Night City is a place of undercurrents, hidden behind the frequent and intense gunfights that are part of everyday life.
But in reality, since the arrival of Arasakaâs aircraft carrier ended the Unified War seven years ago and military technology decided to cease fire, there havenât been any major incidents for a long time.
Similarly, outside of Night City, corporations have barely maintained high-intensity conflictsâthereâs been no substantial warfare.
So, upon analysis, the Cyberpunk World could be said to have been "peaceful" over the years.
And in the Marvel World, at least in the majority of the main countriesâ cities, life can be called peacefulâ
However, on the flip side, wars are continual on a global scale, and essentially all have major organizations or nations involved.
Indeed, just a few short years after the end of World War II, wars broke out once more...
"...Peace has always been a lie if you want peace, you must wage war."
A certain congressman showed off his shocking wisdom in the parliament on TV.
"Now we still have Captain Carter, perhaps she could reform the Roaring Assault Team to deal a crushing blow to those terroristsâ
Of course, I guess Secretary of State Barnes doesnât have the energy to deal with these things anymore.
He needs some new blood... these young ones could come from the new soldiers at Stark Industries.
These unmanned combat robots only need energy and steel to bring us victory after victory. We just need to sit at home sipping tea and checking what interesting shows are on our phones."
The scene quickly switched to a military transporter.
The Iron Soldiers on screen differed slightly from the Mecha that Frank fought; they were smaller in size, and although the overall structure still had treads, the joints were strengthened, offering a walking mode for versatility.
Clearly, Tonyâs idea was to make the Mechas more human-like, capable of adapting to more situations on the battlefield.
"The MK-5 Iron Soldiersâthese Iron Soldiers will become the next generation of American troops. No one will need to go to the battlefield; everyone just needs to do their job and, of course, get paid.
Such benefits only require us to elect a visionary president with decisive ability in the upcoming presidential election."
"Are you saying, to take us to war?"
"I mean, to revitalize economy, and incidentally free those living amidst blood and fireâ
You know that outside the Mei Country, there are wars going on everywhere. These terrorists even dare to attack us; they are no ordinary terrorists and must be struck with full force."
"So, your views on the presidential election..."
"Donât be like New Yorkers electing a political greenhornâthat guy was just a mover before this! Rumor has it his dream was to become a singer...
Goodness, New Yorkers actually chose a failed talk show actor turned mover as their mayor; I canât understand whatâs the point in electing a loser."
The TV program began discussing the presidential electionâ
The New York City mayor election had concluded, and Anthony rightfully took the mayorâs seat.
Thatâs the same neighbor Lille first met, the one who used to be an unemployed mover with a young daughter.
At the podium, Anthony pointed at the congressman on the TV and shrugged to the audience, "It looks like this congressman is quite fond of feudal inheritance laws; if I were his constitutent, Iâd consider how many sons and daughters he hasâ
Because if there are too many, he would surely find a way to arrange hereditary public posts for them.
After all, theyâre a âpolitical dynasty,â arenât they?"
When he said âpolitical dynasty,â he raised his hands and made quotation gestures with his fingers.
"Back to New York, City Hall plans to include medical plasma in healthcare coverage in the next four years, ensuring that everyone has blood available during emergency needs.
Youâre certainly worried whether healthcare fees will rise, and the answer is: no.
New York City government will form a deep partnership with International Genetic Cooperation Limited to purchase some drugs and plasma products at prices below market value.
A detailed list will be announced on the net after confirmationâand pushed to your phones."
In the past three months, in New York alone, a conservative estimate suggests that over fifty thousand people have benefited from these new medications.
"In the future, even more people will have access to better health careâat an affordable price."
"Hey! Anthony!" a redneck in a white coat waved his hand from below the podium. It seemed he had come all the way from the rural areas of New York to be here, "But I heard youâre doing this health care thing because youâre a GC-ist, are you?
Are you going to make us give up our wives and children and then have us thank you for it?"
"What the hell..." Anthony was momentarily stunned.
Despite having dealt with all sorts of people while campaigning, this was the first time he had encountered such a question.
This was also a disadvantage of being a political novice: the more people he met, the more apparent human diversity became.
He had to learn to respond quicklyâhowever, as an immigrant who had already obtained legitimate citizenship and residency, such questions were still too alien for him.
This was a question that could only be asked in the old Mei Country.
Lille held his forehead and sent Anthony a script for a temporary response.
As one of Lilleâs people, he also had a cyber modulator implanted.
The International Genetics Cooperation Company had yet to develop prosthetic eye technology, so the text would be transmitted to the glasses he was wearing.
Anthony tactically smiled, then took a sip of water to gather his emotions and organize his speech, effectively covering his confusion.
"First of all, I am not doing this for any âism,â but to ensure that everyone can enjoy better medical careâ
Last week, at the port, a dockworkerâs arm got crushed by a collapsing container, causing severe bleeding. Had it been a year ago, he could only lie in the hospital bed praying for a suitable blood supply available that day.
But even with the right blood, upon awakening, he would face exorbitant medical bills. Iâm sure you all have heard too many stories of families being bankrupted by medical issues."
"Rightâ" the redneck nodded, "But if he couldnât pay, the hospital wouldnât have given him blood transfusions in the first place!"
"Exactly!" Anthony continued along this line, "The reality is, the hospital, seeing he was a worker, had already pushed his life to the end of the line!
And even if he survived, he would have lost his ability to work due to his disability, becoming a homeless person for the rest of his life...
But guess what? The very next afternoon, he was discharged and even took with him a basic guaranteed standard prosthetic arm..."
"The same kind as the governorâs?"
"No, come on, man, do you think the hospital would give a dockworker the same thing the governor uses?"
The redneck nodded his head in agreementâperfectly reasonable.
Although he didnât have much respect for city workers, in the countryside, losing a finger or limb due to such incidents was not uncommon.
The truth is, there are many accidents that result in disabilities in both industrial and agricultural production. He didnât hold much regard for the stinking laborers in the city, especially the immigrants, but a common topic always inadvertently brought people together in thought.
Anthony went on to say, "Itâs just a basic model, but it can handle basic loading tasks and daily life.
On the upside, the International Genetics Cooperation Company and the Atlas Group are trying to introduce some industrial robots. Now that he has an implant, perhaps he can even become an industrial and agricultural machinery operatorâ
Just like the old days of driving a tractor."
"Shit." The redneck suddenly cursed, "Isnât that just like my old man?"
Heaven knows how the old guyâs father managed such an employment upgrade despite his disabilities.
Anthony maintained his smile: "Lastly, you asked whether I would make you thank New York City Hall... I donât think anyone is that despicable to pay money to control others and then expect gratitude in return, right?
If I were you, Iâd thank the scientists who created this technology, the engineers, managers, and workers who have worked overtime in the past few months to ensure the factories run smoothly, and the warriors who donated blood and bone marrow even before the technology was fully realized.
I and all the staff of New York City Hall are just doing our job: ensuring that the citizens involved in this entire chain can enjoy a better life, solve their own problems, and move towards a better tomorrow.
In conclusion... I will hold a mayorâs hotline every Saturday at six in the evening to personally answer some of the more pressing questions.
Save the time on your TVs, radiosâor even your phones, and make sure to log onto the online application provided by Bloom Company."