Chapter 47

Read up to 15 future chapters at patreon.com/FFAddict !

It was 9:30 PM.

North industrial district of Watson, an abandoned steel mill.

As the Militech armed vehicle departed, the fierce firefight suddenly ceased, and the area fell quiet.

Dead bodies and remnants, blood and gore smeared everywhere, spent cartridges, shrapnel fragments, and destroyed drones littered the floor, evidence of a recent battle. 

Tang Yu took brief notice of the shell casings from the squad that killed Arasaka's agents, which bore no Militech markings - the bullets were common types available on the market.

This detail suggested that Meredith had been thoroughly prepared for this, just waiting for Arasaka's fat fish to take the bait.

Without solid evidence, even if Arasaka wanted to trouble Militech, they'd have no grounds to do so.

All electronic signals in the vicinity were jammed, and the storage chips in the brains of Arasaka's agents were destroyed.

It has to be said, Meredith's methods were indeed meticulous.

This also made things convenient for Tang Yu; he no longer needed to cover for Militech's tracks and could shift the blame to the Voodoo Boys gang in his mission report.

After all, there were over a dozen Voodoo Boys bodies on the ground, undeniable evidence of the intense battle that had occurred with Arasaka's agents.

The only difficult point to explain was that the Voodoo Boys, numbering barely a dozen, could not possibly have taken down three squads of Arasaka's agents.

Therefore, some embellishments were needed to pin the blame on Brick, the leader of the Voodoo Boys.

The incident would be characterized as a premeditated, organized ambush by the Voodoo Boys targeting Arasaka, possibly backed and directed by Militech.

If the Arasaka board of directors truly became irate, they could easily retaliate with a purge against the Voodoo Boys.

However, those selfish corporate dogs wouldn't play the role of a moral police officer and close doors for the NCPD.

Tang Yu and Maine shook hands outside the workshop, signifying the success of their cooperation, with both parties achieving their initial objectives.

At this moment, Maine's concerns about Tang Yu had largely dissipated. Having stepped in to help at such a critical moment was proof enough of Tang Yu's sincerity in cooperation.

Tang Yu had not, as Maine and others had thought, betrayed them at a crucial time to seize the greatest benefit.

Maine's tone softened considerably, "Thank you. If you hadn't arrived in time, we probably would've been slaughtered by those Militech bastards, those damned rascals!"

Tang Yu had anticipated the turn of events, but still recognized the effort and the losses Maine's team had suffered in the process. He acknowledged their combat effectiveness:

"You showed impressive strength, justly deserving success in our collaboration. Holding out against Arasaka's special forces wasn't easy."

Maine snorted with some discontent, "What's the use of just fending off those Arasaka dogs? Militech is still waiting for us. They never intended to let us go from the start, Faraday, that bastard!"

The twin-tailed loli burst out angrily, "Exactly, you corporate dogs are all the same, not a single good one among you! That old hag, I won't let her go!"

Rebecca, thinking of Meredith's disdainful gaze that treated them as if they were less than human, as if they were ants to be crushed at her whim, felt her temper flare.

Seeing the twin-tailed girl with impressive shooting skills and courage, Tang Yu asked with a hint of amusement, "Isn't the one who just saved you also a corporate dog?"

Rebecca, not taking kindly to that remark, glared at Tang Yu angrily, "Cut the crap! I'm not afraid of that old hag! If you hadn't talked her down, she wouldn't have made it out alive today! I will kill her!"Maine saw that Rebecca was still somewhat agitated and not too friendly towards Tang Yu, her tone slightly stern as she said, "Rebecca, calm down. No matter what, it was Mr. Tang who helped us out of a tight spot just now. As for the Militech incident, that has nothing to do with him."

Rebecca was very unconvinced, but she wasn't unreasonable. She recognized the truth in Maine's words. Aside from Tang Yu's appearance at the end to talk to Meredith and letting the Militech people leave alive, it seemed there was no particular vendetta against them.

However, Rebecca clearly did not believe Tang Yu was a good person, especially since he ordered his subordinates to kill Caitlin. In Rebecca's eyes, Tang Yu was with Arasaka, and so was Caitlin. Killing one's own people showed a sly and dishonorable way of doing things, which meant there was no guarantee he wouldn't turn the knife on them one day.

Tang Yu, seeing the fiery little loli in front of him, knew he couldn't explain things clearly to her in a moment. After all, as long as Maine and the others survived, it was a win-win outcome.

Dorio, enduring her pain, thanked Tang Yu: "Mr. Tang, thank you, you saved Maine, and you saved all of us."

Pilar also cheerfully thanked Tang Yu: "Haha, although it's a bit strange to say this, you indeed saved our lives! If you don't mind, I'll gift you a pair of cybernetic arms that will make you overjoyed when you return!"

Rebecca, seeing her brother say such embarrassing words, angrily scolded: "Brother! Shut your mouth!"

Soon after, the trauma team arrived at the scene and hurried away after confirming that all Arasaka special operatives who had purchased medical insurance were dead.

Rebecca, seeing the trauma team leaving without even caring about the bodies, felt her inner cosmos of anger almost ignite again. Tonight, her perception of the big corporations had completely shattered.

Rebecca had always disliked the corporations' actions, and now her feelings had turned to deep loathing, which also reflected in her attitude towards Tang Yu.

Despite everything, Tang Yu kept his promise to help rescue Maine's team, so Rebecca bit back her anger and kept quiet.

The Arasaka counter-intelligence department's special ops team was dispatched at 9:30 pm as instructed and arrived to find the site in disarray. Seeing the bodies of their Arasaka colleagues, they looked at each other, at a loss.

After receiving directions from their immediate superior, Tang Yu, they began cleaning up the scene as he requested. Once the identities of the bodies on-site were confirmed and Arasaka's weapons and equipment were recovered, the counter-intelligence special ops team returned to Arasaka Tower to report.

As for the bodies, they were left for the municipal authorities to pick up, who would store them at a morgue waiting for relatives to claim.

Tang Yu did not see Carter Smith on the mission and guessed that he was already on the run, possibly even being pursued by Abernathy's men at that moment. He shook his head helplessly, sighing over Carter's self-sabotage. After all, having endured within Arasaka for so many years to gain a modest official title, he lost everything overnight—a truly ironic fate.

Good advice falls on deaf ears.

That was Tang Yu's final assessment of Carter Smith.

Had Carter personally led the team today, Tang Yu would not only have spared him, but also would have protected him, giving Carter a chance to defend himself and to testify against Abernathy.

But Tang Yu had no time to waste brain cells on a company dog hell-bent on self-destruction. Since he had chosen this path, he had to be prepared to walk it, even if it led to an abyss.