Chapter 57: Awakening

Kiwi slowly opened her eyes, still feeling a bit disoriented. The soft lighting helped her adjust quickly to her surroundings, and she began scanning the room around her.

Her vision felt noticeably sharper—crisper than ever. New Scan functions floated across her field of view. As her pupils shifted, her violet eyes instantly locked onto a cup several meters away, zooming in close enough to see the droplets inside it.

“...Amazing.”

She pushed herself up and stepped off the bed without the slightest discomfort. It felt as if this body… had been made for her.

She looked down at herself: black electronic-fiber muscles, dark silver Exoskeleton armor that could seemingly shift into full black. Despite its slim frame, she could feel the tremendous power coiled within it.

She raised her right hand, and a purple interface flared to life—instantly reshaping itself into an energy crossbow that formed along her arm. A black helmet rose from behind her and sealed over her head.

A new vision interface snapped into place, and the Purification combat system activated before her eyes.

“Mr. Roland, Kiwi is awake.”

“Oh? Send her to me.”

Hearing this, Roland set down the documents in his hand and spoke calmly.

Before long, Kiwi arrived at his room, guided by an intelligent security robot. Both of them were currently inside the secret factory Lissandra had prepared.

What Roland hadn’t expected was that Kiwi’s PROJECT-compatible cyberware had taken more than ten days to fully adapt.

During that time, Vilet and Tina had joined the company. White and the others weren’t thrilled, but they ultimately respected the two women’s decision. Roland assigned them both to the original PROJECT team.

He had also equipped the squad with Night Owl security robots.

The Night Owl security robot was designed primarily for reconnaissance and stealth operations—originally developed by PROJECT to deal with certain competitors encountered in the company’s early expansion.

Its weapon loadout included a [Lockie Smart Sniper Rifle], two tech pistols, Wrist Blades forged from specialized alloy, Optical Camouflage, and micro-drones.

It even possessed limited netrunning capabilities, making it a remarkably versatile unit. However, it was eventually phased out in later development cycles.

Visually, the robot featured a predominantly black design, with a matte-black glass humanoid visor providing full 360-degree vision.

Meanwhile, after obtaining Roland’s damaging intel on Biotech, Arasaka began targeting Biotech’s stock price and publicly throwing shade at Militech.

Militech, however, remained unusually restrained—Myers was fully occupied preparing for the Unification War. Facing Arasaka’s provocations, they chose to step back, insisting that “minor grudges shouldn’t disrupt major strategy.”

This frustrated some of the more aggressive factions, who argued retaliation was necessary, but Myers shut them down every time.

“Boss, you called for me…”

Kiwi stepped in, but the moment her eyes landed on Roland, she frowned. His silhouette looked oddly familiar and…

Her system eyes automatically began scanning him.

【PROJECT Alpha Prototype Cyberware】

A question mark practically popped into Kiwi’s mind. Alpha prototype? What did that even mean?

At the same time, Roland’s internal system—Light’s combat module—sounded an alarm. Her scan had triggered his autonomous defense protocol, and he almost drew his blade on instinct.

He forced the system down with effort, narrowing his eyes at Kiwi.

“You seem… a little undisciplined. Performing a Scan on me without permission.”

“Sorry—reflex, it just happened…”

Kiwi’s heart jumped at his tone, and she quickly lowered her head.

“Forget it. Just be more careful next time. I called you here about your position. For now, you’ll serve as the squad leader of the Night Owl Squad within the PROJECT team. Vilet and Tina are both assigned there. Go find them and get familiar with the work.”

“...Understood.”

Kiwi nodded and left the office. The moment she stepped outside, her brows knitted. Something about the boss felt different today—his presence was far more imposing than before. She couldn’t explain why.

After she left, Roland realized the problem: his identity as Yi would likely be exposed. Her scanning system had identified his Cyberware model with complete precision…

“Forget it. I’ll deal with that later…”

The next target he needed to handle… was Luvena Tech. They’d been provoking him for far too long. It was time to shut them down—and take over their operations.

PROJECT Corporation covered everything—they could swallow any business.

Luvena Tech’s primary field directly clashed with Roland’s current strategy and simply couldn’t compete. But their secondary business had caught his attention:

Intelligent security systems
and small-scale armed service contracts.

Roland thought, This is my specialty. Taking you down will be effortless.

Luvena Tech’s main business had already been completely outclassed by PROJECT, causing its market value to tank. But their secondary division still held enough competitive strength to keep the valuation from collapsing outright.

Roland just needed to deliver one decisive blow to that branch—and the whole company would fall.

He wasn’t an expert in financial markets, so he’d leave that to the professionals. As for security systems, he could directly poach their clients—or provide services to their clients’ competitors.

All perfectly workable paths, and all of them depended on the output of Lissandra’s secret factory.

To be honest, Roland was intrigued by the surrounding industrial zone. If possible, he wanted to acquire the entire region. He had specifically avoided the industrial park that would later be taken over by Arasaka.

“In that case… I’ll need to deal with the people over at City Hall…”

Roland narrowed his eyes. He didn’t enjoy wrangling with bureaucrats, but he had little choice. It would have to be handled slowly.

“First, the raw materials…”

He needed to negotiate a deal with Matier Industries to secure more raw materials for scaling up production. Whether it was firearms, robotics, or ammunition, everything required massive quantities of industrial supplies—and he certainly wasn’t someone with a mine of his own.