As the Source Code products officially went on sale, the Source Code virus began spreading across the New United States at an alarming speed, especially after Roland had paid off officials in the states bordering PROJECT.
PROJECT's products quickly flooded those regions. Myers naturally noticed and immediately tried to push through legislation to sanction PROJECT, but the bill was ultimately rejected.
That left her furious. The same frustration returned, the kind that came from losing a war because of incompetent people.
The main reason was simple. Those officials who had signed profit-sharing agreements with PROJECT were now making enormous profits from the sales.
"Lissandra, how's the task I gave you earlier?"
Roland turned to her.
"We've already acquired nearly twenty percent of the circulating shares and distributed them across multiple retail holders. So far, it hasn't drawn Arasaka's attention."
"Good."
Roland nodded.
The shares in question were, of course, Arasaka's.
As a publicly traded corporation, Arasaka followed the standard model. The largest shareholder was Saburo Arasaka.
Originally, the main shareholders were Saburo Arasaka, Kei Arasaka, and Hanako Arasaka, holding a combined 54%. After Kei Arasaka's death, his shares were reassigned.
Most of them ended up under Saburo Arasaka, followed by Kei Arasaka's daughter, Michiko Arasaka.
After Yorinobu Arasaka returned, Saburo also transferred part of his shares to him. Overall, the Arasaka family still held the dominant share within the corporation.
The rest of the board collectively held only 15%.
Out of the twenty board seats, nineteen were loyal to Saburo Arasaka. The remaining seat had originally belonged to Kei Arasaka.
That was why Saburo Arasaka was effectively the emperor of Arasaka.
The remaining 31% of shares were held externally.
Sounds like a lot.
But in reality, if anyone tried to acquire too many shares from the outside, Arasaka would dispatch a special black ops team.
They would "invite" the shareholder to retire.
Arasaka didn't mind outsiders holding some shares or having limited influence. But if someone crossed the line, they would be "persuaded" to give up their stake.
The method depended on cost.
Buyout, or elimination.
Since Roland didn't want to attract that team yet, he had Lissandra quietly acquire the external shares under hidden identities.
As for how?
Definitely not with money.
There was no way Roland was paying to buy Arasaka stock.
So he used the same method Arasaka did.
Persuasion.
Afterward, Kelly and Lissandra would alter the target's memory, and that would be the end of it. None of them were important enough to cause trouble.
If he wasn't worried about complications, Roland would have had Lissandra loot national treasuries by now.
"Looks like things here are almost done. Time to pay a visit to our old friend Yorinobu Arasaka…"
Roland stroked his chin.
Arasaka was far too valuable to let go.
And in his eyes, it was actually quite easy to take over.
Yorinobu Arasaka had the legal right to inherit Saburo Arasaka's shares. Combine that with his existing shares and the ones Roland had acquired…
At that point, Arasaka would have a new owner.
Of course, if Saburo lost control of Yorinobu, he'd probably just change his will.
...
While PROJECT pushed forward with its plans, dissatisfaction began to surface among the Tyger Claws leadership that had aligned with them.
They had previously taken action against members loyal to Arasaka to prove their loyalty.
Now PROJECT had suddenly stopped and even appeared to be cooperating with Arasaka.
That left them completely exposed.
Naturally, discontent began to grow.
Wakako was among them, though she showed none of it.
She understood one thing very clearly.
Neither side was something she could afford to provoke.
All she could do was believe.
Believe in PROJECT's ambition.
Believe that PROJECT would never allow Arasaka to truly take root in Night City.
"What a troublesome time…"
...
"David, things are going to be busy at the corporation for a while. I won't have time to cook. I'll transfer you some money, so just eat out. And remember, don't leave the safe zone."
Inside a high-end apartment, a red-haired woman in a suit, equipped with PROJECT cyberware, spoke to a boy in a PROJECT school uniform.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Mom. I'm not a kid anymore…"
David muttered, wearing a monocular analyzer, as he checked his account balance.
When he saw the number, his expression shifted.
He had never imagined having this much money.
It was more than his mother used to earn in a month.
And now, it was just his allowance.
"But… the safe zone…"
David stared at the TV, his gaze unfocused.
...
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