Capítulo 206: Chapter 204
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The top floor of the Arasaka Tower, Saburo Arasaka's personal office.
Tang Yu had just finished reporting to Kyoto, even though Saburo Arasaka originally assigned him tasks that didn't involve diplomatic relations with Militech. He was certain that Saburo Arasaka shared his viewpoint of not wanting to escalate conflicts with Militech.
Seeing that the board was in an emergency meeting and the outcome was unfavorable to him, Tang Yu acted decisively, catching them off guard. Borrowing Saburo Arasaka's authority, he felt obliged to notify him. He sent a detailed report, describing not only his negotiations with Militech but also his conjectures on the preconditions and consequences of the attacks.
Tang Yu had no intention of bearing the pressure for Yorinobu Arasaka this time. He directly informed Saburo that the ones impersonating Militech forces to attack Arasaka were the Iron Lotus Brothers. The father-son relationship was already transparent, and Tang Yu's revelation of these tidbits wouldn't change much. Shifting the burden is a basic skill.
Upon confirming the issuance of directives, Tang Yu suddenly noticed a few requests for instructions, one from Director Susan Abernathy. He clicked to view, not resisting a soft chuckle. This old lady was quite clever, knowing to shoulder some responsibility to seek leniency in the ensuing process.
"Since you like admitting fault so much, I won't be polite with you."
Tang Yu casually clicked to approve Susan Abernathy's self-requested punishment. Having completed this, he knew the flames would continue to burn, but they now had another target, allowing him to sit back and watch.
Just as he was about to tidy up and leave the office, the system suddenly alerted him to a message from Kyoto. His eyes flashed with surprise; it was the first time he had received a message since using this office. Usually, he was the one issuing directives.
The only one who could send a message to Saburo's office would be Saburo himself.
Tang Yu decisively opened the message. Sure enough, the message was from Saburo Arasaka. Whether it was him personally or Hanako or Yorinobu relaying through the system was unclear.
[Saburo Arasaka: With internal stability, external threats will naturally be subdued. To subdue the external, peace within must come first.]
[Attachment: Anders Hellman]
To subdue the external, one must first stabilize the internal?
Tang Yu didn't find Saburo Arasaka's conclusion particularly surprising.
Saburo Arasaka was clearly aware of Yorinobu's intention to use the relic biochip containing Johnny Silverhand to disrupt the immortality project, directly triggering Saburo's wrath. Saburo could tolerate Yorinobu's antics but never allow anyone to impede his progress. This fundamental conflict between father and son was deeply rooted.
Though Tang Yu might not agree with Yorinobu's extreme actions, he never questioned Yorinobu's ideals. Unfortunately, even as a digital soul, Saburo Arasaka still wielded immense power within the Arasaka Group, perhaps even more than before. As a digital ghost, Saburo could traverse any electronic device in Arasaka Tower and infiltrate everyone's neural implants.
Matters had reached a critical impasse, and the seemingly harmonious father-son dynamic was destined to drag everyone into the vortex.
Tang Yu neither wanted Yorinobu to be possessed nor wanted Saburo to destroy or control Night City with extreme measures. He had to find a new path, one that could change the world's status quo.
Opening the attachment on Anders Hellman, Tang Yu saw that Hellman had left Kyoto for Night City, ostensibly to persuade Yorinobu. Tang Yu speculated that Hellman was likely worried about being implicated by Saburo's wrath if Yorinobu misused the biochip, thus finding an excuse to flee to Night City.
If Anders Hellman could have persuaded Yorinobu, Saburo wouldn't have had to make the trip himself.
Tang Yu copied the information about Anders Hellman and shut down the office system. It was time to find an appropriate moment to free the old friend Johnny Silverhand from Yorinobu's hands.
Getting up and exiting, Tang Yu took the elevator down to the Arasaka Tower lobby. As he was just seating himself in his private car, he noticed multiple missed calls and messages. Some were from the front desk of the Public Relations Department, asking for decisions on related requests.
Tang Yu replied directly, telling them not to worry and to proceed with their tasks. Other calls were from the board's secretaries, to which Tang Yu did not respond, knowing it was too late in the day to be of any consequence.
Suddenly, a new message popped up.
Lucy?
Tang Yu immediately checked the content. Lucy wanted to meet him, stating there were urgent matters needing a confidential discussion. He got out of the car, making his way through winding paths to find a safer location, then called a Delamain to pick him up and set off.
...
The sixth floor of Sakura Street Bay Apartments in Westbrook.
Tang Yu stood at the familiar door, raising his hand to knock.
Knock, knock, knock.
Soon, the indicator light on the entry door lit up, and the iron gate slid open automatically. He stepped into the apartment and glanced around. It was still the familiar setup, with very little change. Even the old moon landing poster on the wall remained in its original place.
Lucy, wrapped in a white bath towel, sat on the sofa with her shapely, fair legs crossed. She was drying her wet hair with a towel while her eyes were fixed on the projection TV, a cigarette dangling from her mouth.
Tang Yu glanced at the open bathroom curtain; she must have just completed a deep dive mission. Seeing Tang Yu arrive, Lucy put down her crossed legs, freeing a hand to extinguish her half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray.
Then she stood up and walked to the fridge. After opening the door, she glanced at Tang Yu and calmly asked, "Want something to drink?"
Before Tang Yu could respond, she took out two cans of Fizz Monkey from the fridge, saying, "V stayed here for a while and bought a lot of these green cans."
Lucy saw the fridge full of Fizz Monkeys and could only close the door with a helpless sigh. She then sat back on the wide windowsill, placing one can in front of Tang Yu.
Tang Yu also stepped onto the windowsill, and the two sat facing each other, each holding a can of Fizz Monkey. The sound from the projection TV echoed in their ears; it was broadcasting a public statement from an Arasaka Board representative, apologizing to Militech.
Lucy asked, "Didn't think you'd run into such a mess right after your promotion. Any trouble?"
Tang Yu replied in a low voice, "A bit of trouble, but it's all sorted out now."
"A three-day meeting is quite long, and it ended with Arasaka making a public apology. That was quite unexpected," Lucy remarked calmly. She had never been so concerned with corporate affairs before, probably because her new job in NetWatch required dealing with companies.
Coincidentally, the Militech representative was Meredith, whom she had encountered in the construction tunnel on the outskirts. Lucy remembered that woman's small gestures, seemingly indicating a close relationship with Tang Yu.
Tang Yu took a sip of the sweet Fizz Monkey and explained, "There are many factors involved; it's hard to explain quickly. I can only tell you that the outcome of this negotiation was inevitable."
Lucy raised her head, her eyes staring intently at Tang Yu. "In this negotiation, Militech gained a lot, the city government gained a lot, but Arasaka lost face. It doesn't seem like a situation that can end well."
"I heard Meredith, the Militech representative, just got promoted to director. After this success, her influence within the company has skyrocketed. NetWatch dealing with her now might be seen as not quite up to par."
"Councilman Jefferson's support has also surged. The people of Night City have seen his skills and tactics, raising the possibility of him becoming the next mayor."
Her job in NetWatch overseeing Night City's network activities had made her pay more attention to corporate and municipal events, especially those involving the man in front of her.
Tang Yu said helplessly, "As you just said, Arasaka only lost face. Essentially, there was no real loss; aside from harsh comments online, it will blow over once it dies down."
Upon hearing Tang Yu's explanation, Lucy shook her head slightly, dismissing his point. "I wasn't asking about Arasaka. I was asking about you."
Tang Yu was momentarily stunned, then quickly contemplated the deeper meaning behind Lucy's words. After a moment, seeing his reflection in those icy blue neon eyes, he understood.
Tang Yu chuckled self-mockingly. He shouldn't have kept this girl outside his emotional wall. Perhaps his habitual caution led him to conceal his true thoughts.
Lucy must have thought that since Arasaka was the only loser in this meeting, someone would have to take the fall, and that someone was likely Tang Yu.
Tang Yu sincerely reassured her, "Don't worry, there's really no problem on my end. Some things will become clear later."
Lucy finally withdrew her somewhat stern gaze. "You'd better not be lying to me because what I'm about to say is important for both of us."
Tang Yu's expression became serious as he listened to Lucy's account. After hearing her out, he realized that the fewer words, the bigger the matter.
As a cyber hacker for NetWatch, Lucy was responsible for deep dive monitoring of Night City's network activities. Not long ago, she had received a mission to assist NetWatch Project Supervisor Keever in completing a special classified task.
Although she didn't know the specifics of the mission beforehand, she followed Keever's instructions to deep dive into cyberspace and retrieve a piece of encrypted code from a designated location.
After successfully decrypting the code, she discovered it was a fragment of an AI-like program. Despite its minimal content, she could accurately determine that the voice was Tang Yu's friend.
"Damn it, what is this hellish black hole prison? If they won't let me out, at least give me a cigarette. Which idiot invented this thing?"
Lucy tried to converse with the voice but found it impossible. Hiding her surprise, she exited the cyberspace and, before reporting to Keever, contacted Tang Yu first.
She wanted to hear what Tang Yu had to say before making any further decisions. Tang Yu quickly pieced everything together and said, "Your judgment is correct. That voice should be Johnny Silverhand. The secret project that NetWatch is involved in is Arasaka's relic biochip, which contains Johnny Silverhand's digital soul."
This time, Lucy was taken aback. "You mean your friend exists in digital soul form on a chip?"
Tang Yu nodded in confirmation.
Status de energia semanal
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