"Mitch, what do you think they'll do to us while Saul is gone?"
Panam watched as Saul and Roland reached an agreement, but she still sounded uneasy. She did not trust people from corporations. In her eyes, they would squeeze every bit of value out of you, then throw you away once you were no longer useful.
"How would I know… But since they made a deal with Saul and want to contact the Aldecaldos leadership, we should be fine."
"Mr. Vimers, what will happen to my people?"
Saul had the same concern and asked directly.
"No need to worry. I won't do anything to your people. They'll just have to stay at our corporation's Badlands base for a while until you return."
Roland smiled faintly.
Saul glanced at the Aldecaldos watching him. After giving them a reassuring look, he turned back.
"In that case, I'll leave them in your care. I'll head back and contact the leadership."
"Go ahead."
Roland nodded and gestured for the crowd to make way. At the same time, he signaled for two PROJECT modified soldiers to follow Saul.
Saul frowned slightly but said nothing. It was only natural they would take precautions. And he would never abandon his people anyway.
"Take them to the Badlands base. Also, pick a few of them to guide us. Having locals familiar with the Badlands will make clearing the area around Night City much easier."
After Saul left with the two soldiers, Roland turned to Jackie.
"Got it, boss."
Jackie gave a casual salute with a grin.
"Once this area is cleared, we can start expanding Night City's perimeter outward. Aside from the Wraiths and Aldecaldos, there are only a few decent families left around here. It shouldn't take long. Report everything to Lissandra when you're done. I'll review it."
"Understood."
After giving his instructions, Roland ended the call. Lissandra had just sent new intel. Arasaka's reinforcements had arrived in Night City.
"Who did Arasaka send this time?"
Roland leaned back, watching the screen with interest.
Lissandra's projection appeared. With a wave of her hand, a video opened, zooming in on a face.
"One of them is a member of Saburo Arasaka's special operations team. He's the deputy leader and one of Saburo's primary bodyguards. Another member didn't come and was likely left behind for protection."
"…Oda Sandayu."
Roland studied the man's sharp, almost flamboyant hairstyle, then noticed something different.
"He's been modified with our cyberware too?"
"Yes. It's a different setup, focused on direct neural linkage. He has also disconnected himself from the network. His daily communication relies on external devices, likely to prevent netrunning intrusion."
Roland nodded. Completely cutting off network access was an effective way to avoid most netrunning threats. Given his position, it would not affect him much.
"Have they met with Smasher?"
"Yes. And this time, they also plan to bring Yorinobu Arasaka with them."
"That's not a problem. Sending Yorinobu to Saburo might actually lead to something interesting."
Roland spoke calmly, a faint anticipation in his eyes.
He was hoping Saburo would not resist the temptation of extending his life and make a move on Yorinobu. If that happened, Yorinobu's current strength would give him quite a surprise.
And given Saburo's personality, he would likely believe everything was under control. When he acted, there might not be many people around. His arrogance could end up costing him his life.
Still, the chances were low. Saburo valued his life too much. Until Relic 2.0 had been fully tested with Silver Hand, he would not risk it.
One mistake, and it would cost him everything.
...
"Smasher, we meet again."
Adam Smasher looked down at the man before him and nodded.
"Saburo has sent me to assist you. Our objective is to delay PROJECT's expansion, inflict as much damage as possible, and capture a member of a PROJECT squad alive."
Oda spoke calmly, outlining his mission.
"I already know. Once Yorinobu leaves, we can begin."
Smasher watched as Yorinobu boarded the AV in the distance.
"These are the targets selected by Saburo."
Oda handed over several photos. Without network access, this was the only option.
Smasher glanced at them, nodded, and burned them. As the images turned to ash, the figures of Vilet and Kiwi were clearly visible.
In Saburo's view, these early PROJECT members were the easiest targets.
Especially Vilet. Easy to deal with, easy to capture. No special abilities, relying only on powerful bioware and PROJECT equipment. Perfect for live capture and research.
"They've really thought this through…"
Roland rested his chin on his hand, looking at Smasher and Oda with mild disbelief.
He had not expected Saburo to select multiple targets: Vilet, Kiwi, Falco, Jhin, and Pyke.
From their current performance, they did not seem as destructive as the others. As for Lucy, she was probably excluded because she stayed by his side most of the time.
Still, while their large-scale destructive power was not outstanding, their individual combat ability was more than solid.
"But there's no need for them to go through all that trouble. Our guests came all the way to Night City. It wouldn't be right to make them run around like that. We should show some hospitality and go meet them ourselves."
Roland smiled, his teeth gleaming under the light.