At this moment, David slowly approached the edge of the landing platform, standing next to the safety railing and looking down. The cool morning breeze swirled around him. This boy, who had once struggled to survive in Night City, had indirectly fulfilled his mother's wish—"to stand at the top of Arasaka Tower."
However, Arasaka Tower was now the Atlas branch headquarters.
David gazed down at the newly transformed Night City, observing the people bustling on sidewalks and train stations, along with the NCPD officers now outfitted with Atlas uniforms and gear. His emotions were complex and hard to describe.
"Hey! Kid, keep up!"
An old AECS soldier in a black uniform called out when he noticed David lagging behind, drawing some attention.
Among those turning to look were Lucy, now sporting silver-white short hair and also dressed in a black uniform, and Rebecca, with her pale green skin and teal hair.
"Yes!"
David quickly snapped back to reality and rushed to join the group, following behind the others as they entered the building.
Seeing this, Rebecca turned to Lucy and asked, "That kid, is he Gloria's son?"
"Yeah," Lucy nodded.
"He's pretty cute, huh? Haha!" Rebecca chuckled quietly, then glanced around at the luxurious layout of the tower's top floor. "So, this is what the offices of these megacorps look like? Damn, it's fancy."
While marveling at the lavish environment, Rebecca turned her gaze to the AECS veterans leading the way and whispered, "What do you think Atlas wants with us? Any ideas, Lucy?"
Just over two weeks ago, as freelance mercenaries, they had trusted a fixer who promised "big money" and joined the attack on the Atlas Division in Westbrook.
However, before they could even approach the division, they were forced to retreat by an orbital bombardment from a Paris-class ship.
Their decision to flee was what saved them. When ODSTs and Honor Guards descended from the skies and spotted them surrendering, they were spared from being killed by the ruthless ODSTs.
After that, they were captured and held in a temporary prison set up by the Engineering Division on the outskirts of Night City. Despite their lack of freedom, they were well-fed and sheltered for three days.
Then, a group of white-uniformed technicians from the Biology Division came to "inspect" them, collecting blood and tissue samples. A few days later, employees from Atlas's Human Resources department offered them temporary contracts, as well as a "non-staff employee" agreement.
Maine, Kiwi, and others remained mercenaries, but now they were fighting for Atlas. They had already been sent to the frontlines in South America.
Even as "cannon fodder," Atlas provided them with Gauss weapons instead of the modular guns given to regular security forces. Additionally, the Biology Division had implanted a hydrogen-metal self-destruct chip in each of their necks to ensure compliance with their missions. This, combined with their cybernetic eyes, made it easy for the Biology Division to monitor them in real-time.
If any irregularities were detected or if a mercenary's actions deviated from the mission, the self-destruct chip would be activated immediately.
In any universe, mercenaries were not protected by international law, so Atlas's methods were considered relatively "humane." At least, they were treated better than the completely enslaved Class-D personnel.
Rebecca and Lucy, however, had been left behind in the temporary prison.
It wasn't until the early morning today that they were escorted onto an airship by AECS soldiers and brought to the former Arasaka Tower, now the Atlas branch.
Rebecca had briefly considered escaping, but with the constant news broadcasts playing in the prison, she learned that Atlas had swiftly taken control of Night City and most of North America, pushing the frontline deep into the jungles of South America.
Where could she possibly run? Night City was filled with Atlas surveillance.
Besides, her brother had been forcibly sent to the frontlines. If she escaped, Atlas would likely trigger the chip implanted in him.
Hearing Rebecca's question, Lucy recalled the painful experiments and tests she had undergone as a child at Arasaka, and her brow furrowed slightly. She replied, "Megacorps are all the same."
"The same? What do you mean?" Rebecca asked, puzzled.
"We're just disposable materials to them," Lucy said cryptically, before explaining, "In other words, our bodies and brains have research and use value to them. That's why we weren't sent straight to the frontlines like Maine and the others."
"So, we're just lab rats?" Rebecca's eyes widened.
"..." Lucy nodded silently.
"No way," David, now close by, immediately refuted their claims. "You're thinking too narrowly. Atlas isn't the same as Arasaka or Militech."
As an intern security officer for Atlas, David naturally wanted to defend his company. He didn't give Rebecca or Lucy a chance to argue, continuing, "Don't forget, you're prisoners, while we're legitimate staff."
"You little brat!"
Annoyed, Rebecca raised her hand, ready to teach David a lesson. But as soon as the AECS soldiers up front glanced back, she quickly withdrew her hand and put on an innocent smile.
The soldier didn't say anything but led the group of teenagers into a large meeting room with open doors, leaving them with a simple command: "Get inside."
David, being a security intern, along with others who had signed part-time contracts with Atlas before the war, stepped into the room.
Rebecca, Lucy, and a few other prisoners hesitated for a moment but ultimately followed suit.
Inside, they were greeted by a group of technicians from the Biology Division, a few elite AECS soldiers in powered armor holding BFG plasma rifles, and a number of Atlas officials seated behind a conference table.
Among the officials were Captain Price and Selene, the non-human AI.
When the group entered, Price, uncharacteristically without his cigar, waved his hand. A holographic screen appeared before each person, and he spoke:
"According to tests conducted by the Biology Division, your bodies or brains possess certain talents. Therefore, the company has decided to transfer you to the Biology Division, where you will become part of a special test unit for new products. The screens in front of you contain details about your salaries, benefits, and the formal contract."
Leaning back in his chair, Price added in a deep voice, "You are free to accept or refuse. However, if you choose to decline, as prisoners, you will continue to serve your sentence until the war is over. And your prison record will be added to your personal files. Think carefully."
Without any hesitation, David scrolled to the bottom of his holographic screen and prepared to sign his name. If it meant rising higher in Atlas, what was there to hesitate about? Besides, with Arasaka headquarters destroyed, his mother, Gloria, was fully supportive of him becoming a permanent member of Atlas.
Meanwhile, Rebecca, Lucy, and a few other prisoners were still weighing the pros and cons of joining the "test unit."
---
At the same time, deep in the jungles about 70 kilometers south of Bogotá, the capital of Colombia:
Boom! Boom!
Endless artillery fire and explosions echoed through the tropical rainforest, occasionally accompanied by small mushroom clouds rising in the distance.
Here, where the temperature was at its hottest during the noon hours, the landscape was a vast ocean of dense greenery. There was no visible sign of attacking or defending forces.
However, in the northern part of the jungle, numerous black-painted gunships hovered overhead, continuously providing overwhelming fire support for their forces.
Zooming in for a closer look:
These gunships were around 50 meters long, with widths and heights of 30 and 15 meters, respectively. They had vertical missile launch silos and looked like flying "turtles," extremely heavy in design.
In fact, these gunships were AC-420/Atlas Model air gunships, codenamed "Vultures."
The Vulture was originally a heavy vertical takeoff and landing craft used by the UNSC. In conditions where air superiority was secured, it could provide long-term fire support and assistance to ground units.
Atlas's Research Division had modified and expanded the Vultures, vastly improving their performance and firepower. Each could carry 56 missiles, four 35mm Gauss cannons, and two 105mm plasma cannons.
The 35mm Gauss cannons could even be loaded with intelligent magnetic nails. In other words, once the gunner identified a target or was guided by friendly forces, they could achieve long-range "tracking" kills. The Gauss cannons' range within the atmosphere exceeded 10 kilometers easily.
This is why Atlas chose the Gauss series of weapons as the primary close-in defense system for their space vessels.
Hovering about a kilometer above the ground, the Vultures followed requests from the Royal Guard and Night Owl Strike Teams in the jungle below, unleashing a saturation bombardment on Militech's defensive fortifications and troop concentrations.
Of course, if "cannon fodder" mercenaries managed to identify high-value targets, the Vultures' crews would assist as well. Atlas was considerate like that.
Even Class-D personnel, those condemned criminals, were rewarded with the promised benefits if they survived certain high-mortality tests.
Aside from the Vultures, the skies above the jungle were filled with Black Falcons and Hawk assault craft, carrying more troops to the frontline. Valkyrie-like transport ships, escorted by drones and their fellow Black Falcons and Hawks, hovered over the battlefield, deploying Atlas's various combat mechs and standard-model Tyrants to the ground.
The jungle's complex terrain made it difficult for Atlas's Titans and Kill
ers—main battle tanks equipped with magnetic hover engines—to provide effective support for ground forces. On the other hand, infantry mechs and Tyrants were ideal for delivering heavy firepower.
In addition, thousands of Hellhounds, bred through the Veronica virus, had been unleashed since Atlas advanced the frontline to this point. These creatures used their small size, agility, and high mobility to help quickly scout Militech's main force positions and fortifications.
Colombia, even in the Cyberpunk universe, had not escaped becoming a haven for drug cartels. The extreme wealth gap and low employment rate allowed Militech to gather a large number of "expendable" security forces and set up several of its factories in the region.
The higher-ups at Militech, hoping for a last stand, placed their faith in an alliance of global megacorporations. They concentrated their remaining forces in South America, hoping to resist the "invaders" from another universe—Atlas.
Atlas had openly declared on their website and news outlets that they came from the Prime Universe. However, megacorps like Arasaka and Militech remained skeptical of this fact. More importantly, their ideologies were fundamentally opposed, unable to accept the "For Humanity" philosophy as anything but naïve.
For humanity?
Once you're in power, it's for yourself! The right thing to do is to consolidate all the resources and wealth into "your" hands!
Thus, the Fifth Corporate War in the Cyberpunk universe had become a battle of "interests" between native megacorps and external forces.
However, no matter how much the local megacorps resisted, they could not stop Atlas's "spread."
At this moment:
A Phantom III command assault craft hovered 10,000 meters above the Macarena Mountains.
Although the Valkyrie-class transports, like the Erneus-class spaceplane, were gradually being phased out by Atlas due to the rise of space warships, multi-purpose vessels like the Phantom were still prized by the armed forces.
With its large size, massive carrying capacity, and ability to serve in command and reconnaissance roles, the Phantom was a favorite among the Primarchs.
Currently, Rogal Dorn, clad in his custom power armor, stood inside the command bridge of this Phantom III, observing the ongoing battle on the surface.
The Macarena Mountains housed a secret Militech experimental base, as well as factories producing advanced weapons and vehicles.
Dorn's objective was to seize these assets for Atlas while simultaneously dismantling Militech's last main force.
Of course, he could have ordered the fleet to drop hydrogen bombs from orbit, wiping out all threats in one swift blow, but such a move was not Dorn's style.
Even when he had ordered the hydrogen-metal missile bombardment of Japan, Dorn had issued a public statement, emphasizing that hydrogen-metal was merely a "conventional weapon" for Atlas, not a tactical or strategic weapon of mass destruction.
Dorn would never resort to "nuking" everything at the start.
His goal was to unify the region for the company and his father, not to provoke unnecessary hatred.
It was also Dorn who first proposed the formation of the Biology Division's experimental troops.
He recognized that if they could control the effects of cybernetics on the human brain while maximizing safety, it would greatly enhance the combat capabilities of the basic security forces—those at the lowest ranks.
In particular, cybernetics that drastically improved reaction speed and physical abilities, like the military-grade Sandevistan used by Adam Smasher, could be fitted onto synthetic humans and clones.
Perhaps this could pave the way for Atlas's next generation of mass-produced "bioweapons."
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