Cyberpunk World.
Tokyo Prefecture, Arasaka Corporation's heavily guarded private community.
Nightfall. Winter clouds hung low. The north wind howled, cold mist blanketed the air, and snowflakes drifted silently.
A high-end modern-style Japanese villa with the nameplate [Russell]—in the courtyard's semi-open indoor training field:
Shadows crossed. Blades flashed. Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks burst from clashing steel.
Suddenly—Bang! A muffled thud. A strong man flew backward, sliding across the floor, leaving a long mark. As he tried to regain his stance, a flash of white light sliced through the air. A willow-shaped blade was already at his neck.
The duel ended instantly.
"Good match." Vela sheathed her katana.
The man's cybernetic eye dimmed, exiting combat mode. He stood and bowed. "Director Russell, your talent is truly humbling..."
"We each have our role."
Smiling faintly, Vela turned and casually tossed the katana. It spun midair and precisely landed sideways into the sheath mounted on the weapon rack.
"Thank you for sparring." With that, the automatic door to the interior slid open. Vela walked inside.
"Lost again, huh?"
Only then did other black-suited agents in the corner approach.
"She's copying and adapting to our combat style. Skill is one thing—but her raw physical strength... she reminds me of Adam Smasher... Except unlike that walking chunk of metal, Director Russell's implant output shouldn't theoretically be this high."
The man raised his thickened training katana. Its edge was filled with jagged notches. Despite reinforced bones, flexible joints, and gorilla arms, his wrists still trembled. The burning nerves told the story…
"Her compatibility with cybernetics is… unheard of. I can't imagine what she'd be like if she truly went all out."
"Not our concern. Disperse. All units, stay alert. Ever since Director Russell's Night City board membership was publicly announced, rats have been crawling into Tokyo. We've already cracked at least eight espionage cases this month. Our mission is to ensure no foreign force disturbs her peace of mind."
...
Inside, the warmth was spring-like. As the household AI sensed the 'temporary head of house' returning, the gas fireplace blazed brighter.
The orange firelight cast a warm glow. Tap tap.
After finishing her post-work warmup—a habit that kept her rooted in security duty—Vela entered the bedroom with red tea in one hand and a soft briefcase in the other. She sat at her desk.
"Definitely enough to digest for a while."
Murmuring as if to herself, she pulled out a paper document.
[University of Tokyo Faculty of Law 2075 Professional Examination Results]
In the Cyberpunk setting, prestigious institutions like the University of Tokyo, the older and more elite they were, the more nostalgic they became.
2075/12/25
Vela glanced at the digital clock.
Since her spring enrollment, she had been in the University of Tokyo's law department for nearly a year.
In the spring, summer, and autumn terms, using her accelerated track and photographic memory, she had nearly finished her credits. Following the prescribed process, she would officially graduate at the beginning of '76.
After all, she entered via Arasaka's internal referral—a non-traditional student. One of the 'kings of the jungle' from the corporate world. Exceptionally capable, her time was precious.
The University of Tokyo wouldn't block or delay her graduation. As long as she could study, pass assessments, and meet formalities—it was all green lights.
If not for that trip to South Africa—which brought her into Saburo Arasaka's attention and made her the lead of the [Sonnentreppe Project]—splitting her focus, she might have graduated by September of this year.
In short—Vela was anything but idle in Tokyo these days.
She had to micro-manage Night City's security division, directly brief her Special Assault Unit, maintain her law major and virology minor at the University of Tokyo, and also oversee progress on the Sonnentreppe Project—constantly innovating, producing tangible results…
It was complicated.
Among the three, her university academics were undoubtedly lower in priority. But Vela didn't intend to leverage her current political influence for delays or privileged shortcuts.
Three fronts? Then so be it.
She came to Tokyo for just three things: progress, progress, and above all—progress!
How to progress?
By showcasing her abilities and earning Saburo Arasaka's approval.
To Vela, Saburo was a workaholic with a taste for wolfish, aggressive talent.
To appeal to him, she had to show undeniable personal competence and a matching personality—an unrelenting work ethic and dedication.
And to be fair, before his body broke down and he was confined to a wheelchair, Saburo really had been a legendary workaholic.
Maybe it was just her imagination, but ever since Vela began yielding steady results with the Sonnentreppe Project, kept Night City stable, and fulfilled her academic responsibilities at the University of Tokyo, she felt that Saburo was growing more pleased with her.
He was still testing her...
At least, that was Vela's impression.
Fine—if you dare to test me, I'll put on the best performance.
Divine Gift—add 'Vela'!
The Five Velas of Power!
If nothing else, she had boundless energy. Multitasking and pressure didn't scare her.
"Still... Quinque technology—ghoul virus, Kagune, Kakuhou, Quinque steel, memory alloys... Let's start by paving the way with that."
Murmuring to herself, Vela took a sip of steaming red tea. Snap! With a finger flick, the projector on her desk powered on.
At her fingertips, lines of erratic, draft-like scribbles appeared in the air—outlines for how CCG's classified special-grade memory alloy—Quinque steel—was crafted.
Leaving Kagune materials aside, CCG's memory metal did have some interesting secrets.
To compress it into a briefcase and have it instantly morph into weapons of wildly varying shapes and sizes—from one meter to over ten—wasn't just due to the Kagune's nature. The alloy itself had reached an astonishing level of shape memory tech.
For Arasaka's light and heavy industry sectors, it could offer substantial technological enrichment.
And Vela wanted to experiment: what would happen if she incorporated the Progenitor Virus into Quinque crafting? What about combining Kagune and Progenitor Virus?
Then—Riiing.
The phone.
Vela's eyes lit up with orange glow. "This is Vela Adelheid."
"This is Shintaro Takayama."
"Commander Takayama?"
"Vela, there's a closing ceremony you're being asked to host," Shintaro Takayama's voice was warm and encouraging. "It's a well-earned honor and reward."
"A reward?"
She murmured, eyes narrowing before a hint of joy flashed through them.
Ah—was this her 'year-end bonus' at last?