"Unfortunately, your mother is not in good condition. She'll need to be kept under observation for a while."
Some time passed. The emergency treatment was over, but the results weren't very good.
The impact from the car crash seemed to have injured her brain, causing severe aftereffects, though her life was not in immediate danger.
Of course, this was all thanks to Trauma Team's medical care, and naturally, the price wasn't cheap.
David fell silent as he stared at the long string of zeros on the bill, which had been paid by Corpo V.
"Um, you... ma'am... why are you helping me?"
After a long hesitation, David finally spoke up. He had never met Corpo V before. Their worlds were like parallel lines that would never intersect; they were not people of the same world.
Yet she had suddenly saved him and his mother. Even as a bright-eyed college student, he was still a resident of Night City and knew better than to believe in free lunches.
Why save him? For the gig, of course.
"I saved you, and that's that. You owe me one, kid."
Corpo V was very dismissive of David. A sum like this couldn't be repaid with a mere favor; David could work his whole life and probably never save up this much money.
The two had almost nothing in common, and the atmosphere fell into a heavy silence. Seeing this, Corpo V left the hospital room and found a secluded corner.
"Hey, is this X? I've rescued David and his mother, just as you asked."
"But his mother isn't in great shape. Trauma Team says she won't wake up for a while and will need continuous treatment."
"That's not on me. They said the car crash caused the head injury. It wouldn't have mattered even if I'd gotten there sooner."
Corpo V argued her case, but she didn't know that David's mother's 'coma' was Schwarzer's own handiwork. Manipulating Trauma Team's equipment to fake a medical condition was a trivial matter.
For the plan to proceed, David's mother needed to be taken offline temporarily. As for why V was sent to do this—it was, of course, to let her get acquainted with her predestined mercenary squad ahead of time.
David's luck was ranked third in the world. The top two were V and Ninja Slayer.
If she was going to be a fixer, she would naturally be the best. And for that, she needed a top-tier crew. What could be more top-tier than the three protagonists?
"[CONFIRMED] Then, as promised, I will tell you about the 'ninjas.'"
"[WARNING] First, about the reality of ninjas. You should be in a hospital right now, right? Make sure to have sedatives or something ready."
Schwarzer hadn't forgotten about the existence of NRS (Ninja Reality Shock) in the Ninja Slayer world. It wasn't just seeing a ninja that triggered it; even learning too much information about them could cause a shock.
Although V was no ordinary person, it was better to give a warning just in case. It just so happened that she was in a hospital, having just saved David and his mother.
"[DISCLOSURE] Ninjas are a species that completely transcends humanity. Long ago, they were the rulers of mankind..."
Schwarzer chose to tell Corpo V the unvarnished, dark truth of the ninjas. Such a bizarre and fantastical worldview made Corpo V instinctively assume she was spouting nonsense.
However, the stiffness in her body and a fear etched into her very DNA made her realize it was all true.
As her understanding of ninjas grew, the symptoms of NRS began to manifest.
It started with dizziness and an inability to control her body. Then, she lost control completely, as if paralyzed.
"Aieeeee!!!" A strange cry escaped her lips involuntarily.
Ninjas? What are ninjas? Where are the ninjas?!!
Just by listening to the truth Schwarzer recounted, Corpo V saw visions of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The hallucinations and terror nearly shattered her sanity.
Fortunately, her willpower was exceptionally strong, and with the considerable amount of cyberware installed in her body, V finally recovered from the bizarre state as a medical device injected her with a sedative.
"So this is the truth hidden within history? Creatures like ninjas actually exist in the world?"
The abnormality in her own body was the best proof. This hadn't been an attack via her cyberware; V felt the protest coming from her own flesh and blood.
It was an instinct from the depths of her genes, an instinct carved into human DNA after years of being slaughtered by ninjas!
Realizing this, no matter how outlandish the truth about ninjas was, she was convinced that everything Schwarzer said was true.
Saburo Arasaka seems to be looking for ninjas too. Is it for the power of eternal life?
Human desires are often similar. Like Saburo Arasaka, the thing she cared about most was that becoming a True Ninja meant obtaining true immortality!
"Does becoming a True Ninja mean you can never die?" she asked impatiently.
"[CORRECTION] People die when they are killed. The same goes for ninjas. After a ninja is killed, they become a 'Ninja Soul' and ascend to the Golden Pavilion, later possessing an ordinary person to create a new ninja. However, a normal Ninja Soul has no self-awareness."
Corpo V naturally understood that, but what she wanted to ask was obviously not about that, but—
"[SUPPLEMENT] The lifespan of a ninja is, in theory, infinite."
Schwarzer, of course, knew what she cared about and deliberately saved it for last.
The call fell silent for a moment. Schwarzer could hear the other party's heavy breathing. As expected, few people could resist such a temptation.
Whether it was Saburo Arasaka or Corpo V, the higher one's position, the stronger their desire for eternal life.
"You have other intel, don't you? What do you want from me for approaching me?"
Corpo V quickly suppressed her excitement. She knew she was already caught in this mysterious fixer's web.
X, who held information on ninjas, must have a motive for contacting her. It was better to be direct. She was determined to get her hands on that intel.
"[EXPLANATION] As the strongest fixer in all of Night City, I need the strongest team. You have the potential to join me. But not now."
"Saburo Arasaka knows more about ninjas than you do. Providing him this intel won't be of much use. You need a real 'lure.'"
Schwarzer knew that Corpo V was completely hooked. This was a chance to get in with Saburo Arasaka, the uncrowned king of Night City, and also a chance to obtain immortality.
A file was quickly sent to her. It wasn't some secret about ninjas, but a photo of a book.
It was an ancient-looking paper book with a few words written in Japanese on it—Kojiki.
'This is a transcript of the Kojiki. It records the history and legends of the ninjas. Successfully deciphering the Kojiki will grant you all the information on ninjas.'
As for its location... V checked and discovered it was... in David's home?
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