Chapter 628 - 599: Fiona’s Little Treasury

Corporate executives always like to keep their emotions from showing on their faces, not just as a trend, a strong-following trend, but also because it indeed shows strength.

A stable internal environment could essentially stabilize the mind, minimize the symptoms of cybernetic psychosis, and prevent the brain from acting impulsively.

Of course, numerous studies and examples also prove that constant use of hormone controllers can’t guarantee that abnormalities won’t happen—

This was something Fiona had researched, but now her mind was completely in disarray, responding mechanically out of fear, just like any ordinary citizen.

"First thing, Luxor Manor is no longer usable. Do you have a backup plan?"

"I do... I do..." Fiona looked terrified at the Mantis Blade, "Please don’t kill me!"

"Why would I kill you?"

As V spoke, he withdrew the blade while a pneumatic injector suddenly popped out from the large box behind Lille’s wheelchair, with Jack responsible for injecting—

Hiss.

The drug entered her body, quickly stopping the bleeding from a wound that was not initially severe, also greatly suppressing the pain.

This sequence of operations felt like a rollercoaster ride to her brain, without the hormone controller, she became more cautious.

Just now she was certain these three people wouldn’t kill her, it was a rational judgment.

But sometimes being emotional could reveal the truth: Lille could easily kill her because he didn’t need such high-end talent, her life purely dependent on her performance.

She didn’t know the ins and outs of it, but she arrived at this conclusion out of fear. The reasoning process was wrong, but the result was right, precisely what Lille wanted her to realize.

She clutched her chest, shocked by the accuracy of the attack and the manner of treatment, and pointed cautiously towards the other side of the manor.

"There are some other equipments over there. I was thinking, if something happened, whether I should leave here or rebuild. Now that you’re here... I think you should decide."

"Great, let’s rebuild then," V responded decisively. "We can find people for construction, security, and supply, but we need a route for entry from outside Dog Town.

I think Hansen must really care about his rules, the incoming goods must have a purpose. What channel do you usually use?"

"Uh... Scavenger."

People in Night City despise the Scavengers, but Fiona’s moral standards weren’t so high, her view of the Scavengers were similar to her view on biotechnology:

Many things in this world aren’t decided by corporations, corporations or Scavengers, good people or bad people can’t really explain the world.

She, who had argued in this field against Iron Hand and Phantom, could only curse, and without prosthetics, she didn’t dare even to fart near V.

Because she noticed V’s frown.

"Haha, why the hell aren’t you talking now..."

Noticing this, Phantom just about to relish in her misfortune, was also glared at by V, he scratched his head in embarrassment and shut his mouth.

[V: This person cooperates with Scavenger.]

[Jack: Do we continue?]

[Lille: Continue.]

Seeing no reaction from V, Fiona continued, "Mainly three forces in Dog Town: Scavenger, Voodoo Gang, Netherworld Dog.

Netherworld Dog has the biggest fist, but Hansen doesn’t do small businesses, nor can he afford to. However, people can’t live on ammunition and weapons alone; they need to eat, get blood transfusions, and change prosthetics.

Scavenger has a trading network throughout the city, broad connections, and not only involves bone-crushers and drug addicts but also company employees who can’t afford high-end prosthetics and stimulants prescribed by the company.

Companies were generally trying to cut costs and increase efficiency, so when original products were unaffordable, the only option left was pirated versions.

Overall, they provided Dog Town with ample supplies of blood and prosthetics, even though the area still lacked these essentials.

Originally, the Voodoo Gang was employed by Hansen to handle their cybersecurity and repair some of the facilities in Dog Town. Over time, however, they started having their own side schemes, much like the Scavenger.

They had a hideout in the Changtan Stockpile Yard where they handled Dog Town’s affairs, and some company goods would pass through there, most of my main equipment included.

In reality, aside from Hansen’s airdrops, most of the goods had to be officially recorded as garbage entering the Long Beach Stockpile Yard before they could enter the stadium.

If you need to bring in a large amount of goods, you’ll have to control the Long Beach Stockpile Yard."

The Long Beach Stockpile Yard was a residential area and the core zone of Dog Town, cluttered with various buildings made of discarded construction facilities, unfinished skeletal buildings, and empty shipping containers housing all those abandoned and pursued by society.

But under the guise of its shabby exterior, the logistics trade happening was globally significant. Naturally, the people hiding there were not that simple.

"Very good," V nodded satisfactorily. "Now that you can’t do business with the Scavenger anymore, what was the trade flow like between you and them before?"

Fiona responded without hesitation, "During the past year, the value of equipment and materials passing through their hands was five million two hundred thousand euros, and they took a 20% cut of the materials’ value."

So little?!

V’s expression almost lost control, and Jack’s face completely fell apart.

It wasn’t just Jack whose demeanor completely fell apart; Phantom and Iron Hand couldn’t keep their composure either:

Five million two hundred thousand euros?!

Doesn’t that mean that the ground-penetrating bomb just now... blew up money worth at least that figure?!

No, that was just one year’s investment, and everyone knows that such research institutes initially require even more because there are also numerous long-term usable facilities and equipment...

A ground-penetrating bomb costing two hundred thousand euros... blew up a research facility worth tens of millions.

Lille wasn’t surprised; the world’s prices were indeed quite distorted.

A couple of million euros was enough for an ordinary person to live comfortably for a lifetime, and even the top-tier sports cars wouldn’t cost much more than that, not to mention floating cars were also worth considering.

99.9999...% of people would never earn that much in their lifetime, but for multinational corporations and cutting-edge laboratories, that was just the beginning.

They vehemently squeezed every cost in the production chain to enhance product competitiveness and to save more money for investing in research. Fiona’s leading-edge neural implant research was a justification for such an investment.

But on the other hand, for a group like Scavenger, 20% of 5.2 million euros, which amounted to one hundred and four thousand euros, was an incredibly large sum.

V composed himself, "Cease trading immediately."

"I can’t trade anyway," Fiona said with a shrug. "The materials came from biotechnology and other investors. Now that this place has turned into such a mess, and my research has fallen into your hands, biotechnology will definitely pull funding, and other investors... Losing their ties with biotechnology, it’s quite normal for them to pull funding too.

I still have some money in my account, but I can’t buy anything."

Scientific research is a long-term endeavor. Neural Research Facility 341 did not always produce high-level results; when there were no results, its value lay in its status.

"We have some," V pointed at Matt. "As I said, we are also salespeople. Business as usual, and then...

This stuff is very expensive. How much did you say you still have?"

The struggle appeared briefly on Fiona’s face, the rest was resignation.

"Four million euros."

V leaned back slightly, revealing a genuinely delighted smile: "Not bad, thank you for your patronage, and arrange our sports star show quickly."