MHGA Chapter 228 – Blast Him with the Gunlance!
"Ah, yeah yeah yeah."
Kairo Retsu stood before the gaping window he had just crashed through, speaking into the team comms: "Plans have changed. Our operation to make contact with Yorinobu Arasaka… is now a kidnapping. No need to worry—it's just that Yorinobu Arasaka accidentally got knocked out. Once we bring him somewhere safe, we can resume the plan…"
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DOOOOO!!!!!"
Kazuma's shrill screech exploded in the channel: "Why the hell did you guys knock Yorinobu Arasaka out?!"
"Well… it was just a teensy technical hiccup…"
Kairo's chuckle carried a note of embarrassment: "I mean, it's not that different, right? We were planning to come here and leave anyway… just happened to take some Arasaka specialty goods along with us…"
"I'VE NEVER HEARD OF A REGION WHERE THE SPECIALTY GOOD IS THE COMPANY HEIR!!!" Kazuma roared. "HEY! You took Yorinobu Arasaka! Where the hell are you gonna stash him, dumbass?! You'll get spotted in Night City in under three minutes!"
"Hey, now that you mention it," Kairo said, "I actually do remember a place we can hide him—and it'll buy us some time before we're found…"
"Didn't we set up a camp near the Kirin?" Kairo continued. "Let's head there. The Kirin's electromagnetic field should keep us off the radar for a while."
"And how are we even getting out of here?" Joseph interjected. "We're not just going to blast our way out, are we?"
"Also, are you guys reading from someone else's script?" she continued to complain. "You show up at the Konpeki Plaza penthouse, and instead of V accidentally getting framed for killing Saburo Arasaka, you guys accidentally end up kidnapping Yorinobu?!"
"No choice now."
Naofumi Iwatani, stationed on the highway overpass below, responded in the channel as he eyed the direction of Konpeki Plaza: "What's done is done. We'll just have to adapt."
"Maybe taking Yorinobu with us isn't a bad thing," Naofumi added. "This might actually let us tell him a lot more."
"See! Even Naofumi trusts me!" Kairo said proudly, scolding Kazuma. "That's what I was thinking too! Don't sweat the details—just be ready to support the operation!"
"You little…" Kazuma's eyes were practically spewing flames.
V, watching Kazuma's reaction, realized something had definitely gone wrong.
Joseph quickly told V to back off from the hacking assistance.
If any hostile hacker caught on and cooked V's brain through her neural implants, that would be really bad.
"Whew…"
Joseph took a deep breath in front of the console, using Ripple Breathing to steady herself.
As the power of the Ripple coursed through her body, she felt her composure return.
With each pulse of the Ripple, Joseph could sense Hermit Purple gradually taking root inside her, growing stronger bit by bit.
Since becoming a Hunter, she could clearly feel her progress…
She placed her hand on the control panel—countless vines and thorns invisible to others slithered into the hacker console.
Joseph didn't yet know what the full extent of her Stand could be.
But one thing was certain—
The Stand that was originally supposed to awaken in her elderly years… had already manifested in her youth. And Hermit Purple hadn't even come close to reaching its peak.
"Hermit Purple!!"
Joseph slammed her hand down.
Hermit Purple surged violently into the hacker control center.
The once-heavily secured Konpeki Plaza was now utterly under her control. All around them, massive display screens lit up with projections created by her spirit-writing…
Even areas without cameras were clearly visualized through Hermit Purple's ability.
V stood in shock, staring at the screens—each one clearly showing the Hunters' positions. Every inch of the tower's interior was laid bare.
"Wallhacks!" Kazuma's voice was tinged with outrage. "You even brought wallhacks to the party?!"
Being a noob hurt—but having a teammate blatantly cheat stung even worse.
"Kazuma! You handle command!" Joseph said, focusing entirely on her Stand and the network infiltration. "I can't afford to get distracted…"
Kazuma reluctantly accepted the task and began scanning the screens, assessing the situation.
Then… Kazuma noticed something.
"HEY!! KAIRO RETSU!! MOVE IT!!" he yelled into the channel. "Adam Smasher is headed for the top-floor suite! Get out of there!!"
"Captain, what do we do?" David asked nervously after hearing Kazuma's alert.
Even though he was a Hunter now, the memory of Adam Smasher wiping out the Edgerunners—exploding his head—still haunted him. The mere mention of that name made David uneasy.
"Jumping off directly… probably not an option," Kairo said, frowning at the unconscious Yorinobu Arasaka.
A Hunter's physique could survive the fall. Yorinobu couldn't.
"We'll go through the ventilation ducts," Kairo decided. "If that doesn't work, then yeah—we blast our way out. Damn this headache…"
"Captain… could you not tell the others it was me who knocked him out?" David asked hesitantly. "Otherwise they might think you messed up too…"
"I'm the Captain—I take the responsibility," Kairo said flatly. "And anyway, things never go exactly as planned, do they? You gotta understand—"
"Sometimes, for Hunters to pull off a cool move… it takes a dozen retries."
Kairo continued: "On missions, accidents are just part of the deal."
"And one more thing…"
Before shoving Yorinobu into the ventilation shaft, Kairo turned and patted David on the shoulder.
"Don't stress too much. Adam Smasher… isn't as scary as you think."
"Ever since you joined the Assembly, your future's already looking way more badass than his."
Kairo grinned and looked David in the eye. "You know what the best part about becoming a Hunter is?"
"I… get a chance to change my fate?" David hesitated, then replied.
"Nope."
Kairo rummaged through his pack, then pulled out his signature Wiggler Head and slapped it onto David's head.
"It's that no matter what—you've got comrades like us now. And the freedom to do whatever the hell you want!"
"You're still scared of Adam Smasher, right? I saw your face when we mentioned him."
Kairo gave David a push. "Then don't run—blast him with the Gunlance."
"Give it a shot."
Kairo flashed a grin and patted the Wiggler Head now perched on David's head.
"David… you're a Hunter now."
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