The Creators: From Night City

"I told you a long time ago that it's time to replace your crappy car. Look at this car, it's so fucking beautiful. Look at the paint, the interior, and listen to the sound of the engine. It's so cool, so cool!" Jack was so envious that he almost bit it.

"How much did you spend on it?"

Vincent leaned back in the comfortable, soft seatback, feeling the handling, which was far superior to his old car, and the top-notch speed feedback. He said in a seemingly nonchalant tone, "18 euros, a brand new item from the arsenal."

"It's so cheap. I remember the price of a brand new Cudela 66 is about 30 Euros." Jack shed tears of envy at the corners of his mouth.

"You said it was brand new. I don't know how many times this car has been passed down through the hands. It must be a trophy of the company that can be in the armory. I don't know how long it has been driven before. It's normal that it's cheap." Vincent explained.

"Then you still buy it."

"When I bought it, I saw the car was labeled as having been tuned by Mr. Sable."

"Ha, then you've made a lot of money."

Jiang Bing's craftsmanship does not need to be promoted at all. Everyone who has touched his products will praise them. As the saying goes, gold and silver cups are not as good as public reputation. Whenever a product signed with Sabul's name appears in the armory, it is guaranteed to be sold out.

In other words, the price of this Quadrella 66 is really a bit high, and many people are hesitant, which gives Vincent the opportunity to get a bargain.

"That's not true. This car's engine is naturally powerful, and after being tuned by BOSS, no car can surpass it."

Just as Vincent finished his boasting, a yellow Mizutani Hayabusa MZ2 sped past the window of the Goodla 66 like a flash of lightning, and the air waves it raised made a whistling sound, as if an invisible hand was slapping Vincent's old face.

Chapter 476 Regina Jones's Visit

The accelerator was stepped on hard, and the engine of the Goodola 66 roared wildly. With the powerful push back feeling, the sports car quickly chased forward.

However, the opponent's speed did not slow down at all, and the distance between them did not shrink significantly.

Because there was a child in the car, Vincent didn't dare to step on the accelerator to the bottom and do something outrageous like overtaking in his Westin. He could only slowly follow behind the other car, trying to save face in this way.

The two chased each other all the way to the corner of the main road leading to Base No. 6. Only then did the other party slow down and turn into the aisle with a beautiful drift.

"New guests?" Jack muttered when he saw this scene.

The car passed the warning sign with a skull on it. The duo watched from behind as the other party drove smoothly into Base No. 6, and finally confirmed that the other party was indeed a new guest visiting the base.

'This is really strange,' thought Vincent.

During the handover, his artificial eye caught sight of a heroic woman getting out of the yellow Mizutani Hayabusa MZ2. She had short hair and was wearing a black Volkswagen-style tactical vest. The most eye-catching thing about her was the pirate eyepatch on her face.

This thing is very rare these days. The development of prosthetics has basically eliminated the disabilities of hands, feet and eyes. From the car she drives, we can tell that she is not short of money and can afford even a prosthetic eye.

I don’t know why he chose not to wear a prosthetic eye, but instead put a pirate eyepatch on his face.

"Isn't this Regina Jones, the most successful middleman in Watson District?" Jack obviously recognized her.

Watching her being welcomed in by Chief Supervisor Gloria, Jack smacked his tongue and guessed, "Isn't she here because of the recent battle with the Whirlpool Gang?"

"Assessing the situation is the basis for a middleman to make a living in Night City. I don't think she would get involved in such matters. It seems that she is here to discuss business." Vincent expressed his thoughts.

"If they come here in person to discuss business face to face, then this deal must be quite big." Jack sighed.

In today's era, although the primary network collapsed and roaming AI broke through the black wall and occasionally caused trouble in cyberspace, basic communication means are still very developed. Although communication between states and cities depends on satellites and the cost is relatively high, it is not unacceptable. Major cities also have their own local area networks, and the security and price are very satisfactory.

At a time when holographic calls can be made with just a thought, Jack couldn't think of any other possibility for a middleman to travel all the way from Night City to this desolate wasteland, except that there was a big deal that needed to be discussed face to face.

In fact, their guesses were correct, but they still had some limitations.

Regina Jones came here in person not only because the deal she was discussing was quite big and coming here in person could demonstrate her sincerity, but also because this matter was so sensitive that the confidentiality level was so strict that it could not be conducted through public communication networks.

In the luxurious reception room, Regina Jones carefully looked at everything around her with her only remaining eye.

The luxurious interior made former war correspondents who had experienced bullets and gunfire stunned.

"Try it, this is my collection of wine." Gloria and the other party had known each other for a long time and had collaborated many times online, so they had a pretty close relationship.

Generally speaking, the relationships between the major middlemen are not very close. After all, Night City is so small and has so many resources. If you take a bite, I will take a bite less. The relationship between them is mostly pure competition. Sometimes they will even confront each other along with the employers of both sides. Therefore, everyone generally chooses to maintain superficial friendliness, and business is business, and they keep it clear.

Of course, some middlemen who are on the right track may have very good relationships with each other.

Gloria's position in this is quite special. She is a "money-giving boy" among the middlemen. Not only does she not fight for resources in her daily life, but she can also help and solve most of the problems that people ask of her.

Such high-quality connections are of course loved by everyone.

What Regina Jones had with her was more of a pure affinity.

This independent journalist from FTF Radio decided to find a better medium to spread the information and ideas he wanted to spread after his former company was acquired by the media giant 54 News.

After she left her job, she mobilized all the contacts and informants at her disposal: from the highest levels of the company to the lowest-level grocers, gang members, mercenaries, homeless people and even drug addicts to provide her with information and spread her voice.

After working for a while, she found that the nature of her job seemed to be no different from that of a middleman, so she simply changed her career.

After becoming a middleman, her friends think she hasn't changed at all. She's still the fighter who insists on making the world a better place. This girl from the streets is a rare flower of humanity blooming in Night City.

Of course, the only difference after becoming a middleman is that she used to buy gossip and sell news, but now she manages both sides of the business.

Now she both buys and sells information.

Influenced by Jiang Bing, Gloria, the chief steward of [Anti-Entropy], also behaves in a way that upholds the principle of speaking out against injustice when she sees one, and helping others to the best of her ability. She has done many good things, and naturally gets along very well with the other party.

"I've already passed on the news about the cyber-psychopath you mentioned recently. I'll get back to you when I have the news." Regina Jones took advantage of the fact that Jiang Bing, the main owner, was not here and quickly talked to Gloria about the ongoing business between the two.

"It has to be alive. If your people can subdue him and then hand him over, I'll give you extra money. But if it's too dangerous, you can just notify me and I'll send someone to deal with it. But it has to be alive. The research value of a dead person will be greatly reduced." Gloria instructed.

"Of course, I've already made the arrangements." Regina Jones took a sip of the wine in her glass, her eyes lighting up.

"Don't blame me for asking, Gloria, but is there any hope for these cyberpsychopaths to recover and return to society?"

"It's difficult. At least with our current level of research on cyberpsychiatry, we can't do it."

The medical sector is a money-eating behemoth. Every day, countless research projects are submitted for funding. Most of the proposals will be rejected because they are too outrageous, but a small number of projects that do have research value will also be approved.

The proposal to treat cyberpsychosis by using a variety of purifying substances from other worlds and telekinesis magic to conduct mental intervention was approved. For this purpose, Gloria also collected living samples of cyberpsychosis all over the world for the research team.

Chapter 477 Kang Tao’s Invitation

Of course, it has been proven that there are ways to circumvent the cyber spirit. [Anti-Entropy] has actually been successfully mastered long ago. People who have undergone "upgrading and transformation" using [Corrupted Firefly] chemicals as raw materials have shown amazing affinity and tolerance for prosthetics.

At least until now, none of the 'Ascendants' have shown symptoms of cyberpsychosis, but this matter has only been circulated internally through rumors, true or false, and [Anti-Entropy] has never made any written confirmation.

This is mainly because the source of a certain raw material in the [Corrupted Firefly] potion is too sensitive, resulting in this matter being known only to a few senior personnel and kept secret.

"That's good too. It's better than letting them die at the hands of the Terrorist Squad." Regina Jones sighed.

The two chatted for a while, and then Jiang Bing pushed the door open.

The Queen of Unicorns is about to give birth. For safety reasons, the delivery room has been moved from the Land of Convergence to 'Heimer'. The required life energy will be transferred from Heimer in between to avoid the possibility of the 'Wild Hunt' following the scent and finding her.

With Heimer's roots as a bridge, Cyberworld and Monster Hunter World have achieved real-time cross-dimensional connectivity with the Heimer small world as a transit station. Jiang Bing had just helped Unicorn coordinate production matters, and then he stopped by the Star Base to talk to the Commander-in-Chief about establishing an ecological agricultural park in the New World in [Anti-Entropy] and hiring Felyne to work.

The truth behind the "Ancient Dragon Ferry" phenomenon has been revealed by the investigation team, and their mission has been completed. Under the coordination of the Hunter's Guild, a considerable number of people have returned, but the remaining people are still curious about the many unsolved mysteries of the new world, such as the ecology, environment, monsters, etc., and choose to stay. In addition, the transaction between the Hunter's Guild and [Anti-Entropy] is gradually becoming closer, which has led the Hunter's Guild to think about continuing to develop the new world.

The commander-in-chief was preparing to go back to retire, but his grandson wanted to stay in the New World. In order to train him, he had to stay at his post for a few more years.

Although he is still the commander-in-chief, the work of coordinating with Jiang Bing and [Anti-Entropy] has begun to be transferred to the young captain of the investigation team. Obviously, this is the Hunter Guild laying the groundwork for future work.

Regina Jones is undoubtedly very curious about Anti-Entropy, a force that has recently grabbed headlines in many areas of Night City. Her journalistic nature makes her have strange feelings towards the leader behind it, and if conditions permit, she even wants to do an exclusive interview.

But it's impossible to think about it.

Interviewing the head of a major force is a very dangerous thing. You see, the brave media people who wanted to interview Hanako Arasaka and give her exclusive interviews were all shot multiple times in the back and committed suicide at home. So Regina Jones only thought about this dangerous thing in her mind.

As compensation, she examined Jiang Bing very carefully.

'Tall, strong, spirited, mysterious, handsome, easygoing, and with a retro aesthetic.' Many labels flashed through Regina Jones' mind.

"Regina Jones, a middleman and freelance media worker," she introduced herself to the other party.

"Sabul Lyric, but I think you should know me in advance."

Before discussing business again, Jiang Bing asked a question that had been brewing in his mind for a long time.

"If we want to build a unique media outlet for Anti-Entropy in the shortest possible time, what do you think is the most efficient way to do it?"

Regina Jones's answer was equally professional.

"Acquisition."

"In Night City, the application process for media licenses is one of the most tedious and stringent. Even for a radio program, the paperwork takes a long time, so the best approach is to directly acquire a company that has all the necessary paperwork."

Regina Jones thought for a moment and then said, "Or maybe we could just start an underground radio show. As long as these kinds of shows are as authentic, outspoken, and truthful as possible, they'll have many loyal fans."

"It's just that it's not that easy to create a mature and complete media program. Behind N54 and WNS News there are a large number of staff working on it all day long. Behind the glamorous industry status quo is the complex, huge and arduous back-end support work." Regina Jones summed up the essence of the industry in one sentence.

"Ultimately, it still takes money. Lots of it. It's no exaggeration to say that people in the media spend money like water."

"After all, whoever controls the public's attention controls the world's discourse power." She concluded with a very famous view in communication studies.

Money, [Anti-Entropy] has it. Jiang Bing nodded at the chief supervisor. Gloria immediately understood what her boss meant and nodded to show that she understood.

"Mr. Sabul, I'm here on someone's behalf. I want to act as a 'middleman' in the traditional sense and pave the way for communication between you two." After the initial greetings, Regina Jones stated her purpose directly.

Jianghu is not about fighting and killing; Jianghu is about human relations.

[Anti-Entropy] displays powerful military force, which will naturally attract the attention and attitude changes of major external forces.

"Which force can persuade you to be the middleman?" Jiang Bing was not surprised at all.

Regina Jones looked carefully at Jiang Bing's typical yellow-skinned appearance, with a subtle look on her face.

"Mr. Sabul, you can probably tell that I'm three-quarters Chinese."

Indeed, Regina Jones has obviously natural black eyes and black hair, and even the skin and skeleton of her face are full of Chinese style.

In Night City, every middleman who is relatively successful is more or less closely connected to some major force, so it is self-evident what the other party wants to express.

"Kang Tao?" Although the words were a question, Jiang Bing said it with certainty.

Regina Jones smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

This is a very common thing. If Jiang Bing were the person in charge of Kang Tao, he would most likely make the same choice.

Even the other party's solid position as the first middleman in Watson District is probably due to a lot of influence from Kang Tao.

"interesting."

Kangtao is a Chinese company and one of the largest weapons manufacturers in the world. Of course, it can also be called a "state-owned enterprise."

Over the years, Kangtao has continuously innovated the most advanced small arms technology on the market. Relying on its excellent product performance and good service attitude, it has gradually become a super enterprise that can rival Arasaka.

Of course, this also has a lot to do with the support behind the scenes and Arasaka's loss in the 'Fourth Corporate War'.

Kangtao's mainstream weapons and equipment are more suitable for military and civilian small-scale conflicts, and the performance of its products in the field of small arms, where it started, has always exceeded customers' expectations. The smart firearms of the Super, Classic and Zhuo series have indeed demonstrated extraordinary dominance from design to overall performance, from actual combat feedback to applications in various scenarios.

Therefore, Kangtao has always had a good reputation on the road.

Chapter 478: First Contact with Kang Tao

However, apart from intelligent weapons, Kangtao's most outstanding achievements also include its achievements in other intelligent fields.

Products like smart defense robots, smart vehicle driving systems, and smart home defense integration solutions all demonstrate strong expertise in R&D, patents, and production.

Of course, major companies have expressed protest and accusations internationally about Kangtao's consistent product development style of first copying and then surpassing, and the criticisms are quite harsh. However, Kangtao chose to ignore all these "groundless" criticisms, and just buried its head in work, launching new products, and rolling all the previous waves to death on the beach.

The most typical example is that Arasaka was the first to be launched in the early days and pioneered the precedent of intelligent weapons, but now in this market segment, Kangtao has come from behind and is the well-deserved industry leader.

However, compared to several other corporate giants in Night City, the Kangtao branch, which has landed in Night City on the west coast of the United States as a bridgehead, has always been extremely low-key. It is rare to hear news about them causing trouble, and most of the time, Kangtao employees are rarely seen in public places.

They have been expanding their business territory in a low-key and steady manner, deeply implementing the development concept of "accumulating grain and becoming king slowly".

But don't think too highly of Kang Tao. They are indeed more humane, but to be honest, the extent of their behavior is limited.

But then again, in this cyberpunk cesspool of global internal competition, it is already far ahead for a company to be willing to provide its employees with truly free medical insurance.

Good and bad are determined by comparison. Compared with several other well-known large companies, they are indeed a "conscientious" enterprise.

Kangtao will provide free trauma team gold membership insurance to all employees who sign a 50-year contract. The free here is indeed completely free in fact, but Kangtao's deaths from overwork are also very well-known among major companies. To what extent is it well-known? The trauma team, as a close partner, even has a special "anti-sudden death" medical team in Kangtao's large office space.

Medical insurance, overtime, those who understand will understand, and it’s useless to explain to those who don’t understand.

"What do they want to do with Anti-Entropy?"

"Cooperation." Regina Jones uttered a word that made Jiang Bing a little confused.

"When would a formal enterprise like Kangtao be willing to get involved with a terrorist organization like [Anti-Entropy]?" Jiang Bing is well aware of the image of his power in the outside world. The influence of [Anti-Entropy] is completely based on violence.

Jiang Bing, who deeply understands his own advantages, has no intention of pursuing peaceful development and common prosperity. After all, the disadvantages of this approach are equally obvious.

Slow, too slow.

It is not as fast to plant in the field as to grab the fruits directly in the early stage.