"Taylor," Chuck called out, slightly turning his head.
A pale young man stepped forward silently. Without a word, he extended a data cable from his palm and plugged it directly into the dying Steve's skull.
A hacker's brain functions as a localized micro-database. Under normal circumstances, they would purge their data before death. But in an unexpected ambush like this, even if Steve had tried to activate a data-burn, he hadn't had the time to fully erase it. That gave them a small window.
"If Lena were here, we wouldn't even need a data line," Lily Cross whispered in Leon Black's ear.
It was true. While most hackers used hardwired connections to retrieve data, the best of the best didn't need such methods. Their brains were essentially living supercomputers—capable of extracting, processing, and transmitting massive amounts of data in an instant.
Leon chuckled. "Lena can make them want to give up the data. Full neural access without any physical connection, direct system overrides—she could drain an entire brain's storage without leaving a trace."
Lily let out a low whistle. "Now that's a gap in skill…"
Without Lena, though, they had to rely on what they could salvage with old-school methods. Lily didn't expect they'd recover anything critical. If the target was competent, he'd have hidden the sensitive info deep.
Two minutes passed.
Taylor withdrew the cable and gave Chuck a nod.
"Anything useful?" Chuck asked flatly. "Tell the brothers."
"Steve—real name Don Quixote—was ordered to infiltrate Arasaka five years ago," Taylor began. "His mission was to collect information on Arasaka's security personnel, spy on top-level internal operations, and most importantly, get close to something called Mikoshi."
Leon's eyes narrowed.
Mikoshi… That word wasn't thrown around lightly.
"Mikoshi?" Aiji blinked. "What's that? Some codename?"
Chuck frowned. "Could be. Either a person… or something."
"Sounds complicated," Leon said, sipping a juice that Ethan handed him. "Even some of our own department are kept in the dark about it."
He wasn't lying—well, not entirely. Leon knew exactly what Mikoshi was. It wasn't just a place; it was the central pillar of Arasaka's soul digitization program. Located deep within Arasaka Tower, its security was beyond elite. No one entered it casually. In fact, few even knew it existed at all.
"It's probably best we don't talk about this outside," Chuck warned, scanning the group. "Even knowing the name might get you flagged."
Leon turned back to Taylor. "Any leads on the current mission?"
Taylor shook his head. "Nothing specific."
Leon spread his hands. "Alright, then let's focus on staying alive during this next mission."
---
The meeting was short. Everyone knew this was more of a performance than an actual assault. The teams just needed to look like they were fighting—no one wanted to go full kamikaze.
Back at base, Lily Cross sighed, arms folded as she looked over the group. "I never realized Arasaka had so many 'traitors' in its ranks."
Their actual plan was simple: stay in their lanes, don't interfere with each other's cover stories, and coordinate just enough to avoid stepping on toes.
"In theory, we're supposed to fight to the death," Leon said with a grin. "But the higher-ups are too distracted by their little 'succession' war to care about us."
Arasaka wasn't stupid. The Supervisory Team, Netwatch, and internal spies still monitored them. If they slacked too much, it'd bite them later.
Currently, Arasaka Yorinobu was trying to seize control, while Saburo's loyalists refused to give in. The conflict at the top created a perfect smokescreen for operations like theirs to slide under the radar.
If not for the missile explosion in Meiquan District, the power struggle might've been resolved by now.
More curiously, Arasaka had opted not to exploit Biotech's vulnerability. Instead, they'd picked a fight with Military Technology—perhaps trying to drag them into the chaos, giving Arasaka more time to mobilize fully.
"Here's what I found." Arasaka Yuto, who had been quietly preparing, finally took the spotlight. He dimmed the lights and switched on the projector.
A military facility appeared on-screen. Its brutalist design screamed Military Technology.
Barbed wire. Auto-turrets. Mecha patrol units. Concrete walls lined with high-voltage fencing. Dozens of surveillance drones circling in unpredictable patterns.
Lily's face fell. "Military Tech jobs are always a nightmare…"
She propped her chin in her hands and pouted. She wasn't exaggerating—Military Tech's troops were battle-hardened professionals. They had the best gear, the best training, and zero hesitation. Getting in—and out—was never easy.
Leon nodded solemnly. "Our goal is to break into this experimental zone and secure data on their plasma defense tech. Getting in is hard. Getting out is harder."
"I'll go!" Yuto stood up sharply, eager.
Leon nodded. "You didn't get to participate last time. This one's yours."
In truth, Leon would've handled this himself, with Lena managing comms. But she was gone, so he had to make do. If Yuto was determined to prove himself, this was the chance.
Leon laid out the plan.
"The outer perimeter is manageable. I'll mask the wall-mounted cameras temporarily. After that, it's on you."
There were no internal visuals available, so once Yuto entered, it would be up to him until they could breach the network from within.
Leon turned to the others.
"Kui, get him a stealth suit and comm system."
"Got it."
"Ethan, monitor traffic around the base. We need patterns and good vantage points."
"Roger."
"Mike," Leon said, glancing at the silent explosives expert, "prep charges. If he's discovered, I want the whole place in chaos."
Their discussion went long. Most of the ideas came from the others—Leon simply filtered, corrected, and greenlit them. He wasn't a natural teacher, but he understood one thing: let people speak, correct their flaws, and give them room to grow.
Of course, things never played out exactly as planned. But with Leon present, he'd ensure the mission succeeded. Worst-case scenario? They'd go in guns blazing and drag Yuto out.
---
Elsewhere in Night City, V finally stirred.
After sleeping for nearly 24 hours straight, he sat up, the midday sun filtering through cracked blinds.
His body felt better. Refreshed.
He grabbed his gear, showered quickly, and started flipping through messages.
The first bit of good news came from Viktor—Jackie was recovering. Slowly but steadily. He could even eat on his own again. In a few days, he might even walk.
A rare bright spot in an otherwise grim week.
"Heading out again?" Judy asked groggily, rubbing her eyes. She sat up, the bedsheets wrapped loosely around her shoulders.
Derek had been pushing her non-stop lately. Even her usual chill was cracking under the pressure.
V nodded. "Going to see Takemura. Try to figure out if there's still hope for me. And… maybe learn something to help find little Ai."
"Be careful," Judy whispered.
"I will," he replied.
She watched as he left, clutching her hands together. Half of her revenge had already been fulfilled—the Voodoo Boys were annihilated. But the other half—the Tiger Claw Gang—was still out there.
She had to live long enough to see them fall.
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