Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 940, Section 150: The Night Company
Do we have a common language?

Upon seeing this, Karl's first reaction was that AI is truly remarkable.

Because this is a highly specialized linguistic and literary term in the Chinese context, in other words, people who are not from the Chinese-speaking cultural sphere or who are experts in this field are very likely to misunderstand this statement.

The literal meaning of this sentence is that we are speaking the same language, but in the Chinese context, it represents shared thoughts and cognition.

This is like that classic Chinese exam question: "What exactly does '意思' mean in '意思意思'?" Understanding the subtle differences is not something that can be achieved simply by relying on a large database.

The fact that a roving AI can leave behind such information means either that its corpus is incredibly vast and sophisticated, or that it truly understands.

Of course, while it understands, leaving such words in Chinese clearly indicates that the roving AI has a tendency to curry favor with Karl, but Karl is very concerned about the content of its words.

After noticing his intervention, this roving AI was able to so decisively abandon the mayor pawn it had been cultivating for a long time, and claimed that it was "aligned with his goals".

What exactly does this mean?
Could it be that its manipulation of the mayor is ultimately aimed at making Night City 'better'?
The idea had barely crossed his mind when Karl rejected it.

If that's the case, why would it go to such lengths to distort Jefferson-Perales's philosophy that favors the underprivileged?

and many more.

Carl suddenly grasped the key point.

What if this AI's goal is indeed to make Night City 'better'? It's just that its definition of "better" is completely different from that of humans, Jefferson, and even Carl himself.

Of course, there are differences in what is considered "good".

Just like the classic saying "for your own good," the understanding of "good" often differs greatly between the giver and the receiver.

One side firmly believes this is the only correct path, while the other side experiences real suffocation within this "goodwill."

This does not mean that the perpetrator is malicious—they may genuinely believe it is the optimal solution and hope that the other party will be happy as a result. However, this imposed 'good' may be the root of unhappiness in the eyes of the recipient.

What if Jefferson's definition of 'good' is not the same as AI's definition of 'good'?

According to the brain diagram that Carl saw, Mr. Jefferson's change was an intentional attempt by AI to erase his memories of compassion and attachment, making him forget even his own brother and blurring even his initial vision.

If we extrapolate from this, does it mean that the city of Night that this roving AI wanted Mr. Jefferson to build after becoming mayor was, in its view, an absolutely ideal, emotionless, efficiency-first, orderly, and inhumane 'beautiful' Night City?
Upon realizing this conjecture, and based on Mr. Jefferson's deduction of what a beautiful night city would be like, Carl immediately thought of a company.

Ye's Company.

The Night Corporation was founded by Miria Knight, the widow of Richard Knight, the founder of Night City, after her husband's death.

The company's core mission is to fulfill Richard Knight's lifelong dream: to realize his original vision when he founded Night City—a 'corporate city' that is independent of all nations and belongs purely to the company.

In Richard Knight's vision, this Night City would be beautiful and orderly, a capital city of wonderful corporate dreams; but in other words, it also meant...
For ordinary people, it is by no means a pleasant place to live.

Despite Richard Knight's goodwill toward the underprivileged—he had hoped to incorporate them into Night City and make them part of the city's upward mobility—his vision was gradually distorted by the dramatic changes that occurred after his death, ultimately turning the city into a fortress purely serving the interests of the corporation.

Today, apart from the fact that it is 'dominated by the company' which is completely consistent with the original intention, everything else has been completely changed.

At one point, there were even proposals to abandon Badlands and the State of Pacific, which completely contradicted Richard's original ideal of inclusive coexistence. Among all the voices opposing these proposals, the Night Company was the most steadfast. They were determined to realize Richard Knight's ideals, and for this reason, after the State of Pacific returned to China, they were the first company to send personnel and invest funds to aid in reconstruction.

If you were to ask the entire Night City which corporation cares most about the city's fate, even regarding it as their own child or their life—the answer would undoubtedly be the Night Corporation.

So, does the Night Corporation really want to make Night City a better place?

There is no doubt that they dream of realizing the city that Richard Knight envisioned.

However, now that Richard himself has long since passed away and the city has become alienated, can their pursuit of 'better' still be called 'good'?

A 'wonderful' night city that has been distorted from Richard Knight's original vision?

Carl realized that the AI ​​behind this process must be related to the Night Corporation.

Because Carl, based on the changes made by Mr. Jefferson, deduced that the Night City that Jefferson might change after taking office would be exactly the same as the Night City that the Night Corporation hoped for.

Is this just a coincidence?
Of course not.
In this Night City today, the only one with the vision and power to manipulate the mayoral election is this seemingly quiet local tyrant who only emerges when he gets involved in Night City's problems.

In other words, only the Ye Corporation would care about this.

The other companies, as long as they protect their own interests, will not care about Night City. Even Aragaka and military technology, which regard Night City as an important point, only do so because it is a point of contention, determining the foothold of one side of America and the true unification of America.

To say they have no desire for Night City to become a better place is absolutely not true.

In this city, any change that does not bring benefits is meaningless to them.

Only Ye's Company.

Only a company as mysterious as Ye's, whose exact market value, main sources of revenue, and number of employees are unknown to the public, would act this way.

so.
The root of all this is that the roving AI has reached some kind of cooperation with the Night Corporation?

All the clues have connected.

Why is it the Vortex gang that worships AI like a god, and why has AI actually chosen them—rather than the Voodoo gang, who are more inclined to trade with AI and hope to become traitors?
Even considering the factor of the Voodoo Cult being eradicated, Karl never saw them worshiping any gods other than Voodoo during his past operations to eliminate them.

If the mastermind behind this is Ye Corporation collaborating with the roving AI, then everything makes sense.

Because the Night Company is run by locals, and the predecessor of the Whirlpool Gang had already taken root in this land long before Night City was established.

They are the true 'natives' of this city, the true inhabitants of Night City!

Is it Ye's Company?

Carl gripped the device in his hand tightly.

(End of this chapter)