Hearing V's words, the current CEO of Militech, Lucas Harford, was momentarily stunned.
After Rosalind Myers took office as President of the NUSA in 2065, Harford succeeded her and became the new leader of this megacorporation.
Lucas Harford's personal abilities were not outstanding, but they were remarkably balanced. Whether in combat, politics, military affairs, economics, diplomacy, or technology, he could hold his own—though only at a solidly average level. A classic "hexagon warrior": competent in all directions, exceptional in none. He looked like a bucket, but in truth he was just a cup.
Yet a cup had its advantages. No one could easily fool Lucas Harford, because he genuinely understood every field—just not deeply enough to dominate any of them. To get things done well, he had to listen to advice and rely on the collective strength of others within the corporation.
As a result, Harford never formed a strong personal policy agenda. To maintain his position, he had to balance the interests of all factions. From the outside, Militech in recent years appeared "soft," repeatedly yielding even to Arasaka's provocations and insults, seemingly unworthy of its reputation as North America's hegemon. Many said Harford lacked talent; even calling him a "caretaker ruler" was seen as generous.
But in truth, this was exactly the outcome Militech wanted. To understand why, one had to look at the previous CEOs.
The first was Elizabeth Kress. She transitioned from business to politics, nationalized Militech, and turned it into the core military pillar of the NUSA. By leveraging state power, she vastly expanded the legitimacy of Militech's corporate growth. That was undeniably an achievement—but her hardline policies also placed Militech in direct,Fully oppose with Arasaka. In the end, she even resorted to the nuclear destruction of Arasaka Tower to secure her dominance.
The second was Donald Lundee. He inherited not only Kress's position, but also her mess. After the Fourth Corporate War, a resentful Arasaka sought to regain control of Night City, and Lundee spent nearly the rest of his life locked in covert military confrontation with them. To preserve Militech's dominance in Night City, he employed countless dirty tricks—illegal subversion, backing coups, sponsoring terrorist attacks, and more. By the time he died of illness, he was still facing 192 indictments from international courts.
The third was Rosalind Myers. After Lundee's death, she became CEO and immediately pushed for sweeping corporate reforms while trying to revive the NUSA's economy. These drastic changes provoked fierce resistance from entrenched interest groups within Militech. Myers ultimately stepped down as CEO in 2065 to run for president, later launching the Unification War in an attempt to annex the Free States—an effort that ultimately failed to fully succeed due to Arasaka's interference.
The fourth was the current CEO: Lucas Harford, a thoroughly mediocre man.
Why?
Because the three CEOs before him were simply too brilliant—and they pushed Militech too hard. If another ambitious, aggressive CEO had taken over, Militech would have torn itself apart.
The real threat wasn't external. It was internal.
Unlike Arasaka, a family-owned corporation, Militech had a board of directors and think tanks, operating under a genuine corporate governance system. Put simply, Militech was a massive coalition of interest groups.
No matter how vicious Arasaka's internal power struggles became, the one sitting at the top was always an Arasaka by blood. Arasaka remained Arasaka. Even when someone like V emerged, even when Arasaka Tokyo collapsed, Night City was still nominally run by Michiko Arasaka—even though everyone knew she was little more than a figurehead.
Militech was different. Internal conflict within Militech could lead to only one outcome: fragmentation, just like the old United States. Different interest blocs had different leaders. If they couldn't sit at the same table, they would simply eat at separate ones. Militech had always been held together by shared利益, but the strongly personal, forceful styles of the first three CEOs severely disrupted that balance. Another such leader would have caused the entire structure to collapse.
Everyone understood this simple truth: eating together meant lobster and abalone; eating alone meant plain home cooking. It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go back. After years of aggressive policies, Militech's internal factions had been battered one after another, descending into chaos. And it was precisely at this moment that Lucas Harford's "mediocrity" revealed its true value.
He had no personal agenda, allowing Militech to recover and regroup.
He had to unite all factions to maintain his rule, thereby protecting everyone's core interests.
Harford took office in 2065. Now, in 2077—twelve years later—Militech might appear weaker externally, but internally, under his soft-handed management, it had re-tightened into a single rope. Its territory hadn't expanded much, but its overall strength had increased significantly—so much so that it had even turned the tables on Myers.
Look at Arasaka: strong, arrogant, forever starting wars, challenging heaven and earth alike. And what was the result? Arasaka was gone—bankrupt, finished, dead and buried. Meanwhile, Militech kept taking contracts, kept making money, and lived more comfortably with each passing day.
This outcome filled Lucas Harford with pride. He knew he wasn't particularly capable; everything he had was thanks to living in a good era. But that didn't stop him from being proud.
And where did this "good era" come from?
The answer was V.
V's sudden emergence forced the megacorps to halt their reckless expansion. The old balance had been shattered. The power gap between megacorps wasn't large enough for one to eliminate another without triggering a Fifth Corporate War, a prolonged war of attrition. According to AI simulations, before such a war could conclude, Earth's environment would be utterly destroyed by superweapons. Thus, no megacorp dared to strike lightly.
But V changed the equation.
According to the same AI projections, V's individual combat capability made decapitation strikes viable. Even if a corporate leader hid in the deepest, most fortified bunker, V still had a 23% probability of breaking through and successfully assassinating them.
Militech. Biotechnica. Kang Tao. Any of them.
V alone couldn't do it—but with backing from other corporations, say Kang Tao providing tech, gear, and intelligence, fully arming her to the teeth, the world's strongest lone wolf would have a 23% chance of single-handedly cutting through Militech Tower in Washington and kicking Lucas Harford's head around like a ball.
Twenty-three percent wasn't high—but no one dared to gamble.
A beggar fears death because of pain; gods fear death because they truly understand it.
And that was with V still suffering from extensive neural degeneration. If she ever fully recovered, that probability wouldn't stay at 23%.
Thus, an unspoken rule emerged among the megacorps: dangling the promise of treatment was fine—but anyone who actually dared to cure V would be attacked by all the others.
Fortunately for them, the corporations didn't trust V, and V didn't trust the corporations. Treatment progressed slowly, handled only within Night City.
And V herself advocated cooperation and mutual benefit. She stayed within Night City, showing no ambition for expansion. She took what she deserved, demanded what was owed, and never crossed lines she shouldn't. The megacorps tacitly accepted her existence. Some smaller companies even rallied behind her, eagerly cooperating whenever she proposed it. Gradually, the world settled into its new order.
V released certain non-critical technological dividends to the public. The megacorps followed suit, abandoning their worst excesses. Ordinary people slowly began to live like human beings again, with Night City as the center radiating outward.
This wasn't corporate conscience—it was fear of giving V leverage.
All megacorps continuously analyzed V's personality and behavior. The conclusion was simple: don't provoke her. Because once provoked, V would very likely kill a corporate leader—for a few tens of thousands of eddies—and slay a "god" in a crystal tower.
Only a fool would slap a sleeping tiger.
Lucas Harford never imagined that Rosalind Myers would be that fool.
Hearing V's words, Harford cursed that old witch again in his head. Why the hell did you have to provoke V in the first place? Now look at this—I'm the one who has to clean up your mess.
After choosing his words carefully, Lucas Harford decided not to play games and went straight for honesty.
"V, calm down first. What Myers did was indeed out of line. But she's tied to a great many of Militech's interests, and I truly can't just abandon her. How about this—give me some time. I'll call Myers right now and have her personally apologize to you. On top of that, we'll compensate you financially. Don't worry, it won't be a small sum. Consider it a favor I owe you."
"Harford, since you're being straightforward, I won't beat around the bush either. What I'm saying is this: Rosalind Myers must die. Not just for my sake—this benefits Militech as well. I know Myers just signed a major contract with you and that you've reconciled. You think she'll safeguard Militech's interests from now on, right? Then look at what she's done. She knew about my relationship with Militech. She knew those military dependents were people I personally demanded protection for. And she still dared to tamper with it. You think this is slapping my face? Wrong. This is slapping Militech's face.
"Do you know what happens next? It's simple. If I can't secure Militech's support today, I'll go to Kang Tao, or to Biotechnica. What price do you think they'll offer me? Some filthy amount of eddies they can't even count? Some junk-tier Night City tech? Or maybe they'll just hand me a pistol and put me on a plane to Washington?"
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Lucas Harford's forehead.
He knew exactly how terrifying V was. V knew it too. And everyone in the world knew how terrifying V was.
In a single instant, he made his decision.
Lucas Harford would always prioritize Militech's overall interests. He had in the past—and he still did now.
"If Militech were to give you a gun," he asked cautiously, "could you take a trip to Shenyang?"
"Dream on. I'm talking to them so they'll help me restrain and counter Militech. I'm talking to you so you'll throw out a disposable piece—one Afterlife legend, one Kabuki legend. Who do you think you are, asking for the same price?"
Hearing V refuse, Harford actually felt relieved.
If she could still joke, then the deal was still negotiable. Highball first, bargain later.
Harford continued, "Myers is the President of the New United States!"
"So what? Presidents are nothing. You can just prop up another one."
"Easy for you to say. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a president into office?"
"No idea. All I know is my people filmed a presidential inauguration documentary—including travel—in about a week."
"That was a documentary. The real process requires securing support from both chambers of Congress, approval from the Pope, coordinating every faction, completing endless procedures—only then do you get the presidential appointment documents!"
"That troublesome?"
"Extremely troublesome!"
V thought for a moment. "Didn't you already have one ready? The one you used to film my documentary."
Harford snapped, "That one was fake!"
"But aside from being fake, everything about it is real. Congressional support, papal approval, electronic seals, digital signatures—everything's there."
Lucas Harford fell silent.
…Huh. She's not wrong.
"So whose name is on the document?" he asked.
"Meredith Stout."
They fell silent again.
After a long pause, Harford let out a deep sigh. "Fine. Her, then."
"No objections from me."
"Once Meredith Stout takes office, you must support her."
"She's my friend. Of course I'll support her."
Harford believed this without question.
V's personality model had been completed long ago. She was unwaveringly loyal to her friends—and utterly ruthless to her enemies.
That was why everyone wanted to be V's friend. Only that old witch Myers insisted on standing against her. Fucking idiot.
Lucas Harford was, after all, a god atop the tower. Being pushed this far by V naturally angered him—but he didn't dare vent that anger on her. So it could only fall on the President of the NUSA.
"Rosalind Myers is yours," Harford said. "But Militech won't take direct action. Out of old ties, I don't want this to get too ugly."
"Understood. Thanks, Harford. What do you want in return?"
"Forget it. Militech doesn't care about your pocket change. Consider it my apology on Myers' behalf."
"All right then, Harford. You're decent. I can't not reciprocate. I'll send you a copy of the Chimera data."
As soon as she finished speaking, a new email appeared in Lucas Harford's private inbox.
He opened it—and it was indeed the complete technical data package for the Chimera.
"Holy shit—you're serious?" the Militech CEO exclaimed.
"Of course."
"I mean, this is Night City's trump card. You're just giving it to me?"
If Night City truly possessed anything a megacorp would covet, it was the Chimera.
The Chimera integrated the strengths of Kang Tao, Arasaka, and Militech. What Harford valued wasn't the Chimera itself, but Arasaka's armor technology embedded in it, and Kang Tao's energy systems.
The Militech CEO confirmed again. V's reply was casual.
"That's right. It's yours. On one hand, operating the Chimera requires enormous processing power from the pilot—you could build a second one and still have no one who can use it. On the other hand," she said lightly, "I am Night City's real trump card."
Lucas Harford laughed helplessly, then felt a sense of relief.
That's right. V was Night City's ultimate weapon—not just her strength, but her nerve and audacity.
"V, may the friendship between Night City and Militech endure."
"Of course, Harford. Militech will always be Night City's closest partner."
The call ended.
Staring at the Chimera technical data, Harford felt a surge of excitement.
See? This is what you get for being V's friend.
Considering that Myers was also technically his friend, Harford hesitated briefly—then dialed her number.
"Harford? What is it? I'm in a meeting."
Harford snapped, "Stop your fucking meeting. V is going to kill you. Run—run as far as you can. To the Moon. To Mars."
Myers was stunned. "What?! Why would V—"
"Why else? Because of that aircraft you shot down!"
"Fuck that. Just some civilians. They died, so what? It was a harmless joke. Is she really taking it that seriously?"
"Unfortunately, V doesn't find it funny at all."
"Goddamn it, V is a fucking lunatic!"
Harford thought, You're the lunatic. Now you're scared—why the hell did you provoke her in the first place?
"Harford, you have to help me. Militech has to help me!"
"No, Myers. V already spoke to me. We've reached an agreement."
Myers froze for a few seconds, then exploded in rage. "You son of a bitch—you sold me out!"
"Yes. Just like you sold out your own people. Myers, if I'm a son of a bitch, then what does that make you?"
"No—no—Harford, I apologize for what I said. I was impulsive. I understand you. I'm still useful to Militech. I can give you huge contracts—use NUSA funds. If the treasury isn't enough, I'll raise taxes. I can start a war with Canada and buy tons of Militech weapons, I—"
Before she could finish, Harford hung up.
"Fuck!!!"
Myers, furious beyond measure, swept everything off her desk onto the floor.
Everyone in the conference room stared at her in shock, unable to understand how a single phone call had led to this.
"Get out. All of you—get out!"
No one dared disobey. They grabbed their things and fled.
Alone in the room, Myers gasped for air, her heart pounding.
She didn't want to die. She really didn't want to die.
Sunlight hit her face, jolting her awake. She rushed forward, yanked all the curtains shut, then curled up against the wall in the corner farthest from the windows, clinging to what little sense of safety she could find.
"I can't die. I have to protect myself. I must get the results of the Little Polaris Project—no matter what!" Myers snarled like a cornered wolf, her nails digging into her own flesh. "V—this is your doing!"
On the other side, V summoned her people.
Glancing at Meredith Stout, V decided to keep the news of her becoming the next president secret for now—she'd give her a surprise later.
Once everyone had arrived, V laid out her plan.
"I'm going to kill Rosalind Myers."
"Fine. No problem," the group responded without hesitation. After all, every single person there was a corporate bastard—villains to the last.
"What about Militech?"
"Handled. They've abandoned Myers, but for appearances' sake, they won't act."
"That makes things harder," Xu Ling said, propping her chin on her hands. "Myers is holed up in Washington. Unless you go in alone, it's hard to touch her."
V shook her head. "Too much noise. And intelligence is an issue. Without Militech's help, we can't pinpoint her location."
"Then what's the plan?"
"Simple. Lure Myers out of Washington and into Night City. Didn't she say Night City has terrorists? Then let's make sure it really does. When Space Force One flies over Night City, we'll do what she did—fire a shot back." V sneered. "She likes shooting down planes. I like shooting down planes. Everyone fucking loves shooting down planes."
No one objected to the plan.
After all, she was just the President of the NUSA—not nearly as tough as Arasaka's Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier. Two missiles would be more than enough to vaporize her.
"How are you going to lure Myers out?" Meredith Stout, the future President of the NUSA, frowned. "I'm guessing my boss has already told her you want her dead. She should be hiding from you, not coming to Night City."
V smiled confidently. "Because Night City has something she desperately wants."
"You mean… the Little Polaris Project under Pacifica?"
"Exactly."
"Good bait. But how are you going to put it in front of her?"
"Remember Song So Mi—Songbird?" V tapped her neural port. "I left a backdoor in her."