Roland narrowed his eyes as he examined the chip in front of him. Then he slowly reached toward the one at the center of the cryogenic chamber. After carefully picking it up, his eyes narrowed further.
"So this is the experimental Relic Chip 2.0? I wonder if there's any consciousness loaded inside… though that seems unlikely."
He then opened the slot on his arm and stored the chip inside.
With that done, Roland headed back up, casually swishing his tail, clearly in a good mood.
It would've been more interesting if it contained Johnny Silverhand. But if it really was Johnny Silverhand, he'd have to think carefully about whether to release that idiot. The reason was simple.
That guy was genuinely troublesome, and he had a strong hostility toward corporations. Given Roland's current position, there was a high chance the moment he got out, he'd come looking for trouble.
"Kelly, take full control of the network systems here. Lift the lockdown while you're at it. I need the Arasaka fleet to make some moves. Also notify Samuel, it's time to open the gates."
"Understood."
Kelly nodded, then re-entered Cyberspace, taking full control of all facilities around Arasaka Tower while simultaneously marking the positions of every Arasaka personnel for the PROJECT team.
In an instant, no one had anywhere left to hide. The PROJECT squad quickly split up and moved in all directions.
The moment the lockdown was lifted, both Arasaka Headquarters and the Arasaka fleet received updates from the Night City branch.
The fleet commander's expression turned grim. Even if the situation wasn't directly his responsibility, he knew that if something this serious happened and the fleet took no action, they would definitely be blamed.
Meanwhile, Saburo Arasaka had no time to worry about the fleet. He had already established contact with a Warlord AI beyond the Blackwall, intending to use it to attack PROJECT's database.
Arasaka could provide massive computational power and a considerable share of resources. In return, they wanted the technology stored within the PROJECT database.
Just as the Warlord AI was about to agree, the connection was abruptly severed.
In its place appeared something that left Saburo Arasaka completely stunned.
A mass of black and red data formed, followed by a voice composed of countless overlapping tones.
"Arasaka Corporation… Old Net AI… prohibited… by order of the Blackwall…"
Saburo Arasaka's pupils shrank violently. An unbelievable thought surfaced in his mind.
The entity before him… was the Blackwall itself.
After issuing the warning, it vanished without a trace.
Saburo Arasaka stood there, deep in thought.
"Lord Saburo, we've received news from Night City!!!"
A hurried voice snapped him out of it. After hearing the report, he immediately chose to set aside what had just happened. With contact to the Warlord AI cut off, the priority was the Night City branch.
As for that earlier incident, he could report it to NetWatch later.
If the Blackwall had developed independent consciousness, that would be a terrifying development.
The moment he saw the report, Saburo Arasaka felt his vision darken.
"What? The Arasaka branch in Night City has completely fallen?!"
He could no longer remain calm. They had invested enormous resources into Night City, and now, in such a short time, it had already been completely overrun.
"Send orders to the fleet. Ignore the situation in Night City. Open fire immediately and bombard PROJECT's headquarters in Night City!!"
"Yes!"
After issuing the command, Saburo Arasaka collapsed into his chair, breathing heavily, his expression dark as he began planning his next move.
The fall of the Night City branch was already a done deal. Rebuilding their presence there was nearly impossible. If they wanted to continue their plans, they would have to shift to a new target.
...
"Calibration complete. Open the gates. It's time for our big guy to make its debut."
Samuel smiled faintly, excitement clear on his face as he looked at the massive figure outside the window, a perfect work of art forged from countless alloys.
As the base gates slowly opened, sunlight poured over the body of the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit. In the next instant, Lissandra's consciousness descended into it.
A deep mechanical hum began to rise.
Hearing it, Samuel's expression turned almost reverent.
At that moment, the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit slowly lifted its head.
As the Nevada base doors opened, it immediately drew the attention of other factions.
Now on the surface, the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit's eyes lit up. After clenching its fists to test its power, it stepped back with one foot.
Boom.
With a sudden burst of force from its legs, a deafening explosion rang out. Nearby glass shattered instantly, and robots and personnel close to it were blasted away by the shockwave.
The sheer noise made ears ring.
In the next instant, countless streams of orange energy gathered behind it, forming two enormous wings in the blink of an eye.
With a single beat of those wings, a powerful gust swept outward, and the massive body of the Tyrant Sword Demon Unit shot into the sky.
It hovered briefly before accelerating toward Night City, leaving a ring of sonic shockwaves behind it.
...
"Orders from headquarters: commence bombardment of the PROJECT headquarters in Night City immediately!"
The Arasaka fleet commander let out a sigh of relief upon receiving the order. With a cold smile, he issued the command at once.
In an instant, countless fighter jets launched from Arasaka's supercarrier. The surrounding fleet adjusted course, and their cannons slowly rose.
At that critical moment, a black dot suddenly appeared in the sky.
"Commander, an unidentified flying object is approaching our fleet at extremely high speed!"
"What?!"
The commander's expression changed. He quickly moved to the detection screen. After zooming in, he saw it clearly.
A massive humanoid machine was diving straight toward their fleet at terrifying speed.
"All units, redirect fire! Lock onto the aerial target and open fire!"
Missiles and shells streaked through the sky.
Explosions lit up the heavens in an instant. With the fleet firing in unison, no one believed anything could survive that level of firepower.
The commander let out a breath.
But the next moment proved him wrong.
A terrifying energy blade tore through the smoke, and the figure plunged straight into the ocean.
Splash.