"Misael. That is my name."
Misael slowly put on his helmet, tightened his grip on the energy sword, and looked at V as he spoke calmly.
"Huh? What's this? A pre-fight introduction?"
V paused for a moment, then scratched her head.
"It's my way of showing respect to a strong opponent. What's your name?"
Misael replied flatly.
V's lips twitched. This guy…
"I don't think that's necessary. After all… I don't think you're very strong, and I don't care about your name. There's no need to remember the name of a dead man."
Misael's gaze turned cold.
"Then you'll just be another hopeless fool who dies by my sword without leaving a name behind."
"Tsk… I think you should get your head checked."
V let out a short laugh, shook her head in disdain, and brought her index and middle fingers together.
"The boss said if I kill you, I get a raise!"
Whoosh.
...
"Lissandra, is everything ready?"
"Yes, construction is complete. We can move in at any time."
Lissandra nodded slightly, indicating everything was in order.
"Sigh, looks like I have to make another trip."
Roland slowly stood up, straightened his clothes, and steadied his excitement. The big boss was about to make an appearance. There had to be a sense of ceremony.
He glanced at his Essence balance. It was enough to exchange for the Super Body.
So… it was time to end this farce on the surface.
Better to finish things before anything unexpected happened. Once the Super Body was released, those corporations would likely sever and abandon the network entirely. When that happened, their technology would regress by who knows how many levels.
"Once Big Brother is out, I'll go check on Silverhand… and deal with that old fool Saburo while I'm at it… Even though Yorinobu Arasaka has taken over Arasaka, leaving that hidden danger around isn't ideal…"
Roland thought as he walked toward the elevator.
After reaching the top floor of the PROJECT Genesis building, an armed AV slowly lifted off and flew toward the outskirts of Night City.
...
"Father, what is the meaning of this?"
Yorinobu Arasaka raised his eyes and calmly swept his gaze across the Arasaka Imperial Guard surrounding him before asking in a steady tone.
"Yorinobu Arasaka, you've disappointed me. You actually chose to invite a wolf into the house… trying to drag Arasaka into the abyss."
Saburo Arasaka shook his head expressionlessly and looked down at Yorinobu Arasaka, who sat before him.
"Hand over the shares in your possession, Yorinobu Arasaka. Do not continue making mistakes."
As he finished speaking, Takemura and another of Saburo Arasaka's guards slowly stepped up beside Yorinobu Arasaka.
"Young Master Yorinobu Arasaka, please don't make this difficult for us."
"Haa…"
Yorinobu Arasaka slowly let out a breath.
"Father, you seem very confident you've got me cornered."
"Do you still have some hidden card? Then let me see it."
Saburo Arasaka raised a brow slightly, a hint of mockery in his gaze.
Yorinobu Arasaka shook his head, then removed his suit jacket. The moment his torso was revealed, Takemura and the other guard immediately pulled back.
The guards beside Saburo Arasaka raised their weapons at once, shielding him behind them.
Clang!
Two chains formed of energy dropped heavily onto the ground. Yorinobu Arasaka slowly took off his glasses and looked at Saburo Arasaka calmly.
"Father, I understand you far better than you think. So… I already knew you would do this."
"Yorinobu Arasaka!!!"
...
Roland rolled his neck as he looked over the vast, empty base. Then he walked to the edge of the massive, bottomless pit at its center and raised his hand.
"System, exchange for PROJECT. Super Body."
"Yes."
The sound of Essence rapidly draining echoed out.
This time, Roland felt no pain over the loss. Only excitement.
In the next instant, countless streams of red data surged into his body, then flowed through his arm and into the abyss before him.
Soon, the entire pit was filled with red data. The surroundings were bathed in a crimson glow. After drifting briefly, the data began to converge at high speed.
Before long, a massive red PROJECT emblem formed before Roland.
A distinctly recognizable male voice followed.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, my Master."
The moment the Super Body was born, Roland immediately sensed a fundamental difference from everything he had exchanged before. He could directly wield the Super Body's power, as if he himself had become it.
At the same time, the instant the Super Body appeared in the network world, Blackwall froze stiff, then curled into itself and trembled violently. No matter how the Netwatch tried to contact it, there was no response at all.
"Mordekaiser, can I call you that?"
"Of course."
"Then tell me. How many machines can you control right now?"
Roland took a deep breath and looked at the Super Body. It was far more convenient to let it act directly than to use its power himself.
"All machines infected by the source code virus. I can seize full control of them. Within my perception, there is no machine on this continent that can escape my control. One is all."
"Hiss…"
Roland sucked in a sharp breath.
He had expected something like this, but hearing it confirmed still sent a chill through him.
To be honest, if he weren't absolutely certain the Super Body would never betray him, he would not dare bring this thing out before fully mastering PROJECT technology.
Even in the PROJECT world, the PROJECT that rose to dominance had never completely eliminated its counterpart.
"Do you require me to take full control of the situation, Master?"
"No. Not for now. Once your body is built, I need you to make a grand move."
"...?"