62: Chapter 61 Eye of the Storm

Just as V followed Brigitte step by step into the Data Fortress buried deep underground, far away at the pinnacle of power and luxury in Night City—in the top-floor office of Arasaka Tower that overlooked the entire city—another conversation concerning their fate was taking place in the cold air.

The office lighting was deliberately dimmed.

Outside the window, the never-extinguishing neon of Night City cast colorful and distorted hues onto the mirror-like floor, illuminating Yorinobu Arasaka's well-defined face, which bore a trace of imperceptible fatigue and malice.

He stood before the window with his back to the door, as if admiring the steel jungle beneath his feet that he both wanted to destroy and save.

An Arasaka agent in a black suit, radiating a sharp aura, stood silently a few paces behind him, like a lifeless shadow.

"Yorinobu-sama." The agent's voice broke the silence, respectful and devoid of emotion. "The mercenary team you ordered us to prioritize monitoring has had their movement trajectory confirmed. The stolen relic chip from Konpeki Plaza has a very high probability of being in their hands."

Yorinobu did not turn around.

The flowing neon outside the window cast a cold light across his deep pupils.

"What do they intend to do with my property?" His voice was low, devoid of emotion.

But the question itself represented his intense focus—the whereabouts of this chip concerned the implementation of his subsequent series of strategies regarding internal company affairs and even the entire landscape of Night City.

"They initially contacted the Voodoo Boys in Pacifica, seemingly intending to trade. However, they later appeared at the Grand Imperial Mall, which highly overlaps with the activity area of Netwatch that we previously monitored. Existing intelligence suggests they likely reached some sort of temporary agreement with Netwatch. What is currently certain is that the former Counterintelligence Assistant Director in the squad, V, is carrying the chip and is in contact with the Voodoo Boys leader, Maman Brigitte." The agent reported with a steady pace, every word tempered by facts. "Do you require us to take action to recover the chip?"

Yorinobu was silent for a moment.

Outside the window, AVs slid by silently like fireflies.

Fragmented information about this team flashed through his mind—the audacity to break into Konpeki Plaza, the ability to take the relic out through layers of Lockdown, and their current, seemingly contradictory style of maneuvering between multiple factions.

"Not for now." He finally spoke, his voice carrying a decisiveness born of deliberation. "You may withdraw."

"Yes." The agent did not question him in the slightest, bowed slightly, and withdrew from the office as silently as he had arrived.

The moment the door closed, a sharp glint flashed in Yorinobu's eyes.

He did not fully trust his intelligence officer's deduction; he needed another perspective—a perspective from the other side of this vortex.

He raised his hand, his fingertips tapping the void, and an encrypted communication request was sent instantly, connecting to the secret collaboration channel between Arasaka and Netwatch.

The communication was connected almost instantly.

A processed, gender-neutral, electronically synthesized voice sounded: "Mr. Yorinobu."

Yorinobu did not engage in pleasantries, cutting straight to the point with the detached, pressuring tone typical of high-level corporate executives: "I heard that the agents you sent to Pacifica to handle 'internal affairs' made some deals with a team of unidentified mercenaries?"

He paused slightly, letting the weight of his words settle. "I believe I have the right to know the specifics. After all, what that team has in their possession might affect the deeper cooperation between our two parties moving forward. Wouldn't you agree?"

The Netwatch contact on the other end of the line was clearly prepared—or perhaps Yorinobu's threat had taken effect—as the other party did not hesitate: "Mr. Yorinobu, your intelligence is accurate. We did indeed reach a temporary cooperation agreement with a mercenary team. According to the mission logs, this group of mercenaries has grand designs; their goal is not a simple transaction but rather to use a 'bait' sufficient to make the Voodoo Boys go crazy, luring their main force of netrunners to gather, and subsequently completely annihilating this faction."

Yorinobu listened quietly, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the window frame.

"As for what exactly the 'bait' you are concerned about is," the Netwatch contact continued, their voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation, "it is not clearly recorded in the mission logs. The hacker capability within the opposing squad is evaluated extremely highly; according to the standards of the mercenary trade, it may have already reached the 'Legendary' tier, and they are extremely cautious in their actions. We provided necessary assistance based on the consideration of aligned goals, but we did not delve into investigating their core item."

Legendary tier hacker.

Completely annihilating the Voodoo Boys.

Yorinobu silently recited these keywords in his mind.

The information revealed in Netwatch's reply gradually aligned with his previous speculations—they were not ordinary hyenas, but a pack of wolves with their own hunting plan.

Using the relic as bait, they were fishing for the Voodoo Boys, these foolish fish.

And the true purpose, I fear, is far more profound than it appears on the surface.

"It seems I was overthinking it." Yorinobu's tone softened, as if he had just conducted a routine confirmation. "I look forward to our continued cooperation."

He ended the communication cleanly and decisively.

The office fell back into silence.

Yorinobu turned around, a complex and inscrutable expression appearing on his face, mixing appreciation, vigilance, and a trace of excitement at meeting a worthy opponent.

"The rougher the waves, the more valuable the fish…" He whispered to himself, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth, "I hope you are truly as I guessed."

He called up the communication interface again and issued a new instruction to the previous agent: "Continue silent surveillance of the target squad. After they complete this operation, report the final result to me immediately."

He needed to know just how big a wave this storm, stirred up by that squad, would eventually raise, and whether it could wash up new external opportunities for him.

Shifting the perspective back to the underground of Pacifica.

In that Data Fortress constructed of concrete, steel, and frenzied faith, V was following Brigitte, walking on the cold metal grid corridor.

Beneath her feet was bottomless darkness, and in her ears was the ceaseless, low hum of server clusters.

The air was filled with a thick smell of ozone and an indescribable scent of static electricity generated by the high-speed operation of massive data streams, causing goosebumps to rise on her arms.

They finally arrived at the core of this steel jungle—a circular platform located in the center of an abandoned subway station, surrounded by various hideous cables and cooling pipes emitting a ghostly blue light.

On the platform, several strangely shaped deep-dive interfaces were already prepared, like altars waiting for a sacrifice.

Brigitte stopped in front of one of the interfaces, turned around, and stared intensely at V.

Or more accurately, she was staring at the case in V's hand containing the relic chip.

There was no longer any concealment in her eyes, only a pure, almost fanatical desire.

"Alright," Brigitte said in an unquestionable, commanding tone, pointing to a data port next to her connected to complex instruments, "Now, I need you to connect this chip to our system and extract a specific data imprint from it. Then, you need to enter Cyberspace with us."

V's heart skipped a beat, and her face was instantly filled with the anger and vigilance of someone being played: "Wait, what?! What the hell is this? Wasn't the deal just for this chip? Where's the money? Now you want me to 'play along'? I'm not doing it!"

She made a move to pick up the case and turn to leave, her actions crisp and clean, without a hint of hesitation.

"Lin Yi, the fish has taken the bait. Prepare to act." She said in the encrypted channel, using a calm communication transmission.

Almost at the same moment her voice fell, several Voodoo Boys netrunners around her moved quietly, faintly sealing off her retreat.

There was no surprise on Brigitte's face, as if she had long anticipated V's reaction.

"Miss V," Brigitte's voice carried a seductive calmness, yet contained an undeniable power, "Did you think the realm of 'God' is something just anyone can peer into, or that just any item can serve as a ticket? The key in your hand requires the right key-holder to open that door. And your task is not over yet."

Her gaze was like a cold probe, piercing V: "If you want your payment, do as I say. Otherwise…"

She did not finish her sentence, but that invisible pressure had already permeated the air.

V stood in place, the expression on her face shifting, seemingly struggling intensely.

She looked at the Voodoo Boys members eyeing her covetously, then at Brigitte's unquestionable gaze, and finally, her eyes fell back to the case in her hand.

She took a deep breath, as if having made a huge decision, her face full of the displeasure of "I guess it's just my bad luck."

"Fuck!" She cursed in a low voice, then heavily placed the case next to the designated instrument, "Fine! I'll play along! But you better make sure the damn payment is worth this price!"

On Brigitte's face, a victor's cold smile finally appeared.

She watched as V skillfully opened the case, took out the relic chip that concerned her fanatical plan, and connected it to the cold data port.

A bright blue light flowed along the cables, as if some living thing had been awakened.

The final curtain leading to beyond the Blackwall was slowly being drawn open.

And V, just as the plan anticipated, stood at the very center of this storm.