"Hey, hello to everyone watching at home. I don't know your gender, but I hope you all find someone who truly loves you. After all, that's a rare thing here in Night City!"
"Alright, enough rambling. Let me introduce today's heavyweight guest: the founder of PROJECT Corporation, Mr. Roland Vimers!!"
Clap, clap, clap!
As the host finished his animated introduction, a burst of thunderous applause filled the venue. Roland waved as he walked out from backstage.
Once Roland had taken his seat, the host continued.
"As everyone knows, ever since PROJECT Corporation partnered with Night Corp, Night City's public safety has improved by several percentage points. What's more, our global ranking has finally… well, we're still last, but we've climbed significantly compared to before. I believe that in the near future, Night City will become a true utopia!"
"And now, I'll hand the stage over to Mr. Roland Vimers!"
Beep—
At the press of a button, the TV screen instantly went dark. The black glass reflected the figure standing in front of it: Myers, the President of the New United States.
She looked terrible.
Her usually immaculate hair was now a tangled mess. Empty liquor bottles were scattered across the floor, her eyes were bloodshot, several pill bottles lay overturned, and clothes were strewn everywhere.
"Ms. Myers, someone is requesting a visit. Shall I let them in?"
A gentle female voice sounded by her ear, and Myers frowned.
"Send them away. I'm not seeing anyone."
"Understood."
After turning down the request, Myers slowly picked up a bottle of liquor and sat on the sofa. Ever since that campaign, countless factions had been targeting her.
She was capable, but the New United States was no longer under her sole control, especially after such a major mistake. As a result, many officials with real authority under her command had been reassigned, replaced by members of other factions.
If she weren't still the president, she would have already been completely sidelined. Even now, she was barely holding on. Still, if that were the extent of it, she would have had a chance to turn things around.
But just as she was preparing to act, an unknown force suddenly entered the New United States. With extremely powerful netrunning capabilities, they dug up all kinds of incriminating material on her faction from every possible angle.
In truth, this kind of thing was an open secret among the factions. Everyone knew no one's hands were clean, so they usually turned a blind eye.
That only held as long as nothing was exposed.
Once exposed, it would become a massive scandal.
And now, Myers was caught right in the middle of one.
Worse still, that group had struck deals with many people inside the New United States, trading for intelligence and resources, some of which she was already aware of. It sent a chill down her spine.
Even at a time like this, there were still those willing to sell out national interests just to gain that unknown force's support and bring her down.
That only strengthened her resolve to remain in the presidency.
Her current disheveled state at home was merely a show for outsiders. Behind the scenes, she was still gathering intelligence, especially anything related to PROJECT.
Oregon had surrendered. Idaho had been annexed. Washington State had compromised.
Now, the entire northwestern region had effectively fallen under PROJECT Corporation's control. Meanwhile, its chairman, Roland Vimers, was appearing across all major media.
At the same time, a powerful media outlet under PROJECT had risen rapidly, leveraging satellites from the Highriders as well as PROJECT's own network to seize a significant share of the narrative.
They were increasing public approval of PROJECT while steadily weakening the influence of the original regional governments.
They had also rolled out various urban policies and reforms, building numerous public facilities funded by PROJECT. With strict surveillance and security systems in place, public safety and citizen satisfaction in many cities had improved dramatically.
Watching all of this unfold step by step, Myers grew increasingly anxious, especially since there was no response whatsoever from those within her own country.
"President Myers, if you refuse to meet me, I believe you'll regret it."
A message suddenly appeared on her comms.
At first, she felt irritated, but when she saw the sender's name, her eyes widened.
Pru, head of the European Space Agency's covert operations department, a high-ranking official with real power.
...
"What's the status of our control over each state?"
Roland turned to Lissandra and asked.
"Nevada and Idaho are fully under control. Northern California's upper-level control has reached 80%. Oregon is slightly lower, currently at 65%. Washington State is the lowest at 45%. Everything is progressing smoothly, and there has been no intelligence leakage."
"Good. Then speed things up, especially in Washington State. If we can secure control there, we'll be able to pick up some ready-made nuclear weapons."
Roland nodded, then recalled another matter.
"By the way, how is the PROJECT team doing?"
"They've been divided into several squads, each assigned to patrol and garrison key cities, eliminating unstable elements within those areas."
"Hmm. What about V and Sasha?"
"Miss V is still at the training base, getting familiar with Justice, while Miss Sasha is strengthening her connection with the Beast Mechanized Corps. It will likely take some more time."
After hearing the report, Roland stroked his chin.
During this period, he had also upgraded both V and Sasha. V had chosen Justice, while Sasha had chosen Wild Hunt.
Don't misunderstand. Sasha wasn't turned into a canine form. Instead, she was equipped with a humanoid Wild Hunt armor and Cyberware.
V's next upgrade could also be scheduled now, along with Zed's.
"Lissandra, how are things on your end?"
"The base construction is complete. We are ready for your arrival at any time."
"Then let's do it today. No need to wait."
Roland slowly stood up, a faint smile forming on his lips.
The source code was finally ready to be unveiled.
...
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