MHGA Chapter 251 – Kazuma! I'm Counting on You!
Naofumi Iwatani followed behind Maine's group, a little confused by what he saw.
After knocking out Rebecca and Lucy, Maine grabbed a syringe of healing agent from the vehicle, injected himself, and brought the car to a sudden stop.
"Falco! Kiwi! You two get out and take them with you. Kiwi, see if you can hack a vehicle and head to Afterlife to find Rogue," Maine said as he flexed the only arm he could still move, picking up a shotgun. "The rest of you—come with me. We're going back."
"..."
Kiwi stared silently at Maine, who had already gotten out of the car, followed by Dorio and Pilar.
"You going back won't help," Kiwi said flatly. "Adam Smasher isn't someone we can fight."
"You'll just be throwing your life away."
"..." Maine was quiet for a long time before he finally spoke. "Our old netrunner… Sasha."
{Cyberpunk: Edgerunners prequel MV reference}
"She went into a Biotechnica facility alone once. Don't know what the hell came over her, but she started fighting the company's defense bots like she lost her mind. I found her later on a sedan on the overpass."
"I didn't learn until afterward… that Biotechnica and the meds Sasha's mom took were connected. That's why she ended up like that."
"Damn it! I don't even know what the hell's going on in Night City anymore! But if we just run now, we're really leaving David to die."
Maine stopped the car at the mouth of an alley. "Screw it. Back to this damn Night City."
"…I'm not going back," Kiwi said as she helped the unconscious Lucy out of the car. She turned back to Maine. "In this city, don't talk about things like loyalty or conscience."
"Just get them to Afterlife. I think if they went back to help David right now, they'd act recklessly and make things worse," Maine replied. "Kiwi… I'm counting on you."
"..." Kiwi said nothing.
Maine stomped on the gas and made a sharp turn, steering the vehicle back toward the ruins of Arasaka's factory.
"?!"
Naofumi watched as Maine's team split into two, totally overwhelmed.
Even though Maine's crew clearly had stronger bonds than Naofumi did with the other Three Heroes… why the hell were they splitting up now?!
Who was he supposed to protect?
After tugging his hair in frustration, Naofumi finally decided to follow Maine's group back.
Worst case, he could hold off Adam Smasher alone—which meant he could protect more people.
But—
Just after Maine's group left, as Kiwi and Falco tried to hack a car to get to Afterlife, Kiwi suddenly sensed something wrong.
She turned her head—only to see Lucy, who was supposed to have been knocked out by Pilar, staring at her with glowing cyber-eyes already lit up.
"Pilar, you son of a—" Kiwi began to curse, but Lucy hacked her cyberware and took her down instantly.
"Falco." Lucy looked at him, her glowing eyes still active. "Take them yourself."
"You… going alone is dangerous." Falco looked at Lucy. "Neither David nor Maine would want this."
"I… I don't care. This is the only way I can help David," Lucy gritted her teeth. "There are only three people in Arasaka who can make Adam Smasher leave—and all three are in Night City!"
"Saburo Arasaka and his two children! I found traces of them in Arasaka's internal network… If I can just locate them—!"
"Lucy, calm down," Falco's pupils dilated. "I know who you're talking about, but those people are out of our league. Even their bodyguards alone are more than you can handle."
Lucy didn't answer. She just shot Falco a threatening glare—and the next moment, a nearby car door popped open. She'd hacked it as a ride for Falco.
Realizing he couldn't talk her down, Falco could only take Kiwi and Rebecca, get in the car, and prepare to head back to Afterlife to find Rogue.
And Lucy… began pinpointing locations in Night City that matched what she'd found in Arasaka's internal network.
The true rulers of Arasaka Corp…
Even someone like Lucy, once controlled by Arasaka, felt a chill at the thought.
But no matter what, she had to act.
Lucy chose the location she believed most likely and hacked a motorcycle parked in a nearby alley, then set off.
At that same moment…
Satou Kazuma, currently guarding Saburo Arasaka and V, suddenly let out an enormous sneeze.
"Achoo—!"
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Kazuma rubbed his nose. "Why do I feel like something really bad's about to happen… Wait, I'm not fighting Kirin or Adam Smasher, so what could possibly go wrong?"
He looked out the window. "Actually, this job's been kinda easy so far…"
And yet—the destination Saburo Arasaka was headed toward…
Was the exact location Lucy had locked onto.
In the luxurious villa district on the outskirts of Night City, atop a massive estate…
"Saburo Arasaka!!" grumbled Yorinobu Arasaka, gripping the steering wheel and clenching his rage. "This time… your delusional dreams end here!"
"Hey, Yorinobu," V interjected. "What about your sister?"
"You know, Hanako? What are you planning to do?"
After learning the truth about his fate, V had also come to understand Yorinobu's eventual end.
Hanako Arasaka, Yorinobu's younger sister.
Yorinobu cared deeply for her. And she for him… but she also remained loyal to their father—thus standing in opposition to her brother.
"…I won't let her ruin the plan," Yorinobu said. "As long as that old bastard Saburo dies today, Night City can finally start heading in the right direction!"
"So… Satou-kun, I'm counting on you for the villa's security."
"…Huh?" Kazuma blinked. He pointed to himself. "Me?"
Only then did Satou Kazuma realize—
He'd just taken on a hell of a troublesome job…
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