Cyberpunk: From Dogville to Legend

Chapter 225 Light and Darkness (Part 3)
Do you even know what your companies are doing?!

"This utter tyranny has caused me mental anguish—I'm curious if you have any family at all, and if you've ever seen the high crime rate on the streets of Night City. If your family members were subjected to such wanton trampling on their human dignity by the company, what would you do?"

Seemingly having made up his mind, Jefferson had no intention of compromising and instead began to question them one after another.

V's eyes swept around with a dangerous glint, as if she had victory in her grasp. Upon hearing these words, her first sentence silenced the eloquent former prosecutor who had repeatedly caused trouble for Arasaka.

"As you said, I have no family."

Jefferson's face froze, like expired animal cream, the lines on his face appearing as if they had cracked from dryness.

The woman tilted her head slightly, seemingly surprised that the eloquent politician had been so easily outmaneuvered by such a simple debating technique.

"People from Arakawa are really like that!"

Is he criticizing himself?
"Oh?"

As she spoke, she stood up. Her V-shaped height, coupled with her relatively low heels, gave her a very commanding presence.

Every step she took forced the couple to retreat. Even though the man tried his best to protect his family, like an angry lion, he dared not make any rash moves because he realized for the first time that the company wanted him to pay the price.

Furthermore, this cold-faced woman doesn't buy into moral coercion at all; in other words, her empathy is much weaker than that of an average woman.

The most standard-bearer company henchmen ever…

"But that doesn't mean you don't have a family, Jefferson... Your material conditions, your standard of living, and your daughter; Arasaka can do all of that. I'm not asking you to break the law. Put down your gun. Your wife needs a husband, and your child needs a father."

Elizabeth exclaimed, "Are you crazy?!"

V's target was not this elegant and devoted lady.

Instead, with her hands in her coat pockets and her eyes downcast at the trembling gun barrel on her chest, she gently moved the barrel aside with a finger. "The worst thing you can do is start making things difficult for enemies you can't handle yet before you've even reached the right position."

"Having reviewed so many cases, documents, laws, and company loopholes, you should have a clear understanding of what Arasaka needs to do recently, right? I'm guessing you're trying to make Arasaka pay for what happened last time, isn't that right? In that case, wouldn't you also be considered to be fooling the law and settling personal scores?"

"It seems you haven't pursued the matter of the safety spirit either. Is it fun to keep an eye on Arasaka?"

V's logic is very aggressive, targeting only Jefferson's weaknesses...

"Jefferson, is your idea of ​​justice to find a way to make Arasaka pay for the loss of face you've suffered?" (Note: [Logical overreach and freedom of the press])
The opponent's decline was extremely obvious, and V certainly wouldn't let the senator bleed on the spot, unless he truly had no weaknesses—

It would be pointless to carry out a killing; she wouldn't let a few harsh words from a senator harm the interests of Respectable Logistics and herself.

as predicted--

“No… Jefferson.”

Elizabeth watched as the gun in her husband's hand slowly lowered, covering her mouth and trying not to scream. At the same time, V's eyes saw the revolver fall to the ground, even sparking a tiny bit of sparks.

Jefferson's head was spinning.

He admitted that he was acting out of spite...

Perhaps the biggest pitfall that most intelligent people easily fall into is being too self-centered.

However, V wasn't going to give him a chance to breathe. "You think only Arasaka is watching you like this? Do other companies really want to build a good relationship with you? Bring them in..."

Jefferson was completely baffled.

Elizabeth's perspective, however, is that she first sees what entered through the door—

As they were talking, a man who looked like a dead dog was thrown to the ground!

"what!"

Elizabeth's scream was cut short as she forced it back down.

V's icy fingers pressed against the woman's lips.

"Shh, there are other companies too."

What do you mean?
Jefferson didn't believe the company would dare to mess around in his house.

This woman, seemingly untouched by bloodshed like snow, displayed only utter indifference in her eyes. She rose and slowly walked along the wall beside Jefferson, stroking it as if on a tour, and continued:

“This is being stalked by other companies. I can tell you it’s biotechnology, Jefferson. A lot of people are betting on you. Arasaka is concerned about his image and doesn’t want to get involved in any scandals—but I’m different. I think Arasaka has a bad reputation enough. What do you think?”

V's voice became faint, and his final question even carried a chill.

With a shout, a hidden door opened behind a wall in Jefferson's room. V's scarlet pupils stared intently at the man on the ground, who was covered in black smoke. Jefferson was also surprised—Elizabeth could no longer stand and sat down on the ground!
V: "You think your surroundings are safe and your property respects your clients' privacy, but in reality, in Night City, you can get anything for the right price... The people in the corporate plaza are all investors and ambitious people; they're just pretending to be polite."

"But I'm used to using a direct approach—does that make Arasaka seem a bit more honest?"

He didn't hide it from Elizabeth either.

V counted on his fingers, "Even if Arasaka goes too far, he only gives you money, women, assets, and threatens you—while some are starting to try to find your weaknesses. But you are indeed quite capable; so far, our department has not been able to dig up any dirt on you."

Jefferson's expression changed. "Damn it...this can't be!"

It seems the congressman in front of us needs to reassess the company's methods.

V pulled the chip from the slot on the back of the head of the corporate agent who was hiding in the senator's house and threw it on the floor at Jefferson's feet.

"Hopefully they weren't watching the two of them being intimate."

The couple found it difficult to describe the young woman before them; she possessed a refined demeanor but spoke with occasional vulgarity, more like a wildflower that had grown from a wealthy family.

Threaten, provide evidence, and break down the opponent.

V did everything perfectly.

Time was running out, and she needed to hurry so other companies wouldn't notice anything amiss.

So she waved her hand with considerable annoyance, "Alright, stop being so wishy-washy. I'm not here to give you face. If you agree to my proposal, just nod your head. From now on, it's up to you. Arasaka's counterintelligence and security agencies won't bother you. If you disagree, that's fine too. There are quite a few politicians who have committed suicide due to stress."

Time passes by...

Jefferson covered his face in despair.

He was too hasty, which led to his blindness. In fact, as a senator who had climbed up from the Night City system, he knew very well that these companies had all grown up through brutal corporate power, but he failed to show equal disgust—if he couldn't treat them all the same, his own ideals and beliefs were shaken by these few words.

"I've seen that case..."

"There are differing opinions on actual control, but I just don't understand why, at this critical juncture—are you, Arasaka, really ignoring everything? Don't you have any bottom line?! You're allowing these companies' power to continue to expand!"

V waved his hand, signaling the men below to leave. Immediately afterwards, the soldiers dragged away all the corpses that did not belong there, seemingly without any concern for their commander's safety.

Bottom line?

"Talking about bottom lines in Night City, what a waste of your senator position? Hmm... but it seems like that's how you get support."

The woman shook her head. "If you understood our conversation, you would understand... My goal is very clear: to do what I want and to only care about profit."

As she spoke, she leaned slightly forward and added in Jefferson's ear, "No one is clean. Be glad you don't have anything in my hands. Of course, I wouldn't mind making one up, but you're lucky today. I don't want to make things too ugly."

"Ok?"

The last syllable is a hint given by V.

Jefferson wasn't stupid; he had to ensure the safety of his family first.

Moreover, Jefferson was already in the wrong, and with this beautiful woman whose eyes were filled with only vicious killing intent present, he quickly agreed to V's words—however, at this moment, Jefferson only regretted that he hadn't grown to the point where Arasaka wouldn't dare to take such drastic action against him…

He lived cautiously, just to guard against this day, but he never expected that his weakness would be his family.

He began to explain: “In that case, we just voted—well, in other words, I could only decide one-third of the votes. The prosecutor and I are mortal enemies. You have to understand, she won’t easily let go of any opportunity to go against me.”

Bingo!

V smiled with satisfaction.

Elizabeth, standing beside her, was momentarily stunned by the woman's warm smile. She vaguely felt as if she had seen this woman somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place her.

V nodded.

"No need to explain so much to me, your decision will allow us both to sleep well tonight, Mr. Jefferson—and your beautiful wife."

V put his hands back in his pockets, stepped back in front of Jefferson, and said, "As for that prosecutor who doesn't really get along with you, someone else will take care of that. Her ass isn't as clean as yours."

Jefferson's facial muscles twitched. As his wife, Elizabeth knew her husband was trying to accept the humiliation of the night—she had to admit that Jefferson's family and his perceptions were biased towards the general public, but he had a fatal flaw: self-doubt and a strong sense of pride.

The clicking of the woman's high heels faded into the corridor, and with the ringing of the elevator, Elizabeth collapsed to the floor as if all her strength had been drained.

Jefferson stared at the bloodstains left by the dragged corpse on the ground, his frustration reaching its peak.

"That guy's crazy!"

Elizabeth murmured to herself, she could clearly sense V's youth, which was why she was afraid.

To achieve her goals, she resorted to such extremely risky methods; power was her greatest asset.

Jefferson reached out to stop Elizabeth's cursing. "Phew...we need to find a reliable security company, preferably one that will let us get a good night's sleep. Arasaka's request isn't unreasonable, but I can't let them come and go from my house so freely."

Security company…

Elizabeth didn't think any security company would dare to go against Arasaka, unless they found a small company with ties to a big company, but what difference would that make from choosing to side with a giant corporation? It would just be changing sides.

Jefferson's mind hadn't gone haywire from staying up all night. "But thankfully, the winner in this case is entirely determined by the verdict. Legally, no one can say for sure. At least we don't have any leverage over Arasaka, which is good news, darling."

"Find a lone wolf to keep an eye on our precious child—"

Elizabeth grasped Jefferson's strong hand. She knew that one day the man in front of her would be so powerful that even Arasaka wouldn't dare to touch him, and that time was fast approaching.

……

V breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the luxury apartment building. Her nose was slightly red, perhaps because of what Jefferson had said. Her hand unconsciously reached into her pocket for the half-pack of cigarettes that Lin Yue had left in the office.

After a slight hesitation, she gently pressed her full, glossy lips against the snow-white filter.

The samurai beside him tucked his gun behind his back, bowed slightly to light it for his superior, and slowly retreated to the back.

Jefferson's rhetorical question kept echoing in his mind: Had he made the world a worse place?

V doesn't know.

V never escalates her power; she has resolved problems with kindness on many occasions, until the company pushes her forward—many times she dreams in her big bed in her apartment that she, still an agent of the Arasaka Counterintelligence Department, is pushed out by Jenkins with an offer she can't refuse, becoming a victim of the company's power struggle.

V's life seems to lack purpose. Although she holds a high position, she is just like the lowliest criminals in the city, struggling to survive. Everything she has is provided by the company, but her soul is not.

However, the young and sharp woman was only momentarily stunned, her expression gradually darkening as the cigarette butt slowly burned out.

She always hated the guy in disguise smoking that pungent, acrid smoke in the car, and her nose really hated the smell; but it could calm a confused person down, so it's no wonder Rin had this hobby.

Having no voice is the true mark of being at the mercy of others.

V took a step forward. Parking gliders is not allowed on the road because their toxic exhaust fumes have led Night City to prohibit gliders from landing; however, the NCPD is sensible and there is almost no trace of anyone else on this street.

"Minister V, shall we return to the company?"

The subordinates standing below were respectful; they were all their former selves, the "V" in Jenkins' hands. The criteria for selecting and appointing V were also very simple: intelligence and decisiveness were all that mattered. This was also the reason why the counterintelligence department had been collectively evaluated by the company as loyal but uncontrollable recently.

V's voice came through.

"Go to Watson District. The rest of you can return to Arasaka."

"I need to find that bastard and get some compensation, um... according to that politician, compensation for emotional distress?"

The airship roared into the air, a half-smoked cigarette casting sparks as it disappeared into the inky black night amidst the swirling air currents…

……

……

(End of this chapter)