Several days later, Roland received a system notification. From that moment on, the Maelstrom gang officially exited the stage of Night City's history.
Or rather, Maelstrom still existed—but it was no longer the Maelstrom of old. Now, it was nothing more than a loose collection of street punks, a gang that could be wiped out by almost anyone with a bit of muscle.
Militech was extremely satisfied with this outcome and immediately began their next phase of operations—cultivating chaos.
With the Maelstrom gang, the former overlords of Watson District, eliminated, the surrounding gangs were bound to grow restless. Groups that had once been squeezed to the brink by Maelstrom would inevitably try to claw their way up and seize territory.
This was exactly the moment Militech had been waiting for. Only then could they push their own "white glove" proxy into power.
But would Roland intervene?
The answer was yes. He had slaughtered the pig himself—why should he let others feast while he stood by watching?
That said, he had no intention of meddling too deeply. With Maelstrom gone, a power vacuum had opened up in Watson. He didn't believe Arasaka would let the Tyger Claws sit idle—they would definitely move in to take control.
After all, in Arasaka's long-term plans, Watson District would eventually become the area closest to their core territory. The coastal zone they coveted—what would later be known as the Arasaka Waterfront—was part of that vision. Of course, it didn't go by that name yet.
According to intelligence gathered by Roland's people, Arasaka had been bribing City Councilman Smith, hoping he would allocate that entire stretch of land to them.
Smith had previously agreed and quickly began making preparations. However, recent moves by the New United States made him change his mind—he seemed to have seen through Arasaka's intentions.
So he decided to jack up the price.
In response, Arasaka's people in Night City chose silence. They offered no reply, seemingly weighing their options. And so, the two sides fell into a stalemate.
Back to the main issue—Roland only planned to have the Mox expand a limited distance north. After that, some of PROJECT's security forces would move in, while PROJECT also funded the NCPD to establish more substations throughout Watson District.
Next came donations to the city government, securing land in Watson for an industrial park. As for the justification…
Naturally, it was compensation for the factories previously attacked by the Maelstrom gang, which had caused PROJECT enormous losses.
They had destroyed… uh… let me check… yes, they had destroyed the gates of eleven factories.
That definitely warranted some kind of gesture.
...
"Mr. Kuroda, do you think we should take action? That councilman is being far too ungrateful."
Standing beside Kuroda, Iwasan Soichiro narrowed his eyes as he spoke. He was Kuroda's new secretary. As for what happened to the previous one?
Well, opinions differed.
"Hmph… a greedy bastard. Ignore him for now. If he wants to stall, let him stall. He'll learn soon enough who the real winner is."
Kuroda snorted and tossed the tablet in his hand aside.
"I understand. Then what should we do next? Just wait?"
Iwasan asked for instructions.
Hearing the question, Kuroda stroked his chin and thought for a moment before narrowing his eyes.
"No. Didn't PROJECT Corporation just finish dealing with the Maelstrom gang? We'll step in."
"Isn't that… a bit risky?"
Iwasan hesitated, recalling the combat footage he had seen of PROJECT's operations. Based on their current firepower in Night City… they probably couldn't win a direct confrontation.
What? Arasaka is backing us, so there's nothing to fear?
Don't joke around. Backup is still just backup—it only matters after something goes wrong. If you're wiped out on the spot, what good is backing then?
"It's fine. At least for now, we're still considered friends. I'll talk to their boss. After that, just have the Tyger Claws go in and stir up trouble for Militech's people."
"I remember the Mox and the Tyger Claws have a grudge against each other."
Iwasan couldn't help adding that.
"So what? As long as PROJECT doesn't object, the Mox won't make a move. If PROJECT tries to dodge the issue, then have the Tyger Claws handle it. I don't care how they do it—I only want results."
Kuroda shot Iwasan a cold look as he spoke.
"Understood. I'll take care of it immediately."
After Iwasan left the office, Kuroda let out a quiet, cold laugh.
He knew Iwasan's personality well—afraid of death, greedy, and reasonably capable, though nothing exceptional. That was precisely why he had chosen him as an assistant.
As for why he didn't hire a beautiful and capable woman instead? Hah. Women only interfered with his efficiency.
That was why Kuroda had always employed male assistants.
"Smith… the coastal district… raising the price that much…"
A faint smile crept onto Kuroda's lips.
"What a shame. I still think the price there is too high. It would be better if it were lower."
He opened his communications interface and sent a new directive back to headquarters, instructing them to add an extra area to their follow-up strike plans.
That area was the coastal district in the northwest of Night City. Development there was sparse, making it a relatively poor region where many vagrants and lower-class citizens gathered.
For Arasaka, the land had little value as it was. If destroying it served a purpose, then leveling it and rebuilding from scratch would be just fine—and cheaper, too.
...
"Sir, I intercepted a message Kuroda sent back to Arasaka headquarters."
A faint purple glow flickered in Kelly's eyes as she transmitted a map and Kuroda's message to Roland.
With a single glance, Roland understood Arasaka's true objective.
"Flattening the existing buildings in the coastal district… Looks like someone demanded too much."
He chuckled and shook his head.
"Otherwise, there'd be no need for an artillery wash."
Then a troubling thought crossed his mind. If Arasaka carried out a full bombardment of that area… what would happen to the people living there?
And with no warning at all.
Roland narrowed his eyes. He didn't consider himself a good person—but he wasn't so deranged as to carry out a massacre like that.
He could already guess the contents of Arasaka's follow-up announcement: condemning Militech for hiding weapons of mass destruction or armed forces in some "XXX district," followed by claims that the bombing had been unavoidable.
"...If there's a chance," Roland said quietly, "we should save whoever we can."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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