Chapter 100: The Airport

Chapter 100: The Airport

Even from tens of thousands of kilometers away, Lucius kept a smile plastered on his face and spoke to Li Ang in a friendly tone.

There was no choice; after all, LA Corporation's influence in Night City was growing rapidly, threatening to surpass even Arasaka and potentially becoming the leading megacorporation in the city.

And Lucius, the mayor of Night City, could be described kindly as a political figure, or more bluntly, as a high-ranking servant to the executives of these megacorporations.

Even as mayor, Lucius found himself constrained and had to play the role of a sycophant, currying favor with powerful figures like Li Ang from the top companies.

"Mr. Mayor, my call isn't about any landmark building," Li Ang said directly.

In truth, Li Ang couldn't care less about LA Corporation's landmark building. That structure was nothing more than a fancy decoration—a display of the company's presence in Night City.

But true prominence wasn't built through decoration; it was earned through hard power. Without popular support or actual strength, it would be no different than Arasaka Tower—first bombed by Militech, then blown up by Johnny Silverhand.

Although Arasaka Tower had been rebuilt, who could say it wouldn't get attacked again someday?

If Arasaka had space-based weapons on the Moon, they could simply drop meteors on Militech instead of worrying about nuclear strikes.

In the end, strength is the only real face of a corporation.

"So, what is it you'd like to discuss this time?"

After dealing with LA Corporation for so long, Lucius had grown wary of Li Ang's inscrutable thoughts, as he rarely managed to guess the man's intentions.

This disadvantage in negotiations and exchanges often put Lucius at a loss. For a brief moment, he even wondered if Li Ang was about to request land for factories, given LA Corporation's recent weapons deal with New America.

"I'll let you take a guess first—where do you think I am right now?" Li Ang chuckled, deliberately teasing Lucius.

"I heard you and your employees boarded a Hermes Aviation flight to the Crystal Palace. Li Ang, I envy your lifestyle!"

Lucius touched his slightly swollen face, feeling neither jealousy of lovers nor envy of immortals but only of these corporate tycoons.

Unlike these wealthy individuals, Lucius was stuck in his office, stressed and overwhelmed with work year-round, barely able to afford a trip to the Crystal Palace himself.

"You're right. I'm on the Hermes right now. The reason for my call is related to aviation aircraft."

Li Ang's response was unexpected. Lucius had assumed the conversation would center around the weapons deal but was caught off guard when it turned out to be about aviation aircraft instead.

"Mr. Li Ang… Is LA Corporation planning to build an aviation manufacturing plant?"

After seeing the cutting-edge Ronin Titan from LA Corporation, nothing surprised Lucius anymore. Building an aircraft seemed well within Li Ang's capabilities.

Moreover, LA Corporation wasn't the only megacorporation aiming to expand into space. Arasaka, Petrochem, and even Biotechnica had developed their unique aerospace technologies.

However, compared to these potential competitors, the European Space Agency's Orbital Aviation Company scoffed at them all, calling their offerings subpar.

Orbital Aviation's dominance stemmed from its near-total control of Africa, home to the world's best rocket launch sites. Many African regions lie directly on the equator, allowing rockets or geostationary satellites to utilize Earth's rotation for additional acceleration, saving considerable fuel.

In other words, each Orbital Aviation launch cost millions of euros less in resources than those of its competitors.

With such an advantage, Orbital Aviation held an unshakable lead in the space race.

"You're close. I plan to acquire the abandoned airport and turn it into an aviation aircraft base for LA Corporation," Li Ang stated, cutting to the chase. His strategic direction was clear—expanding into outer space.

"You want to revive the airport?!"

Lucius's voice carried genuine shock. The airport was one of Night City's many unfinished megaprojects. It had been a joint venture between Orbital Aviation and the Yoru Corporation.

Orbital Aviation had hoped to leverage the airport to strengthen its foothold in Night City, just as LA Corporation had become a megacorporation through kinetic energy and advanced weaponry.

Meanwhile, Yoru Corporation aimed to extend its influence into outer space, lest it fall behind Arasaka, Militech, and other megacorporations.

But events didn't go as planned.

Midway through construction, Yoru Corporation abruptly shifted its focus to artificial intelligence and the development of Night City's subway system. The half-finished airport was left abandoned, becoming a haven for drifters and gang activity.

Feeling betrayed, Orbital Aviation refused to foot the bill for continued construction while Yoru Corporation sat back and reaped half the benefits.

After prolonged negotiations yielded no resolution, Orbital Aviation angrily put its airport rights up for sale at a steep discount. Yoru Corporation, uninterested, chose to ignore the matter entirely.

It was evident that Yoru Corporation had given up on its space ambitions, preferring to burn bridges with the European Space Agency and anger Orbital Aviation rather than invest further in the airport.

This opened the door for Li Ang to step in.

"Indeed. I've already reached an agreement with Orbital Aviation. They're willing to sell the airport rights entirely to LA Corporation. As a shareholder in Trauma Team, they even gave me a 20% discount."

Li Ang chuckled as he spoke, clearly amused by Orbital Aviation's desperation after being duped by Yoru Corporation.

If they had known Night City was riddled with abandoned projects, they would've spent their funds building another launch site in equatorial Africa instead.

"Mr. Li Ang, I must remind you that reviving the airport will require a significant investment. And do you know why Yoru Corporation abandoned it despite the stakes?"

As mayor of Night City, Lucius had access to insider knowledge that even many corporate executives lacked.

(Show your support and read more chapters on my Patreon: p@treon.com/psychopet. Thank you for your support!)