2077: V really knows how awesome he is

V didn't care at all, but Joanne Koch sneered.

Aunt Contour is Abernathy's mistress, and she always looks at V with a look of utter hatred. Joanne Koch also doesn't understand, Abernathy's own husband doesn't care and chats and laughs with V, so why is this shady mistress playing the love triangle?

Now Zeta Technologies has connected with the NCPD, and Abernathy's husband has been promoted again; while Comto has also joined the corporate alliance, it has not made any progress. It is said that even Comto headquarters is dissatisfied with the old lady, but she just doesn't change and continues to do things her own way.

It's 2076 already, and there are still people who value love more than their career?

Joanne Koch really doesn't understand these love-struck people; she really wants to dissect one of them alive to see for herself.

The company alliance holds a plenary meeting once a month, and this is the second one since its establishment.

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Arms was signed at the first meeting, while the second meeting mainly addressed the issue of gang violence in Night City.

It's not that the company alliance is particularly approachable, but rather it's a requirement from the higher-ups.

Night City is an independent city. Major companies have established branches in Night City, and their leaders are all young people in their 60s who have not experienced the previous company wars and do not have the hatred of the older generation.

The company alliance was established with the support of Michiko Arasaka, and those who have joined now are, to some extent, supporters of her ideas.

In their view, fighting and killing is too costly, so it's better to join forces to make money and gain merit. V is doing a pretty good job now, and all the stocks are rising, so let's keep going. Even if we mess things up, it doesn't matter, since the people below will take the blame anyway.

So the high-ranking officials who had benefited from being approachable to the people gave the latest directive: to curb gang violence in Night City.

"That's the gist of it. Arasaka will be restricting the Tiger Claw Gang and reducing its members by 30%. Let's not hold back and share our thoughts."

Merritt Stock spoke first: "Let's leave Sixth Street to our military technology team, and cut them by 30% as well."

Joanne Koch was even more ruthless. Now that Biotech had a good reputation, she had originally planned to cut ties with Cleaners. She immediately said, "Biotech will take over Cleaners and reduce their numbers by 50%."

With them leading the way, the other company representatives also threw out their own bargaining chips, one saying to cut by 20% and another saying to cut by 30%. In no time, all the big and small gangs in Night City had been sold out by their own bosses.

"A soft approach won't work; we need to take a hard one. I plan to find a gang to make an example of. Let's see if anyone wants to lead the Whirlpool Gang. If no one wants to, then we'll go with the Whirlpool Gang."

V looked at everyone, and no one had any objections, so the matter was settled.

In reality, the Whirlpool Gang isn't completely unrelated to any company, but it takes on any kind of work and has connections with every company, though none are very deep, which is equivalent to having no connection at all.

In short, it's just bad luck for it.

“Simply reducing the number of gangs is only a temporary solution. To address the root cause, we need to increase the employment rate. When ordinary people have money, only a fool would risk his life to join a gang.” V looked at the love-struck old lady and said, “Kantau has the most factories. Why don’t you put up a job posting? The Alliance will subsidize your wages, and Kangtao can also gain a good reputation.”

This is a good thing, and it's not difficult to implement. Some small companies are even a little envious, but they simply don't have the scale to handle it.

However, the lovestruck older woman refused: "Kantau has implemented fully automated production, and all the places that require manual operation have been replaced by intelligent robots. There is no place to hire people. Vice Minister V, you should think of another way."

These words immediately caused everyone in the meeting to frown.

I know about your feud with V, but we're all in this together now, you can't just enjoy yourself without doing anything.

Kangtao is also a member of the company alliance, and you get all the good reputation, but we do all the work. What kind of nonsense is this!

V didn't mince words: "Are you sure Kang Tao can't eat it?"

The lovestruck older woman rolled her eyes: "Of course I'm sure."

"Okay, I will confirm this directly with Kangtao's headquarters in Shenyang."

"You!" The lovestruck old lady slammed her hand on the table and stood up.

"What do you mean 'you'? If you can do it, then do it; if you can't, then get out. The company alliance will still function without you, Kangtao. If you're so capable, then announce your withdrawal right now, and I guarantee I'll bring people to raze Kangtao Tower to the ground this afternoon! Remember, you begged to join the alliance, not the other way around. If you're senile, go take your medication. Don't fucking try to act tough in front of me!"

"You! You!" The lovestruck auntie's face turned white and green with anger. She clenched her teeth, but she just couldn't bring herself to say the word "withdraw".

V wasn't joking. The company alliance now gathers forces from Arasaka, Military Science, Biotechnology, Zeta Technology, and many others. If they really joined forces, wiping out Kangtao's Night City branch would be child's play. Even if Kangtao has a nation behind it, once the nation intervenes, it will have been reduced to ashes long ago. What good would that do?

The older woman didn't dare to say anything harsh in the end, and stormed out after pushing open the door.

"Idiot, I really don't know what she's pretending for."

V shrugged: "Maybe it really is true love."

One sentence made everyone in the meeting room laugh.

Everyone knows about Abernathy's messy past now, and I heard that The Fourth Wall Studios is even planning to make a movie about him.

"Alright, enough with the laughter. We poor souls still have to work." V thought for a moment and said, "Leave the employment situation to me. I'll see if we can squeeze out some jobs here in Arasaka. If all else fails, I'll build a factory out of my own pocket. It's just a little loss, no big deal."

Although the company representatives weren't particularly grateful to V, they all felt that V was quite righteous. Based on the principle that everyone should help each other out, Joanne Koch proposed building a factory under the name of an alliance so that everyone could share the losses.

V said it wasn't necessary, but everyone insisted.

After being asked and refused three times, V finally reluctantly agreed.

"So, what should we produce?"

This question stumped everyone. First, the market is basically saturated with all kinds of goods. Second, ordinary people are all poor and can't afford good things.

“Produce whatever the market lacks, stop production when there’s no demand, pay half the wages, and just consider it a way to gain fame,” V suggested.

None of the people present were thinking about making money from this, so they all agreed.

“But that would make the required production lines and raw materials very diverse,” Meredith Stock said awkwardly. “We can provide some military technology, but not all of it.”

“It’s alright. Everyone here is a big shot in Night City. We can just let a little bit slip through our fingers,” Joanne Koch immediately suggested.

“Alright, everyone, don’t worry. Since this is a serious matter, the alliance will cover the cost, and you will all make a profit.” V raised an eyebrow.

Those who understand what "making money" means will understand, and those who don't... wouldn't be sitting here.

"Oh, isn't this a bit inappropriate?" one person asked cautiously.

“Everyone has been working so hard, consider this a reward for their efforts. Don’t worry, it’s not much, and I’ll take responsibility if anything goes wrong.” V made the decision immediately.

Now everyone felt that V was even more righteous.

After finishing their business, everyone chatted for a few more minutes before leaving.

V suddenly said to Meredith Stock, "By the way, Stock, about the leg exoskeleton I asked you about..."

"Everything's ready. Call your kitten, let's go take a look together?"

"Okay, then I'll have to trouble you." V said a little embarrassed.

Everyone laughed good-naturedly. Everyone knew that Vice Minister V was a man of deep affection and loyalty, who never abandoned his lover even though she was paralyzed from the waist down.

"Why don't we let Ms. Koch go with us? Having a doctor with us will make things more secure."

V quickly waved his hand: "No need, Joanne's main focus is on drug development, not clinical medicine, so don't bother her."

Joanne Koch sighed, "Let's go. They've already said that, and if I don't go, it'll seem like I'm heartless."

"Really?"

"Hurry up and get on the hovercar, or I'll regret it."

The crowd made way, politely letting V go first.

V expressed his gratitude once again.

After the doors of the hovercar closed, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief. V smiled slightly and said, "See? Our factory is now complete."

Chapter 25 Nanogene Repair Fluid

V is not a saint; she never intended to overthrow the system. She only wanted to heal herself.

In the treatment room below, Sasha was familiarizing herself with the use of the leg exoskeleton under the guidance of the staff. Although she was sweating profusely, she was full of joy. She turned her head and waved to the V above, and the V waved back with a smile.

“About our factory,” V said, looking at Meredith Stock and Joanne Koch. “The project is ready, and the personnel, equipment, and raw materials will arrive gradually. The two floors above ground are the normal factory to cover things up; the underground part is the real core.”

Joanne Koch cautioned, "Secrecy is of utmost importance."

"Don't worry." V ​​said calmly, "The workers will use a traditional assembly line approach, with each person responsible for only one part. They won't even know what they're building. The final assembly will be done by machines, and I will personally write the program."

“That’s not enough.” Meredith Stock said, biting a cigarette. “We’ll manage the workers and their families in one place, and we’ll tell the outside world that we’re building a factory. My people will be listening in 24 hours a day, and we’ll deal with anyone who leaks information immediately.”

Joanne Koch worried, "Won't this provoke a backlash?"

“No problem. Just make sure the factory has all the necessary facilities, like schools, hospitals, and shopping malls, creating an independent living area. Also, improve the workers' wages, and they'll definitely be scrambling to get in. It's all just small change, no need to skimp. It would be stupid to mess things up over such a small detail.” V looked at Meredith Stock: “It’s rare that you’re willing to offer advice.”

Meredith Stock didn't speak, but his eyes lit up with a blue light, and then V received a complete set of technical documents.

"This is?"

"The Centaurus exoskeleton, the main focus of military technology for the next 10 years." Meredith Stock took a deep drag of his cigarette, letting out an epic puff: "I've had enough of that idiot who challenged me. I'm going to be second only to the top leader in military technology. But remember, just..."

“Just this once!” V and Joanne Koch said in unison.

"Damn it, you two..."

Before she could finish her rant, V sent her some information, and the blonde, slicked-back-haired woman immediately went from angry to pleased.

"The Prosthetic Body Type II?! And the new immunosuppressant, Anti-Tremor?! Damn, I fucking love both of you!"

"Is it just a one-time collaboration?" V asked.

Meredith Stock blushed and turned to leave, saying, "I'm going back to deliver the documents."

“Unfortunately, she still didn’t agree.” Joanne Koch shrugged.

V chuckled: "I didn't refuse."

The factory was completed a week later.

Because of the generous compensation, countless people applied for the job. To V's surprise, Jack's name was among them.

V thought about it and chose to approve.

Big shots have their own dashing style, and small shots have their own peace and happiness. At least now Jack doesn't have to die in Delaman's taxi anymore.

V had never forgotten her friend, but since he didn't know her, she didn't want to drag Jack into her mess.

Silently watching over him, silently protecting him, silently blessing him, watching him achieve success in his career, get married and have children, and that's enough.

Jack had never given up on his dream of becoming a big shot, but because his nephew's birthday was in two months, he chose to take a short-term job in order to buy him a decent birthday present.

Jack secretly resolved to work for two months, save up enough money, and then leave.

He applied for a job in the above-ground part of the factory, which offered him freedom of movement, but after starting work and seeing the beautiful factory area with all the necessary facilities, he felt that Misty would definitely like it here.

To move into the factory, one must sign a three-year contract, which will restrict one's freedom to some extent. Even so, there are still countless job seekers.

Looking at the sea of ​​people, Jack chuckled to himself. These kinds of jobs would definitely be reserved for highly educated people; what was he, a roughneck, thinking? He should just stick to doing what he was good at. Once he'd saved enough money, he'd return to the world of gangsters and become a famous figure again.

"Hey, big guy over there, is your name Jack?" a junior supervisor in the workshop called out.

"Yeah, brother, my name is Jack. What do you need me for?" Jack replied cheerfully.

"Come and take a look at the machine. I need to go to a meeting."

"Huh? I don't know how to do that either."

"No one is born knowing everything, just learn. I'll teach you, don't worry, it's very simple. Once you've learned it, you can be my assistant, and I'll give you a raise."

Jack began to study seriously, watched one camera for a while, and then switched back to cruise mode.

One week later, at night, in the underground factory.

V lay face down on the medical bed, his upper body naked, revealing his smooth, white spine... and the shallow scratches scattered across it.

Meredith Stock whistled: "You're really showing off, Sasha's still a kid, go easy on her."

V blushed and said, "Shut up!"

Joanne Koch approached with a syringe. Unlike ordinary syringes, the liquid inside was not transparent, but a silvery liquid with a metallic sheen.

"The nanogene repair solution is composed of 7 billion nano-sized ultra-micro medical robots. It can continuously and slowly repair damaged nerves in the human body. One injection costs 80 euros and is administered once a month."

Meredith Stock was a little surprised: "So cheap?"

Joanne Koch shrugged: "That's just the production cost. If you include the R&D costs, one injection is about 3000 million euros. But the R&D is all in the biotechnology sector, and we only handle the production, so one injection is still 80 euros."

"Using someone else's chicken to lay your own eggs." Meredith Stock's voice trembled as he exclaimed sincerely, "Awesome! More awesome than fucking cryptocurrency trading!"

Joanne Koch walked over to V with the syringe: "Don't be nervous."

"I'm not nervous, come on."

"Relax."

As soon as he finished speaking, the needle pierced V's spine from his back.

As the silver serum was fully injected, Joanne Koch waved her hand to activate a holographic projection, a real-time scan of V's body. Starting from the injection site, a silvery liquid began to spread outwards along the nerves, quickly covering V's entire body. When the progress bar reached one hundred percent, Joanne Koch smiled proudly and said, "It's done!"

She patted V's butt: "The nervous system and prosthetic body have been reconnected, and the prosthetic body lock has been released. You should be able to use the prosthetic body freely with your own will now. Show me a couple of moves."