Chapter 162: Who’s Actually Taking the Hit?
Zed and Jhin’s actions dealt a massive blow to both Militech and Arasaka.
When each side discovered their people had been wiped out, the same thought surfaced in their minds almost simultaneously.
The other side did it.
Roland’s choice of targets was deliberately sharp. He didn’t go after the top executives. Under orders from the very top, leadership changes rarely altered the broader direction of things.
Even if this wave of senior figures were eliminated, replacements would simply be sent in to continue exactly what their predecessors had been doing. Not only would that be pointless, it would also provoke outright fury.
Instead, Roland set his sights on mid- and lower-level officers—people with real combat experience and enough authority to command respect.
Taking them out meant that even if replacements stepped in, gaps would remain: unfamiliarity with the team, lack of practical experience, and weaker cohesion. Sure, some of that could be patched up with chips—but never perfectly.
Even so, wiping out these people alone was enough to give both Militech and Arasaka a serious headache.
On Arasaka’s side, the primary targets were the “nails” they’d planted inside Militech. Roland even intentionally had Zed and Jhin leave a few of them alive, exposing them on purpose so Militech would stumble into traps laid for Arasaka.
But… what Roland hadn’t anticipated was just how aggressive Zed’s style would be.
Any Militech camp he passed through was almost completely wiped out. His individual combat capability was pushed to the absolute limit.
He even forged traces of combat. Autopsies would show bodies cleanly cut apart by blades moving at extreme speed.
That kind of evidence naturally guided Militech’s suspicions straight toward Arasaka—after all, Arasaka had a notoriously famous ninja assassination unit.
All of them were Sandevistan users. Combine that with bladed weapons, and the conclusion practically drew itself.
...
“Hiss… haah.”
Jamde took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He felt terrible.
Despite achieving plenty of results, these developments were rapidly burying his accomplishments. Worse still, they had yet to uncover even a single trace of whoever was behind it all.
If this continued… then even if the Unification War ended in victory, it would still be a failure for him personally.
“What do we have? Still Arasaka?”
Jamde turned and questioned his deputy.
“Based on system cross-analysis, the highest probability points to top-tier assassins cultivated internally by Arasaka…”
The deputy spoke while staring at the report in his hands.
Jamde went quiet for a moment, then slammed the decision down.
“Then we’ll confirm the enemy as Arasaka’s Special Operations Unit and begin countermeasures based on that.”
“Understood. I’ll pass the order immediately.”
After the deputy left, Jamde sat back down, his expression shifting back and forth.
To be honest, he knew Arasaka well. Logically speaking, they shouldn’t possess single-unit combat assets at this level.
Just a handful of individuals slaughtering a fully armed small military force at will… including officers with equally terrifying individual combat strength…
Unless Arasaka had achieved some major technological breakthrough—or cultivated some top-tier lone wolf.
What? Adam Smasher?
Don’t joke around.
Smasher is strong, sure—but there are people even stronger than him. Some are completely unknown, elite assassins and bodyguards secretly trained by major corps. Their strength doesn’t fall below Smasher’s—some are even superior.
And judging by Smasher’s combat style… the noise wouldn’t be this small.
That guy excels in frontal combat and urban armed operations, not this kind of surgical assassination.
As for why Jamde made this call—it was simple.
Whether the mastermind was truly Arasaka didn’t really matter.
If it was Arasaka, perfect. He wouldn’t need to go looking for them.
If it wasn’t Arasaka, the real culprit hadn’t revealed a single trace. Tracking them down would take enormous effort, and judging by the operation itself, it was obvious they intended to frame Arasaka.
Either way, Jamde needed a big name to strike back at. This was the perfect opportunity.
Even if it meant playing right into the enemy’s hands, as long as the most important objective at this stage could be achieved, being used was acceptable.
More importantly, Jamde had a strong premonition: if he didn’t lock onto Arasaka as the target, the enemy would keep acting.
His reputation couldn’t withstand that kind of damage. It was better to end things quickly.
...
When reports of Militech’s massive losses arrived—alongside News Channel 54’s public condemnation of Arasaka, and Militech’s series of large-scale retaliatory measures—
Higashiyama Ryoichi couldn’t help scratching his head.
I haven’t even touched their military yet—how did this land on my head?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
“I get it… Militech didn’t have a decent excuse to act, so they staged the whole thing themselves just to come after us.”
Reaching that conclusion, Higashiyama Ryoichi nodded firmly and quietly slid the operation marker on his desk to the next phase.
They’d planned to tear things open with Militech anyway. Now that Militech had decided to step into the ring first—
They weren’t afraid.
Soon, large quantities of military supplies began flowing from Arasaka to the Northern California government: ammunition, firearms, food, medical supplies, cyberware, and more.
Alongside that came various commercial concessions and cooperative contracts.
The only request was simple: send more troops to Night City as soon as possible, preventing the situation from becoming completely one-sided. Buying time was enough.
At the same time, Arasaka began maneuvering at higher levels, exploring the possibility of opening ports.
Something important was almost ready.
Once Arasaka and Militech openly declared war, countless other corporations saw an opportunity to profit—especially when it came to the New United States.
After all, with the front stretched so far, held back by Arasaka and the Northern California government, failure to resolve things quickly would drag them into a war quagmire they couldn’t escape.
The solution was actually simple: concentrate all power, temporarily abandon secondary theaters, and resolve Night City outright.
The question was whether the New United States president, Myers, had the nerve to do it.
But… who knew what she truly wanted? Was it genuine unification—or just expanding influence and territory to strengthen her voice?
No one had a definite answer.
The other corporations, though, were thrilled.
They were all watching the New United States like vultures.
With two giants clashing at the front, trouble wouldn’t reach them anytime soon.
This was their feast.
And it was also Roland’s feast.
After all… why should he be the one slaughtering the pig while everyone else eats the meat and he only drinks the broth?
At the very least, he deserved a cut.
That was why, long before the operation began, he’d already arranged for people to slip into New United States territory—stirring up trouble, teaming up with other corps to disrupt the market and carve out shares.
And besides, he still had a cooperative relationship with Militech.
So… caring about an ally’s economic development and offering assistance—
That was only natural, right?
You say that’s underhanded?
That’s a separate issue.
Roland’s face remained completely serious.
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