Chapter 569 - 540: Ticket to the Future

"Brooklyn War Monument, I watched it being erected here thirty years ago with my own eyes. And... I also have friends from Brooklyn who sacrificed in the war."

The victory speech was held as scheduled.

People swarmed the area, making it impenetrable, because this was New York, and most people were actually here to protest—

It was only when Barnes started speaking that they realized this old soldier wasn’t so radical.

It wasn’t like those previous speeches in some states, with claims like, "Give me eight years, and I’ll return a stable and strong America."

How to put it... you could say it was sincere.

Barnes looked at the monument, then at the statue beside it—

The statue depicted his comrade, a member of the Roaring Assault Team. At one point, he had thought everyone was dead, either killed in battle or old age, but now...

The captain of the Roaring Assault Team had survived, dug out from the ice and transferred to Africa, now missing.

Regardless, she survived, though she was British.

The Brooklyn local was the skinny guy next to him, who looked like a slim bamboo pole—Steve Rogers. But in the statue, he’s in a three-meter-tall, large mecha, looking quite formidable.

Carter survived, maybe Steve could too?

But no matter how, that was still the minority; more people had died and couldn’t come back.

"...I’m not saying this to emphasize our sacrifices, but to tell you that I understand each and every one of you. Each person worried about losing friends, family, and loved ones to war and chaos, because I was once one of you before I joined the army.

I’ve seen war, and I’ve seen the chaos brought by national decline. The results of this election prove that within the country, different people have many divisions, but just like before, we should stand together, stand together to overcome difficulties, the people of Mei Country and Mei Country’s government."

The speech did not allow any corporate representatives inside; everyone watched from the outside.

Honestly, from a national perspective, Barnes did a good job. After all, if a country is seen as an investment, one of the most direct factors to assess is stability, which is clearly what Barnes wants as well.

Helicopters hovered in the sky, TV stations and free media showcased their prowess, reporting on the speech and simultaneously covering a banquet happening in the New Future District.

The New Future District includes New York’s long-standing poor areas, including Clinton District, Queens, East Harlem, and the infamous Hell’s Kitchen.

This area is primarily populated by employees of the Atlas Group and its partners, consisting mostly of technical workers, researchers, middle management, and a proportion of service industry personnel.

An advanced bioelectric grid covered the entire network, supported by the ctOS system, achieving comprehensive intelligence. Public transport and service vehicles were replaced by electric cars, quiet and environmentally friendly, significantly improving the air quality—

Compared to the still struggling Financial District, it might lack some sweetness but is definitely less dizzying, keeping the mind quite clear.

"The new president’s arrival in New York sent a positive signal. We all know that before his election, this president was considered another iron-fisted president, potentially exacerbating multiple global conflicts, but now the situation seems to have subtly changed.

Perhaps this president has seen the current state of the New Future District, realizing that compared to robbing the world’s other poor people in the mud, we might need to focus more on domestic affairs.

Yet I must remind everyone, while this does send some friendly signals, don’t forget we’ve noticed the Department of Defense has reached agreements with multiple military contractors, including Stark Industries, and weapons are bought to be used."

The helicopter flew off into the sky as an Atlas Group business vehicle, nearly six meters long and looking like a small subway head, stopped at the entrance.

This car was a high-end electric MPV, redesigned from the Chrysler Grand Voyager, integrating ultra-luxury ambulance functions such as DNA diagnostics, blood dialysis, electrical stimulation therapy, and drug synthesis—

designed specifically for Lille.

The surgical knife moved under Little Octopus’s control, removing a chunk of bloody tissue from a wound near the shoulder, depositing it in the medical waste bin, followed by suturing and injection to ensure Lille’s body appeared healthy.

[Conners: Lille... the health check info you sent me last time... it could indeed develop that way, probably less than two years left.]

What is called the previous "health check data" is actually Lille’s physical condition in Cyberpunk.

Even in Marvel, the illness had progressed to the stage requiring continuous tumor surgery to curb cancerous changes.

Conners didn’t know what to say, silently conducting medical analysis, providing medical advice.

As for words of encouragement to rest well, he couldn’t say them either. He knew Lille couldn’t rest now; if he did, many people would face big trouble.

[Lille: Is the design for the special prosthetics ready?]

[Conners: It’s ready, but... this isn’t for your use, is it?]

[Lille: No, I’ll handle my issues myself. Now I need to get off, excuse me.]

[Little Octopus: Boss, it looks like Chrysler’s CEO is about to kneel down.]

The entrance of the Atlas Group Building was crowded with people, but one stood out as particularly excited, the CEO of Chrysler Automobile Company, along with the investors behind him—

No choice, though it sounds grand, one of Mei Country’s Big Three car companies, this financial crisis almost crushed them.

If Lille’s timeline memory served correct, within a year or two, this company would enter bankruptcy proceedings.

Chrysler’s plight mirrored that of Mei Country’s automotive manufacturing and the once-thriving car city of Detroit.

In this financial crisis, Detroit was on the brink of collapse, but Atlas’s rise gave them hope—

This hope emerging in desperate times left them no room for other emotions: Electric cars? As long as there’s a buyer, they’ll produce; the customers are African black folks? If they can afford it, that’s fine.

Even selling out control...

Honestly, they didn’t have many options.

If New York was the solid backing of Atlas, then Detroit and the companies within this motor city were its loyal old servants.

Detroit’s debt skyrocketed to $15 billion US Dollars, which would eventually crush the city at $18 billion, but this amount was no big issue for Atlas, and their solution wasn’t just throwing money to stabilize it but truly finding a new growth direction.

A sudden commotion arose in the crowd—on closer inspection, it was the CEO of General Motors Company, face red with anger, planning to break through the blockade set up by Chrysler’s team—

True, Chrysler’s CEO was quite laughable, gathering a huge network of relations to surround the area, especially targeting General Motors people—it was clearly a face-saving business war.

But Lille, after getting off the car, did not rush over. Instead, he looked up towards the sky: a city light rail connecting the New Future District almost silently crossed the high sky, lights flickering, reflecting on the faces of the noisy executives.

Chrysler and General Motors acted more extreme, but in fact, everyone here came with the intention of seeing what the future promised by Atlas looked like.

Now, they were convinced and were calculating how to seize an upper-class ticket on the train bound for the future.

"Mr. Lee! Mr. Lee!"

Chrysler’s CEO quickly stepped forward, but Lille smiled and nodded, saying, "You are too kind, Mr. Giles, but I must wait here for my mother. Don’t worry, we’ll discuss future cooperation shortly."

Another car stopped at the building entrance.

Lille looked at the car and said, "Please get in position. I’ll be up shortly."