“How’s the situation over at the Public Relations Department?”
“Well, they said they’ve prepared a proposal, but for the specific details, they might still need you to head over there personally to confirm, Boss.”
“Fine, let’s go now then.
Let’s not waste too much time; if possible, I’d still like to finish things up here quickly and find a place to relax.”
“Hehe, Boss, I get what you mean.”
“No, you don’t.”
Rain gave Brandt a dry, annoyed look before standing up and heading outside.
Soon, Rain and Brandt took the elevator to the Public Relations Department’s location.
During the ride, V happened to walk in as well.
Seeing the other person’s appearance, Rain couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned.
Though it had been a long time, he still vaguely remembered the appearance he had customized in the game, and the person before him…
looked almost exactly like his memory.
He didn’t think this was some kind of coincidence…
in other words…
the person in front of him was indeed V.
It made sense, though…
after all, V joined Arasaka after graduation.
At this point in time, she had probably only recently become a full-time employee and hadn’t yet become too deeply entangled with Jenkins or participated in many of Arasaka’s counter-intelligence operations.
After scanning V with his cyber-eye, her file and recent corporate logs quickly appeared before Rain’s eyes.
While Rain had the leisure to browse her file, V’s mood was far from pleasant; in fact, she was so nervous she could hardly contain herself…
“Damn it, how did I run into the big shot at this exact moment?!”
Of course, V only dared to say this in her mind.
If she had spoken it aloud…
it would have certainly drawn someone’s attention, though it wasn’t much different now anyway.
“Canris, pull up the file on Valerie from the Counter-Intelligence Department and put it in my office.”
“Understood, Boss.”
After giving the order via comms to Canris, who was still standing guard, Rain temporarily put away the data he was viewing.
There was a lot of information, and he couldn’t finish it all in a short time, so it was better to set it aside for now.
As for why he didn’t instruct Brandt beside him, it was naturally because the subject of the file request was standing right in front of them.
If he told this blockhead now, there was a high probability the guy would have a reaction that would give Rain a massive headache.
Ding!
At that moment, the elevator chime sounded.
Rain and Brandt exited one after the other, and seeing this, V finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Talk about some damn bad luck…”
…
“Haha, Minister Rain!
Welcome, welcome.
I’m truly sorry for the trouble of having you come here in person.”
As he spoke, a cheerful middle-aged man wearing a custom Arasaka suit, with black slicked-back hair streaked with silver on the right and a bright smile on his face, came forward to greet them.
Seeing this, a gentle smile appeared on Rain’s face as well—this was essentially his fixed expression for social interactions.
“Minister Aizov, it feels like we haven’t seen each other in quite a while.”
“Indeed, it has been a long time since our last meeting.
I didn’t expect that by the time we met again, Your Excellency Rain would have already been promoted to Minister.
Truly young and promising.”
Aizov sighed with admiration at Rain before making a gesture.
“This way, please.
Regarding your previous operation, Minister Rain, there are indeed some follow-up public relations issues that require your cooperation.”
“Understood.
Sorry for the trouble.”
Rain nodded slightly to Aizov.
Although they appeared to be of the same rank, Rain’s status as the Minister of the Special Operations Department was actually higher, as the Public Relations Department was not a high-priority department for Arasaka.
The main business and responsibility of the Public Relations Department was to interface with the current WNS, and they could even manage some of its affairs from a higher level.
Their primary role was to help Arasaka with damage control, contact Arasaka-funded celebrities to help whitewash the company’s image, or guide the public to vent their emotions.
Of course…
it was only for venting emotions; Arasaka wouldn’t provide any further help beyond that.
Much like the famous talk-show hosts in Night City who often teased or mocked the corporations—it wasn’t because they were brave, but because they were deliberately left there by the corporations as an outlet for the public’s frustration.
As for Aizov…
though he looked bright and cheerful, Rain actually knew his true nature.
He was a pervert who chased thrills, loved watching braindance, and even enjoyed producing his own black braindance.
Rain had no intention of intervening or commenting on that; after all, the man was indeed a ‘good person’ to him—meaning, a very useful person.
“Regarding your previous operation, Minister Rain, since it involved some city road administration and the consumption of public goods, the PR Department’s suggestion is for you to provide a portion of the costs as a donation.
This can shut some people up and help you gain favor with certain groups…”
“In addition, regarding the casualties of some uninvolved individuals during the operation and the primary target of the decapitation strike, our plan is to directly define the target as a terrorist.
As for the specific details of the terrorist attack…
we can look here…”
As he spoke, Aizov showed Rain some of the fabricated details.
Rain looked them over and nodded.
“No problem, let’s go with this plan.
And then?
What specifically do I need to do?”
“It’s nothing major.
We mainly hope that you, Minister Rain, can show your face in a follow-up interview program on WNS News and answer a few small questions.”
“Sure, no problem.
I’m happy to cooperate with your work.”
“That’s wonderful.
Then I won’t disturb you further.
Oh, by the way…
would you like to go out and relax after work?
I recently got a batch of new goods, including some works from that new black braindance master.”
Aizov smiled at Rain as he spoke.
“Maybe next time.
I still have some departmental matters to handle; I might not have the time for now.”
Rain declined the invitation with a smile.
Aizov showed a slightly regretful expression and then nodded.
Afterward, Rain took Brandt back to his office via the elevator.
“Boss, here is the file you asked me to retrieve.”
Canris brought over V’s complete file.
Rain nodded to Canris and walked into his office.
After reading through V’s entire resume in the file, Rain nodded silently.
He had some interest in this future ‘Cyber-V-god,’ but not an overwhelming amount; it was better to watch how things developed.
If he really wanted to recruit her…
it would be best to do it in one go to prevent things from becoming more troublesome later.
Besides, she was currently Jenkins’ subordinate.
Ultimately, both Intelligence Departments, including the Special Operations Department, served the Security Department in a sense, so he could actually mobilize her directly if needed.
So for the current situation, he could use her without the effort of training her himself, so he temporarily had no plans to win her over.
However…
Dogtown might be worth a try.
Speaking of which, it was about time for him to start causing some trouble for Biotechnica.
Targeting some management personnel and digging up dirt would all require the help of the Intelligence Department.
Abernathy…
“Canris, come in for a moment.”