“What... the hell... is that...” V forced her head up, pupils narrowing as she stared at the figure that had suddenly appeared in front of her.
It was an Asian woman with pink hair. Her lower lip was full, strands of hair falling down the sides of her face as if she were trying to hide her eyes behind the messy curtain—or maybe concealing some sorrow in its shadow.
The moment this woman appeared, even Arthur’s usually unchanging anomaly began to flicker. Johnny Silverhand, who until now had been nothing more than a blur of light and shadow, suddenly flashed into full view right in front of him.
And then... the mysterious woman seemed to follow that same anomaly, stepping forward to stand before the two of them.
“Damn it...” Arthur didn’t feel the skull-splitting pain V did, but the bizarre sight before him still left him unsettled. His hand instinctively moved toward his waist.
“Shit!” Johnny, still clutching his head, stumbled and collapsed onto a pile of junk. “That bitch is messing with the Relic.”
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? You bitch... This was supposed to be the two of us.” V glared at the woman, every word sharp with anger.
The woman didn’t answer directly. Instead, her next move left both V and Johnny frozen for a beat.
“Johnny.” She spoke as though she could see him—a man who shouldn’t even exist. “You need to step away for a while.”
The moment the words left her lips, Johnny’s figure flickered and vanished.
“Shit... You can see Johnny...” V, still panting heavily, frowned deeper. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind and she shot her arm forward. “You’re a digital lifeform too? Damn it, what did you do to Johnny?”
“Relax... V... relax...” The woman slowly crouched down, her eyes fixed silently on V. “I’m So Mi, a netrunner. I linked into the Relic’s audio-visual module—that’s why you can see me.”
“Relax? That’s fucking rich. You think you can just crawl into my head without asking? There’s already enough of you assholes in here to fill a poker table. What, you think my head’s a damn motel?” V braced herself against a box, struggling upright, her glare sharp as knives.
“Don’t worry, V. Johnny and I running on the Relic at the same time puts strain on your nervous system.” So Mi pressed her palms downward in a calming gesture. “But that’s not the issue right now... The situation is urgent. My body is aboard Space Force One. The President of the New United States, Rosalind Myers, is sitting right across from me.”
“Wait... no fucking way.” Wincing, V waved a hand, even letting out a bitter chuckle. “Hey... What’s with you big shots suddenly cozying up to a bunch of nobodies? Not long ago, Saburo Arasaka dropped dead right in front of me... Now you’re throwing the President into the mix? I won’t even be able to stay on Earth at this rate.”
“Listen, V. This time is different...” So Mi’s expression grew grave. “We’re here to ask for help. Space Force One has been hacked—we’ve lost all control, even comms are cut. You’re the only one I can reach.
The ship is set to crash-land in Dogtown. Normally that wouldn’t be dangerous... but the problem is this place. V, you have to find the President before anyone else does, and keep her safe. That’s the top priority.”
...
Staring at the shadow before her, V stayed silent for several seconds before asking, “You said you can save my life? You weren’t bullshitting me, were you?”
“I can cure you—completely. But first we need to get through this.” Watching V force herself to her feet, So Mi took a step back. “Before that... alright, let me check something...”
In front of V, the Relic—normally never displaying anything directly—suddenly projected a trapezoid-shaped window. The garbled code vanished, replaced by crisp, clear data.
“Your Relic was clogged with junk data. I cleared it and added some upgrades.” With a simple gesture, So Mi finished the operation.
“Militech... Figures.” V muttered, glancing at the small labels in the new interface.
“It’s Militech’s latest combat model...” So Mi gave only a brief explanation before her figure shifted again. “We need to move now. There’s a side path we can use, but don’t let the scanners catch you.”
“Follow me.” Arthur, who’d been quietly watching, gave V a quick once-over. Seeing she could move properly again, he finally relaxed.
“By the way, that woman... the one who just messed with your head? Damn it, I don’t trust her.” Arthur lowered his voice, but V only bit her lip.
“...You don’t get what ‘shared senses’ means, do you?” V blinked awkwardly, then laid it out. “She hears everything I hear.”
Arthur fell silent, following as they picked their way through piles of rubble and debris.
Only after a long walk, past what looked like an abandoned garage, did the guards finally disappear from sight.
The shadow leading them flickered closer.
“This gentleman doesn’t seem to trust me.” With the area seemingly secure, So Mi no longer carried the edge of earlier.
Arthur shrugged. “That’s nothing.” He gestured toward V. “A stranger.”
“But at least we’re alike in one way... we’re both cornered.” So Mi’s words carried little conviction—words alone don’t count for much.
“Your case is special.” She changed the subject, though her eyes lingered on Arthur. “The Blackwall... there’s a port in you, but it’s silent. No erosion like there should be.
It feels like... you and it are the same kind.”
Walking through the ruins, Arthur frowned at her serious look and instinctively stepped farther away. “I don’t look much like a wall. Damn it... maybe you should be looking at my arms and legs.”
Under the glow of red emergency lights, the three of them—or rather, two—rounded a few corners before halting at a sealed steel roll-up door.
“Hey, how the hell are we supposed to get through this?” V scanned the surroundings. “This heap isn’t moving anytime soon.”
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