Boris is dead.
Killed by his colleague of several years, Karelinna.
Blood and brain matter splattered across the back of the chair and the wall through the bullet hole.
His expression was calm, not even a hint of struggle.
Spires know well that their line of work involves too much danger; there's no retirent for them, and everyone will face this day eventually.
Like Solomon Lid all those years ago, and now him; that seems to be the norm.
The gun slipped from Karelinna's limp hand, dropping to the ground as she bowed her head.
"Satisfied now...?"
Sad?
No.
Even though she knew Boris wouldn't yield to enemies given his personality, if Soviet Petrochemical had ordered him to kill her, he would have shown no rcy.
He was acutely aware of his role as a tool.
"Satisfied?"
Lin Miao, who had recorded the entire process through the cara, couldn't quite say he was satisfied.
The fact that two Soviet Petrochemical agents were hiding as leaders within the Cleaner base was actually quite troubleso.
This ant that the relationship between Soviet Petrochemical and Cleaner was not just transactional or background-related; Soviet Petrochemical had completely infiltrated this hyena gang, surpassing Lin Miao's expectations about how many of their people were in Night City.
"Just average."
The ambiguous answer made Katya's hopeful heart hang once more. She killed Boris on the off chance he gave her, given she normally wouldn't survive. The enemy had no reason to spare her as a Soviet Petrochemical agent even if she walked out, they would have killed her. That's why Boris mocked her naive fantasy before dying.
However, Lin Miao wasn't one to enjoy lying, nor cruel enough to have people kill each other for amusent.
"Katya Karelinna, I recorded everything just now, and you surely know what that ans."
"Now, I need you to do sothing else..."
Lin Miao pressed a button, projecting the scene onto the wall with a mini-projector.
It was footage of a giant trading with the French, though the surveillance drone was too far away to hear any sounds.
"This is..."
Horizon Corporation having dealings with the French?
This discovery made Karelinna astonished, but the opponent showed it to her clearly intending sothing.
Only then did Lin Miao slowly speak.
"Soviet agent Katya Karelinna discovered Horizon Corporation agents secretly trading with the French in Dog Town, possibly linked to recent Soviet Petrochemical conflicts, thus she and agent Boris delved into investigation, unfortunately getting exposed."
"Horizon Corporation surrounded the Cleaner base to kill and silence witnesses, Boris sacrificed himself for you to escape with data."
Once Lin Miao finished speaking, Karelinna wasn't naive; she quickly realized he wanted her to take this intelligence to stir both parties' relations.
But... why would a company in North Arica's Night City concern itself with European Community affairs?
It's about military technology and Kangtao!
Karelinna thought deeply in fear.
Planting agents within other companies or defection is common, but what Lin Miao ntioned wasn't just about a French company; it was directly aid at France.
Karelinna didn't believe the opposite wanted her to guess which French company.
These two might intend to shake the very top of European Community's world dominance!
Whereas she was just an insignificant pawn.
What kind of place is this!
Such a damn place!
Damn place!
Realizing she was pulled into a major event, Karelinna felt heartbroken.
But to survive, she had no choice.
"I've uploaded a private encrypted channel for you, I'll contact you if needed, no need to worry about Soviet Petrochemical finding out, they lack such technology. Of course, you can try running or exposing when reporting back if you're not afraid of dying."
This encrypted communication uses the Black Wall protocol found in all network devices; no sane person would think of using it for maintaining stable contact.
Lin Miao had more effective employee contracts, but they weren't ant for a pawn like Karelinna.
Karelinna found it unreliable, but had no choice.
She shakily took down the mini-projector from the wall, extracted the chip, and inserted it into the back of her neck to copy.
After copying, Lin Miao's voice directly echoed in her mind.
"Now you're free, Karelinna, go report back to the Soviet Union."
"But soon, you'll find freedom cos with a price; this mory will beco your new prison, accompanying you."
————
Having lost their Soviet agents' backbone, the remaining Cleaner beca a bunch of toothless cats, failing to withstand even two or three rounds of player attacks before disbanding.
Not to ntion nearly 400-500 people ca for this battle, far exceeding the Cleaner numbers in the entire base, making resistance pointless.
Even the Cleaner and onlookers were stunned, let alone Hansen.
Through surveillance drone footage, he saw Boris being kicked back into the building by the Exchange Coupon, and soon afterward, silence fell inside.
The result was obvious.
The fall of Cleaner and Soviet agents ca quicker than he imagined.
"800 people..."
He turned to look at Gago.
"Could they all be combat units?"
Gago remained silent.
Even Hansen didn't believe this suggestion.
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