V's face lit up.
"Not bad, Jackie, I didn't expect you to become so cunning… But… Jingxuan, you two need to be careful, don't ever directly confront MAX-TAC."
Jingxuan: "How could that be? Even Dog Brother couldn't handle an entire MAX-TAC squad."
V and Jackie's mouths synchronized: "Dog Brother?"
Jingxuan chuckled awkwardly: "Uh, no, I mean even a rabid Cyberpsycho couldn't take them on…"
Jingxuan's system had restarted; Dog Brother reappeared, his image still a bit blurry, and he spread his hands, a helpless expression on his face, shaking his head repeatedly.
"Then I'll be going!" V pulled out her chip, handed it to Jackie, opened the car door, and ran towards the direction she had just come from, which was the tunnel entrance.
Jingxuan: "We've temporarily lost contact with V."
Jackie: "Don't worry, V isn't an ordinary girl, uh, of course, neither are you."
Just as Jackie said, V's violent carjacking wasn't much better than what the gang members in Night City did.
People who saw such a lunatic wouldn't think of resisting.
Besides, V was at least a Vice Director at Arasaka; how could her cyberware configuration be poor?
That strength was not something ordinary people could contend with.
With a pull, the Night City resident was practically flung out.
V drove past the recently landed MAX-TAC. She had no time to hesitate; getting to Arasaka Tower sooner was the solution.
MAX-TAC had stopped moving after tracking the location, called other patrolling NCPD units to block the other end of the tunnel, and then decided to disembark and pursue on foot.
They wanted to trap them like a turtle in a jar.
Dog Brother, looking through Jingxuan's perspective in the rearview mirror, saw the fully armed MAX-TAC officers, carrying large firearms, scurrying towards them. He had a bad feeling:
"Damn it! They've already disembarked and are on foot, which means there are people at the other end of the tunnel too!"
Jingxuan was in the driver's seat now. Jingxuan stomped on the accelerator, prioritizing escape.
Jackie cursed loudly, all in Spanish. Although Jingxuan didn't know Spanish, everyone now had translation functions in their chips. Jackie was simply complaining that V was working for Arasaka and had now caused a huge mess.
The tunnel wasn't very long; their car quickly reached the other end. Sure enough, four or five NCPD patrol cars had completely blocked the exit.
Jackie: "Damn it! Floor it! Ram through!"
Jingxuan gritted her teeth and complied, but then immediately slammed on the brakes.
The NCPD blocking the road ahead were in chaos. Immediately after, a barrage of gunshots erupted, not from behind them.
What happened?
Did a gang start fighting with the NCPD?
Jackie: "Opportunity! Jingxuan, reverse first, get a bit more acceleration distance, we can get through!"
Jingxuan started reversing, and then the car, like an enraged rhino, crashed forward with the two of them letting out pig-like screams!
The NCPD car front bounced away!
They got through!
The gunfight at the intersection didn't stop. Jingxuan focused on driving, while Jackie had time to observe. He was astonished:
"Fuck? Arasaka? Arasaka is fighting the NCPD?"
Dog Brother appeared in the back seat:
"Nothing strange about it. These Arasaka agents are most likely from the same department as V, probably the counter-intelligence department. V's chip is in our hands, so they think V is in our car. They're here to rescue us."
Jingxuan was bewildered: "Will Arasaka and the Ye Family go to full-scale war then?"
Dog Brother: "You're overthinking it. It's a matter of a single word from the higher-ups. At most, they'll pay some money and it'll be resolved."
Jackie was still exclaiming: "Hey! Two Arasaka cars are following us!"
Jingxuan shouted loudly: "It's fine! They're from V's department, ordered to rescue V. They're following us to escort us."
Jackie couldn't calm down. While yelling, he stretched his hand out and forcefully slapped his car door:
"Holy shit! Yesterday we caused a ruckus at Arasaka Tower, and today Arasaka is here to escort us! Hahahaha! Amazing! Exciting!"
The two cars indeed maintained a certain distance behind them, with no intention of attacking.
Dog Brother's tone was flat: "For now, we're fine. Xuan'er, take these two Arasaka cars for a spin. The rest is up to V."
Dog Brother's words were a bit of a jinx. No sooner had he finished speaking than more NCPD cars arrived from all directions. The siren wails were like raging waves, causing immense psychological pressure!
...
Exiting that tunnel led directly to Li Scenic Area, where the distances between east and west were very short, connecting to Corpo Plaza. Although V took the bridge in the opposite direction, the distance was still relatively close, and it would only take a moment to reach Arasaka Tower.
Even without a chip, she could enter the building by facial scan.
She rushed to Jenkins's office in a hurry, but he wasn't there.
This annoyed V somewhat. She could only return to her own office computer and call Jenkins from there, but he didn't answer.
V stood up, pacing back and forth. She wasn't panicking; her mind was working at high speed.
The most important thing now was to protect her chip, which meant protecting Jingxuan and Jackie.
The counter-intelligence department actually had quite a few people. She checked the information: half of them were out of the city on missions, and the other half had already been dispatched by Jenkins to rescue herself (meaning the chip).
V felt a chill down her spine remembering being chased by MAX-TAC for several blocks.
How were Jingxuan and Jackie doing now?
Was the chip still in their hands?
What if Abernathy got it first?
Reporting it to Arasaka's higher-ups would have unimaginable consequences.
Or, she might be killed or Jenkins might be killed first without authorization.
That way, Abernathy would have all the justification.
Jenkins's call popped up on V's computer; he was calling back:
"Hello! What's going on? Why can't I reach your loaded phone?"
V: "A temporary measure. The chip is temporarily with someone I trust, otherwise I wouldn't even be able to get back to the company. Old Jen! Do you have dirt on Susan Abernathy? If you do, it's time to bring it out! Also, where are you?"
Jenkins spoke quickly too:
"Of course, I'm hiding for now. That old bitch Abernathy is very cunning; she's already sent people to block me."
V: "Sent people to block you? I just went to your office, no one was watching."
Jenkins: "Damn it! You're in your own office? Don't stay there, that old bitch will know immediately once you're back at the company!"
V: "Holy shit! Old Jen, if you have dirt on Abernathy, you'd better bring it out now! Otherwise, we're both screwed!"
Jenkins seemed to be hesitating, mumbling and not saying a word.
"Damn it! Old Jen! What time is it?"
"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you, I'll tell you! I'll give you the secret to my office door and my computer password, go now…"
Jenkins revealed the location and password of important files on his computer. V found a pen and paper, quickly wrote them down, and rushed to Jenkins's office.
Time was tight, reading word for word would definitely be too slow. V opened Jenkins's drawer. As a leader, even V herself would keep a few empty, content-less chips in her desk.
Empty chips could be used to download content from the computer, then inserted into the back ear chip slot. This allowed for extremely fast acquisition of large amounts of information, though doing so was quite damaging to the brain and not typically done under normal circumstances.
V's cyber-eyes flickered continuously. After reading, she revealed a triumphant smile:
"Heh heh, selling a large amount of Arasaka's confidential information to Night Corp, this Special Operations Director really has a big appetite…"
V had an extra thought. Since she could download information from Jenkins's company terminal, why not download a bit more other content?
What if she needed it someday?
It was better not to download it at all. After downloading and reading it, V's face showed an expression of extreme disgust. It turned out… Jenkins planned to give V a "disappearance package" after V successfully assassinated Abernathy.