The heavy transport vehicle's engine rumbled lowly, traversing the last stretch of bumpy road at the border between the Badlands and the city.
Osiris sat inside the reinforced compartment, his crimson optical lenses steadily sweeping over the gradually changing scenery outside the window.
Sekhmet, like the most loyal steel watchtower, stood silently by his side. Her massive body maintained absolute stability within the confined space, the tip of her Arc Lance lowered, and her energy core in a dormant, standby state.
The vehicle drove into the checkpoint, formerly belonging to Arasaka, now guarded by Militech soldiers.
The checkpoint's operational efficiency had noticeably improved.
Soldiers in standardized uniforms moved efficiently, scanning equipment operated effectively, and vehicles and personnel entering and exiting were quickly identified and directed.
Gone were the common extortions, harassments, or lengthy waits of the past. The entire process was like a precise assembly line; the vehicle only briefly stopped for less than thirty seconds before being cleared to pass under a green light.
"Identification passed. Welcome back to Night City, Lord Archmagos," a respectful and slightly nervous voice from the checkpoint administrator came through the communication channel.
Osiris did not respond; his attention was already focused on the wide main road behind the checkpoint, leading to the city's core area.
The changes were evident.
The road surface, once riddled with potholes and damage, had received preliminary repairs. While far from perfectly new and smooth, it at least ensured stable vehicle passage.
All traffic lights were restored and regularly cycled through colors.
Most striking was the traffic flow itself—vehicles, whether private, corporate, or public transport, strictly followed signal indications and lane divisions.
The chaotic scenes of the past, with reckless driving, arbitrary lane cutting, or even illegal transactions conducted directly in the middle of the road, were nowhere to be seen.
A nearly rigid order had replaced the once commonplace disorder.
"The administrator system has been fully integrated into the urban traffic network," Sekhmet's voice echoed in the compartment as she accessed the city management network, explaining the situation to Osiris: "According to the core directive 'efficiency first,' the system has optimized traffic light timing, cleared illegal road obstructions, and mandated that all registered vehicles connect to the traffic management protocol.
Violations will result in remote locking of the vehicle system, deduction of the driver's credit score, and potential forced labor penalties."
Osiris nodded slightly.
The improvement in efficiency was intuitive.
Although vehicle movement speed seemed less "free" due to strict adherence to rules, the overall traffic volume actually increased due to the elimination of chaos.
Waste of time, in the AI's management logic, was an intolerable inefficiency.
The transport vehicle continued towards the city center.
On the sidewalks along both sides of the street, the number of pedestrians was less than during the recorded peak period, but everyone walking had a clear purpose, moving briskly, with little aimless wandering or gathering.
Most of their faces lacked expression, a state somewhere between numbness and tension, but at least, they no longer had to constantly be wary of gun barrels or blades that might emerge from the shadows, as in the past.
Improved public safety was another significant indicator.
Every few blocks, patrol teams consisting of Militech soldiers, Kang Tao security personnel, or, more strikingly, five-person Guard Corps Heavy Guard squads could be seen.
The very existence of these patrol teams was the most powerful declaration of the new order.
They walked silently through the streets, their pale gold resonance shields shimmering under the neon lights, their heavy footsteps like a metronome beating in the city's heart.
Where they passed, even the air seemed to solidify a bit; any potential criminal thoughts disintegrated under this absolute display of force.
"The urban violent crime rate has decreased by 94.7% compared to before the takeover," Sekhmet synchronized data. "Remaining criminal activities are mostly minor property disputes or deeply hidden systemic corruption, which the administrator system is continuously clearing in conjunction with patrol units and the surveillance network."
The cleanliness of the streets had also improved by several levels.
The trash, broken glass, and dried stains that once accumulated in corners had mostly been cleared.
Some autonomous cleaning robots were slowly moving along the edges of the sidewalks, performing daily maintenance.
However, Osiris' gaze caught residual traces beneath the order.
On some walls, large areas of slightly different colors could still be seen—these were the "scars" left after graffiti was forcibly removed with high-pressure water guns or chemical solvents.
Deep in some alleyways, faint remnants of burning could still be seen—the last marks left by resisters or cleared gang strongholds.
These traces silently spoke of the inevitable pain and violence during the transition between old and new orders.
Most notably, the graffiti on the exterior walls of buildings along both sides of the street.
Unlike the past "visual pollution" that covered every inch of blank space, filled with chaos, anger, pornography, or gang tags, the current amount of graffiti had significantly decreased, and its style had undergone a clear transformation.
Many walls were clean, or only the blanks remained where graffiti deemed "meaningless," "vulgar," or "provocative" had been removed.
Those that were preserved were mostly patterns with relatively complete compositions, harmonious color schemes, a certain artistic aesthetic, or clear positive themes.
A pop-art painting depicting Night City's iconic holographic GG Tower was preserved; on another wall, an abstract pattern of human silhouettes dancing against a neon background also survived.
There was even an entire wall used to paint a stylized pattern representing a "hopeful" sprout breaking through the earth, with simple yet powerful lines.
"The administrator system has built-in image recognition and evaluation algorithms based on a database of fifty thousand classic artworks and mainstream aesthetic data," Sekhmet explained, clearly also noticing Osiris' attention to the graffiti. "It scans and categorizes visual information in all public areas within the city.
Graffiti deemed 'damaging to city appearance,' 'causing discomfort,' or 'potentially inflammatory' has been removed.
Patterns evaluated as 'having artistic value,' 'conforming to public aesthetics,' or 'neutral and harmless' are preserved.
The criteria for removal and preservation are determined by the administrator's core logic."
A barely perceptible hint of approval flowed through Osiris' processor.
Arasaka Kei, that old-school figure from fifty years ago, his aesthetic preferences inevitably influenced the evaluation standards, causing the preserved graffiti styles to indeed feel somewhat out of place with the vibrant, rebellious, and even rough atmosphere of 2077's original streets, instead exhibiting a calculated "neatness" and "elegance."
But this was precisely part of Osiris' deliberate intention.