Chapter 45: You Will Be the Legend of Night City!

Chapter 45: You Will Be the Legend of Night City!

When the crowd learned of Li Ang's true intentions, they didn't immediately erupt in argument but instead quickly calculated the potential benefits of his proposal in private.

Trauma Team's security personnel were mostly elite operatives recruited from within the Arasaka Corporation, their weapons sourced from various firearms manufacturers, and their AVs (aerial vehicles) temporarily supplied by Militech.

These expenses consumed a significant portion of Trauma Team's annual budget. If all these needs could be unified under a single provider, it might indeed be more cost-effective.

Of course, this was only feasible on the premise that service quality remained impeccable. Falling for a cheap but subpar deal wasn't something Trauma Team executives, being some of the shrewdest individuals around, would entertain.

"We can agree to the supply of weapons, AVs, and even the leasing of biochips, but as for mercenary contracts... we'll decide on that later based on circumstances," said Nadia, after carefully weighing the pros and cons. For now, her company didn't lack security personnel—at least not yet.

Li Ang didn't argue further, accepting Nadia's compromise. He knew full well that once Trauma Team adopted LA Corporation's biochips and AVs, they would inevitably require a large influx of security personnel. By then, it wouldn't be up to her.

Li Ang's biochip was designed to detect even minor anomalies in a client's vital signs and immediately trigger emergency rescue protocols. Even something as trivial as a scraped hand or minor injury could summon a Trauma Team response.

Though this would waste medical resources, such was the reality of the cyberpunk world—a realm where excess resources were lavishly showered upon the privileged elite.

It wasn't unusual for Trauma Team to ignore the dying poor on the ground while rushing a wealthy client with a scraped arm into an AV.

To companies, poverty itself was the original sin.

"Excellent, Mr. Li Ang. It seems we've reached a consensus today. Here's to a fruitful collaboration," said Nadia La, reaching out to shake Li Ang's hand.

But Li Ang's next words froze her expression.

"I'm not here as a partner but as a prospective shareholder in Trauma Team. I need a 30% stake in the company before I'll agree to collaborate."

The moment those words dropped, the entire room of executives felt as if a thunderbolt had struck them. Li Ang wasn't here to negotiate business—he was here to rob them!

"What? Are you f**king insane?!"

Knapp was livid, nearly leaping to his feet. If not for the cyber-enhanced muscleman Maine standing behind Li Ang, Knapp would've rushed forward to grab him by the collar.

Such an outrageous demand was utterly unacceptable.

Trauma Team's shareholder distribution was practically a reflection of the various European consortiums' power dynamics, with only about 10% of the shares being discretionary.

Amid the varied reactions from the Trauma Team executives, Li Ang remained unfazed. Snatching food from a tiger's mouth was always a dangerous and audacious gamble, but he wasn't afraid.

Trauma Team had always adopted a relatively passive approach to conflicts. They wouldn't resort to the relentless, bloodthirsty measures of companies like Militech or Arasaka, which often led to drawn-out corporate wars.

Why go to war and burn through money when you could just focus on earning it?

"I'm running out of patience. If you don't want me as a shareholder in Trauma Team, I'll take my business to Arasaka's board instead," Li Ang declared.

His words made it abundantly clear—Trauma Team had two choices: ally with him and share in the spoils or become an eternal adversary.

"You f**king...!" Knapp was enraged but utterly helpless against Li Ang.

In this negotiation, Li Ang held the upper hand from the start. Knapp had tried to suppress him by leveraging Trauma Team's deep-rooted background and reputation, but Li Ang wasn't intimidated.

Meanwhile, Nadia's mind was racing. She understood that her superiors would never allow an alliance between Arasaka and LA Corporation, two powerful Far Eastern megacorporations.

If Li Ang wanted to join Trauma Team, she would have to find a way to meet his terms.

"Mr. Li Ang, I can currently offer you 5% of Trauma Team's shares. I'll then request our higher-ups to dilute an additional 5% for you, giving you a total of 10%. Will that suffice?"

As the CEO of Trauma Team's Night City branch, Nadia held a 5% share herself. But today, she was prepared to hand over all of it to Li Ang.

What she valued wasn't just gaining an ally but eliminating a potentially formidable rival.

Seeing Nadia's willingness to compromise, Li Ang gave her a way out. "Fine, it's a bit less than I wanted, but I assure you, working with me will leave you grinning ear to ear with profit."

Hearing this, Nadia La finally let out a sigh of relief. This Chinese executive was the toughest negotiator she'd ever encountered, and she had feared he might storm off if talks broke down.

Though the Trauma Team executives looked as if they'd swallowed something foul, Li Ang wasn't worried about any underhanded moves against him. Once Trauma Team's emergency services revenue soared, these profit-hungry old-timers would naturally relish the influx of cash.

For a company focused solely on making money and avoiding conflict, an alliance built on mutual profit was unbreakable.

Soon, Li Ang officially entered into a deep partnership with Trauma Team. LA Corporation's weapons, AVs, and biochips would now be supplied to Trauma Team.

Furthermore, lower-end AV technology would be partially licensed to Trauma Team for maintenance and operational training.

In return, Li Ang secured 10% of Trauma Team's shares, 30% of its emergency service profits, and an annual product lease payment of €2 billion!

This single deal not only netted Li Ang the funds needed to rebuild Watson District but also gained LA Corporation a powerful ally in Trauma Team.

The battles between megacorporations often relied not only on military strength but also on the quality of their allies. The one with the strongest network often prevailed.

Make as many friends as possible. Minimize the number of enemies.

As LA Corporation continued to expand, Li Ang knew that conflicts with Militech, Arasaka, and other major corporations were inevitable.

Securing an ally as formidable as Trauma Team now would greatly benefit LA Corporation's future growth, giving it more time to rise.

"Mr. Li Ang, you are destined to become a legend in Night City," Nadia said, shaking Li Ang's hand before he boarded his AV. She didn't hold back her admiration.

Though she had lost the company shares she had spent half her life earning, meeting such a bold and visionary figure made it worthwhile.

More importantly, Nadia believed the cooperative relationship between Trauma Team and LA Corporation would yield far greater rewards than the mere 5% of shares she gave up.