Chapitre 108: A son's reaction II

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Here is the author, for the people who read the previous chapter on the first day, please know that I have edited the end of the chapter, explaining better Sora's reaction. That's all, as always, I hope you like it.

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Judy, having a bad feeling after hearing the loud noises coming from her office floor, made her rush together with Yumeko, upon arrival they found a chaotic scene in the corridors outside her office. The wall was broken, and there were bloodstains on it. Hanako was desperately trying to stop Sora, who was grabbing by the neck one of her guards on the ground, throwing repeated punches with his left arm on the bloody pulp that was now the guard`s face.

Seeing Hanako so close to such violence and a volatile person, Yumeko didn't hesitate and leaped towards Sora. Activating the cyberware in her legs, she deployed the sharp Raptor Blades, which extended like crescents from her shins to her knees, cutting her elegant suit pants.

Yumeko activated her Sandervista, leaving behind an elegant trail of graceful movements as she charged, almost appearing as if she were dancing. Until she broke that beautiful fantasy by delivering a fierce kick aimed to Sora`s head, while at the same time activating, the modifier and the non-lethal mode, of her Raptor blade.

Electrifying them, and at the same time retracting the blade's edge inside the half-moon structure, losing its cutting ability, knowing the strange affection Hanako had for the "grandson of Musashi Hatake". Yumeko thought to knock him unconscious with a powerful shock and a painful kick, also paying back all the dissatisfaction, resentment, and envy she had accumulated over the years as Hanako's assistant, against Sora.

Due to all the problems and uncomfortable situations, Hanako had endured because of him, such as the incessant questioning, almost like an interrogation, by the leader of the "Taka" faction, her brother Yorinobu, about her use of the Blackbird three years ago in one of the Arasaka meetings, in front of all the shareholders, including Saburo himself.

But to Yumeko's surprise, when her powerful kick was about to make an impact on Sora's head, he stopped it without even looking at her. He caught the electrified blade of her Raptor Blades with the black robotic fingers of his right hand, leaving Yumeko bewildered when he began absorbing all the electricity from the blade.

Without bothering to look at her, Sora opened his mouth and said, "Back to you" literally covering Yumeko's body in the electricity of her own discharge. Taking advantage of her dazed state, Sora released her Raptor blade from between his fingers... to create the third mark on the corridor wall.

When he grabbed her metallic ankle with his cybernetic hand with force and made her crash, dodging his mother, brutally against the same wall as her two companions. Yumeko felt how the air in her lungs abandoned her after the brutal impact of her back against the wall.

Sora then released his grip on the shocked Yumeko and threw her to the ground in front of him... and without having finished with her, Sora raised his foot over her head....

As Yumeko recovered from the shock and the terrible impact, she saw 'terrifying' black eyes staring down at her, glowing with a 'beautiful' cold blue in them. She feared the worst as she lost sight of one of the terrifying/beautiful eyes, hidden behind the sole of his boot, which hovered just above her face. While she heard a phrase that not only surprised her and sent chills down her spine but also shocked Hanako, that also hear it.

"Human, I've been irritated by the way you've been looking at "us" with those annoying red eyes... learn your place," Sora said in a tone that didn't seem like his usual self in his voice, somehow different.

Mercilessly lowering his leg with the same exact force and aiming at the same spot that she aimed her fierce kick from before, her head... Despite her mother's cries of "Sora! No!" trying to stop him, he ignored her as if he couldn't hear. However, when Sora's boot was about to impact Yumeko's face. There was the trembling but firm voice of.... "Sora, stop!" Judy.

Where Hanako's failed, Judy's words/voice managed to stop Sora's foot just millimeters away from Yumeko's trembling face. He looked up, reacting to his name for the first time, and stared at the person responsible.

With Judy... surprising Hanako again, when smiling softly at him, almost seeming familiar with the state of her son, she approached him, and without a hint of fear or rejection, grabbed his bloody left hand, between hers... staining them, and looking at him... "Calm down... the '3'," Judy said softly. "I don't know what happened, but that's enough."

With Hanako, being able to see how her son lost the "demonic" features of his face, with his eyes recovering normality, and his fangs reducing in size, as he stared at.... his partner. Sora raised the corners of his mouth and looked at Judy with a sense of gratitude, demonstrating that he was better. Sora gently squeezed Judy's hands, stained by his fault, as a final token of gratitude before letting her go.

Without saying a word, Sora walked back into the office directly to the table, where a black Malorian 3516 rested inside the wooden box. Without hesitation, he grabbed it and examined it intently for a few seconds before smoothly holstering it in a new custom-made sheath under his right arm.

As Sora felt a familiar sensation from the two Malorian 3516s, one black and the other silver, in their holsters under his arms. When they both began to vibrate as they met again, together... with their... "new" owner. Sora couldn't help but recall the first time he unsheathed Getsuga, and gently touched them, smiling until they were finished.

Then, he closed his jacket, and walked out of the office, stepping over the wounded bodies of the guards, feeling neither pity nor guilt.... yet... pulling two stim-pens from a compartment on his arm and giving them to Judy to use on the guards.

Standing before his mother and avoiding eye contact, he felt a bit ashamed after she had seen "that" side of him. "Ahem," he cleared his throat before extending his black hand in front of Hanako's face, and from inside his palm, pulling out a time-worn piece of paper, with one corner slightly burnt and another stained with blood.

"I... I'm sorry," Sora said, returning the note, feeling guilty as he remembered the look on his mother's face when she thought he had burned one of the few remnants of John.

Surprising Hanako when she saw it, Sora, upon seeing her joyful expression, add, "Mother, this is just a simple note, a thing... his true legacy isn't that note, that box, his car... or even..." Sora paused, placing his hand over his Malorian, "His weapons... his- 'your' true legacy is your son," he said, turning slightly embarrassed by his own words.

On the contrary, delighting his mother so much that she didn't mind that her loyal assistant overheard her son's tender words. She agreed with him and said, "Keep it. It has been with me for many years, and as you said, it's just a piece of paper."

Sora nodded, smiling slightly at his mother, putting the message from his father back inside his arm. Without saying anything else, he walked towards the elevator. Judy who was helping a puzzled Yumeko to get up, who didn't know how to react to what she just heard, when saw the little Eco running out of her office following him, asked "Sora, wait where are you going?"

"I'm leaving; I want to get some fresh air. Besides... I still need to get my suit," he replied.

"You're leaving? Wait! You still don't have your suit!? You told me you had everything ready!" Judy exclaimed.

"I lied" Said Sora lying again, without turning around, actually having his suit ready and just needing to go pick up, but.... 'What's life, without pissing her off' Sora thought as he could hear....

".... Bastard, you're right! Leave before I kill you! And I hope you get a suit that doesn't make me look ridiculous standing beside you! Do you hear me!?" Judy yelled, contrasting with her words, with her surroundings—a hallway with blood stains, with Arasaka guards lying badly injured on the floor.

"Yeah, yeah..." replied Sora, smiling at her as the elevator doors closed.

As the doors closed, Hanako turned to Judy and said, "We need to talk Miss Alvarez... after seeing what I saw, I have many questions to ask you."

"Ah!" Judy replied surprised, not expecting that, feeling as if she was the one who was going to pay the consequences for Sora's actions, for how Hanako was looking at her intensely.

"But first... let's go to the hotel. Our dresses and the stylists' team are already waiting for us. There, you'll have all the time in the world to answer my questions. And you, Yumeko..." Hanako said, turning to her silent assistant before asking, "Now you understand why I care so much about "Musashi's Grandson"?

"Y-yes!" replied Hanako's loyal, still surprised, assistant, upon actually learning who "Musashi's Grandson" was. Tinting helplessly at the way she thought of him in her mind, she still didn't like him one bit, but... she could still see when she closed her eyes the chilling gaze of the youngest heir of the Arasaka family was giving to her, fearing the storm that "those eyes" would create within the corporation when their existence came to light.

Meanwhile, through the office window, it could be seen the security team positioned themselves, by what seemed like an attack, as a customized black Yaiba motorcycle leaped with agility, altering the height of its wheels' axles, bypassing the blockade of black SUVs at the workshop's street entrance, being surrounded by the soldiers of Arasaka of the entrance.

A few seconds later Sora appeared, seemingly oblivious to the soldiers, and deactivated the driver's hologram, revealing a helmet on the seat. Sora put it on and mounted the motorcycle with Eco. Without delay, he accelerated violently, leaping over the SUV blockade once more.

Just as Yumeko was about to contact the rest of the security team, Oda appeared, his face slightly swollen, a bit bruised, and his clothes soaked, leaving a trail on the floor, and for that, being followed for a small pack of cleaning robots constantly bumping into his legs, hindering his movements.

Visibly pissed off, Oda shook his head, seemingly searching for someone intensely. Upon seeing him, Hanako spoke, "Oda, I'm glad you've arrived. We've already administered first aid to them. Take care of them and have them brought back to HQ... ensure they receive the best treatment and cyberware they need." Hanako gestured towards her injured guards, who had stopped bleeding thanks to Judy administering his son`s Stim-pen.

"Of course, Hanako-sama," Oda replied, his expression turning professional, though he had no idea what had taken place while looking at Yumeko to understand what happened, and she replied by shooking her head unable to share the truth of what happened without needing Hanako to tell her anything. As she Followed Hanako and Judy as they left.

---

One hour after driving aimlessly through the city...

In a warehouse with a sign written in Chinese characters in the Chinatown area of the Kabuki sub-district...

Sora and Eco entered an old textile factory, bustling just like the first time he came there. The same hunched woman approached him, and when she saw him, she stood still, expecting something from Sora.

"Grams, I'm not Morgan, I have 4 coins left, I'm not going to go around giving them away, take me inside or I'm coming in myself" Sora said, not intending to give away one of his few coins and Eco... "Waaf" confirming his words with a bark on his shoulder.

The two or rather the three of them stared at each other, until it was the stooped old woman who turned around as she called out.... "Umh... stingy" (Cantonese) to Sora.

"That's right, start walking, Grams," (Cantonese) Sora replied in perfect Cantonese, using his Soulcode to connect to an old language learning program he had in his IDn. While connected, Sora instantly gained complete knowledge of grammar, formulation, and phonetics of any language he wanted, allowing him to speak like a native as long as he remained connected.

The stooped old woman looked at Sora with a 'not bad' expression, slightly impressed by his natural tone, in contrast, to the formal and rigid one used by instant translation programs, which was the main reason why people didn't bother learning languages.

After passing through the double red doors guarded by two men, Sora met Lazarus' Italian tailor, Luca Mosca, who had noticeable bags under his eyes. "Oh! Signor Okami, I'm glad to see you. As I send to your Lazarus card this morning, your suit is ready.I'm sure you will like it." Luca said.

"Thank you, Luca. I hope you didn't have to work too much on my suit," Sora replied.

"Oh, no, no. This is because of Signor Blackhand's suit. The day after you placed your orders, he came back to make some changes. I must say I'm proud of your suit, but the muses visited me when I designed Signor Blackhand's outfit," Luca said, causing Sora to make a displeased face.

Seeing Sora's face, Luca chuckled and said; "Hahah, don't worry," approaching a covered mannequin. He unveiled an elegant black 3-piece Italian-cut suit, with the pants, jacket, tie, and vest all in a shining black tone. While the shirt had a slightly more matte appearance, with small silver metallic accessories on the suit. Proud of his work, Luca added;

"Even if you're working as bodyguard in this suit, it's inevitable that some eyes will be drawn to you, Signor Okami! Besides, after thinking about the user and the most functional approach, I made this bold modification. I hope you like it."

Luca removed the jacket from the mannequin, revealing the interior design of the suit with a tight-fitting black undershirt featuring a high collar and fasteners, giving it a tactical appearance, with simple fasteners to attach to any helmet to fully cover the neck. The shirt had only one sleeve, leaving the right arm completely exposed, elegantly complemented by a harness that went over the vest.

Seeing Luca's peculiar design, Sora said, "I like it, thank you, Luca. With this, I'm sure 'she' will be happy."

"Haha, nothing better than making the ladies happy. I'm glad my suit could help you achieve that. By the way, our less refined artisans from the Virginia headquarters sent this for you. It comes from the R&D manager, Miss Powler. I'll leave the room for you to change and see what she sent," Luca said, informing someone outside the room who entered seconds later with a strange triangular device, placing it on a low table near the mannequin with the suit.

Once everyone left the room, leaving Sora and Eco inside, Sora first checked for any cameras in the room. Then, he took out the cylindrical container he had been carrying in his sling bag and placed it on the table in front of his suit.

He focused on the small, triangular device, just a few centimeters tall, and without any buttons or obvious opening mechanism. After a moment of contemplation, he took out a completely black card from his pocket. Gradually, began to reveal the golden details of Lazarus as the nanobots it was covered, returned to Sora's hand tattoos.

Passing the card over the container, it emitted a [Pip!] sound, opening elegantly with its triangular sections rotating like a camera lens, revealing fingerless gloves with four pyramid-shaped protrusions over the knuckles.

As Sora took one of the gloves, the interior lens of the device activated, projecting a small holographic screen displaying a range of colorful and wild images like a cake, a monkey playing cymbals, and exploding bombs that turned into confetti.

Eventually, a few lines appeared in the holographic message that read, [Congratulations Noob, this is a gift for joining Lazarus and being able to beat the old Morgan, I sent you these little 'babys', to see if with these also you have the balls to overload them.... I dare you! Try it Punk! I'll put my pride as a Genius on the fact that you won't be able to]!

"Well, I don't know you, but thanks. About whether I can or not... don't challenge me. Powler, right?" Sora said aloud while trying one of the gloves.

"..." Creating a silence, as there was no response until...

["Tch... you caught me. I'll give you credit for that."] A young and somewhat irritated voice replied from the triangular device.

"A message too eccentric to be just a gift..." Sora responded, smiling at the device, expressing his reasoning.

["Hmm"] being answered with an indifferent reply ["I asked, and 'the one above' allowed me to be the one to inform you formally that you've been admitted on Lazarus.... ♩ Pam-para-pam! ♩ Congratulations, Noob!"] The voice changed rapidly at the end.

"Hmm!... cool. Anything else?" Said Sora, now, the one who replied with disinterest.

["Don't be like that, man. Show a little more enthusiasm. You have no idea how awesome we are! Anyway, 'the one above' told me to inform you that your next mission after the Gala has been decided. You'll be supporting the old man Morgan with his mission. He'll give you the details."]

"Oi, wt- I've enlisted and I haven't realized it or what? Fuck you and your "Mission" tell 'the one above 'all' to go fuck with Spiderman and leave me alone. I joined Lazarus against my will to attend that damn Gala, which I don't want to go to either. I'm drawing the line here; I won't accept jobs that don't interest me or that I haven't chosen."

Powler without, obviously, knowing who Spiderman was, answered; [Oh, really?! You know what?"]

"What?"

["TELL IT TO SOMEONE WHO CARES! CRY ME A RIVER! I'm only talking to you because I heard you're somewhat smart, and I was curious how you managed to overload one of my beloved 'Babys.' So, listen here..."] Prowler shouted impatiently, lacking patience for things that didn't interest her, only to be interrupted...

By Sora's disappointed Interjection of disagreement... "Pfft, you call that crap 'Babys'?", questioning their worth.

This made Prowler's voice growl threateningly as she retorted, ["What did you say?! Noob... you want to explode?"] while the triangular box heated up.

Quickly responding, Sora said, "You don't have the balls... literally!"

Inside the warehouse, the diligently workers in the area of the cover of a textile factory, could hear, among the sound of the machinery, the noise of broken windows, and then.... a loud explosion that shook the warehouse... that made each one of them who seemed to work peacefully, take out a weapon hidden among the machinery.

Armed in seconds, they looked at the hunched woman in charge, and she sent them back to work without caring enough about the reason for the explosion to get up... it would be another thing if he had paid for it.

Meanwhile, Luca quickly entered the room where he had left "Signor Okami," accompanied by two armed men in suits. The room now had a broken window and was full of smoke and broken glass, with Luca able to hear through the smoke in the room...

"Freaking crazy bitch," muttered the same "Signor Okami" who had to throw the triangular device before it exploded. Within seconds, the smoke cleared through the same window through which he had thrown it, and it had exploded shortly after breaking the rest of the window. Sora opened his mouth again when he saw Luca's tired face, looking at him in surprise at what had happened, to say; "It wasn't me."

Minutes later, Sora left the old textile warehouse dressed in his stylish black suit, and after switching from his motorcycle helmet, deactivating the camouflaged shape, to his real form the Okami helmet placed on his head, with a version that had more thinner frames, leaving the illuminated front screen more space. And as always, with Getsuga hanging from behind his hip in its elegant single black sheath

Standing at the entrance, Sora, looking great dressed in his black suit, had to fight the urge to raise his hands, clap them, and start dancing with tacky pelvic movements. However, as if a very self-aware part of himself, with the same sense of humor, thought the same thing and knew what he needed to do so his other part couldn't hold back, he made sure Sora heard a particular song.

'♩ Everybody knows somebody ♩'

'♩ Who can drive that funky soul? ♩'

'♩ Everybody knows somebody ♩'

'♩ Who can drive that funky soul? ♩'

And when "People Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul" by the great James Brown, sung by Soulcode, reached a certain part.

'♩ Get up, get yourself together ♩'

'♩ And drive your funky soul ♩'

Sora couldn't contain himself any longer and said, "Fuck it," while clapping his hands in the air, spinning around while performing vulgar pelvic movements, following the rhythm of the music that only he could hear, swearing as he danced, that he could hear the laughter of his Soulcode deep inside the Cyberspace of his nanobots.

Eco, who had blended with Sora's suit, fortifying it by combining with the other Nanobots that Sora had brought in his cylindrical container. After convincing Sora to accompany him and winning a long series of challenges that Fool and he had created to decide who would do it, regretting winning, wanting to escape from the suit because of the moves being made, until now, by his respected creator.

Luckily, it was an almost abandoned street where no one saw him, but still... with many reading about it.

After finishing, as if nothing had happened, Sora got on his motorcycle to head to the final stop, to pick up a suitable car for such a special night.

---

When the sky was darkening and the sun was setting, in one of the alleys of Heywood, close to the Coyote Cojo bar,

there was a burly man waiting, standing in front of his own garage, supporting himself with a crutch, having to shield his eyes when a motorcycle entered the alley, blinding him with its powerful headlights.

The burly man could see the blue lines resembling eyes on the rider's helmet as he turned off the engine in front of him and said, "You didn't have to go through the trouble, Jackie. Your mother gave me the key; I just let her know I'd be dropping by... glad to see you're doing better," he said with his characteristic slightly distorted voice.

"Don't worry, she knows better about the condition of my body than I do, heh. When she told me to receive you, she knows it's good for me to move," Jackie Wells replied, shaking hands amicably with Sora/Okami.

He added, surprised to see the merc Okami in an impeccable suit, "Wait, are you also going to that...?" Jackie said, suspecting from Sora's attire where he would be heading, being born and raised in Night City well aware of what day was today and in whose honor a Gala would be held in a few hours.

"Ugh, much to my regret, yes," Sora sighed.

Recalling something Jackie said; "Huh? I thought unaffiliated Mercs couldn't attend if they weren't endorsed by a major corp."

Causing Sora to say exasperated, after hearing him; "Choom...! Am I the only idiot who didn't know that? I agreed to go before finding out, and now... Damn! Whatever, let's go. Judy won't stop messaging me!"

"Judy?" Jackie replied, unable to follow Sora's train of thought.

"She's my... she's the client I have to take to the Gala," Sora said, interrupting himself to avoid saying anything that might trigger bad memories for Jackie, while approaching the garage and unlocking it with the key Guadalupe had given him.

Upon opening the garage, Jackie, having heard about it from his mother, couldn't help but smile as he saw the Porsche 911 II (930) Turbo, a classic almost 100 years old, so well-maintained that it looked practically new.

"You're taking this to the Gala?" Jackie asked, surprised, entering the garage to get a better look at the car's interior.

"Pretty cool, right? All the pompous guests will arrive in the latest models of Rayfield Caliburn, Rayfield Aerondight, or some other soulless hypercar, while I'll go with this nearly one-of-a-kind beauty from almost 100 years ago..." Sora said, gently caressing the Porsche's body. When he reached the side mirror, he whispered as if speaking to the car, "Missed me?"

Seeing Sora's carefree and almost childish behavior, contrary to what he had imagined of the famous Merc of the city, Jackie smiled pleasantly surprised by the misunderstanding, seeing why his mother spoke so highly of him. While he was thinking, Jackie could hear Okami speaking emotionally but, at the same time, weakly, trying to avoid Jackie hearing him, "Ah! Judy will love it."

This made Jackie smile with sadness, recognizing the tone he used to talk about his "client", the same one he himself used until recently... that of a man waiting to see/make his 'her' smile...

Sora, aware of his mistake upon seeing Jackie's expression, left without saying a word and took something from under the seat of his Yaiba, something he had taken from the workshop without a box or warning, now thinking that maybe he should have... for the next moment to think; 'Meh... who cares, I'm sure they'll think it was me anyway.'

Activating it in front of Jackie, automatically covering its metal frame with a realistic hologram of short fur all over its small body, except for its ears and short, almost non-existent dark snout. Handing it to the perplexed Jackie, who had to adjust his crutch under his arm, in order to properly take the adorable Iron "Dog", Pug version, between his hands. Jackie thought he wanted him to hold it, until Sora said.

"It's a gift for... your mother, as a thank for letting me keep the car in your garage. I know it's not what we agreed upon, but... her cooking was really delicious," Sora said, pausing each time he had to come up with something, wanting to correct his mistake with Jackie, after empathizing with what he was going through, hoping that it would cheer him up, and at the same time handing his little spy that would notify him... if something happens at the Wells house, for example, when they would have a long-term guest living with them.

"Are you kidding me? Do you know the waiting list for a small one like this?" Jackie said, finding it hard to believe the "gift" for his mother.

"Don't worry; I have contacts with the manufacturers; they give me a discount," Sora said, as he got into the car, to a surprised Jackie, who was still holding the little Pug, looking at it as it imitated the position of his head, tilting it like him while wagging its small tail.

Jackie snapped out of his trance when Sora started the Porsche's engine, he left the garage with a loud and rapid acceleration, making a tight turn in the narrow alley, coming within inches of the walls of the adjacent buildings before facing the exit at the end of his daring maneuver.

Seeing how Sora just waved his hand from the car window, Jackie said, "Wait! What about your bike? Aren't you going to put it in the gara-?" He was left with his words hanging in his mouth when Sora finish his farewell and then revved the engine of the car again, shooting out of the alley, causing honks from the cars that had to brake abruptly due to the sudden incorporation of the Porsche on the road, after it had practically ejected out of the alley.

Jackie was left alone, with his hands full, his crutch under his arm, the garage door open, and a motorcycle he didn't know how to put inside. But just when he was pondering all of this, everything worked out... on its own.

With the bike turning on, appearing the hologram of a sexy woman in a yellow helmet riding and coming "she?" out of the alley as well. And with the little Pug in Jackie`s hands making a nimble leap against his chest and biting the garage door, making it fall slowly by shaking its little dangling body, while biting the door.

When it closed, it sat in front of Jackie, looking at him and "Wahf" barked proudly with its almost non-existent snout while wagging its small tail, waiting for some words from Jackie, making him smile, "You're a little box of surprises, aren't you? Well done!"

"Wahf-wahf" the Pug barked, walking in sync with Jackie and his crutch.

"Well, we'll have to give you a name... how about..."

---

In the large plaza in front of the luxurious Konpeki Plaza hotel in the Arasaka Waterfront in the Watson district.

The Arasaka Waterfront was the Japanese corporation's response to Night City, after the attack on their headquarters in 2023, increasing their presence in the city by buying the former shores of an entire district to build a bulwarked island. It became an exclusive and highly fortified place, accessible only to Arasaka employees, and on occasions, by invitation from high-ranking individuals within the corporation.

The entrance to the plaza of the luxurious Konpeki Plaza hotel was practically blocked by mobile barricades, armored vehicles, and the automated security system of the Waterfront, with armed guards from two Arasaka factions guarding the hotel.

Not only one, but two Arasaka family members were inside the hotel. In the security center located in a large trailer in front of the hotel, Oda, the personal security chief of Hanako Arasaka, was present. He was dressed in a smart corporate suit, observing multiple screens displaying the entrance and perimeter of the Waterfront. The security measures of Arasaka were on full display: heavily armed guards, automated turrets, and a swarm of surveillance drones patrolling the skies.

Just when Oda thought everything was calm, he swore he saw a silver reflection moving on one of the screens at the edge of his vision. When he looked at that screen, the silver reflection reappeared on another screen, crossing another street.

Oda seeing nothing unusual, dismissed it, as the automated security system hadn't been triggered in either case. Suddenly, the roar of an engine echoed through the entire plaza, clearly not coming from an Arasaka vehicle. Oda furrowed his brow upon hearing it, not knowing why, and he stepped out of the control center of the large trailer.

As the sound grew louder, a vintage silver Porsche 911 II (930) Turbo, almost 100 years old, manufactured in 1975, emerged onto the street in front of the hotel. Without stopping or slowing down, but rather accelerating, it charged toward the black SUVs guarding the perimeter.

Despite their surprise and alertness, neither Oda nor anyone else present opened fire. There was a simple reason for that: the security system hadn't been activated, and none of the drones, or turrets were targeting the incoming vehicle. This meant that, despite appearances, the vehicle had permission to move through the Waterfront.

Under the watchful eyes of all the Arasaka personnel on guard. The Porsche zigzagged between the mobile barricades and armored vehicles at high speed and came to a stop with a resounding and violent brake screech in the narrow space between the black SUVs, cutting in line with the cars closest to the hotel entrance.

Shortly after, the driver of the vehicle emerged, dressed in an impeccable suit and wearing a sleek black helmet with two triangular protrusions resembling ears on the top and two intense blue lines resembling eyes on the front screen, discreetly illuminated in a pulsating manner, with blue and red lines running through it, appearing and disappearing between the pulsations

Noticing all the stares of the Arasaka "minions" fixed on him, he adjusted his suit, ignoring them as he moved around his car, leaning against the passenger side, facing the entrance of the Konpeki Plaza, ready to pick up... his "client."