The Giant Corporations that Started in Night City

Chapter 57: The North Star Project!

When Rosalind Myers uttered these words, her heart felt like it was bleeding. She had poured over a decade of effort into Militech's technology, and now she had to hand it over to an outsider.

Meanwhile, any trace of Donald Lundy and Elizabeth Kress's involvement with Militech would be thoroughly erased.

Seeing this stubborn "hard bone" finally relent, Li Ang was willing to compromise as well, settling for 50% of Militech's shares. After all, he still needed to team up with Myers to counteract the corporate giants like Arasaka and the European Community. Taking too much would certainly breed resentment, and Myers might conspire with other executives to undermine him.

Although Militech was on the verge of collapse, its spirit remained. Fully taking over the company might invite unnecessary trouble. Hence, Li Ang decided to support Rosalind Myers' rise to power, making her a puppet leader of LA Company while he slowly took control of Militech.

[Mr. Li Ang, I've got Alt Cunningham on the plane and am currently retreating! I've taken a few gunshots—not fatal but I'm bleeding. You'd better have emergency medics ready. That's all.]

Morgan Blackhand appeared on the holographic screen, looking utterly exhausted. His Armalite M41A pulse rifle had long since run out of ammunition.

Without the advanced tech weapon's high penetration and secondary explosions, plus the tech he carried, Morgan wouldn't have successfully extracted Alt from Arasaka Tower.

Before Li Ang could feel relief over Morgan's survival, Pilar interrupted with an urgent report: "Boss, we've lost contact with Johnny Silverhand!"

"It's likely his internal biochip has malfunctioned or been forcibly removed."

Hearing this, Li Ang's heart sank—his worst fear had come true.

Sure enough, when Pilar pulled up Johnny Silverhand's final moments, the screen revealed a hideous, menacing face. It was Adam Smasher.

---

Inside Arasaka Tower.

"Cough… Cough… You corporate dog, you love licking Saburo Arasaka's old wrinkly ass, huh? Even brought a bunch of small fries to gang up on me."

Pinned under Adam Smasher's cybernetic foot, Johnny coughed up dark blood from his synthetic lungs, sneering defiantly at the monstrous cyborg before him.

Johnny's silver left arm and the chip in his brain had been forcibly ripped out and crushed into dust by Adam Smasher. Now, Johnny Silverhand resembled a tiger with its claws and fangs broken, left at the mercy of Adam's torment.

Even so, Johnny wore a contented smile.

Though both Alpha and Omega squads were nearly wiped out, Johnny had at least bought Rogue, Alt, and Morgan Blackhand enough time to escape.

In his eyes, trading his life to save Alt and Rogue—and to spark rebellion in Night City—was a worthy price.

"You're still talking tough?" Adam Smasher sneered, applying more pressure to Johnny's chest with his metallic foot. His alloyed face twisted in mockery.

"With your pathetic band of misfits, you think you can stir up trouble in Arasaka Tower? What a pitiful bunch of worms."

Just as Adam was about to blow Johnny's head off, a command came through his earpiece. Saburo Arasaka wanted Johnny Silverhand alive.

Adam reluctantly lifted his foot off Johnny and sneered coldly. "You won't die just yet, but I promise you'll wish you had."

With that, Adam hoisted Johnny into the air, knocked him unconscious with a brutal punch, and carried him away from Arasaka Tower.

---

At LA Company's headquarters, a somber mood filled the air. The rescue mission had resulted in catastrophic losses.

Except for Morgan Blackhand, Omega Squad was entirely annihilated, including mercenary Santiago. Alpha Squad fared little better: Rogue was injured, Santiago was missing, Spider Murphy was dead, and Johnny Silverhand was captured, his fate uncertain.

"What do we do now, Li Ang?"

Lucy's pink eyes were red from tears. She regretted not urging Li Ang to reconsider the mission. Perhaps another plan could've prevented so much loss. But now, these people were gone, buried beneath Arasaka's cold towers.

"Should we negotiate with Arasaka to get Johnny Silverhand back?" she asked.

Though she didn't particularly like Johnny, the brash rockerboy, Lucy didn't want to lose someone she knew. It stirred dark memories from her past.

Li Ang remained silent. Negotiating with Arasaka wouldn't work unless LA Company offered something better than the AI Soulkiller. But Li Ang wasn't foolish enough to make such a trade. Besides, Johnny was too rebellious—saving him now wouldn't stop him from charging at Arasaka again later.

For Johnny, meeting a spectacular, defiant end was probably the most fitting conclusion.

"I'll find a way to save Johnny. I promise," Li Ang said firmly, his gaze locked on the holographic screen.

If Arasaka planned to use Johnny for AI Soulkiller experiments, Li Ang could still rescue Johnny's consciousness through the Red Queen AI in the Godship server. However, if Arasaka used a standalone server to extract Johnny's consciousness, Li Ang would be powerless. The Red Queen couldn't yet traverse every cyberspace freely.

Watching Li Ang's calm determination, Rosalind Myers felt an unexpected admiration for this young man who faced crises with unflinching resolve.

No matter what, LA Company was now clearly the best hope for breaking Militech's deadlock, and Li Ang was a reliable ally.

"Mr. Li Ang, I propose we establish a new research department to develop AI technologies."

Regaining her usual composed demeanor, Myers shared her vision with Li Ang.

"If Arasaka can use the AI Soulkiller to gain an edge, we can develop AI weaponry to fight back."

Clearly, Myers was familiar with the art of war—she understood that if the enemy could advance, so could they.

"I've decided. This AI weaponry project will be called the North Star Project. From now on, Militech will wage an unyielding war against Arasaka!"