The Night Corp—its name felt both familiar and unfamiliar to Roland. In both the game and the anime, its appearances were so few and fleeting that most people barely understood what the company actually was.
But in truth, the Night Corp was a colossal power rooted deep within Night City. It had been founded by Miriam Night, the wife of the city's creator, Richard Night.
Its original vision was to build a true utopian city. Sadly, that dream was nearly impossible to realize in the current Night City, where the megacorps had long since rewritten the rules.
Night Corp had been forced to build itself within those new rules. Even so, it had undeniably done a great deal for Night City—whether through charity programs or mediating gang conflicts.
They worked tirelessly to maintain public order. At the same time, Night Corp was the city's largest infrastructure contractor. Water systems, power plants, roads, the subway—most of these were built by them.
And its market value wasn't low. In fact, it was extremely high, though no precise figure existed—only broad estimates.
The estimate fluctuated wildly, anywhere from 250 to 750 billion.
For a company operating solely within Night City to reach such a valuation spoke volumes about its power.
However… they seemed uninterested in openly controlling Night City—or rather, given the current climate, they didn't dare show interest.
Their previous defeat in the struggle against Arasaka and Militech likely forced them into retreat, choosing instead to stay hidden and quietly observe from the shadows.
That failure had cost Night Corp a massive portion of its market share and influence over Night City. And after Arasaka was driven out, the city naturally fell under Militech's control.
Still, Roland suspected their reluctance came from something else—the clash between Night Corp's ideals and those of the megacorps. Many simply didn't want to see Night Corp taking charge again.
What he didn't understand was what they wanted with him. At the moment, his company was partnered with Arasaka, and its strength was still far from remarkable.
Roland waved his hand, signaling the Imperial Guard robot to release the man. Then he looked at the man who introduced himself as a Night Corp supervisor.
"Ahem. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Vimers. I'm Jorel Kuris, a field operations supervisor from Night Corp."
Jorel offered his trademark smile and extended his hand.
Roland gave him a glance before shaking it.
"And what business brings you here, Mr. Kuris?"
"Mr. Vimers, are you familiar with our company?" Jorel didn't answer directly—instead, he threw a question back.
Roland nodded.
"A bit. And I'd say that without interference from other corporations, Night City would likely be under Night Corp's control."
Hearing that, Jorel let out a bitter smile.
"Exactly. And if there hadn't been interference… Mr. Roland, why don't you guess what we're here for?"
The bitterness faded from his face, replaced by seriousness as he looked straight at Roland.
Roland narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking.
In terms of intelligence and finance, Night Corp stood toe-to-toe with any megacorp. The only area where they lagged behind… was armed force.
Roland had always kept the saying "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun" in mind. Clearly, what Night Corp lacked was that gun.
"You need my technology?"
Roland asked cautiously. He wasn't entirely sure what Night Corp's military assets looked like. In both the game and anime, there'd been too little shown.
Still, he suspected that while they were weaker than the megacorps militarily, they weren't helpless either—they had created the Counter-Terrorism Unit, after all.
"A very accurate assessment. But more precisely, we need your company's security force."
Jorel nodded and continued.
"Public safety in Night City has always been a major issue. We've seen the security robots under your company—their performance was astonishing. So we hope you can supply them in large quantities to the NCPD."
At that, Roland immediately understood their goal: they wanted to use his technology to increase their influence within the NCPD, reclaiming as much authority and law-enforcement power as possible for Night Corp.
However… with the security robots currently at his disposal, the Night Owl was absolutely off the table. The cost alone was one issue, and it was also his second-strongest robot.
The next tier was the Campbell II security robot. It was cheaper to produce, built with better materials, and while its performance and firepower weren't leagues above the market, it was solid enough…
Hmm? Thinking about it, the Campbell might actually be perfect.
"Well then, Mr. Vimers? What do you think?"
Jorel's eyes were full of hope. If Roland agreed, their upcoming operations would go much smoother.
"Then I'll need to see what you're offering."
"Excellent!"
Jorel's face lit up instantly. Since Roland hadn't rejected the proposal, the cooperation was basically secured. After all—who would turn down such an offer?
"We'll provide your company with a large area of industrial land, and gradually supply one billion in funding. All we need is your support in armaments and technology."
Roland's eyes brightened. What he lacked the most right now was exactly this—money and territory.
He was well aware that Night Corp would likely request he loosen control over the security robots' access restrictions.
Roland had no issue with that. Not at all. After all… nobody on their side could stop Lissandra anyway. Lending them some units temporarily was no big deal.
This move? He was basically using someone else's money to build his own army. Talk about a clean win.
After going over the basics with Jorel, the man left to prepare the contract. Meanwhile, Roland was already wondering if he should redeem some heavy machinery.
PROJECT corporation still had plenty of large-scale war weapons. And as the saying goes: infantry works best with tanks.
He already had infantry. Naturally, it was time to upgrade the combo.