"I have no right to interfere?"
Arthur Jenkins' face trembled with anger. He pointed at her, his eyes dark and fixed on her, and she calmly met his gaze.
She was tall, with beautiful legs, and her military uniform was bulging at her chest. Her tiger ears even twitched with the passing breeze.
Don't think those ears are just decorative; they're a high-grade implant!
Those animal ears alone would cost hundreds of thousands on the market, and you still couldn't get them. Most importantly, they're priceless and only those favored by a certain big shot are qualified to have them installed.
Otherwise, did you think those ears were just for show?
"That criminal killed Tanaka in front of so many people and slandered Arasaka's reputation. Do you know how much that will affect our company's market value?" Arthur took a deep breath, suppressing his anger as he spoke.
Thinking it over carefully, Arthur realized he couldn't openly defy her. He didn't have the confidence or the ability.
"So what? What does that have to do with me?" Tiger Woman looked at Arthur indifferently, her orange-yellow vertical pupils devoid of emotion.
Of course, she knew who this person was: Arasaka North America's head of counter-intelligence, whose main job was to contend with Militech's intelligence division. He was a mid-to-high-level figure within the entire Arasaka Group.
But... how much of a stir could a North American intelligence department head cause in front of her boss?
As for Arasaka's reputation, that was even less of Tiger Woman's concern.
She wasn't an Arasaka person; she belonged to the Dangerous Girls Agency, and the Dangerous Girls hadn't been integrated into Arasaka.
Therefore, Tiger Woman didn't need to care about Arthur's words; she only needed to follow her boss's instructions.
Seeing Tiger Woman's indifferent expression, Arthur's lips trembled with anger.
Uesugimura and Cyan were his people. Tanaka was indeed a senior executive at the Night City branch, but he had no authority to directly deploy high-level combat agents. Otherwise, Tanaka wouldn't have gone to the rooftop with just a secretary.
Because of this, Arthur knew how strong Uesugimura and Cyan were; they were among the top agents in the entire department. Yet, these two were killed by someone without high-grade cyberware.
Could this person not have secrets?
If he could uncover Jax's secrets and hand them over to the Group, Arthur's status would rise significantly!
So, upon receiving the news, Arthur immediately mobilized his people, which was why he was now traveling to the Badlands in an aerocar.
But... why was this person here?
Tiger Woman said, raising her hand.
The beautiful girls behind her immediately nodded, and then the Militech aerocar made a sound and began to descend.
Seeing this, Arthur immediately shouted, "Tiger Woman, your actions will cause trouble for Michiko!"
"You're talking a bit too much." Tiger Woman heard this, looked up at Arthur, and gave him a sarcastic smile. On her beautiful face, her eyes were full of disdain for Arthur.
"This is our boss's order. If you have anything to say, go tell our boss. Whether you want to complain or report, just try it." With that, Tiger Woman had her people continue to descend the Militech aerocar.
Are you kidding me?
The head of the North American counter-intelligence department, sounds like he has a lot of power, managing the entire North American region, very impressive.
But what's the actual situation?
Arasaka has very few branch offices in North America!
Why is Night City special?
It's because in North America, Night City is one of the few free states that hasn't been incorporated into NUSA's territory!
Lucius Rhyne, the current mayor of Night City, fearing his authority would be reclaimed by NUSA, pleaded for Arasaka to establish a presence in Night City. In other words, Arthur's position as head of the North American counter-intelligence department was only established a few years ago.
Lucius invited Arasaka in 2069, and the Kujira aircraft carrier entered Night City harbor in 2070. All told, it's only been a little over five years.
In five years, Arasaka hasn't transformed North America into its own shape, unlike other places.
Why?
That's, of course, because of Militech.
So, honestly, in front of her own boss, this so-called North American counter-intelligence chief's identity is actually a pile of dog shit!
If it weren't for the fact that it was him, and killing him without reason would indeed cause some significant trouble for the boss, Tiger Woman would have already acted.
How can a civilian aerocar compare to a Militech aerocar? Not to mention weapons, just crashing into it would smash the other party to pieces.
But if he kept dragging his feet:
"Michiko has no right to—," Arthur's words were cut short because a bullet grazed his cheek, hitting the aerocar and leaving a bullet hole.
First confusion, then fear, then anger in his eyes, Arthur looked at the aerocar descending below, and saw the woman squinting: "My boss told me that if the guy talks too much and doesn't listen, kill him."
"If you want to die, try saying one more word?" Tiger Woman raised her gun, the yellow heavy weapon in her hand looked very heavy, but she held it effortlessly with her two slender arms:
"Want to test if my marksmanship is accurate, huh?"
"..." Arthur glared at Tiger Woman resentfully, took a deep breath, and raised his hand.
There was nothing he could do. Although that person was disliked by Saburo, her status was real. With his connections and position, let alone defying her, it would be difficult to even speak to her.
A regional division head defying the Group's third-in-command?
What a joke. Although Arthur desperately wanted to catch Jax and seize an opportunity to climb higher, he was even more afraid that he would actually lose his life because of it.
As for when the regional manager asked him, he would have an answer.
Michiko's Jaguar Squad blocked him. Why should he go and arrest people?
The aerocar's hatch closed, and in the next moment, four civilian aerocars spewed air currents from their bottoms, turned around, and headed towards Night City.
"Damn it, Jax, I feel like we've gotten into even more trouble... This woman is clearly more formidable," Maine whispered to Jax, his body stiff.
Maine had been a soldier, and he smelled the scent of a soldier on that woman.
Clearly... compared to that arrogant suit-wearing man, this beautiful woman named Tiger Woman was far more dangerous.
The Militech aerocar landed in front of everyone. Tiger Woman raised a hand, and behind her, three beautiful girls quickly disembarked from the aerocar.
Cute cat ears, beautiful outfits, and one of the girls even wore a pretty plaid skirt, looking like a high school student.
But look at the weapon she held—Arasaka's military sniper rifle, the Nekomata, crude, large, and beautiful.
This weapon on the streets, let alone finding someone to buy it from, it's a crime just to possess it! A military sniper rifle, what do you, an ordinary person, intend to do with it? Are you trying to assassinate someone?
So even if you really owned this gun, you'd hide it and use it yourself, never showing it off.
Therefore, if you underestimated them because of their beautiful and cute appearance, you would definitely be in for a big surprise!
"Jax, Maine, Dorio, Rebecca, Pilar, Kiwi, and who are you?" Tiger Woman, who had jumped off the aerocar, stood in front of Jax and the others, pointing her finger as she counted them.
When she got to Lucy, she paused: "Are you also part of Maine's crew?"
"She..." Maine hesitated, wanting to say she wasn't, hoping that might allow Lucy to leave.
But the next moment, Lucy spoke up herself: "I am."
Jax looked at Lucy upon hearing this, and saw her face was calm, but her hand on her thigh gripped her pants tightly. It seemed... Lucy wasn't as calm as she appeared.
But what baffled Jax was why Lucy would make such a choice...
Although from his understanding of the anime, Lucy was indeed outwardly cold but inwardly warm, completely different from how she appeared, a person who valued emotions greatly, even willing to sacrifice herself for those important to her.
But... was there anyone in this current crew worth Lucy risking danger for?
Kiwi? It couldn't be that serious...
"Alright, as long as everyone's here." Tiger Woman didn't care about that.
Her boss's instruction was to bring everyone over, not specifying which people had to be brought.
She nodded, looked at Jax, and then showed a smile completely different from the one she gave Arthur, speaking gently: "Don't worry, come with me, you'll be fine."
"You're very lucky. My boss likes talented people, and coincidentally, you... you all count as talented, so my boss sent me to protect you," Tiger Woman said, raising her hand.
Maine's eyes twitched.
Tiger Woman noticed Maine's movement and yawned, "Don't think about resisting. That Militech Sandevistan you have is indeed good, but ultimately, any agent in Arasaka can install that. Look at the implants on me."
With that, Tiger Woman activated her implants. In an instant, the tall beauty who was standing split apart: her thighs, arms, upper body, and even those cat ears all separated.
Numerous incredibly expensive cyberware were revealed before Maine's eyes.
"..." Maine fell silent.
Damn, what the hell... installed all these things, and this woman isn't crazy... what's going on?
These implants on her, holy shit!
This was a walking several million euros!
Let's just say, this woman in front of him was a walking commercial aerocar...
Aerocars weren't as advanced as one might imagine; they were just flying cars. So as long as you had money, high-end car manufacturers were willing to sell them, of course, the price was another matter.
After all, in some sense, an aerocar represented—status.
"You, on the other hand, are very strong. I might not be able to beat you, but I don't think you would do that," Tiger Woman said, retracting her cyberware, while looking at Jax.
"What do you want for helping us?" Jax asked Tiger Woman.
"Not me, my boss."
"Let's go. You'll know once you meet my boss."
Tiger Woman said, then turned and stepped onto the aerocar.
"Don't think about running. My boss plans to do business with you. Or are you really planning to leave Night City?"
Everyone exchanged glances, then Jax led the way.
Two nearly scrapped cars were left in the desert, and a Militech aerocar flew in the opposite direction from Night City.
In an unknown area of North America, at a temporary camp set up in the Badlands outside the city—
The yellow truck had been converted into a "bar," with several tents set up on either side. The car battery was taken out and used as a power source with an old-fashioned generator box.
Quiet, leisurely—this atmosphere was honestly quite good.
But then a car suddenly drove up the hill, breaking the silence.
The driver was a woman.
She had short black hair, with sandy tips that were slightly curled and frizzy.
She wore a grey and black motorcycle jacket, paired with ill-fitting blue jeans, and old, cracked leather boots.
She then got out of the car. As she stepped out and looked up, a pretty face was revealed.
It was a very beautiful face.
Her rounded, oval face featured delicate features, with particularly large eyes and a prominent tear mole. Her pupils were emerald green, and her dark eyelashes fluttered like tiny fans.
A perky nose bridge rose like a peak from between her eyebrows, outlining sharp, elegant lines with her eyes. Her nostrils were thin, and her nose tip was full.
However, as she angrily gasped for breath, her purplish, chapped lips parted slightly, and her flaring nostrils appeared somewhat ungraceful.
Her entire appearance was grimy, covered in oil stains. Her clothes were old, her pants had a large tear, and her shoes were cracked, with threads poking out.
Her facial skin also had a rough texture; it wasn't dark, just coarse and dry. But even so, it was an absolutely stunning face.
Especially since… this was a naturally stunning face.
"Bang!"
Getting out of the car, she slammed the door shut with a loud bang, drawing the attention of the men drinking ahead. A man wearing a hat was about to stand up and curse, but when he saw who it was, he immediately froze, a hint of fear in his eyes.
The woman lowered her head, looked up with furious eyes, and strode forward, silently rolling up one sleeve with her slender hand.
"Wait, Valerie!"
"I can explain, don't get agitated, I wasn't trying to…"
His companions also stood up, grabbing their weapons.
A somewhat bald man even aimed his gun at the woman, "Don't come any closer, Valerie, you're f***ing out of the family, aren't you?"
Her silence was his only response, which angered him, but more than that, he was afraid.
The family he spoke of was the Bakar family, which had recently joined the Snake Nation at the suggestion of their leader, Drew. Drew's decision had fractured the Bakar family, with many elders leaving Bakar.
And this woman… was one of them.
But unlike the others, who were high-ranking elders, this woman was… excessively skilled in combat!
This impossibly beautiful woman was one of the top fighters in Bakar!
His gun-wielding hand trembled. As the woman drew near, he instinctively pulled the trigger.
"F***!"
A bullet grazed the woman's cheek, singeing a few strands of hair and scratching her face. Wiping the blood from her face with the back of her hand, she first narrowed her eyes at the man, then, in the next moment, she lunged at him like a wild cat.
She slapped away his hand as he was about to fire again, and with her other hand, she delivered a swift, powerful punch to his face, hitting him so hard that he was sent flying.
Seeing this, the other men immediately rushed to help. One man directly hugged her from behind, locking her neck.
"Hurry up! I've got her locked!"
Lowering her head, Valerie opened her mouth, and her clean, healthy teeth bit fiercely into the hand beneath her neck.
"Ah!"
As the arm restraining her separated, Valerie put force into her elbow, thrusting it backward with all her might. As she turned, she delivered a direct headbutt.
She hit him so hard that she broke his jaw!
"You bunch of bastards, you dared to f*** me over! And you dared to shoot at me? Originally, I only planned to teach him a lesson, but now,
I've changed my mind."
"You all deserve a beating from me!"
"You idiots!"
With that, the woman threw off her jacket, revealing a black tank top, and charged at the group of men, wrestling with them.
A few minutes later, five men lay sprawled across the makeshift camp.
Standing amidst the five twitching figures on the ground, Valerie was also bruised and swollen, and her arm had a large, bleeding gash from a knife.
She walked towards a camping chair, and as she passed one of the guys, she raised her foot and delivered a fierce kick to his head.
Then, she plopped down in front of the campfire and reached into a small cooler nearby to pull out a bottle of hard liquor.
Lowering her head, she bit off the cap, poured some liquor onto her gashed arm, and then took a big swig directly from the bottle.
"Bang!"
She tossed the liquor bottle away, then stood up again, walked past the men, and headed towards her car.
One guy struggled to lift his head and shouted, "You, Valerie… I told you, that wasn't our fault…"
"Not your fault?" She turned around, flipping him the middle finger, a look of disdain on her face.
Not your fault that I almost got caught by those dog-f***ing Wraiths?
Didn't you guys give me directions?
I followed the directions you gave me!
Am I directionally challenged or something?
Joking!
'If you want to mess with me, come at me directly, don't f**ing beat around the bush. And Barry, I just didn't let you have some fun, did I? Do you really have to go that far, you f**er?'"
"You broke my arm!"
"That's because you f***ing dared to drug me! You deserved it!" Valerie spat, a glob of saliva hitting the ground.
"What about us?" another man said, feeling utterly wronged.
Valerie was beautiful in the family, with a shapely figure and exquisite looks. Someone like her, not to mention in the family tribe, but even in the city, you wouldn't find many people more beautiful than her.
Naturally… many people had designs on her.
But this woman was simply too good at fighting, and incredibly wild. Since joining Bakar, Valerie had always been single. Many had tried to force themselves on her, but without exception, they were bitten by Valerie.
Everyone in the Bakar family knew that this beautiful wildcat… could never be tamed by anyone.
Barry was the best example. He tried to drug Valerie and sexually assault her. However, the dosage, which would affect a wild bull, only made Valerie disoriented and impaired her movement. Then… then Barry was chased out of the camp by Valerie and had his arm broken in front of everyone in the family. If an elder hadn't protected Barry at the time, Barry would have probably been shot dead.
"You guys deserved it too! I came to teach Barry a lesson, what were you bastards doing getting involved?"
"You just rolled up your sleeves and came at us without saying a word, how were we supposed to know what you meant?!" the man yelled, his voice even more aggrieved.
Valerie was infamous in the family for her fiery temper and incredible fighting skills. Was it strange that he would be scared when she suddenly rolled up her sleeves and charged at him without a word?
Valerie blinked at his words, a bewildered expression on her face.
It seemed so… She had been so enraged earlier that she just charged in without thinking. It seemed she really hadn't said that she was only there to cause trouble for Barry?
Forget it, no point thinking about it. The beating was already done, and it was too late to apologize now.
Time to go!
Then, she got back into her car and drove the old vehicle out of the camp.
The men breathed a sigh of relief, but a moment later, Valerie drove back.
This immediately made the men tense up.
But Valerie only poked her head out the window, a hint of confusion on her beautiful face. She held up a map she was clutching, looked at them, and asked, "Hey, how do you get to Night City again? It seems wrong, is this damn map drawn incorrectly? I can't make sense of it."
?
"Over there," one person pointed the way for Valerie.
Valerie looked in the direction he pointed, then at the map, and said, "This map really is wrong."
"You, you try rotating it 45°?" someone suggested.
Valerie paused, did as told, and then she froze.
"Huh, it's right again? Damn, why do I have to look at it like this?"
She nodded, then started the car again, but it sputtered twice and died.
Seeing this, she angrily slammed the steering wheel and tried again.
This time it worked. Driving the car, she was finally leaving this place.
A voice called out, "Valerie, can we still contact you in the future?"
"Contact me? No, I won't be using that name when I'm out there," she said.
?
"No need, right? Anyway, not many people know you."
"I just won't be called that name anymore, don't waste my time, do you want another beating?" Valerie said fiercely.
"Then what will you be called? Barry's matter has nothing to do with us. We… we lived together for a few years, we should at least know how you're doing out there, whether you're alive or dead, right?"
"V."
Val… no, V said. As she spoke, she put away her map and then gripped the steering wheel with both hands, turning it.
"From now on, I'll be called V!" V shouted.
The men at the camp exchanged glances after hearing this.
And Barry… he was still wailing. V had been harshest on him. V hadn't killed him, but his current state… was no different from being dead.
It seemed he was destined to be a vegetable?
His arms and legs were broken. Given Barry's situation, he couldn't afford the expensive cyberware. If no one helped him, he would have to live like this. His current plight was worse than death.
By the way… did Valerie intentionally take the wrong path and then use it as an excuse to get revenge on Barry?
After all, could anyone really be as directionally challenged as she was?
In the evening, under the twilight of the Badlands, V drove her car, heading towards Night City.
From here to Night City, well… it was a bit far. She would need supplies and rest along the way, and more importantly, she had no money, so she'd have to pick up some jobs in the places she passed through.
Ah, it looked like she wouldn't reach Night City until 2076.
A hint of anticipation arose in her heart; V was curious about life in Night City.
This little wildcat, who had wandered the Badlands for the first half of her life… was finally going into the city!
City of Dreams, City of Dreams—damn it, she didn't even know if what those bastards said was true!
On her beautiful face, V used one hand to pinch her nose, then gave it a hard push.
"F***…"
As she straightened her recently broken nose, the pain brought tears to V's large eyes, and snot spurted out.
Suddenly, she looked a bit pitiful.