"They're here!"
Three days later, Air Force One of the New United States arrived on schedule in Night City's airspace.
V curled her lips into a smile.
"The actors are in place. Time for the show."
Blue light flared in her eyes as the meticulously prepared operation went live.
Air Force One, which had been cruising in low orbit, suddenly began to lose altitude.
Miles' heart skipped.
"What's going on?!"
"Report! Air Force One is under cyber intrusion!"
Miles snapped, "Song So Mi, regain control immediately!"
Song So Mi's eyes glowed blue as well. While watching V's engram casually strolling through the interior layout of Air Force One, she put on a panicked act.
"No—enemy pressure is too intense! Without server support, I'll need 48 minutes to retake control!"
Forty-eight minutes?
In that time, Air Force One could crash into Mount Kilimanjaro twice.
Miles paced in agitation, while V teased with obvious amusement.
"Nice acting."
"Mandatory training for agents," Song thought to herself.
Then she sent V a private ping: Enough joking. How are you planning to kill Miles? Even if you control the plane, she brought three full robot guard units.
V smiled enigmatically.
"You'll see."
Song was about to press further when V raised a hand.
"Hold on. Miles is calling me."
Song looked up just in time to see Miles' eyes light up blue.
"V. You hacked Air Force One, didn't you? I believe there must be some misunderstanding."
"No misunderstanding," V replied calmly.
"I'm here to kill you. Struggle all you like, Madam President—you'll find it utterly meaningless. And finally…"
V's engram raised a middle finger.
"Go fuck yourself, you stupid bitch."
The President of the New United States turned livid.
V, on the other hand, looked completely satisfied.
Two lifetimes.
She'd finally said it.
God, that felt good.
"Damn you, V!" Miles roared. "I'll make you pay for this!"
No one echoed her fury.
Because Song So Mi, seated across from her, was staring out the window.
"Song So Mi!"
Miles barked impatiently. Normally, someone would be scrambling to flatter her by now—this lapse was unacceptable.
She was about to continue berating her when Song's expression suddenly changed. She rolled off her seat and dove underneath it.
Instinctively, Miles turned to look outside—
—and her face drained of color.
A surface-to-air missile, trailing a long plume of fire, curved through the sky and slammed directly into Air Force One, whose point-defense systems were completely offline.
A thunderous explosion followed.
Half the fuselage burst into flames. Debris scattered across the sky. The cabin shook violently as red warning lights flashed and alarms screamed.
Miles hadn't fastened her seatbelt. She was slammed headfirst into the cabin, blood streaming down her face.
Dazed, she saw Song crawl out from beneath the seat and desperately grabbed her pant leg.
"Song… save me…"
Without hesitation, Song kicked Miles square in the face, sending the "esteemed" President flying.
A surge of pure joy flooded her chest.
She almost kicked her again—until V's engram spoke.
"I know that felt great, but just so you know—the second missile is already on its way."
"Fuck!" Song cursed.
She finally understood how V planned to kill Miles—and she really wished she didn't.
At the edge of death, she abandoned any further beating and scrambled into the escape pod, slamming the hatch shut.
A second later, the next missile tore through the clouds. Just before impact, the escape pod blasted free.
Another deafening explosion followed.
Air Force One was hit again—far more severely this time. The shockwave was brutal.
Miles was thrown into the air and smashed back down. She spat out a mouthful of blood.
But she didn't give up.
Cold, ruthless, and selfish as she was, Miles was undeniably capable.
Before becoming Militech's CEO, she had been an elite soldier—fully trained, top of her class.
Put simply: she knew how to fly this thing.
Staggering into the cockpit, she punched in the authorization code and switched to manual control.
Her hands clenched the controls. Her eyes hardened.
A desperate fight for survival began.
Trailing smoke and fire, Air Force One howled across Night City's skies like a colossal extradimensional demon.
Kurt Hansen looked up and couldn't help but admire it.
"That old witch really has some skill."
Two surface-to-air missiles, and she was still flying. Even the Dogtown warlord was impressed.
What a soldier.
Such a waste, becoming some bullshit president.
Feeling the cyberpsycho struggling beneath his boot, Hansen lowered his gaze.
"Thanks, choom."
He fired once, blowing the man's head apart.
A terrorist who attacked the New United States President—of course he had to be neutralized immediately, to avenge Her Excellency.
"V, cleanup complete," Hansen reported over comms.
"Copy. Extract with the body. Sit tight—New America will be mailing you a medal," V replied.
She then turned to Carter, who was monitoring the whole operation.
"Crash site calculated?"
"Theoretical crash point is the old Grand Imperial Mall ruins. Actual trajectory indicates northeast of Longshore Scrap Yard—at the circular unfinished high-rise. Manual correction. Miles is attempting to ram straight into the Little Polaris Project facility."
The circular high-rise sat directly above Little Polaris.
Even like this, she never lost sight of her objective.
Admirable, in a twisted way.
"New United States President indeed—hard to kill," V praised lightly, then shrugged.
"But expected. The contingency was ready. If once isn't enough, we do it twice. But before that…"
Pacifica — former Luxor Shuangshan Health Spa Resort
Song So Mi's escape pod crashed into a hillside nearby.
The good news: she adjusted her descent angle in time and avoided becoming paste.
The bad news: the impact was still violent. The pod jammed into the rocks. She kicked the hatch repeatedly, exhausting herself without success.
Just as despair crept in—
Crack.
The hatch was torn open.
V stood there, smiling, hand extended.
"Looks like a little bird couldn't break out of her own shell."
Song slapped V's hand away furiously.
"You almost blew me up with her!"
"But you didn't die, did you?" V said calmly.
"Relax. Everything's going according to plan."
She extended her hand again.
Song wanted to slap her—but her survival was literally in V's grip.
She endured it.
Just like V once had.
Grabbing V's hand, she climbed out.
A Quadra Type-66 'Javelina' waited nearby.
"Nice ride," Song muttered.
V grinned.
"Picking up the legendary Songbird deserves something classy. Hop in—I've got a welcome feast prepared."
The attitude helped. Song's mood improved—just a little.
They got in.
Song assumed they'd head north toward Corpo Plaza.
They didn't.
She thought maybe Jade.
They drove right past it.
Instead, they arrived at a circular unfinished high-rise.
Seeing the wreckage of Air Force One at its base, realization hit.
"Fuck. You were never throwing me a welcome party. Where are we?"
V didn't answer directly.
"Song, I need one last favor."
Song exploded.
"You lied to me!"
"I did," V admitted.
"But believe me—this is all to cure you."
Her tone was sincere.
Just like Songbird once was.
Anger burned—but survival demanded she continue.
Just like V once had.
"This better be the last time you lie to me."
They entered through the massive breach Air Force One had punched into the structure, descending deeper until they reached a research complex 200 meters underground.
Song stared at the consoles and lab equipment.
"Where the hell is this?"
"Little Polaris Facility," V said, jacking her personal cable into a terminal.
Screens lit up, documents and schematics flooding in.
"Project Little Polaris. The nuclear bomb of cyberspace. Militech's ace. Designed to counter Arasaka's Soulkiller. Corporate dick-measuring taken to its dumbest extreme."
Song whispered,
"And what Miles always wanted."
V smiled.
"Exactly. She wanted it—and had no idea what it actually was."
Song froze.
"Isn't it a neural matrix?"
"Smoke and mirrors. Come on. You're about to see what Little Polaris really made."
They moved on.
Signs of battle lined the corridors. Security doors smashed open. Even the terrifying 'Medium Flathead' units were reduced to scrap—clearly the work of Miles' robot guards.
"V… this place gives me chills," Song said, rubbing her arms.
"I felt the same," V replied quietly.
"Before? You've been here?"
"Yeah. A long time ago."
A trace of nostalgia crossed her face—then vanished.
"Let's go. We're almost there."
They rode a platform elevator down into the core.
A vast circular chamber.
The moment they stepped out, gunfire erupted.
"Down!"
V yanked Song behind cover.
They peeked out.
Over thirty Kang Tao advanced combat drones filled the chamber.
"Want to fight?" Song asked. "I can probably hack ten."
Before V answered, Miles' voice rang out.
"Too late, Song. You're both too late."
Miles strode forward.
Her pristine white presidential uniform was soaked in blood and grime—but her posture remained haughty, like a peacock in full display.
"V. Come out and talk. I won't fire."
"Don't listen to her—she lies about everything!" Song warned.
V still stepped out, pulling Song with her.
"What do you want?" V asked.
"Work for me, V," Miles said earnestly.
"I'll give you the highest待遇 imaginable."
V sneered.
"So you can sell me out like the rest?"
"No. You're different. You deserve special treatment."
"Please," Song scoffed. "That's exactly what she said to me."
Miles' gaze snapped to her.
"I gave you a privileged life, Song—and you betrayed me!"
"I just wanted to live!" Song shouted.
"I said I'd cure you!"
"But you didn't! You only talked! You never acted! You're a liar—you lied to all of us!"
Miles' face darkened.
"Yes. I lied. And so what? You were a maggot crawling in Brooklyn filth. I pulled you out of the shit. Even if I deceived you, you should be grateful!"
Song ground her teeth.
"Miles—you're a fucking monster."
"Call me whatever you like," Miles said coldly.
"Your filth can't stain my nobility. All I need to know is that a single word from me decides whether trash like you live or die."
She turned back to V.
"Well? Your answer?"
V countered,
"What do you want me to do?"
"Fight," Miles said.
"What you're best at."
"Targets?"
"Everyone but me. Militech. Kang Tao. Every megacorp. Every nation."
"You want to challenge the world?" V shook her head.
"You're insane."
"I'm not insane—I have power!"
Miles produced a chip radiating golden light, brilliant like a holy sword wielded by a god.
"What is that?" Song gasped.
"The true result of Project Little Polaris."
Miles couldn't suppress her grin.
"The files say 'neural matrix'—another smokescreen. The real goal was to breach the Blackwall, capture rogue AIs… and tame them."
She held up the chip.
"And this—contains the captured, domesticated rogue AI."
"Song, you're a netrunner. You know what this means! With this, I can break any ICE, cripple any military, assassinate any CEO or leader—no matter how deep they hide behind data fortresses!"
"This rogue AI is the atomic bomb of cyberspace. With it, I'll rule all humanity. Fuck unifying New America—I'll unify mankind itself! I'll be eternal! Immortalized in history!"
Song stared at V.
Only now did she fully understand what V meant earlier.
What Militech had created.
V looked at Miles.
"Calm down, Madam President. Rogue AIs are too dangerous. If it loses control, humanity is finished."
"Nukes have radiation," Miles scoffed, "and people still used them."
"Locking away power out of fear is what mediocre people do. I can control it. I don't need your concern."
"And if it goes out of control?" V pressed.
"You must have a contingency."
"Of course. Cut the Net. Abandon the infected zones. Humanity's done it before."
V nodded.
"So when humanity was caught off guard, millions were sacrificed as buffer zones. Now that we understand the danger, built the Blackwall, prepared defenses—you still plan to sacrifice lives as buffers. Right?"
Miles avoided answering directly.
"It's the most efficient solution. Lowest cost."
V laughed softly.
"You people at the top preach about dragging citizens out of their comfort zones—yet hide in comfort yourselves."
She shook her head.
"You asked if I'd work for you. Here's my answer."
"I'd rather work for the worst scum alive than for a human traitor like you."
"I'm going to kill you, Rosalind Myers. Not for personal revenge—but for all humanity."
"What a shame," Miles said coldly.
"Wrong answer."
She slammed the chip into the nearest drone's slot.
"Kill them."
The drones raised their weapons.
Song screamed and ducked behind V.
But V only sighed.
"Pity. I thought you'd plug it straight into your own neural port."
Even now, Song couldn't resist complaining.
"Who just jams random chips into their brain anyway?!"
V coughed awkwardly.
Then—
Golden current erupted from the drone, chaining instantly through the others.
Kang Tao's most advanced combat units short-circuited and exploded one after another.
Miles' triumphant smile froze.
"What?! Why is my command code being rejected?!"
"Simple," V sneered.
"Do you know why Militech abandoned Little Polaris in Night City? Because they captured a rogue AI—but never figured out how to tame it."
"You just released a demon into the world."
Golden lightning surged again. Explosions ripped through the core.
Just a graze of the current nearly crashed Miles' national-grade operating system, flooding her HUD with static.
The electronic shock became psychic trauma.
She screamed and vomited blood.
The golden current lunged at V—only to be repelled by a white glow erupting from her body, the manifestation of overwhelming processing power.
It struck at Song next.
She drew on the Blackwall, forming a red-black barrier that bit back, tearing a chunk out of the current.
Realizing these two were dangerous, the current retreated into the ruined drones.
Damaged units stood back up. Others fused together.
In seconds, a rogue-AI-controlled robot squad reformed and opened fire.
V yanked Song behind cover again.
Miles was slower—she took three rounds before scrambling to safety.
"V! Save me! Please!" Miles screamed.
"I'll release everyone! I'll never target Night City again! I'll serve you—New America will serve Night City!"
"I don't believe a word of that," V shrugged from cover.
"And more importantly—I can't handle a rogue AI."
"There's only one thing that can."
"The Blackwall."
Song froze.
When she looked up, V was staring straight at her.
She screamed, recoiling.
"No! If I connect to the Blackwall again, I'll die! I won't do it!"
"Song," Miles said softly, coaxingly.
"Think of the innocent people. Women. Children. The rogue AI will kill them all. Only you can stop it."
"You've always been kind, haven't you?"
Is kindness supposed to hurt?
Is kindness supposed to stare down gun barrels?
I just want to live.
I just want to live like a human being.
Song wanted to cry.
But her top-tier cyberoptic didn't support that function.
Tears required a firmware upgrade.
Paid.
She lost the right to cry a long time ago.