The Arasaka Octant rose higher, its searchlight flooding the entire Taventina suite with blinding light.
An all-glass space, open and unobstructed, with Night City's skyline laid bare in every direction.
But Luo Qi had no interest whatsoever in admiring the goddamned view. All he could think was that there was nowhere to hide.
No—that wasn't quite right.
Even these reinforced concrete "hiding spots" were practically useless.
"THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD—!!!"
The TV wall, massive enough to shield both V and Jackie and the Relic storage case besides, was chewed apart like tofu.
The nose cannon tore through the room like a mindless brute, plowing everything into splinters and rubble.
"Bad luck, bad luck, bad luck…!"
Luo Qi scrambled and rolled up the glass stairs leading to the rooftop. "T-Bug, get the car moving!"
Then, without hesitation, he flopped face-down across the last few steps and played dead. The outer wall shielded this spot well enough that the Octant couldn't see his head or his ass—unless it flew directly overhead.
"Give me two seconds!" T-Bug shouted. "Okay, it's airborne!"
Saburo Arasaka's luxurious AV, still resting on its landing struts, sealed its hatch. Blue flames flared from the four vector engines, gradually brightening as they lifted the enormous black craft into the air.
The rainwater on the rooftop scattered wildly under the blast, running in every direction like a pack of rabid dogs. Luo Qi pulled a face like a bitter melon.
The Octant hovering nearby hesitated. That was Saburo Arasaka's personal AV, and they still hadn't received full instructions yet. All they knew was that hostile intruders had entered Konpeki Plaza and red alert was now in effect.
The AV pierced the night sky and headed toward Arasaka Tower in City Center.
Two Arasaka Octants immediately peeled off and followed. They hadn't gotten explicit orders, but escort duty for that vehicle took absolute priority.
Clang—
The armored gunship still hovering near the rooftop switched on its searchlight, turning the entire landing pad as bright as day.
Arasaka still had no intention of giving up on finding him.
Luo Qi spun around and ran without hesitation, practically sliding back down the stairs.
"THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD—!!!"
The Octant caught the movement and opened fire again, its cannon shredding the glass walkway into a shower of fragments.
"Quick! Fire! Shoot that thing out of the sky—"
Luo Qi hit the speed dial and barely got half the sentence out before he stumbled and nearly rolled down the stairs.
Saburo Arasaka's Jue katana had snagged against the steps and almost killed him.
Even while running for his life, Luo Qi hadn't forgotten to take the Arasaka heirloom blade.
But now, that sword was the least of his problems.
He turned his head and saw the Octant outside the shattered curtain wall, gleaming with a chilling metallic sheen in the pouring rain.
"Heh…"
Luo Qi laughed bitterly, lips curling upward.
He had changed the course of the world, sure—but who was to say he himself could withstand the crushing force of time's great gears?
Huge holes had been blasted through the glass walls, and wind and rain poured into the suite. He could hear shouts and commotion from both near and far, all mingling into a chaotic roar.
Whoosh—
BOOM—!!!
Suddenly, like lightning blinding the eye before thunder arrived, the previously steady Arasaka Octant jolted violently upward from the rear as if someone had flipped a dinner table in rage. Smoke poured from it as it lost balance.
It was Mower.
…
Bright, sterile Militech lab lights flashed through her mind.
Then she opened her eyes and found herself in the dim underground clinic of what looked like an illegal ripperdoc.
The cyberware doctor, not old in years but worn by life, worked at his bench in silence.
Are you Scavs? …Never thought I'd end up in the hands of organ harvesters myself.
Harvesters don't save people.
?
Ask him once you're able. He's the one who decided to save you.
Mower stood there now, launcher raised, staring up at the blaze blooming hundreds of meters above.
Rain drenched her pageboy haircut, ran down her mask, and soaked the tight, insignia-free combat suit clinging to her body.
In her ears, she could almost hear Luo Qi's voice from back then.
Why did you save me?
Because you're useful to me. Otherwise, I'd have saved someone else instead.
She could even remember the smug look on his face.
Whoosh—
The missile shot upward, dragging a long white tail behind it. It wobbled for a moment, then accelerated hard, screaming up into the clouds like an overexcited child set loose.
Her gaze followed the shrinking point of light.
You want to use me?
Yeah. But if you were no use to me, you'd probably be lying in some one-eyed woman's clinic right now—or on some company autopsy table. Somewhere weird, anyway, getting "treatment" for cyberpsychosis. And I'm guessing by then it'd be too late.
Too late?
Right. Thank Vik for that. In all Night City, only he got to you in time. But now come with me. It's your turn to help me out.
That guy had unshackled her from the chair, then pulled open the iron door with his back to her.
Don't be scared. I'm just planning to blow some things up.
…Are you underestimating me?
And so now she stood here, launching something truly outrageous into the sky.
Around her, Arasaka soldiers were closing in, reinforcements arriving one squad after another.
"Drop your weapon immediately and cease resisting!"
A forest of black gun barrels was aimed at her.
Did she regret it?
Maybe a little.
What Mower regretted more was ever joining Militech in the first place.
It was not a place with any trace of humanity.
Swish—swish—swish—
"Careful! Target vanished!!"
The Arasaka squad leader shouted in alarm, having lost sight of her in his reticle.
All he saw was the heavy launcher hitting the ground.
A short blade flashed through the narrow gap between the armored neck guard, harness strap, and jawline.
A thin, long spray of blood followed.
"Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish—!!!"
A string of rapid dashes tore through the squad like a vengeful ghost.
Hands flew to throats. Hot blood gushed out and mixed with the cold rain until one could no longer tell them apart.
He was terrified.
Falling onto the soaked pavement, consciousness slipping away, the last thing the Arasaka soldier saw was that black phantom of a woman—and behind her, the deep blue tower looming into the sky.
…
"Mower, how are you doing? I heard gunfire down there!"
Luo Qi, pressed against one of the few armored glass panels that had somehow survived intact, clung to the maintenance ladder and carefully lowered himself down.
"I'm fine…" Mower's cold voice came through. "Arasaka reinforcements are almost here."
"How do you know?"
Mower went silent for a moment.
"They're here now."
Luo Qi: …
Couldn't you have said that a little earlier!?
Those weren't the pathetic cannon-fodder security guards from Konpeki Plaza. Those were Arasaka elites.
Don't be so damn calm, you lunatic!
"Should I kill my way out?" Mower asked.
"No, no, no, wait, hold on." Luo Qi hooked the hatch of the ladder shaft open with his toe and dropped inside. "Get Delamain moving. If nothing else goes wrong, follow the plan."
"Bang—crash—clatter… fine."
Before she'd even finished speaking, Mower had already kicked through the garage gate and charged back in.
She hadn't even hung up. Screams continued to spill through the comm.
Hopefully she remembered the details he'd given her.
Luo Qi shook his head—then nearly jumped out of his skin when a figure suddenly appeared behind him.
"Jesus—who!?"
"It's me…" V looked startled too. "We found what looks like a route."
It was V and Jackie. They'd gotten themselves to safety first, but neither had left. Instead, the two of them had stayed here, taking the risk and waiting for him.
This place was some kind of dark maintenance workshop, full of all the hidden ducts, conduits, ventilation shafts, and wiring that kept Konpeki Plaza running behind the scenes.
"I saw those giant crabs just now…" Jackie crouched behind a heavy iron door opened only a crack, peeking outside.
The roar of engines swept past beyond the wall. A searchlight shone through the slit like a broom of white fire, then slid away again as the Octant moved on.
"Whew… where the hell are we?" Luo Qi wiped cold sweat off his forehead, hair dripping wet.
"No clue. Looks like outside leads to the roof of Konpeki Plaza." V answered. "Yorinobu's suite is on the hundredth floor. These levels are probably in the nineties."
They waited until things calmed a little and the metal flies in the sky had all drifted farther off. Then Luo Qi hunched low and slipped out, hiding in the shadow of a loudly humming exterior ventilation unit.
"Hah… hah… it's here. It's really here."
After staring for a moment, Luo Qi broke into a delighted grin as red alert lights shone through a grated skylight overhead.
"Where's 'here'?" Jackie followed him out, though his broad, hulking frame looked like it could get exposed at any second.
"The place where you and V would've fallen like dog shit before," Luo Qi said with a grin, punching Jackie lightly on the shoulder. "Come on. Give me a hand."
Luo Qi crouched beside one corner of the skylight while he and V grabbed the iron frame from opposite sides.
"One, two, three—heave!"
The two of them strained with everything they had and finally bent the not-so-sturdy frame upward by brute force, like prying open a tin can.
"Holy shit, I didn't know I was that strong." V flexed his wrist in disbelief.
"It's not that sturdy. If it can be smashed open, it's probably aluminum alloy or something," Luo Qi said, shaking his head.
Even a place as extravagant as Konpeki Plaza had corners cut somewhere.
"Watch how I go down. One at a time," Luo Qi said.
He gripped the edge, lowered his legs through, let go, and dropped several dozen centimeters until he landed firmly on the square ventilation duct below.
Bracing himself against the duct with his feet, he let his body descend vertically and dropped onto the iron mesh platform at the bottom, using his weight to absorb the impact as he crouched.
"V, you first."
Now safely below, Luo Qi looked up and waved them down. The red emergency lights made him glow crimson from head to toe, looking bizarrely festive.
The more agile V stepped onto the duct, took the Relic case from Jackie, then carefully let it drop.
Luo Qi caught it with open arms.
"Nice. Let's move."
Luo Qi stepped back to make room, only to see Jackie come crashing down like a meteor and land with a heavy slam right on his backside atop the mesh grating.
V and Luo Qi both pointed at him, half annoyed and half laughing, then hauled him back to his feet.
"Careful. From here on out, we stay hidden at all costs."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 119)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter79)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter125)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 73
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 55
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 66
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 63
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 55
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 31
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 31
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 31
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