“Let’s go.
We’ll talk about this when we get back.
For now, let’s head back to Arasaka Tower.”
After making a note of the matter, Rain headed toward the helipad.
By the time he and Canris’s trio boarded the aerodyne and departed once more, V had only just received the news and came panting back to the car to follow them.
For a moment, V felt like this was truly a cursed ordeal…
Back at Arasaka Tower, Rain wrapped up today’s work and immediately notified Canris and the others to leave the company.
Consequently, V, who had finally reached the company after rushing over, was met with the news that Rain had already left.
After confirming through local intelligence that Rain was heading straight home, V felt a massive surge of resentment.
“Fuck, what absolute shit luck!”
“Captain, are we still pursuing?”
At this moment, the other team members beside V couldn’t help but ask.
Hearing this, V took a deep breath and finally nodded.
Or rather…
they had no choice in the matter; they had to keep pursuing.
“Pursue.
Even if it’s just a formality for the higher-ups, for small fries like us, if we just half-ass it, it won’t be as simple as just following protocol.”
The others exchanged glances, said no more, and piled into the car to continue toward Rain’s home.
It was well known that Night City had two major wealthy districts: the old-money Charter Hill and the up-and-coming North Oak.
Rain’s home was a luxury penthouse in a Charter Hill apartment complex, complete with a private helipad for aerodynes and a swimming pool.
Of course…
this was just Rain’s primary residence.
Besides this place, he actually owned several other properties under his name, all of which he had consciously selected, though some were inherited directly from his parents.
To be fair, there was a certain logic to real estate investment in Night City…
though only a little.
Not much more than that.
The reason being…
in certain areas, a rented apartment could sometimes be flipped for a second rental within days.
The cause, naturally, was the mysterious disappearance of the previous tenant.
Occasionally, tenants would leave behind some unknown red or white liquids…
and not infrequently, the corpses of unidentified creatures would remain inside.
Many landlords in Night City had long since grown accustomed to this.
except if there were large unidentified carcasses, in which case one might need to notify an NCPD officer.
Otherwise…
one could probably skip the notification entirely.
“Boss, an Arasaka ops team in Watson is requesting a Special Services Squad for backup tomorrow.”
“Hmm?
This kind of thing should be handled by the team leaders.
Why is it coming to me?”
“The supervisor below specifically sent it to you, Boss.”
Hearing this, Canris explained the situation.
“Boss, the guys below probably want you to assert your authority.
After all…
how does the saying go?
Oh right, a new official lights three fires.”
Rain narrowed his eyes at this.
“What are they doing tomorrow?”
“It seems they’re clearing out a Scavengers hideout to recover employee data and corporate property…”
“…Forget it.
They’re just a bunch of Scavengers.”
After hearing that, Rain waved his hand dismissively, lacking interest.
There was no need for him to act; they were just rats hiding in the gutters.
“By the way, why do they need to recover employee data from Scavengers?”
“Some unlucky bastard got fried by a roadside Blackwall.
By the time the company got word, he was already dead…
and all the cyberware and shards he was carrying had been stripped clean by passersby…”
“Hmm…
isn’t that a bit slow?”
“Ahem, because…”
Seeing Canris look his way, Rain gave a helpless look.
“Tell them to handle these trivial matters themselves.
Don’t bother me again, or their performance bonuses are gone.”
“Understood!”
“Then Boss, can I…
tomorrow…”
“What, you want to make some extra cash on the side?”
“Hehe, I’ve got some ideas…”
“Go ahead then.
Permission granted.”
Rain didn’t refuse; he nodded and turned to Canris.
“Then I’ll leave the business coordination with Dangerous Girl to you tomorrow.”
“Copy that.”
As time passed, the aerodyne scanned the helipad at Rain’s home before landing steadily.
Meanwhile, the armed robots and drones from the craft fanned out to establish security measures.
After confirming the home’s security system hadn’t been triggered, the aerodyne’s hatch slowly opened.
“Boss, no abnormalities.”
“Mhm.”
Rain nodded nonchalantly and slowly stepped out of the aerodyne.
“Boss, to be honest, no matter how many times I see it, I still think your home security is way over the top…”
“Over the top?
I think it’s fine.
After all, you only get one life.”
Rain shrugged as he spoke.
Canris and Brandt exchanged looks, both seeing the helplessness in each other’s eyes.
Their boss was incredibly capable in a fight; just how capable?
Well, capable enough to take them both down with one hand and wipe the floor with them.
Simply put, if someone really wanted to ambush Rain, first, they’d have to find a way to bring down the aerodyne.
In the process, they’d have to endure Rain’s hacking and the heavy machine guns mounted on the craft.
Additionally, the drones and military robots on the aerodyne would launch their own attacks.
Even if you managed to bring the aerodyne down, the partially intact robots and drones would continue their assault.
At the same time, you’d have to deal with two high-level Arasaka combat operatives equipped with Arasaka’s top-tier combat cyberware plus custom cyberware Rain paid for himself.
Then, even if you managed to resolve all of that, congratulations: you’d be facing a fully armed boss equipped with the latest Sandevistan, Subdermal Armor, Titanium Bones, various military-grade artificial organs, numerous biological components, and the power of a mysterious system.
Rain didn’t care about other things for now, but he was somewhat confident in his personal combat strength.
Compared to the current power levels in Night City, he truly stood at the very top.