Chapter 143: Tanaka's Conspiracy
While Tanaka was weaving his web in Arasaka Tower, deep within the Badlands bastion, David Martinez was undergoing a very different kind of "modification."
He was completely immersed in the binary language basic training with the servo-skull. All outside information, including Tanaka's seemingly enticing email, was temporarily walled off by the barrier of his intense focus.
Days of high-intensity training yielded preliminary results.
One day, after a periodic recognition test, the light in the hovering servo-skull's eye sockets shifted from a warning yellow to a steady blue.
"Phase assessment passed. Basic logic unit recognition rate 82%. Error rate below preset threshold. Achieved 'Preliminary Binary Language Cognition' standard."
David collapsed to the floor, soaked in sweat, but his eyes shone with a solid sense of achievement earned through extreme effort.
Just then, Joric's heavy, rhythmic footsteps approached from the manufactorum.
The massive dark-red silhouette appeared at the corridor entrance, crimson optical lenses scanning the scene.
David struggled to his feet immediately, bowing respectfully. "Boss."
Joric walked up to him, his gaze falling on the teaching servo-skull.
The skull rapidly transmitted David's learning data and phase assessment results.
Joric nodded slightly. This small gesture made his massive frame seem a little less purely mechanical and more like a mentor. Instead of tapping the air with a mechadendrite, he used a more conventional wireless transmission to send a new data packet to David's terminal.
"Progress is acceptable," his steady synthesized voice sounded again. "Next phase: you need to understand the code of life itself. The packet contains an overview of basic biology and neuroanatomy."
He paused slightly, his crimson lenses seemingly glancing in a certain direction within the bastion.
"Theory requires practice. From today on, take time daily to assist Glen. Observe, record, and understand the underlying logic of conventional cyberware implantation and neural interfacing. Pay attention to distinguishing the inefficient and erroneous parts—this is crucial for your future hands-on operations."
"Yes, Boss," David agreed without hesitation. He understood this was knowledge as vital as the binary language on the path to curing his mother.
Joric said no more, turning and striding back into the depths of the manufactorum with steady steps.
David looked at the data packet titled Basic Life System Architecture and Common Fault Analysis, taking a deep breath. His learning path had officially stepped from the world of pure logic into the realm of life sciences.
Meanwhile, inside Arasaka Tower, Technical Director Tanaka's patience was wearing thin as time passed.
Days had gone by, and the tearful, grateful reply from David Martinez he had anticipated never arrived.
The email seemed to have sunk into the ocean. This feeling of being completely ignored made the arrogant Tanaka furious, mixed with a trace of unease that his plan was slipping out of control.
"Ungrateful brat!" He paced irritably in his office.
The failure of the soft approach meant his "perfect test subject" was not acting according to his script.
This forced him to reassess the situation and devise a more direct strategy.
He pulled up David's file again and, using his Technical Director clearance, conducted a deeper search through internal channels for recent relevant information.
The intel further confirmed that David Martinez was currently closely associated with Maine's crew, residing at the Badlands bastion outside the city.
His mother, Gloria's condition had not improved, continuously consuming massive medical resources.
Notably, David's own recent activity footprint was minimal, seemingly undergoing some kind of enclosed "training" within the bastion, details unknown.
Maine's crew... Tanaka frowned.
This team had indeed been making waves recently, and rumors suggested they had some unclear connection with Director Jenkins of Counter-Intelligence.
Use force to storm the Badlands and grab him?
Too much noise. It could easily trigger uncontrollable armed conflict, not only angering Jenkins but also alerting the prey, potentially losing him this precious specimen forever. That was unwise.
But give up? Absolutely impossible.
The success of the Cyberskeleton project was tied to his future career and status within Arasaka.
"Since you won't walk into the cage willingly, I'll just have to set a trap and make you jump in yourself," Tanaka whispered sinisterly, corporate arrogance and hunger for success overriding potential concerns.
He maintained that Maine's crew was just a group of capable street mercs who wouldn't truly tear face with a behemoth like Arasaka over an insignificant rookie kid.
As long as the operation was clean and created a fait accompli, they would ultimately have to swallow the bitter pill.
A more insidious, actionable plan gradually crystallized in his mind.
He learned that Gloria Martinez's ongoing treatment relied on a specific neural regeneration drug. This drug was extremely expensive, strictly controlled, and had limited distribution channels, mainly controlled by a few cutting-edge medical centers with close ties to Arasaka.
David had been trying to acquire it through various channels, but evidently with little success.
Tanaka decided to exploit this pain point precisely.
He activated the shell of a seemingly independent "Charitable Medical Foundation," a project he had prepared long ago.
This dummy foundation claimed its mission was to aid impoverished families suffering from severe neural damage due to accidents, offering full medical assistance, including that critical neural regeneration drug. Every process was packaged to be deceptively convincing.
Then, through layers of encrypted links and anonymous accounts, he contacted a drug fixer with some fame in the Night City underground, decent credibility, and no overt ties to Arasaka.
As an anonymous patron, Tanaka issued a mission to this fixer: contact David Martinez, inform him of this "once-in-a-lifetime charity opportunity," and claim the foundation required a "final, face-to-face assessment" of Gloria's condition to determine eligibility and a specific plan.
The assessment location was set at a seemingly ordinary, high-security private medical clinic in Charter Hill.
Upon success, the fixer would receive an extremely generous, untraceable payment.
That clinic was secretly controlled by Tanaka through a complex web of shell companies. Inside, a capable and loyal corporate ops team, disguised as clinic security, was stationed.
The entire space was under strict surveillance and control.
As long as David stepped in there with his mother, he would be walking into a net.
Under the guise of "processing complex paperwork" or "needed critical auxiliary checks," they would isolate David from anyone else, then swiftly execute the capture and transfer, sending him to a secret lab under the Arasaka Technical Division, completely cut off from the outside world.
The entire operation would be disguised as an ordinary kidnapping incident targeting patients at a medical institution. On the surface, it would have no connection to Arasaka.
As for Maine's crew's potential investigation and reaction? Tanaka had already drafted several narratives.
He could deny everything, or even turn around and accuse them of poor supervision, or imply David got involved in other troubles.
In Night City, countless people vanished silently every day. What was one more David Martinez?
By the time Maine's crew found the truth, the experiment would likely have yielded key data, and the deed would be done.
Plan set, Tanaka sat back in his office chair, a cold, triumphant smile curling his lips.
He could almost see David Martinez strapped to the experiment table, connected to the Cyberskeleton prototype. The bottleneck that had plagued his project for so long was about to break through on this perfect subject.
"Soon, kid. Soon you'll pay the price for ignoring Arasaka's kindness." He muttered to himself, then pressed the comms key, methodically deploying this more dangerous conspiracy against David.
The city's shadows writhed silently; an invisible net was quietly being cast toward the Badlands.
(End of Chapter)