The Creators: From Night City

Page 389

"Alright, stop teasing him, Vincent." Valerie clearly knew something and revealed the inside story of Jack's troubles.

"Jack is about to become mayor."

Chapter 798 The Mayor of Night City, a Dog...

Being the mayor of Night City is a high-risk job, a fact well known to everyone in Night City.

After all, none of the previous mayors had a good ending.

Faced with the questioning looks of the crowd, Jack simply revealed the information he had found about the past mayors of Night City.

Thomas Shaw, who served from 2012 to 2023, was an ambitious centrist who vigorously promoted the "Night City Economic Revitalization Plan" during his term. His main achievement was the successful introduction of the Arasaka Corporation and the approval of the Arasaka Tower construction project.

Cause of death: Died in the Arasaka Tower nuclear explosion in 2023, and did not die peacefully.

Luca Reinhardt, whose term runs from 2023 to 2032, took office amidst the ruins of a nuclear bomb and was known as the "mayor in the ruins." He was the last traditional politician to attempt to maintain the independence of the municipal government.

Cause of death: Died in his office in 2032 due to a "sudden heart attack," but a conspiracy theory widely circulated in Night City suggests that it was a precise nanobot assassination carried out by one (or several) companies as they attempted to pass a bill that would limit corporate power, which can be considered a tragic end.

Jessica Kreig, serving from 2033 to 2040, is a seemingly charismatic and corporate-backed tech optimist whose campaign slogan is "Let Night City dance with the future," but during her term, she gives the green light to major companies to set up shop in Night City.

Cause of death: In 2040, evidence of his corruption and collusion with major capital and businessmen was exposed in cyberspace. That night, he committed suicide by jumping off a building in extreme shame and mental breakdown, and did not have a peaceful end.

Roy Price, serving from 2041 to 2045, was the former Night City Police Commissioner who came to power with the "law and order" platform and attempted to restore order to the streets of Night City.

Cause of death: In 2045, his armored vehicle was destroyed by a powerful IED. There were too many people with motives to do it, so it was impossible to find out the truth, and he did not die a peaceful death.

Seb Chen, term 2046-2061, compromiser, puppet, served his full 15-year term, died by 'accidentally' consuming poisoned wine, and did not have a peaceful end.

Denise Carlson, term 2061–2069, was a socialite with no political experience and a paperhanger. In late 69, she was declared to have suffered a cyberpsychotic episode due to long-term stress. After opening fire in City Hall, causing several casualties, she was killed by an elite NCPD squad and met a tragic end.

Lucius Lane, serving from 2070 to 2076, was appointed to a critical position during the New United States Unification War. Through diplomatic mediation, he brought the Arasaka Group to Night City, thus saving Night City from the ravages of the New United States Army.

He died from a gunshot wound in 2076 because he took the blame for Michiko Arasaka, a truly tragic end.

Jefferson Perales, term 2076-2077, the rest is self-explanatory.

It can be said that the deaths of all the mayors of Night City constitute the development history of Night City over the past few decades. Regardless of their abilities or whether they wanted to do things, they all ended up with bad ends. This is strikingly similar to the situation in a certain Korean country.

That's why Jack looked so worried.

“Look on the bright side, Jack.” Valerie, back in her leadership role, has successfully regained her ability to make grand promises.

"If you can become the mayor, you can truly do something for this city and for Heywood. Besides, isn't this your long-held dream? To make a name for yourself, to become a legend in Night City."

"To rise from a street thug to the mayor of Night City, that's quite a legend. I'm just afraid his death will be just as legendary."

Jack muttered.

“You’re different from them. You have us behind you, you have Anti-Entropy, and you have Mr. Sabur.” Vincent still keenly found the most crucial point.

"You represent [Anti-Entropy], so don't worry. As long as this city is in our hands, your mayoral seat will be secure."

“That’s true, but…” Jack was still a little hesitant when it came to matters of life and death.

Vincent then turned his gaze to Misty, who was standing next to Jack. Ever since the topic came up, she had remained calm and composed, showing no sign of worry for Jack.

“Have you seen Misty, Jack? Why don’t you ask our great psychic?”

Vincent's words only made things worse; the moment the topic came up, Jack and Misty's expressions turned strange.

"What's wrong? Is there some hidden story we don't know about?" Valerie, with her keen sense of smell, immediately came closer.

Jack hesitated for a moment, but eventually, urged by his brothers, he revealed the truth.

He gulped down a glass of wine before stammering, "Of course I calculated it. After receiving this notification, I was really unsure of myself, so I went to Misty and asked her to calculate my fortune for this mission."

At this point, Jack started scratching his head vigorously.

"And then?" Vincent pressed on.

Misty picked up the conversation at the opportune moment.

"The Sun, according to the Tarot reading, indicates that Jack's future fortune is 'The Sun'."

Panan, intrigued, quickly pressed on, "Is the sun good or bad?"

“Of course it’s a good result,” Judy suddenly explained, and everyone looked at her in surprise. They didn’t expect that this dream expert would also be knowledgeable about tarot divination.

“Why are you looking at me? I’ve edited a few films related to folklore and mysticism before, so I know a little about them,” Judy explained.

Misty continued to explain things to everyone, picking up where Judy left off.

"The Sun card represents absolute success, happiness, and light. In this divination ritual, it means that Jack is a person 'blessed by heaven,' and the help of benefactors will clear away all obstacles in his path, making his future bright and success almost inevitable. It is a very powerful and positive form of support."

“Isn’t this a good sign? Jack, why are you still so uneasy?” Valerie said familiarly.

At this point, Jack's face looked as if he had seen a ghost, and he said slowly, "I was afraid it wouldn't work the first time, so I dragged Misty along and tried it a few more times."

The burly man, Haywood, scratched his head, as if his worldview had been completely overturned.

“We did nine divinations in total, can you believe it? Nine times! And the results were all exactly the same, all of them were the sun. It’s so strange.”

Jack picked up a glass of wine and gulped down two mouthfuls to calm his nerves, while Misty inexplicably recalled the white crystal that she had been frantically spinning in her hand when Mr. Sabur visited that day.

Valerie, holding the highest position as "Sun," naturally knew the most, and couldn't help but speculate about certain things.

The others also pondered the word 'sun,' muttering to themselves.

He does not mean that.

Jiang Bing, who had already reached the courtyard of the abandoned hill of Charter Mountain, suddenly heard several prayers for the 'sun' in his ear. He couldn't help but shiver a few times. He listened attentively for a while and only felt relieved when he did not find any words related to 'darkness' or 'coldness'.

He came to see his partner off.

Michiko Arasaka is arranging for most of her subordinates to evacuate Night City.

With the 'pod' and the business information Jiang Bing traded to her, Michiko Arasaka was confident that she could smoothly take over Arasaka's remaining influence in other parts of North America.

She also plans to shift her focus to the new United States and various autonomous states, and plans to reopen the 'Dangerous Girl Detective Agency'.

Everything is developing in a good direction.

Chapter 799 James's Daily Life 1

Saburo Arasaka's death seemed to dispel the dark clouds that had hung over many people in Night City, causing a dramatic shift in the power structure of Night City.

During this period, the military technology department withdrew most of its agents, leaving only the arms stores that conducted normal business. Yoriyuki Arasaka kept his promise and completely shut down the North American branch, while secretly transferring all assets to [Anti-Entropy] and Michiko Arasaka.

Construction is in full swing throughout the city, with factories, supermarkets, and new residential areas springing up everywhere. [Reverse Entropy] has begun to appropriately relocate some of its production lines for mid-range products (such as precision electronic instruments, luxury goods, and weaponry, which require highly skilled workers), bringing a large number of jobs to Night City.

Despite its many flaws, this city remains a modern metropolis with a large, highly skilled, and educated workforce.

Even on the Badlands, under Jiang Bing's planning, a magnificent spectacle is being constructed—the [Badlands Ecological Park].

The core of it is the Vasily tree seed that Jiang Bing brought with him, planted by the first druid of the Dark World himself, the 'seed' of the Tree of Enifus.

Only these extraordinary plants can adapt to and attempt to transform the harsh natural environment of the bad soil.

After all, the genetic virus is currently no match for this 'outsider,' and nuclear radiation is no match for the corrupting dark magic of hell.

These new changes were so unfamiliar to the residents of Night City, but most people could sense that everything was moving towards the light and that the world was slowly getting better.

James Williams, a stevedore, knows this all too well.

He was a rare widower in Night City. After all, the death of one's wife was common in Night City, but it was not common for a man to not remarry after his wife's death and not have any extramarital affairs.

He did this purely for the sake of his two children.

James is a typical Night City native, a Haywooder. He didn't go to school much, had no skills, and had to make a living in the underworld at a young age. After spending a few years on the streets, he was suddenly awakened by the horrific sight of a fellow member who had been shot in the head during a street fight. He then retired from his life of crime, got married, and had children.

Strictly speaking, he didn't quite reach the level of retiring from the criminal world, since he hadn't even managed to get into the Valentino gang during those years.

He later became a technician, mainly working as an assistant to a repair robot at an auto repair shop, while his wife was a full-time employee at a large chain supermarket. Although their work was tiring, they managed to make ends meet and support their family of four.

Unfortunately, Night City seemed unable to contain happiness. During a supermarket robbery, his wife was easily killed by a stray bullet.

Besides grief, the family is now faced with a sudden and heavy financial burden.

The family's income has almost been halved, but the pressure of raising two children has not lessened at all. This has forced James to work overtime to find extra income and do more work, making life increasingly exhausting.

But it didn't work.

In Night City, the income of the lower class is fixed. Even if James works 18 hours a day, his family continues to decline day by day. Poverty is like a leech, clinging tightly to him.

First, they can no longer afford the old, dilapidated but still safe skyscraper apartments, so they have to move to abandoned old and run-down buildings in dark corners of the city that are free.

But with his safety no longer guaranteed, he had to sleep with his gun every night.

Secondly, 14-year-old Ethan Williams had to drop out of the municipal high school because he couldn't afford the tuition. He also took a job as an assistant to James, who gave him freelance work, to ensure that his sister Sofia Williams could continue her schooling.

Soon, a layoff caused James to lose his job, plunging his already fragile family into despair.

Soon, even feeding the family became a problem.

Unemployed James was so destitute that he resorted to scavenging garbage to make a living, passing off perfectly good food as food bought from restaurants, just to fool his naive daughter.

His will was waning day by day, and he was visibly decaying and aging.

Until he encountered the 'Workers' Mutual Aid Association'.

Humans are creatures that greatly need hope.

Today marks his 17th day working for Night City Construction Group, a subsidiary of [Anti-Entropy], and also the last day of the month.

He left work early, right at 18 PM, without trying to get the extra 1.5 times the overtime pay for working at night.

After getting off work, he didn't even have time to change out of his dirty work clothes; he was just busy refreshing his bank account.

Soon, 3312.74 euros, this month's salary, flowed smoothly into his employee-specific account, with the payment time precisely at 18:03 on February 28, 2077, only a few minutes off.

This scene was so surreal that James couldn't believe it. He had never even heard of a company that paid salaries before the end of the month.

But this did not diminish his happiness at the moment.

As the currency issued by the European Community, the euro has always maintained a strong value. A salary of 3312.74 euros is enough to easily support a family of three.

It's worth noting that the monthly rent for a standard apartment in the Heywood H2 skyscraper is less than 800 euros, and it would cost less than 1500 euros to feed three people. James, on the other hand, used to work himself to the bone for months on end and only earned less than 2800 euros a month, and he was often cheated out of his money by his unscrupulous boss.

James's salary of 3312.74, which is the salary for 17 days in his first month of employment, is enough for his family to live comfortably without any worries.

If it weren't for the fact that today was such a special day, he would have been willing to rush back to the workshop to repair a few more broken-down cars to repay the emperor's kindness.

But he has to go home first today.

Home is a very mysterious word.

James, a true penniless working-class man, owns no property in Night City.

For him, home is wherever his children are.

His home can be seen in the former skyscraper apartments, the dilapidated houses in abandoned buildings, and the staff dormitory where he now lives.

But every home is different.

He walked less than two kilometers northwest along the newly built "People's Road" in Taiping Prefecture before returning to his new home from his workplace.

This is a newly constructed 20-story apartment building, standing proudly to the west of the ruins of the Batti Hotel in Taiping, and is the work of their 'Night City Construction Group'.

The apartment building is very beautiful. From a distance, its outline is simple and neat. The entire building adopts a classic rectangular structure without any redundant curves. The exterior walls are mainly covered with silver-gray high-performance aluminum composite panels, like a suit of silver armor.

Meanwhile, the iconic '∞' symbol logo of [Reverse Entropy] is prominently printed on the building's surface.

The building has 20 floors, with 28 employee apartments of more than 40 square meters on each floor, which can accommodate 560 households.

There are 15 apartment buildings like this in this area alone.

But that's not the point. The point is that as the 7th employee apartment complex of the [Anti-Entropy] Group, the price for internal employees is only 2000 euros.

One year!

It even supports installment payments, which can be automatically deducted from your monthly salary.

Electricity is so cheap it's practically a symbolic charge; it doesn't even cost 30 euros a month.

Other miscellaneous charges, such as management fees, depreciation fees, garbage disposal fees, protection fees, and air circulation equipment usage fees, are not collected at all.

James would tremble with excitement whenever he thought of this.

He was even prepared to go to the battlefield in place of [Anti-Entropy] at any time, otherwise this treatment would be too hot for him to handle.

Chapter 800 James's Daily Life 2