Chapter 180: Merging the World into One City! Forging One City as the World!
3 years and 149 days later.
Night City, Little Chinatown, Giant Medical Center.
> #LA Universal Daily:
The LA Corporation has locked in the orbital trajectory for the interstellar expedition. The LA Corporation s participating in the "Avatar" expedition plan include LA Corporation, Arasaka, Ye's Group, Biotech…
The fleet's launch time has been confirmed and will proceed on schedule.
May all travelers have a successful journey and triumph in battle!
…
Not far from VIP Supreme Bed No. 007, the voice of a news anchor playing on the television abruptly woke up Song Zhaomei, who had been unconscious for a long time.
As she rubbed her sleepy eyes and groggily sat up from the hospital bed, she finally realized she was inside some kind of medical facility.
She felt as though she had been dreaming for an eternity. In that dream, she had seen V, Reed, Alex, Myers , and Hansen.
At the very end of the dream, it was V who had rescued her from the ruins of Dogtown. Everything that followed led up to this moment—her waking up.
"So, this is the LA Corporation's medical center?"
Song Zhaomei scanned her surroundings. Her first thought was of Watson District's First Medical Center in Little Chinatown.
But judging from the overly spacious, almost colossal hospital ward, and the unfamiliar cityscape outside the window, she wasn't so sure she was still in Night City.
She knocked on her own head, trying to force herself to recall something—anything.
But apart from a few fragmented, obscure memories, she couldn't remember a single thing about what happened after V rescued her from Dogtown's abandoned base.
The good news was that she had survived.
The bad news was that her savior was a corporation.
This meant she would have to go back to her old life—serving yet another powerful organization.
Only this time, the oppressor had changed from Myers to Li Ang.
Nothing has changed. Even the people who once cared about me are nowhere to be seen.
Reed wasn't here. V wasn't here.
"Once again… I'm all alone."
Yet, rather than feeling overwhelmed by loneliness, Song Zhaomei felt an unprecedented sense of calm.
After all, she had been in this situation before—back in the IAF (Intelligence and Action Force). She had long grown accustomed to this kind of life.
A life where she was nothing more than a prisoner in a gilded cage.
She took a deep breath and refocused on reality.
"Avatar Plan? What is that?"
She quickly turned her attention to the news report still playing on the television.
Mega-corporate fleets. Interstellar expeditions. Legion soldiers. Grand infrastructure projects. The construction of an "Ideal City."
Seeing all these bizarre, incomprehensible terms, Song Zhaomei started to doubt reality.
"Am I… not actually awake?"
"Is this some kind of cyber-spatial illusion?"
Maybe her physical body had perished in Dogtown's ruins long ago.
Maybe she was nothing more than a cold, enslaved AI—a wandering stream of data.
Or perhaps her consciousness had somehow crossed the Blackwall, traveling centuries into the future, becoming an entity no longer belonging to this era.
After all, interstellar warships and expedition plans?
This was nothing like the world she remembered.
No… this can't be real.
Regardless of which possibility was true, none of them were acceptable.
Fortunately, after analyzing the television's news feed, Song Zhaomei determined her current reality and timeline.
The good news:
She hadn't traveled to another dimension or skipped forward centuries into the future—she was still in the cyber world she knew.
And this was still a corporate-dominated, despair-filled world, not a fabricated cyberspace.
The bad news:
She had been unconscious for three and a half years.
During this time, she had been completely disconnected from the outside world.
And in those three and a half years, the world had undergone monumental changes—Li Ang had launched the "Ideal City" project, reorganized the LA Corporation s, and initiated an interstellar fleet expedition.
Having missed all of these pivotal moments, it was no wonder she felt completely out of place, as if waking up in a world that no longer belonged to her.
"This… Is this the Bible?!"
It was only then that Song Zhaomei noticed a book on the bedside cabinet—one with a cover that resembled a Bible.
But she wasn't a Christian, so seeing a Bible at her bedside left her puzzled.
"Did V leave this for me when he visited? I never knew he was a Christian."
She shook her head with a bitter smile.
In a world dominated by corporations, there were hardly any company operatives who still believed in God.
The corporate doctrine of wealth supremacy had completely materialized people's beliefs.
Believing in God was pointless—money was the real faith.
Seeking divine salvation? That was worthless compared to a gun in hand.
Someone like V—an elite operative with an iron will—believing in Jesus?
That was unbelievable.
With nothing else to do, she decided to flip through the Bible to see if V had left any hidden messages inside.
But the moment she opened it, she realized—
This wasn't a Bible.
It was a new Bible—one created by LA Corporation.
"The LA Corporation's ambition is so vast that they've even crafted their own religion?"
In Song Zhaomei's mind, Li Ang had now surpassed Myers —he was an even more ruthless dictator.
Myers had only manipulated patriotism to convince people to serve her cause.
But Li Ang?
He was using religion to enslave all of humanity.
Suppressing her shock and unease, she quickly flipped through the pages.
The first passage read:
> "Light shall be named as Bright, Darkness shall be called the Fallen. Eternal daylight, no night shall exist. This is the First Plan."
"Eternal daylight? No night? What kind of doctrine is this?"
"The First Plan is to… erase the existence of nighttime?"
"That's impossible!"
She couldn't make sense of it.
This sounded like something straight out of a fairy tale.
And yet… this was the LA Corporation's first commandment.
To erase the night.
She skipped ahead.
> "Mankind has said: The new home shall be climate-perfect, accommodating all species of the galaxy. So, we flattened the lands, controlled the weather, and shaped it in Gaia's image. Thus, infrastructure became the foundation. This is the Second Plan."
"Flattening land? Controlling weather? What the hell?!"
As she read further, the doctrines became increasingly surreal.
> "On the sixth day, God created man in His own image. Once, mankind was cast from Eden for eating the forbidden fruit, doomed to fall forever."
"Babel was torn down by God's will, preventing humanity from reaching His kingdom."
"Now, we shall define the perfect world ourselves. We shall merge the world into one city—forge one city as the world!"
"Merge the world into one city? What kind of twisted religion is this?!"
Shocked, Song Zhaomei threw the book onto the cabinet.
She had seen many insane things before.
But this?
This was on a whole different level.
Just then, the hospital room door opened.
A towering, muscle-bound officer stepped inside.
Seeing the intruder, Song Zhaomei instinctively backed away to the window, her face full of alarm.
But when she focused her gaze, she realized—
It was V.
But after three years…
V was now nearly three meters tall.
His cybernetic implants had been replaced with pure muscle.
He no longer looked like a wolf.
Now, he was a tiger.
"V… is that you?"
Song Zhaomei could hardly believe it. The massive warrior standing before her like a mountain was actually the company agent V from her memories.
Had human beings started going through a second stage of development in the past three years? If so, why did she remain unchanged?
"It's been a long time, Song Zhaomei."
The familiar voice immediately reassured her. All of her panic and fear melted away as she exhaled in relief.
Looking up at V, she suddenly felt incredibly small. At the same time, the V before her now seemed almost unrecognizable.
"V, what exactly happened in the past three years? Why have you changed so much?"
She stared at V, now transformed into a towering human war machine, unsure of what to say.
Should she feel heartbroken that he had been turned into a giant warrior by LA Corporation, or should she congratulate him on his promotion, climbing the ranks to become an officer?
"Song Zhaomei, we have plenty of time today to talk. I'll explain everything to you."
V could see the shock, disbelief, and faint trace of pity in her eyes. He shook his head and chuckled softly before finding a seat and beginning his explanation.
As V spoke in his gentle, steady voice, Song Zhaomei gradually began to understand how much the world had changed since the Dogtown incident.
Two weeks after she was rescued by LA Corporation's forces, Li Ang , as the leader of the LA Alliance, held an unprecedented global conference for every human being on the planet.
This meeting was not just for corporate elites and the powerful, but for everyone—from the nomads of the Wastelands to the beggars huddling in sewer tunnels. Every person had the right to participate in this historic discussion about humanity's future.
During the meeting, Li Ang not only introduced the Ideal City construction project but also unveiled the Avatar Plan—a grand expedition to colonize Pandora.
Naturally, opposition arose.
When corporate leaders across Europe voiced their strong objections, the Infinity-class, LA Corporation's massive interstellar dreadnought, suddenly emerged from the Pacific Ocean.
As the five-kilometer-long warship sliced through the roaring waves and ascended from the ocean depths, towering over the sea like a colossal blade, the world was left in stunned silence.
When the infinity finally came to a halt above Night City, the executives of every major corporation found themselves trembling uncontrollably, their legs weak with fear.
From their perspective, the infinity was an impenetrable steel leviathan, stretching beyond the limits of their vision.
The sheer weight of its presence was suffocating—like invisible, iron hands tightening around their throats, rendering them speechless.
As the warship's enormous shadow blotted out the sky, some collapsed unconscious, while others shivered so violently that their teeth clattered. Many simply stood frozen, wide-eyed, as if trying to etch the sight of this awe-inspiring beast into their minds forever.
From that day forward, no corporation dared to openly challenge LA Corporation's decisions, nor did anyone question Li Ang 's authority.
Except, of course, for the religious fanatics who were looking for a quick death.
"Wait... V, are you telling me the Avatar Plan to colonize Pandora is real? You're actually launching a war of interstellar conquest?"
Even now, Song Zhaomei found it hard to believe what she was hearing—it was simply too far-fetched.
In just a few short years, humanity had gone from a primitive, barefoot civilization to an interstellar power capable of launching colonization campaigns?
It was as if someone had pressed fast-forward on human progress. But even a technological explosion should take decades, even centuries, to bear fruit.
Yet in less than four years, LA Corporation had achieved advancements that should have taken humanity hundreds of years!
Their technological capabilities weren't just miracles—they were divine.
No wonder Li Ang had the audacity to openly publish a so-called New Bible. It turned out LA Corporation actually had the power to back it up.
"Yes, we're finalizing the preparations for the Pandora expedition. You woke up just in time—our fleet departs in two weeks."
V gave Song Zhaomei a straightforward answer, not hiding anything from his old friend.
"In fact, LA Corporation isn't the only one pushing the Avatar Plan. Every major corporation on Earth is participating."
"They all want a share of the spoils. Even if it means picking up scraps behind LA Corporation, the benefits will be enough to propel their technological and economic growth."
"Right now, LA Corporation is the undisputed leader of human civilization."
There was a trace of pride in V's voice. After three years of service in the company, he had become accustomed to viewing everything from its perspective.
And when discussing LA Corporation's contributions to humanity, even V couldn't help but feel admiration and respect.
They had indeed ushered in a new era of human miracles.
Song Zhaomei was left utterly breathless by these revelations. It was as if the very fabric of reality had been rewritten before her eyes.
After struggling to digest everything, she finally asked, "And what about this New Bible? What does 'Eternal Daylight, No Night' and 'One City, One World' even mean?"
Her wariness toward LA Corporation hadn't faded. She wasn't about to take V's words at face value.
She had been deceived too many times before—so many that even she had become a liar herself.
Her ability to accept the truth had become sluggish, dulled by years of falsehoods.
From what she knew, LA Corporation, which thrived on military technology, might indeed be capable of building warships for space colonization.
But to reshape the entire planet? That was an entirely different challenge—one that only a god could accomplish.
"The New Bible is actually LA Corporation's blueprint for the Ideal City project. Every prophecy in it corresponds to a different construction phase."
V glanced at the book in her hands, understanding her skepticism.
After all, Song Zhaomei had been out of the loop for three years. It was only natural that she found this hard to believe.
After a brief moment of thought, V decided to show her the truth firsthand.
"Come with me, Song Zhaomei."
With that, he stood up and left the room.
Outside in the hallway, a squad of Astartes warriors—each towering and powerful like V—stood guard in full combat readiness.
The moment they saw V, they immediately snapped to attention and saluted, then moved to escort him.
At that moment, Song Zhaomei realized something.
V was no longer just an ordinary company agent. He had become a high-ranking military officer—one of immense authority.
What had happened to turn a mere corporate operative into such a commanding presence in less than four years?
With countless unanswered questions swirling in her mind, she followed closely behind him, feeling like a dwarf who had accidentally wandered into a land of giants.
Yet something else puzzled her even more.
She had been in a coma for three years, yet she had no signs of muscle atrophy, no cyberware degradation. She could walk as if nothing had happened.
Was this still her original body?
As if sensing her confusion, V spoke before she could ask.
"Song Zhaomei, your old body was completely destroyed by the Blackwall virus."
"Every piece of cyberware and every electronic component was corrupted beyond repair. Fixing it would have been far too complicated."
"So the company gave you a new body—a body nearly indistinguishable from a natural human's."
She turned to a nearby glass panel, catching a glimpse of her reflection.
For the first time, she saw herself as she once was—a real, flesh-and-blood human.
V continued, "Your new body is a specially modified Nexus-10 replicant, custom-made just for you."
"It integrates bioroid technology with cybernetic hacking capabilities, allowing you to use netrunning skills without cyberware."
Tears welled up in her eyes. She had been reborn.
But V wasn't finished.
"Come with me," he said, leading her out onto a massive open-air terrace.
A military-grade Thunderhawk dropship was already waiting.
"Song Zhaomei, get in. It's time for you to see the new world for yourself."
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