A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1170 - Chapter 1170 Chapter 798 Tremor_2

Chapter 1170: Chapter 798 Tremor_2 Chapter 1170: Chapter 798 Tremor_2 Palace Blue Mansion’s videos and news were everywhere, and there was no stopping it, not to mention the matter of the Arasaka Group’s Soul Chips, which was adding insult to injury. For a time, governments around the world were almost all meeting to discuss how to limit corporate power and prevent incidents similar to those of the Arasaka Group from happening–after all, most of these implants and cyberbodies were manufactured by corporations, and even politicians didn’t want to be controlled and turn into puppets, did they?

As for the Arasaka Group, it was directly divvied up by various countries. After all, if you’ve done something as villainous as controlling humans, you’ve got all the evidence needed, both human and material, so taking care of you was just the logical step, right?

Of course, the governments dared do this because the chairman of the Arasaka Group had died, the heir had died, and even Arasaka Saburo’s daughter, Arasaka Huako, was found dead in her apartment that night, her brain fried by ICE overclocking. Suddenly, the Arasaka Group was without a leader, in complete disarray. Below, people were either vying for power and profit or making off with the money. A once global behemoth was watching its end approaching.

And Night City, naturally, was at the center of all this. Especially the videos of corporate executives hanging from lampposts, which sent chills down many people’s spines. Of course, some doubted the credibility of these acts, considering them too cruel, not civilized enough–yet that was pointless; the lamentations of the defeated were heard by no one.

In the following days, plenty of journalists traveled to Night City, wanting to see the current state of the city for themselves.

In their view, such a city must certainly be plagued by endless strife and conflict.

However, reality was beyond these journalists’ expectations.

When they arrived in Night City, what they saw was a clean, tidy, vibrant city. The streets were so clean that not even a scrap of paper could be found, and most people were working hard. Street robberies and shootings had become a thing of the past.

Faced with interviews, most residents of Night City had nothing but praise. Although the city’s disarmament order had greatly displeased them, it had resulted in a significant improvement in public security. After the NCPD’s higher-ups, who had colluded with corporate executives, were arrested or executed, the remaining officers started to earnestly do their jobs. It could be said that aside from the unlucky ones hanging from the lampposts, everyone else seemed to be doing well.

Of course, the attitude of those corporate higher-ups was completely different. In interviews with reporters, they fiercely criticized D as a Tyrant, accused her of trampling on the principles of freedom and democracy, and also claimed that Night City had lost its glory as a city of liberty, becoming a Tyrant’s backyard garden. Such a city could not meet their business needs. They planned to leave the city and completely withdraw their business to avoid the Tyrant from plundering the wealth they had worked so hard for…

Experts from various countries also gave their commentaries, and most of these experts believed that Night City could not sustain itself for long if it continued like this. In their view, the city’s prosperity was due to the businesses operating there. But now, Night City’s unfriendly attitude towards corporate enterprises would backfire severely. Even though Night City had confiscated a large amount of corporate assets, this move would deter other companies from doing business with the city.

Under these circumstances, with Night City lacking resources of its own, it faced a dead end.

“It must be said, though these experts’ biases are clear, they are not incorrect,” D chuckled as she watched the expert commentary on TV. She understood the problems facing Night City all too well. Night City’s prosperity was indeed built on a liberal and open economic policy. This was somewhat similar to the Cayman Islands–a small island accommodating registrations of all the renowned Fortune 500 companies worldwide, the fourth-largest financial center. Could it be because of its geographical location?

Of course not, it’s because it offers tax evasion and money laundering!

Just like Swiss banks, why do the wealthy stash their money in Swiss banks? Isn’t it because Swiss banks are independent and completely confidential about their client’s information?

Once these places lose that advantage, they’re finished.

The same goes for Night City. Companies were willing to do business there because it was a capitalist haven. They could act as they pleased, even conduct some inhumane experiments–experiments like the Arasaka’s Soul Chips, which were not uncommon in Night City because it was an independent city-state, unbound by the laws of any country, so what was illegal elsewhere could be done in Night City.

That’s why these companies came to invest in Night City.

But now that Night City no longer allowed them to do as they pleased, these corporations naturally sought to cut their losses and run.

After all, they had seen what had happened to the Arasaka Group, fearing that they could be next if they didn’t run.

But D was hardly concerned about that detail, for a simple reason.

On the one hand, although the corporations left, Night City wasn’t shunned. On the contrary, to many religious devotees, with her own emergence, Night City seemed to have become a place akin to a Holy Land. The recent data showed that many religious believers were trying to make a pilgrimage to Night City–however, Night City was not planning to welcome a large influx of outsiders, staying in a semi-closed state.

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