7  Chapter 7

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 Night City.

 Corporate Plaza at City Center.

 In the elevator hall of the Arasaka Tower, the electronic screen was playing a biography of Saburo Arasaka, the de facto ruler of the Arasaka Corporation, in a black and white footage that evoked the texture of last century's tape films.

 "Lord Saburo Arasaka was born in 1919 in Tokyo, Japan."

 "His father founded Arasaka."

 "The Arasaka family's genealogy can even be traced back to the samurai era."

 "Lord Saburo grew up in the Arasaka estate located on the outskirts of Tokyo."

 "In his youth, he enlisted in the old navy's aviation squadron, becoming a pilot, and at the age of twenty-three, he had already been awarded the rank of navy captain."

 "With twenty confirmed aerial victories, he is to be remembered by posterity as one of the most triumphant pilots."

 "But in 1942, during a routine mission, his plane was severely damaged."

 "However, despite his serious injuries and plane malfunction, Saburo still managed to overcome all odds and return to base successfully..."

 "After a short break, we will continue with our story."

 The electronic screen then switched to the closing page, displaying the Arasaka Corporation's logo.

 "Arasaka"

 Tang Yu's gaze remained forward throughout, his ears practically calloused from listening to the "great" life story of Saburo Arasaka.

 "No wonder everyone in the company respectfully refers to you as 'the god of Arasaka' behind closed doors"

 "Living nearly 150 years and showing no signs of stepping down, still fancying the old trick of body snatching"

 "Enough is enough..."

 "Poor Yorinobu Arasaka, still unaware that he is about to become the vessel for his father's return"

 Of course, these thoughts remained in Tang Yu's mind; whether a time traveler or reborn, these identities would be the greatest secret of his life.

 Moreover, his rebirth was at a delicate time — in the year 2076, one year earlier than his last transmigration.

 This meant that events occurring within this year could potentially alter the situation in 2077.

 Lost in thought.

 The elevator had ascended to the thirty-third floor of the Arasaka Tower; the gates opened automatically, and the floor display indicated arrival at the Counter-Intelligence Department.

 Tang Yu stepped out of the elevator briskly, the first thing he saw was the spacious lobby decorated in silver-gray tones, with the 'Arasaka' logo emblazoned at the center of the wall.

 In the lobby, several Counter-Intelligence Department employees sat on black leather sofas, in the middle of a discussion.

 A foreign Counter-Intelligence employee casually noticed Tang Yu's figure and immediately stood up from the sofa to greet him.

 "Tang, good afternoon"

 Seeing him, a few other foreign employees also turned to greet Tang Yu.

 Tang Yu nodded in acknowledgment and continued on his way without saying much, heading towards the left side of the lobby.

 As he passed by the department's reception desk, the receptionist stood up and addressed him.

 "Mr. Tang, Mr. Jenkins is looking for you. He's in his office."

 The receptionist pointed in the direction of the office of the head of the Counter-Intelligence Department.

 Tang Yu's leather shoes made almost no sound as he stepped on the plush carpet.

 Soon after.

 Tang Yu arrived at Jenkins' office door, where an AI verified his identity and opened the glass door.

 He stepped through the glass door into a passageway aglitter with silver light; at the other end was a stainless-steel gate.

 Two electronic scanners on either side of the gate emitted blue light waves, scanning back and forth over Tang Yu's body.

 "Scanning in progress"

 "Visitor authentication complete and granted"

 The electronic gates automatically opened from the center to the sides.

 The full view of the Counter-Intelligence Department Head's office was now laid out before Tang Yu's eyes.

 Tang Yu stepped into the office, across the black carpet embossed with the Arasaka logo, leading straight to the desk.

 Sitting behind the desk was Jenkins, his eyes glowing red as he spoke on a call. Upon seeing Tang Yu enter, he gestured for him to sit down and wait.

 Tang Yu approached the desk and waited, while the communicator in his left eye began reading the basic information of the man in front of him.

 "Arthur Jenkins, 42 years old, no children, dislikes sports, favored drink: bourbon whiskey // New assignment for the Counter-Intelligence Department."Tang Yu noticed, as Jenkins was on the phone, a video played on the giant floor-to-ceiling window display behind the desk.

 On the screen.

 A dozen NCPD officers converged in the company plaza, guns drawn, surrounding a blond muscleman with sunglasses who was firing wildly. The scene was ablaze with gunfire and explosions.

 But the muscled blond man showed no fear in the face of the hail of bullets, standing firm on the plaza, exuding an eerie calm and confidence.

 An officer cried out in alarm, "Cyberpsycho! Call in the MAX-TAC!"

 The hail of bullets seemed to have no effect on the blond muscleman, who had subdermal metal armor implanted, providing him with strong bulletproof capabilities.

 As the officers, using their cars as cover, launched a fierce attack on the cyberpsycho, the psycho started a terrifying counterattack.

 With guns in both hands, the cyberpsycho targeted the heads of the officers and pulled the triggers.

 Bang! Bang! Bang!

 Bullets hit the officers' fragile skulls, instantly bursting open with blossoms of blood.

 After killing four officers in a row, the cyberpsycho lifted his right arm, which had been augmented into a cannon, and bombarded the police cars with heavy gunfire.

 Officers and cars were overturned, casualties everywhere.

 The cyberpsycho unleashed all his ammo and, during a momentary pause to reload, several officers rushed in to fire.

 The cyberpsycho's right hand shot out a sharp mantis blade, finishing the officer nearest to him with one strike.

 Then, blades sprang from his knees, harvesting the lives of the charging officers.

 The cyberpsycho showed no mercy, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses cold and calm.

 After dealing with the officers in front of him, the cyberpsycho looked towards those still shooting from behind their cars.

 Suddenly, the cyberpsycho's entire body jerked, and blue light shot from his spinal implants, his entire frame electrified as if activating neural muscles.

 Whoosh!

 In an instant, the cyberpsycho's figure vanished from sight.

 Moving as fast as lightning, his form blurred leaving multiple afterimages, the frame rate of the video unable to keep up with his speed.

 It was as if drops of rain and shell casings stood still.

 In a blink of an eye.

 Seven officers behind the cars fell, each with a large hole in the back of their heads.

 "Bullet time?"

 "He must have installed Sandevistan, and not a low-end model either."

 Jenkins furrowed his brow, sensing that something was amiss.

 At that moment.

 Jenkins ended his phone call, the display shut off, and switched to window mode, offering a full view of Night City.

 Jenkins walked away from his desk and towards the bar, wanting a drink to ease the tension from work.

 "Tang, you're finally back. I know you're reluctant, but this was decided by the board, and even I couldn't refuse."

 Jenkins poured himself a drink and settled comfortably on the sofa with a sigh of relief.

 Tang Yu got straight to the point, mentioning the attack by the Animals gang, not intending to swallow his anger alone.

 "On my way back to the company today, I was attacked by the Animals gang."

 At this news, Jenkins' previously relaxed eyebrows knotted into a frown.

 "Who do you think it was?"

 Tang Yu knew Jenkins already had a suspect in mind.

 "My travel route was absolutely confidential, there's no way the Animals could've penetrated our counter-intelligence to track me. After all, only a few within the company even knew of my return."

 Jenkins nodded, appearing contemplative.

 "Besides me, the only person who knew of your return was that stinking sycophant Susan Abernathy, the Special Operations Director who summoned you back to the company."

 "This matter probably can't be separated from her, since everyone in the company knows you were promoted by me."

 "She doesn't dare move against me directly just yet, but she's looking for weaknesses through you."

 "We'll settle this score with her sooner or later!"