Alex sat quietly, watching the group discuss various ways to help Maine, who was teetering on the edge of cyberpsychosis. He lit a cigarette and, with his eyes half-closed, drifted into his thoughts. Recent events in the city had begun to worry him: the number of cyberpsychosis cases had skyrocketed. If before there had been one or two incidents per week, in the last month that number had multiplied several times over. Almost all the jobs he received involved dealing with cyberpsychos.

«Care to enlighten us about your plan for infiltrating Arasaka?» Falco asked, breaking Alex’s train of thought.

Alex exhaled a cloud of smoke and nodded briefly.

«I’ve got a few ideas on how to get in. The easiest way is to storm in there screaming like a robber,» he said with a smile, raising a finger.

Lucy sighed in exasperation when she heard this. She knew Alex well enough to realize he might actually pull off something like that—using a brick or any other object for his «robbery.» Falco almost choked at the suggestion, realizing how crazy Alex could be. Kiwi rolled her eyes, clearly not taking it seriously.

«That’s funny and all, but how about you tell us what you’ve really got in mind?» Falco asked, recovering from his coughing fit.

Alex smirked, setting aside the joke. He called over GIR, who was sprawled on the couch, tossing candy wrappers around. Hearing his name, the robot dog jumped up and quickly leapt onto the table. Alex connected his phone to GIR and activated a projection to reveal his real plan.

«I’ve been planning to infiltrate Arasaka for a while, and honestly, I intended to do it later. But Maine’s situation has forced me to speed things up,» Alex began, showing a schematic on the wall.

The projection displayed images of two unfamiliar people. The rest of the group turned their heads, waiting for more details.

«This man is Kai Yamamoto, the new head of Arasaka’s research division. Next to him is his secretary, Misa Goto. Kai was recently promoted and will soon be transferred to the branch located in Night City. My plan is to use his identity to infiltrate Arasaka and steal some data on their research,» Alex continued, flipping through slides that provided more information on Kai and his activities.

The group listened attentively, though the question of how exactly Alex planned to steal someone’s identity lingered.

«How are you planning to ‘take’ this Kai’s identity?» Pilar asked, narrowing his eyes.

Alex chuckled, patting GIR on the head.

«Remember when I said anything that goes online stays there? Well, my little friend here has gotten very good at hacking, and he can pull any information related to Kai that I need.»

All eyes were on GIR, who happily wagged his tail as if he had just been given a command to «fetch.» None of them expected the robot dog to be capable of such complex hacking operations. For most, GIR was just an odd being, worshipping some Emperor and quoting codes before carrying out tasks.

Lucy wasn’t surprised, though. She knew that in the digital world, GIR was a true virus, capable of slipping into any network and retrieving whatever was needed without being noticed.

«But there’s a problem. Kai is almost never alone. His secretary, Misa, is always with him. She’s basically his nanny, since Kai is completely inept when it comes to social interactions. Not many people know this; most assume she’s his lover. People think he’s arrogant and doesn’t want to talk to anyone, but the truth is, he just struggles with interacting with others,» Alex explained, lighting another cigarette.

The projection displayed several slides with photos where Kai and Misa were together in various situations. In all the images, the secretary was handling communication on Kai’s behalf, while he stood off to the side, seemingly indifferent to everything.

«So, what’s your plan?» Dorio asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Alex smiled and leaned forward, clearly preparing to share something important.

«At first, I wanted to take Lucy with me. But as you can see, my dear Lucy is a bit too small for the role,» Alex smirked, pointing at Lucy, who was sitting nearby.

Lucy rolled her eyes, pinching him on the waist to get him to stop pointing at her. If Rebecca had been in her place, Alex would have already faced a storm of fury from that little «gremlin» who would’ve jumped at the chance to tear him apart for such a thing.

«And what exactly are you planning to do instead?» Kiwi asked, noticing how Lucy tightened her grip on Alex’s waist.

Alex turned to Kiwi, a sly smile spreading across his face, making her feel a sense of unease. His expression made it clear that he had found the perfect partner in her for this crazy scheme. Kiwi sighed, realizing she was getting dragged into something dangerous.

«That’s why our wonderful Kiwi will be part of the plan, playing the role of the secretary,» Alex declared, keeping his grin in place.

Kiwi sighed again, realizing what was happening. Alex had decided to involve her in a mission where they would have to infiltrate the most secure location in the city, risking their lives for data that might not even exist. She was already on the verge of standing up and leaving the room to avoid becoming part of this plan, but her internal conflict wouldn’t allow her to abandon the team. On one hand, she didn’t want to put herself in danger, but on the other, she felt obligated to help Maine.

«Why Kiwi?» Falco asked, looking at Alex with interest.

Alex stood up from his chair and walked over to Kiwi. She watched him cautiously but remained seated, waiting for him to speak. He extended a hand, offering to help her up. Raising an eyebrow, Kiwi accepted his assistance and stood. He led her away from the table so everyone could see her full figure.

«If you look closely, Kiwi’s height and build are almost identical to Misa’s, the secretary. Even their facial expressions are similar, except for the fact that Kiwi always wears a mask,» Alex explained, pointing out the comparison between the two women.

The team started analyzing the similarities between Kiwi and Misa. Everyone agreed that Kiwi was the perfect candidate for the role: Dorio was too bulky, Lucy didn’t fit the height requirement, and Rebecca… well, she wasn’t built for stealth missions.

«But there’s a problem—I don’t take off my mask for personal reasons,» Kiwi said, touching her face.

Alex looked at the mask with curiosity but didn’t push further. He had already assumed two reasons she wore it: either to hide her identity or due to some sort of illness.

«Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask about your reasons. I’ve already made something in my workshop that can change your face without using the usual mask methods. So, you won’t have to take yours off,» Alex replied with a shrug.

Kiwi nodded and sat back down, still uncertain about participating in such a risky mission. She needed more time to think it over.

«Do you need anything else?» Falco asked, shifting his gaze to Alex.

«Yeah, I’ll need your help. Your driving skills will be crucial,» Alex answered.

«What exactly do you need me to do?» Falco asked seriously.

«Nothing too complicated. You can take my car, but you’ll need to change clothes,» Alex said, pointing at Falco.

Falco looked at his clothes in surprise, unable to understand what Alex didn’t like about them.

«What’s wrong with my outfit?»he asked.

«Your clothes suit you very well, but for the role you’ll be playing in our show, you need to look presentable,»Alex explained.

Falco just shrugged, realizing that the mission was becoming more serious. He didn’t immediately understand what Alex meant by «show» and asked for clarification.

Alex began explaining: to convince everyone that the real Kai had arrived, they needed to put on a spectacle—a personal driver, a grand entrance, all captured by the surrounding cameras.

This wasn’t just an infiltration; it was a performance that would dispel any suspicions. Falco listened and nodded, realizing that such an operation required attention to the smallest details.

«Alex, are you sure you want to go through with this?»Dorio asked, concern evident as she stared at him.

Alex nodded confidently, assuring her that the plan was feasible and didn’t require anything too complicated. The main goal was to get inside the building, and then it would just be a matter of downloading the necessary data and reaching the lab to retrieve the medicine.

«To be honest, I could sneak in alone by impersonating any employee. But by taking on Kai’s identity, I can access far more areas within Arasaka. Even if Kiwi declines, I still have a plan for infiltrating and stealing,»Alex shrugged, leaving no doubt about his decision.

Dorio realized there was no point in trying to talk him out of it—Alex was already set on completing the mission. The rest of the group silently agreed with his determination. Lucy knew that Alex was hardly in danger in this city, and even if he did «stir up a hornet’s nest» with Arasaka, he surely had a plan for that too. She was confident Alex had taken precautions to protect them.

«But why do you even need to infiltrate Arasaka? You’ve been planning this since before Maine had his cyberpsychosis attack,»Pilar asked, giving Alex a careful look.

Alex nodded in response and showed new slides, gathered by G.I.R. during their joint missions. The screen flickered with images of bodies, and the group froze, waiting for an explanation.

«These are all cyberpsycho corpses,»Alex pointed at the slides, explaining their significance.

All eyes were glued to the screens, and questions began to swirl in their minds. Why was Alex showing these pictures? What did this mean for their mission? Lucy began to guess what it was about: Alex had complained several times that the number of cyberpsycho attacks was rising. What used to be rare occurrences were now happening more frequently, and, more importantly, in the most crowded places.

«Why are you showing us this?»Kiwi asked, puzzled, looking at Alex.

He raised an eyebrow, surprised by her question. Kiwi was always the group’s informant, always aware of what was going on, so her question confused Alex.

«If you haven’t noticed, the number of cyberpsycho attacks has skyrocketed. Not long ago, it was just one case per week, and now it’s only Wednesday, and I already have 10 orders to deal with runaway cyberpsychos. You can check the news yourself,»Alex said, showing them his phone with a list of requests.

Everyone quickly checked the news and confirmed that Alex was right: the number of attacks had indeed increased, and the attackers weren’t members of the Maelstrom gang, but ordinary people from the streets. No one could understand what had caused such widespread incidents.

«And the strangest part is, these people have regular implants. None of them had any contact with gangs or anything like that. They were just ordinary workers off the street. There’s nothing connecting them, except that they all suddenly lost their minds and attacked the first person they saw,»Alex said, playing a surveillance video.

The footage showed a person suddenly stopping on the street, as if lost in thought, then abruptly attacking a passerby and beating them to death. Other videos showed similar episodes: a woman threw herself under a truck, a man assaulted a random passerby. Alex turned off the video and patiently waited as the team processed what they had seen.

«Do you think it’s connected to Arasaka?»Kiwi asked, narrowing her eyes.

Alex shook his head. According to him, none of these people had any connection to Arasaka. They were just ordinary citizens who would go unnoticed in a crowd.

«No, I don’t think so. Arasaka has likely made progress in their research on cyberpsychosis, and I want to get that data. But as for these cases… Someone might just be having fun, hacking people and triggering something similar to cyberpsychosis. But it’s just a theory for now,»Alex said thoughtfully, stroking his chin, adding that the situation required further investigation.

Kiwi nodded, listening to Alex’s explanation, though she couldn’t fully believe it was just a coincidence. While everything looked like standard cases of cyberpsychosis, the incidents were happening all over the city in random locations, with no links between the victims. This could mean that Alex was only partially right: maybe someone was indeed having fun or running tests before something bigger.

«Alright, I’ll help you. But if something happens to me, don’t expect Arasaka to kill you—I will,»Kiwi said, narrowing her eyes and glaring at Alex.

Alex laughed, not taking the threat seriously. He was confident that being near him was safer than in any secure place in this city or even the world.

«Don’t worry, it’ll be quiet and unnoticed. No one will even know we were there,»Alex replied, giving a thumbs-up to show his confidence.

He then laid out the plan for infiltrating Arasaka to steal the data and the medicine. Although he could have easily cured Maine without it, that would have raised too many questions, and it was too early to provide answers.

Alex didn’t hide his strength, but too much attention could only cause problems. That’s why he chose the more complicated route—infiltrating Arasaka, ostensibly to steal the medicine, but in reality, his main objective was to access as much data as possible.

«Well, I guess it’s time to go home and get ready. I’ll contact you in a couple of days when everything’s set,»Alex said, addressing Kiwi and Falco.

They nodded in agreement. Kiwi asked Alex to send her information on the secretary, Misa. Alex immediately forwarded her the dossier so Kiwi could prepare and understand how Misa behaved at work.

Before leaving, Alex approached Dorio to discuss Maine’s condition:

«Dorio, Maine is in a deep sleep. Nothing’s threatening him. Just hook him up to a nutrition supply so he doesn’t die from hunger or dehydration,»Alex advised.

Dorio nodded in understanding and asked Falco to take her to the hospital to pick up the necessary medications. Alex and Lucy stepped outside, where Rebecca was already waiting for them, sitting on the hood of the car. She lazily waved when she saw them.

«What took you so long?»she asked, glancing at Alex and Lucy.

Alex shook his head, realizing that Rebecca hadn’t changed—still full of energy and endless questions.

«I was sending data to Kiwi and explaining to Dorio what to do while Maine’s in a coma,»Alex explained as he opened the car door.

Before he could react, Rebecca quickly sat on his lap. G.I.R. was too busy watching his series to pay them any attention.

«Why don’t you just heal Maine right away?»Lucy asked, drawing Alex’s attention.

Alex sighed as he started the engine.

«The reason is simple. It’s not that I’m hiding my powers. If Maine finds out there’s a cure that can heal him at any moment, he won’t change and will continue to be as reckless as ever,»Alex explained.

Lucy nodded, realizing he was right. Maine was indeed reckless. Even after Alex’s research, Maine didn’t give his body enough time to adjust to the new implants. As soon as he completed rehabilitation, he rushed to show off, which led to the cyberpsychosis attack. Rebecca snorted in agreement with Alex:

«Yeah, he’s always getting himself into trouble. Good thing it didn’t get to the point where he started calling himself ‘Cyber-Jesus,’ preaching the greatness of implants and dreaming of taking over the world,»she chuckled, biting Alex’s arm.

Alex looked at Rebecca in surprise.

«Cyber-Jesus? That’s a new one,»he smirked. «I mean, I call myself the Demon King, but for someone to call themselves Cyber-Jesus… even that’s weird for me.”

Lucy rolled her eyes upon hearing Alex call himself the Demon King again. Out of curiosity, she had even started looking up information on demon kings. In every story, demon kings sought to enslave humanity, but in the end, a hero would always appear to defeat them, and everyone would live happily ever after. However, Alex didn’t resemble any of them—he was just a regular guy with a few strange ideas in his head.

«Of course, my mighty Demon King, who creates dangerous toys in his workshop just for fun,»Lucy teased, rolling her eyes.

Alex turned his head toward Lucy, who was playfully joking about the fact that his workshop was constantly filled with dangerous creations. He didn’t blame himself for it—he was genuinely drawn to creating destructive things.

Even G.I.R., which was originally intended to be a cute robo-dog, had ended up as a machine capable of causing chaos and destruction. Alex reflected on all the things he’d created and realized that most of them were designed for destruction.

Protective devices or anything aimed at defense were made only out of necessity, and even then in limited quantities. Ultimately, he realized that he was essentially creating only dangerous things.

«Yeah, I won’t argue with that. I’ll just blame our gremlin,»Alex poked Rebecca on the head with his finger, «for fueling my desire to create dangerous gadgets.”

Rebecca stopped gnawing on his arm and glanced at him. She thought for a moment but quickly concluded that there was nothing wrong with it. After all, what’s the point of creating something if it can’t blow up some idiot or turn him into a bloody mist?

It would be boring without that. She just buried her head against his chest and returned to her activity—trying to bite his arm.

«Are you going to tell them who you really are?»Lucy suddenly asked, looking intently at Alex.

This question made him think. Even Rebecca, distracted from her activity, looked at him, waiting for an answer.

«Maybe when Dorio and Maine want to settle down and start a family,»Alex replied thoughtfully. «Then I’ll offer them to move to my world, where they won’t have to worry about their child getting kidnapped on the street or some cyberpsychopath causing a ruckus.”

Lucy smiled and kissed Alex on the cheek, admiring his willingness to help his friends find a peaceful life.

«What about those who want to continue working as mercenaries?»Rebecca asked, raising her head.

Alex stroked her hair. Her question was logical. Not everyone is ready to give up dangerous work just because it’s risky. Many start their careers as mercenaries precisely for the thrill of living life on the edge.

«In my world, there are dungeons, so they could become adventurers,»he replied. «But to be honest, I think most of our team will decide at some point to retire and live peacefully. Although I’m not sure about your brother.”

Rebecca smirked but agreed with him. She wasn’t sure about Pilar either. However, if he refused to leave, she wouldn’t feel sorry for him and would drag him along by force.

«Even if he doesn’t want to, I’ll shove a shotgun up his ass, and he’ll run like a charm,»she said with a wide smile.

Alex shuddered, imagining the unfortunate Pilar, who could become a victim of his fierce sister. He silently prayed for his well-being, hoping he would agree to leave with them. With his knowledge, Pilar could work in Hephaestus’s workshop and earn good money. But that was a matter for the future.

For now, Alex didn’t plan to leave this world, as he felt that strange events were looming ahead, in which his help might be necessary.

To be continued…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep