Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System

Chapter 707: Blocked.

Another day arrived. Though it felt like any other, Dante couldn’t help but feel that something was off. The feeling that he was forgetting something got stronger as he went about his routine, but, as usual, he failed to glean any insight into what I was.

Doing his best not to think about it, returned to the Red Oni Club where he found the white-haired hero waiting for him. Merry had another photo shoot today, so instead of the radiant ball of sunshine that accompanied him the other day, Wolf brought along the eclipse that spread darkness wherever it went.

For someone called White Arrow, the bastard was as gloomy as they could get. To make things worse, he kept staring at Dante as if he had killed his parents. Dante had to go through his list and confirm that he didn’t actually do it.

From the very start, it had been clear that the heroes were there to observe him, but now, it became even more obvious. Dante didn’t mind the werewolf, since he enjoyed their sparring sessions, and Sunshine was Sunshine. He wouldn’t have complained about their small team leader either, but he felt that it was impossible to get along with the last member.

Thankfully, Dante had a meeting scheduled that day, so he used it as an excuse to avoid spending time with that guy.

Glenn showed up that day to discuss business. As Volcan continues to amass more and more wealth through stock trading, they were looking to acquire shares in a few companies. Of course, that was going to be easier said than done.

"I can say with certainty now," Glenn said. "We’re definitely being blocked."

They were playing a game, and from the looks of it, their movements were being read. Someone managed to see through them and was doing his best to sabotage their efforts, greatly hampering their progress.

"Any idea who they are?" Dante asked.

"I doubt it’s a singular entity," Glenn said. "Most likely, it’s a coalition that noticed your sudden rise and is trying to keep you under control."

As if he didn’t have enough trouble as is.

"Is Gaia involved?"

The question brought confusion to Glenn’s brows, then his face went pale as his eyes shot wide open.

"Don’t tell me..."

"Don’t think too much about it." Dante interrupted him. "What can we do about this problem?"

"Not much," Glenn replied. "We can’t buy if no one is selling."

This was a matter of connections more than it was a matter of wealth. The bastards at the top were a tight-knit group. If one of them had a problem with him, they could just give the others in his circle a call and make it so they would hold on to their shares. Usually, it was a strategy they used among themselves in case they wanted to sabotage one of their own, but now, they were trying to block Dante from getting what he wanted.

"So... what do we do now?" Glenn asked.

"I will take care of it. Don’t worry." Dante said.

Just because he had been doing things by the book didn’t mean that he would keep going on the same path. At the end of the day, he was the leader of a criminal organization, and since his opponents decided to play dirty, he was happy to do the same.

"There is one more thing." Just as their meeting seemed like it was about to reach its end, Glenn passed his tablet to Dante. "Someone is trying to acquire the majority of the real estate here in Hollowgrid."

Something about that sounded familiar, and when Dante looked at the papers, his face twisted in a grimace.

"You got to be kidding me..."

Hollowgrid’s sale had been the source of many a problem for him since last year. It had led to his fight against Riot, among other troublesome encounters. Dante had meant to deal with it once and for all at one point, but he had far more urgent problems to deal with.

"Apparently, the property value had dropped quite a bit since..."

"Since I keep getting attacked..."

The bounty Riot placed on his head once, the war against Black Skull, the assassins sent by the human traffickers whose business he ruined. As more and more EI incidents happened in the district, it was inevitable that the value of property would drop. Unlike New City and the City Center, Hollowgrid was a residential district for the common folk. Rent money was the only way to profit from it, so if people were afraid to live there, the value it could provide dropped drastically.

"The fuckers won, I guess..."

Dante had worked to prevent this from happening, but he still failed in the end. He even played a part in his own defeat this time, which left him exceedingly bitter.

In a way, it didn’t matter who owned the properties in the area. Inferno was the true ruler of the district, and if they wanted, they could ensure that it remained a hellhole that could never generate any revenue, turning it into a losing investment. Whether it thrives or not relied on the buyer’s willingness to work alongside them, but Dante had an inkling that they weren’t very good team players.

Remembering the smug lawyer who visited him a while back, Dante decided that he should do something about this matter just to step on the joy of the rich bastard trying to win by using him.

"Listen," Looking up as his lawyer/Consultant, Dante went over his plans. "Here is what we will do."

~[ ]~

Things had been a lot simpler when his enemies only sent assassins and bounty hunters after him. Now, Dante had to fight battles on the business front if he wanted to secure the funds for his plans. His need for money should have ended by the time he had enough to pay Suzuka, but the expenses kept showing, and he had trouble remembering why things were getting this complicated.

After spending some time thinking about his next move, he decided to drop by the Triple Jackpot to discuss the matter with his fixer.