Dalton understood now. No wonder Horizon Corporation dared to raid the Sixth Street Gang's hideout like they were revolting, and Intelligence Bureau agents appeared in Dog Town multiple times—it was all done with Miles's consent and support.

That damned old woman.

"... I understand."

Dalton bowed his head slightly, then exited the presidential office, not forgetting to close the door behind him before leaving.

Bang!

The pen fell on the table, and Miles's face, which had been lightly smiling, turned gloomy as rain after Dalton left.

Military technology has been interfering more and more in the affairs of the New American government.

This is all the aftermath of the Unified War failing to achieve total success. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Elizabeth Criss incorporated military technology into national enterprises, rebuilding the New American government's credit system, but also entangled the two sides in an inseparable state.

Many executives from Military Technology have taken up positions in government agencies, giving military technology unlimited policy support—tax exemptions, suppressing competitors, eliminating dissidents, imposing high tariffs on competing products, and substantial military orders...

Miles launched the Unified War to reclaim lost ground and rebuild the United States, but also aimed to expand government power through wartime presidency, to remove the infiltrations of Military Technology from the government.

The result was naturally thwarted under internal and external pressure.

It even led to the debacle caused by Li De's operatives from the Intelligence Bureau; after signing a ceasefire agreement, they killed the captain of the aircraft carrier, forcing Miles to sell his valuable asset Li De to Huang Ban.

Right and wrong, who can say for sure?

But it's not all bad news. The Black Wall reconstruction project by the mockingbirds achieved significant results after gaining experimental data from Little Beidou, and it may allow New America to control the Black Wall through Song Zhaomei in the future.

At this point, Miles felt much better.

Yet the root of the problem remains unresolved—Horizon Corporation has rekindled its ambition for military technology.

The current president of Military Technology, Lucas, has approached her multiple times, seeking to monopolize the entire U.S. drinking water market with Horizon Corporation's water purification technology, and then raise prices for huge profits.

But Miles refused.

Because the premise of this approach is to eliminate Horizon Corporation's low-cost water.

Miles isn't some great altruist serving the public, but she will never agree to something that greatly aids military technology.

Now the U.S. government and military technology are hindering each other—neither wants the other to advance first.

"Light industry... Water purification... Centralized hydroponics... Anti-drug... Taiping Continent..."

Miles took out a stack of documents, detailing everything Horizon Corporation and Lin Miao have done in the past six months.

Both Military Technology and New America have profited greatly from this; Huang Ban suffered consecutive blows; numerous positions and low-cost drinking water were continuously produced. If integrated into the government's jurisdiction, it would greatly enhance the recognition of the current United States by its people, and the stains of Hansen and Little Beidou in Night City would disappear. If there's any downside, it's the disappearance of Intelligence Bureau's ace Li De, leaving only the agents Lin Miao returned along with their guns as evidence.

Especially that phrase MAGA, it's not an exaggeration to say Lin Miao is New America's good minister—a young, ambitious, and capable individual.

But now military technology can no longer restrain its covetous gaze on Horizon Corporation.

She must do something.

Otherwise, this company, which might rival military technology in the future and sustain New America, could be swallowed by military technology soon. By then, the New American government could become just a puppet drained by military technology—this is not what Miles wishes to see.

——————

Havana.

A historically significant yet not-so-important place.

East of the Caribbean Sea, south of Haiti and Jamaica, west of the Gulf of Mexico, and north of the resourceful Florida.

The U.S.-Soviet Missile Crisis occurred here, the only socialist country east of the Pacific once.

Its most famous exports, besides a few leaders of its past, are cigars, rum, and its advanced sugar industry. Otherwise, it remains almost invisible internationally, rarely seen in the news.

Of course, that's Cuba from those in power, while the Cuba he's in now is most famous, aside from cigars, for drugs and the Latin America-wide beauty contest held each quarter, with many champions from Cuba and Columbia.

Here, time seems to have stopped in 1980.

As the capital of Cuba, Havana is more dilapidated beyond the core area than an eighteenth-tier small city.

The houses along the streets are filled with a decaying atmosphere, their colored wall paint corroded by the sea breeze, covered in patchwork, occasionally peeling with a gust of wind. Every balcony boasts hanging clothes and bedding, occasionally you'll see older folks basking in the sun on rocking chairs, appearing calm and comfortable.

The roads are dominated by hundred-year-old vintage cars, their Syrian war-damaged version engine sounds make people doubt they could break down any moment, yet they keep tottering forward, no one knowing how far they can go.

There's no neon sky or projection ads here, no hovercars frequently flying over your rooftop, only occasionally visible exposed mechanical prosthetics to remind you that you're in the year 2076, not 1976's Cuba.