Chapter 19

The phone call ended abruptly.

"This is what an emperor's spectacle looks like." Loki suddenly laughed, looking out through the glass wall. Under the red light of the safe, he looked a bit scary.

Six Arasaka octants were guarding outside the building, far more breathtaking than anything he had ever seen.

"Done!" T-Bug shouted, finally catching her breath.

"Awesome." V pulled back the data cable, watching as the safe opened to reveal the relic storage box bathed in white light.

"Put it with me; I'll carry it." Jack picked up the box without hesitation, as if holding the entire world.

T-Bug immediately asked, "Is the relic alright?"

"Biological chip integrity—100%," Jack said, looking at the panel on the box. "It should be fine."

"Alright, let's go," V said decisively, feeling a little excited.

Loki's vision was a bit blurry.

It was at this moment, the infamous loading point.

The familiar scene he had seen hundreds of times didn't alleviate the chill in his heart, even amidst the ornate surroundings.

There were no Arasaka guards or Adam Smasher to make V and Jack turn back halfway, nor were there Saburo Arasaka and his bodyguard Goro Takemura walking down the stairs with serious expressions.

But the Arasaka octants guarding outside the window foiled Loki's plan to escape directly through the glass backdoor.

"Right! There's still the front door!"

Surrounded only by the faint sound of rain and wind, Loki heard the chaotic bass, the wild rhythm, the ups and downs of the strings, and the heartbeat like a war drum.

"No! The elevator is going down!" T-Bug exclaimed, "I'll stop it... Damn! It's too late! You guys find somewhere to hide!"

The elevator had already descended to the 20th floor. Although Loki couldn't see who was on the other side, it had to be Arasaka guards!

"Are you kidding me!?" V cursed, "Where the hell do we hide!?"

Under the high-pressure situation, everyone panicked.

"T-Bug, open the door to the rooftop with a backdoor program and bring the flat-head up. We don't need to monitor those sluggish Arasaka idiots anymore," Loki said, pressing his temples, trying to calm himself down. "V! Jack! Follow me now! Don't hesitate!"

"Uh, okay! Okay!" T-Bug seemed a bit at a loss, hurriedly agreeing.

The three of them rushed up the stairs, watching as the glass door opened with a crisp "click."

The sound of pouring rain outside hit them head-on, accompanied by the cold wind mixed with humidity and raindrops.

"Shit, it's high," V glanced down at the transparent glass walkway below, gritting his teeth.

"Stay low, move quickly, and don't get discovered."

Loki glanced at the flying vehicles constantly circling the building and urged them on.

He peeked out from the top of the stairs, surveying the helipad.

"Great! No one's here!"

His spirits lifted instantly.

Saburo Arasaka hadn't landed on the rooftop yet, and there were no two sumo wrestler-like bodyguards.

"Quick! Over here!"

Loki led V and Jack, running towards another corner of the rooftop. In addition to the helipad, there were many antennas and signal towers set up above the equipment rooms. These things were all blocked off by an iron fence about four meters high.

"Get down and stay quiet."

Loki beckoned the others to lie down in a groove about sixty to seventy centimeters wide near the edge of the wall.

Jack hesitated for a moment, first putting down the relic's box, then laying his body flat like Loki. V immediately followed suit.

The three of them, dressed in black suits, lined up like salted fish and hid in this inconspicuous corner.

Soaked through with rainwater.

"Buzz buzz buzz buzz—"

The sound of a massive airflow approached slowly, blowing on the helipad, creating a noisy din.

"?Estoy congelada! (I'm freezing!)" Jack was soaked in cold water, drenched from head to toe.

"Shh, be quiet…" Loki patted Jack's shoe.

A blinding light swept across the rooftop, and an Arasaka octant drove past the rooftop, descending in altitude, continuing to patrol.

The sound of the engine in the helipad's direction gradually diminished, and with a "click," the pneumatic door opened.

"Who's that?" V asked quietly over the communication channel.

"How should I know? Hiss—" Jack shivered from the cold.

"It's Saburo Arasaka..." T-Bug said, her voice full of shock.

"T-Bug! Quickly exit the Konpeki Plaza subnet, they'll soon increase the network alert level," Loki reminded her. "Has the flat-head arrived?"

"Alright, I'm getting out now."

T-Bug didn't want to take any unnecessary risks, not wanting to be a curious onlooker poking her head out when it wasn't needed.

"The flat-head has reached the power well. Okay, it's coming up."

"Tell me the situation on the rooftop."

V's "Raven Microcyber" controlling the flat-head was still in his socket. T-Bug connected him to the flat-head's view.

"Feeling a bit dizzy, wait…" V lay in the water, some of it getting in his mouth, and quickly turned his head to spit it out. "Pah, there are two big bodyguards, but I don't see anyone else."

"Alright, let me take a look." Loki cautiously climbed up a bit from the water, scanning the surroundings. "Those big flies have all flown down, it's temporarily safe around here."

With that, he opened the large box behind him, took out a silencer, and screwed it onto the "personalized version for Arasaka" Kongou pistol holstered at his waist.

"I'll take one, you two take the other, just knock them out, and I'll finish with the gun," Loki said while gesturing with his hands.

"Alright."

"What are you going to do?" T-Bug asked, sounding a bit alarmed.

But the three of them didn't respond, as it was time to make their move.

They heard faint footsteps behind them. Two bodyguards who were murmuring something sensed something off and turned around.

"Phew!"

A flash of gunfire and the muffled sound disappeared in the rain. The bodyguard with a bloody hole in his eye fell on the spot.

Maybe his skull was made of titanium, but his eyes were not.

Jack and V jointly brought down the other bodyguard, but his immense strength nearly caused them to lose control. Loki swiftly kicked him in the groin and then quickly fired three shots at his crotch.

There was no choice; V and Jack had the enemy's head in their grip, and shooting there would likely cause friendly fire.

The absurdly strong bodyguard fell limp, his eyes wide like a duck egg.

"Easy peasy, I told you, bro," Jack couldn't help boasting. "What now?"

"Let's take a joyride!" V's eyes sparkled as they landed on Saburo Arasaka's vehicle.

"No, no way," Loki stopped the two overexcited men. "Six Arasaka octants, plus a bunch of other grounded ones. This isn't Macross; I don't want to be shot down from the sky."

"What do we do then?" V asked.

"V, connect the flat-head. T-Bug, hack into this floating car," Loki said, pressing his Bluetooth earpiece.

"What are you going to do?" T-Bug asked.

Watching the flat-head skillfully hack into the control panel under V's command, Loki smiled.

"Let you fly Night City's most expensive remote-controlled drone."

"Holy shit, how did you come up with this?" Jack was dumbfounded. "What's that called? Luring the tiger away from the mountain."

"It's called tactics, amigo (friend)."

Loki smiled, repeating the words he had said back in the scavengers' lair.

Just then, a sudden alarm echoed throughout the entire Konpeki Plaza.

"We regret to inform you that Konpeki Plaza has initiated a full building red alert. Please remain in your rooms and follow any instructions from our hotel staff."

"What the hell is going on?" Jack exclaimed, shocked.

"I don't know, the entire Konpeki Plaza network is now blocked; I can't get in," T-Bug hurriedly said. "Something might have happened to Yorinobu Arasaka and Saburo Arasaka! There are no cameras in the suite."

"No need," Loki said. "Saburo Arasaka has been killed by his son."

"What? How is that possible?" V exclaimed, surprised.

"Nothing is impossible. Fate can be changed, but things that haven't been changed will still continue on their original trajectory," Loki sighed. "Yorinobu Arasaka and Saburo Arasaka have had a long-standing grudge; without any external force, it was bound to come to this eventually."

Entering the suite, Saburo Arasaka's frail body now lay lifeless in front of the TV wall.

There was a crack on the glass, stained with blood.

"Mama mía! (Oh my God!)"

Upon seeing Saburo's corpse, Jack was so shocked that his eyebrows nearly flew off, "What do we do now?"

He held the Relic case, feeling helpless.

The day they came to Konpeki Plaza had been more intense than the sum of his colorful first thirty years of life.

Emperor Arasaka had died!

"Go outside!" Loki said, quickly going downstairs.

"But there are flying vehicles everywhere outside!" T-Bug hurriedly said.

Loki stepped out of the glass door, came to the corner, and looked at the narrow edge.

"You two go first. See that ladder ahead? Go down from there."

Pointing to the yellow maintenance ladder bathed in red light at the end, Loki said.

"I'll cover the rear, hurry!"

V nodded vigorously, his eyes resolute.