The Giant Corporations that Started in Night City

Chapter 49: Sometimes the Dead Are More Useful Than the Living

Although Myers held a high position in Militech, this moment marked the final showdown between Militech and Arasaka.

If sacrificing an executive could secure tangible power for the company, it was deemed worth the cost.

Besides, LA Corporation and Militech weren't sworn enemies. Even if Myers was sent as a hostage, it wasn't a big deal.

As long as Morgan Blackhand completed his mission and returned safely to LA Corporation, Myers would be freed without harm.

Militech calculated this trade-off clearly.

"It's done. That b*tch Meredith gave me a hard time for half a day before she finally agreed. Couldn't she just have said yes from the start?"

"Militech loves their theatrics. If it weren't for Alt, I wouldn't bother dealing with them," Johnny Silverhand grumbled irritably.

"All right, you can go back and wait for news. I'll send Morgan Blackhand to meet you later," Li Ang said, handing Johnny a microchip.

This biochip, modified from Trauma Team's emergency response tech, was a vision-sharing chip. Once Johnny installed it, Li Ang could see everything through Johnny's perspective via his glasses.

In addition, Li Ang could communicate with Johnny in real time. The chip was convenient and even had an automatic repair mechanism to release healing factors in case of injury.

While it couldn't fully heal wounds, it could at least stop excessive blood loss from minor or superficial injuries.

Johnny Silverhand, for all his recklessness and lack of moral integrity, was undeniably loyal to his friends and lovers.

Despite his flaws, Johnny was worth befriending, and Li Ang didn't want to see him lose his life on this mission.

With the chip, Li Ang could offer reliable advice when Johnny faced difficult choices, helping him navigate out of dangerous situations.

After understanding the chip's functions, Johnny grinned and quipped, "I live the playboy lifestyle, Li Ang. Just hope you don't get too hot under the collar watching through my eyes and end up needing a cold shower."

His crude humor made Lucy wish she could whip out a monomolecular wire and strike him, while Maine and Pilar barely contained their laughter.

"You only need to install it before the mission. Take it out once you're done. No need to keep it in all the time," Li Ang responded, too tired to argue.

"Thanks, Li Ang. Once this is over, I'll bring Cunningham personally to thank you. See you!" Johnny clasped the chip tightly in his hand and swaggered out of LA Corporation, feeling much more relaxed now that the critical step in rescuing Alt Cunningham was resolved.

After seeing Johnny off, Li Ang immediately called in Morgan Blackhand and handed him a similar biochip to monitor the situation.

Before sending Morgan to work with Militech, Li Ang assigned him an unusual task—finding a naturally deceased female corpse with Caucasian features, around 1.72 meters tall.

"Boss, what do you need a corpse for?" Morgan was baffled. This kind of macabre task was new even for him.

In Night City, where death was commonplace, the morgues were full of corpses. Finding a naturally deceased Caucasian woman wouldn't be hard, but it would take some time.

"Sometimes, the dead are more useful than the living," Li Ang replied cryptically, without explaining his plan to Morgan.

In truth, the corpse was intended to stand in for Alt Cunningham, either for dealing with Militech or Arasaka.

If Johnny's impulsive nature led him to recklessly unplug Alt's data connection at Arasaka's headquarters, her consciousness would likely fail to return to her body.

Li Ang planned to use the AI Red Queen to capture Alt's consciousness and upload it into LA Corporation's servers. Meanwhile, her "dead" body would be brought back by Morgan Blackhand.

If Militech or Arasaka came demanding Alt's body—whether alive or dead—Li Ang would use a mimetic mask to disguise the corpse with Alt's face and fool them.

Advanced mimetic technology could achieve near-perfect facial replication. Unless a DNA-level test was conducted, no one would discern the corpse's true identity.

As for Alt herself, her fate had been sealed the moment Arasaka imprisoned her in their mainframe. She was destined to exist in cyberspace for the long term.

Li Ang's goal was to preserve both Alt's consciousness and her body, ensuring her physical form remained well-maintained while her soul roamed cyberspace freely, able to return at any time.

"Boss, can Morgan Blackhand handle this alone?" Maine asked, concerned. Though he often clashed with Morgan, he respected him as a skilled and dependable mercenary.

"Morgan's equipped with the Falcon-5 series Sianvistan cybernetic implant. He can more than handle himself. Worry about yourself instead—whether you can adapt to your new augmentations," Li Ang retorted, glancing at Maine. "If not, you'll have to ask Doc Victor to downgrade you to a simpler model."

"Uh… I'll adapt!" Maine immediately backed down. Though he regretted not qualifying for the Falcon-5 series, his current augmentations weren't bad.

Still, Morgan often teased him about his "subpar cyberware talent," leaving Maine no choice but to grudgingly admit, "You win this time."

"Li Ang, I've got a bad feeling about all this. It won't be that simple—we should prepare for contingencies," Lucy interjected, her brows furrowed. She felt a persistent sense of impending danger looming over her.

Having grown up alongside the Deathwall in Arasaka, Lucy's sensitivity to death was far beyond normal. She could often foresee bad events before they happened.

Whenever this foreboding feeling arose, it was always followed by someone's death—whether her own or someone else's, she couldn't tell. But the sense of looming doom was unmistakable.