Mercer expressed great respect: "Yes, Colonel Hansen."
Hansen nodded and exchanged a smile with him; it seemed the two were genuinely bonding through adversity, and their relationship was progressing swiftly.
Without wasting words, Mercer hurriedly left as soon as the meeting ended.
Hansen was even busier; he couldn't bother with some hesitant Netherworld Dogs and swiftly organized his team to methodically restart Dog Town's smuggling network.
Once everything was arranged, after confirming contacts with clients and buyers, and putting the blame for the lockdown on Arasaka, Hansen immediately reached out to the Cubans.
As soon as the call connected, a slightly Spanish-accented male voice coldly said, "Surprising you're still alive?"
"Sorry, there have been some issues in Dog Town," Hansen maintained a very humble attitude toward the man on the other end.
"Listen, I don't care what's going on over there, but whether it's you Hansen as the boss, or Mercer as the boss, or any damn fool as the boss, I just demand don't screw things up for me again!
Do you know how much cargo is stuck? The week's delay here has cost us a fortune!"
The man bluntly reprimanded him, while Hansen continued in a gentle and humble tone: "I'm very sorry, sir, it's Arasaka..."
"Ha, wasn't it that V guy?" A cold laugh came from the other end.
But Hansen calmly replied, "Although it was V who acted, the real cause of all this is still Arasaka; in fact, Arasaka was already secretly contacting me before V acted.
However, I have no interest in working with Arasaka.
Now, I've reached a consensus with Mercer, and moving forward, the two of us will form a unified front, ensuring Dog Town won't stall again, jointly pushing Dog Town towards further prosperity, although Arasaka's threat still exists.
These guys are not only targeting Mercer, the tech expert, but also our operations in Dog Town.
You know, this place has always been coveted by both Arasaka and Military Science; previously, Arasaka didn't act because they weren't ready. Now I hear Arasaka Yoshinobu has personally come to Night City to oversee...
Arasaka probably already realizes the importance of Dog Town to Night City; whoever controls it first essentially holds the advantage in deploying heavy artillery and city defenses. If war breaks out again, Dog Town will be the key location for frontline operations."
The voice on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, probably pondering, and finally just said flatly, "What do you need?"
"I need Aguilar to issue a warning to Arasaka, letting them think twice. Dog Town isn't a place they can just mess around with.
Sir, you should understand, only someone like you can make Arasaka somewhat restrained, at least not interfere with our business... Wouldn't you say?"
After Hansen finished speaking, the other end was silent momentarily, then the voice coldly responded, "Alright, I'll find someone to send out a warning signal. If Arasaka doesn't want an extra ally for Military Science, they'd better not target Dog Town.
However, due to your inefficiency, your dividend for this quarter will be reduced by twenty percent."
The Cuban influence spreads across the entire North America; in the Cyberpunk world, there's no mention of a Cuban crisis, rather North America becoming Cuba's backyard.
Even if the Cuba Crime Group isn't an official force, the reality is that in the relatively chaotic Cuba, it's these criminals controlling the majority of wealth and power, along with their protectors, who are the actual leaders of Cuba.
While Arasaka and Military Science clash on the North American Continent, they certainly don't want to offend the Cubans, because even if the company itself doesn't fear such a rival, if this rival sides with their enemy...
That would be immensely disadvantageous.
Facing the Cuban threat to his dividends, Hansen negotiates arduously.
Ultimately, citing major losses suffered by the Netherworld Dog, and pledging that he'll continue to expand Dog Town's trade volume and market share, the penalty was reduced to ten percent.
Don't underestimate that ten percent cut, given Dog Town's trade volume, even that percentage has to be calculated in millions of euros, not a small amount at all.
After finalizing matters with the Cubans, Hansen rubbed his head in dissatisfaction, but as soon as he hung up, he promptly sent a message to Mercer.
[Hansen: The expected response from the Cubans arrived, but we'll face a ten percent dividend cut this quarter.]
[Mercer: Well done. Quickly get the business running, I'll rapidly produce a batch of armor to fulfill orders, bringing back funds. We need more robots, drones, Armored Warriors.
I'll make some thrilling PPTs for you to bring to investors, you must quickly reel in those wealthy people to fund me. Our current cash flow isn't very healthy, and my research can't halt.
Also, remember to rapidly organize personnel for the secret excavation of the Little Beidou Facility.]
[Hansen: Understood, boss! Any other directives?]
[Mercer: Steady public sentiment, throw the blame onto Arasaka, while simultaneously optimizing the internal structure of the Netherworld Dog. We don't need those riffraff now; with enough productivity, at this stage, robots are far more reliable than humans.