Compared to the network surveillance Kirk was worried about, what Xiao was really messing with was something even more insane: the so-called [time] finance. He wanted to create his own [time] standard. Just thinking about it made Kirk's head spin.
In Night City, the standard unit of currency is the €$, though it's not a pure euro—it's actually a foreign exchange dollar.
Its proper name is the Eurodollar, abbreviated as Eddies €$. Issued and backed by European banks, it is considered the most stable currency in the world.
During the Fourth Corporate War, these European banks were the hidden hands behind the scenes, orchestrating the rivalry between two major corporations into a full-blown corporate conflict.
At first, it was just stocks and financial maneuvers. But thanks to the banks' secret interventions, tensions escalated steadily.
Eventually, they recruited Kang Tao and Military Technology as private enforcers, and conflicts between the two sides spiraled out of control.
The corporate struggle quickly became an all-out war. European banks raked in massive profits, further solidifying the Eurodollar's dominance.
To this day, it remains the official currency of many North Atlantic nations, including the New United States, most European countries, and autonomous territories like Night City.
Behind the European banks looms the might of the European Community—a colossal organization, rich beyond imagination and technologically unrivaled.
They constructed the Crystal Palace in orbit above Earth's universe (Ps: the space station V seized at the end of The Sun), established a base on the Moon, and have been steadily exploiting space resources.
While other corporate giants were still fighting over terrestrial resources, the European Community was already reaching for the stars.
If Xiao wanted to challenge the Euro's monopoly, he would be up against the full wrath of the European Community, the largest corporate behemoth on the planet.
In comparison, Kang Tao and Militech were mere insects—any of them could be crushed with a single strike. Developing this chip meant making enemies of the entire world.
Crazy… absolutely insane!
Kirk cursed in his mind. The software Xiao had developed was mind-boggling. How could one man even imagine offending the entire world with a single piece of tech?
Even though Xiao only cared about selling his chips, Kirk himself was terrified to handle them.
The Dimension Chip's greatest function was to optimize a prosthetic body's fit to 100%, achieving performance on par with one's original limbs.
The lightness Kirk had felt earlier wasn't from his body physically getting lighter—it was because the chip perfectly aligned his mechanical limbs, relieving every nerve of pressure.
This realization stunned Kirk. If edgewalkers had this chip, cyberpsychosis would no longer be a concern.
Cyberpunks spent a fortune every day buying inhibitors to ease prosthetic rejection, merely treating the symptoms rather than the cause.
Now, with this chip, it would cost just 24 Eddies a day—or 600 a month—for a perfect prosthetic fit.
The business potential was staggering. Kirk could already see a massive empire sprouting from this chip alone.
And yet, that very potential explained why Xiao warned him not to touch this market.
Inhibitors were essential, not just for Night City, but for all of human civilization.
Anyone with prosthetics needed them. How often depended on usage: some applied them weekly, others daily. Edgewalkers, operating in packs, could go through doses every few hours.
Night City consumed hundreds of tons of inhibitors each day. Globally, the number was astronomical. Inhibitors were one of the most profitable commodities imaginable.
Any company controlling 98% of global resources certainly had the means to develop tech rivaling the Dimension Chip. But no one had dared.
The formula for inhibitors had remained largely unchanged for decades. Anyone who obtained it could produce and sell freely—but the market was so vast that no single family could dominate it alone. Cooperation maintained profits.
And anyone attempting to disrupt this equilibrium would be attacked by all competitors. No one dared.
That was precisely what the Dimension Chip did. One installation, lifetime benefit, no inhibitors needed.
This wasn't just snatching a small slice of the market—it was digging into the foundation of every major company's profits.
No company could tolerate such a brazen move.
Kirk was torn. Selling the chip would be easy, but could he live to see the sunrise tomorrow?
Even if he found the courage to sell Xiao's chips, surviving retaliation from the inhibitor monopolies would be another matter entirely.
He held the chip like a hot coal, arms shaking, legs quivering, heart pounding in dread.
"Boss, what's wrong with you?"
Big Joe's voice trembled. He had been nervous around Xiao before, but now Xiao was absent, and Big Joe dared to speak up.
"I'm fine!" Kirk forced a smile.
He clenched his teeth, stood up, and hurried after Xiao toward the Wild Wolf Bar.
"Let's find the priest. We need a partner. I can't handle this alone!"
…
…
"I'm just a pastor, not God. I can't help you with this!"
Father Sebastian Ibarra, the Haywood-area middleman, cursed angrily and shoved the Dimension Chip back into Kirk's hand barely two minutes after inserting it into the nerve slot.
"Everyone, I'm out tonight!"
The priest put on his hat and, flanked by his subordinates, left the Wild Wolf Bar without a backward glance. He even warned that he didn't want any trouble.
Yet everyone watched him leave with a mixture of embarrassment and awe.
"Looks like Kirk's gotten so rich, he scared off our beloved priest!"
Pepi, the Wild Wolf bartender, stared at Kirk as if he'd just witnessed a prince try and assassinate the emperor.
"Sold to you!"
Kirk buried his face in his hands and pushed the chip toward Pepe in despair.
"Just… this tiny thing? It scared the priest?"
Curiosity won over caution. Pepe picked up the chip and inserted it into the back of his head.
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