The Giant Corporations that Started in Night City

Chapter 52: Cats Eat Mice, Mice Eat Bugs!

As the words fell, the elevator doors slowly opened upon reaching the designated floor. Johnny took aim at a nearby guard and fired a single shot, cleanly blowing his head off.

The loud gunshot echoed, instantly alerting every Arasaka guard on the floor.

But Johnny and Santiago had already led their crew into action. Their target was the Arasaka headquarters' server room, so clearing the guards along the way was necessary.

Through the biochip implanted in Johnny Silverhand's brain, Li Ang, who was far away in the LA office, could clearly see Johnny taking down an Arasaka guard with each precise shot.

It had to be said, Johnny's marksmanship was exceptional, consistently achieving headshots with a level of skill that only someone who had clawed their way through death could possess.

The bullets from his Malorian kinetic revolver spiraled out of the barrel, piercing one guard's skull after another, the metallic projectiles blooming like deadly lotuses.

The immense kinetic force of the bullets, coupled with their swirling, grinding, and explosive expansion, instantly obliterated surrounding cybernetic structures and organic tissues.

The heads of the Arasaka guards burst into a grotesque mix of metallic fragments and flesh, scattering across the floor like smashed roadkill.

"Johnny, we need to head to the gate 20 meters to the right. I'll need 15 seconds to crack the code—you guys hold them off!"

Spider Murphy's voice came through as she plotted the rescue route using the data chip in her neural device. They had to pass through four gates and one iron door guarded by automated turrets.

"No problem! Just move fast!"

Smoke billowed from Johnny's Malorian revolver as he felt his long-dormant adrenaline kicking into overdrive. Dopamine flooded his brain as his excitement soared.

Seeing more and more Arasaka guards converging around them, Spider Murphy quickly activated ICE protocols to hack their cyberware.

[Quick Hacks Available: Targeting Override, Cyberware Overheat, Electromagnetic Short Circuit, Weapon Malfunction, Reboot Optics!]

[Reboot Optics in Progress... Hack Complete!]

Using her hacker skills, Murphy rebooted the cyberware of all Arasaka guards within 30 meters, rendering them effectively blind.

Seizing the opportunity, Johnny, Rogue, and Santiago launched an ambush, swiftly eliminating every disoriented guard in their path.

"Is the grass still green? Do the birds still fly? Cats eat mice; mice eat bugs." Murphy murmured poetry as she leisurely worked on cracking the gate's code.

"This isn't your backyard amusement park, Murphy! Get on with it!" Rogue urged impatiently.

Click!

With a crisp sound, the gate mechanism activated, and a once-sealed wall opened. Johnny and his crew stormed through, and another round of gunfire erupted.

---

Arasaka Tower Underground Database

Several Arasaka netrunners, each with bullet holes riddling their heads, lay lifeless in twisted poses across their workstations. The server room was in chaos, littered with corpses.

"Lucy, it's thanks to you that we cracked Arasaka's internal data and copied the contents so quickly," Morgan Blackhand remarked.

He communicated with Lucy via a biochip provided by Li Ang, coordinating their plan while Lucy monitored the operation using her visor device.

[Don't mention it. You guys need to hurry up and rescue the hostages. Arasaka's elite forces will reach the tower in three minutes—time is tight!]

Lucy's voice echoed in Morgan's mind.

"No problem!"

With that, Morgan Blackhand and Saiten Tora began setting up explosives. To completely destroy the Arasaka database, they planted at least 50 high-yield cluster bombs.

Military Tech had initially planned to use a micro-nuke to obliterate Arasaka Tower again, but under pressure from the LA company, they had to resort to cluster bombs instead.

Watching the fierce firefight at Arasaka Tower, Li Ang and Lucy couldn't shake the looming sense of danger. Though everything was proceeding as planned, an ominous feeling gnawed at them.

Just as Li Ang was contemplating whether to instruct the AI Red Queen to enter cyberspace and retrieve Alt Cunningham's soul data, Mann interrupted his thoughts.

"Boss, Rosalind Myers is here. Would you like to meet her?" Mann asked.

"Let her in."

Li Ang removed his visor, instructing Lucy to keep monitoring the situation and directing Pira to oversee the operation at Arasaka Tower.

Shortly after, the conference room doors swung open, and Rosalind Myers, dressed in a pristine white leather jacket, entered with an air of confidence.

"Mr. Li Ang, it's an honor to meet you!"

Extending her hand, Myers introduced herself, "I'm Rosalind Myers, Vice President of Militech. Please, call me Myers."

"Hello, Myers."

Li Ang regarded the woman in her early thirties and solidified his resolve—he needed to manipulate this woman into becoming a puppet president for LA Corp.

Before Li Ang could speak, Myers got straight to the point. "Mr. Li Ang, I hope our two companies can collaborate."

Her sharp gaze locked onto Li Ang's eyes as she continued with conviction, "The NUSA has the largest demand for arms globally, and LA Corp produces top-notch weaponry."

"If our companies work together, we can become the most powerful corporate force across the Americas!"

Myers' pitch was as standard as any corporate spiel, but Li Ang wasn't buying it. True cooperation would only happen if he couldn't swallow Militech whole—for now.

Militech was already on shaky ground, with internal shareholders fleeing and an unstable position in the arms market. Collaboration was far from their top priority.

"Myers, strictly speaking, LA Corp and Militech are competitors. Aren't you afraid I'll detain you and force your company to pay a ransom?" Li Ang countered.

"No. I trust that someone who's willing to rebuild Night City's Watson District wouldn't stoop to such despicable tactics," Myers replied, her flattery skillfully veiled in confidence.

Li Ang found her response difficult to refute, but he quickly changed tactics. Smiling, he said, "Militech and the NUSA president are gambling your life on a stranger's mercy, and you're still so willing to serve them?"

"Ridiculous."

Li Ang tried to sow discord and provoke her discontent with Militech and the NUSA, but his efforts were in vain. Rosalind Myers' loyalty ran deeper than he had anticipated.

---