a major shareholder, so the kid could handle any fallout.
“Yes, sir!” Sucre, on the other hand, was ecstatic, feeling highly valued and deeply appreciated.