The corporate war raging in the East had captured the world's attention, leaving Night City, far to the West, free to develop in silence.
Thanks to favorable policies and an attractive urban environment, Arasaka Tokyo's talent and capital began pouring into Night City. As V's overall strength exploded, Arasaka Tokyo plummeted—hard—and then harder still.
It wasn't just Kang-Tao anymore. The megacorps, like hyenas catching the scent of rotting meat, all descended upon the battlefield.
They didn't join the fighting in East Asia; instead, they aimed straight at Arasaka's other divisions across the globe.
In less than two weeks, the corporation that once dominated the world resembled a terminal ICU patient hooked up to a catheter—moments away from its final breath.
V felt this had to be Yorinobu Arasaka's intention.
The "prince" had never forgotten his dream of destroying the corporation.
He probably just didn't expect Arasaka to collapse this fast—not even dragging down a single rival with it on the way.
A giant in thought, a dwarf in action.
That was V's verdict on Yorinobu Arasaka.
Destroy the entire metallurgical industry and send humanity back to the Stone Age just because blades can kill people?
Romantic, sure—also childish and naïve.
Weapons aren't good or evil.
Only the hands that hold them can be good or evil.
Corporations aren't inherently good or bad; only their leaders are.
In V's eyes, the corporate system was the crystallization of human wisdom forged throughout history. Its core purpose was maximizing the utility of limited resources. It unleashed productivity, generated new value, and embodied countless iterations of trial and error by previous generations. To deny it entirely because of a few deviations?
Not just foolish—downright nonsensical.
No artisan workshop or small-time agrarian economy could build megastructures, let alone spark technological revolutions.
Corporate systems weren't perfect. One day, they would be replaced by something better.
But that day was not today.
Yorinobu's crusade to destroy Arasaka was narrow-minded at best, regressive at worst.
And now the era itself struck back—punishing his arrogance through the hands of every megacorp.
Of course, none of this really concerned V.
She controlled Night City, but one city—even Night City—was far too small before the global corporate titans.
What she needed now was to develop quietly, grow stronger, just like she had when she first arrived in this world. She would bide her time—then rise in a single earth-shaking leap.
This decision led Night City to launch new projects and massive construction efforts one after another. The city entered a phase of rapid development; V was so busy she barely had time to breathe, and nearly forgot about the Eastern corporate war altogether.
But even if she forgot the East—the East hadn't forgotten her.
V suddenly received a message:
Arasaka Michiko was being flown back to Night City.
The intel came from Kang-Tao.
Yorinobu, clinging to his "mutual destruction" dream, apparently didn't want Arasaka to die "without doing anything meaningful."
So he framed his own niece as the mastermind behind the attempt on the Kang-Tao heir and sent her to Shenyang, hoping to bargain for mercy.
A man willing to sell his own blood relative—claiming he fights for "the suffering masses"?
Ridiculous.
By that logic, he could "sacrifice" Western workers for Eastern workers, then men for women, then… whoever else suited his mood.
If V had once held even a shred of respect for Yorinobu, now she had only contempt.
She finally saw it clearly:
Yorinobu himself was not noble—he had simply chosen a noble cause by coincidence.
Everything he did was for self-gratification.
Impulsive, childish, reckless, with no strategy, no foresight—just a spoiled brat.
How did Saburo raise a kid like this?
Oh—right. He did it on purpose.
Yorinobu was always meant to be nothing more than a vessel for Saburo's rebirth. Excellence wasn't even required.
Pity Saburo underestimated the destructive power of a brat and got strangled to death in Konpeki Plaza for his trouble.
So much for "man proposes, fate disposes."
No amount of scheming can secure eternal victories.
Only absolute power can.
Kang-Tao clearly believed this as well. Xu Shiming had weathered more storms than most men could imagine. He instantly saw through Yorinobu's pathetic ploy.
"Michiko Arasaka orchestrated the attack on my grandson? Don't insult me.
The mastermind is the entire Arasaka family.
Throwing out one third-generation kid and calling it settled? Dream on."
Fight.
Keep fighting.
When Arasaka is dead, then he'll listen to their explanation.
As for Michiko—send her back where she came from. No time for this nonsense.
And so Michiko Arasaka was sent back to Night City.
In truth, Kang-Tao had first shipped her to Tokyo.
But Yorinobu, shameless as ever, kept sending her back.
After several back-and-forth cycles, Xu Shiming burst out laughing and told his aides the boy was reenacting ancient dynastic marriage-exchange rituals in the year 2077.
Tired of indulging a brat, Xu Shiming finally sent Michiko back to Night City for good. She belonged there anyway.
When V got the news, she cursed Xu Shiming for being an asshole, then cursed Yorinobu for asking for trouble.
Even if she and Xu Shiming had struck a deal, the old man's grandson had nearly died on her turf. He might say he understood, but deep down, he wasn't happy. Sending Michiko back to Night City was clearly meant to spite her.
But Xu Shiming wasn't just spiteful—he was clever. He also knew that Michiko's return would legitimize V's position at Arasaka. In a sense, he had handed her a gift.
After weighing both sides, V accepted the shit-flavored chocolate.
A welcome ceremony was held on the top floor of Arasaka Tower.
Shit-flavored or not—chocolate was chocolate.
A Kang-Tao surveyor-class AV bearing the corporation's logo slowly descended. The doors hissed open, and a full Kang-Tao security squad emerged first. Only under their "protection" did Michiko Arasaka finally walk out.
Her cat-ear headband was gone.
Her cute sailor uniform was wrinkled beyond recognition.
The calm, composed, cat-eared anime princess was now a disheveled wreck.
She held herself tall, trying to look proud, but her eyes were empty—her spirit hollow.
Anyone could see she was barely holding herself together.
Her grandfather dead.
Her uncle betraying her.
Treated like cargo, shipped back and forth.
The once-noble princess now lower than grass.
No one knew what she felt.
V adjusted her suit and stepped forward with a respectful bow.
"Miss Michiko, welco—"
Before she finished, Michiko slapped her.
"V! I trusted you—and you lied to me!"
V didn't argue.
To be fair, Michiko had indeed treated her well.
So she tried again.
"Miss Michiko, welco—"
Another sharp slap cut her off.
Smack!
V caught Michiko's wrist and twisted her arm behind her back.
One slap was giving her face.
Two?
That was enough.
Michiko struggled like mad, kicking and thrashing in V's arms.
"Let go of me! V—I order you to let go!"
Still think you're a princess?
V didn't bother giving face.
She snatched a pair of cuffs from a nearby guard and locked Michiko's wrists together with a click.
"Take Miss Michiko to her room."
She shoved Michiko forward. Sasha immediately stepped in, dragging the girl away while muttering threats:
"You dare hit V? I haven't even hit you yet. You're! So! Dead!"
Michiko visibly trembled.
V considered telling Sasha to go easy—but swallowed it.
A little suffering might keep Michiko from creating more trouble later.
Escorted by the guards, Sasha dragged Michiko away.
V turned to the Kang-Tao squad.
"You've traveled far. Will you rest for the night, or return immediately?"
The squad captain spoke—a young woman's voice.
"So you're V?" She looked V up and down. "You're supposed to be some big deal, but you don't look like much. Got slapped twice by Michiko, too. Pathetic."
V frowned.
"Someone here clearly lacks basic manners. I suggest you return home and relearn them."
"No need. The old man told me to stay as your Kang-Tao liaison."
The woman removed her helmet—revealing an absurdly young face.
Some of her features resembled Xu Zhong.
Her cropped hair looked a little like V's.
"Name's Xu Ling." She held out her hand.
V shook it, then asked, "How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"Underage?"
"By one lousy year. Big deal. In some Middle Eastern countries I'd already have two or three kids."
V was speechless.
Compared to Xu Zhong's polite composure, this girl was… rough.
Very rough.
"You and Xu Zhong are…?"
"He's my brother."
"Blood brother?"
"Cousin. He's my Thirteenth Uncle's kid."
"Thirteen?! Xu Shiming has that many children?"
"Not many. Twenty-seven."
Twenty-seven children?!
V was stunned.
In a world suffering from extreme depopulation, twenty-seven was insane.
"And your generation? How many cousins?"
"Fifty-seven. Give or take. Nineteen-Auntie and Twenty-One-Auntie are pregnant again. A few more months, that number goes up."
V—who had never planned to have kids—felt personally attacked.
She was about to ask more, but Xu Ling cut her off.
"V-姐, are we seriously just standing here talking?"
"Then what do you want to do?"
"Drink, obviously!"
V laughed. "Fine. I'll buy."
"That's what I'm talking about! No wonder my cousin won't shut up about how great you are."
Mentioning Xu Zhong made V's expression dim.
She paused, then asked, "Should we go see him first?"
Xu Ling blinked.
"My cousin's frozen stiff. What's there to see?"
"He's badly injured. Didn't the Chairman tell you to check on him?"
"Nope. Old geezer's got fifty-plus grandkids—he couldn't care less if one or two die. With this incident, he gets to beat the crap out of Arasaka. Probably thrilled."
A sadness flashed in V's chest.
"And you? Don't you care about Xu Zhong?"
"We spend all day studying, training, doing nothing but eating and shitting. No free time. We barely talk. You think we have feelings? I'm not like Nineteen-Cousin—she's a full-level tea-ceremony manipulator. I can't act like that."
V confirmed it:
Xu Ling wasn't just rough.
She was very rough.
But strangely—V didn't dislike her.
"Let's go. Drinks."
"Hell yeah."
V first took her to Konpeki Plaza, but Xu Ling refused to "drink plain."
So V brought her to Lizzie's.
Xu Ling was excited—until she heard braindances were viewing-only.
"Paying full price for vegetables without meat? Scam!"
"Be grateful you can watch anything. You're a damn minor!"
V flicked Xu Ling on the head.
The girl immediately demanded a duel, ranting about stunted growth.
V obliged—using alcohol.
V won easily.
She drank tequila for breakfast—destroying a 17-year-old was trivial.
After dragging Xu Ling out from under the table and sending her home, V finally escaped the little gremlin.
Returning to her apartment, V found Sasha still missing.
Asking around revealed she was still with Michiko.
Worried Sasha might go too far, V rushed over—
only to find Michiko and Sasha sitting side by side… playing video games.
V: "…"
"Come on. We're going home."
V grabbed the pink cat by the collar.
As Sasha left, she waved eagerly:
"Michiko! Don't play alone! I'm coming back tomorrow!"
V: "…"
Seriously? A single video game and you're bought? Didn't you just swear you'd avenge me?
At the door, Michiko spoke.
"Tomorrow, I will formally appoint you as Executive President. Prepare yourself."
V stopped.
"What do you require of me?"
"Protect Night City."
"Agreed."
Michiko had grown up in Night City.
She loved it far more than she loved Arasaka.
The next day, V officially became the Executive President of Arasaka's Night City branch.
"Deputy Chief V" became history.
She was now—
President V.
Every news station reported the joyous event.
Citizens celebrated spontaneously—sales everywhere, bars offering unlimited refills, even the dolls at Clouds launched a half-price second session.
At 19:00, V's inauguration speech began at the Memorial Plaza in the corporate square.
Glass storefronts lit up with the Arasaka logo.
Holographic menus flashed "Promotion Celebration — 60% OFF."
Corporate towers projected fireworks, and kimono-clad virtual clerks promoted "Inauguration Packages."
From the far end of the bridge came the steady blare of magnetic-lev trains. A holo-float glided through the night, its upper projection showing V's youthful face—silver smart-fabric suit shimmering with nano-coating, waving to crowds amidst thunderous cheers.
People packed the streets, bridges, rooftops.
Their cheers scattered entire flocks of holo-birds perched among projected trees; the birds dissolved into motes of light, forming countless floating smiley faces in the sky.
The ceremony ended successfully.
With Michiko's authorization, V now held legal legitimacy.
More HQ and global Arasaka employees migrated to Night City—bringing talent, capital, and technology.
More projects launched.
More construction began.
More jobs were created.
The entire city pulsed with life—vibrant and thriving.
After a long day, V went to sleep.
And did not wake the next morning.
Sasha panicked, calling Joanne Koch and Meredith Stout.
The Ripperdoc examined V and gave a surprising verdict.
"V is just exhausted. She's in deep sleep."
"Deep sleep enough to sleep through a slap?" Meredith Stout scoffed. "Check again."
"…Fine. I'll take another blood sample. But based on the monitors, she'll wake up by tomorrow night."
Stout and Sasha left to handle V's affairs.
Joanne returned to the lab with the blood sample.
When she placed it under the electron microscope, her face went pale.
"There are even more nanobots in her blood… V, what in the hell are you…"
After a moment of frozen silence, Joanne suddenly stood up—
and dumped every sample into the high-temp incinerator.
Her voice trembled as she spoke to the lab AI:
"Destroy everything labeled under Project V. All records—digital and physical. Leave nothing."
"Affirmative. Purging now."
"So that's it… that's why the nervous system attacks the nanobots… I understand—I understand everything now…"
Her hands shook violently as she tried to lift her coffee cup.
It was fear.
A fear born from witnessing a lifeform beyond anything she had ever imagined.
She didn't know if this was good or bad.
She didn't even know if V herself knew.
She only knew one thing:
She had to protect V's secret.
KNOCK KNOCK.
Joanne jumped.
Turning around, she saw Anders Hellman.
"What is it?"
Hellman, visibly excited, answered:
"She's awake!"