"Oh my god! That's Konpeki Plaza!" exclaimed Lena Fox, standing beside Leon Black. Her cybernetic eyes locked onto the screen as she watched the chaos unfold. Armed AVs blitzed the area with merciless firepower, lighting up one of Night City's most iconic landmarks like a battlefield.
Konpeki Plaza wasn't just a hotel—it was the hotel. A towering monument of luxury, elegance, and corporate excess. From business banquets to hedonistic leisure, it catered to the city's elite in every imaginable way.
Now? It looked like a cracked idol, its pristine facade shattered under the wrath of high-powered weaponry.
"Arasaka's going to take a massive financial hit," Ethan Cross muttered, whistling softly. Despite his casual tone, his expression was grim.
The rest of the squad soon gathered around, their faces reflecting disbelief. Someone had actually broken into Konpeki Plaza. That was unheard of.
"Night City always has its share of lunatics," Leon said calmly. "Just like cyberpsychos, they never go extinct."
He glanced around at his team.
"Our job is to make sure those lunatics get sent back to the dirt where they belong. That's how we earn our keep, right?"
Seeing their leader remain unfazed even in the face of such a monumental crisis, the squad members straightened up, reassured. That was the kind of calm resolve they trusted. No panic. No hesitation.
Just execution.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The sharp chime of Leon's smart communicator broke the silence. It auto-answered before he could even touch it.
"Headquarters to Squad Seventeen! Headquarters to Squad Seventeen!"
"Seventeen Squad here," Leon responded.
"You are ordered to immediately proceed to Corpo Plaza, Road 101, and enforce a full lockdown. No individuals or vehicles are to enter or leave."
"Understood. Moving now."
He disconnected before the message repeated.
"Whoever designed that auto-answer feature needs a bullet between the eyes," Ethan grumbled. "Last thing we need is a loud comm blaring during an infiltration op."
Leon smirked. He didn't allow his squad to use auto-connect during missions for that exact reason. But as captain, he had to carry one for emergencies.
"Gear up. We're heading out."
Lily Cross, who had been idling behind the wheel, frowned and glanced at the pachinko parlor where Arasaka Yuto had stayed behind.
"Captain… what about Yuto?"
Leon's eyes narrowed, then softened slightly. "The Arasaka name is both a badge of honor and a chain. With everything going on, he's got a lot to sort out."
He paused, then added, "He'll reach out if he needs us."
Reassured by Leon's steady tone, Lily's usual stoicism returned. "Great! Finally, some peace and quiet. And more food for me at the afterparty!"
She slammed the vehicle into gear.
"Let's move out!"
Leon didn't respond to her sarcasm. That teasing, bantering dynamic among teammates? That was what he wanted to see. Trust. Understanding. Loyalty.
In a city like this—where shadows were currency and betrayal was routine—having people you could rely on was rare, almost miraculous.
The squad piled into the armored transport vehicle. Leon cocked his pistol, checked the mag, and gave a crooked smile.
"Time to meet the psycho who had the balls to storm Konpeki Plaza."
The vehicle roared to life, tires screeching as it drifted around the corner, leaving behind a chorus of angry curses and honking horns.
Leon chuckled. "Let 'em scream. It's not like we're Militech."
But instead of heading straight to the incident site, Lily swerved into a discreet alley and drove into a concealed garage. The metal shutter closed behind them, sealing the squad inside.
Lily hopped out and keyed in a command.
The garage lights flickered on, revealing a beast—a matte-black Arasaka Colt 300 armored assault vehicle.
Its square, imposing frame looked like a rolling bunker. Reinforced bumpers, centimeter-thick bulletproof glass, and a custom armor job made it a mobile fortress. Lily had done most of the upgrades herself.
Originally, she'd planned to mod it even further, but since the squad funded their own gear, she held back. Still, under Leon's directive, durability was prioritized over luxury.
To Leon, official equipment was just a tool. His real investment? People. Skills. Knowledge.
Whenever a new tech or weapon surfaced, Leon made sure his team studied it inside out—and then he learned it himself. He demanded more than just battlefield competency. Everyone had to understand gang dynamics, turf politics, major figures across Night City.
"Knowing this stuff might not make your life better," he'd once said, "but not knowing it will definitely make your death quicker."
That wasn't philosophy. That was survival.
Once they rolled out in the Colt 300, Lily gunned the engine, her reflexes flawless as she wove through traffic at near-fatal speeds.
In the back seat, Lena pulled out her hardened notebook and began typing. Green code flashed across the screen as she purged data from a previously stolen Militech vehicle.
Every large corp device—civilian or military—logged every movement, every fingerprint. Privacy policies were a joke.
But Lena was already done in under fifteen seconds.
At the same moment, an explosion rocked the ground nearby. Mike Taylor, the team's demolition and heavy assault expert, calmly looked down at the digital countdown timer on his bracer.
"Twenty-two seconds."
Leon, eyes closed as if meditating, cracked one eye open and muttered softly, "Quicker than last time."
Lena caught the barely-there smirk on his lips. She smiled too.
If he's happy, I'm happy.
Ten minutes later, as smoke still lingered in the air, an NCPD patrol car finally pulled up to the scene Lena had just erased.
"Militech again?" the rookie officer asked, eyeing the smoldering wreckage.
"Probably," his older partner said, lighting a cigarette. "Let them sort it out themselves. We're not dying for a corporate war."
The older officer yawned.
"Come on. Let's go rough up a drunk or two in Kabuki."
Meanwhile, Leon's squad was already nearing Corpo Plaza at breakneck speed. Lily's skills behind the wheel had them drifting across intersections and through alleys like a getaway chase scene.
As they approached the plaza, alarms blared from nearby buildings, echoing through the streets. Gunfire crackled in the distance.
Leon leaped out the moment they arrived and barked orders.
"Ethan, take the rooftops. Get a sniper's nest."
"Mike, deploy the turret. Prepare suppression."
"Lena, tap into every camera in a five-block radius."
"Lily, barricade the street. Use the parked cars."
Without hesitation, the team scattered to carry out the commands.
Leon grabbed a drone from the vehicle, activated it, and tossed it into the air. It buzzed briefly, then shot forward.
Inside the vehicle's back compartment, Lena already had it synced. Her fingers danced across the console. Nothing beat seeing things with your own eyes—or a drone's.
Leon had a pretty good idea what they were dealing with.
Even though he never cared much for the "canon" storyline when he first arrived in this world, there were certain key moments you couldn't ignore.
This one? This was the V incident.
Half an hour earlier…
"That's Adam Smasher!" Jackie Welles hissed, his voice a low panic. He stared at the fully mechanized figure following Yorinobu Arasaka.
"Shut up!" V snapped, his nerves on edge. "This place could have sound sensors!"
They were both ducked behind the large decorative window of Yorinobu's penthouse suite, hiding after successfully stealing the Relic chip.
Jackie clenched his fists. "That's Saburo Arasaka's personal bodyguard. We are so dead if they see us!"
Inside the room, voices continued.
"Takemura, you're dismissed," Saburo Arasaka's deep voice echoed.
"I've yet to inspect the suite," Goro Takemura replied calmly.
"I don't need protection from my own son," Saburo interrupted. "Leave us."
Takemura bowed and left with Adam Smasher, disappearing behind the door.
Once alone, Yorinobu exploded.
"You said you wouldn't interfere! That was the deal!"
Saburo's voice remained cold. "You're planning to hand over our life's work to Western scum. You think I'd sit back and let that happen?"
"It's not about the West—it's about freedom, about change! You're clinging to a dying empire!"
"You've changed, Yorinobu. You betray your family."
"And you—" Yorinobu stepped forward, face twisted in rage, "—you were never the man I thought you were."
Saburo's next words cut like ice. "If your mother were alive, she would be ashamed."
At that, Yorinobu lost control.
He lunged, hands gripping Saburo's frail throat.
"To hell with your judgment! Go rot in the afterlife!"
Within seconds, the great Saburo Arasaka—the legend, the emperor—was dead.
Panting, Yorinobu staggered back, clutching the lifeless body of his father. Regret and calculation warred behind his eyes.
He forced himself to breathe. Calm.
"I want a lockdown," he said to the AI assistant.
"Reason required," it replied.
"My father… was murdered."
The alarms shrieked moments later.
And just like that, the storm truly began.
pàtréóñ(Gk31)