Chapter 131 - Intel and Retreat
Chapter 131 - 109. Intel and Retreat
"Nine left."
As Arasaka's squad fell into brief disarray following the death of their leader, Oliver adjusted his Nekomata, locking onto his next target through the scope.
Trigger pulled.
"Now it's eight."
"Sniper!"
In tactical combat, few threats crushed morale like a sniper systematically picking off targets. Back when Carl's crew had run that escort job, a single sniper had pinned down an entire squad of mercs. Now, the same scenario was unfolding here.
With their captain dead and another man down, the remaining eight operatives snapped to their senses, scrambling for cover and concealing their positions.
"Confirming the weapon. Based on the gunshot sound and impact force—sniper is using a Nekomata."
Nekomata.
Hearing this over comms, the rest of the Arasaka team froze.
The Nekomata Tech Sniper Rifle—a precision railgun capable of punching through nearly any cover.
"Can we take him out? Where's our sniper?"
"Bad position! No line of sight!"
Hearing their own sniper's frustrated response, the acting squad leader resisted the urge to curse.
This was supposed to be a simple cleanup job—taking out some corporate reject too dumb to realize he was already marked for elimination. How the hell had it turned into this?
An enemy netrunner who fried their own hacker instantly.
A sniper wielding a Nekomata with pinpoint accuracy.
They weren't supposed to be fighting Militech black ops—so why the hell did it feel like they were?
But retreating wasn't an option.
If they failed this mission, corporate would bury them.
"Move! Keep to cover, flank from both sides. Spread out and identify the opposition. If it's Militech, we call for backup."
If Militech was involved, Arasaka would escalate. Confirming Militech presence would justify an immediate force deployment, likely bringing in at least sixty more operatives.
Arasaka would never hesitate to throw numbers at Militech just to slow them down.
"Would Militech operatives even be this good?"
Corporate security forces were no different from military contractors, with training on par with state armies. Arasaka and Militech had been locked in covert warfare for years, their special forces constantly clashing in secret.
From what the squad knew, Militech shouldn't have been operating at this level. Shouldn't.
"Doesn't matter. Confirm first."
Despite his firm tone, the acting commander felt an unsettling sense of dread.
His team was right—Militech's strike teams were no better or worse than Arasaka's. Both companies equipped their squads with their own gear, often using missions to cycle out surplus inventory.
Which meant that it was usually easy to identify corporate forces.
But a Nekomata?
That wasn't standard-issue Militech or Arasaka tech. That rifle was Tsunami Defense Systems' high-end military hardware—the kind of weapon only elite squads or wealthy private buyers could afford.
His team couldn't afford it.
Which meant Militech couldn't afford it either.
And if these people weren't Militech...
Arasaka wasn't sending reinforcements.
They couldn't afford it—meaning neither could Militech's equivalent units. If these weren't Militech operatives, corporate wouldn't authorize reinforcements.
"It couldn't be Tsunami Defense, could it?"
Tsunami Defense Systems, headquartered in Osaka, Japan, had always been at odds with Arasaka, based in Tokyo. The rivalry had nearly escalated into a modern Japanese civil war. If Osaka's Tsunami operatives had somehow gotten involved…
The acting squad leader, well-versed in corporate geopolitics, felt his anxiety spike. Unknown enemies were the most dangerous—who the hell knew what was waiting for them ahead?
It couldn't be an ACPA... could it?
"Sir! We've confirmed two of the four targets!"
The comms officer had linked to Arasaka's Intelligence Division, using the excuse of potential Militech involvement to justify a satellite surveillance request. Within moments, image data came through.
"Who are they?!"
"Street mercs—Jackie Welles and Maine!"
"Jackie Welles? Maine?"
The acting squad leader had never heard of either name. But the next sentence from the comms officer sent a chill through the squad.
"Jackie Welles is part of the same crew as Merc KK. They operate together frequently."
"...KK? That lunatic?!"
Good news—this wasn't some unknown monstrosity like an ACPA or Tsunami black ops. They were facing a known threat.
Bad news—the known threat was Merc KK.
Without hesitation, the acting commander sent an emergency request to corporate HQ.
"Requesting orders—encountered Merc KK while attempting to eliminate Tanaka. Three squad members have already been lost."
He dumped the problem straight onto HQ.
Based on Arasaka's internal combat evaluations, eliminating KK was beyond their capabilities. If this cleanup operation was to succeed, reinforcements were mandatory. Whether or not this mission was worth the investment was for corporate to decide.
"KK is on-site?"
HQ responded quickly. "Have you confirmed his identity?"
The acting commander hadn't—but just the possibility of encountering KK was enough for him to play it smart.
He carefully worded his response.
"We've detected his presence."
Technically, spotting his crew counted as "detecting his presence," right?
"If his presence is confirmed..."
The corporate officer on the other end of the line picked up on the little word game the squad leader was playing. But he didn't call it out. Instead, after a brief two-second pause, he issued a new command.
"Pull back. Cleanup teams are being deployed all across Night City. Regroup with other units and handle more important targets."
"Understood!"
Relief washed over the acting commander as he immediately relayed the withdrawal order to his team. Within moments, the squad retreated just as swiftly as they had arrived.
Meanwhile, the corporate officer who had just authorized the withdrawal reviewed Tanaka's file.
Upon seeing that Tanaka had worked in Night City's Experimental Division, and had been involved in the Adamant Cyberware Project, his expression shifted.
"A discarded experimental lure... and Militech has its eyes on Adamant Cyberware?"
He recalled the original purpose of the Adamant project—who it was being developed for.
After a long moment of contemplation, the corporate officer forwarded the file to Night City's Security Division Director.
The newly appointed security chief, who had arrived alongside Miss Hanako Arasaka, would find this information very interesting.
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