2077: V really knows how awesome he is

"Due to the change in the work system, positions that could previously be done by one person now require two or more people. In order to cope with the labor shortage, major companies have launched a new round of recruitment plans, which has dealt a heavy blow to local gangs, as people are always absent from gang fights in order to attend interviews. However, local clothing stores are doing booming business, with suit sales in this month exceeding the total sales of last year."

"The next news item is still related to gangs. The corporate alliance is forming a public safety guard team to protect public safety and reduce all kinds of crime. Any veteran, mercenary, gang member, or NCPD officer who is proficient in handling firearms and has a sense of justice can apply to join. You heard right, it does say NCPD officers. Everyone knows they extort money and kickbacks... Okay, the director won't let me say any more, he's scared to death."

"Let's talk about something happy. The universal health insurance in Night City has completed its preliminary screening and will be officially implemented next week. Residents can go to the designated website through any terminal to upload their personal information to apply for insurance. For a monthly fee of only 30-60 euros, they can enjoy a reimbursement rate of up to 80%, including common diseases and prosthetic repairs."

"It's clear that Night City has implemented sweeping reforms in education, healthcare, job quality, and public safety, all centered around improving employment rates. I want to say that we are experiencing the best of times. V wasn't lying; she is truly changing Night City. I'm sure viewers are incredibly curious about who her friend is, but it seems to involve another corporate giant, and we haven't received any definitive information yet. In any case, let's silently wish that friend well; perhaps it was him who made V make up her mind."

"Next up is the usual news briefing, but today's briefing will be delivered by my new colleague. What, you're asking what I'm doing? I'm going home, of course! Long live the 10-hour workday!"

"Hello everyone, this is Max Jones. Gillian's off to the Ritz for a drink. I'll be bringing you the breaking news from now on. Night City is launching its garbage collection program, and the days of filth and pollution are over. The highway bill has passed, and the city government has added a new road maintenance department..."

"Beep."

V turned off the TV.

Joanne Koch inserted the needle into V's chest and slowly drew out a tube of bright red blood.

After removing the needle and wiping V's face with an alcohol swab, Breaking Bad carefully placed the syringe filled with blood into the refrigerator.

Sasha stepped forward and helped V button up his shirt and straighten his tie. Since the underground factory moved above ground, Pink Cat had withdrawn from there and had now officially taken on the role of V's personal secretary.

V was somewhat dismissive of Joanne Koch's caution: "I've already told you I'm fine. You're drawing a vial of blood from me every day. You're going to ruin even a healthy person like me."

"Nothing wrong?" Joanne Koch said irritably, "Your albumin and globulin levels in the blood are below normal, while endorphins, dopamine, and opioids are generally elevated. You and Sasha have both become malnourished, and you say nothing wrong?!"

"Cough cough!" V choked on his own saliva, and Sasha's face turned bright red. She said, "I'll go get you some coffee," and ran off like the wind.

"Doctors are scary." V ​​awkwardly wiped away his sweat.

Joanne Koch rolled her eyes: "At least the doctor is doing it for your own good."

"Yes, yes, I promise I will be more restrained in the future, really."

"I hope you're not lying to me."

"Of course. Why don't you show it to Stock? Her face looks kind of scary."

“No need. I kept it on purpose. It will remind me of that failure forever.” Meredith Stock turned around from the window, a cigarette dangling from her lips. Her left cheek was completely replaced with metal, but not with artificial skin, making her look like the T800 robot from the ancient dream movie.

V advised, "It's all in the past, Stock, you don't need to hold a grudge."

"It's over?" Meredith Stock asked. "Xu Zhong is frozen like a dead fish now, aren't you no longer bothered by it?"

"Of course, I have already avenged him. The murderer's body has been packed up and sent to Shenyang."

"Bullshit!" the blonde, slick-back-haired woman retorted. "If you had let go, you wouldn't have ended up malnourished with Sasha!"

"I……"

“Admit it, V, you’re under too much pressure,” Joanne Koch added. “Don’t push yourself. Even if you can’t do anything, Xu Zhong won’t blame you.”

V was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Koch, Stock, thank you, but I have to do it."

Breaking Bad and the blonde slicked-back woman exchanged a glance and sighed in unison: "Fine, we'll stick with you until you're all bloodied and bruised."

Before leaving, Joanne Koch took out another vial of silver syringe.

V exclaimed excitedly, "This is the third-generation nano-nerve repair fluid?"

"This is a protein supplement. I can't just stand by and watch you and Sasha work yourselves to death! Take your pants off and stick your ass out! Stock, you hold her down from the front, I'll do it from behind!"

V: "..."

In the following weeks, V spoke with Shenyang several times. No one knows what agreement they reached, but the final result was that Xu Zhong could stay in Night City, in exchange for Kang Tao sending a 1200-strong security team to Night City.

This move significantly increased Kangtao's armed forces in Night City. It was obvious to everyone that the 1200 men were soldiers, not security guards. As the boss of Night City, Arasaka should not have allowed such behavior, but V controlled Arasaka's Night City branch. If she said it was okay, then it was okay.

The military technology side did offer a couple of hums, but that was all. On the contrary, the new US President Myers was jumping around protesting and condemning, even calling V several times, as if he'd been kicked in the crotch.

V ignored Miles, and neither did the other companies.

Everyone in the circle knows that Arasaka's bodyguards almost killed Kangtao's crown prince, and no one wants to provoke an angry lion at this time.

Miles made a fuss for a while, but seeing that no one responded, he had no choice but to back down.

Night City is just a small place, and the earth-shattering battle at the Azure Building was just a fleeting glimpse. Now the whole world's attention is focused on the two corporate giants, Comto and Arasaka.

The Chinese have always valued a just cause for war, and Xu Zhong's serious injury gave Kang Tao a reason to launch an attack. Shenyang retaliated against Tokyo without mercy, and from passenger cars to smart weapons, from high-end materials to security robots, Kang Tao, like a dragon, frantically devoured Arasaka's market share in various fields, causing Arasaka's stock price to plummet by half overnight.

If Saburo Arasaka were still alive, he might have been able to withstand such a fierce attack, but the one in charge of Arasaka was merely Yoriyuki Arasaka. He put up a slight resistance and was immediately routed. Kang Tao's previous retaliatory actions were just a test. Seeing how easily Arasaka was defeated, Shenyang immediately launched a fatal blow.

At an international conference in Frankfurt, Comtau released its lunar monitoring report, which revealed that Arasaka Corporation had secretly constructed a mass accelerator at its lunar base in Mare Unon (Sea of ​​Clouds). This action seriously violated relevant international agreements and immediately caused a huge uproar in the international community.

Dozens of countries, including China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, jointly condemned Arasaka's egregious actions. The European Space Agency (ESA), which is directly responsible for lunar development programs, held dozens of meetings and printed millions of documents to discuss punitive measures against Arasaka.

In an instant, Arasaka Corporation suffered a double blow in both business and diplomacy, with the latter being particularly devastating, striking Arasaka squarely in the groin.

The Earth is already in ruins, and humanity's future lies in the universe—this is a consensus among everyone.

The wealthy have even moved the Louvre to space; it's fair to say that whoever controls space controls the future.

Since the collapse of the United States and the Soviet Union's accession to the European Union, Europe has become the economic and political center of human society, which is why the euro has become the universal currency of the world.

In this context, the European Space Agency (ESA) became the first to establish a base in the cloud sea on the far side of the moon, completely seizing control over space development. Any other company wanting a share must obtain ESA's approval and sign a licensing agreement. Now, at a critical juncture for the agreement's renewal, failure to do so would mean Arasaka is kicked off the moon, losing not only the springboard to space but also any possibility of reaching the future.

This major crisis, known as the Frankfurt Incident, spread rapidly throughout the world.

Upon hearing this familiar name, V realized that it was already the end of January and she had arrived at the familiar 2077.

But is it really familiar?

V looked at the pink kitten sleeping soundly in her arms and smiled.

This 2077 is different.

She rolled over and pressed herself against Sasha's soft body.

"Hmm, what's wrong?" the pink cat murmured in its sleep.

"It's nothing, you go to sleep."

"Ugh, how am I supposed to sleep when you're like this!"

The two people pressed themselves even closer, as did their hearts.

As the Frankfurt incident continues to escalate, Arasaka in Tokyo is already overwhelmed, while Arasaka in Night City remains uninvolved.

Everyone knows that there are two Arakazakura in the world, one in the east and one in the west. Although they have the same name, they are irreconcilable enemies.

On the surface, V is reorganizing its industrial structure in North America, using corporate alliances as a breakthrough point to redistribute market share with major companies and sign new trade agreements, making no attempt to conceal its severing ties with Tokyo Arasaka.

Behind the scenes, V was actively recruiting talent and transferring industries from Arasaka in Tokyo. Under Kangtao's fierce offensive, Arasaka in Tokyo had become a leaky, dilapidated ship. Apart from the core members of the Arasaka family, almost everyone from technical staff to middle management was looking for a way out. The company didn't treat them like human beings, so naturally they wouldn't perish with the company.

Compared to the cold shoulders she faced at other companies, Arasaka in Night City seemed to have a special connection with her. V certainly wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by; she proactively extended an olive branch, offered a transfer agreement, opened a safe route, and provided both legal and physical support, aggressively poaching talent from the head office.

The first group of people arrived in Night City with some trepidation, given Night City's notorious reputation as one of the worst areas in the United States.

But when they arrived, they saw a completely different scene.

The intelligent road system guides traffic flow with holographic projection, maglev buses silently travel through the three-dimensional transportation network, ecological light screens on both sides of the street broadcast environmental data in real time, and automatic cleaning robots glide along the nano-coated road surface. The interplay of metal and light creates a breathtaking sense of order, while also conveying a human touch.

Every 500 meters, there is a street park covered with photovoltaic panels, and under the transparent dome are convenience stores and interactive fitness facilities. In the core business district, holographic windows create a consumer scene that blends the virtual and the real. A super transportation hub with a height of five floors seamlessly connects the subway, vacuum tube train and drone take-off and landing platform, making the night city seem like a precisely operating yet breathing organic living organism.

To protect all of this, security measures are naturally essential.

Millions of surveillance nodes and patrol robots weave an invisible security network; facial recognition gates guard every apartment building; drone deliveries shuttle through encrypted routes; and the police service stations on street corners always glow with a reliable blue light. For the first time, guests from Tokyo witnessed white-collar workers typing away at keyboards in late-night outdoor cafes and children riding hoverboards across street fountains. The generous security budget combined with the dedicated public security guards manifests as the natural smile of a convenience store girl to a stranger and the composed figure of an elderly person unlocking their door with a fingerprint.

These technologies have existed for a long time, but they have always been the privilege of the wealthy. Night City applied them to ordinary people on a large scale, creating a breathtaking miracle.

If these factors weren't enough to truly convince the city dwellers from Tokyo, then Night City's various policies became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

With a 10-hour workday, universal healthcare, compulsory education, and child allowances, this series of measures has driven Tokyo's urban residents completely mad. What else is there to say? Just die in Night City and that's it!

They started calling former colleagues, sending them real footage of their lives in Night City, with only one message in mind:

Dude, don't listen to the Tokyo Shimbun's nonsense about it being the worst place in North America—that's all a lie! Night City is amazing; everything is within reach here. It's full of dreams; it truly is a city of dreams!

Chapter 43 Promotion, President V

The commercial battles in the East have attracted worldwide attention, while Night City in the West is taking the opportunity to quietly develop its business.

Thanks to favorable policies and urban environment, talent and assets from Tokyo Arasaka began to flow into Night City in large numbers. While V's overall strength exploded, Tokyo Arasaka plummeted, making matters worse.

Now, not only Kangtao, but also other major companies seemed to have smelled carrion and joined the battle.

Instead of focusing on the main battleground in East Asia, they set their sights on Arasaka's other branches around the world.

In less than two weeks, Arasaka, the once world-renowned corporate tycoon, was like a critically ill patient with a catheter inserted, walking towards the end of his life.

V felt that this was somewhat of a deliberate act by Arasaka Yorinobu; this heir had never forgotten his dream of destroying the company. However, he probably hadn't anticipated that Arasaka would collapse so quickly. Forget about mutual destruction; now that Arasaka was about to go down, he hadn't even managed to take a single company with him.

A giant in thought, a dwarf in action.

This is V's assessment of Arasaka Yorinobu.

Just because a knife can hurt people, does that mean we should destroy the entire metallurgical industry and send humanity back to the Stone Age? That's romantic enough, but it's also undeniably naive and childish.

Weapons are neither good nor evil; it is the people who wield them who are good or evil. Companies are neither good nor bad; it is the people who manage them who are good or bad.

In V's view, the corporate system is a crystallization of wisdom honed by human society over a long period of development. Its essence is the optimal solution for the unlimited utilization of limited resources. It releases productivity and creates new value. It is a valuable experience summarized by countless predecessors through trial and error. Should it be completely negated and overturned because of some deviations? This is not only a joke, but also nonsense. Isolated workshops and small-scale farming cannot build skyscrapers, much less trigger technological leaps.

Company systems are imperfect, and they will one day be replaced by better systems, but certainly not now.

Arasaka Yorinobu's actions of single-mindedly destroying the company can be described as a narrow-minded view of the world, or, more seriously, as a step backward for the times.

Sure enough, the times retaliated, using major companies to punish his arrogance.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with V.

She has taken control of Night City, but Night City alone is far too weak in the face of corporate giants. What she needs to do now is seize the opportunity to develop and strengthen herself, just like when she first arrived in this world, quietly growing stronger, and then making a name for herself and stunning the world when she has enough power.

This decision led Night City to continuously launch new projects and engineering projects, and the entire city entered a period of rapid development. V was so busy that he even forgot about the business war in the East.

But she didn't care about Dongfang, while Dongfang cared about her.

V suddenly received news that Michiko Arasaka would be returning to Night City on a private jet.

This message came from Kangtao's side. Arasaka Yoriyuki was probably still thinking about the plan to perish together with Kangtao, and didn't want such "destruction without doing anything". So he sent his own niece to Shenyang, claiming that she was the mastermind behind the harm to Kangtao's grandson, in order to beg Kangtao to show leniency.

How can someone who would betray his own family claim to care about the working class and fight for their future?

ridiculous.

According to his logic, he could sacrifice the toiling masses in the West for the sake of the toiling masses in the East, and sacrifice the toiling masses in the West for the sake of the toiling masses in the West, and sacrifice the toiling masses in the West in the West for the sake of the toiling masses in the West.

If V had any respect for Arasaka Yorinobu before, now he is full of contempt.

V has finally figured it out: Arasaka Yorinobu himself is not noble; he just happened to choose a noble cause. Everything he does is for self-gratification, and his behavior is childish, impulsive, haphazard, and reckless—he's just a spoiled brat.

How did Saburo Arasaka teach his children?

Oh, he might have done it on purpose. Anyway, Arasaka Yorinobu was just a vessel for his resurrection and reincarnation, so he didn't need to be too outstanding.

Unfortunately, Saburo Arasaka underestimated the power of the brat and was strangled to death by Yoriyuki Arasaka himself in the Konpaku Building.

The saying "success depends on fate, but planning depends on man" applies here. You can't win forever by just scheming; only by possessing great power can you truly be invincible.

Kang Tao clearly thought so too. Xu Shiming, having seen many storms, saw through Arasaka Yoriyuki's clumsy scheme at a glance.

Michiko Arasaka was the mastermind behind the assassination of my grandson? Don't be ridiculous! The entire Arasaka family was the mastermind behind the assassination! Trying to settle things by throwing out a third-generation descendant is utterly delusional!

Keep fighting, keep fighting. I'll listen to Arasaka's explanation after I've killed him. As for this Arasaka Michiko, go back to where she came from. I don't have time to deal with her.

So Michiko Arasaka was sent back to Night City by Kanto.

In fact, Kang Tao initially sent Michiko back to Tokyo, but Arasaka Yoriyuki was shameless enough to keep sending her back. This went on several times, which made Xu Shiming laugh in anger. He told his guards that Arasaka Yoriyuki had a strong sense of ancient traditions and even resorted to the old-fashioned feudal marriage alliance in 2077.

Too lazy to play along with the young punk's antics, Xu Shiming waved his hand and sent Arasaka Michiko back to Night City, since she was originally from Night City anyway.

After receiving the news, V first cursed Xu Shiming as a scoundrel, and then cursed Arasaka Yoriyoshi as a troublemaker.

Although V had reached an agreement with Xu Shiming, the old man was still unhappy because his grandson had suffered such a big problem on his side. He said he understood, but he was still unhappy. Sending Arasaka Michiko back to Night City was just a way to annoy him.

But Xu Shiming was a shrewd old man. He knew that Arasaka Michiko could not only disgust V, but also make V's status more legitimate. In a sense, he did give V a great gift.

After weighing the pros and cons, V finally accepted the shit-flavored chocolate and held a welcoming ceremony at the top of the Arasaka Tower.

No matter what, even if chocolate tastes like poop, it's still chocolate.

A large airship bearing the Comtó logo slowly descended, and as the doors opened, a Comtó security team disembarked. Under their "protection," Michiko Arasaka stepped out.

Her cat-ear headband was gone, and her beautiful sailor uniform was wrinkled and crumpled. The once calm and collected anime cat-eared beauty was now disheveled. Although she tried to maintain an arrogant and noble demeanor, her eyes were empty and lifeless. Anyone could see that she was all bark and no bite.

After her grandfather died and she was betrayed by her uncle, she was passed around like merchandise. The once noble Princess Arasaka was reduced to being less valuable than grass. No one knows what she is feeling now.