บท 95: Invisible Assassin
As a typical high-tech corporation, it's not unusual for Biotechnica employees to work until the next morning.
However, Diana Kuno felt that today might be her last day working overtime at Biotechnica—
Project Nightingale was not supposed to have fatalities.
It was a human enhancement project, and the client was Militech—such projects, if people died, would cause massive trouble.
If something went wrong and the client didn't pay, all the company's initial investment would go down the drain!
At that point, it would be a disaster.
"Damn it."
After hanging up the phone, Kuno cursed under her breath and looked at her colleague beside her.
Her colleague stared back at her.
Kuno felt uneasy: "Why are you looking at me?"
"Something happened, didn't it?"
This colleague was also a woman, wearing a lab coat, a typical techie.
Seeing Kuno's anxious expression, she actually smiled.
"What could have happened? What could possibly go wrong? Emilia, you're starting to sound paranoid."
"Come on, something's obviously wrong. Let me guess—
Someone's experiencing severe nerve pain, and the test subjects are showing uncontrollable traits, right?"
Kuno was taken aback: "You knew something would go wrong?"
"I told Joanna Koch, that idiot, that this experiment would go south. She didn't believe me; now the bitch will know the consequences!
I may have been against her, but I was right about the experiment."
Kuno gritted her teeth and said, "You guessed right. I'm planning to bolt now."
"Bolt? Why would you run?" Emilia asked back. "Joanna's done for! She's the one who should be running!
So much money invested, and now a bunch of test subjects are dead—just watch, the company will take care of her.
When that happens, we'll be in charge! Don't run, and you'll get my position, and I'll take Koch's. Isn't that better?"
Koch was actually the local squad leader for operations in Night City, temporarily assigned to assist with Project Nightingale.
Emilia Morton, though only a project manager, was directly under headquarters, naturally holding more authority and a higher status than Koch.
However, in projects conducted in Night City, the regional director's authority was higher, and Morton had to listen to Koch—a complex workplace hierarchy.
Kuno hesitated for a moment and asked suspiciously: "So, you orchestrated this? You want to take down Dr. Koch?
No wonder you're always opposing her."
"Of course not, but I warned her about the risks. She was too greedy, and now it's all gone to hell!"
Morton relaxed, unbuttoning part of her lab coat and sitting back on the sofa.
"We'll wait for this to blow up, and the company will handle Koch. This kind of drama—how could I miss it?
Looks like I won't have to work overtime today—oh, and I have evidence of Koch's violations.
When the time comes, I'll expose it all and make sure she's done for!"
Seeing Morton so confident, Kuno began to waver.
An old friend moving up? She was so clever, having kept evidence of Koch's violations all this time?
She thought for a moment, then flattered, "When you move up..."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get my spot. Now, what's the situation?"
"I sent an outsourced security guard to retrieve the corpse, but he got infected. Said he lost an arm and is threatening to expose everything if we don't pay him."
"Hah, let him expose it—no, we should help him do it."
Morton thought for a moment, took out a chip from her pocket, processed it in the slot at the back of her neck, and handed it to Kuno.
"There's some useful information on here, but not everything. The media can follow the leads inside—
They might even trace it back to us, but you know what to do, right?"
If it gets traced back to them, they could either take money or indignantly expose Koch's misdeeds—depending on what the company wanted.
Whether they'd cut ties, handle it quietly, or decisively deal with it—that's what matters.
Position yourself right, and you'll have work coming your way, whether from the company or side gigs—it's all profit.
Of course, the risks are extremely high.
Kuno took the chip, looking impressed.
Morton was ruthless, willing to take any risks to gain benefits and show off to the company.
Since that's the case, Kuno thought she might as well blow the whole thing wide open—put the blame squarely on Koch.
"Alright, I'm clocking out for today."
"Go ahead."
Kuno quickly walked to the locker room, changed her clothes, and headed for the agreed meeting place.
As she left, she thought—what a workplace drama, but Koch brought it on herself with her mess.
However, Morton forgot one thing.
Whether or not Koch screwed up, and whether or not the company would deal with her in the future, for now, she was still Biotechnica's regional director.
...
The City Center was the true core area.
Unlike the dirty and chaotic slums of Heywood, here, you can understand why Night City continues to attract people from all over the world.
Luxury cars everywhere, flying AVs darting around, gleaming corporate logos and holographic ads, painting the prosperity of City Center.
In the mercenary world, any job offering over 100,000 eddies is considered a big score.
And in City Center, the cars on the streets and the AVs in the sky are worth far more than that.
NCPD is more present here, with 24/7 patrol points to maintain order as best as possible in this chaotic and free city.
A black Mackinaw looked out of place.
Leo shouted to V: "Stop gawking at the cars! Focus on the people! Kuno's a black woman with an exaggerated Mohawk and loves wearing fur coats!"
"What's the big deal, I can look even if I can't drive one," V grumbled, then exclaimed, "Damn!"
In front of them, a Quadra Type-66 sports car sped past, completely ignoring the traffic lights.
The nearby NCPD just glanced at it and casually picked up their radio.
"...City Center, a Quadra Type-66 sports car is violating traffic rules. Ensure traffic flows smoothly, and avoid collisions with other vehicles."
Indeed, the NCPD wouldn't even try to stop this supercar, for two main reasons.
One: they couldn't catch it.
Two: instead of wasting effort on a ticket, it's easier to note the plate and bill the owner later—after all, people like that have money and don't mind paying a fine.
It's better to prevent greater losses by clearing the way for them—odd enforcement.
V looked envious, then glared at Leo: "All your fault for borrowing my money."
"...Look! That looks like Kuno! Follow her."
V glared at Leo as she drove, but Leo pretended not to notice.
City Center's traffic system is managed by NCPD, making it harder to hack into the cars here.
Low-key is the way to go in this area.
Kuno was driving a Mizutani Shion MZ2, the most common sports car in Night City.
The massive black Mackinaw stood out in City Center, and Kuno had spotted the car following her long ago.
She immediately knew it was the people she was supposed to meet.
She didn't act suspicious, driving normally as if heading home, leading them toward Japantown.
They were looking for a quiet, secluded place to talk.
The cars soon reached the border between Westbrook and City Center, where both vehicles silently left the main road and entered an alley.
Here, you could start to see members of the Tyger Claws—this was their turf.
Five Tyger Claws gathered nearby, their motorcycles decked out in green and purple, emblazoned with "Number One in the World."
As they passed through the alley, the Tyger Claws glanced at Kuno's license plate before looking away.
Unlike other gangs, the Tyger Claws, whose territory bordered major corporations, actually had close ties with those companies,
and wouldn't mess with corporate folks unless necessary.
The cars stopped, and all four people got out, but Kuno remained in the shadows, out of the streetlight's reach.
When she saw Leo and his group, Kuno froze: "You... Where the hell is Murphy?"
"Don't worry, ma'am, we're friends of Murphy's. He was too scared to come here—you know why."
Kuno nervously bit her nails, eyeing the three of them warily, then said:
"Fine, whatever. Let's talk business—Murphy wants compensation, but there's no way he's getting it. The company won't pay, and neither will I."
Leo raised an eyebrow: "So? I doubt you're here just to say that."
"You're right." Kuno took a few steps forward. "I won't pay Murphy, but he can make money himself.
I've got information on Biotechnica's current situation—you can sell it to the media, or whoever."
Leo and V exchanged a glance: Since when did every corpo want to sell out their company?
"Listen, I don't care what you plan to do or how you'll make money, but remember this—the whole mess was caused by Biotechnica's regional director..."
Kuno reached up to her neck and pulled out a chip, extending her hand from the shadows.
"Joanna—"
Splat!
The next moment, a katana appeared out of nowhere in the shadows, slashing down from above Kuno's head, splitting her in two!
Leo's pupils contracted sharply—
The pattern on the hilt... Tyger Claws!?
"V!"
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