Cyberpunk: 2075

it's clear. For Night City, which is often hit by sandstorms, today is a rare good weather.

After enjoying breakfast, Karl stared at the sky outside the window and then went out.

The sandstorms in Night City are not only raging, but also contain radiation. It is really good to go out in such good weather.

After taking the elevator downstairs and reaching the ground floor, Carl walked out of the super skyscraper. On the road in Little Chinatown outside, an Herrera GTS was parked there waiting for him.

The window was not lowered, but Karl smiled at the vehicle as if he could see the people inside through the glass.

After arriving at the other side of the vehicle, the door opened automatically. Karl sat in the passenger seat, and then said hello to his friend in the driver's seat:

"Good morning, Maki."

"Good morning, Carl."

Sitting in the driver's seat, Takemura Maki nodded towards Karl.

Today is the day I made an appointment with Haruko to accompany her to meet her mother Michiko Arasaka as a friend. Considering personnel issues, Karl made an appointment with Mashi yesterday to pick him up. In terms of time, Mashi was very on time.

When the vehicle started, Mahi did not hold the steering wheel, but handed everything over to the vehicle's intelligent control system. Sitting in the driver's seat, watching the scenery passing by outside the window, Mahi suddenly asked Karl a question:

“Have you met Aunt Michiko Karl?

Have you met Michiko?

"Are you referring to reality or TV? I haven't seen the former, but I have seen too many of the latter."

"Is this so..."

Mahi nodded understandingly: "In other words, today is the first time."

"Absolutely, so what about you?"

Karl's eyes followed the scenery passing by outside the car window. He turned his head and looked at Maki: "You and Haruko have a good relationship. You should have met Michiko Arasaka many times before."

"That was also many years ago.:::

Mashi recalled: "In my childhood memories, Aunt Michiko has always been a person who is at the forefront of the trends of the times."

"Ahead of the trend of the times?"

Karl didn't quite understand. He recalled the image of Michiko Arasaka he had seen on TV: "Are you referring to the kind that is similar to kitsch?"

Kitsch, a style of clothing that has become popular on the streets in recent years, represents the spirit of chaos and rebellion, emphasizing appearance and ignoring the inner essence.

This style is characterized by exaggeration, boldness and tackiness. It seems to be sensational, but in fact it is a cultural expression that reflects people's dissatisfaction with reality and the pursuit of individuality;

The kitschism in Carl's memory is similar to the once-popular shamate culture. They were both colorful styles that were popular for a period of time. However, unlike the past, where shamate culture is gradually fading out of people's sight, kitsch ism is becoming popular around the world and has become a cultural phenomenon.

In Carl's impression, Michiko Arasaka, who appeared in the public eye, looked a bit kitsch in her appearance and attire.

"There may be some similarities, but I guess the Aunt Michiko we met this time may change her style again, and this style is definitely cutting-edge and will become popular soon."

Mashi said: "This is how Aunt Michiko I met when I was a child. Every time she appeared in front of people, her clothing style was different and she always seemed unique. But soon, many people who imitated her dress would appear on the market. , and then lead a popular trend for a period of time.”

As she said that, Mashi's face showed a bit of expectation: "She is always at the forefront of trends. Aunt Michiko is really amazing. Just by looking at her clothes, you can predict the next fashion trend. She is just like Like a magician, full of incredible charm.”

I think this is not so much because she has the vision to lead the trend, but because of Michiko Arasaka’s status. Others see what she wears and imitate it, and then everyone follows suit, so it became popular. '

Karl buried this complaint in his heart. After all, no one can say for sure about this kind of thing. Maybe Michiko Arasaka is really an amazing fashion master, and her vision is just a few steps ahead of others?

Arasaka Michiko was able to integrate the Arasaka forces in America after the corporate war and develop them into the third largest faction in the Arasaka forces. At the time, Michiko Arasaka, who was only seventeen years old and underage, had already demonstrated extraordinary abilities, calling her Being a genius is not an exaggeration at all, and being a genius in every aspect is probably a matter of course.

Time passed quickly after chatting with Maki about meeting Michiko Arasaka. After Carl felt the speed of the vehicle slow down, he was already in the North Oak area.

Michiko Arasaka met her daughter, whom she had not seen for a long time, and hoped that she would bring her friends to meet her. This kind of more personal matter would definitely not be carried out in Arasaka Tower, and for those who traveled around, they rarely stayed at night for a long time. For Michiko Arasaka in the city, the only place she can call home and receive guests is her daughter's side.

Herrera was walking through the driveway in North Oak. Before he even got close to Haruko's house, Carl felt three or four waves of scans from the drone in the sky. Then, he saw no less than fifty people on both sides of the road. Name, the garrison personnel wearing Arasaka uniforms. Judging from their movements, as well as the equipment and prosthetics they wear, they are all very capable.

This is still far away, it is so strict...

Carl estimated that these were just the Arasaka personnel standing on the roadside. Each of them was enough to hold him back for a moment. If fifty people came together...

It would be almost impossible to deal with them before the follow-up support.

This was just the arrangement before reaching the manor. Carl even doubted whether the arrangement in the manor was tighter than that in the Arasaka Tower.

But on second thought, this was also reasonable. After all, the only two Arasaka family members in the entire Americas were now in the manor in the North Oak District. If the defense was not tight enough, it would be really strange.

The Arasaka personnel in America had already tasted the taste of being leaderless. After the death of Arasaka Kei, the manager of the Americas, if his daughter Arasaka Michiko had not stepped up and unified the power of Arasaka in America, then Arasaka, which had lost the company war, would have been easily defeated by other companies in the Americas, or even disintegrated. With such historical lessons, they would naturally be more vigilant and strengthen their defense.

As the car got closer and closer to the manor, a man came out at the gate, stopped in front of the Herrera gangster, and gestured to come down for inspection.

Looking at the man from the car, Carl's expression was a little subtle.

Mr. Kenichi Shiro, how did you get to guard the gate?