From Gotham to Night City, my infamy is known to all.

As someone who's going to be carrying the Arasaka bounty by noon today, I definitely can't go back to the accommodation assigned by the company; Leo will have to rearrange everything.

That's a good question, Leo decided—

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

There's a phone call, and the caller is... Saul?

Leo held up one finger, signaling Valerie to wait a moment and answer the phone first.

"Chief, something terrible has happened! The Haitians have organized a large-scale demonstration and even brought in reporters!"

After hearing his words clearly, Leo's eyes instantly turned cold.

Today is the auspicious day of the founding of Lanmeng Company. He didn't want to see any bloodshed, but some people just don't know what's good for them...

Chapter 418 Major News in Night City: Protests Erupt in Taiping Continent

"Location, number of people, demands."

Leo's words were concise and to the point, his calm voice carrying a chilling undertone.

Thor shuddered involuntarily and licked his lips. "They've gathered in the slums on the outskirts of Westwind Manor and are heading towards the seaside along the main road. There are probably over three hundred of them. They claim we're invaders and murderers and want us... to leave Pacific Island."

He paused unnaturally during his report, which Leo keenly noticed.

It's easy to understand after a little thought. Their original words probably weren't as polite as "leave," but rather "get out" or something even more vulgar.

It seems that the successful riot six years ago gave them unrealistic illusions, making them believe that as long as they united, the company would make concessions out of concern for "large-scale bloodshed".

A bunch of fools; this time they picked the wrong opponent.

Leo considered himself a benevolent leader, especially to the general public, but not everyone deserved his favor.

He wants to improve Taipingzhou and change its terrible social environment. If anyone tries to disagree at this time, he doesn't mind sending them to the crematorium.

"Assemble your troops and stop them on the road. Send drones to the rear for reconnaissance, highlighting looting, arson, and other criminal activities. Allow the use of non-lethal force and equip your smart guns with the 'Peace First' plugin."

"understand!"

"Click."

Leo hung up the phone, let out a frustrated sigh, and looked at Valerie:

"The Grand Empire Shopping Mall is the headquarters building of Lanmeng Company. With your current position, you can choose a private office on the second-to-top floor. There are various office equipment that I bought but haven't had time to install yet in the warehouse on the first floor. You can ask the staff on duty to help you set it up."

In short, given your sensitive position, you'll remain at headquarters and await further instructions, keeping a close eye on the Arasaka Corporation's movements. We'll go quell the riot first.

"understood."

Valerie stood up and watched Leo hurriedly leave with the twins.

After the footsteps faded away, she took a step toward the door, then suddenly stopped and subtly scanned the entire office.

The office, hastily renovated and without time for finishing, only had a desk and a few chairs; there wasn't even a security camera...

Her eyes darted around slyly, and she turned her toes, walking around the desk to the inside.

After confirming once again that there were no surveillance cameras of any kind in the office, she smiled and sat down in Leo's exclusive executive chair.

Still not satisfied, she lifted her feet uncontrollably, pressing her heels against the table.

Ahhh, that feels so good!

Sure enough, this chair is the most comfortable place in the whole company, filled with a wonderful feeling called "power"!

She chose Arasaka from among many offers because she felt that the Arasaka family was going through a period of transition and that she might have a chance to rise in the ranks.

Unexpectedly, after her first job was ruined, her second job gave her a chance to rise to the top.

Ummm, confident in her own abilities, she originally disliked using her looks to climb the social ladder, but now…

The company's CEO, who was in his early teens, was very attractive, had a good personality, and had an unfathomable background. Such a promising prospect did indeed tempt her.

Moreover, he is mysterious enough—

Valerie's gaze fell on the empty Coke bottle.

After carefully pinching it with two fingers, a circular water stain was left where the Coca-Cola bottle was originally placed. This was a trace left by the frost on the bottle.

A bottle of ice-cold cola, just taken out of the refrigerator and still covered in frost. Wow!

It looks fine on its own, but... where did this refrigerator come from in this office?

She put her feet down and leaned over to carefully observe the area around the desk.

There were no traces anywhere, the drawers were empty, and it hadn't been converted into a built-in refrigerator. So where did this bottle of Coke come from? Did it just appear out of thin air?

She was quite certain that Leo arrived with his hands empty…

My intuition is warning me that there must be some very important information here!

She was becoming more and more interested in her new job and new boss, as if she were solving a mysterious puzzle!

After putting the Coke bottle back in its place, Valerie lingered for a moment longer at Leo's spot before getting up and leaving the office.

She wouldn't make inferences without any evidence; doing so would only lead her astray.

She will continue to observe and find the "blind spots" hidden in inconspicuous things.

*

While Valerie was busy playing Sherlock Holmes and searching for the truth, Leo had already led the entire Immortal Squad and Mann Squad to the front lines of the demonstration.

The armored convoy drove onto the main road and headed south. After a kilometer, they saw a crowd of demonstrators.

At this moment, they were blocked at a T-junction. The soldiers of the Wings of Liberty used an overpass to set up a double-layered defense, confining them here.

Leo had some recollection of this place; in the game, there was a prosthetic doctor's clinic in a nearby residential building.

As soon as the car window opened, the slogans of the protesters drifted on the wind.

“Murderers! They are all murderers! They killed my brother and my neighbor’s brother!”

"The evil vagrants are carrying out a massacre in the eastern suburbs, and now they want to seize the last piece of land belonging to the Haitians. This is absolutely unjust, and we will protest to the end!"

"Get out! Get out! Shameless outsider, get out!"

At first glance, it was a sea of ​​black people, including young and middle-aged men and women, and a few elderly people in the front row.

Leo now understood why the soldiers were so passive. These wandering soldiers, who had received family education, were rare individuals with a tradition of "respecting the elderly and caring for the young."

Much of their knowledge comes from oral transmission among the elders in their families, so they naturally exercise great restraint when facing these "grandmothers."

Fortunately, the Haitians still had some sense of decency and didn't bring their children along.

The arrival of Leo and his group undoubtedly attracted the attention of both sides, and Saul and Cedric, who came to provide support, quickly gathered around him.

""leader!""

They bowed and greeted Leo.

“Hmm,” Leo nodded, glancing at the reporters frantically snapping photos in the crowd, “Which agency’s reporters are these?”

Saul replied, "The most well-known are WNS News, and two other lesser-known local media outlets."

Global News Service (WNS)...

Leo immediately understood: Damn it, Arasaka! Before he could even make a move, Arasaka's offensive had already arrived.

It seems that the occupation of Taipingzhou has indeed caused their dissatisfaction.

Leo, who was vengeful, immediately decided to bomb Arasaka Academy next week, steal the cybernetic body, and make their stock market crash even more severe!

But now, he has to suppress the riots.

Who is their leader?

"They claim this is a spontaneously organized protest without any real leaders, but I think it's always been those same few elderly people leading it..."

Saul reported in a low voice.

Leo waved his hand dismissively and strode towards the front line, using his mental link to have Deep Blue create an invisible defensive shield around everyone.

"It's alright, I'll go and chat with them for a bit."

Thor and Cedric dared not argue with him, so they led a small squad of elite soldiers to accompany him as his guards.

And so, amidst the attention of the crowd, Leo, who had just appeared in the trending news, parted the crowd and walked to the middle of the standoff.

"I am Leo, the leader of Blue Dream Corporation and Wings of Freedom. Send someone with authority to talk to us!"

Chapter 419 Suppressing the Riot, the Iron-Blooded Ruler!

The shouts of the protesters paused for a moment, and many recognized Leo's identity.

The founder and chairman of Lanmeng Company, who just held a global live broadcast, authorized the great sage of water-purifying algae to everyone.

Unexpectedly, such an important figure would actually step forward to talk to them. Many people's initial anger immediately dissipated, and they became somewhat timid and hesitant.

The reporters from the three news outlets exchanged glances, and a female reporter from WNS News spoke on their behalf.

The female reporter jogged to a spot not far in front of Leo. The photography team behind her turned off all their equipment, pointed their lenses at the ground, and dared not take pictures as freely as before.

"Hello, I'm a frontline reporter from WNS News..."

The female reporter quickly finished her self-introduction and claimed that they followed the protest after seeing it take shape, and that they did not intend to create negative news about Blue Dream Company.

Finally, she added that this was not a live broadcast and asked for Leo's opinion. If he strongly objected, they could delete the video and pretend nothing happened.

Leo looked at her indifferently, not even bothering to remember her name.

He knew that this was the privilege of being a member of the "corporate hierarchy"—with just one word from him, the journalists would be kicked out and would absolutely not dare to do anything that would damage the image of Blue Dream Company in front of him.

Of course, they might not dare to do it to your face, but it's hard to say what they might do behind your back.

Leo knew that this British media company supported Arasaka, so he naturally didn't have a good attitude towards them: "No need, find a good spot and keep filming, no dark filters allowed."

The female reporter's eyes lit up; she hadn't expected such a good thing. She had indeed come with a "mission," and would naturally be more than happy to capture more footage.

This leader of Lanmeng Company is still too young and doesn't understand the importance of staying away from controversial topics. Sometimes, even just appearing in event reports can cause trouble, let alone appearing directly on the front lines like he did.

Fearing that Leo might change his mind, she quickly led her photography team away, also taking reporters from the other two companies with her, so that if anything went wrong later, they could share the blame.

Their inner thoughts were completely unguarded in Leo's eyes; he simply didn't care.

After the reporters quickly found good shooting angles, the protesters also elected representatives.

The group was led by an elderly black woman with white hair, accompanied by a dozen or so Haitians who were also quite old.

They walked out of the crowd of protesters and stopped about five meters away from Leo's team.

"Hello, young man, my name is Michelle."

The old man's voice was deep and soothing, carrying a tranquility that came with the passage of time.

“Michelle’s grandmother was the last living miracle seafarer among the Haitians. She successfully crossed a tropical storm with Captain Philippe Orest and led the Haitians to the Pacific.”

A middle-aged woman followed closely behind and spoke at length, pointing out the symbolic significance of Michel's grandmother and her important place in the hearts of Haitians.

Leo remained unmoved by this.

What a load of nonsense! He was just a lucky survivor who was the first to escape Haiti by boat.

They don't think that just because someone coined a few fancy-sounding words, they can make that person "sacred," do they?

Seeing his silence, Michel spoke again: "Before the raging sea swallowed the Haitians' homeland, the sea god led us through the winds and waves to a new home. From then on, Pacific Island became our new island, and our final refuge. Young people, this belongs to the Haitians, you—"

Her words were interrupted by Leo's raised left hand, the dazzling Infinity Gauntlet blinding everyone.

"Wait a minute. Your Haitian homeland was swallowed up by the flood. The survivors fled their homeland and crossed the ocean to come to Taiping Island in Night City to recuperate. This part is fine."

However, this only proves that you are immigrants, what does it have to do with the ownership of Taiping Island?

In my opinion, Taipingzhou is part of the City of Nights. It's a free city that, from the moment it was divided into different cultural districts and established itself, has welcomed everyone equally, not just Haitians!

Before the words were even finished, several middle-aged men and women showed anger on their faces, and some even started swearing.

Boom!

Two muffled thuds rang out simultaneously, and the two rude men were sent flying, screaming as they fell back into the parade.

Only those who had installed the Krenzikov camera and the professional cameras saw the truth—it was V, driving the S.A.S ...

The demonstrators immediately erupted into a commotion, but this time, with their leader present, the soldiers of the Wings of Liberty didn't tolerate them.

bang bang bang-

Anyone who dared to step forward was shot down in a hail of bullets; even if they weren't fatally wounded, the pain was enough to knock them unconscious.