I took a deep breath of the fresh, vibrant air that permeates the Overworld. Indeed, the air between Night City and the Overworld is night and day./pI took a deep breath of the fresh, vibrant air that permeates the Overworld. Indeed, the air between Night City and the Overworld is night and day.
Heh, a pun. What a genius I am.
In any case, with my daily intake of fresh air flowing through my nose, I began sorting out the stacks of papers in my inventory.
Yes, papers. When I first proposed to the board that they'll be using paper to keep records of their activities and using the Net to do the same, many were mind-boggled at the suggestion.
And what saddened me wasn't because using paper was inconvenient for them. No, the board said that papers are expensive and would put a dent in the company's treasury, with climate disasters (yes, climate disasters and not climate change) destroying much of the world's supply of trees.
That, right there, brought me an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction. A reminder of how much the megacorps had a grip on the world. Except for Europe, which is unfortunately also careening downwards if rumors of France and Germany butting heads over control of the EEC and threatening the collapse of the EEC and the EuroDollar as a whole are true, there isn't much of a place where nations ruled.
And nothing symbolizes the near post-apocalyptic world better than Arasaka.
If Minecraft had a time-travel mod, then I would've taken the chance to kill Saburo Arasaka before he could form his company. Alas, I can't do that.
If I wanted to start weakening corporate influence on the world, I needed to start small. And what better way to start a revolution than in Night City: the City of Dreams.
And to do that, I decided to do something that'll have the ability to shake up the corporate world: starting an actual, ethical company.
As much as megacorps dominate the world, except in Europe and mayhaps East Asia, they don't offer much in terms of longevity.
From what I learned studying the numerous mega corporations existing on Earth, many of its employees are either brainwashed to be loyal to the corpo, coerced into becoming a member, or outright kidnapping and torturing them for their loyalty. And since regulations barely existed, which only seemed to exist in Europe, megacorporations are intrinsically connected to people's modern-day life. In turn, these megacorporations can do whatever the fuck they want.
In short, being a corpo means working your ass off 24/7 with no breaks and vacations whatsoever. The fact that healthcare is privatized to hell and back ignites something in me fierce.
Bad enough that Arasaka is synonymous with Japan and Militech with America, but with so many megacorps representing nations, the world turned into a shittier place, culminating when the 4th Corporate War occurred. The 4th CW was so devastating that many of Militech and Arasaka's holdings were nationalized by numerous nations in response to the damage they've done to the world.
In short, megacorps suck ass and don't deserve any pity when one of them eventually collapses on its ass.
That's where my corporation comes in. Named after the gang that seemingly materialized when I helped someone out of their woes the first time I arrived at Megabuilding H10, the company I built initially had a rough start. Mostly, that was my fault as I was busy establishing myself on Night City and gaining enough knowledge on how the world works.
The fact that I did all of the jobs professionally and without fuss seemingly endeared me to the fixers of NC. That, and the fact that I was a 'cleanie' while doing seemed to heighten their appreciation for me. Which was weird enough, but with people that could double jump, leap like a frog, punch like a gorilla, and attack like a mantis? I think it made my achievements more impressive.
Having known most of the fixers in town and sufficiently well-known by then, I set up my farms: both in the Overworld and the Nether. The automatons I've built on the Nether focused on gold-making, having created an over-reaching Piglin gold farm and Blaze farm, while the Overworld catered to foodstuffs.
And while initially, I wasn't able to provide many of the employees under my belt numerous benefits that are commonly seen today, with me having to wait a couple of years to stockpile tons, and I mean tons, of gold to flood the world's economy twice over and having to leave the function of Builders Incorporated to the people who know much on how corporations work than me, by 2075, I was sufficiently prepared to take the mantle of CEO.
Having that much gold also allowed me to excuse where I'd managed to get the seeds, soils, and saplings without explaining that I'd taken them all from the Overworld.
With the resources I've managed to gather over the past four years and the numerous factories I've bought during my time as a Solo, I've turned Builders Incorporated into something that has become NC's ray of light in this shithole of a city.
Buying tons of used-up Thorton trucks and retrofitting them into service trucks was the start, as it was my way of giving back to the people of NC. The fact that I ordered my people to buy their used trucks at double the price was worth it, as the corporation's name spread to the mouths of NC's people. Then, utilizing the people of the megabuilding that gave birth to the company, the Builders - the gang, not the company - served as escorts for the products the warehouses started to produce.
Then, it snowballed from there. Let me tell you, seeing people's faces turn from abject depression and weariness to genuine happiness and joy is one of the most satisfying things to see in one's life. Especially when tasting authentic food for the first in their life. That, right there, showed me that what I was doing was righteous and moral.
Of course, Builders Incorporated continued success earned some enemies. Firstly was the gangs. More specifically, the Maelstrom and Scavengers. The fact that I killed so many of them during my time as a Solo tells you how much I hated the two groups. When I officially became the CEO, I didn't give them much attention: focusing on setting up the company's logistics and production. But then, they decided to attack my convoy. Then it became two. Two became three, and so on.
It didn't matter to me when the products nor the equipment were lost during their attacks. What mattered to me was the lives taken by those two scum groups. So many lives were lost, and for what? Was it because they saw my company as easy pickings? That by attacking my convoys, they could get away with what they've done?
If it wasn't for Lucy calming me down, I would've gone into a blind rage: personally slaughtering them all by my hands. Instead, I calmed down and planned. Now, I knew I could take them all by myself, but I didn't want to do that. If I did that, then what would've been the point of the Builders?
Therefore, with the plans laid out by Lucy and the other leaders of each floor of Megabuilding H10, we've set out to eliminate the Scavs and Maelstrom within Megabuilding H10, and then, expand our operations throughout the Watson district.
The streets run red with Scav and Maelstrom's blood that day. Though the fact that the Maelstroms were able to hide in the aftermath was annoying. What was more annoying was that some of the Scavs managed to hide within the Badlands. And since I haven't expanded much in Santo Domingo and not wanting to gain the wrath of Sixth Street, I relented.
Then, fucking 'Saka ninjas attempted to kill me. Like, what? Are the higher executives in Arasaka Tower high? That they took advantage of my worn-tired body in the aftermath of Tyger Claws's close brush to death indicated that they were indeed planning to assassinate me. Sadly for them, I was built differently.
Literally. Minecraft body for the win.
In response to their naughty behavior, I bombed their checkpoints at Arasaka Waterfront. That month of preparation was worth it, especially since it seemed to remind them of what happened when Arasaka was the target of a 'terrorist'. It still gives me a chuckle when I see Lucius Rhyne on TV speaking of 'capturing the terrorist responsible for attacking Night City's most pedigreed partner.'
Anyways, with Tyger Claws reduced to a fifth of what they're originally supposed to be and allied to me, the Valentinos having formed a partnership with my gang and company, and the Mox in good standing, things have been working out. Especially since Watson had been experiencing an economic restoration.
Random tidbit, but Night City's population in 2075 was about 6.9 million, with a population growth of 1.5 percent per year, which translates to 103,500. Now, with my company's deeds and benefits spread out through the Net and the wider world, Night City's immigration spiked, causing the population to officially hit the seven million mark in the third month of 2076. In 2075, Night City's immigration was at 1 percent, with most of them either from Northern California or Nomads. Now, that spiked to 3 percent, with many Asian migrants littering the streets of Watson.
And as much as Lucius wants to tout Night City's continued economic expansion as being responsible for it, everyone in NC knows who's the real one responsible for it. And with Watson district becoming crowded with immigrants and newly-formed local businesses, Builders Incorporated needed to expand.
And it seems that I'll get the opportunity to expand Builders Incorporated's reach further.
Especially, when one Rick Morton wants to talk to me about something important.
Truly, my work to make this dustball of a world similar to the world I've left behind is stressful.
'I'll definitely need to apologize to Lucy since I'll miss her birthday. I wonder what kind of flower she likes?'
