[TN:two chapters for missing thursday see yall next week]
"First, to draw them out, Santo Domingo needs to host an event. Lots of people, big scene, hang a banner while you're at it.
Didn't you want to be like America, spreading the American spirit?
The community needs confidence right now — so hold an event like this."
"But… for what purpose?"
"You're in the middle of a civil war," Leo said. "Yes, the mercs are the real trouble, but on the surface, this is a civil rebellion — your boys hired mercs to revolt.
Santo Domingo needs to know who the real boss is — who they should pay tribute to, right?"
"Oh, I get it." Morton twirled his finger, realization dawning. "Force them to show themselves. But will they?"
They probably will.
Leo figured that while it looked like internal strife, it was very likely that the mercs wanted to take over, or were boosting the influence of some puppet master behind the scenes.
Controlling gangs meant controlling the locals, which made smuggling and shipments much easier.
For example, if Militech had good relations with the 6th Street Gang, they could sell products everywhere through them. Other corps weren't worse, but if the 6th Street boys messed with rivals' sales, costs would skyrocket.
If the extra costs ate up the profit margin, you might as well not sell at all.
Since they planned to start with gangs, they couldn't possibly ignore an event like this. It was the most hardcore and common marketing tactic in a cyberpunk world.
Corp wars happened under the same logic: break your rival's back so no one dares or can buy from them — that's monopoly.
Suppressing the arrogance of the 6th Street Gang's event was a good way to go about it.
The people of Santo Domingo were poor and uneducated. Ask them to compare brands and they wouldn't know how — but they sure feared whoever looked more intimidating.
This was basically using yourself as bait. If it backfired, it was goodbye. If he had a choice, Morton wouldn't do this, but Leo was calling the shots.
Leo wouldn't drag this into a drawn-out fight — danger aside, it was better to hold the initiative.
Of course, to force the enemy out, there was one condition: you also needed enough supplies to keep people's lives going.
Leo added, "They'll come out, but before that, you need to get the 6th Street Gang's business running again. Otherwise, at best, they'll pretend to listen to you."
Morton rubbed his cybernetic leg, lost in thought.
He hated to admit it, but he agreed with Leo's logic.
First priority was stabilizing the rednecks — after all, he was the one being challenged, so holding the ground always came first.
"...Fine. I'll go with your plan. But one thing — since when did you start running a business?"
Leo took out a chip containing a list of goods he could supply.
"Been around long enough — it's normal to have some channels."
Morton was half skeptical.
He knew Leo had good ties with the Nomads — partly because of that Biotechnica tower job, where they helped the Nomads and got cover in return.
Afterward, they hid out in the Badlands for a while, but he didn't know how they made it back.
And rumors said Burger King had shown up in Watson Industrial Zone...
Hm?
Very possible. Otherwise, why did Brick reject his weapons offer?
Had Burger King found an arms supply line? Gotten in bed with Militech?
Thinking too much wouldn't help. Morton looked over the list and was startled.
[Fresh Plasma: Whole blood, fresh, all types available.]
[Order: €4500/bag, 1 month lead time, urgent orders negotiable.]
Plasma? He gave Leo a suspicious look: What's this, doing business with Scavengers?
6th Street wasn't squeaky clean, but Scavs were the main enemy in their "protect the community" mission.
Didn't look like it — he read on.
[Iron Beetle Drone: Military-grade core control and power system, equipped with in-house 5.7mm smart weapon.]
[Order: Limited capacity, €8000/unit, ammo sold separately.]
"This drone…"
"Same one I used this afternoon."
"Bro, honestly, Militech hasn't been giving me stock lately. Always raising prices. Pfft."
Leo smiled and nodded.
He wasn't the one who cut the supply, but he played a big part.
Supplying goods had to be profitable. A lot of Militech drones had disappeared on the border, and with 6th Street half dead, they naturally reevaluated the value of their low-tier drone distributors.
Looking closer, Morton nodded slightly. "Workmanship's rough but cheap enough. Not bad."
He kept reading — the practicality of these goods was shockingly good, to the point he could hardly believe it.
In medical supplies, besides synthetic plasma, Leo also sold biliverdin made from lizard serum and a full range of first-generation cyberware — even custom options.
Outdated, sure, but the poor of Santo Domingo could only afford this stuff anyway — so it wasn't a problem.
He knew Leo had two lieutenants dealing weapons and probably knew good ripperdocs too, but didn't expect such a complete product line!
All in all, there was plenty they could sell.
At the very least, cheap cyberware and medical supplies wouldn't require dealing with Scavs.
Leo continued: "I also have arms dealers, meat suppliers, and car guys. If you want armored vehicles, I've got a channel — brand new Mackinaw gun pickups."
"I've got my own mod shop — but Mackinaws are nice. Can I get them cheaper?"
"Sure. Not just Mackinaws — everything on the list can be a bit cheaper."
Morton froze — didn't reply right away, just waited for Leo's terms.
Leo's mechanical hand placed a small case on the table.
In the previous Watson job, Jefferson had transferred him a huge sum.
A flow of over a million eddies was massive — Europe Bank immediately flooded him with financial management spam.
He didn't know how that mayoral candidate wired it so fast, but Leo had been mulling over how to stash it safely.
The first concern was secrecy: the accounts Leo used were ones given by the Padre when he first arrived in Night City.
They were spread across six numbers, all registered in the European Banking Union, and showed only the total in his cyberware HUD — the money was mostly laundered.
But in this cyberpunk world, Leo didn't trust online laundering to be all that secure.
In Night City, almost no one got caught for illicit transfers and laundering.
Europe Bank didn't care about faraway crime — they tolerated it, as long as everyone used eddies.
It all boiled down to costs: they wouldn't waste resources tackling Night City's crime. They just wanted currency circulation.
But as Leo's affairs grew bigger, the bank could one day flip on him for any reason — that would be bad.
He wanted an alternative to eddies transactions — riskier than laundering, but better to lay the groundwork early.
Inside the case was an invention that seemed insignificant in the global tech chain:
The graphene battery Doc Oct used in his tentacles. Leo had already standardized its production in the Marvel world.
He took out a battery, about the size of an old small smartphone, easily pocketable.
With 500Wh/kg, even palm-sized, it could store 1 kWh and be reused many times.
Its tough physical structure made it hard to damage — a perfect power storage unit.
The cyberpunk world had similar high-density power gear, but it was mostly military and only seen in expensive corp facilities.
But in the Marvel world, these batteries were mass-produced using cross-dimensional manufacturing, which meant equivalent surplus production here, too.
Leo held up a battery and explained to the puzzled Morton: "I call this an energy wallet. Each stores 10 kWh.
If you can fully charge it and deliver it to a designated drop-off, I'll pay you equivalent to current electricity rates.
If you hit a certain volume, I'll even add a small bonus on top."
"Replacing eddies with batteries? Why? Just because cash burns your hands? My money's clean as can be — you don't have to worry." Morton didn't get it.
In this world, what could replace money?
His money-centric brain couldn't comprehend it.
Leo didn't plan to explain.
"Just say yes or no."
Electricity could always be used for production — whether generated by fuel, methanol, or a reactor, it was all the same.
He'd lose a bit in the short term, but Europe Bank would never be able to pin down Leo's network with just one financial system. Tracking him would get much harder, and their risk assessments would skew wildly.
Plus, Leo had deeper plans for this system — ideas he'd run out of time to finish in his previous life.
Morton thought for a moment. "Fine. It won't be easy, but I've got plenty I can charge up."
"Good. I'll have more empty batteries sent your way — and we'll hand some out to locals at the event."
"…" Morton suddenly paused. "Wait a sec — I feel like this was your real reason for making me throw the event in the first place?"
"Just your imagination." Leo shook his head. "Hurry up and prep. Stay in touch. Also, that merc — I'm taking him."
"Sure. I'll get the boys now. No point dragging this out. Let's do a shooting contest the night after tomorrow.
To celebrate… celebrate what? How about celebrating that dumbass Gunner death?"
"Whatever you want."
Not bothering with Morton's event planning, Leo headed back to the Red shirt Camp to rework his gear.
With stronger weapons hitting the streets, he needed an upgrade, too.