The production of the Light Sword had already been delegated to subordinates. According to the System's blueprints, it would be completed well before The Lord could fully open the gates to The Other World.
However, to possess the output capable of shattering Kinkaku, only a Machine Ex Machina could achieve such a feat. Thus, Schwarzer decided to transfer it to Alice.
The establishment of a new order required sufficient deterrence, and Kinkaku would serve as perfect target practice for Alice. With the existence of the Light Sword, those Sub-space entities known as ninjas would be nothing to fear.
Schwarzer had originally thought her plan was too extreme—forcibly controlling and corralling all of humanity, and ultimately guiding them toward goodness, was, in the end, a distortion of human nature.
But she no longer felt that way. The existence of Sub-space caused her to discard such indecisiveness. She had to ensure that the benevolent thoughts among humanity outweighed the malicious ones; otherwise, a Sub-space Evil God would emerge sooner or later.
However, it was also time to cause some trouble for The Lord. Schwarzer, who originally intended to let things take their course, had been slightly spooked by the Sub-space revelation and now harbored a bit of petty vengefulness.
And so, a phone call was made to David's side.
Still waiting inside Arasaka Tower, David received a call from an unknown number. The screen displayed an elderly gentleman with a bizarre smile, and below him were the words 'Yoroshi-san Pharmaceuticals'.
Although he didn't know why the other party was contacting him, David answered the phone.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Is this David Martinez? We have detected an anomaly in the signal coming from Gloria Martinez. The specific location data has already been provided to you."
It was Dr. Lee's voice, speaking as if he were merely completing a task. He didn't wait for David to speak; he simply finished his statement in a few seconds and hung up the phone.
Before David could even grasp the situation, he found a set of coordinates on his hand, labeled with the text 'Gloria's Current Location'.
"Yoroshi-san Pharmaceuticals... they seem to be those pill pushers? They supposedly have deep cooperation with Trauma Team, but why would they possess information on Gloria's movements?"
The sudden information provided by Yoroshi-san Pharmaceuticals left him at a loss, but he could hear the attitude in the other party's voice—he was purely a messenger.
That meant someone was helping them? Rather than buzzing around like a headless fly, it was better to trust the other party. At the very least, he could be certain this wasn't the work of Zaibatsu Cinema.
If it were Zaibatsu Cinema, they would have simply used Gloria to threaten him into inaction; there was no need to complicate matters.
"Yoroshi-san Pharmaceuticals just gave me Gloria's current location. What do you guys think?"
David shared the location data he had just received with V and the others. There was strength in numbers, or perhaps he was subconsciously relying on V again.
It had already become a sort of habit; whenever he encountered a problem he couldn't solve, he would let V help, as she could always find a way.
Although it sounded like he lacked his own opinion, it was at least the correct choice. V, who had maxed out her intelligence attributes, was indeed more suitable to be the one issuing commands than he was.
"Isn't the person capable of providing this kind of help quite obvious?"
"You mean?"
"Our 'Captain' hasn't returned for so long, she must be doing something big. But providing this bit of help would certainly be easy for her."
V immediately guessed that this was Schwarzer's handiwork. Judging by the attitude from Yoroshi-san Pharmaceuticals, it seemed more like they were being controlled.
Among the people she knew and recognized, only she could accomplish such a thing.
"In other words, the coordinates are real. Then I'll make my move immediately."
David extracted the meaning from her words and decided to rush to the rescue at once to avoid any further complications.
"Leave that kind of thing to us. Your mission is to find Zaibatsu Cinema's base and stop them from opening Kinkaku."
V stopped him once again, indicating that she would handle the rescue.
"Miss V is right. We are enough to save her. Your mission is far more important."
Takemura, who had recovered a fair amount of his condition, chimed in. Having gone through the battle, he also saw his own positioning clearly—better than some, but not the best.
Saburo Arasaka was still unreachable, and Night City seemed cut off from the outside world. Dark clouds shrouded everything in the sky, with only the golden cube emitting light.
Even without any instructions, he knew that Kinkaku must not be allowed to open. That would only lead to the destruction of the entire world's order.
"But..."
"What, do you not trust our strength? You've already understood how vast the gap between ninjas can be. As long as you can stall the enemy leader, the others won't be a match for us."
V quickly persuaded David—or rather, he didn't have any other choice.
"I will dispose of The Lord."
Ninja Slayer replied in this manner. It was not out of overconfidence in himself, but because he had to dispose of the opponent; otherwise, it would be a world-class disaster.
"Wasshoi!"
Showing no fear of the hundred-meter height, Ninja Slayer leaped down, rapidly disappearing from everyone's line of sight.
"Can we trust Yoroshi-san Pharmaceuticals?"
After sending David off, V raised the question to Takemura again.
"Theoretically, yes. At least they are not on the same path as the ninja organizations. Our Cyber Biochemical Ninjas are all produced by them."
Takemura recalled for a moment before giving his answer. Compared to ninja organizations, Yoroshi-san was more like a true dark megacorp, possessing its own technology and pursuits.
"Then let's go have a look. Bring all your best equipment. This time, we can only rely on ourselves."
Without Ninja Slayer's help, they could only rely on their own strength. Moreover, they could not fail; they had to rescue Gloria.
She waved her hand casually, and a Manticore appeared out of thin air on the rooftop, causing the corner of Takemura's mouth to twitch slightly. What kind of mysterious power is this?
However, he didn't say much. After fighting together, he trusted V quite a bit more, and he followed her into the vehicle.
Since experiencing it last time, V had taken a liking to the Manticore's super defense and its equally powerful mobility. It was very suitable for them.
On the other side, Expendable, who had already left Arasaka Tower, recalled the scene where he was frightened by Ninja Slayer's eyes and aura, and he felt anger rising.
To think I was actually scared by that vengeful wild dog... it's truly too disgraceful.
However, despite saying this, he had no intention of going back to reclaim his dignity. The Lord had issued orders to be careful of that opponent, which meant that this guy was a powerhouse acknowledged even by The Lord!
Expendable felt disgraceful not because of the opponent's strength, but because of his identity. Zaibatsu Cinema was an organization of nobles with distinct class hierarchies. No matter how strong Ninja Slayer was, he was just a commoner. How could he be as noble as they were!
He had already confirmed that Ninja Slayer was David, a bottom-feeder commoner of Night City. Although he was different from a homeless vagrant and his family was getting by, he was essentially still an existence of the same class.
Wait until The Lord's plan is realized and the Millennium Ninja Kingdom is established. Such a peasant ninja would only be fit to clean his chamber pot!
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