The outskirts of the South Night City Solar Power Plant.
V once captured Xu Zhong here.
And now, she was about to fight side-by-side with him at the same place.
Fate was unpredictable like that.
V glanced at the young section chief whose expression was stiff and tense.
"Nervous?"
"No. I won't drag you down," Xu Zhong answered immediately.
V didn't comment, instead switching the topic to pull his mind away from pressure.
"I'm using an Arasaka HJKE-11 Yukimura smart pistol and an Arasaka TKI-20 Shingen smart SMG.
What are you packing?"
Xu Zhong drew two guns from the back of his waist.
"Kang Tao A-22B Chao smart pistol and Kang Tao G-58 Dian smart SMG."
"Interesting."
V raised an eyebrow. "These two are exactly what broke Arasaka's monopoly in the smart-weapon market.
Rumor says Kang Tao poached Arasaka's designer, and the Chao shares its lineage with the Yukimura, but I know that's false.
The Chao is well-made, cheaper, and its clever 'barrel-swap reload system' cuts reload time by 0.11 seconds.
Meanwhile, the Dian's completely re-designed ergonomics and its mag-lock magazine system outperform the Shingen in user experience.
Little innovations like these are why Kang Tao rose so fast. Arasaka didn't lose unfairly."
Hearing V compliment his company's weapons, Xu Zhong looked happier than if she had complimented him personally.
He still tried to stay humble:
"Arasaka's Yukimura and Shingen are excellent too. The former offers full-auto and three-round burst, and the latter's huge magazine and stopping power make it a dream gun for mercs and soldiers."
V glanced at him and only hummed softly.
After a moment of silence, Xu Zhong said softly, "Thank you."
He knew V was doing all this to calm him down.
"I've killed before… just never my own people."
Xu Zhong forced a breath. "Sorry, Deputy Chief V. I'll overcome it. I won't hinder the op."
V shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with valuing your own people. Don't force yourself.
If you really can't pull the trigger, I can clear the field alone."
Xu Zhong thought she was joking.
But the look in her eyes said otherwise.
Before he could respond, V suddenly tilted her chin upward.
"They're here. Coming from the Pacifica direction."
Xu Zhong immediately grabbed his optical binoculars.
Sure enough—a flying dot was approaching at high speed.
"No way… that's a Surveyor! The intel said they'd use an Atlas!"
Both Atlas and Surveyor were armed AVs manufactured by Zetatech.
The Atlas was a flagship model used by Trauma Team and Network 54.
But the Surveyor was designed for rapid troop deployment—quiet insertions, a full platoon of soldiers, and a built-in smart-missile defensive grid.
A nightmare to shoot down.
"This is screwed. We don't have heavy firepower! We can't even scratch a Surveyor!"
"I never planned to shoot it," V said calmly.
Her eyes lit bright neon-blue.
"You want to get inside the power plant to find evidence, right?
Then we'll use that big toy as our battering ram."
"You're going to hack it?" Xu Zhong shook his head.
"Surveyor AVs have dynamic ICE on their onboard AIs. Unless you've got a full server farm—no single netrunner could possibly—"
He never finished the sentence.
Because the world suddenly stopped.
Wind froze.
Clouds turned into slow-moving clusters of 0s and 1s, reconstructing the next frame like a broken simulation.
V's Intelligence had reached 16 a few days ago.
This was her newly awakened ability.
At first she thought it was Sandevistan time-stop,
but her body wasn't moving—only her mind was.
This wasn't Sandevistan.
This was a netrunner's time-stop.
Even knowing it wasn't the first time, it still shook her.
"No wonder there's nothing about this online. The old netrunners hid this well," V murmured in her mind.
In a blink, she pierced through the dynamic ICE of the Surveyor's onboard AI.
"How did Sasha put it in that story?
Ah.
Right."
V smiled.
"Open sesame."
In less than a second:
—The AV's navigation locked.
—Engine safety protocols disengaged.
—Vector thrusters overloaded.
A comet-like burst of fire spewed from the rear engines.
And the massive Surveyor AV shot downward like a meteor,
crashing straight into the solar farm—smashing rows of photovoltaic panels, plowing a blazing trench across the ground.
The world resumed.
Xu Zhong finally blurted out the rest of his sentence:
"…impossible to hack!"
Then he stared at the burning ruin in silence.
"Don't freeze. Let's go."
"O-oh!"
He hurried after her.
Watching V's back, he really wanted to ask: Are you still human?
But he wisely swallowed the question.
Everyone has secrets.
Even Xu Zhong.
As long as V stood on his side, that was enough.
They reached the crashed Surveyor. The massive orange-red beast—almost the size of a double-decked city bus—was wrecked beyond hope.
"Let me try negotiating first," Xu Zhong said.
He still couldn't bring himself to treat fellow countrymen as enemies.
V only thought: Weren't you calling me "Deputy Chief V" the whole time?
But now wasn't the moment to discuss that.
She nodded.
Xu Zhong shouted toward the AV:
"I am Section Chief Xu Zhong from Kang Tao Corporate Security. Cease resistance and open the hatch for inspection!
Repeating: cease resistance and open—"
The hatch opened with a click.
A gun muzzle emerged.
Not understanding.
Not compliance.
Only bullets.
That was Night City.
Xu Zhong still wasn't used to it.
V was.
Gunfire burst out.
Xu Zhong barely raised his arms when, behind him—sharp clacks rang out.
Every bullet heading for his back curved mid-air, redirected away, pinging into the AV's hull.
An impossible display of smart-weapon fire.
Kang Tao soldiers inside froze.
Even their advanced training couldn't comprehend it.
Xu Zhong didn't freeze.
The G-58 Dian in his hands beeped its lock-on tone. He swept his arm, unleashing a burst.
Mini-thruster rounds darted like homing birds, striking every exposed enemy right in the forehead.
Skulls burst like watermelons.
More soldiers charged out—two fully staffed combat squads, just as Xu Zhong had said.
"Don't hold back again—I can only save you once!"
V reloaded.
"I take left, you take right!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Back-to-back, they carved through both squads.
Yukimura + Chao.
Shingen + Dian.
Opposing weapons, perfect synergy.
"Reloading! Cover me!"
"V-jie, four o'clock!"
"Got it. Watch your back! Catch!"
V tossed him her reloaded Shingen.
Xu Zhong snagged it mid-run and dropped two more soldiers.
Judging by her rate of fire, her Yukimura was nearly empty—
so he tossed her his freshly reloaded Dian.
"V-jie!"
They swapped weapons in one fluid exchange.
"Not bad, kid. Not many can keep up with me."
"You're incredible, V-jie! You're the best shooter I've ever seen!"
By the time they exchanged those lines, three more soldiers were down.
The remaining Kang Tao forces broke.
"They're monsters!"
"We can't win!"
"Retreat! Take the VIP and retreat!"
The squads split in two directions—each carrying an "Anders Hellman."
A classic misdirection tactic for high-value escorts.
V wasn't surprised.
Neither was Xu Zhong.
"I'll take the left."
"Then I'll take right!"
"Loser buys the drinks?"
"Deal!"
They split off in opposite directions.
V reached her target quickly—
but after burning the escort's brain with a single glare, she tore away the mask—
"Tch."
A fake.
She stunned the decoy with System Reset and turned toward Xu Zhong.
If hers was fake, the kid's would be real.
Indeed—Xu Zhong faced heavier resistance.
But the young soldier fought well, taking down the last escort.
That final escort, realizing escape was impossible, drew a combat knife and beckoned at Xu Zhong—
A challenge.
Xu Zhong grinned.
He holstered both Chao and Dian.
V raised an eyebrow.
Panels on Xu Zhong's thigh snapped open.
A metal rod shot out—
and unfolded into a long, narrow blade nearly 220 centimeters in length.
A Miao-dao.
A traditional Chinese battlefield sword.
V whistled.
Xu Zhong lowered his stance.
The Kang Tao soldier spun the knife along his fingers.
Long vs. short.
Strength vs. danger.
Life vs. death.
They moved at the same time.
The knife stopped one inch before Xu Zhong's throat—
but the Miao-dao was already buried through the enemy's chest, the tip emerging from his back.
With a shout, Xu Zhong twisted the blade, tearing internal organs and cyberware apart before slamming the corpse onto the ground.
He withdrew the blade, bowed with both fists—
the highest courtesy between warriors.
V applauded loudly.
Xu Zhong's face reddened. At this moment, he really looked like a 19-year-old boy.
"What blade is that?"
"A Miao-dao. Chinese weapon."
"Teach me sometime?"
"Sure. What melee weapon did V-jie use before?"
"A baseball bat."
Xu Zhong:"…?"
V laughed, letting it pass.
Then she dragged Anders Hellman toward her and pointed at the plant behind them.
"Didn't you want evidence?"
"Oh—right!"
Xu Zhong hurried to the console.
V turned to check—
only to see him pecking at the holo-keyboard like a chicken.
V:"…"
Another INT 3?
And why did she say "another"?
Unable to watch any longer, V's eyes flashed blue.
She cracked the plant's mainframe in 102 milliseconds.
"It opened! It opened! V-jie, thank you!"
Xu Zhong's excitement slowly faded as data scrolled across the display.
Then anger replaced it.
"Damn it!"
He slammed his fist on the console.
"Jiang Ping really tampered with everything.
There should be 200 security drones—she left only FIVE.
The enterprise-grade overseer AI was replaced by five low-tier sub-AIs.
And worse—she falsified the output reports and sold the missing electricity to Dogtown on the side!
She skimmed 70 million a year just from this!"
V wasn't surprised.
Anyone who shared a bed with Abernathy couldn't possibly be clean.
And this explained why blowing up the plant with Panam last time had been so easy.
Turns out Kang Tao didn't drop the ball—there was an inside job.
That old hag owes me incense.
"Since we've got the evidence, let's go."
Just as V spoke—
a cold female voice rang from outside.
"Go?
Nobody leaves today."
Kang Tao armored transports rolled in, raising dust.
They stopped at the plant entrance.
Jiang Ping stepped out, bringing over a hundred fully armed Kang Tao soldiers.
Her expression was ice-cold.
"You dare blow up my AV, V? I guess you're tired of living. Surround them! No one escapes!"
Xu Zhong tightened his grip on his Dian.
He was confident—but not confident enough to survive this many.
Still, he had already made his resolve:
if Jiang Ping truly wanted to kill V, he would reveal his identity if necessary.
He inhaled and tried to step forward—
but V stopped him.
"Leave it to me."
She walked straight toward Jiang Ping—
as if the dozens of rifles aimed at her were toys.
"If I were you," V smiled coldly, "I'd think very carefully about what happens if this turns into a firefight."
"Yes, I blew up your AV.
Yes, I killed your men.
Easily. Effortlessly.
And?
You have more people.
You think that matters?
Look at me.
Look carefully.
Who am I?"
V leaned forward.
"I'm V.
The one who stormed the Arasaka Tower.
Even Adam Smasher couldn't kill me.
You think these disposable grunts can?"
Jiang Ping's face flushed purple with rage.
"You think you scare me?!"
"You'll know soon.
Pull the trigger and see."
V leaned to her ear.
"Know why I came alone?
Because I'm giving you a chance.
You poked at Arasaka.
Lady Michiko wants you disciplined.
But since we're all part of the Corporate Alliance, I don't want to go too far.
So from now on, when votes happen—you'll know exactly what to do."
Jiang Ping wanted to scream "fire"—
but when she opened her mouth, her words became:
"Let them go!"
"But—"
"I SAID LET THEM GO! Are you deaf?!"
"…Yes, ma'am."
The soldiers stepped aside.
V passed them, Xu Zhong and Anders in tow.
She suddenly paused, pointed at Xu Zhong:
"He's with me.
You don't touch him."
That broke Jiang Ping completely.
She shrieked:
"V! One day I will kill you!
I swear it!"
V raised her middle finger.
"Get in line."
—
A few days later, Network 54's popular commentator Ruth Zhang opened her latest show.
"Hello everyone, welcome back. You all know that aircraft carrier parked at Night City Port, right?
The Kujira—the 'White Whale.'"
"The corps were scared Japanese fishermen would mistake it for an actual whale and harpoon it for research."
"Well, funny how fortunes turn. Wonder how Militech will respond. Maybe Myers can dig up a B-17 Flying Fortress and flatten Hiroshima again.
Whoops—sorry. That was rude.
I should say President Myers. Can't disrespect the government, right?"
"Haha, hope you enjoyed my little joke. Anyway—on to the real topic.
Yesterday, there was a massive review ceremony aboard the Kujira.
Eyewitnesses spotted a mysterious AV landing.
Could another major figure have arrived in Night City?
Let's wait and see."
V pointed at the screen and said to Xu Zhong:
"You were always curious why our plan is called Operation Harpoon?
That's why."