Leo felt a headache coming on. Major world-shaking events were happening in the Marvel world — and over in Night City… well, things just as important were unfolding there too.
On one side, there was the presidential election.
On the other, the mayoral mission and election.
Both sides were colliding all at once.
And now, a massive problem had emerged: since it was already confirmed that the unstable energy surges were linked to the high-energy concentrated oil, then as the situation escalated, Roxxon would inevitably increase production of the stuff.
If — just if — the so-called unstable energy bursts were the byproduct of producing that high-energy oil…
That would mean Leo's consciousness in any given world would stay there for shorter and shorter periods, becoming less and less controllable!
For example, right now — V was calling him on the phone, but in the other world, his phone was also blowing up with calls!
No matter what bigger conflicts this caused, this round was, after all, a win for the Atlas Corporation.
Somalia was now stable, Africa was standing firm, and in just a few days, the rescue team would pull everyone out safely.
As for the radioactive dust near the mining site, that could be handled easily — have workers wear heavily shielded exoskeletons, or even better, use remote-controlled Tanzanian engineering bots to mine the ore.
And those radioactive wastes?
Not a problem once the SCFR reactor was running.
This reactor, once activated, never required nuclear waste disposal — the waste would remain contained at a low level within the recycling module forever.
While putting on his things to head out, Leo controlled his self in the other world to reach out to Secretary Barnes via the secure line.
[Leo: Mr. Secretary, I want to know where you stand.]
[Barnes: Carter's stance is mine. How is she doing?]
[Leo: Not great. Lost an arm. Severe burns. If it weren't for the Super Soldier Serum, she'd already be dead.]
[Barnes: What the hell are those things?]
[Leo: Some kind of robots powered by a high-energy fuel — one of them self-destructed. Her shield got blown apart too.]
[Barnes: That's impossible.]
[Leo: Nothing's impossible. Howard Stark made that shield — his son made a robot capable of blowing it up.]
[Leo: I'll be direct — I want you to run for president. The United States Army's ships and personnel are still being held by the African Union. You can use that to your advantage.]
Barnes went quiet for a moment before giving an answer Leo didn't expect.
[Barnes: Actually, Roxxon reached out to me too. They also want me to run for president.]
The same goal — becoming president — but two very different paths.
The current president had already served two full terms and had to step down. Roxxon had long since picked its preferred candidate — someone with a solid lead over the opposing party for years.
But now, the rise of Captain Carter had clearly made Roxxon feel uneasy.
This felt a bit like pressure — a move to force Barnes to pick a side, to stop sitting on the fence.
[Barnes: I'm thinking… maybe I can accept their support publicly, then when I'm in the race…]
[Leo: That's too risky for me.]
Leo didn't want to repeat past mistakes — falling into another character stereotype trap.
Barnes wasn't the Winter Soldier anymore. He wasn't the brainwashed assassin who spent decades as a killer. He was a seasoned statesman, someone who'd been in politics for decades.
How could Leo be sure which side he would truly stand on?
[Barnes: Yes, risky for you — but it's the only way everyone can win.]
The plan was simple:
Take Roxxon's backing, then at the last moment, kick them aside, and bring Atlas in as the true ally. That way, Roxxon would lose its excuse of acting recklessly "on behalf of the United States government."
And since most of Roxxon's military assets were tightly bound to the United States military itself, if the president stopped cooperating, Roxxon couldn't just move troops or start wars freely — the odds of open conflict would plummet.
If Leo tried to pick a new candidate from scratch, though… things would get messy.
He had no suitable person at hand. Even with his influence, launching an unprepared candidate at the last minute meant almost no chance of success.
That left him only one option — to compromise with the opposing party and let them put someone forward.
Also a headache.
After all, Roxxon had been laying groundwork for years, while Atlas had only had one year to grow — always the challenger.
After a moment of thought, countless possibilities flashed through Leo's mind before he finally decided to go with Barnes's plan.
The truth was, Leo didn't have many options left — he had to take the risk.
[Leo: All right. You can open negotiations with Wakanda. But I'll still publicly back the other party's candidate.]
[Barnes: Thank you.]
[Leo: But it's not safe for you either. The last president who tried to change policies had a bullet hole clean through his forehead.]
[Barnes: Then it depends on how much support you'll give me. By the way, I like your new electric cars.]
After ending the call, Leo stood by the door, taking a deep breath.
He had always lived between two worlds.
In the Marvel world, the great wave was still building — about to crash down upon a fragile civilization.
In the Cyberpunk world, that wave had already swept over countless times, leaving behind scars and conspiracies buried in the ruins.
In one world, he needed to rally people to build flood defenses.
In the other, he had to carefully gather the scattered bricks and stones of what remained.
And both worlds — he refused to abandon.
In the end, he hoped to raise shining towers in both cities alike.
From this moment, the pressure of operating on two fronts truly began to show.
Sensing Leo's stress, the octopus arm on his waist tugged at his coat and floated up in front of him, wiggling encouragingly.
[Little Octopus: Boss, I'll give you everything I've got! (_)]
Leo chuckled and opened the door.
[Leo: Let's see what new tricks Night City has in store for us.]
[Unstable Energy Surge Imminent]
[Countdown: 48 Hours]
Houston — Roxxon Energy Group Refinery
"You're saying Stark has collapsed from exhaustion?"
Dario stood atop the refinery's massive energy tower, sunglasses glinting in the sun. Beside him hovered a peculiar-looking robot.
[J.A.R.V.I.S.: Yes. As Mr. Stark's intelligent assistant, I'll be carrying out his work in his stead.]
"Interesting." Dario glanced at the robot. "And you're certain this method can boost production?"
[J.A.R.V.I.S.: I am. I've logged every battlefield adjustment made by AI combat units. I believe this energy source still has room for further refinement.]
[J.A.R.V.I.S.: That's also Mr. Stark's assessment.]
"Good." Dario waved toward his engineers, signaling them to begin the test.
The lead engineer nodded and began operating the control console.
As he completed the sequence of unlocks and settings, a bold line of text flashed across the screen:
[Singularity Particle Refinement Experiment Initiated]
[Target Purity: 50%]
[Power Output Increasing…]
[Estimated Purity: 20%]
[Estimated Purity: 30%]
[Estimated Purity: 50%]
Twelve energy towers — each over 80 meters tall — lit up across the refinery at once!
The space at the core of each tower shimmered, as though stained by strange, alien colors that grew brighter and more vivid by the second.
Dario watched the sight, smiling.
"Fifty percent purity — that's the highest refinement rate we've ever achieved. Our engineers believe the theoretical limit of modern materials science is sixty percent, though we haven't tested that yet."
[J.A.R.V.I.S.: This time, we can reach sixty percent.]
"But our scientists also said that only at over ninety-nine percent purity could we possibly draw power directly from the quantum realm… or wherever it comes from."
[J.A.R.V.I.S.: Correct. But current material technology can't support such an experiment. That's why I strongly recommend you look into vibranium as a resource.]
"Funny. Stark said the same thing."
[J.A.R.V.I.S.: Yes. Mr. Stark said the same thing.]
As the strange lights in the sky above grew even more intense, Dario's expression shifted from calm to delight.
The robot wasn't lying — and it wasn't useless either. Its improvements were working.
"Vibranium, huh? I do know a place where there's still a bit left… Consider that my retirement mission."
[Target Purity: 60%]
[Singularity Particle Refinement Explosion Countdown: 48 Hours]