“V, I think we can end our mission early, right?”
“What, getting impatient?”
Hearing this, V glanced at the team member beside them.
“It’s not that.
It’s just that I don’t think there’s any need to keep watching him.
Officer Rain’s routine is just too regular…
Look, he gets up in the morning and leaves on time, arrives at the company to start work, finishes his duties at the Special Operations Department, and goes straight to exercise…
After exercising, he does Deep-Dive Data Mining, then heads to R&D…
After that, he just goes home from work…
Officer Rain doesn’t even go to bars or nightclubs.”
Listening to the team member recount Rain’s routine like it was second nature, V didn’t feel much of anything.
They had already figured out Rain’s schedule on the first day of surveillance.
It could be said that if he wasn’t at the company, he was…
well, still at the company.
There was almost nothing left to investigate, and they couldn’t exactly break into his home to search for things; that wouldn’t align with the higher-ups’ intentions.
So, ending early…
didn’t seem like such a bad idea?
“Hmm…
Let’s see.
It’s only for today, anyway.
Officer Rain’s routine has always been like this, and it hasn’t changed even after his promotion…
Logically, after being promoted to Department Head, he shouldn’t have so much to do, right?”
Suddenly, V turned to look at the team member and couldn’t help but speak.
“Normally, that’s true…
but I think Officer Rain might just be the type who can’t sit still.
Or, of course, maybe he just got promoted and wants to…
show off for a bit?”
V just waved off that last suggestion.
After all, what did he have to prove?
The importance the higher-ups placed on him was already blindingly obvious; there was no need to show off…
But…
unable to sit still?
Probably not that either.
Maybe he just didn’t have anything else to do for the moment, and these tasks were actually a form of relaxation for him…
As for the truth…
it was actually quite close to what V thought.
Rain simply didn’t want to rest for the time being.
If he needed a break, he certainly wouldn’t mistreat himself.
Besides, the Special Operations Department didn’t have much for him to manage in Night City at the moment.
Going to the office every day was mostly just going through the motions.
The subsequent training was a daily routine, a necessary act to improve his own strength.
The R&D work was for his future grand goals.
So, for him, going to the company every day didn’t really count as “working”…
After all, in a place like Night City, there were plenty of situations that required the Special Operations Department, but very few that required the Department Head himself to show up.
The full name of the Special Operations Department had been mentioned before: the Special Field Operations Department.
Its primary business included security services, suppression operations, as well as decapitation and elimination strikes.
Among these, security services were an option for wealthy individuals purchasing from Arasaka’s Security Department, with the Special Operations Department being the most expensive tier.
Suppression operations were internal Arasaka affairs, mainly involving the quelling of riots in various locations—specifically, those directed against the corporation.
While handling security business, Arasaka’s Security Department was also the corporation’s largest violent and armed institution.
This included various military armaments, exoskeleton armor, robots, large combat mechs, armored vehicles, and aircraft carriers—all of which fell under the Security Department’s military umbrella.
So, what was his primary responsibility?
To protect Arasaka’s interests in Night City.
If necessary, he could even deploy the military forces stationed in the Arasaka Waterfront area.
…
Buzz— Buzz—
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, an internal communication line connected to Rain’s port.
“Oh, it’s you, Kochi.
What do you want?”
Rain.
I was wondering about that matter we discussed last time…”
Soon, a timid-looking face appeared on the other end of the communication.
“Have you made your decision?”
“Y-yes.
I was wondering how we should conduct the trade?”
“Hmm…
Let’s go to Jig-Street.
It’s more convenient for the hand-off there.”
“I understand.
Please, as soon as possible…”
With that, the other end of the communication cut off.
Rain shrugged helplessly.
The person he had been talking to was just an ordinary researcher from Militech.
Normally, it would be impossible for someone like that to get in touch with him, but as they say, that’s under normal circumstances.
Right now, it was clearly an abnormal situation.
The other party had accidentally come across an internal Militech research document regarding Neural Cyberware.
This information would be very helpful for Arasaka to attack Militech’s reputation in Night City and to develop their own cyberware research.
To ensure nothing went wrong, the higher-ups had assigned this matter to him.
As for why it wasn’t the Counter-Intelligence Department…
well, in the words of the higher-ups: since the Special Operations Department would have to be deployed for the final action anyway, and since you’re already here, you might as well handle it.
The corporation never let talent go to waste; if you were useful, they’d make you carry more weight.
This was also a sign of the higher-ups’ favor, wanting to pad his record with more achievements.
However, this task had actually been set before his promotion.
Why had it been delayed until now?
Because our dear “Mr.
Kochi” had been hesitating about whether or not to betray Militech.
But as time passed and Arasaka upped the ante, he finally chose betrayal.
To be honest, though, Rain was quite curious about how such a low-level employee had managed to access Militech’s research data.
Logically, these were things the other party should never have been able to touch.
But that wasn’t his concern.
He was only responsible for executing the mission.
As for the authenticity of the documents and the reliability of the intel…
that was a matter for the Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence Departments.
“Canris, Brandt.”
“Copy that, Boss.
What are your orders?”
“Where’s Brandt?”
“Boss, you forgot?
He went to earn some extra cash on the side.”
“Oh, right…
Never mind, you alone are enough.
Let’s go, we’re heading into the field.”
“Into the field?
What kind of job requires you to head out personally, Boss?”
“Just a small matter left over from before.
Meet me in the parking lot.
We’ll use a regular car; an AV is too conspicuous.”
“Understood.”
Canris acknowledged and took the elevator down to the parking lot.
Hmm…
since the Boss said to pick a regular car and thought an AV was too flashy, he must want something low-profile…
With that in mind, Canris scanned the surroundings.
Several vehicles were obviously corporate cars; driving those out would be way too conspicuous.
“Alright, I’ve decided on you!”
Canris walked slowly up to a Chevillon Thrax 388 Jefferson and nodded slowly.
It wasn’t cheap, certainly falling into the luxury category, but compared to other vehicles, it was relatively low-profile—at least in terms of appearance.
Someone who didn’t know their cars wouldn’t recognize it.
Although there were very few people in Night City who didn’t know their cars…
still, it was better than the alternatives.
And most importantly, this car had been modified, and it was Rain’s own personal vehicle.
Its biggest advantage was…
safety!
After all, everyone knows what the local culture in Night City is like.
People aren’t usually deterred by the price of a car.
In Night City, just because someone is driving a luxury car doesn’t mean they’re the owner—and in some cases, it might even be better if they were…
“A Chevillon Thrax?
Fine, that’ll do.
Let’s go.”
Not long after, Rain arrived at the parking lot.
Seeing Canris standing in front of the Chevillon Thrax, he raised an eyebrow and nodded.
He approved of the car Canris had chosen.
Though to be honest, he felt a few of the mid-to-low-end Villefort models would have been better for this trip.
However, it was clear that the only vehicles here without Arasaka logos were private ones.
And among his private cars, there were no mid-to-low-end Villeforts, only the even more conspicuous Alvarado.
Rather than driving a custom luxury Alvarado, he’d rather take this all-black Chevillon Thrax.
As the black Chevillon Thrax slowly drove out of Arasaka Tower, V and their subordinates watched closely.
“V, what’s the call?”
“What else?
Follow them.
Find a car that’s not so obvious…
Hmm, just use your own cars.”
“…Did I just get insulted?”
“Screw you, stop overthinking.
Move it!
Are you going to take responsibility if we lose them?”
…
“Boss, we’ve got a tail on our ass.”
“I know.
It’s the guys from the Counter-Intelligence Department.
They’re monitoring me as per promotion protocol.
They’ll probably pull back in a few days.
Ignore them.
In a sense, they’re just extra security for me.”
“Heh, true.
But Boss, has that kid really made up his mind?”
“Who knows?
We’ll find out when we get there.
If that kid dares to play me, I’ll make sure he understands the price.”
“Got it.
My kenshin is already primed.”
As he spoke, Canris pulled out the kenshin from his holster and brandished it.
“Alright, put it away.
Focus on driving; don’t go crashing into something.”
Rain waved him off.
“No way.
If we actually crashed, Boss, you could probably squeeze a fortune out of Chevrolet because their self-driving tech wasn’t safe enough.”
“You talk too much.
Shut it.”
“You got it!”
Seeing Canris finally shut up, Rain turned his gaze to the streets outside.
Canris was right about one thing: had that guy…
really prepared himself to betray Militech?