81: Chapter 80 Stray Dogs

The heavy metal door of the Afterlife bar stood like a monument to an era, completely severing the clamor of the outside world from the undercurrents within.

Once a morgue where corpses were laid to rest, its cold past settled into every inch of concrete; now, it had become a holy site in the hearts of all mercenaries in Night City—a temple built upon money, blood, and legendary tales.

"Yo, Emeric, you're on door duty again today?" Lin Yi greeted the tower-like man at the entrance with familiarity.

Emeric's usually expressionless face softened slightly when he saw the three of them, and he nodded, his deep voice sounding like a beating drum: "Yeah, it's my shift today. I was just covering for someone else the last few days. Go on in."

He turned his massive body aside to clear the way, his sharp eyes sweeping over Jackie and V as a form of greeting.

The three of them pushed open the second soundproof door, as if instantly stepping into another dimension.

Deafening electronic music surged toward them like a tide, and the air was thick with the pungent scent of alcohol, cheap cigars, and sweat.

Under the dim, hazy lights, all sorts of mercenaries gathered; some were in booths, spitting as they bragged about a "big job" they'd just completed, others sat silently at the bar polishing their beloved weapons, and even more hid in the deeper shadows, conducting shady deals and trading information.

This was a high-speed crossroads for information, as well as a hotbed for conspiracies.

Before they could even look for the private room according to the information provided by Yorinobu, a man in a discreet black suit with a sharp demeanor approached them silently.

His gaze was sharp and cautious; after quickly confirming their identities, he bowed slightly and whispered: "You are Mr. 'Ghost', correct? Please follow me."

Without any extra pleasantries, the man turned to lead the way.

The three exchanged a glance and followed silently.

They passed through the noisy main hall, navigated several relatively quiet corridors, and after a few twists and turns, finally stopped in front of a private room door that looked ordinary but was clearly reinforced with soundproofing and anti-scanning materials.

The man leading them stood to the side of the door, made a "please" gesture, and then stood guard outside like a temple guardian, his eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Pushing open the door to the room, the scene inside gave all three a slight pause.

There were no corporate elites or trusted aides of Yorinobu as expected; inside the room sat only a Joytoy with revealing clothing, exquisite makeup, and hollow eyes, sitting mechanically on the sofa like a piece of furniture waiting to be used.

"You're the ones, right?" the Joytoy said in a flat, synthesized electronic voice as they entered. "Let's start early and finish early."

Just as she finished speaking, her cybernetic eyes suddenly lit up, projecting a ghostly blue glow.

"Nice to meet you, members of the 'Ghost' squad." Yorinobu's voice came through the Joytoy's speaker, carrying a hint of imperceptible distortion, but his apology sounded sincere. "I apologize, Ms. V, Mr. Jackie. I'm sorry our first official meeting is under these circumstances. But internal company affairs have been complicated lately, and there are too many eyes from other factions watching. I truly couldn't get away, so I had to resort to this. Please forgive me."

Jackie waved his hand carelessly and plopped down onto the sofa opposite the Joytoy.

"It's fine, we'll have plenty of chances to meet later anyway. Let's talk about it first—what kind of tricky business could make our 'new emperor' feel such a headache?"

His tone remained street-smart and straightforward, as if the person sitting opposite him wasn't the head of Arasaka, but some gang leader needing a favor.

Yorinobu's hologram turned its gaze to Lin Yi, his tone becoming grave: "Lin Yi, based on your previous reminder, I used my authorization to query the 'Shrine' data access point beneath Arasaka Tower."

He paused, as if organizing his words or suppressing some emotion. "...I did indeed find some clues. However, I don't have the authorization to perform any further operations; I can't even read the basic status logs. That old fox... he's been wary of me since I returned to the Arasaka family, setting up the highest level of biometric keys and permission locks directly."

He took a deep breath and continued to drop even worse news: "On the other hand, my sister, Hanako Arasaka, contacted me not long ago, saying she would be arriving in Night City in a few days, ostensibly to... pay her respects to our father."

Yorinobu's tone carried obvious sarcasm when he said the word "pay respects."

"Based on this timing, plus your deliberate reminder, I secretly utilized some government resources I'd previously collaborated with in Tokyo to investigate. Sure enough, just before she contacted me, there was indeed a highly classified encrypted communication sent from the Tokyo headquarters that bypassed Arasaka's regular monitoring channels. I can be almost certain... that old bastard used his consciousness imprint to contact her."

At this point, Yorinobu's voice trailed off. A complex emotion appeared on his holographic face—anger, disappointment, and a hint of disbelief at being betrayed by his own kin. These emotions intertwined, making his usually resolute face appear somewhat distorted.

"Before this deep investigation... I always thought that Hanako was just introverted, liked staying home doing the research she loved, was naive to the world, and was a canary protected too well by our father... I even... once thought about protecting her, not letting her get involved in these dirty struggles. I didn't expect..."

His voice carried a suppressed tremor. "She is far more... foolish and unbearable than I imagined."

Before Lin Yi and the others could digest this information, Yorinobu dropped another bombshell: "Also, regarding the Relic... I always thought this technology was a product of the company's engineers reverse-engineering and modifying Alt Cunningham's 'Soulkiller'. But I secretly investigated Hanako's private residence and the residual communication data in her laboratory only to discover... it was actually her who personally discovered the key to consciousness digitization in Alt's technology, and... she was the one who voluntarily handed this key, named 'Immortality', to the person who should have received it the least—that old bastard!"

"¡Miércoles!" Jackie gasped, subconsciously shrinking his neck. He leaned closer to Lin Yi and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Mierda, is this something we're supposed to be hearing? This is Arasaka's family dirty laundry, right? Are we going to get silenced for hearing this?"

V quickly captured the key point from this vast amount of information. She spoke calmly, her golden eyes piercing through the hologram as if looking straight at Yorinobu on the other end: "So, you're worried that your father's most loyal hound, Goro Takemura, if he uncovers the truth and joins forces with the arriving Hanako Arasaka—who may carry your father's will—will cause fatal damage to us... or rather, to the plan you are currently orchestrating?"

"Exactly!" Yorinobu's hologram nodded affirmatively, his tone regaining its decisive edge. "Goro Takemura is like a bomb that could go off at any time. His loyalty to our father is blind and extreme. If he uncovers any clues and joins forces with Hanako... or rather, with the consciousness of our father that Hanako might bring, the consequences would be unimaginable. They have the ability to mobilize the massive forces within the company that are still loyal to the old era, enough to crush us all before I am ready."

Lin Yi had been listening silently and only now spoke slowly, his voice calm but carrying a hint of chill: "So? You mean, strike first and take them out?" He used words that were direct and cruel, without any concealment.

On the other end of the communication, Yorinobu was silent for a moment; the hologram revealed his inner struggle, especially when it came to Hanako. Finally, he made up his mind, his voice low and firm: "I will try to contact and unite the dove faction represented by Michiko to gain their support, or at least neutrality. And on your end... you need to eliminate Goro Takemura, the biggest destabilizing factor, as soon as possible. As for Hanako... she still has some time before she arrives. Let me... consider it further."

As he spoke, the Joytoy in the room serving as the communication intermediary mechanically raised her hand and handed over a data chip.

"Goro Takemura's recent movement patterns, habits, known safehouse information, and our preliminary analysis of his cyberware configuration... all the relevant content is right here."

Lin Yi stepped forward and unhesitatingly inserted the data chip into the neural slot at the back of his neck. Instantly, a massive stream of information flooded his consciousness. As he quickly browsed through it, he synchronized and shared the key information with V and Jackie via the squad's internal local area network.

V's cybernetic eyes flashed with data streams. She quickly scanned Goro Takemura's cyberware configuration list, which could be described as a mobile arsenal, and couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice: "Damn... as expected of Saburo's personal bodyguard. All the cutting-edge cyberware and built-in weapons implanted all over his body—if you stripped them down, it would be enough to arm an elite assault squad. Optical Camouflage, ballistic coordination systems, reinforced tendons... and the estimated data for this reactive armor. He's a tough nut to crack."

Jackie was also stunned, subconsciously touching his own gorilla arms as he muttered: "His stuff is way more advanced than mine..."

Yorinobu's voice sounded again, with an unquestionable sense of delegation: "As for the operation, I'll leave it to you, Lin Yi. Funds, equipment, peripheral personnel support—if you need anything, send it to me immediately via encrypted communication. I have only one requirement—" His voice suddenly turned cold, like a winter wind: "Ensure that before my sister arrives in Night City, Goro Takemura disappears forever. They absolutely must not converge."

The indicator on Lin Yi's cybernetic eye that was reading the data went out; the information on the data chip had been completely absorbed.

He looked at Yorinobu's hologram, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold and confident arc, his tone calm yet containing absolute certainty: "Trust me, he has... at most two more days to live."