Night City, Westbrook.
Night City map.
Corpo Plaza, apartment 414, Russell family residence.
Dawn was breaking as Vera woke from her sleep, sitting up gently on the bed.
"Ugh... not even giving me a single day off, what a bunch of bloodsuckers."
Silent muttering, rubbing her drowsy head that had become sluggish after voluntarily shutting off her health monitor, Vera pressed her forehead and shook her head. Her indigo cybernetic pupils instantly cleared.
Thinking about how she had just rushed back to Night City from Rio de Janeiro last night, only to be called to Arasaka Tower for various meetings, and after finally finishing all that bureaucratic nonsense, she had to get up early again to go to work at Arasaka Tower, Miss Vera felt extremely irritated.
Even a donkey in a production team wouldn't be worked this hard. Damn, parasites!
Of course, complaining aside, she still had to go to work.
For the sake of bonuses and money, after all, she had to make a living.
After her daily beneficial mental health routine of grumbling and criticism, Vera's expression turned serious, ready for work!
Rolling out of bed, Vera walked to the washroom in her dark light silk nightgown, guided by the faint warm light in the bedroom. The motion sensors automatically lit up.
Splash splash~
After rinsing, Vera wiped the water from her face and carefully examined herself in the mirror wall.
"Completely used to it now. Hmm, not bad at all..."
A delicate face that combined both Eastern softness and refinement with Western depth and definition.
Cybernetic implant traces reference.
Hair and eye color reference.
Hair somewhere between silver and gold, eyes like deep indigo lake water, subtle traces of cybernetic implants dotting her features, hidden metallic implants beneath both temples, muscular indentations at the upper lip orbicularis, all combining to create an alternative kind of cold, sharp beauty.
Perfect. This was very cyberpunk.
A practical luxury aesthetic, understated yet not showy, while being supremely elegant.
Perfectly matching the aesthetic promoted by Arasaka Corporation's new militarism.
If the 'legends' who blew up Arasaka Tower fifty years ago saw this face, especially that 'rockerboy' among them, they'd probably explode on the spot and grab their weapons to blow this pretentious, affected face to pieces...
Although in 2074, advances in cybernetic modification technology meant that people's facial features, skin color, eye color, and even body type and gender could all be adjusted, truly, Vera had never spent too much effort on this face.
At most, when she first entered Arasaka Academy, she had deliberately maintained this appearance to kiss up to Arasaka and show loyalty, and then... it really became habit.
When you play a role long enough, it becomes real.
You could also say that this body's parents had left behind too rich a 'legacy.'
By the light, Vera looked with complex emotions toward the ceramic tiles with an embedded photo frame beside the washbasin.
In the photo was a group of three people she hadn't spent much time with, one man and two women, two adults and one child.
The man appeared to be in his early thirties, with slicked-back blonde hair, in a suit and tie, with a sturdy build. The woman was nestled against his side, with light golden shoulder-length hair, wearing what by today's standards would be considered a very old-fashioned dress, with gentle features that shared some resemblance around the eyes and nose with present-day Vera.
Her body's adoptive parents.
And the small girl between them was her childhood self.
Come to think of it, she had been living under the name Vera for over twenty years now.
Lightly touching the photo frame, Vera whispered in her heart: "I may not be your daughter, or maybe I am... but as long as I'm alive, I will definitely fulfill my responsibility to honor your memory."
Truly, even though her body's parents hadn't fulfilled much in the way of nurturing and companionship responsibilities, being the type who were too busy to see each other more than a few times a year when work got hectic, Vera was still genuinely grateful to them.
She wasn't some clueless, love-starved little kid.
Besides this face that was a plus in the company, this composite apartment in Westbrook Corporate Plaza near Japantown and the city center, the savings accounts, stocks, funds and other tangible assets that would keep Vera comfortable for a long time...
Most importantly were her birth parents' other intangible 'legacies.'
Without them, she never could have climbed so quickly in the snake pit called Arasaka.
It was public knowledge in the industry that although Arasaka Corporation, which originated in Japan, had gone global, the traditions of 'lifetime employment' and 'father dies, son inherits, passed down through generations' still deeply influenced all of Arasaka's departments.
In other words, it was about bloodlines. About being 'one of us.'
Many Arasaka branches had this running joke that at Tokyo headquarters, even a bathroom attendant position would want to be 'hereditary and irreplaceable, passed down forever.'
Perhaps it was an exaggeration, but it showed Arasaka's internal culture.
Vera couldn't judge the pros and cons of this system, because she was one of its beneficiaries.
Her birth father, Fred Russell, was a high-ranking executive in Arasaka North America's security department, controlling the Security Bureau, a department with real power.
Her birth mother, Mia Russell, was a mid-level manager in Arasaka North America's administrative department, responsible for meetings, banquets and other diplomatic protocol occasions.
After Arasaka's defeat in the Fourth Corporate War in 2023 and loss of control over Night City, Arasaka had been building strength, wanting to return to Night City and restore its supreme position in North America.
Taking advantage of the conflict between the New United States and the Free States during the unification war in the late sixties, Arasaka regained the city's favor by supporting Night City and the North American Free States, finally returning to Night City in 2070, and Vera's birth parents were heroes of this war for Arasaka.
And they died for it.
The current Arasaka America Night City headquarters was reorganized from the departments they once belonged to.
Especially in the security and administrative departments, quite a few veteran employees were Vera's parents' subordinates, political allies, colleagues, or superiors.
Although Arasaka and big corporations were known for their cold-bloodedness, companies always want to have their cake and eat it too.
After all, Vera's parents weren't fired, much less from notorious departments like counterintelligence or intelligence that did dirty work and made enemies. After returning to Night City, Arasaka also needed to set examples for new employees and dangle carrots.
So Vera's adoptive parents were set up as model meritorious employees.
Vera inherited all of her late father and mother's legacy.
During this time, it wasn't that no one coveted it, but Vera wasn't an ordinary child. She wasn't the original, at least her soul wasn't.
Without anyone to shield her from wind and rain, she clearly realized her situation: like a child carrying gold through the marketplace.
Passively trapped in a certain state, not yet having mastered her own 'gift,' Vera could only seek out her biggest backer at the time, and her only way out—Arasaka.
She expressed her desire to enroll in the newly established Arasaka Academy, and with the help of her adoptive father's friend—at least someone who had once been invited to their home, who had given her birthday gifts—she used official company channels to entrust her stocks, funds and other assets to the company for management.
Until she could be independent, Vera would just collect interest.
That uncle naturally also got his cut in euros.
Afterwards, Vera chose to follow the same path as her father, entering Arasaka Corporation's security department.
This choice caused no ripples. For Arasaka, father dies son inherits, generations continuing in the same profession was completely commonplace.
It was all about bloodlines.
And after Vera enrolled, the outstanding talent she subsequently displayed:
Superior learning ability, inheriting from her parents their rapid comprehension in security and administrative fields, showing interest and talent in biotechnology, exam scores with virtually no weak points, being included in the elite student roster, becoming an Arasaka executive candidate receiving further evaluation...
Arasaka's Night City department immediately realized Vera wasn't worthless, and would very likely inherit all of her father's political legacy and rise to power!
If Vera had been worthless, or a pretty vase who couldn't recover from trauma...
Corporate people wouldn't hesitate to devour her completely, to consume a family line. Those smiling, fawning corporate dogs, all their outward warmth and tenderness in front of Vera would turn into cold reality and the icy chill of cybernetic metal.
Obviously Vera wasn't that. She demonstrated her value.
Clean background with solid connections, a reliable insider, extremely worth nurturing, cost-effective, and the only daughter of an old boss/old friend/capable subordinate, she deserved some care no matter what.
This was when they'd switch to a different face: the streets aren't about violence and killing, they're about human relationships and social etiquette.
Well, nothing more to say, acceptance.
'She has her father's style.'
This was the most common evaluation Vera received at the academy.
So when Vera returned from advanced training at Arasaka Tokyo headquarters and graduated as valedictorian of the Academy's Class of 2073, internship? What internship!
Arrive in the morning, start work in the afternoon!
The security department heads waved their hands grandly—she started as a junior executive with real power in the Security Bureau, specially looked after by former subordinates of her adoptive father, who taught her experience and important considerations.
Promoted every year, climbing the ladder smoothly.
Before advancing to her adoptive father's position, as long as Vera didn't make major mistakes, she completely didn't need to worry about promotions being blocked.
If there was a ceiling, to give an inappropriate example, it would be higher than current Counterintelligence Director Jenkins, but lower than Special Operations Director Abernathy.
This was an unwritten company rule called generational decline.
These political resources were ultimately inherited by Vera. Reaching her father's position required real talent, which Vera wasn't worried about at all, but to go further and break through her father's ceiling, Vera would need to network herself, earn more merit and create opportunities.
So Vera was particularly grateful to her birth parents.
In this messed-up world, in Night City this garbage dump of a city, they had left her such abundant 'assets.'
If she really had been born a regular Night City nobody without a 'corpo' background, she'd truly be screwed.
Not to mention other paths—even with similar abilities and joining Arasaka, she'd probably still be in the probationary period.
Getting into Arasaka Academy would most likely mean being assigned to the general college that did odd jobs, with many secret courses and information not so easily accessible. After graduation, she'd either end up screwing bolts in an Arasaka automated factory or thrown into some department as a nobody.
Wanting to make it big? it's incredibly difficult.
"Phew..."
Finished with rinsing, Vera stripped off her clothes and soaked herself in the pristine, stylish large bathtub.
After a simple and quick wash, she went to the walk-in closet and expertly put on the women's undergarments she was now completely familiar with but no longer found particularly interesting.
After covering the pale skin between her lower abdomen and neck, Vera tapped the wardrobe with her finger, selecting from sets of similar-styled suits and uniforms.
Twenty years later, she still couldn't accept clothing with too high a degree of exposure.
Work environment requirements meant her wardrobe was mostly uniforms.
The rest was either formal wear or business casual suits.
Putting on a black shirt with dark red maple leaf patterns, pulling on suit trousers, tying a necktie, fastening her aramid bulletproof vest, then hanging the custom pistol holster under her arm, Vera stretched her waist, then opened the nearest drawer. Arasaka's Kenshin and Yukimura, Militech's Omaha, Kang Tao's Chao, Tsunami's Nue... completely full.
Vera also stored submachine guns, assault rifles, and shotguns at home, but they were too bulky and kept in a dedicated gun room.
Choosing her usual Militech M-76E Omaha, after a quick inspection, Vera slipped it into her underarm holster.
Because its frame was small enough.
Precision version, equipped with tungsten alloy armor-piercing ammunition, its lethality was no less than a machine gun.
But then again, if she really encountered a cyberpsycho charging at her face-to-face, it would probably be better than nothing, but... she couldn't go without it. What if it came in handy?
Not feeling the slightest bit awkward about being Arasaka but using arch-rival Militech's weaponry, no such taboos, pure pragmatism, Vera grabbed her bulletproof material dark high-shouldered lightweight suit jacket and put it on, then headed out.
Bare feet stepping on the soft carpet, walking through the hallway, grabbing her official briefcase from the living room, Vera saw through the interior displays the time on the distant electronic screen:
2074/5/27, 7:29.
Perfect timing.
A habit from her previous life, putting on cotton slippers, she walked down the second-floor suspended staircase, through the main hall to the entrance foyer, took out simple dark office shoes from the shoe cabinet, and Vera changed shoes and tested them.
The timer jumped: 7:30.
Beep beep—
Knock knock.
The reminder chime and knocking sounded simultaneously.
"Come in."
While picking up the silver Arasaka three-leaf clover pin from the foyer table and fastening it to her left lapel, knowing who was arriving, Vera transmitted data through her cybernetic eyes to instruct the apartment's master-slave intelligent blast-proof armored door to open.
"Ms. Vera."
Signal recognition passed, accompanied by the subtle sound of bearings and metal meshing, the apartment door opened.
Two burly, tall men with extensive cybernetic body modifications walked out, one Black, one white. The leading Black man proactively picked up Vera's official briefcase while saying, "Ms. Vera, the vehicle is ready."
"Mm."
Protected by the two giant bodyguards, one Black and one white, Vera walked out the door. Outside the mini courtyard at the apartment entrance, a Chevillon Thrax 388 "Jefferson" extended luxury sedan with the Arasaka logo was parked by the roadside.
Sitting in the militaristic commercial vehicle with armored modifications, Vera silently rested her chin on her hand, looking out the car window at the corporate community.
A luxurious location with nice scenery, guaranteed property security, and NCPD protection at all times—a middle-class community. Also the property her body's parents had left her.
Vroom...
Before long, the vehicle started. The white bodyguard drove while the Black bodyguard sat in the passenger seat, offering cautious, measured congratulations: "Ms. Vera, I heard about the Rio de Janeiro matter. Congratulations. You should be riding in a 'Excalibur' soon."
"Thank you." Vera smiled gracefully.
Excalibur was a luxury official model of aerodynes. He was complimenting her on her upcoming promotion.
How exciting, her first flying car in life.
Well, the armored aerodynes used for security services and law enforcement operations didn't count.
After a moment of pleasure, Vera turned her attention to the virtual screen grid built into her cybernetic eyes, opening virtual file tables, starting to review the matters she'd need to handle after arriving at Arasaka Tower, sorting them by priority.
"Security department duties are temporarily handed over, if nothing unexpected happens, I can have a few peaceful days... Executive Michiko, hmm? Quite invested, the 'Moxes' rehabilitation therapy business."
"Looks like I need to continue fleecing the Umbrella Corporation..."
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PS: Including Arasaka Corporation, you can think of these 2077 companies as nation-state military-political entities and be completely right.
Arasaka's security department is established as Arasaka's largest, most important and most famous department, but the structure isn't detailed. I'm referencing the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.