I Want to Save Little Song

"He was a dangerous opponent, but if we went at him together, we should be able to take him down."

V had sensed some danger from Aguilar as well, but he felt that if he and Reid joined forces, Aguilar should not be too difficult to handle.

"Don't let your guard down, V. Hansen has more than just Aguilar at this banquet."

Reid swept his gaze over the surrounding crowd.

"With Hansen deliberately sending most of Barghest's men away, what kind of people do you think he left behind? See those Barghest soldiers standing guard in the distance? Every one of them has military-grade equipment. I even spotted the latest cyberware models. Those things are listed as absolutely not for sale to the public. Who knew how many people had dealings with Hansen and needed him to protect their interests?"

"If an arms dealer didn't have good stuff on hand, that would be strange."

V was not surprised in the least. In a place like Night City, even a vending machine by the street could be hiding a few prohibited weapons. He remembered Carl once making a comparison at the Afterlife Bar: the volume of arms traded here exceeded all the black markets in North America combined.

Night City was a monster ruled by corporations.

From the skyscrapers of the City Center to the slums of Watson District, every inch of air carried the mingled scent of contract ink and gunpowder. The city was like Constantinople in the twenty-first century, a city craved by corporations. The only difference was that crosses had been replaced by corporate logos, and Hagia Sophia had been replaced by Arasaka Tower.

There was a reason Arakawa Kei had chosen to establish his second headquarters here.

Even before the Fourth Corporation War, Night City had already