Chapter 38: The Opening Ceremony

A smile appeared on Fiers' face when he saw Owen agree to the request. He rose slowly and headed toward the exit.
“Next, let's go over the wording for our statement when we go out.”
“No problem.”
Owen nodded and followed behind Fiers.

“Mr. Fiers! Something’s wrong! There’s a protest outside, and—and a ton of damaging information about you just went public!”
Fiers’ assistant suddenly rushed in, face flushed and dripping with sweat, unsure whether from panic or exhaustion.

Hearing his words, Fiers’ pupils tightened. He stepped forward, snatching the tablet from the assistant’s hands.

“According to reliable sources, Mr. Fiers, current New United States Congressman and head of the Militech Security Department, has accepted large sums in bribes over the past few years, and has sacrificed national interests to protect certain groups… We strongly condemn Mr. Fiers’ actions and urge society to keep him in check—such a person must not be allowed to walk free.”

Fiers’ expression turned grim. Watching the host lay out his past deeds one by one made his whole body tense, and he nearly stormed out in rage.

But he knew that in a moment like this, leaving would only make things worse. In fact, this was an opening—the other side had clearly seized it to strike while he had no time to prepare.

“Damn Arasaka!!”
Fiers growled and slammed his fist down. He instantly recognized who was backing that news outlet. Still, the fact that Arasaka had chosen this approach actually put him somewhat at ease.

At the very least, it meant they had paused any assassination attempts and planned to fight him on another front. And in this area, he wasn’t particularly afraid—his backers wouldn’t sit by and let him fall.
Otherwise, everything they’d invested in him would go to waste.

Owen watched the chaotic scene unfold, chuckling softly as he shook his head. He rose slowly.
“Then I’ll leave this to you for now, Mr. Fiers. As for the press conference, we can handle it later. You should take care of this first.”

Hearing that, Fiers forced a stiff smile.
“Sorry for letting you see this mess. But don’t worry—I’ll have it settled soon. It won’t affect our cooperation.”

“Of course. I fully trust your abilities. Go on—those people outside can’t really do anything to us, but they’re still troublesome.”

Fiers nodded, straightened up a bit, then walked out while dialing his phone. He needed to contact his backers and the PR team to craft a statement.

Before long, with money and influence at work, news segments highlighting Fiers’ contributions, public service projects, and charity donations began circulating again.

Militech’s news station also attacked the Arasaka-affiliated outlet, denouncing their report as baseless slander against an honest official.

With Militech’s massive support, the public-opinion storm was brought under control within half an hour, though the online debate still raged.
Even so, the narrative was no longer one-sided in Arasaka’s favor.

Having received the updates, Fiers now had the PR team’s assistance, along with a revised speech and prepared answers for several key questions.
...
Jhin watched the chaos below with an amused expression. He knew this was Kuroda’s doing, and he had to admit—it worked well.

Not only had it drawn the attention of many security units, but after finishing the job, he could use the confusion to slip away.

“Why isn’t that old man out yet…”
Through his scope, Jhin stared at the podium obscured by various objects, feeling helpless and a bit annoyed at Fiers’ delay. He wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Suddenly, the crowd below rippled with commotion. A sharp light flashed in Jhin’s eyes, and a faint red glow flickered as he instantly invaded a nearby security camera through netrunning.

He saw Fiers walking toward the podium, waving to the crowd.

He could invade his system directly now, but assassination through netrunning was risky. One problem was Fiers’ top-tier ICE; the other was the Trauma Team’s absurd ability to revive people…

Yes, netrunning could overload a target’s Cyberware, damaging the brain and inducing a death-like state. But to the Trauma Team, that wasn’t confirmed death—they could still bring him back.

So Jhin continued to wait.

“Ahem, everyone, I’m Fiers. It’s a pleasure to see you all here to—”

BOOM!

A crimson-black beam flashed past in an instant, and Fiers’ head vanished. A circular crater remained on the ground where it hit. The once noisy crowd fell completely silent.

Then, shrill screams erupted across the square.

“Damn it! Who was that?!”
Owen’s face darkened. He slammed his fist down and immediately ordered the area sealed off. Militech personnel moved swiftly into action.

Inside a nearby room, Weis froze, his expression turning complicated. He hadn’t expected someone to actually attempt to assassinate Fiers—and more importantly… to succeed.

Although he welcomed the outcome, the situation was serious. He couldn’t leave any openings behind, so he quickly sent people to investigate the scene.

Not far away, Finkes’ pupils contracted sharply. In an instant, he locked onto Roland’s firing position and shot forward with a burst of speed.

For the first time in his career, he had failed to protect his employer. Jhin’s actions had brought shame to him as a knight. To erase that shame, he had to take the enemy down.

After landing the shot, Jhin kicked open the iron door, running straight into two patrolling Militech soldiers. Before they could speak, he crossed four meters in a flash, his Dagger sweeping like a butterfly.

Two fountains of blood burst forth, splattering across the wall.

Jhin stepped over their bodies and sprinted downstairs. He had to move fast—once the enemy regained their composure, they’d form an encirclement. He wasn’t afraid of them, but it would be a real hassle.