TechPunk Gacha Chapter 1 - Arasaka (Patreon)

Arasaka.

The Arasaka Corporation was founded in 1915, by Arasaka Nairakira in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. The company was originally focused on manufacturing and took full advantage of World War II to advance its wealth and power by supplying the Imperial Japanese Army.

However, Baron Arasaka Nariakira foresaw the defeat of Japan in the war and worked to ensure his company and fortune would survive the war by spreading his wealth across the globe, out of the reach of the post-war leadership.

Soon enough, the Japanese surrendered, and the country was in ruin, with most cities destroyed by the constant bombings, with the exception being Kyoto.

Arasaka was never an enormous corporation like it was in the alternate world, but it was still a corporation that was valued in tens of billions of US Dollars. However, the exact valuation was very hard, considering the fact that it was a privately held company by the Arasaka Family.

From the Arasaka Nariakira, who saved many of the family's assets, the company leadership under his son, Arasaka Kijirō, preserved the turbulent years when the Bio-Technologies of the Umbrella Corporation started dominating the global market.

Only after the company leadership fell to then hands of Arasaka Sasai, grandson of the Arasaka Nariakira the company started blooming once again.

Due to one single thing.

Cyberware.

Cyberware is the term used to describe cybernetic technology, which is grafted in or onto a living body. Even though cybernetic prosthetics were originally developed for practical and medical purposes, they've since become a matter of lifestyle choice.

Cyberware has become as commonplace as tattoos and jewelry. The reasons for installing it are many and varied, including simple tech upgrades, combat enhancements, and even fashion statements. 

People who lost their limbs, arms, legs, or even eyes got everything back. 

The development of the technology was invited by Arasaka Sasai himself.

As a disabled person who lost a left arm and eye in the assassination attempt on the life of his father, Arasaka Kijirō.

In the incident, the CEO, Arasaka Kijirō, lost his life, and Arasaka Sasai was left crippled. This turn of events forced Arasaka Nariakira to step forward to manage the company once again. 

Interestingly enough, the event of losing arm and eye left Arasaka Sasai in severe depression because, as a very proud person from his birth, living a life where he was destined to be dependent on the help of others was the deepest humiliation. 

Then, one day, due to his depression, as he was going to commit seppuku under the cherry trees of the Arasaka Family Compound, he had an epiphany. As a family scion, that fortune would soon be his control, a fortune that, if wielded correctly, would permit him to advance in technology.

And soon enough, it happened, as his grandfather, who was his sole living family, allocated a budget of one hundred million dollars to research the concept of Cyberware that his grandson proposed. 

Not even one year later, in the year 1995, the world was introduced to the first fully functioning Cybernetics and Cyberware Upgrades Augmentations that are perfectly functioning. 

In an instant, the Arasaka Corporation was rising in prominence, and in just three years, it rose to the most influential conglomerate in Japan. That being said, the fact that the Arasaka Corporation was entirely privately held was something that no other similar conglomerate or corporation of even similar size could tell.

Many argued that the Arasaka could have grown much faster, but Arasaka Nariakira refused to go public with the company and to leave even one single share from his control.

Even though this caused Arasaka to have a much slower growth rate due to the fact that it was one of the biggest weapon producers and industrial manufacturers in Japan, it was still a company worth several billion dollars before the introduction of Cyberware.

***

31st May, 1998, Outskirts of the Tokyo

The Arasaka Family Compound was a traditional Japanese Noble Compound that was the ancestral home of the Arasaka Family.

A traditional Japanese compound used by noble clans was a grand estate combining elegance with strategic defense. At its center stood the main mansion, or shinden, built-in shoin-zukuri style, featuring tatami rooms, sliding doors, and verandas.

Surrounding structures included entrance halls, armories, and study rooms. Defensive elements such as stone walls, moats, watchtowers, and heavily guarded gates provided security.

Even though this compound was more than two hundred years old, the structure wasn't changed, and all of the defensive features were not only left as they were, but they were enhanced tremendously.

Especially after the assassination of Arasaka Kijirō, the entire compound of the Arasaka Family was turned into one enormous fortress.

The place was swarming with guards, fortified positions, watch guards, and even the newest technological innovations, which were put into practice to protect the Arasaka Family Compound.

The compound featured landscaped gardens with ponds, rock arrangements, and teahouses for tea ceremonies. Soldier quarters and servant residences lined the outer areas, while dojos provided space for martial training.

The Arasaka Family Compound also housed a private Shinto shrine and a Buddhist temple for spiritual practices. It was not like the members of the Arasaka family were too religious; it was still a cultural part of the Japanese culture.

On the top of one of the terraces of the compound's main building, a strikingly handsome young man of Japanese descent, around 25 years old, stood. He observed the night panorama of the compound and looked toward Tokyo.

He had a sharp jawline, high cheekbones, and piercing dark eyes, giving him a charismatic yet intimidating aura. His sleek, jet-black hair is styled in a modern undercut with subtle cybernetic enhancements glinting beneath.

His left arm was a high-end military-grade cyberware limb, sleek and polished, with gold-plated circuitry running along its surface, hinting at its lethal capabilities. His left eye has been replaced with an advanced Kiroshi Optic Eye, seamlessly integrated with his skull, enhancing his perception of the world around him.

He wore an immaculately tailored luxury suit, a mix of neo-corporate and traditional Japanese aesthetics with glowing golden cybernetic accents, paired with a high-collared shirt made from an adaptive fabric that subtly shifts with the light.

His polished dress boots leave silent imprints on the rain-slicked pavement, exuding an air of control and precision. On his wrist, a sleek holo-interface bracelet flickers with data streams, giving him real-time access to information and hacking capabilities.

[Congratulations to Sirius McDowell for reaching the Root! For such a splendid and unique achievement, the User has been rewarded with the opportunity to transmigrate and also with the Celestial Gacha Knowledge System!]

[The Celestial Gacha Knowledge System has everything within the Omniverse as it is connected to the Root and Akashic Records.]

[The Celestial Gacha Knowledge System has its functions divided between the Tier; right now, the 1st-Tier has only two functions. One is Gacha itself, and the other is inventory.

The Gacha can be used through the usage of the Gacha Tickets. The User can obtain pieces of knowledge across the Omniverse. The tickets may be obtained either through fulliflling the Achievements or through rewards from special mission from the Gacha Knowledge System.

Trash - 50%

Common - 25%

Rare - 12,5%

Unique - 6,25%

Epic - 3%

Legendary - 2%

Mythical - 1%

Transcendental - 0,1%]

"Sir, it is time to go."

The man turned around and looked at the man who had spoken to him. A middle-aged Japanese man with a bit of grey hair and black eyes, wearing a black suit and standing there like a stone statue with an unreadable expression on his face. 

The most notable feature about him was the Cyberware augmentations around his neck, eyes, and ears. He was the former personal bodyguard of the man's father, Arasaka Kijirō, before the unfortunate assassination, which was successful.

Well...

The least expected betrayals came from the family, right?

"I know... you can go ahead and prepare the convoy. This would be the debut of the Militech and the new generation of the weapons that would be unfolded to the world."

Arasaka Sasai.

The father of Cyberware and Cyber Technology revolutionized the entire world and pushed the Arasaka Corporation to the forefront of technological innovation and advancement.

The Advent of Cyberware was something that had fundamentally changed the civilization on Earth drastically and also changed the direction of the Arasaka's development, and many were saying that the Arasaka was replicating the miracle of the Umbrella from some time ago.

Together with the investments that Sasai made based on his own foreknowledge, Arasaka became even richer than anyone could imagine. But money were not everything; it was something that Arasaka Nairakira very well understood.

What the Arasaka wanted right now was influence and real power. 

Political Power, Economic Power, Cultural Power, and Military Power.

The Arasaka right now had the Economic Power, but it wasn't on the level of some top corporations and conglomerates in this world. Their political power was extremely strong, but only in Japan, their cultural power was low, and their Military power was just in its infancy.

The first step was to make use of the liquidity that the Arasaka Corporation obtained from the various investments and short selling to establish the Militech Corporation. This was something that could be considered as Arasaka Sasai's personal pet project to expand the power and influence of the Arasaka Corporation.

Right now, the Arasaka Corporation was in a fierce conflict with the Umbrella Corporation in Japan. Assassination, sabotage, and open conflict through third parties or subsidiary forces were common, almost daily occurrences.

The Umbrella Corporation is a multinational conglomerate with subsidiaries active in a variety of industries from 1968 till now. Umbrella had an influence on the production and sale of cosmetics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, industrial machine production, consumer products, health foods, the transportation industry, and tourism.

Umbrella's large array of subsidiaries was typical for large-scale corporations, though it was purposely built to cover up illegal activities.

The origins of the Umbrella Corporation lie with the eugenics movements that dominated European and North American debate in the early 20th century. Its three most prominent founding members were Oswell E. Spencer, Earl Spencer, Dr. Edward Ashford, 5th Earl Ashford, and Dr. James Marcus, who were university classmates.

They created the first company, Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, which soon enough started growing at a tremendous rate and grew so much that it was renamed Umbrella Corporation to emphasize its global reach.

The Umbrella Corporation was long ago clashing with the Arasaka Corporation in Japan for many reasons, but the main one was that the Arasaka was the sole reason why the Umbrella didn't overtake the entire Japanese market. 

They were also the ones who were behind the assassination on the Arasaka Kijirō and also on the Sasai's own life. And if the Umbrella Corporation existed in this world, then it meant that there would the famous zombie Pandora box opened.

However, even Sasai would be lying if he said that he wasn't interested in the T-virus because the T-virus could act as the evolutionary means for humans. Pushing them to the much stronger and higher beings, in combination with the Cyberware, the person would be literarily unstoppable.

Sasai puffed out a smoke from his cigarette as he looked in front of him. He wasn't looking at the night panorama of Tokyo but at the small window that was in front of him.

[Congratulations to the Host for completing the Achievement and obtaining a Premium Gacha Ticket as a reward.]

[Gacha is now rolling!]

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining Mechanical Augmentation Technology (Deus Ex) as a reward.]

Suddenly, he felt his head hurting a bit, as tons of new pieces of knowledge started flooding his head, as he obtained the Mechanical Augmentation Technology of the Deus Ex universe.

In Deus Ex, the Mechanical Augmentation Technology involved the use of cybernetics in order to improve or replace human body parts. It is distinguished from basic limb prosthetics in that they interface directly with the central nervous system, as opposed to just the ends of peripheral nerves.

With technological advancement, it soon became the first method of augmentation, which allowed people to assume superhuman abilities, albeit not without limitations. 

It was very similar to the Cyberware Technology of the Cyberpunk Universe, as the two branches of technology were extremely similar yet they were also vastly different.

At the same time, because now he possessed the knowledge of the Mechanical Augmentation from the Deus Ex, he could solve the problems of the Cyberpsychosis and the Cybernetics Rejection.

He was rather lucky because the two branches of technology complement each other almost perfectly. He was almost eager to return to the laboratories to experiment with the Cyberware and Mechanical Augmentations and how to fuse them together to create an even more perfect branch of technology.

[New Mission has been Issued.

- Contain the Outbreak in the Raccoon City

Reward:

- x1 Premium Gacha Ticket

- x5 Gacha Tickets.]

Suddenly, after he pulled the Gacha, he also got the mission to continue the Outbreak in Raccoon City. Now that he had thought it over, it was already May of 1998, and the Outbreak in Raccoon City happened in September 1998, if he remembered correctly.

"And now I would need to fight zombies... I just wanted to gain eternal life, become superhuman, and enjoy life surrounded by luxury and beautiful women..."

He sighed a bit as he pondered over his situation... if not for the system, he would still be a cripple, yet at the same time, these Cybernetics were something that he would never get rid of.

Not because he couldn't.

Sasai was confident that in the future, he would have the technology to restore his perfect human form through the use of the T-Virus or other technologies. However, that was something that he wouldn't really do as it would remind him of the weakness and powerlessness that he felt that day.

"Well... we should get going."

Right now, Arasaka Sasai is going to the United States of America to make the debut for the Militech Corporation, which was established some time ago. However, it was only a few weeks since it was established.

Meet the contact with the USA Military, General Peter Randall...

Sasai found the name rather familiar but couldn't really place it. General Randall was a friend of his Sasai's father, Arasaka Kijirō. And apparently, the man hated the Umbrella Corporation more than anything in the world and would be glad to exterminate them from the face of the world.

Meanwhile, the Arasaka Corporation was looking to expand its influence in North America while, at the same time, it was also entering weapon manufacturing, and what was a better place to start than the United States of America?

The United States of America was always hungry for more and more advanced weaponry to ensure its supremacy over the world. Something that Alexander planned to capitalize on, because it would be the best deal.

With the superior intellect that he obtained from the Gacha, he was essentially a genius even before the reward, but after the reward, he reached the realm of the geniuses that were born once in a few centuries.

He prepared several weapon designs, ranging from handguns, and assault rifles to shotguns and heavy weapons. He even had some defensive equipment and already had prototypes for everything.

Arasaka had several subsidiary companies that were manufacturing weapons, but since the end of World War II, weapon production was never the primary area of interest for Arasaka. 

Now, that was changing due to the Sasai's insistence, and in truth, a lot had changed after that assassination attempt as the Arasaka were now using billions a year on the expansion and consolation of their holdings.

Thus, Arasaka bought some smaller companies across Japan and the United States of America and merged them with their already existing subsidiaries into Militech. Arasaka Sasai was named as the CEO of the Militech and was also given 51% shares of the Militech and absolute control over the corporation.

Sasai understood that his grandfather was testing him through this, as the development of the Militech was akin to testing whether he could succeed in the Arasaka. His father was given exactly the same test when he was younger, as he was given a subsidiary of the Arasaka to develop.

Militech would be solely tasked with the production and advancement of weapons and military technology. At the same time, this would also ease the infrastructure of the Arasaka, which could now focus more aggressively on the expansion, and its war with the Umbrella Corporation. 

And for that, he had a meeting with the aggressive warhawk faction within the United States Military led by General Peter Randall.

Because the USA was right now waging a war in Afghanistan and conducting a lot of military operations within the Middle East, he knew that once they saw his weapons, it would unleash madness.

Having people do your work was always the best thing that could happen to him in his life, as he was sitting in his private jet that was landing down at the private airport that was part of Kennedy Airport in New York. 

His right hand, Goro Takemura, had prepared everything, and the moment he landed down, an armored escort of the Arasaka Security Forces was already waiting for him. Five black armored SUV cars were lined in there with around forty people, all heavily armed and wearing combat gear.

"Where are we going to be accommodated?"

Arasaka asked because, according to his knowledge, his family didn't have any real estate within New York that could serve as his permanent residence. They were just now expanding into North America as a whole, and in the United States of America, the holdings of the Arasak were small compared to their properties in Japan, the rest of Asia, and Europe.

Especially in Central Europe, the Arasaka was becoming one of the most dominant forces, because of Sasai's suggestion to his grandfather Arasaka Nariakira. Corruption was rampant in Central Europe and Eastern Europe, making it the prime target for the expansion and their foothold in Europe.

"Continent Hotel Sir."

Hearing the name of the hotel almost made Sasai's blood freeze, because he now knew that this weird world that he woke into was probably some really weird cross-over shit with the John Wick Universe. 

Though it wasn't something that he couldn't capitalize on at a later date. 

Due to his contact with the US military, especially General Randall, who was right now on the rising track due to his especially aggressive approach to the Military Affairs of the USA and the situation in the Middle East, he managed to get a meeting with the most of the High Command of the US Army. 

"Then let's go..."

Arasaka Sasai sat down comfortably in the car together with Goro Takemura as one of the guards started the engine, and the entire procession of armored cars went straight to the heart of New York City, to the Continental Hotel.

This world was already becoming too mashed up with many verses, and every other was probably worse than the previous one. He already counted minimally three or four depending on what he could actually remember from his past life, albeit his memories were hazy and unclear at best.

It has been several years since he transmigrated, and he has forgotten a lot of things from his past life. Until he found a way to boost up the capabilities of his brain, then there was no way that he could recover the memories that he had forgotten.

As he sat down in a luxurious limousine in the middle of the convoy of armored cars, he pondered over something as he looked at Goro Takemura, who, aside from being his personal bodyguard, was also his personal adjutant.

"How is the audition for CEO going?"

One of the things that Sasai wanted to get rid of as soon as possible was the burden of being CEO of the company and dealing with all of the useless administrative stuff and paperwork.

There was no way that he would be the CEO of the company, as he wasn't really interested in that, and aside from that, it would be rather inefficient if he was forced to waste his precious time on company management.

Because the Militech Corporation was just established only a short time ago, there wasn't enough time to find a proper CEO for the company, so Arasaka Sasai was taking the place of the CEO as well.

Much to his great distaste.

He spent a few hours of a day doing paperwork, even though he managed to pass a part of it on to Takemura, but there were still many things that required the personal attention of the CEO, and such a state was absolutely unacceptable.

His attention was needed at another place, especially in the research area, because there were many things that he could research. 

And yet...

And yet he was spending half a day reading through papers, signing them and often wanting to die from boredom.

"We have received several tens applications, and after filtering, we have thought of only three suitable candidates."

Goro Takemura answered as he passed Sasai three folders of the three people who were applying for the position of CEO of the Militech Corporation. Finding the right person for the job was indeed a tough task. 

Suddenly, he noticed one person among the three who was more notable than the others, and it was rather a familiar sight. 

"Meredith Stout? Graduated from Harvard summa cum laude and worked for several huge weapon manufacturers, including Senior Executive Position and Junior CEO position at Lockheed Martin, age: 26, certified genius with IQ of 164 points."

He read out of loud before deciding on her. For several reasons, apparently, her beauty is one of the factors, certainly indeed. She was indeed breathtaking, that was for sure, and she also was even much smarter than she was beautiful.

***

Several Days Later, Fort Drum

The day of the presentation of the weapons took place at Fort Drum, where the military base of the US Army was under the command of General Peter Randall, one of the most prominent members of the war hawk factions within the US Army.

General Peter Randall was a middle-aged man in his fifties; he already had some silver hair, though his entire stature was muscular and strong, like that of a true warrior.

Right now, not only Randall was present, but a whole bunch of high-ranking generals of the US Military and High Command of the US Army were present. Alexander even saw a few of the people from the other departments of the US Military; there were also two Admirals of the Navy and three Generals from the Air Force.

However, all of these people had one thing in common.

All of them were part of the so-called "Warhawk Faction" that was in opposition to the Umbrella Coportiaton and other organizations that were using the government of the USA to their own benefit.

"Gentleman, thank you for allowing me this presentation, which is the first step in the complete military revolution in the world and measurement of the military supremacy of the United States of America."

Something that Arasaka Sasai was probably more proficient in than science was giving speeches and convincing people. Obviously, the concept of the Gauss Weaporny wasn't anything new in this world because Umbrella already had several concepts of the Gauss Weapons, but none of them was working as they should.

However, weapon manufacturing was just not any kind of priority for the Umbrella, as they were focusing on Pharmaceuticals and, most importantly... on the B.O.W.s or the Bio Organic Weapons.

Genetically altered organisms were created with the intent of either being used as military and paramilitary weapons or were created to further research into military and paramilitary weapons.

Arasaka Sasai knew that the development of the B.O.OW.s was the primary area of interest for the Umbrella and its founders, who were using it as a means to further the evolution of mankind.

"This is the fully functioning prototype of the M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifle."

The weapon presented to the audience had a sleek design, and the Arasaka Symbol was placed on it as decoration. The assault rifle looked pretty futuristic when it was compared to the aesthetics of the assault rifle of today.

"The thing that was just a work of fiction now becomes a reality. A weapon that utilized a series of electromagnetic coils to energize and magnetize preloaded projectile rounds to fire at tremendous and deadly speeds."

As he said that, he could see that many people were looking at the weapon in wonder, especially General Randall, who had the typical appearance of a gruff-looking man with short white hair and a stern expression on his face all the time.

"Can we test it?"

One of the Generals asked as the other anticipated the test, because the weapon sounded too good to be true. Even though this was just an assault rifle and nothing bigger, it was still a pretty powerful weapon.

A far more than they have anticipated.

"Of course."

Arasaka Sasai stated that he passed the weapon to Goro Takemura, who assumed the firing stance because he would demonstrate the power of the M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifle.

"On your order, General."

Goro Takemura said as he looked at General Randall, who was standing close to him, as the Range Master of the Firing Range gave the green.

"Range is clear!"

The Range Master announced after giving it one last look, just in case, because the Gauss Rifles were supposed to be highly destructive weapons... at least in theory, so everyone was interested in how they would work.

"Which first?"

Goro Takemura looked at several set-up targets on the firing range.

"Ballistic gel dummy to the right."

The Arasaka's personal bodyguard nodded.

"Open fire."

Ranger Master barked as a loud sound echoed through the firing range, and everyone could see the head of the ballistic gel dummy's head explode into a mess.

"Armored target with kevlar armoring."

The Range Master, shocked by the penetrative power of the M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifle, then shouted again, as this time Goro Takemura fired a few shots at the ballistic gel dummy that was covered by the kevlar plating.

To the shock of everyone present, the M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifle destroyed the kevlar plating like it wasn't there in the first place, skewering the entire ballistic gel dummy through and through.

"Target three: concrete block."

The last target was one huge thick block of concrete with steel so that they could grasp the limits of the power.

"Requesting allowance to use the rapid-fire, Sir."

Goro Takemura looked at General Randall, who seemed like he fell in love with the M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifle, as he nodded his head in agreement. The second he saw General Randall agreeing to it, Goro started firing from the M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifle.

To the shock of everyone present, the M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifle was destroying the huge concrete block apart; when Goro stopped shooting as he was out of ammunition, the concrete block was entirely destroyed, with several chunks clearly missing, and the steel rods clearly visible and destroyed as well.

"It seems that we can conclude that this is indeed breaking technology. I can speak for all when I say that the United States would like to procure the exclusive contract for this type of weapon, and depending on the next course of action, we hope the Militech will become the exclusive contractor to the Department of Defense."

The sole person who was wearing a black suit, hiding behind the crowd, spoke for the first time. Arasaka Sasai recognized the man as Secretary Danver, who was right now head of the Department of Defense.

The approximate budget of the Department of Defense for the year 1998 was $268.2 billion, which was a huge amount of money.

In the end, Sasai left the meeting with a satisfied smile because he managed to secure a contract worth 2,500,000 billion dollars for 250,000 M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifle, with each one costing exactly 10,000 dollars.

That may not seem like a lot because they were technologically far more advanced than anything, but Arasaka Sasai knew that production costs were approximately a few hundred dollars, and with this, he also secured the goodwill of the American Military, which became his biggest customer. 

They ordered 250,000 M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifles, and delivery would take three months, so he needed to speed up production greatly. However, it was almost fascinating how fast one could make money if they were making top-notch weapons.

The M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifle came from Cyberpunk 2077, which means it was decades ahead of current technology. This was just a start for the Militech Corporation because once they completed this deal, the US Military would start buying large batches of weapons.

He has already sent several blueprints for future weapon projects, handguns, shotguns, and sniper rifles, working on the same principle as the M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifle, together creating the M-179e Achilles Series of Gauss Firearms. 

Not to mention, the Warhawk Faction would be pressing a lot into this because this would tremendously weaken the influence of the Umbrella on the US government.

After the demonstration for the M-179e Achilles Gauss Rifle, General Randall extended an invitation to Sasai for a private discussion as he was right now, heading to the General's Office at Fort Drum.

Sasai didn't know what the man wanted to discuss, but right now, Randall and the Blackwatch that he commanded were the best backers that he had. He knew that it was pretty hard for the Arasaka to pierce into the American market because it was a playground for the Umbrella.

With the influence that the Umbrella had over the government of the United States, it was only understandable.

But even the Umbrella wasn't untouchable.