Chapter 155: The Burning Arasaka Tower
Deep within the Badlands manufactorum, Joric's crimson optical lenses stared at the dozens of split screens before him.
The screens displayed real-time vitals of Maine's crew, weapon statuses, environmental data, and combat footage intercepted from the city's surveillance network.
His processing core calmly analyzed every detail.
"Tactical execution efficiency: 87.3%. Rebecca: Bolter ammo consumption exceeds predictive model by 12%; waste detected. Pilar: Flamer fuel injection pattern not optimized for enemy cover type; efficiency loss approximately 8%.
"Dorio: Seismic Generator activation timing could be advanced by 0.5 seconds to maximize impact effect. Maine: Plasma Cannon firing interval contains 0.2 seconds of redundancy; fire density can be further improved.
"Sasha and Kiwi: Electronic warfare synergy synchronization rate 94.7%, approaching optimal, but domain mode switching speed still has a 0.8-second delay."
He was like a harsh engineer, scrutinizing a battle that, to outsiders, was already legendary.
Maine's crew had indeed unleashed over 90% of the power of his pre-configured equipment, crushing their opponents.
But that wasn't enough.
By his standards, passing was 100%, excellent was 110%, and perfection was 120%.
Any minute loss of efficiency was a subject for optimization.
He saw the gradually shifting media reports, from "terrorists" to "indescribable cyberpsychos," and finally to "walking natural disasters."
This noise meant nothing to him.
He cared only about data, efficiency, and the final objective—the complete physical erasure of Arasaka Tower.
Maine's crew finally stopped before the Arasaka Tower plaza.
The massive building cast a heavy shadow. The heavy blast doors at the tower's base had been lowered, and the remaining Arasaka security personnel were mounting a desperate resistance from behind the final fortifications.
Under the sunlight, the Warhammer-tech weapons on Maine's crew members shimmered with an otherworldly cold light, forming a stark contrast with the ruined streets, burning vehicles, and panicked media cameras.
They stood there not to prove anything, but simply to execute an order.
Joric's synthesized voice whispered in the empty workshop, devoid of emotion. "Phase one breach complete. Target structure entered direct fire range. Execute final purge protocol."
Under the shocked gaze of countless eyes in Night City, Maine raised his left arm equipped with the Plasma Cannon. The muzzle once again began to gather a devastating, ghostly blue light.
The true destruction was only just beginning.
Inside the Badlands bastion, after Maine's crew departed, only David, Lucy, the injured Valerie, and Jackie, who sat close to her, remained.
Faint, sporadic gunfire seemed to drift from the distance, adding to the unease.
David paced the room like a trapped beast, enveloped in anxiety and worry.
Lucy appeared calmer. She walked to her equipment and deftly connected the data cable, the port at the back of her neck glowing with a faint blue light.
"I'll try to see if I can find any news," she said softly, addressing David as well as Jackie and Valerie, who cast inquiring looks from behind.
Jackie supported Valerie as she leaned against a pile of cushions. He pressed a relatively clean cloth against the crudely bandaged wound on her severed arm, his face written with worry. "Tell us immediately if you find anything. This is too fucking crazy..."
Valerie was pale, weak from blood loss and pain, but her eyes remained sharp. She added hoarsely, "Be careful... Arasaka's countermeasures... won't sit idly by..."
Lucy nodded, closed her eyes, and sank her consciousness into the data stream.
Minutes later, a light screen projected via the equipment in the bastion lit up before them. The jittery footage and the anchor's near-manic commentary broke the silence.
"...Unbelievable! Viewers, we are witnessing history! This group of militants... they have broken through all defensive lines! They have arrived at the base of Arasaka Tower!"
The image was blurry from interference, but the towering Arasaka Tower was clearly visible.
Against the backdrop of the colossal tower, several tiny figures radiating a dangerous aura stood at the edge of the plaza.
The camera zoomed in, barely making out Maine's burly silhouette and the highly recognizable heavy firearm on Rebecca's back.
"They... they really fought their way there..." David stopped pacing, his voice trembling in a way he didn't even notice.
He had seen Maine and the others display their power, but seeing them actually carve a bloody path from outside the city to the heart of Arasaka with just a few people caused a completely different visual and psychological impact.
Jackie whistled, trying to dispel the tension, though his voice was dry. "Hey, looks like Maine and the crew aren't messing around! I knew those guys weren't simple!"
Valerie didn't speak. She just stared fixedly at the screen, her lips pressed into a pale line.
As the former Deputy Director of Counter-Intelligence, she knew better than anyone what storming Arasaka Tower meant. It wasn't just force; it was a direct challenge to the symbol of Arasaka's rule.
Lucy remained silent, eyes glued to the screen.
She saw Maine raise his arm, seemingly launching an attack, but the details were obscured by camera shake and distance.
Immediately after, the feed cut to the entrance at the base of the tower. The heavy blast doors seemed to have suffered a catastrophic hit, belching thick smoke and electrical sparks.
"...They're in! They forcibly breached the entrance of Arasaka Tower! These... these people really broke in!" The anchor's voice pitched up in fear. "What is happening inside? We cannot know! Signals inside Arasaka Tower are completely jammed! We can only wait..."
The view switched to a long shot of the tower's exterior, accompanied by the pale, powerless analysis and speculation of the anchor and so-called "experts."
The wait became exceptionally long.
David couldn't help asking anxiously, "Inside... what's it like inside? Will Maine and the others..."
"Calm down, kid." Jackie interrupted him, though his own brow was furrowed tight. "Maine and the crew right now... they're basically human war machines. Don't forget how those three Cyber-ninjas got wiped out."
Valerie coughed weakly, drawing everyone's attention.
"The internal structure is complex, security levels are multiples higher than the outside... and, there are definitely emergency protocols..." She didn't finish, but the meaning was clear—the real danger might have just begun.
Lucy remained silent, but her fingertips unconsciously tapping the table betrayed her inner turmoil.
She tried to find deeper signals, but Arasaka Tower's internal network was like an airtight wall.
They could only watch the silent skyscraper, symbol of supreme corporate power, through external cameras.
Time ticked by. Just as everyone's patience was wearing thin, a change occurred.
First, thick black smoke suddenly billowed from a section in the upper-middle part of Arasaka Tower.
Then, an abnormal firelight lit up behind several adjacent windows. It wasn't the momentary flash of an explosion, but the sustained glow of a spreading blaze!
Tongues of fire occasionally licked out from shattered windows, blindingly bright in the night.
"...Look! Fire! There's a fire inside Arasaka Tower! High floors! It's on the high floors!" The anchor screamed as the camera zoomed in frantically.
"It's on fire! The fighting inside is intense!" David's heart sank, almost throwing himself at the screen.
Jackie stood up too, his face grim. "Shit, a fire in a place like that..."
Valerie watched the expanding blaze, a complex mix of emotions in her eyes—satisfaction, but mostly deep worry. "To cause a fire of that scale... the resistance they encountered must be unimaginable."
The news media was equally clueless; their commentary was reduced to horrified guesses.
The limited footage couldn't convey any specific details from inside. Only the upward-spreading fire and smoke silently told of the brutality within.
"They'll be okay, right? Lucy?" David's voice carried a pleading tone he didn't realize. He looked at his companion, hoping for an affirmative answer.
Lucy stared at the burning skyscraper on the screen, the dancing flames reflecting in her pale violet eyes.
She took a shallow breath, eventually just shaking her head and whispering, "I don't know... right now... we can only trust them, and... the Boss."
Jackie clapped a heavy hand on David's shoulder, trying to pass on some strength, but his own hand was trembling slightly.
A sense of powerlessness and deep worry permeated the group of four.
They had witnessed the beginning of a legend, only to be reduced to anxious spectators cut off by an information barrier at the most critical moment.
The massive silhouette of Arasaka Tower flickered in and out of view amidst the fire and smoke, isolating Maine's crew and everything happening inside from the outside world. No one knew what kind of ending was being forged within.
(End of Chapter)