Chapter 49: Mutual Harm

“According to reliable sources, PROJECT Corporation has recently conducted drug trials on unwitting participants who were never informed of potential side effects. We strongly condemn such inhumane behavior...”

Roland switched off the TV in silence, then rubbed his temples in frustration. Biotechnica had clearly teamed up with Militech to suppress them.

They were using Channel 54’s media power to pressure his company while leaning on major weapon suppliers and arms shops to restrict PROJECT’s access to the market.

At the same time, Channel 54 had begun promoting Biotechnica’s pharmaceuticals. PROJECT’s products were taking heavy fire. Roland also noticed the subtle shift in Arasaka’s and Kang Tao’s attitudes—clearly, they intended for Biotechnica and Militech to strike first.

Then the two of them could swoop in and “pick the fruit.”
Meanwhile, seeing PROJECT struggling, Luvena Tech had started stirring things up as well. The Trauma Team, however, wasn’t bothered in the slightest.

Their stance was simple and unwavering: “Whoever has the medicine, we work with. We’re fair.”

“Looks like we can’t count on WNS from Arasaka’s side… Reckless of me. Should’ve secured a microphone before stepping onto the stage. Tsk…”

Irritated, Roland began searching for a way to break the stalemate. Arasaka’s inaction was simple—they saw no profit to be gained. Sure, Roland could feed them enough benefits to get them moving, but that was no long-term solution.

He couldn’t bribe them every time trouble appeared.

“Biotechnica… Biotechnica…”

Suddenly, he remembered some of Biotechnica’s darker secrets. One was the real drug testing case involving Sasha’s mother; another was the raw material scandal at All Foods.

If he could secure evidence of both and hand it to Arasaka’s…

He was confident that Arasaka—currently locked in a struggle with Militech—wouldn’t mind being used as a weapon against them, especially since Militech was cooperating with Biotechnica right now.

If Arasaka exposed those scandals, Militech would almost certainly kick Biotechnica away to protect its reputation.

As for Kang Tao… Roland had never counted on them. This wasn’t their turf, and several Kang Tao executives were the type who wouldn’t so much as blink without profit on the table.

Still, Roland wasn’t placing all his hopes on Arasaka either. They might not intervene at all. Their real relationship with Biotechnica remained unclear, so he had Lissandra prepare for contingencies.

However, he also couldn’t let Militech’s public smear campaign go unanswered. Otherwise, it would only make him look guilty.

So he needed to counter it—not necessarily to convince people that PROJECT was innocent, but to muddy the waters. To make everything uncertain, indistinguishable. That confusion would give him room to maneuver.

Truth be told, if he could, Roland wanted to flip the table and hit them hard. But unfortunately, the other side hadn’t flipped theirs. Doing so first on their home turf would break too many unspoken rules.

Roland ordered his intelligence staff to collect Biotechnica’s hidden scandals. Then he put on his helmet.

“Kiwi, we’re going out on a job.”

“A job? Is it because of the negative news about the company lately?”

“Yes. They’re slandering us without cause. We don’t have many options right now, so we start with clarifications. We hold too little of the narrative. But since they’ve gone dirty, we’ll return the favor.”

Kiwi listened and nodded slightly.

“Where are we going?”

“Do you know where the All Foods processing facility is?”

“All Foods? Isn’t that Militech?”

Kiwi blinked at him, confused.

“No. The one pulling the strings behind it is Biotechnica. Our target is to expose Biotechnica’s dirt.”

“I understand.”

Kiwi unfolded a map and marked all the All Foods facilities. One location immediately caught Roland’s attention.

The reason was simple: it sat squarely in Maelstrom territory. If he was right, the facility was being operated by Maelstrom.

That made things easy. Roland knew Maelstrom’s nature all too well. Besides the questionable raw materials, they were likely adding their own… “enhancements.”

“We went to the All Foods facility in Watson District before. I have a feeling this one’s hiding something big.”

“...Just the two of us? That seems dangerous.”

“Well… we could hire a fringe squad. That’d make things easier.”

Roland considered it. While he wasn’t worried about himself, Kiwi was a different matter. Hiring a squad was the safer approach.

That made Roland think of the Judgment-Compatible he’d run into last time. If possible, he could try recruiting them.

Better yet, he could recruit the whole team. Their skills were solid—more than enough for small-scale operations—and it meant he wouldn’t need to personally handle every task.

...

“Seems PROJECT is having trouble keeping up.”

Still recovering in Night City, Kuroda scrolled through the online chatter surrounding PROJECT. Despite their official statement and testimony from participants, Militech-controlled channels held more reach and influence. PROJECT’s negative press remained relentless, spawning parody animations mocking their products.

That said, some of PROJECT’s intelligent security robots reminded Kuroda of the Jhin he’d encountered. Certain models had similar shapes—but those security bots were clearly older, inferior versions.

“So… Jhin is actually with PROJECT Corporation?”

Kuroda wasn’t sure anymore. How could a company so newly established wield such power? Unless someone was backing them from the shadows.

But who?

The thought made Kuroda narrow his eyes. He didn’t know who stood behind Jhin, but for now, their goals aligned: to ensure the New United States lost the Unification War and for Night City to become fully independent.

But that didn’t mean the New United States should lose from the start. They needed Night City and the NUSA forces to clash—and for Night City to win. Only then would the hidden players swoop in and reap the benefits.

The real question was: what role did Jhin’s unseen backer play in all this?

Even so, it was worth attempting to recruit one or two of them. Kuroda remained deeply intrigued by the power Jhin had displayed—and so were his superiors.