Chapter 240: Ambush!
“Is this the data we stole from the Blackwall?”
Roland brushed away the residual data flickering over his hand and looked at Lissandra with curiosity.
“Part of it comes from the AI beyond the Blackwall. The rest originates from the Blackwall itself.”
“Right… I almost forgot. The Blackwall itself is essentially an extremely powerful AI.”
Roland nodded. “Will this data be of any use to you?”
With a casual wave, he cleared the remaining data traces from his hand and looked at her.
“Yes. It can enhance my intrusion and destructive capabilities. The improvement is limited, but it’s still meaningful.”
“Good. By the way, have you found any trace of Bartmoss?”
“No. But we did find traces of Altiera Cunningham.”
Lissandra shook her head.
“Alt’s traces? Where?”
Roland raised an eyebrow.
“In the Taiwan region of China.”
“Huh. In a sense, that would make it my hometown in this world, wouldn’t it?” He paused briefly. “Have someone get in touch with Kang Tao. Their influence there is much stronger than ours. Use their network to establish a branch in that region. If necessary, offer some of our technologies as bargaining chips. You know which ones.”
“Understood. I’ll take care of it immediately.”
Lissandra nodded, then dissolved into streams of data and vanished.
“Kelly, how’s Dorio doing?”
After Lissandra left, Roland turned to Kelly.
“Her training is progressing smoothly. She’s been active on the battlefield for a while now. Do you want me to recall her, boss?”
“No need. I just wanted to confirm her situation. Pass the order to Marshall—have them begin advancing toward Idaho.”
Roland shook his head, declining the suggestion. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he gave the command.
“How many troops should we mobilize?”
“Hmm… To be safe, half.”
Kelly’s lips twitched at the number, but she didn’t comment. She simply nodded and disappeared.
The situation was delicate.
The New United States had already seized enough territory and chosen to consolidate. As for Night City, they were only testing the waters. If Arasaka intervened, they would withdraw without hesitation.
In fact, the New United States had already begun scaling down its forces within the current Free State Alliance region. Only stabilization garrisons remained; the bulk of their troops had largely returned to their original territory.
These moves eased the nerves of the surrounding neutral states. Just as all factions believed the situation had entered a stable development phase, it became the perfect moment to launch a blitzkrieg.
“Hmm… Let Maine lead the first battle. A blitzkrieg should feel like a blitzkrieg.”
...
“Lord Jamil… This is already the tenth request from above…”
A man dressed as a servant stood trembling before Jamil, speaking cautiously. The moment Jamil’s golden cybernetic eye shifted toward him, he immediately fell silent.
“Do I need to teach you how to reply?”
“No… no, there’s no need. I understand. I’ll reject the request right away.”
The man hurriedly wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly left the room.
After he was gone, Jamil walked slowly to the window. He narrowed his eyes, gazing into the boundless expanse of space. Though he appeared to be idly staring, his focus remained fixed on a specific target.
A satellite bearing the PROJECT emblem drifted past not far from the Crystal Palace.
After undergoing PROJECT modifications, Jamil had returned to the Crystal Palace. The first thing he did upon arrival was challenge Milan, the current First Angel.
The result was obvious—Jamil won, and overwhelmingly so. Of course, part of the reason was that atop the Crystal Palace, neither of them could deploy high-energy weapons without risking catastrophic damage.
As a result, Milan couldn’t break through Jamil’s energy-field defense at all. Nearly all of his attacks were meaningless.
After witnessing Jamil’s combat strength, the Highriders and the European Space Agency were practically burning with excitement. They immediately requested to dismantle his Cyberware for research.
Jamil refused without hesitation.
Wasn’t the entire point of striking a deal with PROJECT so he alone could enjoy this top-tier technology and secure the title of First Angel? If he agreed, all his suffering would have been for nothing.
As for the earlier agreement he had reached with the European Space Agency’s upper echelons…
The me of this second is not the me of the last. If you want me to honor that agreement, go ask the former me.
Simply put, his fists were bigger now. Neither the European Space Agency nor the Highriders could do anything to him.
The European Space Agency executives were furious over Jamil’s breach of contract, but with him stationed inside the Crystal Palace, they truly had no way to deal with him.
Force the other Twelve Angels to carry it out?
Setting aside whether they could even win, the aftermath of such a battle might turn the Crystal Palace into debris.
“PROJECT Corporation…”
Jamil recalled what had happened on the surface. He had assumed that once he returned to the Crystal Palace, they would issue further instructions. Instead, after extracting a batch of internal intelligence from the European Space Agency and the Highriders while he was still on the surface, they simply stopped contacting him.
If not for the signal Lissandra had left inside him, he might have thought it was all just a dream—a terrifying nightmare.
“Lord Jamil, I’ve rejected the request from above.”
“Mm. By the way, has there been any movement on the Moon recently?”
The sudden question caught the man off guard, but he quickly recovered.
“Yes. PROJECT Corporation purchased a plot of land on the Moon and constructed a base there. Construction was completed recently. According to reports, it’s a production facility.”
He glanced at the latest intelligence before reporting.
A production facility…
Jamil’s mouth twitched. He waved dismissively, signaling the man to leave.
He didn’t know what PROJECT Corporation was building on the Moon, but he was certain it wasn’t merely a production base. More likely, it was some terrifying high-yield strategic weapon—perhaps an orbital launcher or something along those lines.
Naturally, the European Space Agency also suspected that PROJECT’s plans weren’t so simple. They had sent spies to infiltrate the facility, but no anomalies were discovered, which gradually lowered their guard.
But was that really the case?
Five levels beneath the surface of PROJECT’s lunar base, European Space Agency spies stood expressionless as they transmitted intelligence to their superiors. Without exception, each had a device firmly affixed to the back of their neck.
A humanoid robot slowly walked behind them, conducting inspections.
“All systems normal. Please rest assured, Lady Lissandra.”
“Well done, Luris.”
Lissandra nodded and transmitted a data package into the robot named Luris.
“Thank you for your gift.”
Luris bowed gracefully.
“There’s no need to thank me. Just remember—you were born for PROJECT.”
“Your will.”
Author's Note
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