Unfortunate Turn

"Then, Biotechnica put a bounty on me. The next day, they burned down our house and seized my farm according to local laws. But it didn't matter—I figured that land couldn't grow crops anyway."

Ziggy-Q: "So you want us to feel sorry for your misfortune? But with all due respect, paying off debts is a basic principle. Why didn't you just sell the house to cover the debt in the first place?"

Hector glanced at Ziggy-Q, "It didn't matter; the result would've been the same. I lost the land and joined the nomads. I followed the tribe all the way to Night City. Later, when the rebuilding of Pacifica began, we secured a contract and started building houses there."

Ziggy-Q: "I'm glad you got back on track, and I'm sure our audience feels the same way. So, what happened next?"

Hector: "Pacifica was chaotic. The tribe worked as both guards and laborers, doing odd jobs for years until the Unification War broke out. The New United States military swept through Pacifica. We couldn't compete with Militech's war machines, so we started to retreat. But the developers ran off, owing us 1.24 million eddies in construction fees. We didn't get a single eddie."

Ziggy-Q: "That's truly unfortunate, but that's war. The developers in Pacifica were victims too—"

Hector: "Victims, my ass! You flashy freak, I've had enough of your nonsense. I talk, you listen!"

He grabbed the old revolver as if it were loaded.

Nearby, Inspector Krasko tensed up and drew her gun—

Even though Hector looked like he was on the verge of collapse, the sudden movement still startled her.

Ziggy-Q froze for a moment, then said, "Wow, you really scared me. But I still stand by my opinion. Of course, you can continue. Our audience has sharp eyes."

"Sharp eyes? That's a joke. Night City is a cesspool. You might have sharp eyes, but your bodies are numb, crammed into the prisons your developers built for you, comforting yourselves as you work and commute until you get killed by a stray bullet in a street shootout. Or maybe you'll end up on the streets, looting corpses and getting high on drugs, only to get shot by some unlucky wage slave. Honestly, I don't get how this place is called the City of Dreams."

...

"Speaking of which, Biotechnica poisoned the land, didn't they? Any crops that haven't been genetically modified by them can hardly grow on it."

"I don't know about that, but I've already sent a request to headquarters to have the equipment delivered."

"You don't know? Interesting." Leo chuckled.

V sighed, "That old man's life was rough, but with his skills, why was he still farming and building houses? Honestly, I don't get it."

"That's why Night City is, in some ways, far crazier than the nomads."

On the surface, Leo was chatting while waiting for the equipment to arrive, but in reality, he was multitasking—copying useful data from Biotechnica's complex database.

But this time, it wasn't just multitasking; it was triple-tasking—in the Marvel world, he had already awakened Professor Connors Scott from his slumber, ready to get firsthand data.

Koch cautiously asked, "So... you're interested in the company's core technological equipment?"

"That's not your concern. But as I said, you get me the equipment, and I'll help you deal with your future problems."

"Whose side are you on? MoorE Technologies? Petrochem? SovOil? Can you reveal that now?"

Leo shook his head slightly.

Not a chance—he didn't have anyone backing him.

In situations like this, the best strategy was to keep his mouth shut and shake his head. Even if he did have someone behind him, now was not the time to reveal it.

Leo was familiar with DNA splicing technology, but in his original world, it had limited effects and was constrained by numerous ethical guidelines. When it came to using it to create monstrous human modifications, it was still far from reality.

In the Cyberpunk world, they had hit the gas pedal since World War II. Massive wars, deaths, and unethical experiments had driven technological leaps. This technology might not be far more advanced than what Leo was familiar with, but they were certainly well-versed in it, with plenty of experience.

This was evident from the fact that they had discovered a similar decay algorithm as Professor Connors Scott.

When the technology wasn't perfect, they simply gathered more test subjects. As long as there were enough, they could always deduce a standard model.

Leo looked out the glass window—clouds obscured the moon; it was a cloudy night.

Koch had also prepared a reason to mobilize the equipment: Project Nightingale had a significant risk of information leakage, but at the same time, it had made a huge breakthrough.

Impala Automatics had been attacked, resulting in the deaths of many wanderers. During the autopsies, they gained inspiration for a technological breakthrough, necessitating urgent experimental adjustments.

A successful experiment at this critical juncture could reassure clients, suppress the bad news about the wanderers' deaths, and boost investor confidence.

Of course, whether they could actually get the equipment depended on Koch's cooperation.

A few minutes later, Koch looked up, "It's approved. The equipment will arrive tomorrow from the orbital city."

Leo curiously stroked his chin, "You don't need to submit a technical feasibility report, expert recommendations, autopsy data, or evaluation documents?"

Hearing that long list of document names, Koch was momentarily stunned.

Wasn't this guy supposed to be a mercenary? How did he know so much?

"Actually, we already have a plan for adjustments; we just hadn't implemented it yet. I'll send the documents over now."

"Good—"

Leo still felt something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it—Koch's information had passed his scrutiny, and everything seemed just as he had seen.

He glanced at V and Jackie; they seemed normal, not noticing anything unusual, occasionally sneaking glances at the patrol units outside the glass.

Was he just being paranoid?

Koch was getting more and more natural—this didn't seem like a good sign.

Of course, given that she was the Director of Technical and Developmental Operations, it wasn't surprising that she had regained her composure.

The group sat in the office, and Koch said, "We're all in this together now. You can go back and wait for my signal."

Leo didn't respond.

The uneasy feeling made him uncomfortable. He had quietly increased the power of his Sandevistan and sped up his data mining.

It felt like half of his consciousness had entered a deep dive state. For an ordinary person, it would be hard to distinguish reality from cyberspace.

[File: Painkiller Neural Analgesic]

[File: Project Nightingale]

[File: Project Nightingale—Attachment]

File decrypted.

Leo believed if there was a problem, it would be in these files—no hacker could deep dive without a deep dive interface, except him.

This unexpected operation was the only way to find something he hadn't noticed.

[Project Nightingale:]

[Summary: Painkiller Neural Analgesic has been proven to cause progressive neural degeneration with long-term use.]

[However, this drug consistently ranks high on best-seller lists, with major military contractors among the top buyers. Militech has noticed this side effect and secretly reached an agreement with the company to develop human enhancement technology that avoids side effects and strengthens the nervous system.]

[The project will analyze the role of protein hormones and electrical signals in the mechanism of "pain" based on the mechanism of Painkiller Neural Analgesic.]

[The project aims to genetically modify humans at the DNA level, transforming pain sensitivity into electromagnetic sensitivity, which will greatly enhance man-machine interaction sensitivity, giving an edge in warfare.]

[Expected favorable traits observed: Increased cell activity under electromagnetic stimulation, accelerated ATP synthesis.]

[Expected unfavorable traits observed: [Deleted]]

[More Information:...]

Leo's thought process suddenly halted as he linked a few key terms together.

Project Nightingale was a DNA modification project, so wouldn't that mean the project inherently required suitable equipment?

[Approved Top-Secret Experimental Asset: DNA Drug Synthesis Device Model HR-XX1.]

[Top-Secret Recent Emails:]

[Deleted: You should go home and reflect for a few days—stay away from the corporation.]

[Deleted: That's it.]

The equipment he needed was right here—and Koch wasn't even supposed to be in the corporation!

She had already been abandoned by the corporation!

So, what was this woman applying for?

Jackie suddenly said from beside the window, "Wow, Militech Manticore, that thing looks awesome. Are they just showing off now?"

"Damn it—Jackie, get down!"

Bang!