Chapter 329 - 304: The Ambitious Upgrade Plan

Dividing money is always exhilarating.

Jefferson gave Lille three million, but strictly speaking, not all of that money was Lille’s.

First up was Adkaduo.

This time Adkaduo deployed 20 vehicles, and there were some battles, but overall, things went smoothly.

With so many cars, the market price isn’t cheap.

Adkaduo wouldn’t mind helping Lille for free, you could even say they feel like they’re making too much money, to the point where they have to pay out of their own pockets for the work.

However, Lille felt that the money shouldn’t be counted this way. Even though Sol treats them like family, clear accounts make good friends. Getting paid for work is natural and right.

So, including labor costs, gas money, and all sorts of other expenses, the total came to 350,000, which was a considerable amount for each member.

[Pan’an: Sol, always so tight-fisted, the clan is as poor as can be.]

[Pan’an: You spend money like this, yet you flourish in a place like Night City. It really is true, "people differ"...]

[Pan’an: Have you really given no thought to our side? Just give the word, and Adkaduo will support you as the new clan leader, Sol wouldn’t mind!]

[Lille: Stop your jabbering, have the clan members take their positions.]

[Lille: Go back and review the development plans I sent over to you guys, you decide who to send over.]

Red Shirt Psychiatric Hospital serves as an export transit station, while Watson North District is established as the true production and storage area, also storing a large amount of goods pilfered from the Vortex Gang.

Adkaduo’s total population is in the hundreds of thousands, quite a lot, but this time what they’re getting is no longer mere scraps.

[Pan’an: Got it—Are you really only 20 years old? You seem even more mature than Sol.]

He was indeed not 20 years old, to be exact, his physiological age was 18.

The sum of money was substantial, but V and Jack had no major objections.

The second expense was hiring David’s squad—But this was a mere trifle, let go with 150,000 and they couldn’t be happier.

Since this was definitely not the standard rate for mercenaries in Night City, had they gone through a middleman, they’d be very lucky to get a cut of 50,000.

Lille wasn’t a stingy boss, it’s just that David was very lucky.

And it was fortunate that V had no objections either.

The big expenses came afterward, the Flying Motorcycle itself was modified from the finished Nazare model, costing 30,000 per unit.

But the cost of modifying and producing according to the blueprints — turbofans, high-pressure jet boxes, highly precise electronic control systems, even the lightweight structure of the body...

Not to mention anything else, performing high-precision curved surface machining on high-strength materials is a pretty complex job, and that’s before you even get to custom orders.

These materials and components, if bought normally, are basically priceless, it’s only because of Sherman’s company connections that he has such a wide network, allowing him to find suppliers.

The price, of course, isn’t cheap.

"...then there are our equipment costs, stripping 100,000 off for one motorcycle..."

"A hundred thousand?!" V’s eyes widened.

Lille glared back: "Is a hundred thousand too much?"

As a joke, these technologies would cost companies in the Cyberpunk World millions, even hundreds of millions to research—

Propulsion engines with such amazing thrust-to-weight ratios are now used in Floating Cars!

It was only because Lille had somehow bypassed the R&D process, or else dreaming of getting these things for a mere hundred thousand was just that, a dream!

So Lille spoke with confidence.

V sat back down, sulking: "Alright, fine... for the sake of the vehicle, let’s say a hundred thousand... so we’re deducting 200,000 here?"

"Correct, deduct 200,000," Lille continued, "Then there’s the vehicle itself, which will need to carry both Flying Motorcycles and Linear Frames, so we have to expand the entire cabin."

Expanding space was just one aspect, since equipment needs frequent adjustment, you’d also need precision manipulator arms, welding equipment, electronic micro-adjustment, etc.

The Mackinaw is a big vehicle, but in comparison, it now seemed a bit too small.

Most important of all, the turbofans could be fitted into the vehicle; the engine, frame, casing, and even internal structure all needed Adrian’s review, the final version of the vehicle would surely be sensational.

But these were things to be discussed later, there would still be a surprise left for V and Jack at that time.

Lille sent a picture to Jack and V for them to see.

"The vehicle is modified to have dual rear wheels, and the chassis takes inspiration from the Merimac ’Magician,’ something like this."

"This ride’s got power," Jack appraised with a click of his tongue, "It’s immediately clear that it’s a big deal, but it doesn’t come cheap."

"Indeed it doesn’t come cheap, our modifications are even pricier."

"Wait a minute—" V suddenly said, "Wasn’t it mentioned that Thunder Power Company would sponsor us for free? And with such modifications, can it still be considered a Mackinaw?"

This seemed like a philosophical question, but Lille knew V’s focus was certainly not on any philosophical issues.

"Good question!" Lille praised, "But don’t you think it’d lack prestige if a legendary Mackinaw looked just the same as all the other Mackinaws?

So this new model, to be sure, can be considered not just a Mackinaw, but a ’legendary’ Mackinaw.

At Thunder Company, Sherman will handle the connections, I estimate we shouldn’t have to spend on vehicle equipment.

But as for the other parts, we’ll have to pay ourselves—

Sigh, why do you ask so much when you don’t understand? Just tell me whether you want it or not!"

"I agree..." Jack had just raised his hand to vote when V grabbed him.

V was biting her fingernail.

Uh-oh, she really wanted to upgrade her Mackinaw.

Though the reference images Lille provided were crude and clunky, the base model Mackinaw was clunky, too!

What does it have to do with the Mackinaw they’re driving?

Damn, it really is broken — she even thought about tripping Lille up over team expenses...

Otherwise, this money seems to have no issues at all; we can’t blame the spending on Lille.

The debt is getting smaller and smaller, and it feels like there are ants crawling in my heart.

Lille instantly saw through V’s conflict:

Kid, this expense, it’s seamless; the car, it definitely needs to be deducted from the team’s funds.

Back in the day, it was because he counted the team’s money as his own that he ended up in great debt.

Jack, on the other hand, rarely looked at Lille with the eyes reserved for the not-so-bright, and then silently picked up the rainbow scorpion-tailed lion next to him.

You guys figure out the bill.

"Alright!" V made up his mind, "How much?"

"A full set comes to 300,000." Lille sent the price list, then quickly closed it and moved on to the next stage.

Neither of these two would check anyway.

"Then there’s the equipment, the linear frame needs to be improved, the gauntlets need optimization based on combat feedback, and there’s the landing gear...

Oh yes, your leg prosthetics, bones, and even Si Anweisitan might need further upgrades, then there’s..."

V suddenly realized while listening that the more money was spent, the less would be distributed in the end?!

That means there would be less debt to pay off too!

Magical mathematics.

"Enough!" V interrupted Lille, "Just tell me how much all these will cost!"

"A preliminary estimate; reserve at least 600,000. I’ll see if there are any new materials and technologies."

Jack spat out his drink: "How much?"

"Alright!"

V decisively agreed.

Lille shrugged his shoulders, explaining to Jack, "The later upgrades need extra samples for testing, which can be expensive."

"No, I’m not saying it’s too much money, but how much was Old V’s arm? For such an expensive prosthetic, it must be something incredible, right?"

Jack looked at his Boxing King’s Arm, acquired through risking his life, somewhat unable to imagine what a prosthetic worth hundreds of thousands would look like.

"Actually..." Lille considered before saying, "It’s easy to find powerful, sturdy equipment and materials, but safe ones are a different story.

The Vortex Gang is a perfect example."

V and Jack immediately understood what Lille meant.

Indeed, on the streets, there was no shortage of powerful cybernetic bodies.

Just by fitting a bullet launcher in the hand, the power of an explosive can destroy most vehicles.

This launching device can be very mechanical; the transmission and parts used can even be rusty second-hand prosthetic components, and the system only needs to support the launching function.

But such prosthetics have a very high likelihood of malfunctioning.

Now they are no longer some street urchins, this comparison becomes clear just by looking at the Vortex Gang.

Are those crazy Vortex Gang members really fitted with more prosthetics than them? Maybe not.

"The good news is..." Lille shifted the topic, "we have a lot of channels at hand, and the Vortex Gang has a large inventory. Once Adkaduo finishes the inventory, we can try to use some of these goods.

Maybe we won’t even need the whole 600,000.

After deducting some miscellaneous expenses, we’re dividing 1.2 million, each person gets 400,000.

Actually, it’s not only the 600,000 that might not be fully used. The rest..."

[Sender: Blais]

[Blais: You’re with the Vortex Gang?]

[Blais: Ah, never mind pretending, I know you’re with the Vortex Gang. Remember those three jobs I mentioned before?]

[Blais: There’s a follow-up to one of them, a hacker might have fled to that area.]

[Blais: Send some data.]

[Lille: Face-to-face meeting.]

"Coincidentally, there might be another sum of money coming in."

"No!" V suddenly shook his head, "Safety comes first. Spend the whole 600,000, and maybe we could give Adkaduo and David an extra bonus..."

Lille looked at V strangely: "What’s wrong with your brain..."

"I said spend it all! How can a big brother be so stingy!"

"You..."

Jack leaned one hand against the window, drinking his beverage, not fretting whether 400,000 was a lot or a little.

This money... it was already an amount he never even dared to dream of before.

Driving a Mackinaw, drinking Scorpion-tailed Lion, using badass prosthetics to become a legendary big brother — having come this far, what’s there for him to complain about?

It was time to think about when to get married...

[Unstable energy is about to erupt.]