"What is this place?"
Lucy looked up at the steel-forged hall before her, curiosity written plainly on her face. Unlike the muted tones elsewhere, the decorations here were strikingly lavish.
A red carpet stretched across the floor, and PROJECT emblems were projected at various points along the walls. Each emblem was slightly different, as if symbolizing distinct meanings.
"This is PROJECT Corporation's exhibition hall—basically part of its setting within this virtual world,"
Roland said after taking a look around.
"An exhibition hall?"
Lucy paused, then glanced to the side with growing interest.
"Mm. Only selected content is displayed here."
Roland nodded and followed after her.
Spread out before them was PROJECT's development history: the origins of cyberware in this world, the founding philosophy of PROJECT Corporation—advancing and uplifting all of humanity—and the major events and breakthroughs achieved along the way.
Among them was PROJECT's history of interstellar colonization.
When they reached this section, Roland could clearly feel Lucy's interest deepen.
"Do you think…" Lucy said softly,
"…that in this world, you can fly to the moon?"
Roland froze for a moment when he heard the question and met Lucy's hopeful gaze. The world was so realistic that the experience of standing on the moon would probably feel no different from reality.
But…
"Unfortunately, no," Roland said, shaking his head.
"The activity range of this world is very limited. It only covers this one city."
"I see…"
Lucy nodded. She was a little disappointed, but it was more or less what she had expected.
"If you want, you can always leave this place and go see the moon in the real world,"
Roland added suddenly.
"With your current salary, that wouldn't be difficult at all. And if you'd like, I could even send you on a business trip. Our people will be heading into space before long anyway."
"So even when you're helping me fulfill a dream, you still have to squeeze some value out of me?"
Lucy laughed as she spoke.
"That depends on how you look at it,"
Roland shrugged.
"And besides, if you actually made it to the moon, you'd probably realize it's not as wonderful as you imagine. And…"
He paused, then continued,
"…what you really want probably isn't just going to the moon, is it?"
Lucy was taken aback. She reached out and lightly touched the small holographic moon in front of her before answering,
"Maybe… I'm not really sure myself. But… I still want to go at least once."
"Then let's wait a little longer,"
Roland said.
"Wait for what?"
Lucy turned to him, puzzled.
"Wait until I buy it," Roland replied calmly.
"Then you can go up there and do whatever you want."
"…Are you serious?"
Lucy was completely stunned and blurted it out. She was already holding herself back—if she hadn't…
"Who knows?"
Roland smiled faintly at her and walked off to the side.
"Hey, I'm taking that as you being serious!"
Lucy stood there for a moment, then blinked and shouted at his retreating back.
"Mm. I'll call you up there to play someday," Roland said without turning around.
"Stay here for a bit. I need to go confirm something."
With that, Roland left the exhibition hall.
As for what he'd said about buying the moon—while it didn't officially belong to anyone, everyone knew the reality of the situation. If he really wanted it, all he needed to do was swallow up a certain faction.
Still, compared to that distant future, he was more concerned with checking PROJECT's employee roster first—especially the key personnel responsible for developing war machinery.
That way, he wouldn't end up looking for the wrong people later. He also planned to inspect PROJECT Corporation's massive construction facilities and identify which models were truly the most powerful.
Better to avoid oversights or unnecessary detours down the line.
After Roland left, Lucy leaned against the display stand, twirling a strand of hair around her finger while resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought.
Ever since joining PROJECT Corporation, she'd relaxed quite a bit. She wasn't sure whether it was because she no longer had to constantly worry about Arasaka, or because she now had a force she could rely on—even if that force wasn't necessarily trustworthy.
But after undergoing the modifications, she had far fewer concerns. Even if Arasaka could still recognize her in her current state…
So what? She accepted it.
And she didn't believe PROJECT would allow Arasaka to take her away after investing so much in her transformation.
For the first time, she felt genuinely safe.
...
V clicked her tongue as she looked at the security force she'd just acquired.
Five robots in total—every single one a model she'd never seen before, yet all of them felt oddly familiar. After examining them more closely, V quickly realized these were upgraded versions, far more powerful than anything she'd encountered in the past.
What stood out the most, however, were their weapons. Every one of them carried unfamiliar energy-based armaments.
While V was inspecting the security robots, she failed to notice that they were also silently observing her, collecting data.
Once the novelty wore off, V gave it some thought and issued an order, instructing the robots to follow her back to the alley she'd been in before.
According to the intel she'd obtained, she'd been sent to investigate Gene Power. There should still be some information left behind there. She hadn't had time to check it carefully earlier—now was the perfect opportunity.
Before long, V and the five robots boarded a corp vehicle resembling an AV and headed out.
Bright lights swept across the streets below, sending several homeless people scrambling in panic. Pedestrians who'd planned to pass through quickly moved aside, while some residents who caught sight of the scene through their windows silently pulled their curtains shut.
A few, however, continued to watch through narrow gaps.
V took it all in, forming a rough understanding of the area. The fact that PROJECT Corporation hadn't carried out a large-scale purge here meant the place still had some value.
"Bring me the gang leaders from this area,"
V said, turning to the tall, black humanoid robot at the front.
The robot slowly nodded. Two security robots at the rear of the formation broke away and headed deeper into the alleys.
At the same time, Mibs was using the authority Biru had given him to ruthlessly wipe out rival groups. As for any truly dangerous figures who might be lurking around… he had no intention of courting death by provoking them.
There weren't many people left in this area to begin with. Even with Biru backing him, Mibs only managed to dig up three more targets.
After all, this territory didn't belong to Biru alone.