Marvel: The games I made have invaded reality.

Chapter 338 Guaranteed.

During Reagan's presidency, the US government was controlled by a secret organization comprised of the FBI, CIA, NSA, and DEA, leading to global fragmentation. This shadowy organization, known as The Gang of Four, secretly manipulated the US government and promoted the idea that "interests come before the people," ultimately causing the United States to disintegrate.

This crumbling superpower became bogged down in what was known as the "war on herbs" in South America. This war, essentially a struggle to seize lithium resources in Chile and Bolivia, involved the undisclosed use of genetically engineered viruses to kill herbs, leaving global herbalists with nothing to sell. This angered European conglomerates that secretly funded herbalists, and the protracted conflict culminated in a Colombian drug cartel detonating a portable nuclear bomb in Manhattan in 1993.

The following year, the United States was exposed for using global markets to launder funds obtained through illegal arms trafficking, leading to a global economic collapse. In the late 90s, successive wars and economic recessions, coupled with pandemics and natural disasters, including a magnitude 10.5 earthquake that submerged 30% of Los Angeles, left the country devastated. A quarter of the population was homeless, most cities were abandoned, and a vagrant community emerged – the "vagrants" – along with a group of individuals addicted to cybernetic modifications. With the repeal of the Constitution, martial law was declared nationwide, and states like California and Texas declared secession to the Union, becoming "free states."

At the end of the 20th century, the situation in the rest of the world outside the United States was slightly better, but not by much. Several Asia-Pacific countries, especially China, South Korea, and Japan, remained relatively stable, as did the European Union (known in the world as the "United Europe"), which subsequently became the world currency. South America recovered from the failed imperialist aggression of the United States, but Russia had become a predatory nation, plagues and famines broke out globally, and the Middle East was transformed into a radioactive wasteland filled with radioactive fallout due to small-scale nuclear wars.

Multinational giants are undoubtedly the best cleaners of global disasters. Governments large and small are on the verge of collapse and have to seek the assistance of these mega-corporations to keep functioning. In exchange for more power and influence, these corporations are naturally very willing to help. In the early 2000s, these companies began their operations in First World countries, gaining control of governments and resources in many nations. Some of the most powerful companies include energy giant PetroChem, its counterpart to the Soviet energy giant SovOil, biotechnology company BioTechnica, weapons manufacturer MilitaryTech, and the Arasaka Group, which is "primarily engaged in private military business but virtually omnipotent." In addition, there are many smaller conglomerates.

This doesn't signify the decline of the millennial generation. Meanwhile, Central African nations united and developed highly successful space programs, possessing the most space stations and near-Earth orbit space (though this was a result of military competition with other powers for space resources and lunar colonies). A new renewable fuel, CHOOH (not its chemical formula, but a marketing term coined by BioTechnica), was invented and replaced gasoline within a few years. While many disabled veterans returned from the South American wars, this tragedy propelled biotechnology to new heights, resulting in the surge in prosthetic body modifications from around 2010 to 2020.

However, the advent of cybernetic augmentation naturally gave rise to "cyberwars," "cybercrime," and other immoral activities utilizing this new technology. In a world where flour is a staple food, fighting to the death for food or other resources has become the norm. People have become accustomed to risking their lives, and many choose to become cyber-enhanced mercenaries. Whether street urchins or corporate employees, they eventually become what people call freelancers, or "cyberpunks."

Amidst a series of collapses and upheavals, Night City became one of the few surviving megacities, but its troubles were equally plentiful. Founded in 1994 as Colorado City, it was renamed after architect Richard Night was assassinated in a corporate or gang-related power grab (who exactly did it remains a mystery). The city finally stabilized in the 2010s. After years of street battles between corporate security forces and gangs, the criminal organizations were ultimately defeated. While Night City remains a highly dangerous place—some neighborhoods, such as the unfinished Pacifica, never recovered from the conflict—at least the area felt more like a city than a daily battleground. However, this peace lasted only a few years.

In 2013, rock star and cyberpunk icon Johnny Silverhand—a 90s Central American war veteran known for using a chrome-plated prosthetic hand to replace his injured left arm—was on a concert tour with his girlfriend, Otto, when they were suddenly attacked by a squad from his company. They left Silverhand to die and kidnapped Otto, taking her back to the Arasaka Corporation's headquarters. This was because the Arasaka Corporation was not content with its current status; being one of the world's leading super-corporations was not enough. Its founder, Saburo Arasaka, and his son aspired to global domination. At this time, Johnny Silverhand was unaware that his girlfriend was a highly skilled hacker who had designed a malware known as "Soul Killer."

This software was originally intended to transfer a person's consciousness into a cloned body, but it was weaponized and modified. It can now be used not only to burn the target's brain but also to imprison and torture the digitized souls of others. This program is one of the most morally corrupt and vicious inventions of modern times, yet it is also key to humanity's attainment of immortality. However, the Arasaka Group kidnapped Ultra primarily for the former, rather than for immortality.

Meanwhile, Silver Hand survived the attack and formed a rescue team. They put on an impromptu performance in front of the Arasaka Company and incited the crowd to riot, thus gaining access to the company. At this moment, Ultra activated Soul Killer, digitizing his consciousness to escape, but their plans clashed fatally.

Johnny and his teammates stormed into the Arasaka Corporation, inadvertently destroying a control unit connecting the network and the physical body, trapping Ultraman's consciousness in digital space. Believing Ultraman to be dead, they fled, leaving behind fragmented aspects of his consciousness trapped in cyberspace.

Before 2020, there had already been three corporate wars. When a company possesses the GDP and military power of a small country, it's inevitable that they will fight each other for market dominance. However, the previous three wars pale in comparison to the fourth corporate war.

The cause of the matter is simple, at least compared to the various espionage and infiltrations between companies. In 2021, a transoceanic shipping company attempted a hostile takeover of its competitor. However, the conflict between the two sides escalated, with each hiring one of the two largest private military companies, Arasaka and Military Technology, to compete. The animosity between these two companies had been brewing for some time, just waiting for a plausible excuse to settle things.

Night City was the epicenter of this war. As a free city within a Free State, both Military Technology and the Arasaka Corporation had their own fortresses within the city. Without government jurisdiction, it naturally became the core area of ​​the conflict. Finally, in August 2023, the war reached its climax with the detonation of a small nuclear bomb at the Arasaka Corporation headquarters.

(End of this chapter)