Chapter 114: Mercenaries and Blue Eyes

"Maxim, why are you only answering now?"

"My deepest apologies, Section Chief Tanaka! I was caught in the crossfire of a mercenary operation and was knocked unconscious. I just woke up now."

"A mercenary operation?"

At 6 PM, still working overtime at Arasaka Tower, Tanaka frowned at Maxim's response and asked, "Was my son harmed in any way?"

"Your son, Katsuo, was completely unharmed. It seems the mercenaries were only after their target and left without involving anyone else."

"Do you know their identities?"

"Thanks to the surveillance from Tyger Claws in Japantown, two of the three mercenaries had no cyberware to block facial recognition. Their identities have been confirmed. Since they previously took on a company contract, their profiles are recorded in our database."

"How many street mercs haven't done work for the company at some point? That's nothing unusual. Send me the footage."

"Yes, Section Chief Tanaka."

On the other end of the call, Maxim's voice was filled with nervous tension. It was accompanied by the sound of wind, as if he was bowing repeatedly while speaking. Tanaka paid no mind to the display of submission—he had seen far too many people in Arasaka who thought bowing could express loyalty.

The surveillance footage provided by the Tyger Claws was quickly transmitted to Tanaka's personal terminal. Curious about the mercenaries who had almost entangled his son in their work, he immediately opened the file and played the recording.

Raiding a Tyger Claws bar in Japantown to kidnap someone? These guys have guts. Let's see who…

With that thought, Tanaka watched the footage and immediately saw the unmasked faces of Karl and Jack.

That face…

Upon seeing Karl's face, Tanaka raised an eyebrow. He had already heard about this mercenary. The name was spreading fast among the Arasaka operatives in Night City.

After all, this was the same mercenary who had protected Miss Hanako Arasaka and was specifically instructed by her to receive equivalent medical assistance and cyberware compensation. The footage even showed him nearly taking down a military-spec ACPA from Militech in a one-on-one battle.

How could it be him…?

That was Tanaka's first thought, but he quickly dismissed it as ridiculous.

A mercenary is still just a mercenary.

Even if he had saved Miss Hanako Arasaka, gaining temporary favor, he was still just a street dog. Running gigs for a paycheck was nothing unusual.

It really must have been a pure coincidence.

No one was targeting his son. No one was targeting him.

Shortly after receiving Maxim's firsthand report, Tanaka found the same footage circulating in internal Arasaka briefings. Along with it, the final mercenary's identity was confirmed—the one whose face had been obscured by a Kiroshi optical cyberware system.

It was Karl's squadmate, Oliver.

This intelligence, compiled by Arasaka's Counterintelligence Division, did not raise much concern among Night City's corporate executives. A merc job on the streets was too insignificant to warrant attention.

However, this same intelligence was placed on the desk of the only remaining Arasaka family member currently residing in Night City.

"Mercenaries..."

Meanwhile, inside El Coyote Cojo, Karl raised his cup of sweet tea and casually saluted the middle-aged man in a suit who had approached him.

"For me, it's simple," Karl said. "If there's a gig, just tell me. No need for long speeches."

"Bold. No wonder you're the rising star of Night City's mercenaries—KK."

The middle-aged man sitting across from Karl, his blue eyes glowing faintly, smiled before glancing at Oliver and Jack, who were seated beside Karl.

"You three truly stand out as one of the rare, exceptional mercenary teams in Night City."

"Why do you sound so damn weird?"

Jack took a sip of his lager, staring at the blue-eyed man. "No need to butter us up. Just tell us the job. We'll take short-term gigs, but long-term ones? We're already tied up with something else."

"Are you busy with Militech-related affairs?"

The moment those words left the blue-eyed man's mouth, Karl, Jack, and Oliver narrowed their eyes slightly.

"Looks like you know quite a lot."

Karl gave him a long, deep look but ultimately wasn't too bothered by what he had just said.

So what if he knew they were working a long-term gig for Militech? Even if he snitched, the worst-case scenario would be the mission going south. It would hurt their mercenary reputation a bit, and they'd have to refund their advance payment, but nothing major. Besides, the fact that this guy had deliberately mentioned it meant he wasn't planning to rat them out—he was just flexing how much he knew.

Gulp.

Taking a sip of his sweet iced tea, which tasted almost like cold green tea, Karl set down his half-empty can.

"So, since you already know we're busy, I'm guessing you're offering a short-term job that we can still take? If the pay's good, I don't mind. But—"

Before Karl could finish, Oliver cut in for him:

"You gotta pay upfront. If we bust our asses and you ghost us after, we're not getting screwed over for free."

"No need to worry."

The blue-eyed man gave a mysterious smile.

"I'm not here to hire you now. I'm just hoping that after you finish your current job, you'll consider taking a long-term contract from me."

"A reservation?"

Jack raised an eyebrow, partially understanding but still skeptical.

"You wanna lock us in now? You're not worried we might fail this gig and end up dead in Militech's hands?"

"I have faith in your abilities. A mere experimental project in Arasaka's Night City research division shouldn't be too much trouble for professionals like you."

Leaning back into the worn-out leather couch at El Coyote Cojo, the blue-eyed man crossed his hands over his knee, his words dripping with implications.

"A mere experimental project?"

This was a military-grade cyberware test, something Militech itself considered highly classified—yet, to this guy, it was just some minor test in Arasaka's research division?

Big words.

Who the hell was backing this guy?

"For today, let's just say we've been introduced."

The blue-eyed man uncrossed his legs and stood up. He shot one last glance at Karl before heading for the exit.

"When your mission is over, I'll be in touch immediately."

"In touch? You haven't even added my comms."

As Karl watched the man leave, he wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him—but in that last moment, when the man turned his head, Karl thought he saw the glow in his cybernetic blue eyes dim slightly.

Was he using the same Kiroshi eye model as Oliver?

The kind that changes color based on emotions?

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