Cyberpunk: I'm Not a Scavenger - Chapter 80: Operation Retaliation (Patreon)

Pantheon took off the Braindance headset and drew several deep breaths. It took a long time for his emotions to settle.

Even though Judy's editing had filtered out most of the emotional experience, the oppressive sights and sounds had still taken their toll.

"How are you feeling? You okay?"

Judy sounded genuinely concerned.

Pantheon waved a hand and fished a cigarette out of his pocket.

"Phew..."

As the smoke rose, his sanity slowly began to recover.

A five-kilometer radius around Leblanc's cafés, combined with the location of an industrial park. That had narrowed the search area considerably.

City Hall's internal network was well defended, with support from NetWatch. Pantheon didn't want to provoke it just yet.

But since the NCPD had already been sent to collect overdue rent, getting to the bottom of that lead shouldn't be difficult. When the time came, he could give Officer Han a call.

The important question was what to do next.

Even a company on the verge of bankruptcy would be far more formidable than a Maelstrom hideout or a Wraith camp.

Automated turrets and data fortresses would be standard. There would probably be drones, mechs, and armed AVs as well.

Taking on defenses like those without exposing his trump cards would be no easy feat.

Pantheon flicked the ash off his cigarette. Another thought occurred to him.

Where had the Red Ocher clan members who escaped managed to hide?

If he could find them, he'd stand a better chance of rescuing the captives.

But even after finishing his cigarette, he still hadn't come up with an answer he liked.

For that matter, was there really any reason for him to go to war with a corporation over a handful of strangers?

Pantheon took out a pack of premium cigarettes.

Compared with the overpowering stuff sold in 2075, they seemed almost bland. But given the choice, he'd still pick these every time.

He'd been in Night City for nearly half a year. Soon it would be 2076.

In those few months, he'd gone from a clueless outsourced cleaner to a mercenary whose reputation had spread far beyond the city, even if only barely.

He was doing pretty well for himself. He had plenty of money, no shortage of women around him, and people were eager to give him fancy cars and luxurious homes.

Yet along the way, he'd also seen the ugliness at the heart of this world.

Milani had once told him about a girl she'd known before the girl came to Lizzie's Bar.

Her own father had taken her to Clouds for a job interview. A fucking interview to become a doll!

The interviewer had rejected her because he didn't think she was attractive enough.

And the girl had told her father she'd rather choke to death sucking someone off than end up like her mother, working day and night in a factory until toxic fumes destroyed her lungs.

Fuck! What kind of thing was that for a person to say?

Pantheon couldn't stomach how thoroughly fucked up this world was.

He didn't have the strength to save everyone. But if he could save even one person, that was better than standing by and doing nothing.

Besides, if the rescue succeeded, the rewards could be enormous.

An entire fully equipped industrial park. The loyalty of the Red Ocher clan's survivors.

And the foundation he needed to truly establish himself in this world.

He lost track of time. Before long, cigarette butts had piled into a little mound on the floor.

Judy never complained. Instead, she sat with him and smoked.

Eventually Pantheon stood and gave her a smile.

"Thanks, Judy. Couldn't have done this without you. Once I've figured out how to bring those bastards down, I'll treat you to a proper feast."

Judy rested her head on one hand and watched him walk away, lost in thought.

...

At the same time, in a small conference room inside Arasaka Tower at Corpo Plaza, members of the Intelligence Division were discussing Pantheon's recent exploits.

"Idiots! Useless fucking idiots!"

Umeko Kawakami slammed her tablet onto the table, her face flushed red.

"What the hell are those morons in the Tyger Claws doing? Someone wiped out the entire underground laboratory on Rovinj Street! That was our biggest Glitter distribution point!"

Across from her, Koichi Koizumi adjusted his goggles and delivered his report without expression.

"According to the field report, all security personnel were killed. A small number of surviving staff were handed over to the NCPD, a large quantity of equipment has disappeared, and Glitter worth tens of millions of eddies was completely ruined. The incident has reduced this quarter's 'extra activity funds' for our division by more than fourteen percent."

Arasaka had existed for more than a century. Even with Saburo Arasaka still alive, rival factions had already emerged inside the corporate giant.

The three most influential were the Kiji, Taka, and Hato factions.

The Kiji Faction, led by Hanako Arasaka, represented the corporation's conservative technocrats, who preferred stability.

The Taka Faction, led by Yorinobu Arasaka, represented its radical elites, who advocated war with the New United States and Militech.

The Hato Faction, led by Michiko Arasaka, represented the pro-Western liberals who supported sweeping reforms within the corporation.

Naturally, it was Arasaka's hawkish Intelligence Division that backed the hawkish elements within the Tyger Claws.

The gang earned enormous profits every year from its various enterprises. A substantial portion flowed into the Intelligence Division under labels such as "consulting fees."

That money gave Arasaka's hawks the resources to struggle for power and cultivate their own influence. It was also a major source of private slush funds for senior Intelligence Division officials.

"Do we know who's responsible?"

Umeko Kawakami stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down over Corpo Plaza.

"We do."

Light flickered across Koichi Koizumi's goggles. Dozens of photographs taken from different angles appeared in midair, accompanied by a detailed personal file.

"'King,' real name Pantheon. An independent mercenary who has risen to prominence over the last few months. He and his crew disabled the underground lab's security systems by means we haven't identified. Our netrunners found traces of an unknown virus in the neural links of workers detained by the NCPD. They believe it was some kind of sonic-shock daemon attack."

Umeko stared at Pantheon's handsome, devil-may-care face in the photographs for several seconds.

"Ahem! A rookie mercenary who's only been in the business a few months, and he managed to make the Tyger Claws look this pathetic? What a bunch of useless fools!"

Koizumi pulled up another encrypted file.

"There may be more to this than we thought."

Umeko glanced over the contents, and her expression immediately grew serious.

"Meredith? From Militech?"

"That's right. Our people inside Militech report that King may have some sort of connection with Meredith. Some time ago, Meredith personally led a team to acquire highly classified information from King. There are even rumors that Militech considers him a possible successor to Morgan Blackhand."

Umeko's expression shifted. She considered the information for a moment before issuing her orders.

"The Cyberskeleton tests are coming up. We can't afford to put Militech on alert now. Inform the Tyger Claws leadership that the Intelligence Division will provide them with the latest experimental cyberware and the highest level of netrunner support. Let them clean up their own mess!"

"Yes!"

Koichi Koizumi bowed respectfully.

"After all, there's nothing more ordinary than a gang and a mercenary tearing each other apart."