Under external pressure, Hansen knew he had no time to waste, so he immediately made a request to Xiao:
"Please help me one more time, Xiao. I'm willing to pay any price!"
The intense roar of battle echoed continuously, making Hansen acutely aware of the urgency of the situation.
He understood that if he couldn't get Xiao's help in time, Dogtown might fall into an abyss of no return.
Therefore, he unhesitatingly expressed his most urgent need, hoping Xiao could lend a hand again to help resist this sudden crisis.
But Xiao, sitting in front of him, only sighed, then shook his head helplessly, his tone full of disappointment and resignation:
"I can't do that, Hansen."
"Do you remember how long it has been since we last contacted each other?"
"What's more, we are partners who developed together!"
"To be frank, you don't need my friendship at all; you're even afraid of owing me a favor."
Listening to Xiao's string of words, Hansen felt a bit uneasy. After all, if the Mechanicus's Auderson hadn't broken through the Phantom Hounds' defenses this time, those NCPD bastards wouldn't have been able to attack.
"We were just doing business anyway."
This made him blurt out his true feelings, and Xiao pressed his hand down.
"Yes, I understand. Your life in Dogtown is getting better and better; you've joined the circles of several high-society corporate members and met many people from the corporations.
You have more weapon supply channels, you've taken in a few beautiful women, you have children, and you feel your life is on the right track.
You also have the backing of various corporations; they will protect you in Dogtown, so you no longer need friends like me.
But now, you come begging me, saying, 'Xiao, please help me?'
You don't even have the most basic respect for me!
You don't treat me as a belief, nor as a friend.
You just treat me as a doormat that can be called at any time; you don't even want to use a polite form of address for me."
"I just want to ask you to help me out! How much money do you need? Or what else do you need? I'll give it all to you!?"
Hansen's eyes were a little red; he stood up abruptly and asked in a very agitated tone.
Xiao, however, spread his hands and said:
"Kurt~ Kurt~, what did I do to make you so disrespectful to me?"
"If you come to me as a friend, then those who harm you will pay the price, those who dominate you will suffer torment, and those who hunt you will face death!
If an honest person like you is unlucky enough to provoke enemies, then they will be my enemies, and they will fear you!"
Xiao pointed at Hansen on the screen and said this to him.
"Become your friend?"
Hansen was stunned; he had never imagined Xiao's request would be so simple!
Recalling the past, the main reason he chose to cut ties peacefully with Xiao was that the goods Xiao provided were far inferior to the genuine weapons from the major corporations.
When the corporations came knocking, offering weapons of far superior quality to Xiao's knockoffs at lower prices, he unhesitatingly accepted the olive branch thrown by the corporations.
After all, at that time, Xiao had neither background nor strength; who could have known he would develop into such a massive force later on?
However, even so, Hansen never regretted it. After all, he already had business relationships with the major corporations.
How could the power of one corporation compare to a group of corporations?
Hansen originally thought that with the backing of numerous corporations, he could fearlessly dump the blame on the Mechanicus.
Unfortunately, he underestimated the Mechanicus's desire for revenge and overestimated his own standing in the corporations' eyes.
Auderson, the Elder, directly led his team to defeat his Phantom Hounds and took Songbird and Myers.
What made it even harder for him to accept was that all his once-close friends were now ignoring him, leaving him to die.
He called every possible number for help, but no one was willing to come to his aid.
Not only that, these people even began to kick him while he was down, collaborating with the NCPD to launch an attack on Dogtown, attempting to seize control of Dogtown, which rightfully belonged to him.
Xiao remained silent, just quietly gazing at Hansen, as if waiting for him to make a decision.
"Godfather~"
Hansen solemnly lowered his head and bowed to Xiao.
"Very good. If one day—perhaps there will never be such a day—but if I ask you to repay me, then...!"
Xiao nodded slightly, then hung up the communication, but the smile on his face instantly vanished without a trace.
Help you out?
Help your head~
Xiao cursed Hansen disdainfully in his heart.
Just a small country bumpkin, truly thinking he was someone important.
That was just Xiao's sudden urge to show off, wanting to put on a performance with Hansen.
As for the so-called friendship and asking him for help, for Xiao, only people of equal status could become friends.
Xiao was not some gang boss, nor did he need the friendship of a small fry like Hansen.
What's more, Xiao has always been unforgiving toward those who have betrayed him~
Hansen and Kirk were completely different; Kirk at the time withdrew due to distrust of Xiao's technology and did not believe Xiao could master such technology.
This only showed that Kirk was shortsighted, but even so, Kirk never played any dirty tricks behind Xiao's back; he was simply envious of Xiao's rise.
However, Hansen was completely different; not only did he make a "righteous cut" with Xiao,
after getting new suppliers, he mercilessly abandoned Xiao like a worn-out shoe and even secretly tried to harm Xiao.
Hansen, relying on the outside world's lack of understanding of the intelligence, forcibly pinned the crime of attacking the NUSA president on Xiao, and afterward, he didn't even offer an explanation, even choosing to acquiesce.
For such an ungrateful traitor, if Xiao helped him just because of a "Godfather," others would probably call Xiao a brain-dead do-gooder!
In reality, even if the NCPD didn't attack Dogtown, Xiao had already decided to deal with Hansen afterward and have his own people take over Dogtown.
Moreover, Mayor Lucius Lane was clearly a talent worth cultivating; he was very friendly toward the Mechanicus.
He was even a Level Five Kind Man who donated hundreds of millions of funds to the Mechanicus every year.
Given this, Dogtown, as an inalienable part of Night City, should naturally return to the embrace of the Night City government, to be led by the mayor.
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSim