Noise, chaos.
This was a city full of charm and vitality. At least it used to be...
Woooo... woooo...
Under the blazing sun in broad daylight, rising flames and smoke accompanied by martial law sirens erupted from the bizarre corners of this metropolitan area.
The air was swelteringly hot, filled with an indescribable stench—the foul smell of unbled, ungutted protein chunks after being smoke-roasted, mixed with the acrid odor of burned electronic components.
The once-dense network of overpasses and rail trains had long since stopped running, replaced by a concentrated display of humanity's violent side and all its creations.
Police sirens wailed, crowds surged.
The rushing masses, like a tide, flooded toward the police blockade lines at various intersections. Beside the electric warning barrier generators sparking with electricity, using armored police cars as cover, a row of riot police and humanoid security robots stood armed and ready.
"Warning, warning. City citizens, your actions have violated municipal public safety regulations."
Police security robots used loudspeakers to continue their formulaic recorded warnings to the dark mass of people whose demonstration had turned into an organized riot that was spiraling out of control.
"Final warning, cease illegal activities immediately. According to safety protocols, this unit has been authorized under public safety regulations..."
"F your mother, you stupid robot! Get out of our city!"
Along with the cursing, a Molotov cocktail was hurled from the crowd. Bang. A fireball exploded at the front of the police car, flames leaping up. The city security officers instinctively ducked for cover. "Incoming!"
Unlike the human patrol officers who might still hesitate, the security robots' formulaic warnings stopped immediately. Following protocol, almost the moment the crowd crossed the warning line, they pulled their triggers. Rat-tat-tat! Striking down the rioters who had crossed the blockade.
At the same time, several security robots wielding automatic machine guns turned their heads, their scanner's red light sweeping over the crowd. The hooded man who had clearly made the throwing motion and was trying to hide, along with other men and women reaching for guns and explosives, came into view of their sensors. Gun barrels raised, locked on, large-caliber heavy rounds fired. In an instant, gunfire erupted.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—
In just a few seconds, intersecting fields of fire covered the crowd ahead from multiple directions.
Whether innocents were harmed, whether the punishment was excessive—none of that mattered now.
Direct-fire bullets tore through the crowd, punched into abandoned vehicles on the road, penetrated cyberware, and shredded flesh. Suddenly, blood and flesh flew everywhere, sparks scattered, and white fluid—whether motor oil, coolant, or nutrient solution—mixed with damaged cyberware fragments and chunks of meat went flying.
The scene echoed with the screams of protesters, the curses of rioters, and the agonized wails of those lucky enough not to die.
If you looked down from the sky, you'd see that across the city's major traffic arteries, explosions, fires, and electrical sparks from damaged and short-circuited equipment all seemed to erupt simultaneously as if by arrangement.
The city was weeping... No, perhaps more accurately, it was a city that had long since cried itself dry, naturally catching fire once again.
...
City Hall.
Arasaka Tower.
In a world quiet to the point of coldness, all dark metal tones, cold and towering, elegant Japanese classical music echoed.
It was like entering another world entirely.
Everything here remained orderly. Company employees either worked diligently on their respective tasks or relaxed in the break areas and tea rooms between office sections, quietly chatting about the excitement happening in the city district.
As if the riot in the city district just one block away had never happened.
Mid-level Tactical Command Center.
Beep beep...
The faint sound of fingers tapping silent keyboards occasionally rang out. Split-screen monitors glowed, illuminating faces marked with cybernetic implant scars, cold and expressionless.
Inside the room, several tall figures stood silently.
They wore thick black insulated combat uniforms, draped in heavy two-piece armor like samurai, fully armed, wearing tactical helmets with ornamental crests. Because they reflected the light from computer screens, the black-and-white three-leaf clover logos on their shoulder and neck armor glowed with a faint fluorescence.
Arasaka Security Department combat soldiers.
Surrounded by these Arasaka soldiers, sitting beside the central console of the tactical command center, was clearly a young blonde woman leaning back in her chair.
From her appearance, the woman looked to be in her early twenties, tall and well-proportioned, with no visible signs of how much cyberware modification she'd undergone.
Her shoulder-length hair, somewhere between gold and silver, was tied in a ponytail that fell behind her head. Her features were refined, her face naturally beautiful enough to serve as a spokesperson for a cosmetics company or the public relations department's image representative. She wore a tech-style dark, form-fitting uniform.
Swish... swish...
The blonde woman lightly rubbed the desktop with her fingers, watching the surveillance footage transmitted back from various monitoring hub devices throughout the city district: city police units were engaged in intense firefights with crazed gang members, opportunistic mercenaries, looters, troublemakers fishing in muddy waters, and a few idealistic do-gooders with a sense of justice.
Heavy armored transport vehicles filled with armed police and security robots funded by the company arrived at the riot front lines one after another.
From the current situation, the police only needed to block the roads to the city center and didn't require support from corporate armed forces.
"Is this all there is?"
Sighing, the blonde woman flexed her slender, nimble fingers, then turned her chair around, facing away from her subordinates. She walked to the wall cabinet and gently adjusted the antique gramophone-style record player, changing the classical music from its uplifting phase to the near-ending, somewhat melancholy section.
Super monopoly capitalism...' she murmured silently.
The polished counter reflected the blonde woman's slightly complex gaze, which passed in an instant.
"Officer Vera, the 'fish' have been hooked. We have the necessary evidence, the personnel list is confirmed, and our people are in position. Should we begin the operation?"
Just as the blonde woman silently lit an expensive cigarette and let the wispy smoke slowly disperse before her eyes, one of the Arasaka soldiers stepped forward.
"Exhale... After all these days of half-hearted skirmishing, it wasn't for nothing that we fanned the flames. Finally, it's erupted. Well, time to reel in the net."
Breathing out a puff of stale air, Vera held the premium cigarette between her fingers and walked back to the big screen, looking at the overhead view that switched on command:
Under real-time monitoring and data locking by Arasaka netrunners equipped with high-end access pods in the tactical command center, gang leaders big and small, cyberpunk mercenaries, agitators, and corporate opponents were being identified and marked one by one from the crowds, and even from their hiding places in homes and safe houses.
Vera knew very well that after she gave her orders, at least a thousand people would be dealt with within an hour.
There would definitely be collateral damage. Even Arasaka netrunners using all sorts of top-tier gear weren't omnipotent, and there would certainly be errors in the strike targets they identified.
But the company never cared about such small margins of error.
They'd rather kill the wrong person than let anyone slip through. No matter which company it was.
The company demanded efficiency from Vera, so she had to be efficient. For advancement...
She was already used to it, already numb.
Since arriving in this world and deciding to climb the ladder, she had already transformed her former conscience.
Her only conscience now was to kill these people quickly and cleanly.
In the face of corporations, especially world giants like Arasaka Group, when the company decided to get involved, the failure of these people on screen was already predetermined. Letting you taste a little sweetness first was just to maximize profits.
"First, they ignited topics on the streets to generate heat, escalating social tensions, then secretly guided the protest march groups. After the crowds approached the wealthy districts and city center, they launched their assault, using ordinary citizens as human shields to incite riots targeting the city's upper classes. Tsk, not bad tactics, but what are they really after..."
Under the consolidated work of Arasaka field personnel and intelligence analysts, the cause and effect behind those who launched the assault were easily turned inside out.
The cause of the incident was complex if you looked at it one way, simple if you looked at it another.
It was nothing more than the Brazilian authorities exploiting too harshly, people below couldn't survive, tensions escalated, someone wanted to profit from the chaos, so they fanned the flames. Then the fire was lit, but whether they profited, and how much, was hard to say. Under the influence of various other external factors, the 'fire' got out of control and became this mess.
If no other major corporations were stirring up trouble behind the scenes to muddy the waters, the report that reached Vera should be basically accurate.
These troublemakers can die for all I care. They actually dared to rebel, even dared to kill my horse? These aren't just ordinary troublemakers anymore—we need to crack down hard. The Brazilian authorities' psychological state was probably something like this right now.
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, the 'fire-starters' might have burned themselves or fled early, but the Brazilian authorities needed to put out the fire. After careful consideration, they chose to pay big money to order Arasaka Group's public safety services.
And this was why Vera had come to Rio de Janeiro.
She had been transferred to Arasaka's South American Investigation Group with the mission to complete the public safety services ordered by the Brazilian authorities from Arasaka Group—suppress the locals, quell the riots, and eliminate the terrorist organizations in Rio de Janeiro.
As for the definition of terrorist organizations, heh... if the client says they are, that's good enough.
Vera silently flicked off the ash and stubbed out the cigarette she'd only taken a few puffs from in the ashtray. She didn't need to understand this issue too clearly, nor did she want to dig deeper.
Anyway, the root of the problem would definitely end up being traced back to corporations.
Everyone said so. The vanished 'legends' of the past said so too.
"Oh, and analyze the surveillance footage we've collected over these past days. Find the guys who were jumping around the most, cross-reference them—during today's big show, which ones didn't show up. As long as they're still in Rio, take care of the cowards who chickened out too."
Thinking of something, watching the Arasaka soldiers who had already begun moving on screen, Vera stopped pacing. Her indigo pupils flashed with the red grid of a built-in virtual display as she sent additional instructions to the special assault unit subordinates leaving the tactical command center.
Kill big, kill thoroughly, clean up completely!
Make the Brazilian elite clients satisfied, let Arasaka Security Department's public safety services establish their reputation in this land, keep Rio de Janeiro stable for a few more years...
The clients who suffered losses in this riot would definitely hate deeply. Reducing civilian casualties wasn't her concern. As an outside public safety service provider, the more ruthlessly she killed, the higher the clients' evaluation, the better her performance, and the more bonus money she'd get.
It was all for advancement.
People were going to die anyway, so she might as well make you suffer a bit more, round up the numbers—good for you, me, and everyone.
Having adjusted her mindset as an excellent corpo, Vera returned to her command position and sat down, signaling the technical personnel in the tactical center to track the real-time status of each field unit's missions. She called up the surveillance system and watched with great interest.
These small fries weren't worth her going to the streets for firefights. She was at least a mid-level corporate manager—well, a mid-to-low level executive who had stepped into the leadership threshold, which counted as being an official, right?
From the surveillance, she could see that the special assault unit squads she'd brought to Rio de Janeiro had begun operations. With coordination from local Brazilian Arasaka division rangers, they were arresting and executing the 'terrorists' marked on the list one by one.
Among them was an execution operation targeting the biggest gang leader on Rio's streets.
His name...
Didn't matter.
Anyway, this guy had screwed over the Rio municipal government plenty of times in the past, quite the rebellious type.
Vera, naturally, was getting revenge for her financial backers. It just so happened this guy was well-informed and had swallowed up quite a bit of territory during this riot incident, so he wasn't exactly innocent.
However, "Urban infrastructure reconstruction..."
Looking at the blazing streets and buildings that had been smashed, looted, and burned on the big screen, Vera's lips curved into a slight arc as she murmured to herself: "...the company should have people interested in that." As her words trailed off, her eyes immediately flashed with red light from communication data.
"Night City Information Department, this is Vera Adelheid, Night City Security Department Police Command, Special Assault Unit..."
"That's right, I'm currently in Rio de Janeiro executing public safety missions... Yes, I have good news. I've got a fresh batch of detailed blueprints and real-time recorded footage of Rio de Janeiro's damaged urban infrastructure... I think this should be enough, you know what I mean."
"Yes, go through official channels. Right, contact friends in the company's engineering and construction departments. Do they want a piece of the Rio de Janeiro reconstruction pie... Very fresh... Yes, no one should have more authority to speak on this than me, the one executing the suppression on site. Have them prepare urban reconstruction proposals in advance..."
...
While the corpos at City Hall had already begun discussing post-riot urban reconstruction, elsewhere in Rio de Janeiro, during this time when order had disappeared, the riots had mercilessly destroyed all tranquility in this city.
Law-abiding people lived in fear amidst gang wars and looting, while Arasaka security personnel's pacification war was proceeding in full swing.
Just as Vera had never worried about this mission failing, without intervention from other forces or with limited intervention, Rio de Janeiro's 'terrorist organizations' were just a rabble.
They crumbled at first contact.
In a corner of the city, an exceptionally fierce explosion shook the largest gang's camp in Rio de Janeiro, drowning out the howls of the small-time thugs still high on counting the spoils they'd looted from wealthy districts and commercial streets.
"Son of a bitch!"
Someone shouted, their voice cutting through the explosion's shock wave, hysterical as a madman.
"Arasaka! Damn it, those ball-less cowards hired Arasaka. Damn it, Militech are sons of bitches too, won't even compete for this... That Arasaka bitch! Tricked me, damn it! Corpse never bring anything good. Bitch, don't let me catch you!"
A fierce-looking Latino bald man hefted an MK.31 heavy machine gun, spewing profanity while rushing out in panic.
Under his fire-sparked worn brown-red coat was a heavily modified muscular body. Artificial muscle fibers, steel bones, enhanced tendons, and subcutaneous armor were clearly visible.
"Boys! Go save our assets! Whatever you salvage, I, 'File' Bilder, give you my word—you get half!" the man shouted.
In the world of street gangs, this was undoubtedly very generous terms.
But the smart ones had already sensed trouble brewing and started stuffing valuables into their pockets before slipping away.
Arasaka? Making them go up against Arasaka people—that was suicide, wasn't it?
There were still some who either got too excited looting earlier and fried their brains, or were influenced by their gang boss's longstanding authority. Some street punks were stirred up by him, showing the crazed expressions of people on a stimulant high, grabbing their weapons and charging into the gang camp that was on fire from the explosion.
"Bastards, a bunch of ungrateful wolves!"
Though he was angry at those who ran off, especially some he valued and had entrusted with important tasks due to their sharp minds, and he wanted nothing more than to shoot them and throw them in a meat grinder, Bilder knew clearly that running was the priority now.
Hopefully those drugged-up thugs could buy him some time.
With this thought, he strode quickly to the nearest modified car, yanked open the door, and dove in. His crude movements made the welding-scarred interior rumble loudly. Ignition, sharp turn of the steering wheel, hit the gas, turn and accelerate.
Vroom... vroom...
Inside the gang building where flames were spreading, gunshots, explosions, shouts, screams, the thunderous collapse of walls, and the crackling of burning building materials all mixed together.
Thoom! Thoom! Thoom—
Time seemed to slow, then speed up. Lights and shadows crossed.
Through his rearview mirror, Bilder saw that chaotic scene of changing lights and bloody carnage.
At the camp entrance, the gang thugs who had charged in screaming just seconds before were pierced by armor-piercing shells, their entire bodies split in two, torsos spinning helplessly in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.
God knows how perverted the weapons of those damned Arasaka killing machines were.
His gang underlings were like paper dolls, crushed by the three Arasaka heavy assault soldiers who appeared.
Literally crushed, like a meat grinder. In the firelight, shrapnel flew everywhere, and every gang member blocking the way was blown apart without exception. Red-hot nano-blades sliced through the twisted bodies with their cheap cyberware modification circuits exposed as easily as cutting plastic.
Under the distinctive ornamental tactical helmets of Arasaka soldiers were blood-and-gore-spattered demon masks, with embedded mechanical tactical goggles flashing red light, staring directly at him.
Having witnessed the ferocity of the Arasaka heavy assault soldiers, Bilder felt his full-power cyberware spine going cold. Instinctively, he floored the accelerator.
Spinning the steering wheel rapidly, he cursed in Portuguese while operating the heavy machine gun he'd illegally installed on his modified car, aiming everything he could control at those Arasaka soldiers standing still. Wait! Standing still?
Why were they standing...
"Oh no!" Bilder sensed danger.
Suddenly.
Bzzzzt—
Bilder's whole body shuddered, his vision went black as if struck by electricity.
His artificial eye connection circuit had short-circuited!
[Warning: Under intrusion.]
Arasaka netrunners!
Then, bang!
A muffled gunshot, the car window shattered. Bilder felt his chest tighten, as if he'd been hammered hard with a spiked war hammer. Excruciating pain hit, and his whole body seemed to deflate as all strength was instantly drained. The next moment, the world spun.
The out-of-control modified car slammed head-first into a roadside pyramid-shaped stone barrier, lurched up, went airborne, flew off the road, rolled over, skidded with friction, and crashed into a wall.
"Ugh—"
His head felt like mush, dizzy and confused. When Bilder's consciousness returned, half his body had been mangled. The health monitor that came back online in his body emitted a piercing beep.
That sniper shot had opened a bowl-sized bloody hole in his chest. His body, which was top-tier by Rio street standards, had been deformed and twisted by the impact and crushing from vehicle debris, exposing the mechanical structures inside. White coolant and blood pooled everywhere.
Step, step~
In his final moments, Bilder saw those Arasaka heavy assault soldiers approach. The Arasaka netrunner who had been hidden in an elevated position also revealed himself, carrying a Nekomata tech sniper rifle. He crouched in front of Bilder.
Then he pulled out the interface from his hacker terminal on his arm, grabbed Bilder's bloodied head, and forcibly jacked in.
"Warning: Unauthorized access..."
Bilder couldn't speak anymore and could only let the Arasaka netrunner break in, reading the data from his information banks. All his intel, gang information, backup plans, fund storage locations, and safe houses were discovered one by one.
In less than half a minute, after squeezing out the last bit of juice, the Arasaka netrunner stood up.
"'File' Hackson Bilder, execution."
The brilliant muzzle flash was blindingly bright in Bilder's increasingly unfocused eyes.
Damn Arasaka, damn corpos. That was his final thought.
...
That evening, throughout Rio de Janeiro, the day-long killing was winding down. Overall, the riots had basically been quelled, with only sporadic firefights remaining.
The setting sun was blood-red. Arasaka's Special Assault Unit's cleansing operation was successfully completed. From the list, 1,328 marked criminals had been executed, with countless collateral casualties.
Arasaka's prepared sweep operation had been powerful and effective.
After the operation, Rio de Janeiro's street gang leaders big and small were wiped out. Middlemen, mercenaries, and those who normally had major criminal records with corporations and municipal authorities were also cleaned up in passing.
Except for a very few smart ones, lucky ones, and corporate black gloves who escaped.
"It's over."
Finally, in the early morning hours, as the last group of Special Assault Unit members returned with seized spoils of war, Vera stood quietly in her crisp uniform with her arms crossed, looking down at nighttime Rio de Janeiro from her god's-eye view through the giant floor-to-ceiling window that covered the entire wall.
Rio's streets no longer had lights, but the neon signs of skyscrapers in the municipal center flickered.
This side was heaven.
Outside the city center was a chaotic war zone, a hellscape.
Come dawn, the sun would rise as always, but many people would never see another daybreak...
"..."
Turning around, Vera silently looked up at the multi-level layout inside the tower, and at that prominent Arasaka three-leaf clover logo.
After a long moment, she looked away.
"Time to return to Night City."
Walking toward the operations center, Vera activated the miniature display built into her artificial eyes. "This is Vera Adelheid. The Rio de Janeiro riots have been suppressed and we're entering the cleanup phase."
Mission Summary: Arasaka Group South American Investigation Team
[Arasaka Information Department, Operations Oversight Committee Meeting—Night City]
Operator: Vera Adelheid Russell [Arasaka Security Department, Police Command Special Assault Unit Team 6—Night City]
Location: South America/Brazil/Rio de Janeiro
Mission Description: Assist South American Arasaka Company divisions in executing security services, suppress riot incidents occurring in Brazil, eliminate terrorist organizations hiding in Rio de Janeiro
Date: 2074/5/24
Status: In Progress → Awaiting Completion