Chapter 165: An End, and a Beginning
Ansar looked at the two people before him and spoke in a calm tone.
“What do you want? Money, or information? It can’t possibly be my life. If you were here for my life, you wouldn’t be standing in front of me, and I wouldn’t be able to say this.”
After speaking, Ansar slowly lit a cigarette for himself and sat down in the chair.
Zed’s figure gradually emerged from the shadows. Beside him stood a security robot whose head had clearly been replaced, causing Ansar to narrow his eyes.
“So… there’s a netrunner too,”
he thought to himself, quietly abandoning any idea of pressing the alarm button.
“You’re a smart man,” Zed said with a nod. “So we trust you’ll make the choice a smart man should.”
He didn’t waste words. Instead, he directly tossed something over.
Ansar frowned and caught the chip that had been thrown at him.
“What is this?”
“If you’re not afraid of what’s inside being exposed, you can open it on your computer and take a look,”
Jhin said lazily.
Ansar glanced at Jhin, then inserted the chip into the slot. He didn’t really have a choice anyway.
He finished reviewing the contents quickly. His expression didn’t change, but the words he spoke made his stance clear.
“I understand the situation. I’ll take care of your request soon. You can leave.”
“How boring. Not a single one willing to put up a fight. Tsk, tsk…”
Jhin sighed, shaking his head, and was the first to leave.
Zed glanced at Ansar once more, then melted back into the shadows.
After they were gone, Ansar took a deep drag from his cigarette. Judging by his trembling hand and clenched fist, his emotions were far from as calm as he appeared.
Slowly, he snapped the chip in half.
He understood perfectly well—if they had agreed to help him deal with his leverage, it meant they would always hold that leverage in their hands.
Refusing them meant immediate death. Agreeing meant he could live—and perhaps even live well.
As a smart man, he had no objections to the choice he’d made. Still… having his life controlled by someone else felt terrible, especially when he didn’t even know who they were.
Soon, following the instructions stored in the chip, he downloaded a program onto his computer and sent out a list of names.
When Lissandra received the list, she passed it directly to Roland.
“Looks like Zed has taken care of the last one,”
Roland said after glancing over the list and nodding.
“These agents entering Night City will be under your and Kelly’s watch. If they make any major moves, report to me immediately. If the situation turns unfavorable, you’re authorized to act on your own.”
“I understand.”
Yes—New America had begun gradually sending a new batch of agents into Night City, planning to take action depending on circumstances, in order to assist the New American forces preparing to push through Southern California.
As for how long that would take… that depended on whether New America could satisfy the hungry wolves lurking in Southern California.
Of course, those wolves wouldn’t push too hard either. Go too far, and not only would there be no soup left to drink—they’d get slapped as well. That wouldn’t be worth it.
Besides, New America still wasn’t going all out. Their true heavy firepower—missile systems, fleets, and the like—had yet to be deployed.
The reason was simple. What they wanted was unification. They wanted a relatively intact city, a place that could generate profit—not a pile of ruins.
If they bombed everything to rubble, what would be the point of starting a war in the first place? Just to pour even more money into postwar reconstruction, only to let other corporations swoop in and reap the benefits?
That was unrealistic. Which was why, even now, New America had been relatively restrained. If they truly went all out… Arasaka wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
In the original world, New America hadn’t stopped its offensive against Arasaka because it couldn’t win, but because it wasn’t worth the cost.
But now… the stances taken by Arasaka and Militech made it clear they were ready to fight for real.
As for who was fanning the flames…
Roland: I have no idea.
And Arasaka’s entanglements weren’t limited to Night City either. More precisely, they extended to the Free States.
The Free States didn’t refer to a single state, but all state governments independent of New America—Northern California, Colorado, New Mexico, and others.
After Militech tore away all pretense, Arasaka’s “security advisors” entered Free State territory and began offering assistance.
It was also worth noting that within Night City, New America’s reputation wasn’t very good—arguably not even as useful as Arasaka’s.
Compared to being unified, people preferred bringing in the Asian security giant that had long dominated Night City: Arasaka.
That reaction left Arasaka extremely satisfied. Their years of public relations hadn’t been for nothing.
They had leaned heavily on the most mainstream rumors of the past—rumors that, admittedly, weren’t too far from the truth.
That Arasaka had merely been the scapegoat for Night City’s nuclear explosion.
Which was more or less accurate, considering the nukes used back then belonged to Militech.
Higashiyama Ryoichi narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the situation before him.
“Inform all the Free States. The real war has begun. The earlier skirmishes are over.”
Yes. From this moment on, Militech was getting serious.
The earlier unifications involved Free States that already leaned toward unity, along with some that were still wavering—states for which New America simply made the decision.
Only Southern California had posed real resistance, and the forces heading toward Northern California had been badly screwed over by someone along the way. Everywhere else, the groundwork had gone relatively smoothly, with Arasaka’s actions buying them a great deal of time.
That time had been used well.
Next…
It was time for open, frontal warfare.
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