“Hey, you think the boss is on edge today?
Why’s he so pissed off?”
“How should I know…
probably didn’t snort enough S-dust.
Hey, why don’t you bring him some?”
“Screw you, why don’t you go?”
“Heh, I’m giving you an opportunity here!
What do you think!”
“I’d have to be an idiot to believe your crap…
Hm?
Is that a noise outside?”
Hearing his friend’s words, the Maelstrom member couldn’t help but curse before looking warily toward the main entrance.
“A noise?
Where…
are you hearing things?”
“I don’t think so…
I just got this new audio receiver system…”
“If you ask me…”
*Pfft—*
Before the man could finish, the sound of flesh being pierced rang out.
Blood sprayed from his mouth, splattering across his companion.
“Ah…
Ah!
You bastard!!!”
Then came the heart racing wildly under extreme terror, the surging adrenaline, and the rage born from that fear.
In that instant, these emotions swirled together, culminating in a single action: drawing his gun!
*Swish—*
Just as he drew his weapon, a flash of silver light swept past.
Immediately after, half a pistol along with half a palm slid to the floor, followed by an agonizing, piercing pain.
“Ah…”
*Swish—*
A second later, before his scream could even escape, his vision spun wildly, and he saw a headless corpse collapsing to its knees.
The figure that had decapitated him with a single stroke charged into the crowd of Maelstromers below.
*Swish—*
“Huff…
huff…
huff…
Holy crap…
I thought I was freaking dead for a second!”
Suddenly, inside the megabuilding apartment, David Martinez sat bolt upright on the sofa.
He felt his neck with lingering fear, his heart then racing with excitement.
He deeply yearned for the kind of power that person had displayed…
“Heh heh heh…
The quality of this Blackwall is pretty good, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, yeah!
Doc, where’d you get this?!”
David replied with an excited expression.
“Heh, that’s thanks to that Arasaka big shot’s recent purge.
Just so happened…
one of the lackeys guarding the door had a Braindance recorder in his head.
So, I plucked it out.
I’m telling you, it didn’t even need tuning; it’s top-shelf stuff!”
“That big shot’s blade is fast…
There was actually a moment of lingering consciousness after the strike.
That final death sequence is practically a work of art!”
David nodded in agreement; that specific scene was one of the most memorable parts of the Blackwall recording for him.
“A bit of a shame, though.
None of the other Maelstrom guys had anything similar.
This one was just a lucky find…”
“By the way…
won’t Arasaka come looking for this?”
“…Which is why I haven’t sold it yet, have I?”
“Then why did you let me watch it?!”
“Hahahaha!!!
A big shot like that won’t care about such trivial matters as long as we don’t make too much noise.
Who knows, I might even make a little extra on the side!”
David hung up the call, speechless, and leaned back on his sofa with a sigh.
He couldn’t help but think of Rain Vermillars’s superhuman-like figure in the footage.
He clenched his fist and threw a punch into the air.
“Hah!”
Afterward, he slumped back onto the sofa, exhausted.
That blood-pumping, adrenaline-fueled feeling of drawing a gun was intoxicating to David.
But he knew his mom would never approve of that path…
“Better finish the chores first…
Oh, right…
the school uniform…”
Remembering this, David scrambled off the sofa and ran toward the closet.
He opened the closet door to find a brand-new Arasaka Academy uniform hanging there, sealed in a vacuum bag.
They hadn’t opened it since it was issued, fearing they might accidentally damage or stain it.
David placed his hand on the bag and gripped it tightly, recalling his mom’s proud expression and the envious looks from the neighbors when the Arasaka staff delivered the uniform.
“I can’t let Mom down…”
…
“Is the speech for tomorrow ready?”
Rain Vermillars finished organizing the report on the previous operation and uploaded it to the company database.
He glanced at Canris, who was standing nearby, and asked.
“Ah, it’s all ready…
“That’s normal.
I graduated from there, after all, and I’m attending the ceremony.
It’s only natural they’d want to suck up to me.
Besides…
it’s their turf; I won’t be able to avoid a meeting once I’m there.”
“True enough…”
Canris nodded silently in response.
“By the way, are there any noteworthy people among those board members?”
Rain took a sip of water and looked at Canris.
“Oh, right.
There’s a researcher in charge of the Cyber-Titan’s development.
Since the higher-ups mentioned Adam Smasher was coming for testing, I kept an eye out.”
“Cyber-Titan…”
Rain thought back for a moment, recalling what Kairos had told him during the handover.
“Adam Smasher isn’t here yet?”
Rain looked at Canris with a hint of confusion.
“Apparently, he’s tied up with some mission over there…
so he doesn’t have time to come for now.”
“I see…
Come to think of it, wasn’t the Cyber-Titan project originally intended to develop a universal exoskeleton suit?”
“Boss, you’re putting me on the spot…
I’m just a grunt; I don’t know anything about that stuff…”
Rain couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Fine, I won’t trouble you.
You’re dismissed.
Also, have Brandt take a team out to coordinate with the Counter-Intelligence Department’s operations.”
“Copy that.”
After Canris left, Rain stroked his chin.
His memory was certainly correct—the Cyber-Titan was originally meant to be a powerful exoskeleton for mass deployment.
Now, having Adam Smasher test it…
That likely meant the development had reached a certain stage, but the requirements for use were so high that only someone of Adam Smasher’s caliber could handle it.
“Hmm…
if it continues this way, the Kong’s value will be quite low…
It can’t be marketed as a product, nor can it help improve the overall strength of Arasaka’s forces…”
Rain shook his head at the thought.
“Still, it might be an opportunity for me.
I could try to gamble for the blueprints or something…”
Rain turned his attention to his point total: 5032.
Part of it came from the Maelstrom, and the rest from the weak rogue AIs he encountered during recent deep dives.
“I’ll have to see if there are more opportunities for field work later…
Hmm…
it seems story characters provide more points…
Speaking of which, why hasn’t V triggered any missions yet?
Is it too early?
Or have we just not interacted enough…”