Chapter 630 - 601: Picking Up Bricks Again

[Mr. Hans, Burger King, you did a great job on this...]

[Lille, what’s the problem? The data inside can be used to audit taxes, and I didn’t even pursue the matter of someone planning to bury me alive.]

[Mr. Hans, alright, alright... let’s lay our cards on the table.]

[Mr. Hans, your data technically completed the job, but your actions made the client very unhappy about me hiring you.]

[Mr. Hans, so next time...]

[Lille, next time, you should consider taking my commission.]

[Lille, I need to clear out the Scavenger hideout at Long Beach Junkyard; they’ve had their fun in Night City long enough, it’s time to regulate them.]

[Mr. Hans, now you’ve set your sights on the Scavengers? You need to understand that there’s a reason they’ve grown so big, people can’t afford to...]

[Lille, don’t pretend. You work for Europeans, not caring about the survival of Luxor Manor, all for a bit of profit, right?]

[Lille, Dog Town has three factions: the Netherworld Dogs are the most direct reason it exists, the Voodoo Gang cuts off corporate network lines, and the Scavengers assure daily supplies and long-term survival here.]

[Lille, and Luxor Manor is one of the Scavengers’ biggest clients. If it’s attacked, the Scavengers will become easy targets to be replaced.]

[Lille, if you don’t strike now, you’ll be a middleman for the rest of your life.]

[Mr. Hans, being a middleman isn’t so bad.]

[Lille, then go be a middleman now. I want to take down Long Beach Junkyard, help me pinpoint their locations, and ideally lure them out to eliminate them in one go.]

[Lille, I’ll give you 24 hours. 500,000 if it’s done, handle it yourself.]

[Mr. Hans, I’ll think about it.]

Lille had no doubts that Hans would join this job because if he didn’t, he’d miss his chance forever—

Hans was an intermediary, and having fled from a giant corporation as a mid-level manager, his grasp of the situation was clearly better than Hansen’s.

In the original storyline, Hansen recklessly dug up an unfinished AI project from Military Technology under Dog Town, hoping to boost his military strength, gain independence, and escape his awkward situation to get a clean slate.

This all-or-nothing move attracted malicious hackers, leading to his death, while Hans completed several tasks in Dog Town with V, earning favors from the Europeans and NCPD, severely damaging the Scavengers and the Voodoo Gang.

After Hansen’s violent death, he took the opportunity to meddle with the Netherworld Dogs’ internal affairs, leveraging the benefits from commissions to possibly connect and replace the Voodoo Gang with Network Surveillance, and the Scavengers with NCPD, thus controlling Dog Town.

Hansen was an officer, Hans was a politician. The former preferred going all in, while the latter was shrewd and strategic.

But now things were different; Hans no longer had V, who would kill entire families for 250 as his enforcer. The external NCPD, even Night City, were now under Lille’s control, and Night City’s gangs were united under their boss.

If he were smart enough, he’d realize he had no more room to maneuver.

He once thought Burger King would be the big mercenary who would help him open the situation in Dog Town. Now he had to accept a reality:

The mercenary he once thought of already had the ability to completely replace Hansen and might do an even better job—

Once Dog Town was taken, Taiping State might even be open for redevelopment!

Of course, he could choose to continue working for the corporation. Maybe they were plotting a big conspiracy against Burger King, and just might need his help.

...

In Taiping State, following NCPD’s announcement of the local branch’s restart, the locals erupted in rioting and protesting—

However, without the Voodoo Gang’s support, they couldn’t even maintain citywide communications under high-intensity interferers.

Mercenaries and lone wolves capable of bypassing the interference didn’t dare risk being discovered to provide communication assurance. Without assurance, individuals had no way to confront organized groups.

The Night City flag rose over NCPD’s Taiping State branch, Reaver and Old Han stood at the entrance, observing the retreating locals and the dilapidated scenery, feeling deeply moved—

"I tell you... We got promoted, but why does it feel like a demotion?"

Old Han’s sentiment wasn’t unreasonable. He had dreamed of promotion but hadn’t expected to end up in Taiping State after getting it.

Indeed, from now on, they would manage the local police station and police force, becoming branch chiefs.

Bang—

Valentino’s Mackinaw Pika stopped in the square. A swaying Vortex Gang member dressed in an engineering exoskeleton placed a man-high crate in the temporary storage area, cursing under his breath about who-knows-what.

Six Street Gang members parked their armed taxis nearby, their tactical gear cheap but fully loaded: bulletproof plates, tactical goggles, military firearms...

As for the paint jobs, the usual 666 design had changed to various Burger King logos slapped onto 666. It’s a bit odd, a bit brazen, but undoubtedly a great deterrent to other criminals.

The Tiger Claw Gang patrolled between strongholds on motorcycles, ensuring each district remained under control—

Even high-as-a-kite junkies who hadn’t left the controlled areas would be shot on the spot.

Seeing this scene, the two NCPD officers felt increasingly peculiar:

Though it was an NCPD branch, they were the only real NCPD officers. The rest were contractors, and all hired from their old Night City rivals.

Ironically, they were actually performing... in some ways, even better than their colleagues in Night City.

Strangely enough, the gang members here were not "corrupt" and launched genuine crackdowns on crime, shooting on the spot, no exceptions.

"Feels like a lone commander." Old Han’s thoughts were mixed, "But it’s better than being sidelined... right?"

"Much better—"

Reaver shook his head, smiling as he looked toward the distant tower crane.

Electricity surged through the rusty, abandoned tower crane, lights blinking on sequentially, as it rattled, shedding dust.

[Adkaduo Family, Suo, we can fix the equipment here; the structure’s still intact.]

[Adkaduo Family, Pan’an, no, we still need proper radiation shielding, the radiation dust levels are above standard.]

Within a week, Taiping State seemed to transition from a lifeless state to a place of potential. Though it remained poor and might stay in disrepair for some time, they had taken the first step.

Night City started to reclaim control over Taiping State, attempting to recover and build the utopia once envisioned amid the debris.

[OCT Network Announcement, all gangs prepare to enter Dog Town.]

Reaver froze, everyone’s work momentarily paused.

Burger King was finally going to personally handle the biggest obstacle to rebuilding the future.

Old Han suddenly said, "Does this mean we don’t have to get involved? We’re police, after all!"

"Heh, get ready to work."