As long as Lier died, all the losses he had caused to Saburo Arasaka's plans could be made up for.
Arasaka Corporation's brainwashing plan left Saburo Arasaka almost completely exposed. On the surface, he supported Holt, opposed Jefferson, and wanted to get rid of the disobedient Ryan. In secret, however, he already knew everything about it.
Since he knew everything about the plan and everything about Jefferson, he could simply arrange for a Ninja to kill Jefferson with Soulkiller after his public failure. That way, Arasaka Corporation would think they had won, only to discover one day in the future that the situation had changed dramatically.
And if Lier had chosen to bow down and become an "officially recognized" leader, leaving Ryan to fend for himself, then what followed would certainly have led to a situation where Arasaka won no matter what. For Arasaka, it would have been nothing more than the difference between a small victory and a big one.
So Arasaka hadn't cared about him at all-until he did something the world thought was insane:
Kidnap Jefferson and attack Ryan!
That way, Arasaka Corporation was inexplicably dealt a blow, and the outcome also greatly exceeded everyone's expectations:
Ryan survived, Jefferson broke free of Arasaka Corporation's control, and the two joined forces to become the leaders of an independent Night City. A large number of Night City's local gangs were absorbed into the NCPD, and high-end products began appearing on the market in large quantities.
None of the corporations could accept it, because they had all suffered losses amid this series of upheavals. Arasaka had suffered the greatest losses of all. Things had gone from a situation where they could win no matter what to one that was truly beyond their control.
But if Lier died,
everything could be