The plunder of the heavens begins with the Spirit Cage.

This also indirectly boosted food exports from industrial and agricultural companies.

The extremely low and cheap prices sparked a new frenzy among the lower classes.

Meanwhile, in the top-floor conference rooms of various companies, the atmosphere was extremely tense, filled with deep-seated fear and vigilance.

All eyes were fixed on the two core technologies showcased by the Industrial and Agricultural Company: the global time-delay slowing force field and the high-frequency laser blade.

Inside the door to see the door, the layman to watch the fun.

Those at the bottom only see the overwhelming victory and the godlike achievements, but the research teams and senior technical executives of major companies can see through the terrifying technological gap behind it at a glance.

The ability to forcibly alter and suppress all kinetic energy and speed in a large area of ​​space demonstrates a level of technology that has completely transcended the existing understanding of prosthetic bodies, military technology, and physical systems.

And that laser blade, as thin as a cicada's wing, is even more terrifying to think about.

The ability to compress and refine high-energy-consuming, wide-range scattering laser technology to its extreme, transforming it into an ultra-thin blade capable of close-quarters combat, penetrating armor with a single strike, and instantly dismantling top-tier cybernetic bodies, signifies that the opponent's energy control, materials technology, and micro-energy core technology have reached a level that is completely unattainable for them.

If lasers can be compressed into blades, then they can also be compressed into cannons, projectiles, and array-type lethal weapons.

Since it can alter the flow of spacetime on a small scale, could it be expanded to a larger scale and amplify its power in the future, and used for offense and defense, blockade, and suppression of all combat forces?

Upon realizing this, all the major forces that had been secretly plotting to join forces to suppress the Industrial and Agricultural Company, cut off supply channels, and drive up grain prices immediately halted all their covert actions.

No one dared to underestimate this upstart company that had risen out of nowhere and spanned Badlands and Night City.

Damn it, Mann, a lowly mercenary, has acquired such advanced cybernetic equipment and technology in just one or two months after joining the Workers and Peasants Company.

Wouldn't the troops of a company exclusively owned by that company be incredibly powerful?!

In short, given that such a group has few leads to be found, let whoever wants to cause trouble go ahead.

In any case, apart from some meat produced by biotechnology using cloning technology, no other companies have any connection with pure grain products.

So be it, with a monopoly, the employees are motivated to work after eating proper food.

As for those companies and factories that produce insect-based food products using hydroponic technology...

Who the hell cares if they live or die?

If you're so capable, go and start your own industrial and agricultural company.

But you know what, when capital is pushed to the limit, it really can do anything.

The prices of grains, vegetables and fruits supplied by Gongnong Company have been decreasing again and again.

The synthetic food giants, small and medium-sized bio-factories, pigment and protein workshops, and other food-related products that dominate the market have been hit by a nuclear bomb.

Synthetic food producers in other parts of the world may be able to travel around the globe as resellers, exchanging their profits for violence.

But the synthetic food company that occupies Night City is in trouble.

In the past, the poorest people in Night City could only survive on various foods made from insect protein.

Now, the Industrial and Agricultural Company...

Nima!

A bunch of cabbage is selling for 100 euros! What's the difference between that and the price of cabbage?!

They're not given any chance to survive at all!

They kept trying to acquire the goods, but the other party kept being able to sell them, it was like a bottomless pit.

The unknown is terrifying; without knowing each other's plantations, no one dares to gamble on the other's inventory.

In just a few days, over 90% of the orders for synthetic foods in the entire city of Night City have almost disappeared.

From large hotels and restaurants to small individual shops, everyone knows which ingredients to buy to increase customer traffic and Euros.

Synthetic food?

Even a dog wouldn't eat that!

The saying goes, "Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents," and all the giants of synthetic food companies are completely uneasy!

With the encouragement and equipment supply from military industrial enterprises such as Arakawa and Military Technology, they actually assembled an armed force of several thousand people.

They used the pretext of "restoring market order and breaking monopolies".

Wearing a tactical prosthetic body from Arasaka and carrying a refurbished smart gun, they were followed by dozens of brand-new, sturdy armored vehicles.

The leader made a threatening statement to the accompanying media cameras, saying that he would "smash the monopoly and smash the unfair competition" and step into the border of Watson North District!

However, they soon saw the difference between professional soldiers and mercenaries.

The moment they stepped across the border, over a hundred powered armored vehicles surged forth.

Without the need for orders from frontline commanders, a motley crew was perfectly analyzed by the AI.

The intelligent system inside the soldier's armor classifies targets and plans attack routes. Even the ten palm-sized bee-like drones accompanying him automatically lock onto the highest priority targets, ensuring that there will be no mistakes or confusion.

The vanguard leader at the forefront had just pulled the trigger when a burst of bullets crashed into the pale white energy shield spread out in front of him.

Before he could react, a silver-blue shell exploded from fifty meters away, instantly killing him and his vehicle.

Before the attacking armed forces could react further, fifty worker-peasant soldiers had already formed a deadly line of fire on the pre-arranged position.

The hail of bullets fired by the militants barely scratched the powered armor.

In the alleyway on the west side, a soldier wearing power armor had four bee-type laser drones mounted on his shoulder armor, and a 200-pound armor-piercing quadruped mechanical dog followed by him. The entire combat unit was fully automated and coordinated, so he didn't need to pay any attention to directing it.

As soon as they made contact with the enemy, the mechanical dog darted out, crouching low against the broken wall. Its various signal scans instantly penetrated the steel roller shutter door of the abandoned shop, transmitting the location and firing positions of the entire squad of more than thirty men hiding inside back into their armored helmets.

Before the soldiers could decide whether to charge or surrender, the built-in AI system had already prioritized sending two drones into the building to precisely shoot down the enemy who fired the first shot.

While they were thrown into disarray, the machine guns on the mechanical dogs unleashed a barrage of suppressive fire.

The soldier then used the remaining drones in a smooth combo, instantly eliminating most of the grunts.

The entire process took less than ninety seconds. The attack squad led by this soldier was completely wiped out, with at most only a little bit of the outer paint being scratched off the armor.

Such clean and efficient annihilation operations were being carried out simultaneously on almost every street corner, highway, and abandoned factory area in Watson North.

The drone's miniature laser spot is specifically designed to target the core of a specific energy source, hitting it accurately and silently every time.

The mechanical dogs and spiderlings were responsible for clearing out the remaining enemies in low, blind spots, completely preventing them from getting close enough to perform any self-destruction maneuvers.

Less than an hour after the checkpoint was set up, workers, peasants, and soldiers began to advance with steady steps.

The more aggressive ones have already driven in, wielding high-frequency laser blades to charge into the rear of the armored vehicle and unleash their full power.

Panicked, the rear command was forced to play its last trump card: four EMP missiles provided by Arasaka.

However, the missile had just been launched when its guidance signal was deciphered by the theater AI, causing it to abruptly change direction and plunge into the command cluster behind the theater.

With a deafening roar, the explosion paralyzed and rendered useless the mercenaries within a radius of several kilometers.

The most tragic cases involved mercenaries with prosthetic hearts, livers, breathing tubes, and stomachs who were nearly killed by the battery pulse.

Such a tragic situation, coupled with the death of the commander, caused the armed forces to collapse instantly. Some fled, some surrendered, and they couldn't even muster the thought of resistance.

The workers, peasants and soldiers suffered very few battle losses. At most, a few armored vehicles had their outer shells damaged by stray bullets, and they could be refurbished and put back into service in half an hour after being towed to a repair shop.

As for unmanned machinery, it can be manufactured with a small 3D printer, and the production speed is faster than the damage rate, so it is not worth mentioning at all.

Detailed information about the battle spread throughout Night City that very day. The major companies that had been sitting and watching the spectacle were now breaking out in a cold sweat after being analyzed by a group of think tanks and experts.

Technological and equipment superior!

The few small giants that had previously been calling for joint sanctions immediately backed down, and no one dared to touch the grain business of the industrial and agricultural sector again.

Within three days, the Industrial and Agricultural Company took over the factories and sales channels of all the original synthetic food companies in Night City, and laid out the supply points of regular grain in every block of Night City.

On the day that cheap and fresh rice, flour, vegetables and fruits were put on the shelves, the supply points in various slums were packed with people, and the poor people lined up for hours to grab a couple of pounds of real food.

Chapter 201 The Black Wall

Before 2020, the entire human world was connected by a complete network.

Using neural linking technology, they can allow consciousness to sink into cyberspace.

The digital world was thriving and orderly at that time, but in 2021, IHA, a company focused on underwater transportation and technology, revealed a large amount of assets due to bankruptcy.

This incident became the catalyst for a battle between the two marine industry giants.

On one side was the European Community's CINO, and on the other was North America's OTEC. The two sides initially competed with stock manipulation and economic warfare in an attempt to acquire IHA's assets.

After a year of economic warfare, the two sides reached a stalemate, and the war eventually shifted from capital manipulation to real-world offline conflict.

OTEC hired military technology from North America, while CINO brought in Arasaka.

Both companies also attempted to weaken each other through this war.

Thus, the fourth corporate war broke out in full force in 2022.

As the situation spiraled out of control, the war spread to multiple cities around the world.

During this time, legendary hacker Ricky Bartmos joined the war against Arakasaka, launching cyberattacks.

However, it was precisely this earth-shattering hacking attack that exposed his hiding place. Arasaka quickly located his apartment and killed him.

But his death was the beginning of the real disaster.

The 'Wanderer' virus, which Bartmore had planted before his death, was activated the moment his body died.

Viruses can destroy all business data barriers and publish data online for everyone to see.

However, the virus far exceeded his expectations. The Wanderer frantically cleaned up files, destroyed network data, and unleashed and incubated countless military-grade artificial intelligences.

This resulted in the immediate death of numerous hackers connected to the network, ultimately paralyzing over 80 percent of the world's networks.

Despite the inability of network surveillance to reverse the situation, in order to prevent the remaining viruses and out-of-control AI from continuing to infect the world along the lines, all network links in the world were forcibly physically severed and regions were divided.

They also built a huge firewall, also known as the Black Wall, using an isolation method.

The area behind the black wall is fraught with danger: antivirus programs, rampant viruses, intelligent AI, and countless lingering hacker remnants of data...

Each of these factors is enough to cause a rash intruder to instantly suffer a nerve meltdown, lose consciousness, and perish in the cold torrent of numbers.

But while it is dangerous, it also contains the largest, most tempting, and richest digital treasure trove since the collapse of the old civilization!

Rare military blueprints, the source code for the first-generation prosthetic body, lost nanotechnology, deep-sea engineering data, sealed energy formulas, dusty business files of multinational conglomerates, and countless top-secret experimental data that have never been seen before...

For major corporations and even nations, this is a treasure trove full of pitfalls, yet capable of rapid technological breakthroughs.

Profits drive people's hearts, which is why no one tacitly mentioned that the Black Wall could have been destroyed directly through physical means.