Chapter 624 - 595 Clue

Dog Town hid many large-scale weapons, and they were all used in wars, which had to do with their positioning.

To explain why Lille thought Hansen either couldn’t think clearly or was lucky, the reason was somewhat related to this as well.

If a ground-penetrating bomb exploded in Night City, the company would get nervous, the municipal services would get nervous, and the citizens would get nervous.

If a ground-penetrating bomb exploded in Dog Town, the onlookers who couldn’t escape in time would become corpses, the onlookers would flee, and the more distant onlookers would marvel:

Bullshit.

"Speaking of this, what’s the deal with those supplies and airdrops? Hansen doesn’t listen to the company or the NCPD, so who’s giving him the airdrops?"

"Of course, it’s the people from the company and the NCPD," Lille explained, "just like he declares outside that this place doesn’t accept us but secretly says he welcomes us.

Someone in the company needs to send equipment under the guise of delivering weapons to him. He takes the equipment and sells the other stuff in the boxes as required—

Although it’s usually not him selling it. Think about it, if you were a logistics officer in Military Technology and wanted to make some extra money but the regulations didn’t support you selling things, you’d think: Hey, we still have a place at war, sending some equipment is not too much, right?"

Jack couldn’t wrap his head around it: "What do you mean, Hansen doesn’t listen to Military Technology anymore, and this kind of approval can still go through?"

"Military Technology doesn’t recognize Netherworld Dog, but that doesn’t mean the small leaders in Military Technology don’t recognize it. Approval is done by people, and if there’s money to be made, why wouldn’t they make it?"

"The small leaders who approve the plans also make money?"

"The small leaders who approve the plans also make money, that’s right."

"But Military Technology..."

"You see," Lille patiently explained, "don’t think of Military Technology and any person in Military Technology as the same thing. You need to get used to separating the collective from the individual.

Maybe this small leader is competing with another small leader for a chance to become a big leader. Who will win?"

Under normal circumstances, people would say: of course, it’s the one who benefits the company the most.

But in reality, Night City’s straightforward values made Jack realize all at once: the so-called benefit for the company... isn’t it just the one who has more money and makes more money?

More money can do more things: hacking operations, assassinations, lawsuits, slandering, bribing employees...

In this society, money can buy everything.

But... Military Technology needs to sacrifice Netherworld Dog to gain benefits, but the continued existence of Netherworld Dog can provide benefits to some people in Military Technology...

Contradictory, but the logic behind it seemed easy to understand and made a lot of sense.

Both Jack and V got caught up in it, even the Wild Man King, who was doing civil engineering, perked up his ears:

The boss’s reasoning, let’s listen to it.

As Lille went deeper, even Fiona, who was evacuating the children, perked up her ears:

An international fugitive’s reasoning, let’s listen to it—perhaps I might really be a fugitive in the future.

Jack was getting more confused: "But... how can there be such contradictory things?"

Using money to judge competence is the universal truth of society. Naturally, it could be applied to understanding the power struggles within Military Technology: the fittest survive, the strong control the discourse, and the stronger one steers the ship, the more prosperous the company becomes.

But it now seemed that this very thinking bred Netherworld Dog, which, in turn, let an uncontrollable factor appear in Night City, becoming an obstacle to the company’s progress.

And without Lille saying it, Jack and V could think that this situation certainly didn’t only exist within Military Technology; at least there were the NCPD and others hoping to make a buck here.

When there’s the first to make a buck, there’ll be the second. After all, if your competitor makes money and you don’t, who dies if not you?

Gradually, everyone found that Dog Town indeed had to stay well here.

In this international black market and war-torn area, everyone had a tacit understanding, everyone fuzzily accepted and secretly sanctioned its existence, and fattened the Netherworld Dog.

V’s mind turned a bit quicker and immediately thought: "Isn’t this just like Ryan’s balls?"

Jack also had a sudden realization.

Lille nodded in agreement: "Yes, just like Night City’s situation. Walking the fine line is a dangerous survival strategy; it can keep you well-fed and accelerate development, but you can’t walk it forever. We now represent Night City.

But Hansen feels it’s just between him and the company. Even if the company wants to settle accounts with him, it’s not now.

But actually, Voodoo Gang was completely killed by us. I don’t even know who manages the network here; where does his confidence come from to play like this..."

Lille paused.

Right, perhaps it wasn’t that Hansen didn’t understand the situation but that he was quite confident.

"...In any case, he felt he could slip away before the reckoning day arrived, so he didn’t care about our conflict with the company.

But I’d say, at this time, he should upgrade his Veteran BBQ, and join forces with our Hamburg Criminal Group to form a veteran hamburger terrorist organization dominating Night City, ostensibly going against the company and helping the Wanderers open trade routes between Night City and Mexico, to stabilize Night City’s independent status.

He could also go legit—as long as Night City’s economy reaches a certain scale, going legit is still possible."

V frowned: "What veteran hamburger veteran BBQ, people might think you’re running a food business here!"

"I recently found this name quite nice too. The more I hear it, the better it sounds."

Jack’s eyes rolled: "I remember that the veteran hamburger plan you mentioned was also one of our tasks here?"

"Yes," Lille nodded, "Hansen has a lot of military weapons that the company wouldn’t sell to Night City. It’s not realistic to win a company war, but whether it’s Arasaka or Military Technology, if they want to seize this bridgehead, keeping Night City supported until the enemy’s rival joins the war to fiercely attack them from behind is more than enough.

And as long as Dog Town is here, there’s always a knot in the trade route with Mexico..."

"Hmm?" V suddenly thought of something, interrupting Lille’s lengthy discussion, "What about the other task? Why are you always fixated on that damn Night City? You’re almost dead!"

"The other task...isn’t that what we’re about to do?"

Lille looked at Fiona.

Although Luxor Manor was nearly scrapped, Lille’s Night City Melting Pot Construction Company was heading towards Taiping State. Bringing in some stuff for repairs wasn’t difficult.

The assets were already seized by him, so asking for some information was only natural.

Speaking of high-end technology that could cure cancer and cellular issues, what could be more likely than the head of a Biotechnology Company’s cutting-edge research institute?

Fiona was instantly stunned: What did they mean? These three big brothers were talking about controlling Night City and turning the criminal organization into a terrorist organization to make Night City independent; the next second, they said there was something of equal importance, and they all looked at her?

Lille slowly said: "I have some physical issues: cancer, cellular radiation damage, chemical damage, gene breakdown... basically a lot of problems.

I previously heard from some... people that Dog Town might have something that could help me."

"Huh?"

Fiona was momentarily stunned; the boss, who had just been charging on a wheelchair and blowing up mercenaries, turned around and said he was dying?

Goodness, the wheelchair was real?

Lille nonchalantly shrugged and then activated the auxiliary surgical equipment on the wheelchair. Sealed devices immediately extended from both sides of the wheelchair, tightly locking his torso for disinfection.

Then the surgery directly started, extracting a fist-sized piece of cancerous tissue from his chest.

After tearing off his clothes, one could clearly see that Lille’s skin had already been largely replaced with detachable artificial skin, probably designed for frequent surgeries as prosthetics.

Even the Wild Man King and Matt, who were unaware, and those dusty little athletes were dumbfounded:

Goodness, they always thought they were already burning their lives training and fighting for a way out...

Unexpectedly, the real boss not only engaged in high-intensity, high-risk criminal activities in a wheelchair with a firm spirit but also carried a surgical room with him!

Others would reward themselves with a bit of "joy" after work, while he... he rewarded himself with a chest surgery!

Lille frowned, stitched up the wound, the surgical device sprayed drugs, and the wheelchair returned to normal.

"I was asking you a question."

V’s voice brought Fiona’s brain back online after it had crashed: "Indeed there’s this news—uh... a biotechnology or similar company seems to be trading an experimental super repair device at Hansen’s banquet.

Nano robots, stem cell cultures...these are all side products. The real core is said to be a nano robot based on miniaturized superconducting quantum computing chips."

"Quantum computing nano robots... that computing power is no joke."

"Yes," Fiona nodded, "that’s its hardware foundation. The software foundation is an AI created by the world’s top bio-medical database now.

It’s said... it’s said that its appearance here is precisely because of this: it’s an AI device; many people suspect that the AI level of this device has already surpassed the standards set by the latest revised Network Surveillance ’Artificial Intelligence Control Guide.’"

"Not bad." V was in a good mood, giving Lille’s shoulder a hard slap, "Sis will lend you some money, if we can’t afford it, let’s go get it back for you."

"Let’s investigate first." Lille felt that this matter might not be that simple.

In the original game, there was no mention of such a device—of course, it might also be because it’s earlier than the start of the game now, and the transaction already safely took place a year before the game begins.

"In any case... let’s proceed step by step to control Dog Town, build bridges, and investigate information about that thing.

Let’s start with the origin of this group of mercenaries—wonder if Hans’s guts can still hold..."

Pop.

There was a sudden soft sound from the ruins.

Everyone at the scene went on alert—

Jack even somehow had a steel bar in his hand.

An empty can that made the sound could be seen. Under everyone’s gaze, another one was thrown from the broken walls.

Pop.

"Don’t shoot! There are two of us, a man and a woman, we’ve met before!"

The speaker was a woman, raising her hand over the cover, with a man following behind her, also raising his hands above his head.

Phantom and Iron Hand emerged.

Jack and V frowned in unison. Lille raised an eyebrow—he was the only one who recognized these two people.

"I should have told you if you had sense, you should have stayed far away."

"Hehe, boss, we’re here to join you," Phantom said with a fawning smile. "Aren’t you investigating those mercenaries just now? The ones you are stepping on."

Phantom pointed to the ground under the Wild Man King. Only then did the latter notice she was stepping on a prosthetic limb mixed with both mechanical and physical components.

"We know them well, and we absolutely won’t have our own little secrets like a middleman—You must know, getting information from a middleman knowing nothing is the most... unwise choice."

The two nervously showed two rows of big white teeth.