Chapter 175: Shockwaves Across All Sides
Everyone present was startled by this decision. After all, the last time such measures had been taken, the target had been Arasaka Corporation.
The conservative officers and Militech’s senior executives clearly wanted to say something after hearing Myers’s order, but in the end, they chose to remain silent. Still, an indescribable glint flashed through their eyes.
Militech’s internal structure was fundamentally different from Arasaka’s.
Arasaka had been an empire built almost entirely around one man—Saburo Arasaka. Power was highly centralized; whatever Saburo Arasaka decided, the Arasaka Corporation carried out without question.
In recent years, however, although Saburo Arasaka still sat on the throne as the emperor of the corporation, his authority was no longer what it once was. At its core, the reason was simple: age had caught up with him. His body had weakened, and he no longer projected the same overwhelming presence as before.
Arasaka’s upper management naturally saw all of this clearly and began investing in successors they favored. Among them, Yorinobu Arasaka was the most obvious choice—especially with Saburo Arasaka offering him both overt and covert support.
Militech, however, was a completely different case.
Militech’s shareholder composition was extraordinarily complex, with heavily intertwined factions. In particular, the various families within the New United States all had their own interests and agendas.
They had people embedded throughout both the military and political spheres. Even though Myers was one of the most forceful presidents in recent years, she still had to face this reality.
Especially with her political opponents lurking behind the scenes—if this operation failed, the resulting butterfly effect would deal a massive blow to Myers’s reputation and very likely cost her the chance of winning a second term.
And beyond that… not everyone involved was truly aligned with the New United States.
For example… Petrochemical.
Even so, Myers was still the president—more importantly, a wartime president. The radical faction was fairly satisfied with this outcome, and some people also believed this was an excellent opportunity to obtain those technologies.
Even if they couldn’t get them, at least no one else would either. After weighing the situation from multiple angles, they ultimately chose to support Myers’s decision.
Soon after, Militech began enforcing contract violations and related sanction measures against PROJECT Corporation.
For the moment, however, the impact appeared limited.
PROJECT Corporation’s core base was in Agas City and Night City—oh, and now Elor City as well.
All three cities were highly unusual in nature, and since PROJECT had never engaged in deep, large-scale cooperation with Militech to begin with, the actual damage was relatively minor.
Militech’s actions still gave Roland a mild headache. After some thought, he crossed out Plan A and switched to Plan B.
Just as Myers had anticipated, Roland had originally planned to reuse his old strategy—profiting from the clash between two giants. What he hadn’t expected was for Myers to act so aggressively this time, leaving him with little choice.
Still, it was within expectations. Lissandra had already prepared alternative plans, so it wasn’t a serious problem—just more troublesome.
As for Arasaka… for now, Roland needed to stay wary of both Arasaka and Militech, though Militech was the greater concern.
After all, in the current power struggle between Arasaka and Militech, Arasaka was at a disadvantage. They didn’t have the spare capacity to come after him and settle old accounts.
As for growing closer to Arasaka… Roland had no such plans for the time being. The situation was fairly balanced right now. Each side could play its own game, and he didn’t need to constantly deal with those old foxes over at Arasaka.
“I wonder whether the Free States will make a move…”
A hint of curiosity flashed through Roland’s eyes. In his view, the Free States were probably already restless, looking for an opportunity to approach him for cooperation.
Although he had previously taken action against cities under the Free States Alliance, given the current circumstances, the Alliance likely wouldn’t find it completely intolerable.
From their perspective, if they could get their hands on Roland’s technology, they might genuinely gain the ability to stand up to Militech.
As for the Free States Alliance’s little maneuvers, Arasaka chose to turn a blind eye. Its attitude was essentially this: you might be looking for a side piece without caring about your lawful spouse, but as long as you’re willing to let me have a turn as well, I can live with it.
Yes, the analogy was outrageous—but it was more or less accurate.
Then there was Kang Tao.
At present, Roland had a fairly positive impression of this corp, and given the situation, cooperating with them seemed like the best option.
Kang Tao’s approach also made Roland feel comfortable. In simple terms, they showed up to chat casually, brought a few gifts, asked for nothing in return, and only expressed a desire to exchange ideas with PROJECT’s people about things like intelligent weapon manufacturing.
Comfortable as it was, Roland wasn’t about to fall for any traps. Surveillance where surveillance was needed, secrecy where secrecy was required. No matter how sweet the sugar-coated shells were, he remained steady.
Still, there was no harm in enjoying the sugar coating first.
The Northern California government, for its part, was delighted to see PROJECT and Militech finally tear off all pretenses. At last, they had gained another powerful “friend.”
What? When did PROJECT become their friend? Well, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, isn’t it?
The New United States also moved quickly. They blocked PROJECT Corporation’s transport routes, sent people to intercept materials and goods, manipulated public opinion, and seized portions of PROJECT’s existing markets.
They had considered copying a previous tactic and sending PROJECT a “gift” as well, but after thinking it through, they realized it wouldn’t work and abandoned the idea.
For the current PROJECT Corporation, these actions were painful but not crippling. What truly drew Roland’s attention was the New United States forces being dispatched toward Elor City.
What surprised him even more was that the other side had sent an entire division. That left Roland feeling oddly flattered—after all, even Night City had only ever been besieged by a single division.
He hadn’t expected to receive the same level of treatment.
As for panic… that was out of the question. All he could do was find a way to transport the assets from Agas City first. Once they were moved, everything else could be discussed.
And if they couldn’t be moved…
Then they’d just have to wait a little longer.
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