Deep within the wasteland workshop, Osiris' crimson optical lens gazed at dozens of split screens before him.
The screens displayed real-time vital signs of Maine's crew, weapon status, battlefield environmental data, and combat footage he intercepted from the city's surveillance network.
His processing core calmly analyzed every detail.
"Tactical execution efficiency: 87.3%. Rebecca's shotgun ammunition consumption exceeded the estimated model by 12%, indicating waste. Pilar's flamethrower fuel spray pattern was not optimized according to enemy cover types, resulting in an efficiency loss of approximately 8%.
Dorio's concussion generator could be used 0.5 seconds earlier to maximize its impact. Maine's plasma cannon firing interval had a 0.2-second redundancy, which could further increase firepower density.
Sasha and Kiwi's electronic warfare domain synchronization rate was 94.7%, close to optimal, but the domain form switching speed still had a 0.8-second delay."
He was like a strict engineer, scrutinizing this battle that outsiders already considered legendary.
Maine's crew indeed unleashed over 90% of the power of the equipment he had pre-installed, overwhelming their opponents.
But it wasn't enough.
By his standards, the passing line was 100%, excellent was 110%, and perfect was 120%.
Any minor loss of efficiency was an object for optimization.
He saw the media's gradually changing reports, from "terrorists" to "unspeakable cyberpsychos," and then to "walking natural disasters."
These noises were meaningless to him.
He focused only on data, only on efficiency, only on the ultimate goal—the complete physical eradication of Arasaka Tower.
Maine's crew finally stopped in front of Arasaka Tower Plaza.
The colossal building cast a heavy shadow, and the heavy blast doors at the base of the tower had already fallen. The remaining Arasaka security personnel were relying on their last fortifications, putting up a desperate resistance.
In the sunlight, the Hammer Tech weapons on Maine's crew members gleamed with an unearthly cold light, forming a stark contrast with the shattered streets, burning vehicles, and panicked media cameras.
They stood there, not to prove anything, but merely to execute an order.
Osiris' synthesized voice whispered in the empty workshop, devoid of any emotion: "Phase one advance complete, target building is within direct firing range. Executing final clearance procedure."
Under the stunned gaze of countless people in Night City, Maine raised his left arm, equipped with a plasma cannon, and the muzzle once again began to gather destructive, eerie blue light.
The real destruction had just begun.
—
Inside The Dump HQ, after Maine's crew left, only David, Lucy, and the injured Valerie, with Jackie sitting close beside her, remained.
Faint, sporadic gunshots could still be heard in the distance, adding to the unease.
David paced the room like a trapped beast, enveloped in anxiety and worry.
Lucy, on the other hand, appeared calmer. She walked to her equipment, deftly connected the data cable, and the port at the back of her neck emitted a faint blue light.
"I'll try to find some news," she murmured, addressing both David and Jackie and Valerie, who looked at her with questioning eyes.
Jackie helped Valerie lean against a pile of soft cushions, pressing a relatively clean cloth against the crudely bandaged wound on her severed arm, his face etched with worry: "Tell us immediately if you get any news. This is too damn crazy…"
Valerie's face was pale, weakened by blood loss and pain, but her eyes remained sharp. She added in a hoarse voice: "Be careful… Arasaka's countermeasures… they won't just sit by…"
Lucy nodded, closed her eyes, and her consciousness sank into the data stream.
A few minutes later, a light screen lit up before them through the Hideout's television, and the flickering images and the host's almost frantic commentary broke the silence.
"…Unbelievable! Viewers, we are witnessing history! This group of armed individuals… they have broken through all defenses! They have reached the base of Arasaka Tower!"
The image was somewhat blurry due to interference, but Arasaka Tower, towering into the clouds, was still clearly visible.
Against the backdrop of the giant tower, several small but dangerous figures stood at the edge of the plaza.
The camera zoomed in, barely able to make out Maine's burly silhouette and Rebecca's highly recognizable heavy weaponry behind her.
"They… they really made it there…" David stopped, his voice trembling in a way he didn't even notice.
He had personally witnessed Maine and the others display their power, but seeing them, with just a few people, fight their way from outside the city to the heart of Arasaka, the visual and psychological impact was completely different.
Jackie whistled, trying to dispel the tension, but his voice was also a bit dry: "Hey, looks like Maine and them are serious! I knew these guys weren't simple!"
Valerie remained silent, just staring intently at the screen, her lips pressed into a pale, straight line.
As a former Deputy Director of the Counter-Intelligence Department, she knew better than anyone what it meant to storm Arasaka Tower—it wasn't just about force, but a direct challenge to the symbol of Arasaka's dominance.
Lucy didn't speak, just stared intently at the screen.
She saw Maine raise his arm, seemingly launching an attack, but the specific details were unclear due to camera shake and the distance.
Immediately after, the screen cut to the entrance at the base of Arasaka Tower; the heavy blast doors seemed to have taken a heavy hit, emitting thick smoke and electrical sparks.
"…They're in! They've forced their way through Arasaka Tower's entrance! These… these people have really broken in!" The host's voice rose with fear, "What's happening inside? We can't know! All signals inside Arasaka Tower are completely blocked! We can only wait…"
The image changed to a distant view of the tower's exterior, along with the host and so-called "experts'" pale and powerless analyses and conjectures.
The waiting time felt exceptionally long.
David couldn't help but ask anxiously: "Inside… what will it be like inside? Will Big Brother Maine and the others…"
"Calm down, kid," Jackie interrupted him, although his own brows were tightly furrowed, "Maine and them are… practically human war machines right now. Don't forget how those three Cyber Ninjas were taken down just now."
Valerie coughed weakly, drawing everyone's attention.
"The tower's internal structure is complex, and the security level is several times that of the outside… and, there must be emergency protocols…" She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear—the real danger might have just begun.
Lucy remained silent, but her fingertips unconsciously tapped the table, betraying her inner turmoil.
She tried to find deeper signals, but Arasaka Tower's internal network was like an impenetrable wall.
They could only watch the silent skyscraper, a symbol of corporate supreme power, through external cameras.
Time passed slowly, and just as everyone's patience was about to run out, a change occurred.
First, thick black smoke suddenly billowed from a certain area in the upper-middle section of Arasaka Tower.
Immediately after, abnormal flames lit up behind several adjacent windows. The flames were not the instantaneous flash of an explosion, but a continuous, spreading glow of fire!
Tongues of fire would even occasionally shoot out from shattered windows, particularly glaring in the night.
"…Look! Flames! Arasaka Tower is on fire inside! High up! It's on the upper floors!" The host shrieked, and the camera frantically zoomed in.
"It's on fire! The fighting inside is intense!" David's heart sank, and he almost lunged at the light screen.
Jackie also stood up, his face grim: "Damn it, a fire in a place like that…"
Valerie looked at the expanding flames, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes—there was satisfaction, but more so a deep worry: "To cause a fire of this magnitude… the resistance they encountered is beyond imagination."
The news media was equally clueless; their commentary was reduced to various horrified conjectures.
The limited footage could not convey any specific situation inside the tower, only the continuously spreading flames and thick smoke, silently narrating the internal devastation.
"They'll be fine, right, Lucy?" David's voice carried a plea he didn't even notice, and he looked at his companion, hoping for some affirmative answer.
Lucy gazed at the burning skyscraper on the screen, the flickering flames reflected in her pale purple eyes.
She took a soft breath, and finally just shook her head, whispering: "I don't know… We can only trust them now, and… the boss."
Jackie patted David's shoulder firmly, trying to convey some strength, but his own hand was also trembling.
A sense of powerlessness and deep worry permeated the four of them.
They witnessed the beginning of a legend, but at the most critical moment, they were forced to become anxious bystanders, cut off by an information barrier.
The colossal silhouette of Arasaka Tower flickered in the flames and smoke, isolating Maine's crew and everything happening inside the tower from the outside world. No one knew what kind of ending was being forged within.