Chapter 1021 - 64: Sun (Part 6)

The performance gap is just too large!

2.5 Mach is not a small number, but it depends on the context. Facing Lille, whose normal speed is already 4 Mach, these planes are nothing but turtles!

Moreover, in terms of agility, these fighter jets are far inferior to Lille. Their top air-to-air missiles can barely reach a speed of 4 Mach, but what’s the use if they can’t hit the target?!

[Pilot #0076: He’s gone! I can’t see him...]

[Pilot #0063: He’s here with me, he’s on my cockpit, he—boom!]

[Pilot #0102: He’s behind me—sizzle.]

The massive performance advantage made the Military Technology pilots seem as if they were fighting a ghost, and the roar of explosions nearly tore the sky apart!

As the battle skewed heavily towards Lille, the strategic bomber pilot could no longer heed combat instructions and directly opened the interceptor ejection bay. Yet even fighters equipped with large supersonic turbine engines couldn’t catch up, how could these interceptors using old designs catch up?!

Lille suddenly ascended, evading all locks, and when the enemies raised their noses, it suddenly descended. With overwhelming agility, it raged through the interceptor array, turning enemy planes into wreckage with missiles, machine guns, and plasma long blades, again and again!

Everything happened so quickly, so intensely, the aerial battleground completely turned into a slaughterhouse—

[Pilot #00168: We can’t fight such monsters... ah!!!]

Boom!

The last warplane was crushed in the sky, Lille passed through the flames, with two auxiliary wings quickly retracting into its body, mechanical arms nailed into the cockpit, and the extended version of King’s Blade in its hand ejected heat sink panels before covering the blade edges with high-temperature plasma again—

The giant sword tore open the belly of the strategic bomber, where the loaded nuclear bomb was visible through the scanning device.

Today, the only thing that will explode for Military Technology are their planes.

[Lille: The goods are secured, prepare to retreat.]

...

Smack.

Miles’ face went pale, limbs stiff, head seemingly hit hard by someone, body lost control and fell to the ground.

Her combat fleet was completely annihilated...

More crucially, the enemy even boarded the warplane and stole the nuclear bomb inside!

It looks like she personally delivered scarce resources to them.

It’s all over now: three state capitals directly attacked by nuclear bombs, three states planned for terrorist attacks, half of New America under the threat of Night City’s intercontinental nuclear missile!

Facing the direct threat of force, those spineless local state governments were the quickest to capitulate, coupled with that damn peculiar name’s influence among unruly civilians...

It can be regarded as half of New America has already fallen.

If this is a company war, then Military Technology has already lost on the first day: not just heavy losses, but because they were completely overpowered technologically—

Individual combat capability, battlefield electronic warfare capability, espionage capability, nuclear bomb projection capability, cyber warfare capability, all comprehensively crushed.

The politicians are leaving one after another, God knows where they are going to find a backing for a getaway.

Just a day ago, these politicians were still united under her, Rosalind Miles’ control—at least ostensibly united, and everyone was shouting one slogan: Make New America great again.

Now, their departure, much like New America’s impending split, is foreseeable...

New America is finished.

But the Military Technology company is not.

Miles’ eyes hardened, and she immediately continued to relay messages to EBM via the satellite network:

[Miles: I lost.]

[EBM: We saw it, quite... unexpected.]

[Miles: But you won’t win either! Military Technology has the most advanced fighter jets, tanks, combat robots, and electronic warfare equipment, the most advanced military combat capability in the world!]

[Miles: If I lost, it means you will lose too! Don’t forget our goal now is to restore market order and prevent this financial storm!]

The EBM on the other end of the communication sneered in their heart yet felt somewhat surprised by this woman:

Clearly, this woman’s greatest ambition was New America, but the moment that ambition shattered, she instantly regained her composure and began to earnestly spout nonsense...

Although, what she was spouting was true: If everyone hadn’t wanted those terrorists in Night City taken down, New America wouldn’t have been able to mobilize military power like this.

You should know the strategic bomber that was shot down wasn’t just any plane. In theory, it could carry nuclear bombs, interceptors, and fighter jets, transporting them to any location worldwide. It was the ace of military technology.

Now both Arasaka and military technology have stumbled in Night City: the former lost a carrier and a senior in power, while the latter lost an air fortress and nearly two-thirds of its forces, alongside... New America.

As for the assets they lost in Night City, those are just small numbers—besides, that was a loss shared by many companies: Military Technology, Arasaka, Kantao, Peizhuo Petrochemical, Biotechnology, Zeta Technology, Orbital Aviation...

All are big-name companies, all got played in Night City.

Even more exaggerated is the situation in Europe, with the European Union political group being stabbed, falling into civil war aside, their financial system utterly collapsed, the biggest losers of course being the European Union and the European Bank, but similarly, companies around the globe also suffered...

This misfortune is not simple: you should know that companies in this world are mainly specialized in business and direction, instability in the financial system means instability in trade, and instability in trade is the core issue, currency depreciation is just a symptom.

[EBM: Yeah, Night City has already become a global safety issue. Who could have imagined things would develop to this point, with so many companies in Night City, all getting played, sabotaging one another, mutually...]

[Miles: Is it not a bit hypocritical to talk about unity and cooperation to defend the capital markets now?]

The president of EBM chuckled, indeed, this is the nature of companies.

If they also had businesses in Night City, they might have intervened too, tripping each other up time and again during the antics of those three lunatics, thinking only they would be the eventual winners...

In the end, no one won.

[Miles: The European Union must intervene, we need cooperation.]

[EBM: Actually, they’ve already intervened, the order reaching the Moon might take some time. Once the bombing is complete, you’ll proceed with a thorough sweep, Arasaka Company will be responsible for securing the perimeter—]

[EBM: Without a contract, this time you’re all working for free.]

Miles’s thoughts got blocked, even before she could verbalize them, the EBM president shut her down—

Indeed, she was just about to say she needed funds.

But being blocked didn’t stop her from realizing how ridiculous this world is... and so she laughed aloud.

[Miles: Haha... isn’t it ridiculous, you know we can’t work for free.]

[EBM: Yes, it’s very ridiculous, but this is how the world works. This cooperation is quite unpleasant, but there is no better way. Let’s hope for a better outcome next time, Madam President...]

Ending the call, Miles sat on the ground, leaning against the sofa, pulling one leg back, one hand resting on her knee, a smile fixed on her face.

The former CEO of Military Technology, now still maintaining strong control as the President of New America, Rosalind Miles at this moment resembled a pauper waking from an overdose, mockingly placing her precious backside on the cold floor.

Ridiculous, certainly ridiculous, not only because she was just contemplating needing funds and contracts, which is only the first layer of absurdity.

The second layer of absurdity is that even though EBM has already acknowledged the current situation, they still need to send Arasaka Group to Night City—

On one hand, to ensure that after the bombing, they can eliminate any surviving forces in Night City, and on the other, to prevent any single company from obtaining too many good things and becoming too dominant...

After all, the entirety of Europe is busy dealing with their rebellious citizens, lacking the spare time to send personnel.

The third layer of absurdity... is that they actually can’t work for nothing: since Arasaka is being sent to prevent military technology from becoming too dominant, it shows everyone is still coveting the "terrorist treasure." In the end, they still have to choose to cooperate with Military Technology or Arasaka to obtain the technology...

But that’s not the most ridiculous; the most ridiculous is the fourth layer:

These rules and logic, everyone understands, but historically, dealing with Burger King indicates these companies are always like this:

Thinking that before taking action, little Burger King was already doomed, thinking about dividing the spoils—or, in a certain sense, companies would rather no one gets anything than allow a single company to quietly surpass others to achieve the ultimate goal, the eventual monopoly...

They clearly already know the result of doing this, they have indeed taken steps consistently following this logic to end up here, yet they continue to adhere to this vicious cycle—

The simplest mind-reading technique in this world turns out to be understanding these... questionable people: clearly human, clearly aware of the issue, yet never able to break free from this vicious cycle, this shackle of "humanity"...

In the end, they are not unlike those addicted to drugs, prostitution, Super Dream, gambling, and other low-brow pleasures, cursing the depravity, slapping themselves hard, crying tears they can never fully dry, but change, change is impossible.

Perhaps those soothsayers were right: this world is done for, just like this deadlock they are stuck in.

Thinking this, Miles had an idea that she found even more amusing:

"...In that case, you really are like the Sun..."