Arasaka Tower.
Floor Thirty-Three, Counterintel.
Kai was already seated at his workstation. As usual, he leisurely poured himself a cup of hot water and waited in silence.
Something that big had happened last night. It was certain to be brought up for discussion and a decision at the board meeting this morning.
Of course, the board of directors at Arasaka Tower in Night City was not the supreme board at Arasaka headquarters.
It was the American branch of the Arasaka board.
The American branch board was mainly responsible for handling affairs in the Americas, especially decisions and policies related to the NUSA and Militech.
Sure enough.
Arthur called.
Kai accepted the call through his Dragon Fist smart glasses.
This board meeting was critically important to Arthur, and his tone was very grave.
"Kai, the board meeting is about to begin. Come to my office."
Kai replied that he understood, then set down his cup. After straightening his clothes a little, he headed for Arthur's office, carrying the chip that held the live-body performance data from the military-grade Sandevistan.
He passed through the office area, the hallway, and two corners, then underwent a scan and identity check at the secured corridor before finally entering the department head's office, just as luxurious, spacious, and dark-toned as ever.
The moment he stepped inside, he saw that the massive floor-to-ceiling display had already switched to the live signal from the board meeting.
Arasaka Tower, Floor Seventy-Eight, Jungle Executive Conference Center.
The interior of the boardroom had a simple layout. The entire conference platform was wrapped in lush greenery, surrounded by emerald bamboo, banana plants, and other evergreen vegetation.
At the center of the silver conference platform stood a long smart conference table made of marble with rock-like veining, with five silver chairs on each side.
Arthur saw Kai come in and gestured for him to sit first.
Kai sat in the chair before the desk and watched the boardroom scene on the screen.
Because this discussion involved Counterintel, Arthur's current rank only allowed him to attend the board meeting remotely.
Under normal circumstances, Arasaka's president and M-rank executive management could attend such meetings, but even then, most still joined remotely.
Soon enough, Arasaka bodyguards began entering one after another, taking up their assigned positions to handle security.
Then the board members started entering the conference room one after another and sat down in their designated seats.
They wore expensive suits, and the advanced cyberware implanted in their bodies was so refined that they looked no different from ordinary people.
Once the nine board members had taken their seats, only one seat remained empty, the top-right seat at the head of the table.
That seat was reserved for the only member of the Arasaka family on the board, Michiko Arasaka.
Only after all nine board members had arrived did Michiko Arasaka finally enter the room through the rear door, her blue hair striking against the austere setting.
She did not sit in her seat. Instead, she stood at the head of the conference table and looked to both sides at the board members.
At Arasaka Tower in Night City, Michiko Arasaka represented the Arasaka family in handling affairs there.
Even though every matter discussed at the board had to be reported to Saburo in Kyoto, she was still the actual administrator of Arasaka Tower in Night City.
Even though her uncle Yorinobu had already been established as the heir to the Arasaka empire, as long as he had not formally taken the throne, the only person she answered to was her grandfather, Saburo.
When Kai saw Michiko Arasaka enter last, he still found her somewhat familiar.
In Night City, the reason Arasaka always gave ground to Militech was closely tied to Michiko Arasaka's management.
Michiko Arasaka was the daughter of Kei Arasaka, which made her Saburo Arasaka's eldest legitimate granddaughter.
Her father, Kei Arasaka, had been the previous CEO of Arasaka.
Because Saburo had deeply missed his wife Michiko, he had given his granddaughter the same name, Michiko Arasaka.
To tell the two apart, Kai was still used to calling her Little Michiko, even though she was no longer young.
Little Michiko had not grown up under falling cherry blossoms the way her grandmother had.
She had grown up under the shining light of the NUSA, a true native-born New American.
After graduating from university, Little Michiko had remained active in the NUSA and had almost never returned to Kyoto.
She had become the mediator between Arasaka and Militech, advocating cooperation and development with the NUSA and leading Arasaka's dovish faction.
It was precisely because of Michiko Arasaka's efforts that, since Arasaka announced its return to Night City in 2070, those two megacorps had managed to coexist peacefully in this volatile city for six years.
That achievement alone had been enough to secure Michiko Arasaka a seat on the board and full responsibility over American affairs.
Michiko swept her gaze across the people present and sternly rebuked them.
"How did something this disgraceful happen during last night's operation? One deputy director, one deputy team leader, and three Arasaka Special Ops squads wiped out. This matter must be dealt with severely today!"
Michiko already understood what had happened the night before.
She had come today to assign blame.
The board members all kept their eyes lowered and stayed silent. After all, none of them directly oversaw operational departments.
Very soon, the meeting connected to Susan Abernathy, Arasaka's Special Ops director. Her personal image was linked into the board meeting, and a holographic upper-body projection of her appeared above the marble conference table.
Michiko looked coldly at that projection and said, "As the director of Special Ops, explain yourself properly to the board."
Susan stood in her office at that moment, trying hard to steady her nerves.
No matter how much she had prepared, when faced with the board's oppressive presence, her voice still trembled slightly.
Following the explanation she had prepared in advance, Abernathy pushed the main responsibility for the incident onto Caitlin and Carter Smith.
She accused the two of colluding in secret, causing the two departments' operations to fall out of sync, which in turn led to the major accident. At the same time, she took responsibility for poor oversight of the departments under her authority.
But after hearing her explanation, Michiko did not calm down in the slightest. Instead, she coldly shot back, "Are you some useless waste of oxygen? A department this important was placed under your control, something this serious happened, and you're telling me you knew nothing?"
Cold sweat broke out across Abernathy's forehead. Her expression turned uglier and uglier, and she could only keep nodding and apologizing, saying she would improve and strengthen her management of the department.
Michiko asked again, "Then was the mission completed? Did you get the data R&D wanted?"
Susan no longer dared meet Michiko's eyes and could only answer in a low voice, "The target cyberware was stolen by Maelstrom."
Michiko's face turned even colder. She did not even bother looking at Susan again and directly cut off the communication.
"What about Counterintel? Wasn't there supposed to be a report?"
The moment those words fell, Arthur's personal image was connected to the board meeting, and a holographic upper-body projection of him appeared above the marble conference table.
"Director Michiko Arasaka, I am Arthur Jenkins, head of Counterintel. I have an important matter to report. The research data required by R&D has already been obtained by Kai, deputy director of Counterintel..."
Hearing Arthur's report, Michiko was somewhat surprised.
She had not expected Counterintel, even with an insider colluding with Special Ops, to still manage to obtain the mission target's data.
And why had Arthur deliberately mentioned Kai by name?
Michiko suppressed her thoughts and waited patiently for the rest of the report.
(End of Chapter)
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