#1017 - Sun (Six)

The performance difference was simply too great!

Mach 2.5 was not a small number, but it depended on the context. Faced with Lilith, whose normal speed reached Mach 4, these aircraft were nothing more than turtles!

Moreover, these fighters were far less agile than Lilith. Their top-of-the-line air-to-air missiles could barely reach Mach 4, but what was the point of hitting a target at a standstill?!

[Pilot #0076: He's gone! I can't see him.]

[Pilot #0063: He's here, he's on my cockpit, he— BOOM!]

[Pilot #0102: He's behind me— *tzz*.]

The enormous performance advantage made the Militech pilots feel like they were fighting ghosts. The roar and explosions nearly tore the sky apart!

Seeing the battle tilt one-sidedly towards Lilith, the strategic bomber pilot disregarded combat instructions and immediately opened the interceptor ejection pod. But even fighters equipped with large supersonic turbo engines couldn't catch up, so how could these interceptors using old designs possibly do so?!

Lilith suddenly pulled up, dodging all locks, and then suddenly descended when all the enemies raised their fronts, violently plunging into the interceptor array with overwhelming agility. Missiles, machine guns, and plasma longswords repeatedly turned enemy aircraft into wreckage!

Everything happened so quickly and intensely that the aerial battlefield had completely become a slaughterhouse—

[Pilot #00168: We can't fight a monster like that!!!]

Today, the only thing that would explode for Militech was their aircraft.

[Lilith: Got the goods, preparing to retreat.]

*Thud.*

Myer's face was pale, her limbs stiff, and her head felt like it had been hit hard. Her body lost control and she fell directly to the ground.

Her combat squadron had been completely annihilated.

More importantly, the enemy had even boarded the aircraft and stolen the nuclear bomb!

It seemed she had personally delivered scarce resources to them.

Now everything was over: three state capitals were directly under nuclear attack, three states were facing planned terrorist attacks, and half of the New United States was under the threat of Night City's intercontinental nuclear missiles!

Faced with direct military threat, those spineless local state governments would kowtow faster than anyone else, coupled with that damned, strange name's appeal among the common people.

It could almost be seen as half of the New United States had already fallen.

If this was a corporate war, then Militech had already lost on day one: not only suffering heavy losses, but also being completely crushed technologically—

Individual combat capabilities, battlefield electronic warfare capabilities, espionage capabilities, nuclear delivery capabilities, and cyber warfare capabilities were all completely crushed.

The politicians left one after another, not knowing what backers they were going to find to run away.

Just one day ago, these politicians were united under her, Rosalind Myer's control—at least seemingly united. Everyone could shout the same slogan: Make the New United States great again.

Now, their departure was as predictable as the impending re-division of the New United States.

The New United States was finished.

But Militech was not.

Myer's eyes hardened, and she immediately continued to transmit a message to EBM via the satellite network:

[Myer's: I lost.]

[EBM: We saw. It's quite...surprising.]

[Myer's: But you won't win either! Militech has the most advanced fighters, tanks, combat robots, and electronic warfare equipment, the most advanced military combat capabilities in the world!]

[Myer's: If I lose, that also means you will lose! Don't forget that our goal now is to restore market order and stop this financial storm!]

EBM's president sneered in his heart, but was also somewhat surprised by this woman:

Clearly, this woman's greatest ambition was the New United States, but at the moment her ambition shattered, she could immediately recover from that state and then confidently spout nonsense.

Although what she was spouting was correct: if not everyone hoped that the terrorists in Night City would be taken down, the New United States would not have mobilized its military in this way.

It should be known that the destroyed strategic bomber was no simple matter. In theory, it could carry nuclear bombs, interceptors, and fighters, and transport them to anywhere in the world. It was Militech's trump card.

Now Arasaka and Militech had both fallen in Night City: the former lost its aircraft carrier and the old man in power, the latter lost its aerial fortress and nearly two-thirds of its forces, as well as...the New United States.

As for the assets they lost in Night City, they were small numbers—moreover, those were the same losses that many companies suffered. Militech, Arasaka, Kang Tao, Petrochem, Biotechnica, Zetatech, Orbital Air...

All the big names had been played for fools in Night City.

Even more exaggerated was the situation in Europe. Not to mention the European Community political group being stabbed and falling into civil war, the financial system was completely crushed. The biggest losses were of course the European Community and European banks, but similarly, companies all over the world suffered as a result.

This time, the suffering was no simple matter: it should be known that the companies in this world are basically specialized in their businesses and directions. The instability of the financial system meant the instability of trade, and the instability of trade was the core problem. Currency devaluation was just a facade.

[EBM: Yes, Night City has become a global security issue. Who would have thought things would develop to this point, with so many companies in Night City, all being played, tripping each other up, mutually...]

[Myer's: Isn't it a bit too hypocritical to talk about unity and cooperation to defend the capital market now?]

The EBM president smiled. Indeed, that was the nature of corporations.

If they also had business in Night City, maybe they would have intervened, tripping each other up when those three madmen repeatedly did outrageous things, thinking that they would be the ultimate winner.

As a result, no one won.

[Myer's: The European Community must intervene. We need cooperation.]

[EBM: In fact, they have already intervened. It will take a little time for the order to reach the moon. After the bombing ends, you will conduct a strict sweep. Arasaka will be responsible for sealing off the area on the periphery—]

[EBM: No contract. This time, you will all be working for free.]

Myer's thoughts were exposed, and before she could say them, the EBM president blocked her back—

Indeed, she was just about to ask for funds.

But being blocked didn't prevent her from realizing how ridiculous this world was. So she laughed.

[Myer's: Haha...Don't you think it's ridiculous? You know we can't work for free.]

[EBM: Yes, it's ridiculous, but that's the rule of this world. This cooperation is very unpleasant, but there's no better way. I hope we can get a better result next time, Madam President.]

Hanging up the communication, Myer's sat on the ground, leaning against the sofa, one leg drawn back, one hand on her knee, the smile on her face seemingly frozen.

The former CEO of Militech, now still maintaining strong control as the President of the New United States, Rosalind Myer's, at this moment, was like a penniless ghost who had woken up after overdosing on drugs, mocking herself, sitting her precious ass on the cold floor.

Ridiculous, indeed ridiculous, not just because she wanted funds and a contract just now, that was just the first layer of ridiculousness.

The second layer of ridiculousness was also because even though EBM had already directly acknowledged the situation, they still had to send the Arasaka Group to Night City—

On the one hand, it was to ensure that the two companies could eliminate the living forces in Night City after the bombing, and on the other hand, it was to prevent one company from getting too many good things and becoming too powerful.

After all, the entire Europe was busy with armed resistance against their own rebellious people, and didn't have the time to send people.

The third layer of ridiculousness...was that they actually couldn't work for free: since sending Arasaka was to prevent Militech from becoming too powerful, then it meant that everyone was still coveting the "treasures of the terrorists", and in the end, they still had to choose Militech or Arasaka to cooperate with and obtain technology.

But that wasn't the most ridiculous thing, the most ridiculous thing was the fourth layer:

These rules and logic, everyone understood, but based on the history of dealing with Burger King, these companies would always be like this:

Before taking action, they already felt that the little Burger King was finished and should be thinking about dividing the inheritance—or rather, in a sense, the companies would rather that no one get anything than allow one company to run away and take the lead on the road to achieving the ultimate goal, the ultimate monopoly.

They clearly already knew the result of doing so, and it was precisely by following this logic that they had gradually reached this point, but they still had to abide by this vicious cycle—

The simplest mind-reading in this world, in the end, was to understand these...people, whether they could still be considered people or not: clearly they were people, clearly they already knew the problem in their heads, but they could never escape this vicious cycle, this shackled "person".

In the end, they seemed to be the same as those low-energy people who were deeply involved in low-level pleasures such as drug use, prostitution, braindances, gambling, etc. They cursed decadence on their lips, slapped themselves hard in the face, and the tears flowed endlessly, but change was impossible.

Maybe what those religious fanatics said was right: this world was already finished, just like the dead end they were trapped in.

Thinking of this, Myer's had an even more ridiculous idea in her heart:

The figure of Lilith appeared in her mind, the reactor on her chest was incomparably dazzling, recklessly wielding violent power to shatter everything.

"...In that case, it really is like the sun."