I know that perhaps some people might worry that a young guy like me with little experience might not be trustworthy—but I will prove with facts that the Netherworld Dog of today is already more trustworthy than it was in the past.
The Netherworld Dog of the future will be even better than it is now.
One day, I will make Dog Town the most prosperous core area of Taiping Prefecture, and Taiping Prefecture will once again become the bustling new district that Night City envisions."
Mercer's words carried significant weight, and upon hearing them, many interested parties' expressions changed slightly.
"Mr. Mercer means... to align the main business of Dog Town with more mainstream commercial directions?"
An emotionless European tycoon asked.
Mercer immediately countered, "Of course not. Dog Town's success today relies on the global support of our European friends and our Cuban friends.
What I mean to say is that at its core, Dog Town today is just a transit point for material movement on the North American Continent.
But my goal is to build Dog Town into the most important logistics hub on the North American Continent in the future—I want to open more routes, build larger warehouses, handle more goods, and deliver our products to the world with higher efficiency."
When this was said, many people's expressions finally relaxed, but there were also some whose expressions became less pleasant.
Among them was the director of the NCPD and several members of Night City Hall.
Maintaining his composure, Mercer continued, "But considering the prospects for future development, I believe that besides maintaining and further expanding our current operations, other business activities should also be emphasized."
Saying this, Mercer turned and pointed behind the stage—behind the banquet hall stage was a huge open-air platform, from which one could clearly see Dog Town's somewhat dilapidated building complexes, and in the distance, beyond the high walls, the buildings belonging to Taiping Prefecture.
"Taiping Prefecture was once a land of hopeful prospects, with countless companies coming here to develop tourism and vacation projects, even the Gem Cyan Hotel we're in now, is such a project.
But because of war, the Haitians, and gang issues, this land ultimately lost hope.
Essentially, in my view, the reason for everything is because everyone believes this land is no longer safe and could be devastated by war at any moment...
But in my opinion, there is still much potential here."
Looking at the investors, Mercer smiled and said, "I believe you've all seen the changes in Dog Town—we have better, more comprehensive security conditions, and the security environment has improved significantly thanks to the efforts of the Netherworld Dog.
In the future, what I intend to do is further optimize the commercial environment of Dog Town, ultimately making it the first commercial center to revive in Taiping Prefecture."
Mercer briefly touched on the topic and did not delve deeper into it, merely throwing out a lead, leaving both opponents and supporters to come to him.
But his goal was clear.
Mercer does not plan to relocate—right here, in Dog Town, he aims to transform this place into Night City's new core business district, surpassing Corporate Plaza.
Perhaps it seems like a pipe dream now, but Mercer sees great potential in it.
Completely detaching from Night City might be difficult, but operating Dog Town, and even Taiping Prefecture as a Night City economic special zone is not a far-fetched idea.
Currently, Taiping Prefecture has numerous unfinished buildings, some of which have been abandoned by developers who went bankrupt due to failed projects, but a significant portion still has actual ownership held by wealthy individuals and companies.
They just can't see the potential for continued development and profit at the moment, believing the risk of constructing in Taiping Prefecture is too high, so they choose to let these buildings and commercial plans stagnate, intending to wait for the situation to stabilize before proceeding with redevelopment and commercial activities.
Originally, Taiping Prefecture was envisioned by many investors as a 'Crystal Palace on Earth' to be developed and constructed.
According to the original plan, Taiping Prefecture would have had a large number of vacation facilities, amusement parks, luxury hotels, luxury casinos, luxury nightclubs, spas, resorts, a stadium...
If everything had gone according to plan, this place would undoubtedly have become the best vacation destination on the North American Continent, the most prosperous new commercial center of Night City!
Unfortunately, all these had to be halted due to the impact of New America's unification war, and because everyone generally believes that New America will eventually reignite the flames of war, and Taiping Prefecture and Dog Town are the front lines of the war.
So, even fewer people are willing to spend money to be taken advantage of—what if the war breaks out again, won't everything built be wasted? Even if it's not destroyed, if New America occupies this place, it will be a bad debt.
Everyone knows that New America's modus operandi is quite domineering, and in commerce, they can act like hooligans if it suits them.
And if Night City loses its independence, this naturally advantageous commercial environment would cease to exist.
But Mercer has a different idea.
What kind of businessman would stop doing business because they fear war?
It's just that they think the development cost is too high, the payback time too long, and they have to risk losing everything to the flames of war, which doesn't seem worth it.