Corporate Plaza.
Arasaka Tower, Floor 33.
Arasaka Counter-Intelligence Department.
Inside an office cubicle, an employee was reviewing a report sent to his computer.
[Arasaka Counter-Intelligence Investigation Report—NC8754699] [Ascension Tech Investigation Report] [Investigator: Steven] [Report Contents: Preliminary investigation completed regarding the ‘Ascension Tech Kinetic Booster Mark II’ currently circulating in underground clinics.
The booster increases the user’s movement speed for a duration of one minute.
No other valuable effects have been discovered at this time.
Regarding ‘Ascension Tech’, transactions with underground clinics are conducted via encrypted email, and deliveries are handled by mercenary couriers.
No relevant corporate registry or staff information has been found.
Awaiting further instructions on whether to continue investigating this company.]
Glancing quickly over the report, the employee found nothing to stir his interest.
He casually keyed in instructions at the bottom.
[Based on the contents of this report, the specific intelligence value of this tech company cannot be determined.
Pending further action on their part, suspend active investigation and downgrade the priority of this project by one level.
Regarding the Kinetic Booster noted in the report, draft a preliminary analysis and value assessment report to be forwarded to the Logistics Support Department.]
With a few swift keystrokes, the directive was sent to the subordinate responsible for the report.
“What a waste of time…
day in, day out, nothing but useless crap,” the employee muttered, stretching his arms.
Investigating so-called Ascension Tech was a microscopic blip among the mountains of intelligence he processed daily.
Weird and novel novelties popped up in Night City every single day, but most were utterly worthless.
To Arasaka, this booster report was no different.
A self-proclaimed tech company releasing a run-of-the-mill booster wasn’t enough to attract Arasaka’s attention.
Otherwise, this report wouldn’t have taken so many days to land on his desk—its priority had been rock-bottom from the start.
“I really envy you, V.
Jenkins took a liking to you, and your promotions are moving like a rocket.”
The employee’s voice echoed in the cubicle.
Sitting across from him, V looked up from his work upon hearing his name.
“It’s not as exaggerated as you make it sound.”
Seeing V play it modest, the employee leaned forward in his chair, poking his head around his monitor to tease him.
“Come on!
Word’s already everywhere that Jenkins wants to transfer you to Corporate Espionage Intelligence.
Everyone knows what’s up.
As long as you keep performing, all of us will be answering to you sooner or later.”
V sighed and shook his head helplessly.
“Fine, whatever you say.”
Ever since joining Arasaka Counter-Intelligence, V had caught the eye of the department director—his direct superior, Jenkins—thanks to his outstanding personal competence.
Jenkins personally assigned him to handle numerous high-profile operations.
It was common knowledge among his colleagues that V had a bright future ahead of him.
V knew it too, which was why he actively cooperated with Jenkins, striving for perfection in every task handed to him.
No corp rat didn’t want to climb the ladder, and V was no exception.
“Still, is the rumor actually true?” the coworker asked, curious.
“It’s been circulating for days, but I haven’t seen you get transferred yet.”
“It’s true,” V nodded.
“But Jenkins said a cross-tier department transfer requires approval from above.
It might take a little time.”
Jenkins had personally told him about moving him to a higher-level task force, but nothing had materialized yet.
Logically, even an executive approval shouldn’t take this long.
Still, V couldn’t bring himself to ask Jenkins directly, so he could only wait.
As they were chatting, V’s holo-com rang.
It was his boss, Jenkins.
“V, come to my office right now,” Jenkins’ voice came through the line.
“On my way,” V answered promptly.
Seeing V hang up, his coworker smirked.
“Looks like our rising star has another assignment.”
“Give it a rest.”
“Alright, fine.
But if you ask me, don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
Standing high up isn’t always a good thing.
Take the head of Intelligence Tracking—you know her, right?
She’s one of Jenkins’ confidantes too, top dog in Counter-Intelligence.
Word on the street is someone saw her throwing up in the restroom today.
Puking her guts out.
Pure stress.
Don’t go following in her footsteps.”
“Heh, aren’t you afraid she’ll find out you’re gossiping about her behind her back?” V teased.
V knew who he was talking about—a power player in the department.
Though they had only met a few times, her distinctive dark-red hair, styled like three blooming petals, had left quite an impression on him.
“Hey, I’m just giving you friendly advice!
Besides, I know you—you won’t go spreading it around.”
“Right.
I’ll keep it in mind.
Thanks.”
In a hurry to meet Jenkins, V didn’t waste any more time chatting with his chatty coworker.
After a brief nod, he opened the cubicle door and left.
Jenkins’ office was nearby.
After a short walk, V stepped inside and saw the man himself.
Dressed in an impeccably tailored suit, Jenkins oozed executive presence and authority.
One glance was enough to tell he was someone of immense stature.
“You’re here.
Have a seat,” Jenkins said from behind his desk.
V pulled out a chair and sat down as instructed.
Before he could ask, Jenkins spoke again.
“I called you here to assign you a task.
However, this one is a bit different from before.
It doesn’t come from the company—it comes from me personally.”
Jenkins’ voice was sharp and firm, leaving V virtually no room for refusal.
“Understood,” V replied smoothly.
“Could you tell me the details of the mission first?”
“Take a look at this.” Jenkins slid a box containing a data shard across the desk to V.
“A data shard?”
“Yes.
The mission details are inside.”
Seeing Jenkins prompt him to slot the data shard directly, V sensed something was off.
Standard company mission briefs were transmitted securely through the internal network.
Even if this was a personal task for Jenkins, there was no reason to use a physical data shard for data transfer unless…
This distinctly freelance-mercenary method clearly meant the information couldn’t see the light of day, and the nature of the task was undoubtedly the same.
V realized the situation was far from ordinary, but keeping his composure, he picked up the shard and slotted it into his neck port to read the contents.
As the data loaded, V saw his target.
“This is…?”