Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 604 18. Still Exists
"Ms. Huazi, the security arrangements this time are really terrible. I can't help but wonder if someone is secretly targeting the Arasaka family. I have completed the inspection of key locations, and the level of laxity of the personnel is shocking. I have arranged the necessary defenses and will be back soon. Please wait."

When Hanako received the message from her personal bodyguard, Oda Santao, she was communicating with her brother, Arasakase Nobuyuki.

Huazi's eyes flickered slightly at the message from Oda Santao.

Hanako knew this personal bodyguard very well. Although his abilities were not as good as those of Katsuo Iwashima, her bodyguard when she was young, his loyalty was impeccable. He could be said to be one of the few people she could trust. Moreover, Oda Santao had a similar unexpressed thought to that of Katsuo Iwashima in the past - Hanako Arasaka knew this very well.

That is, during his long period of escort work, Oda Santao was also fascinated by her.

It has to be said that the women of the Arasaka family seem to be naturally able to attract their own personal bodyguards of the opposite sex.

Katsuo Iwashima, the disciple of Arasaka's chief security officer who once guarded Arasaka Hanako, was fascinated by her. In the past, Adam Hammer also had an ambiguous relationship with Arasaka Michiko. Now, Santao Oda, the best scorer in the Hokkaido training camp, is not immune. Under this special emotion, every knight guarding the "princess" can do his best and show unparalleled loyalty.

Arasaka Hanako was naturally aware of the thoughts of Oda Santao and Iwashima Katsuo. Although they deliberately hid it from others, fearing that if they revealed it, they would attract the wrath of higher-ups and be eliminated, but as the object of protection, how could Hanako not notice the occasional loving glances they cast at her? She just deliberately took advantage of this.

After all, it’s always worth trusting someone who loves you, isn’t it?
Hanako Arasaka inherited a skill from her father - she can see through people's hearts. She always knows what means to use to deal with others, and she also knows how to make people feel good and convinced. With this skill, she not only mediated the conflict between Saburo Arasaka and Nobuo Arasaka in the past, but also walked out of the Arasaka mansion step by step and became an important leader of the internal faction of Arasaka. Even now, she is still using this skill.

She knew Oda Santao's character. Oda Santao didn't say much, which meant that he really didn't find any problems this time. It's just that the guards were too lax, which gave possible assassins a chance, so he was worried about it. Then Arasaka Hanako could rest assured and not worry about being attacked in public.

What needs to be dealt with more now is the communication with my brother.
"I am very sad about my father's death, but Huazi, you know that I have to deal with various matters after my father's death, including preparing to renegotiate the Alvin Agreement with that damn new US President. Soon, she will come to Night City to negotiate with me in person. I really can't be there in person to mourn your father's death with you, because I believe that handling affairs and allowing Arasaka to develop is what he wants to see more."

"Revenge? So you pushed me out and asked me to be the one to announce my father's death? This makes me feel like your puppet."

"Everyone has a role to play, Hanako. Michiko has no problem with that."

"No opinions? That's because she has reached a cooperation with you, right? I never thought that you, who used to do whatever it takes to target everything, would actually join forces with Michiko and try to completely control Arasaka. You've become more and more like your father."

"Are you becoming more like your father?"

Facing Arasaka Hanako's words, Arasaka Nobuyuki was obviously silent for a moment, and then he replied in an unusually calm tone: "No, I have never been different from my father and Saburo. I just found back a little bit of the feeling of the past in the past few days. I just saw the changes. I hope that after today, you will not mention your father anymore, because now, I am the CEO of Arasaka."

He paused, and his tone softened a little: "Hua Zi, remember when you were in the mansion, I often told you stories about the outside world? Perhaps, after today, I can talk to you about these things often as long as you are still willing to listen."

"Brother." When Hanako Arasaka heard her brother, who had not shown his brotherly appearance for a long time and talked about Arasaka Nobuyuki in front of her for the first time in a long time, which reminded her of his past experiences, she felt slightly touched, but she quickly suppressed the feeling.

She took a breath and said, "I will mourn my father's brother well, if that is what you wish."

"Thank you very much, Huazi."

After saying this, Arasaka Nobuyuki ended the call, and Arasaka Hanako took a deep breath as she watched his face disappear in front of the call.

"Never mention father again? But how is that possible?"

Hanako Arasaka was once imprisoned by her father in the Arasaka mansion for a long time. It was not until the death of her brother Kei Arasaka that she stepped forward to mediate the conflict between Sei Nobuo Arasaka and Saburo Arasaka. Only then did she realize that she had an outstanding ability to understand people's hearts and a unique and special status, which also made her taste a bit of power.

Rights can allow her to leave the mansion that imprisoned her, allow her to live in the open and according to her own consciousness to a certain extent, allow her to breathe a little and enjoy freedom, but Arasaka Hanako also understands that the rights she can get all come from others.

Even though she was promoted to become the leader of the Pheasant faction in Arasaka and seemed to have become one of the three giants of power in Arasaka, she was actually just a puppet of Saburo Arasaka. The pheasant was just a gorgeous bird that could not fly long distances. She could only flap her wings slightly to enjoy a moment of freedom. She could not fly far or away and was destined to remain in a cage.

"Unlike my brother Jing who obeyed our father's teachings and my brother who rebelled against our father, everything I have was given to me by my father."

The pheasant cannot escape.

Relic is something that can allow people to live forever to a certain extent after being perfected. However, it was Hanako Arasaka who discovered this function and dedicated it to her father. She understands the ability of Relic better than any of the researchers.

His father might be physically dead, but the fight for Arasaka is not over yet.

Brother, now you may think that I am free from the shackles, I am free to decide things with my own consciousness, and I am still your beloved sister, so you are afraid of me, but you still have some expectations from me caused by past feelings, but
My father has always existed.

The father's will has always existed.

How could I possibly leave the cage?

(End of this chapter)