Night City, as always, breathed life amidst neon and sin.
Rumors about Wasteland Town and Maine's crew circulated only within specific, small circles.
For the vast majority of people struggling to survive in this city, Maine's crew was just a lucky and capable street mercenary team that successfully survived corporate conflicts and established a foothold.
Their story was a footnote in street legends, but far from shaking the city's foundations.
In the eyes of high-ranking corporate executives who truly knew some of the inside story, this squad and the existence behind it were more like an unstable factor that needed careful observation, rather than direct confrontation.
However, a corporation is a massive hydra; one department's caution does not mean other departments will follow the same logic.
There are always those who are driven by profit, or blinded by arrogance, attempting to touch dangers they believe they can control.
Arasaka Corporation, Night City Branch, Technical Department.
This area's atmosphere was completely different from that of the Counter-Intelligence Department.
There was less of a sense of intrigue and more of the laboratory-specific smell, a mixture of disinfectant, coolant, and ozone.
Here, data, performance, and breakthroughs were the only standards by which value was measured.
Tanaka, the Head of the Technical Department, now stood before a heavily isolated observation window, his face grim as he looked at the mess in the testing ground below.
In the center of the field, a twisted experimental subject, its implants overloaded and smoking, had just been subdued by a high-voltage taser, collapsing to the ground, twitching uncontrollably, and emitting meaningless roars.
"Another failure," the project leader reported in a low voice beside Tanaka, his tone betraying unconcealed frustration. "Subject K-7, neural load exceeded threshold by 230 percent, limbic system completely collapsed, exhibiting extreme aggression... Confirmed irreversible cyberpsychosis. Recommendation... disposal."
Tanaka did not respond immediately.
He wore an impeccably tailored dark corporate uniform, his hair neatly combed, but the dark circles under his eyes and his tightly pressed lips revealed his stress.
His 'cyber-titan (heavy solo cyberware project)' project was one of the Technical Department's most heavily resourced key projects recently.
The design philosophy of this prototype cyberware was extremely radical, aiming to create a single-person combat platform that surpassed existing power armor.
Its technical core originated from the 'Big Ghost' heavy mech once piloted by Adam Smasher during the Corporate Wars, but it applied new, still immature gravity control technology, attempting to miniaturize it and integrate it into single-person cyberware.
Theoretically, the wearer would gain firepower comparable to heavy ordnance and unimaginable mobility.
However, there was a huge gap between theory and reality.
The cyber-titan (heavy solo cyberware project)'s load on the user's nervous system was devastating.
To date, all volunteers or 'conscripted' experimental subjects, without exception, suffered mental breakdowns during testing; the best result was becoming a permanent vegetative state, and the worst was becoming a cyberpsycho that had to be eliminated, like the one just now.
Huge investments yielded no returns, and inquiries from headquarters were becoming increasingly impolite.
Tanaka felt like he was sitting on a powder keg about to explode.
"What about Adam Smasher? He's the perfect test subject!" Tanaka almost gritted his teeth as he spoke.
The project leader gave a wry smile: "Director, you know. Mr. Smasher is now Yorinobu's personal bodyguard; his schedule is very full, and... the Security Department won't agree to let the company's 'symbol' take such a risk. Especially since the project's success rate... is currently zero."
Tanaka fell silent. He knew this all too well.
Mobilize Adam Smasher? Only if he didn't want to work at Arasaka anymore.
That cold killing machine was itself a vital asset of the company, not an experimental subject that a Technical Department Head could freely deploy.
He needed new, suitable experimental subjects.
The requirements were extremely stringent: they must possess extremely high cyberware adaptability, a sufficiently resilient nervous system, and... preferably be at their wit's end, and easily controlled.
Just then, his personal terminal vibrated slightly, and a routine report from the Arasaka Academy internal system caught his attention.
The report mentioned the follow-up handling of a student conflict; the content was brief, but he saw a familiar name — his son, who had been beaten at school by a former student named David Martinez.
Such a minor matter would ordinarily not attract his attention, but perhaps out of irritation, or perhaps by some strange impulse, he casually opened David Martinez's file.
The file records were ordinary: a single-parent family, mother an emergency medical technician at Night City Medical Center, poor family background, enrolled on scholarship due to academic performance.
But what piqued Tanaka's interest was a nearly overlooked cyberware adaptability assessment report in the corner of the file.
The data indicated that this David Martinez had an extremely high affinity for neural implants, with a potential assessment far exceeding ordinary people, even approaching the baseline level of some military-grade augmented soldiers.
A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Tanaka's tired eyes.
Tanaka's tired eyes were fixed on the inconspicuous name on the file screen—David Martinez.
This name, which not long ago was merely a symbol in his son's school conflict report, now had associated cyberware adaptability assessment data that pierced through his days of gloom like a blinding flash of light.
Extremely high cyberware adaptability, neural tolerance potential assessed far beyond ordinary people—this was precisely the foundation the cyber-titan (heavy solo cyberware project) project dreamed of.
A student forced to withdraw from Arasaka Academy due to family changes, a low-income youth whose mother was critically injured and bedridden, desperately needing astronomical medical expenses, a street kid with no powerful background whatsoever, except for some connection to the recently somewhat famous Maine's crew... This was practically an experimental subject tailor-made for him by fate!
The outline of a plan instantly formed in his mind.
Directly use force to apprehend him? Too risky.
After all, Maine's crew had just clashed with a corporation and emerged unscathed, and Jenkins of the Counter-Intelligence Department seemed to have some reservations about the forces behind them. A direct approach could easily cause unnecessary trouble, or even alert the target, destroying his chance to acquire the perfect experimental subject.
But what if he could make the target walk into the cage himself?
Utilizing his urgent needs and desperate situation to entice him to 'voluntarily' sign an agreement, dedicating himself to the company's scientific research.
This was undoubtedly the cleanest and most secure method.
Upon realizing this, Tanaka immediately took action.
He used his authority as the Head of the Technical Department to quietly bypass regular procedures, silently restoring David Martinez's enrollment status in the Arasaka Academy's student registration system.
Next, he carefully crafted an email, sent in his personal name—more precisely, under the guise of 'a deeply remorseful classmate's father'—to David's registered communication address.
In this carefully worded email, Tanaka first expressed deep unease and apology in a somber and sincere tone for his son's past bullying at school, attributing it to his own dereliction of duty as a father who neglected his upbringing.
Then, he changed his tone, claiming that he had learned through his channels of David's difficult situation, being forced to drop out due to his mother's severe injuries, and expressed great sympathy and regret for it.
To atone for his son's past mistakes, and to give this highly promising young man a chance, he used some of his connections to painstakingly help David regain his enrollment at Arasaka Academy.
At the end of the email, he finally revealed his true intentions, throwing out the real bait.
He enthusiastically introduced a little-known 'Young Talent Sponsorship Program' within the Arasaka Technical Department, claiming that the program aimed to discover and train talented young people, offering benefits including but not limited to full scholarships, access to Arasaka's top medical resource network, and even the opportunity to participate in early research and testing of certain cutting-edge technologies.
He strongly emphasized the preciousness of this opportunity and its bright prospects, and sincerely invited David to Arasaka Tower for a face-to-face in-depth discussion with him to explore this possibility that could change the fate of David and his mother.
The notification that the email had been successfully sent lit up, and Tanaka leaned back in his comfortable office chair, the corners of his mouth curving into an involuntarily cold arc.
He seemed to already see the desperate young man, misled by this seemingly timely 'opportunity', stepping, little by little, into the trap he had meticulously set.
He believed that for a young man in desperate straits, such conditions would be impossible to refuse.
Once David stepped into Arasaka Tower and signed that carefully designed 'volunteer agreement', he would no longer have a choice.
While Tanaka was weaving his trap within Arasaka Tower, deep within The Dump HQ, David Martinez was undergoing a vastly different 'transformation'.
He was completely engrossed in binary language foundational training with the servo-skull, temporarily isolating external information, including Tanaka's seemingly tempting email, behind a barrier of concentration.
Several days of high-intensity training had yielded initial results.
On this day, after a phase identification test, the floating servo-skull's eye-socket light shifted from cautionary yellow to a steady blue.
"Phase assessment passed. Basic logic unit recognition rate is eighty-two percent, error rate is below the preset threshold, meeting the 'preliminary binary language comprehension' standard."
David collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat, but his eyes gleamed with a solid sense of achievement earned through extreme effort.
Just then, Osiris' heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed from the direction of the workshop.
The massive dark red figure appeared at the passageway entrance, its crimson optical lenses scanning over.
David immediately struggled to his feet, respectfully lowering his head: "boss."
Osiris walked up to him, his gaze falling upon the servo-skull responsible for teaching.
The servo-skull quickly transmitted David's learning data and phase assessment results.
Osiris nodded slightly; this subtle action made his massive body seem less purely mechanical and more like that of a mentor. He no longer pointed with a mechanical finger but sent a new data packet to David's terminal via more conventional wireless transmission.
"Progress is acceptable," his steady synthesized voice rang out again. "In the next phase, you need to understand the code of life itself. The data packet contains an outline of basic biology and neddieanatomy."
He paused briefly, his crimson optical lenses seemingly scanning a certain direction within the hideout.
"Theory requires practice. Starting today, you will assist Glenn with his work daily. Observe, record, and understand the underlying logic of routine cyberware implantation and neural interfacing. Pay attention to identifying inefficient and erroneous parts—this is crucial for you to personally operate in the future."
"Yes, boss," David responded without hesitation. He understood that this was knowledge as important as binary language, essential for mastering the path to curing his mother.
Osiris said nothing further, turning and returning to the depths of the workshop with steady steps.
David looked at the data packet titled "Basic Life System Architecture and Common Malfunction Analysis" and took a deep breath. His learning journey had officially transitioned from the purely logical world into the realm of life sciences.
—
Meanwhile, within Arasaka Tower, Technical Department Director Tanaka's patience was running out as time passed.
Days had gone by, and the grateful reply he had anticipated from David Martinez had not arrived.
The email was like a stone sinking into the sea. This feeling of being completely ignored angered the always arrogant Tanaka, mixed with a hint of unease that his plan was slipping out of his control.
"Ungrateful brat!" He paced restlessly in his office.
The failure of his conciliatory approach meant that his perfect experimental subject was not acting according to the script he had set.
This forced him to re-evaluate the situation and devise a more direct strategy.
He recalled David's file again and, using his authority as Technical Department Director, conducted a deeper search for recent related information through internal channels.
The information further confirmed that David Martinez was currently closely associated with Maine's crew and was regularly stationed at The Dump HQ outside the city.
His mother Gloria's condition had not improved, continuously consuming huge medical resources.
Notably, David himself had very few recent activity traces, seemingly undergoing some kind of enclosed 'training' within the hideout, the specific content of which was unknown.
Maine's crew… Tanaka frowned.
This team had indeed been quite prominent recently, and it was rumored to have some unclear connections with Director Jenkins of the Counter-Intelligence Department.
Using force to storm The Dump Settlement and capture him directly?
That would cause too much commotion, easily leading to uncontrollable armed conflict, which would not only anger Jenkins but also risk alerting his target, causing him to permanently lose this valuable experimental subject. This was by no means a wise move.
But for him to give up now? Absolutely impossible.
The success of the cyber-titan (heavy solo cyberware project) project was crucial to his future prospects and his standing within Arasaka.
"Since you won't willingly walk into the cage, I'll just have to set a trap for you to jump into yourself," Tanaka muttered darkly, the arrogance of a corporate executive and the desire for project success overriding potential concerns.
He consistently believed that Maine's crew was nothing more than a group of capable street mercenaries, and they would never truly tear up their relationship with the behemoth that was Arasaka for an insignificant newcomer.
As long as the operation was handled properly and cleanly, creating a fait accompli, the other party would ultimately have no choice but to swallow the bitter pill.
A more insidious and actionable plan gradually solidified in his mind.
He learned that Gloria Martinez's ongoing treatment relied on a special neural regeneration drug. This drug was extremely expensive and strictly regulated, with limited distribution channels, primarily controlled by a few cutting-edge medical centers closely associated with Arasaka.
David had been trying to acquire it through various channels, but progress was evidently minimal.
Tanaka decided to precisely exploit this pain point.
He activated a ready-made, seemingly independent, 'charitable medical foundation' as a shell for a disguised project.
This virtual foundation claimed its purpose was to aid impoverished families with severe neural damage due to accidents, offering full medical assistance, including that crucial neural regeneration drug. All procedures were meticulously packaged to be highly deceptive.
Next, through several layers of encrypted links and anonymous accounts, he contacted a drug broker who had some reputation in Night City's underground, was relatively trustworthy, and had no overt connections with Arasaka.
Tanaka, as an anonymous benefactor, tasked this broker: find a way to contact David Martinez, inform him of this "once-in-a-lifetime charitable opportunity," and claim that the foundation needed a "final, face-to-face assessment" of Gloria's condition to determine eligibility for aid and specific plans.
The assessment location was set in a seemingly ordinary, heavily secured private medical clinic in Charter Hill.
Upon success, the broker would receive an extremely generous, untraceable reward.
That clinic had, in fact, been secretly controlled by Tanaka through a complex network of shell companies, with a capable and loyal internal corporate action team permanently stationed there, disguised as clinic security.
The entire space was under strict surveillance and control.
As soon as David brought his mother there, he would be walking into a meticulously laid trap.
They would use pretexts like "complex paperwork" or "requiring several key auxiliary examinations" to isolate David from others, then quickly apprehend and transfer him to a secret laboratory under Arasaka's Technical Department, completely isolated from the outside world.
The entire operation would be disguised as a common kidnapping incident targeting a patient at a medical facility, appearing, on the surface, to have no connection to Arasaka.
As for Maine's crew's possible investigation and reaction afterward? Tanaka had already devised several sets of explanations.
He could completely deny involvement, even turn around and accuse them of inadequate oversight, or hint that David had gotten involved in other troubles.
In Night City, countless people disappear without a trace every day; what difference would one more David Martinez make?
By the time Maine's crew uncovered the truth, the experiment would likely have already yielded critical data, and by then, it would be a fait accompli.
With the plan set, Tanaka sat back in his office chair, a cold, triumphant smile on his face.
He could almost see David Martinez confined to the experimental table, connected to the cyber-titan (heavy solo cyberware project) prototype, and the project bottleneck that had plagued him for so long was about to be broken through with this perfect experimental subject.
"Soon, kid, soon you will pay the price for ignoring Arasaka's goodwill," he murmured, then pressed the communication button, systematically deploying this even more dangerous conspiracy against David.
The city's shadows silently stirred, and an invisible net was quietly cast towards The Dump Settlement.