Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 951, Section 161: Who Cares About His Opinion?

Dogtown is KK's Dogtown, and Night City, will it also be KK's Night City?
"Then it's decided."

Although Johnny was not present at the KK team's dinner, the KK team, which always follows the principle of majority rule, still managed to make a decision.

"So, we've decided to support Jefferson Perales, right?"

Oliver summarized the conclusions of the discussion at the dinner table, and the result did not surprise him.

The team members had all heard about Carl's recent ordeal from him.

Personally, Jefferson Perales had a connection with Zechi and was considered half an ally; publicly, his political ideals were indeed beneficial to Night City, and the KK team had no reason not to support him.

After all, the team was lacking a figurehead in politics, and Jefferson was the perfect choice.

In fact, the KK team had considered supporting Mr. Johnson into politics. However, Mr. Johnson himself lacked enthusiasm for politics, and if he left, no one in the NCPD could immediately take his place—Andy was still young and inexperienced in handling complex matters.

After careful consideration, the KK team temporarily abandoned their plan to participate in the mayoral election due to the lack of suitable candidates.

But all of this changed after they contacted Jefferson-Perales. After discussions, Jefferson is now the mayoral candidate supported by the KK team, giving them a valid reason to intervene in the election.

After all, the integration of Dogtown and Night City ultimately requires the promotion of official figures. Compared to those shrewd politicians, Jefferson Perales, at least in his actions, has always been on the side of the grassroots residents.

"So, our next course of action will be to help Jefferson Peralez's campaign, right?"

As Jack cleared the table, he said, "Should we make a big show of it and announce our support for Jefferson Perales so everyone knows, or should we do it secretly?"

Jack's so-called "coming in secret" was actually a hint.

To put it bluntly...
"Should we eliminate Jefferson Perales's rival?"

V hesitated for a moment.

He remembered that Jefferson's rival was Wilton Holt, the former deputy mayor of Night City. They had met when dealing with the mayoral issue, and V didn't have a good impression of him.

Because Wilton Holt is a true politician.

What does it mean to be a 'true politician'?
—Just look at someone like Rosalind Myers; she's practically the epitome of that kind of politician.

Wilton Holt only cared about his own political career and status. He never cared about the lives of the lower classes. As long as he could be in a high position, the fate of others was none of his concern. In order to climb up the ladder, he was even willing to betray his former mayor Lucius Lane, with whom he had always cooperated.

It would be strange if someone like Wilton Holt could make a good impression on V.

Therefore, if it's necessary to take him down, V would be happy to draw his knife.

“Take out Wilton Holt, huh?” T-BUG slowly wiped his mouth and put his napkin aside.

"If we really go ahead, I'm confident I can crack their security system. To be on the safe side, I'll need to spend more time, but it will only take one night at most. Then V can just go in and clean up the mess. I guarantee the whole process will be done without anyone noticing."

None of the people at the dinner table who participated in the discussion considered taking down Wilton Holt to be a difficult task. Rather, it would be surprising if even taking the life of someone like him was so difficult.

Who can save Wilton Holt—the NCPD, his bodyguards, or the trauma team that only comes when his life is in danger?
Needless to say, the NCPD is out of the question. Who else could bodyguard Wilton Holt hire? As for the trauma team, V is known for his quick and ruthless actions. It's estimated that the trauma team would only be able to provide the funeral services included in the 'Trauma Team Platinum Package'.

There was nothing wrong with Jack, V, and T-BUG's ideas; they were indeed the simplest and most normal way to deal with their competitors.

After all, on this land that once belonged to the United States, countless times have people tried to eliminate their electoral opponents if they couldn't win the election. Sometimes, a gunman only needed to slightly miss a shot to change the world.

The person is dead, what's the point of fighting?

“I know you can do it if you really want to,” Oliver said from the side. “But this won’t work.”

He looked at Karl, who hadn't spoken, and said, "Karl, you think so too, don't you?"

"Ah."

Carl nodded and said to his companions, "Solving Wilton-Hoult isn't difficult, and it's in line with 'democratic' methods. It will certainly eliminate Mr. Jefferson's rival and allow him to become mayor, but..."

"But this isn't a new city, so there should be a proper way to address this, right?"

Jack understood and finished the sentence that Carl hadn't said.

"Ah."

Carl stood up, walked to the window, and said, "This method is convenient and easy for people like Wilton Holt and Rosalind Miles because they only care about securing their own position."

Even if people constantly use the assassination attempt that benefited him during and after his rise to power, it doesn't matter, because once they're in power, they have plenty of ways to deal with others and suppress opposition. But for Mr. Jefferson's Night City, it's different.

What kind of person is Jefferson Peralez?
Even though he was influenced by the roving AI and his thinking was almost completely changed, you can tell by looking at his trajectory of constantly struggling while his thinking was being altered.

He refused to accept sponsorship from any company and had an idealistic compassion for the underprivileged. For someone like him, his rise to power was more about genuine democracy, or rather, clean governance, because he genuinely wanted to make changes to the city, rather than simply seeking political power.

In this day and age, talking about cleanliness is obviously ridiculous.

But isn't it precisely because idealism is considered ridiculous that it has value in being realized?

Otherwise, how could it be called an ideal?

“I do not intend to let Dogtown support Mr. Jefferson in this process, nor will I involve the NCPD in this struggle.”

As Karl spoke, his gaze drifted far out the window, reaching the City of Night.

"But I will campaign for him in my personal capacity."

Carl turned his head: "I will campaign for him as Carl, not as KK."

Jefferson Perales was unwilling to accept sponsorship from companies and powerful figures; he wanted to gain recognition through his own ideals, and Carl chose to believe in those ideals.

Dogtown and the NCPD are both forces capable of influencing the election, but to win, they should do it the way Jefferson did—win cleanly.

Carl will only support him as 'Carl,' but he will never allow any external forces to interfere in this election.

He wanted to give every single person in the city the right to vote for the first time, and to truly elect their own mayor.

And 'KK' will eliminate all interference.

"That's true, but it's not really that fair."

Carl turned around, and said with a self-awareness, "After all, even if I support Mr. Jefferson as Carl, some people will still project the image of KK supporting Mr. Jefferson. And it's fair; the people's own election might be the biggest injustice for Wilton Holt, but..."

"Who cares about his opinion, right?"

V said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)