"Long time no see, V."
Seeing V walk in and dismiss the agent, Luoqi's face broke into a smile.
It's good to have an acquaintance, things will be easier.
"You don't seem surprised that it's me?"
"I just asked the agent's department and guessed it might be you."
"Luoqi, sorry, I really didn't expect to meet you in this way, in this place. I didn't know you were involved in this matter, otherwise we could have talked somewhere more comfortable, like having a drink at a bar or something."
V sat across from Luoqi and first expressed his apology.
Speaking of which, Luoqi had helped him, and they were half-friends. Bringing a friend to Arasaka Tower definitely didn't sit right.
"It's fine, this place is pretty good. It's my first time here, I guess I'm seeing the world." Luoqi didn't seem to mind.
"It's good that you understand. Let's talk about the main business, this matter is very important to me as well. The serum produced by Ascension Technology is very useful to Arasaka, and Arasaka needs to know the information about this company. I just saw in the report that you were helping them promote and deliver. Can you tell me about them? Don't worry, as long as you tell us the information, we will give you a generous reward, and I can apply to the higher-ups to protect you from retaliation by Ascension Technology."
As expected, the treatment for an acquaintance was different. As soon as V arrived, he showed Luoqi his sincerity.
Seeing V get straight to the point, Luoqi stopped talking and said.
"The serum? Of course I know what this stuff means to Arasaka, and it's not just Arasaka, Military Technology, Biotechnology, Trauma Team International, all the big corporations will covet it."
V listened to Luoqi's words, a bit unable to figure out what he meant.
Was he planning to make exorbitant demands? But even so, V didn't care, since Arasaka was paying anyway.
While V was still wondering, Luoqi continued.
"You want to know information about Ascension Technology, but honestly, I can't tell you."
"What do you mean?"
"Because this company doesn't exist at all, I am Ascension Technology." Luoqi said something that shocked V.
"You mean the serum is produced by you?"
V was startled for a moment, not immediately denying Luoqi, V just raised a question.
And Luoqi nodded and gave the answer.
"That's right. The serum, including the stimulants sold before, are all produced by me. Ascension Technology is just a packaging, there's no such thing as a company."
V fell silent. Although he was a bit skeptical about the truth of the matter, he didn't think Luoqi would lie to him.
Without discussing whether the serum was actually produced by Luoqi, V raised a new question.
"Then I have a question. Since you have mastered the production of the serum, why choose to sell it in underground clinics instead of handing the formula over to corporations? This way, whether you sell the formula directly or authorize production, you would earn much more than you do now."
In V's view, as long as Luoqi sold the formula to a corporation, he would get countless money, so why choose to take the risk of selling the serum?
But Luoqi shook his head. V's idea was completely detached from reality. From a corporate perspective, from the perspective of an upper-class person, it was indeed like that.
Authorizing the production formula to large corporations can indeed yield good profits. Biotechnology authorizing the production of CHOOH2 to petrochemical companies and making a fortune is the best example.
But from the perspective of an ordinary person, it's definitely not like this.
Luoqi had no background support. If corporations truly gained control of the production, Luoqi believed they would be more willing to make him disappear than to give him a large sum of money.
Because for them, it was simply too easy.
"For me, this is impossible. Only I can produce this serum, and I will absolutely not hand over the formula, not even to Arasaka. I can sell you the serum, but the formula, no way."
Luoqi clearly stated his attitude, not to mention the implications of corporations gaining control of the serum production.
In fact, there is no such thing as a 'formula' for the serum now. That stuff can only be produced using Luoqi's crafting table. Even if you use the same ingredients, without the crafting table, all you get is a puddle of waste water.
That's why Luoqi dared to calmly negotiate terms with Arasaka here, because only he can produce the serum now. If he dies, the serum will be gone.
As for whether Arasaka would discover his secret and snatch the crafting table? Sorry, his system is a module system. If it can be installed, it can naturally be uninstalled.
V's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing Luoqi's words. According to him, he intended to keep production firmly in his hands.
"Okay, in that case, we can talk about cooperation for the serum supply. Arasaka needs a stable, large supply. Can you do that by yourself now?"
V thought for a moment and decided to take a step back. He didn't want to make things difficult for Luoqi.
Although this wouldn't achieve the result Arasaka wanted most, they would still get the serum, which wasn't the worst outcome, and V could barely report back.
But what made V uncomfortable was that Luoqi shook his head again.
"It's very difficult. With just my strength now, it's hard to produce a large batch of serum. And I don't think Arasaka would trust a mercenary who could run away at any time to provide them with stable serum support."
Luoqi stated his thoughts, and V also nodded.
"What are you planning to do then? You know that if there isn't a good result, Arasaka won't just stop there."
"I plan to make Ascension Technology a reality. Once Ascension Technology develops, it can not only provide you with large quantities of serum, but also cooperate with Arasaka as a company, and then I believe you won't have so many concerns. However, currently I'm alone, and to achieve this goal I still need a little support, support from Arasaka."
Luoqi stated his plan under V's surprised gaze.
This was something Luoqi had prepared long ago. To truly develop, he couldn't keep messing around with underground clinics.
Establishing a company was inevitable, but why didn't Luoqi choose to register a company and release products at the beginning, but instead just used the company name for packaging?
The fundamental reason was that he had no backing. A new enterprise with no background in Night City, surrounded by wolves, was like a weak lamb, ready to be divided and eaten by those big corporations at any time.
In this world, there are no more stories of starting from scratch and breaking through social strata. There are no miracles in Night City.
So Luoqi was accumulating his chips while waiting for an opportunity, waiting for a chance to exchange his chips for living space, just like now.
The impact of the serum did bring him danger, but wasn't this also an opportunity?
Spreading the serum throughout Night City and letting all corporations see the effect was far more convincing than foolishly taking the serum and approaching those corporations. It also let them know that they weren't the only ones eyeing this serum.
Originally, because of Lucy, Luoqi didn't really want to target Arasaka.
But unfortunately, what Luoqi knew best was Arasaka, and V's connection within Arasaka being able to help him was too appealing. Giving up these advantages and refusing to cooperate with Arasaka was truly irrational.
Moreover, cooperating with Arasaka would give him a chance to meet Arasaka Yorinobu, that traitor, in the future.
If he had the help of this crown prince, the difficulty for Luoqi to achieve his goal would definitely be reduced several times over.
Of course, the premise is that he can fool Arasaka Yorinobu into believing he shares the same goals, and at the same time make him believe that he won't become the second Arasaka Saburo.
Sometimes, borrowing the strength of an enemy is unavoidable. Luoqi had no burden about this at all; he only hoped that Lucy could also understand him.
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