The Creators: From Night City

Page 382

Mann, Dorio, Rebecca, Pila, Falco, Kievie, Lucy, Hayley, old Logan, and his increasingly authoritative mother, Gloria.

They can be considered the first batch of members of [Anti-Entropy]. Although some of them chose to stay in this world for various reasons, and many others followed the development of [Anti-Entropy] to migrate to 'Heimul' or even other planes to work, the feelings between them have not changed.

With David's arrival, the atmosphere in the room immediately became more lively.

Rebecca and Hayley sat together, seemingly having endless gossip, while Pila used his deliberately long and slender arms to perform flair bartending, constantly showing off his agility in front of Kiki.

Gloria was exchanging parenting tips with Dorio and sharing pregnancy knowledge, while the still-robust Mann watched his beautiful wife with doting eyes.

Lucy leaned against the table, smoking, and smiled as she watched David. She gently moved aside to make room for him.

The boy smiled brightly, his ever-present pompadour hairstyle still in place, but his once unruly face now bore the marks of maturity and composure.

"We have an important meeting to attend later, so please don't drink too much. It's not easy for everyone to get together like this, so we can have a nice meal at the cafeteria afterward," the head steward said, watching Pila drink one glass of wine after another.

"Ms. Gloria, are we about to make a big move?"

Mann remained as steady and reliable as ever, dedicated to his work.

"certainly"

"We're going to fight that gang, Sixth Street Gang or Tiger Claw Gang? I want to volunteer, it's been so long since I've fought!" the violent loli Rebecca asked, kicking her legs.

"That would be much more exciting than this."

Gloria scanned the expectant faces of the crowd, preparing to reveal some of the upcoming meeting's content in advance.

"The BOSS is preparing to attack Arasaka Tower."

Chapter 785 Emperor Taizong of Tang's discerning eyes

"When most people in the world think of Arasaka Corporation, the image that comes to mind is that of black-clad security guards employed by numerous corporations, organizations, and powerful entities."

The torrential rain under the neon lights poured down on the floating lanterns of "Canyue Pavilion," a Japanese-style "Odd Jobs Shop" situated at the waist of a skyscraper, seemingly floating in mid-air.

The intermediary, 'Yokomizo Ichiro', sat behind a low table and calmly began his opening remarks.

Facing the humanoid figure shimmering with a faint golden light across the table, even someone like him, who belonged to the top tier of hackers in Japan, couldn't help but have his fingers tremble slightly.

Fear enveloped him, but his mission compelled him to remain seated.

The electronic shamisen has an ethereal tone with a slightly metallic graininess, flowing at just the right volume—neither disturbing nor too quiet to fill every inch of silence, without interfering with conversations between visitors and the homeowner.

"It seems you have a different opinion?"

Jiang Bing sat opposite him, his eyes gleaming with a rich golden light.

"It is the world's most powerful arms empire. Saburo Arasaka ruled the entire empire with an iron fist of fear and death, which also profoundly influenced the whole of Japan."

With the meticulousness characteristic of the obsessed Japanese, 'Yokomizo Ichiro' used a lot of computing power to simulate a pot of tea and filled it for the visitor with a wave of his hand.

"He is like a leech sucking blood from the country, and the price of his growing power is the weakness of the entire country and the suffering of the people."

"So that's why you resistance organizations exist?"

“Where there is oppression, there is resistance.” Yokomizo Ichiro filled Jiang Bing’s teacup and pushed it in front of him.

"So the result is that you rebelled and went deep into cyberspace, only to be chased around by Arasaka's purge squad in the real world, right?" Jiang Bing always exposes people's weaknesses, especially when there's a tracking puppet hidden in the tea in front of him.

Human strength has its limits.

"Alright, let's talk about Arasaka. How much do you know about Arasaka?" Jiang Bing interrupted the other party's pretentious pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"Arasaka's headquarters are located in Tokyo, Japan, in two adjacent skyscrapers, while the research and installation department is a classified facility located in the northern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan, where all the most sensitive experiments are conducted."

"The Arasaka military camp is located in Hokkaido, Japan. The guards, soldiers, and agents of Arasaka undergo four months of intensive training here to develop their skills in various aspects such as combat, survival, infiltration, security, and espionage."

"The weapons factory in Arasaka is located in Yokohama, Tokyo Bay, covering 500 acres and heavily guarded. To be precise, the entire factory consists of three plants, each responsible for the production of different product lines."

"Where is Saburo Arasaka?" Jiang Bing interrupted the other person's incessant chatter and went straight to the point.

Yokomizo Ichiro was not annoyed. After taking a sip of his tea, he gave them the information they had painstakingly obtained.

"The most likely place is the Arasaka family garden. Although Saburo Arasaka will also inspect the above facilities and even go to Arasaka's space station in space for inspection, the place where he will ultimately settle down is his luxurious family garden."

Under Jiang Bing's ambiguous gaze, 'Yokomizo Ichiro' finally began to get down to business.

“The building is located on more than 20 acres of land in the suburbs of Tokyo.”

A holographic architectural diagram rises up on the tea table.

This is a typical Japanese-style luxurious garden, or rather, a fortress.

"The entire estate is roughly divided into a main mansion, a gymnasium, a Shinto shrine, a cherry orchard, and a hovercar landing field."

As Yokomizo Ichiro explained, various areas were quickly marked on the holographic map.

"Thirty elites who are both top servants and deadly guards form the core defense force of the manor. The "Earth Spider" sensor array, the "Crow Flock" drone sentry, the "Shikigami" automatic defense platform, and the "Shadow Warrior" security core are all hidden in this seemingly ancient manor."

The holographic map was zoomed out, and a military camp located near the manor was marked.

"The elite rapid reaction force codenamed 'Ghost Soldiers' is a highly cybernetically enhanced, well-equipped, and ruthless free mercenary force. They will arrive at the scene within 3 minutes of the manor being attacked and wipe out any invading enemies."

Steam rose in wisps, and Jiang Bing and 'Yokomizo Ichiro' stared at each other, their eyes locked, waiting for the other to speak. For a long time, the other person remained silent.

That's it?

"This is precious intelligence that we obtained with the blood of hundreds of warriors, Your Excellency," Yokomizo Ichiro emphasized coldly.

What about the relevant parameters for systems like 'Earth Spider', 'Crow Flock', 'Shikigami', and 'Shadow Dancer'?

"What is the personnel composition and equipment of the Ghost Soldier Unit?"

Jiang Bing was speechless and almost slammed his fist on the table.

"So, the largest Arasaka resistance organization in Japan only knows about such trivial matters?"

Jiang Bing almost laughed out of anger at the other party.

Faced with Jiang Bing's questioning, 'Yokomizo Ichiro' fully demonstrated his 'humility' by apologizing to Jiang Bing with an impeccable dogeza (a traditional Tibetan pilgrimage posture).

"I am very sorry that I could not meet your needs, but this is all the core information we know about Arasaka. Please keep your promise and release the organization members you have kidnapped. They are the backbone of the resistance against Arasaka."

Fearing that Jiang Bing might act irrationally in anger, the other party quickly continued to advise him: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, sir."

"We're friends, yet you're still so desperate to track my location in the real world?" Jiang Bing once again brushed aside the information stream attacking him from the network, offering a disdainful retort.

However, he deliberately ignored the fact that he held the 'souls' of dozens of hackers in his hands and used them to blackmail the enemy leader into sharing top-secret information about Arasaka.

After learning about Tokyo's most famous middleman from the 'ragpicker,' he immediately went to find him, and the result was exactly as he expected.

When it came to Saburo Arasaka, half of the renowned middlemen dared not get involved in these deadly jobs, and a small number of them were prepared to sell him to the Arasaka Group behind him, only to be killed by Jiang Bing along with the attacking Arasaka ninja squad.

Only at the very end did someone give him advice, suggesting he try contacting terrorist organizations that were resisting Arasaka's tyranny.

After all, your enemies are often the ones who know you best.

Jiang Bing followed the advice, but as soon as he let it out, he was repeatedly hacked at the network level by the dozen or so hackers under his command.

Could Boss Jiang, with his fiery temper, tolerate such treatment? He immediately locked these hackers in cyberspace, along with the subsequent rescue hackers, all of them were placed in cyber confinement.

As a result, this scene unfolded today.

The barbarians are beasts; they fear power but do not cherish virtue. It can only be said that Emperor Taizong of Tang was discerning.

Chapter 786 The Arasaka Tower is About to Collapse

Valerie's fingers trembled slightly with excitement.

Vincent, on the other hand, remained as steady as a rock.

Hundreds of 'Black King's Apostles' stood solemnly, their guns reflecting a crystalline light under the blazing sun.

They were all warriors who originated from Night City, and they joined this expedition with their destiny.

The humanoid heavy armored figure lowered its brows and eyes, appearing compassionate.

Thousands of drones, like doves of peace in the square, await release.

The wanderers of Adcado stood in front of their respective vehicles, looking back towards Night City.

They are looking out.

Arakasaka Tower.

The magnificent pillars that stand tall in the city of night, skyscrapers.

Arakasaka Tower.

A symbol of rights deeply rooted in the hearts of the residents of Night City, the steel stamp of the soul.

Not everyone present could directly relate to it, but everyone present seemed inextricably linked to it.

Of course, there was more pain than happiness.

All that Arasaka Tower brought to everyone was decades of hardship, madness, loss, and separation.

David recalled that afternoon a year ago, on his way back from Arasaka Academy, the turning point in his otherwise mundane life.

Rebecca clenched her large, calloused fingers, recalling the night before her father's departure.

Old Logan, a cigar dangling from his lips, the smoke trailing from his gambler's hat, drifted towards the heavens where his wife and children resided.

Lucy touched the back of her head, where the once cold steel was now warm.

Mann was holding his helmet, just like when he was young and joined the army.

In the distance behind him, all the former team members stood in a row, watching the group of soldiers setting off.

They will go to subvert, to overthrow, to kill.

They will build, they will rebel, they will shape.

Human reforms are invariably accompanied by bloodshed and sacrifice.

Death is its food, but flesh and blood are the foundation for a new world.

The wind in Taiping Prefecture stirred the silence, and finally, a burning word seeped out from the cold, silent communication channel.

"action!"

Hundreds of vehicles then drove out of the gates and sped north along the Pacific State, traversing the entire Heywood and heading straight for the company square.

They made no attempt to conceal their identities; they were extremely high-profile.

They had to do this to tear down the Arasaka Tower in the hearts of all the residents of this city.

The city's public transportation system was hacked and taken over, and the main road leading to the company square was cleared, waiting for this convoy to strike at the heart of the enemy.

As old Logan sat in his car, gazing at the silhouette of Night City, he felt as if he had returned to 2023.

So he couldn't help but hum the nursery rhyme he used to lull his son to sleep.

This is a children's song that is widely circulated in Night City.

"The Arasaka Tower is going to collapse."

It's going to collapse, it's going to collapse.

Arasaka Tower is going to collapse.

My beautiful lady.

Building with iron railings.

Iron railings, iron railings.

Building with iron railings.

My beautiful lady.

His voice was rough and unrestrained, yet it carried a unique tenderness, like that of someone soothing a baby to sleep, and also a sense of sorrow.

Having personally experienced the Arasaka Tower nuclear explosion, he participated in the reconstruction of the city. Radioactive dust once dyed the sky red, and people, with their hopes for a better life and the promises of those in power, devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the city's construction.

Many people contracted radiation sickness, and the actual deaths only began to occur gradually after the nuclear explosion.

Night City was reborn from the bones of their generation, but the promised good life never came.

Capital remains unbridled, and the systems it enforces continue to reduce people to cold, hard numbers. Oppression and loss only bring war and resistance.

Only war and resistance.

The Arasaka Tower was rebuilt in the city, but the dead would never return, and the life they had hoped for was like a dream, a thing of the past.