Chapter 75: The Uninvited Guest

Chapter 75: The Uninvited Guest

By the time that moment comes, Alt Cunningham and Johnny Silverhand, those eternal frenemies, might finally be able to pour their hearts out to each other across their terminals—a somewhat poetic ending, to say the least.

"Alt is still in cyberspace hunting down rogue AIs. Let's wait until later to tell her—make it a little surprise," said Lucy, her usually cold and elegant face showing a rare, relaxed smile. Securing the Relic chip would finally make all their months of hard work worthwhile.

"When Johnny gets back, I'll take everyone to the European space station to see the Moon. Let's call it your vacation activity," Li Ang announced.

"And the company will cover all the expenses!"

As soon as Li Ang finished speaking, the entire Maelstrom team erupted in cheers. Unconsciously, nearly a year had passed since they joined LA Corp.

Over the past year, they had completed countless missions, helping LA Corp grow into the top corporation in Watson District.

Although the official schedule was six hours of work a day, during the company's rapid growth phase, they had often worked overtime, grinding through assignments.

Without Li Ang's unique charm and leadership, they likely wouldn't have made it this far.

Now, the thought of finally being able to relax brought excitement and joy to everyone—Maine, Rebecca, and the rest. Working for LA Corp was no less intense than their days as mercenaries.

"Li Ang, thank you."

Lucy gazed deeply at Li Ang, her eyes brimming with admiration. She hadn't forgotten the terms of the employment contract Li Ang had offered her.

One of the clauses included an annual company benefit: a vacation on the Moon.

And Li Ang hadn't made her wait too long for that day to come.

"It's what I should do," Li Ang replied with a smile. He could see Lucy had been waiting a long time for this. Some plans, if delayed too long, lose their chance of being fulfilled.

Since LA Corp partnered with Trauma Team International, the European conglomerates had been reaping massive profits. Viewing Li Ang as their golden goose, they spared no effort to appease him.

Leveraging this mutually beneficial relationship, the Europeans saw Li Ang as a veritable cash cow and agreed to extend space travel benefits to LA Corp employees.

As a result, the European-controlled orbital aerospace companies had already prepared lunar bases and space stations, ready for Lucy and her team to embark on their Moon tour at any moment.

While everyone was merrily planning their lunar activities, Li Ang received an unexpected call. The caller? Rosalind Myers, President of the New United States of America (NUSA).

Ping! ICE-encrypted holographic call connected.

[Li Ang, our NUSA intelligence agents have received critical information. Arasaka Corporation's new power armor prototype will soon be delivered to Night City, with a stop at the Azure Building in Watson District along the way.]

[This power armor is likely to be showcased at the upcoming International Weapons Exhibition.]

President Myers, as direct and decisive as ever, got straight to the point the moment the call connected.

"Arasaka's power armor? Now, that's interesting."

Li Ang nodded thoughtfully.

The International Weapons Exhibition, led by European conglomerates, was currently in full swing, gathering arms dealers, weapons manufacturers, and militia leaders from all over the world.

The purpose? To buy and sell weapons and finalize military contracts.

Recently, the exhibition had been abuzz with interest in Cantao Group's smart weapons, the latest darling of the arms market. Xu Shiming had raked in countless orders, laughing all the way to the bank.

Even Trauma Team International had secretly placed orders for smart heavy weapons from Xu Shiming, highlighting the extent of Cantao Group's influence in the European market.

Li Ang was more than pleased by this turn of events—after all, he owned 100% of Cantao Group Corporation, and even the smart weapons originated from his designs.

Xu Shiming, heralded as the next "King of Arms" by the outside world, was merely Li Ang's high-level employee.

[Arasaka Corporation has invested heavily to secure orders for their power armor at this year's exhibition. Rumor has it that this armor is even more powerful than Russia's Boris power armor!]

President Myers' tone revealed deep concern.

Clearly, she was wary of Arasaka's significant investment in power armor development. After all, Arasaka had long been plotting to destabilize the NUSA.

Should this new power armor hit the market, the first to suffer would undoubtedly be the NUSA military.

The International Weapons Exhibition, while ostensibly a showcase for military technology, was essentially a grand bidding war for arms dealers.

Weapons that won awards often attracted the attention of powerful buyers, turning military contracts into overnight fortunes.

Power armor, as one of the exhibition's marquee attractions, consistently drew interest from militias and corporate forces alike.

[Li Ang, you're well aware of the offensive capabilities of the Boris power armor. I can't imagine Arasaka creating something even more advanced than that!]

Li Ang nodded in agreement. He had witnessed the destructive power of the Boris power armor firsthand.

In the cyberpunk world, warfare technology was highly advanced, with power armor ranking among the most sophisticated.

Major corporations invested heavily in power armor development.

Take Russia's Boris power armor, for instance: a pinnacle of offensive design. However, its craftsmanship was shoddy, and its durability left much to be desired.

Mid-battle malfunctions were common, often rendering it inoperable.

Arasaka's power armor was well-rounded, boasting excellent endurance and optimized design. Its fatal flaw, however, was its lightweight build, which compromised offensive and defensive capabilities.

Currently, the top-ranked power armor balancing offense, defense, and endurance was manufactured by Mexico's Metal Company, followed closely by Meta Group and LA Corp.

But now, Arasaka had supposedly developed a power armor surpassing Boris in power while maintaining superior endurance and optimization. Myers could hardly imagine how many military contracts Arasaka would win.

"Madam President, if you called me just to inform me how strong my competition is, message received. I know what to do," Li Ang said casually.

Before Li Ang could finish, Myers cut him off with a direct order:

[I want you to coordinate with our intelligence agents and Meta Group's elite power armor team to intercept the prototype.]

[There's no need for LA Corp to get directly involved. Just ensure Arasaka's elite forces can't access Watson District, giving us enough time to act.]

Hearing Myers' near-unreasonable demand, Li Ang couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.

Bringing agents and corporate troops into his territory, expecting his people to cooperate? What kind of twisted logic was that?

"Lady President, did you bump your head on a door or something?"