Bab 16: Chapter 16: Guided To The Abyss III
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Chapter 16: Guided To The Abyss III
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Hamada and Johnson's conflict was merely the easiest way to get it discreetly. That's how the latter interpreted the situation at least.
Johnson linked himself to his computer, all Joi needed to do was upload herself to the Tyger Claws' database discreetly.
"I will kill him... But you can't interfere with my territory. We conclude the deal, I give you the area you want, and I don't want to hear from you ever again... I know how you guys operate. You'll drag me down to death, so I would rather die than cooperate with you again!"
Johnson stressed, knowing full well the usual shenanigans of corporations.
Give them an inch and they'll take a mile, using you again and again, till your deathbed.
[You are thinking too highly of yourself. We do not need you. Just follow instructions and forget we ever interacted]
Johnson took a deep breath to calm himself down, still sweating profusely.
The way the voice talks, it's just like AIs. They have a tendency to look down on humans like butchers eyeing their cattle.
"Let Hamada know. Tell him that I can accept his deal if he takes up his offer to 120%." Johnson brought out his phone, making a call.
Whatever deal it was, it must've been very tempting to Hamada because he chose to come here personally to conclude the agreement.
Hamada and Johnson may be very competitive, but in the former's mind, it's merely mild in-gang conflict.
The same couldn't be said for Johnson who is out for blood and has been planning for a while to eliminate competition.
Hamada, on the other hand, was competing on the business side of things, trying to show off his worth to the gang leaders.
He's very much business-minded, and the Tyger Claws are overall pursuing business more than violence, although they do not oppose the latter.
However, violence can sometimes get in the way of their business, thus the Tyger Claws almost always favor business.
Therefore, Hamada never really saw Johnson as competition for control over Old Japantown and even struck quite a few deals with him.
Hamada considers Johnson to be a meathead who can be exploited at will, although he is still wary of him, thus why he usually brings several bodyguards with him.
Today was the same as Hamada arrived at Johnson's office with several of his best bodyguards.
Hamada was a man of average height and very lean physique, nothing like Johnson. He was a businessman, and he looked like a businessman.
"Have to say, I'm surprised you're accepting my proposal now considering how adamantly you had rejected it just last month," It wasn't his office, but he sure as hell treated it as such.
Just like Johnson... No, even more than him, Hamada reeks of an air of pure unbridled arrogance.
It seems to come as second nature to people of their stature, to people whose word can bring about death to many.
"Well, things change, and I need the fucking money, so let's get this over with," Johnson seemed unhappy with the deal as he threw Hamada a tablet for him to sign, the contract.
"So I just have to sign this, and it's done, huh?" Hamada raised a brow, "But the problem is that my first offer was already above market value... Now you want me to raise it?"
"There is a reason you made an offer than high. The business is that profitable my choom," Johnson nodded.
"It's indeed a good business, but it will no longer be as attractive in my eyes with the price raised to 120% of my original offer... I don't do money-losing business," Hamada pointed out.
"So make your offer, but it better be higher than your first," Johnson was obviously trying to haggle himself a good deal, or at least make Hamada believe he was doing so.
It was all an act just to get Hamada to sign the contract which would require him to link to the tablet.
There are of course many other methods to making deals and signing contracts.
"Hmm... I can only up my offer to 107%. Going above that means that the profits will go beneath my bottom line... Do we have a deal?" Hamada made his offer.
"..." Johnson frowned, showing conflict, but in the end, he still agreed, "We have a deal."
They revised the contract and prepared to conclude the deal. All that remained was Hamada linking to the tablet and signing the contract.
It was all going well... Until it wasn't anymore as Hamada held the table in his hands without any intention of linking to it.
Hamada instead chose to walk back and forth while side-glancing at the confused Johnson.
Before Johnson could question his behavior, Hamada explained it well, "Had I not known, I would've been deceived... After all, I always believed you to be somewhat of a meathead."
"Huh? Watch your tongue lest I cut it out!!" Johnson might've shown anger at Hamada's words, but inside, an ominous premonition was overwhelming his mind.
"I must admit, I've underestimated your courage, intellect, and stupidity alike. I mean, you dared plan to kill me! And I didn't know," Hamada seemed impressed.
"However, you actually dared plan to kill me... I mean, the Bosses would know... And they would kill you. Such conflicts are for the usable goods, the goons that we can replace at will, but people like me... We're of big value to the gang. We don't just die!! Are you fucking stupid?!"
Hamada was still impressed, just by Johnson's stupidity. The latter's expression showed infuriation as he questioned venomously, "How did you know?"
He already had a hunch. He already had a guess on who it was, but he still had to ask.
"Exactly who you think it's," Hamada smiled.
"Damn you! Damn you all!!" Johnson finally realized how fucked he was. They double-crossed him.
Therefore, he could only employ some desperate measures as he activated his Berserk, his skin turning red, his body overwhelmed.
The pressure he put on Hamada and his bodyguards was tremendous, as if looking at a wild beast seeking to devour them all.
Yet it all came crashing down in a split second as the stunned Johnson realized that his body was failing him, literally falling to the ground, all powerless.
"I've heard you spiked your back like a dinosaur, and I thought it was just your stupid fashion sense, but you really installed Berserk," Hamada finally frowned.
"That's how you wanted to kill me, with the element of surprise. You know that there are ways to counter it... Hell, I've prepared some now, but it seems they were unnecessary," Hamada murmured.
"Why!!! I've listened to your instructions!!! Why just use me like this!!!?" Johnson's deafening cries of anger were most definitely heard by their target audience.
[No. You have clearly not listened to instructions. We've told you before to just blink in response, yet you spoke when you weren't instructed to]
"Huh? That's it? That's it?! Are fucking with me you controlling mother fucking corp retards!!!!" Johnson was now not just angry, but in madness due to the silliness of the situation.
However, he was ignored, [As for you Mr. Hamada. We'll take care of Johnson's suspicious death. We have used his access to create a High Table identity, an assassin by the name of M. He will take credit for Johnson's death. It will still be suspicious, but the suspicion will now lead to somewhere else, the real 'Assassin']
"And I'll hold up my end of the bargain. When your people contact me, I'll accept their deal," Hamada politely nodded, obviously unwilling to talk more.
He was always advised by some of his higher-up contacts to not involve himself with unknown AIs. They have a way of messing with people's heads.
[It was a pleasure working with you, Mr. Hamada] The conversation that happened was only ever heard by Johnson and Hamada, the latter by messages while the former heard it directly in his head.
The AI has seemingly cut off contact, but Hamada would definitely not assume so. Never trust those monsters, is an advice he once got, one he follows by heart.
In fact, he was so much of a fan of the advice that he was planning to clean the mess himself instead of leaving it to the AI's method, the fake Assassin M.
He would never give the mysterious AI so much power, but he would gladly use the power it granted him as it left him a paralyzed Johnson, "My precious friend... Where were we again?"
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Bab 17: Chapter 17: The Impossible Competition I
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Chapter 17: The Impossible Competition I
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He would never give the mysterious AI so much power, but he would gladly use the power it granted him as it left him a paralyzed Johnson, "My precious friend... Where were we again?"
Hamada crouched before the paralyzed Johnson, no longer adorning a calm expression. Instead, a frown was embroiled on his face.
"Even when we run from trouble, trouble finds us, huh?" Hamada shook his head in annoyance, "I hate corporations."
"..." There are some individuals who are unafraid of death, but Johnson isn't one of them, although the clear anger on his face managed to mask his fear.
"Are you mad at the corpos? At a fucking AI? I mean, what did you expect? You didn't follow their instruction precisely." Hamada pointed out.
"Those fucks think themselves gods. If you wanna talk about racism, just speak to some high-functioning AIs... They see us as bugs. Even now, I can speak badly about the AI, but it won't care because it has no feelings, as long as you follow instructions of course," Hamada further explained.
"Enough!! Just get it over with," Johnson seemed to have resigned to his fate.
"No no no, it won't be that easy... I really have to drive the point home. If you hadn't followed instructions, I would be in your place, so thank you, really," Oh, Hamada knows what buttons to push.
"Damn you!! Shut up shut up!!! I'll fucking kill you!!!" Just imagine being so angry that you managed to put out words despite the difficulty of doing so, and being unable to move, just lying there paralyzed.
"Yea... This is a real you, a meathead that gave them the opportunity to exploit our weakness," Hamada may not show it outwardly, but he was mad inside.
He didn't like the circumstances he found himself not one bit, "So go on, knowing you are and always were a failure," And to show his anger, Hamada spit directly at Johnson's face before putting his gun against the latter's head... And pulling the trigger.
"Instruct the Tech teams to clean up the entire building, all electronics need to be scrubbed, especially the server rooms... Tell them that there might be an intruder in our Net," Hamada instructed.
He wasn't in the same ballpark as Johnson whose body was basically under the control of the intruder AI.
Hamada has some room to maneuver. However, he was still unwilling to go against the unknown intruders unless necessary.
Corporations are just that threatening, and are basically monopolies of knowledge and technology, making their AIs vastly superior to all else.
The only other suspect of the attack would be the Maelstroms, thus why Hamada quickly formed a blockade around the Tyger Claws' operation base.
He sealed it off, allowing no one out and no one in. His goons surrounded the base, securing the permitter.
In the end, they did find something, in a building nearby, they found a dead body, one of their own, and nothing else.
They also found that the security cameras, each and every one connected to their Net were cleaned up, leaving no traces behind.
That wasn't the end of it as the Maelstroms got word of what happened quite quickly, leading to conflict throughout Old Japantown.
The already chaotic combat zone became even more chaotic, making the situation messier than it already was.
Word of what happened naturally reached the ears of those interested, and it most definitely reached the ears of the Tyger Claws' higher-ups, upon which they did an investigation of their own.
The investigation was messy and very slow. Nonetheless, it led them to a name, M, a new assassin of the High Table who took the contract for Johnson's life moments before his death.
Mr. M was confirmed to have completed the bounty, a very generous amount of money. He has provided enough evidence to assure himself as the killer of Johnson.
Here comes the problem, however, the High Table of Night City is largely controlled by the city's gangs including the Tyger Claws.
Obviously, they do not have absolute control as the majority of the gangs' members have bounties on them, but very few would dare take such bounties.
The reason is simple, the gangs control the High Table, and they can use it to trace you back, provided that you've claimed the bounty.
There are, however, many killers for hire, most not associated with the High Table, but still use its network to take jobs.
Therefore, it's only natural that they found ways to keep themselves somewhat anonymous.
Of course, for people at the top, if you truly want to find someone, they would be able to find them. They just need to look deeper.
However, the Tyger Claws soon realized that no one would really fully claim the bounty.
In fact, the individual named M never provided a bank account. The money is just sitting there, waiting for him to claim it.
The incident was embroiled with confusion, especially with Hamada working behind the scenes to make sure it stayed that way.
He even provided many clues that point to the 'Fact' that M is part of the Maelstrom, and that their target was infiltrating the Tyger Claws' network.
Hamada certainly knows how to take advantage of such messy scenes as that provided him more support from the headquarters, sending him more goons to fight off the maelstrom.
These events happened in the course of the following week. X, on the other hand, found himself back home by the evening of the incident.
X's home was the roof of the building by the clinic, usually a very cozy place till it starts raining so heavily.
And it was quite cold this evening, no doubt leading to a freezing night. Fortunately, X prepared his corner of the roof enough to give himself some cover and warmth.
Right by his couch was a metallic barrel in which he threw a bunch of trash before lighting it up.
It wasn't really much, but the pieces of plastic and covers over his head and all around made sure the heat stayed inside.
X covered himself with a blanket as he lied down by Joi's side, "I missed doing this, although it's quite tiring."
"What were you doing? You know, before you came to Night City? How can a plan so fascinating come to your mind so easily?" Joi had to wonder.
"What I was before I came here?" X muttered in a frown, "I don't quite remember, but I was good at what I did, whatever that is."
"The plan also wasn't impressive at all. It would be something impossible for me if the opportunity didn't present itself for me, the opportunity in the shape of Johnson coming to the clinic."
"The rest is merely formalities, a plan anyone of average intelligence can come up with, provided you have the necessary knowledge to accomplish it," X apparently didn't think he did anything special.
"That is not what impressed me... What impressed me is how you managed to create a false reality and make everything believe every lie you've fabricated," Joi disagreed.
"Hm... Yeah, I guess that's impressive, something you should easily be able to do, provided a little update to your code," X finally nodded.
"That's the problem... You're comparing yourself to AIs instead of humans, why?" Joi was all over X with her unending curiosity.
"Is it not only natural that you compare yourself to the competition?" X, or rather, the very pure Y wondered.
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