Chapter 21

The fact that I made Faraday understand in Afterlife meant the Edgerunners were done!!

...Or so I’d hoped, but fate had other plans. An invitation from Arasaka arrived—delivered via a high-end aerial vehicle parked right outside, no less.

"Please, step inside."

The unspoken pressure was clear: Refuse, and things get ugly. So, for the sake of peace, I boarded. Compared to the rides Saburo or V had in the original, this was a mass-produced model—no champagne service.

The biggest obstacle for the Edgerunners? These guys. Arasaka. But there’s a key detail often misunderstood about the anime’s events: that whole mess was just one Arasaka exec’s solo play for career points.

Faraday took the job to eliminate the "rats" killing Arasaka’s netrunners, which exposed David’s military tech. From there, the corpo woman’s script kicked in: pit him against Militech using the Cyberskeleton as a live test. Best-case? He burns out his humanity and dies. Worst-case? He’s a wreck, doomed to die eventually.

But she underestimated David’s freakish chrome tolerance. Faraday got played—just a pawn. The meeting got ambushed, and boom: Adam Smasher enters, igniting the anime’s climax.

"Got anything to drink?"

"...Mineral water, if that’s acceptable."

I cracked open the ice-cold bottle and gulped, sobering my booze-fogged head.

Now, here’s the kicker. Thanks to squeezing Faraday dry, I know the backstory—and it’s mostly the same. Arasaka had known about my two military-grade implants for ages. How? Not some high-tech leak. Just old-school surveillance: a hired drone watching the black-market tech flow. No digital trail—just good ol’ eyes.

The rumors about stolen Arasaka tech? A ruse. The corpo woman used Faraday to pressure me into contact. I’d assumed he was scheming, but nope—just her playing chess. Overestimated him. (Note to self: Beat her ass later.)

Her real goal? To talk. And I’ve got a hunch why.

Turns out, my old man—Masahiro Kagura—wasn’t just some nobody. Back when David’s crew crashed at my place, I’d rummaged through Dad’s stuff and found an Arasaka researcher ID—high-clearance, department-head level.

"...This water’s natural spring. No wonder it’s good."

Explains his medical expertise. He was a Relic project advisor. Probably fled like that Kang Tao defector—too much guilt over the ethics. Mom being a Joytoy? Likely a cover. And that photo in his tin? A happy young couple. My theory? He died escaping.

But the real kicker? The chip he meant to take to his grave. Probably the real reason Arasaka’s after me. A leaked prototype design? No wonder they’re desperate.

Wakako’s protection kept them from brute-forcing it, but let’s be real: Arasaka owns this city. Literally.

"We’ll arrive shortly. Prepare yourself."

I flaunted my dual military implants at Afterlife for one reason: to meet him. Adam Smasher. No way the corpo woman shows without her pet monster.

And there he was—looming behind a squad of corpo suits and MaxTac-level guards. A chrome colossus, towering over even corpo execs.

Hefting a heavy machine gun one-handed. Projectile launchers built into his arms—the same ones that killed Johnny Silverhand and David Martinez. Reinforced legs for rooftop landings. Thick cables snaking from his skull.

...Ah. Now I get it.

This version of Smasher? Incomplete. By the time V fights him, he’s peak—upgraded nonstop since Morgan Blackhand wrecked him 49 years ago. And with Alt crashing Arasaka’s systems during their battle? V needed Johnny and Alt to win.

Which means... to kill Smasher, I’d need that level of chaos.

Avoiding David’s death was one thing. But this? A nightmare of stacked odds.

"...Alright. Time to chip in."

A war of words—my snark almost made my subordinate, Corpo Man, snap, but I guess I lack the charisma to pull it off.

Corpo Woman glared at me with infrared-hot intensity, but when Adam Smasher stood up with a dull, metallic screech, she seemed to remember something and smirked, oozing confidence as she spoke.

“…Hmph. Filthy gutter rat. I’ll keep it simple—hand over the data from our corp’s tech you’re wearing. That tech was never meant for someone like you to be using. …Still, I won’t take it back just because some legend threw their weight around. You should be grateful.”

“Yeah, unlike an over-the-hill hag like you who needs implants just to hide your crow’s feet, I’m young, hot, and technically your junior in the military-grade tech department. Not sure what exactly you found so charming, but thanks, I guess.”

『…Your father saved me once. This is me returning the favor. That’s all. Don’t expect it to happen again—little keepsake of Masahiro.』

No way. My father? Just how old were you, man?

Also, like—are we even sure he really is my father?

Is there a chance I was actually the result of some cruel, inhumane medical experiment? Like, grown in a lab?

“…So, you knew my father. He never talked about the past, so I hardly know anything about him… By the way, was this favor from, like, forty-nine years ago or something?”

『Yeah. Back then, I wasn’t fully complete yet. Got taken down by Morgan Blackhand. Though, he ended up getting offed by his own crew. All thanks to Johnny Silverhand’s pathetic final tantrum.』

“…Um, can I ask you just one more thing? Am I really my father’s daughter?”

『…Yeah. I remember he said some young researcher pushed him down, and that’s how you were born. Said he didn’t regret it, but also complained it lacked any real emotional connection…』

“I see…”

Yeah, I really didn’t need to know that much about my parents’ sex life.

Wait—was Dad actually a full cyborg and I just never realized? Like, some ultra-advanced implant job?

Anyway. I’d asked what I wanted to ask, so I pulled out two datalogs I’d prepared earlier and tossed the chips over to the corp woman.

She fumbled to catch them in a panic, and by the time she had, I was already aboard the aerial vehicle, seated and ready to go.

The corp woman stomped in frustration, clicked her tongue dramatically at me, then disappeared back into the building with her corp lackey in tow.

Unlike the trip here, this flight was a solo one. The vehicle lifted off, heading toward Japantown.

“…So, uh, killing Adam Smasher just got a whole lot more complicated???”

God, everything’s gone off the rails.

The way he talked about my dad, like some eccentric uncle at a family gathering!

Don’t give me that “just a debt” crap—you two clearly had history. That was the tone people use when talking about old, trusted friends!

Honestly, that’s probably the most human I’ve ever seen you act!

…Maybe I should go retrieve what’s left of Adam Smasher. As a trophy.

Groaning and clawing at my hair in frustration, I flailed around in my seat for a bit before finally collapsing against the backrest, completely drained.

Ugh. I just want to go home and pass out already. I’m buzzed and weirdly emotional. I need a good, long sulk nap.

And to top it all off, that chip my dad gave me? Total red herring. Today was one big pointless detour, and now my head’s killing me.