Before long, V walked over to Rain’s car.
Seeing this, Canris immediately stepped out of the vehicle.
“Tell me, what’s the situation?”
“There’s an Edgerunner squad doing a gig over there.
They made quite a racket, and the Tyger Claws have sent people out to hunt them down.
That’s pretty much it.”
“Alright, I got it.
You can head back now.”
Canris nodded upon hearing this and then gestured for V to leave.
V curled her lip inwardly but didn’t say anything.
However, just then, Rain slowly rolled down the car window.
“Boss.”
Canris called out and stood obediently to the side.
One must know when to speak and when to keep quiet.
“Hmm, V…
right?”
“Yes, Minister Rain.”
V jolted when her name was called and quickly stood up straight.
She didn’t know why she was suddenly so nervous.
She hadn’t even felt this way in front of Jenkins, but facing Rain, she felt something was off.
Perhaps it was because he was from the Special Operations Department?
“You have talent, in many senses of the word.
So…
if things aren’t going well for you at the Counter-Intelligence Department, you can talk to me and come work under me.
That’s all.”
After saying that, Rain rolled up the window, seemingly having no intention of continuing the conversation.
V’s eyes widened instantly at the news.
She felt a twinge of regret—regret for accepting Jenkins’ recruitment so early.
Otherwise, she could have accepted the olive branch Rain extended today.
Whether in terms of department or background, following Rain would definitely offer a brighter future than following Jenkins.
However, V quickly adjusted her mindset.
After all…
if not for this mission, she might not have even had the chance to come into contact with Rain, let alone have him notice her.
So…
“How does that saying go?
Right…
‘To gain it is my fortune, to lose it is my fate.’ Maybe there will be another chance in the future…”
Murmuring to herself, V returned to her squad, while recalling the face of the other man she had just seen through the car window.
Presumably, that man was the reason Rain was out on field duty, though she didn’t know what it was about…
But that wasn’t her concern.
Knowing things one shouldn’t know was very dangerous for corporate employees.
The current situation was just fine.
“Alright, the matter is settled.
We should continue our talk, Kochi.”
Rain turned his gaze back to Kochi and spoke.
“I know.
Here.”
With that, Kochi handed the file he hadn’t successfully given earlier back to Rain.
After taking it, Rain used the internal interface to connect it to his end and began reviewing the specific contents of the file, which included a portion of research data and content.
“Hmm…
the data looks real, but our R&D Department needs to conduct a further review.
During this time, I’m afraid you’ll have to stay in Arasaka Tower temporarily.
What’s your opinion?”
“I have no objection.”
Kochi quickly shook his head at Rain.
If anything, he welcomed it.
At least he would be absolutely safe inside Arasaka Tower.
If they actually did that, his life would have been worth it.
“Very well.
Drive, Canris.”
“Roger.”
After finishing all this, Rain continued to review the materials provided by Kochi.
As he had mentioned before, they contained research on neural cyberware.
As everyone knew, the two most famous types of neural cyberware were Berserk Cyberware and Sandevistan.
As a type of cyberware generally compared to the Sandevistan on the market, although Berserk wasn’t as insane as the Sandevistan, it still held a significant market share.
After all, the focus of the two was different.
Berserk made you more resilient and physically stronger, while the Sandevistan was absolute high-tech.
Well…
in a sense, someone with a Sandevistan might not necessarily beat a guy equipped with Berserk.
Because the side effects of Berserk were smaller compared to the Sandevistan, and the use of Sandevistan relied too much on talent.
Those without the talent had poor tolerance for the Sandevistan’s time-dilation effect.
A Sandevistan that could theoretically reach thirty percent might only achieve twenty-five percent or even less for such people.
Furthermore, every use was a race against the Grim Reaper; who knew if the next use would fry their brain?
Back to the point, the materials Kochi brought this time were Militech’s research data on Berserk Cyberware.
To be honest, this was somewhat beyond his expectations.
Militech’s research into neural cyberware wasn’t small, but successful products almost never appeared on the market.
Even if they did, they were in the hands of second-hand dealers on the black market.
As for where their cyberware came from…
it went without saying that most of it was stripped from dead bodies.
In Rain’s memory, the only Militech neural cyberware that had ever appeared on the market were the top-tier models; as for other models…
he basically hadn’t seen them.
Thinking about it, those top-tier cyberwares put on the market might actually have certain issues, perhaps used by Militech to collect experimental data.
As for the lower-tier ones…
they were likely stabilized and kept for internal use, just like here at Arasaka.
“Hmm…
thinking about it this way, these materials might be the records from when Militech was developing Berserk.
I just wonder which generation Militech has reached now…”
Thinking of this, Rain couldn’t help but rub his chin, a small habit he had when deep in thought.
It was currently 2074, three years away from 2077.
In three years, it would likely be either Gen 4 or Gen 5.
The ‘Apogee’ Sandevistan was probably also in development, while the highest-grade Sandevistan and Berserk currently on the market were basically Gen 2 or Gen 3.
As far as he knew, the most common Berserk on the market now was just Gen 2, since Gen 3 still had its thresholds.
He wondered which company would be the first to roll out Gen 4 neural cyberware.
Hmm…
given the situation, it seemed Kiroshi was the first to finish developing their Sandevistan Gen 4.
Thinking about it…
should he buy some Kiroshi stock first?
Right…
he also needed to dump his Militech stock…
to avoid getting hurt when it dropped in a few days…
However, generations depended on specific circumstances.
For example, some companies’ Gen 3 was actually stronger than other companies’ Gen 4, so the generational gap didn’t always apply.
“This should be somewhat helpful for the R&D Department’s development of Arasaka’s own neural cyberware…”
Rain thought for a moment and then sent the materials to the R&D Department, letting them test the experimental data first.
Although Arasaka’s own Berserk and Sandevistan didn’t appear in the game, it didn’t mean they weren’t researching them; it was just that they hadn’t released them as commercial products.
Instead, they utilized such cyberware more on Arasaka’s internal employees and security forces.
General employees could purchase and equip such cyberware themselves, provided they reached a certain rank and could afford it.
As for the security forces…
once they reached a certain level, the company would require them to be equipped with it, otherwise they could forget about any further promotions.
“Let’s go, Canris.
Next, we’ll head over to Dangerous Girl to coordinate some business.”
“Roger, boss.”
…
“Phew…
Good job, Falco.”
“Piece of cake.”
Falco smiled, keeping one hand on the steering wheel while lighting a cigarette with the other.
“Rebecca, don’t you think you owe us an explanation?”
“Tsk…
sorry, alright?”
Rebecca turned her head away awkwardly and spoke.
“I thought I said not to make a move there.
Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to start something in that area?!”
Maine sat with one hand on his knee, leaning forward slightly with a frown.
Rebecca heard Maine’s words and turned her head away without saying a word.
“Hehe, I told you she’s just a brat.
Better go home and suck on some milk.”
“Screw you, Pilar!”
Suddenly, provoked by Pilar, Rebecca exploded.
She lunged up and slammed her gun butt into Pilar’s head.
“Pwah!
You brat, couldn’t you be a bit gentler?!
What if you disfigure me?!”
“Tsk, with that ugly face of yours, who cares if it’s disfigured?!”
“Alright, quiet down!”
Maine rubbed his temples.
He could see at a glance that Pilar was trying to bail Rebecca out just now, but…
what needed to be said still had to be said.
“Rebecca, be more careful in the future.
That temper of yours will get you in trouble sooner or later.”
“…I know.
I’ll be careful from now on.”
“Maine is right.
If I hadn’t been there this time, someone might have already put a hole in your head.”
Sasha said, pointing a finger at her own head and making a “bang” gesture before slumping over.
“Alright, let’s not talk about that.
Even though there was a small hiccup, the mission was completed successfully, wasn’t it?
How about we go out for a drink tonight?”
Dorio laughed and clapped her hands.
Hearing Sasha’s words, Rebecca’s eyes showed a hint of guilt, but she quickly suppressed the emotion.
She didn’t care much about what happened to her, but involving her friends made her feel a bit bad.
“I’m down, but can I call a few Joytoys?”
“Get lost.
Put on a Braindance and go jerk off by yourself.”
“Damn, no humanity, Maine.”
While they were fooling around, Sasha leaned over to Rebecca and handed her a bottle of Nicola.
“Be careful next time~”
She gave Rebecca a wink.
Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh.
“I just couldn’t stand the way he talked about that girl…”
“I know, I was angry too.
But Rebecca, next time, think of it this way: holding back now doesn’t mean you won’t kill him.
You’re just giving him a pass for now so you can kill him better later, without anyone else interfering.
Then you can kill him however you want.”
Rebecca was stunned by Sasha’s words, then suddenly sat up, accidentally headbutting Pilar who was leaning in.
“Sasha, you’re damn right!!!”
“Hey, you brat, what are you freaking out about now?!”
“None of your business, you shitty brother!!!”
Screech—
“Hey, watch it, I’m still driving!!!”