Chapter 187: Exoskeleton

"You actually became an official contractor for the Danger Girls?"

Early in the morning, before Karl had even fully woken up, Blanca's call came through, already filled with complaints.

"You wouldn't take jobs for me, but you turn around and play bodyguard for a bunch of cat-eared, chromed-up detectives?"

"Just a side gig."

Karl rubbed his sleepy eyes, still groggy.

"They threw a fat stack of eddies at me and let me take jobs on my own terms. Why wouldn't I?"

Pausing for a moment, he added:

"I've been working with them for days now. You just heard about it today? That means your intel team only just got the official memo, huh?"

"To be precise, I was still stuck in overtime when someone informed me that the 'legendary mercenary KK' had officially been added to the Danger Girls' roster."

"Still pulling overtime?"

Karl glanced outside, opening his apartment window as the neon-lit morning glow flooded in.

After checking the time, he smirked:

"Isn't it morning already?"

"7:22 AM."

Blanca's voice carried unmistakable exhaustion.

"I've been working for thirty hours straight. I took my last stim injection exactly ten minutes and twenty seconds ago."

"Corporate life, huh?"

Karl shook his head in mock sympathy.

"Glad I never fell for your corpo sales pitch."

"Like your current employment status doesn't involve corpos."

Maybe it was the stress of working too long, but after just a few words with Karl, Blanca felt herself relax— Even her breathing seemed lighter.

"Though, if you had taken my offer back then and joined me, you'd probably still be working overtime right now. No way you'd be sleeping this peacefully."

Karl grinned.

"So? What's a corpo like you doing, calling a lazy merc like me first thing in the morning? Just to whine about my new job? That's not your style."

"Take a guess—when I got the report about you joining the Danger Girls, what do you think came with it?"

Karl thought for a moment, picking up on Blanca's usual game of making him guess the news.

Blanca oversaw Militech's ACPA division— She never outright stated her exact title, but if she was handling ACPA-related affairs, she was definitely high up the chain.

And for someone like her to get a specific report that she would willingly leak to Karl…

"Let me guess—some 'external assets' have arrived in Night City?"

Given the risk of intercepted calls, Karl used coded terms only the two of them understood.

This time, Blanca didn't bother teasing him further.

"Just as you suspected—'external assets' have entered the city."

A fresh batch of ACPA operators.

Karl remembered that particular mission— The one that had nearly gotten him killed. The only reason he survived was because Adam Smasher intervened, saving his target.

That long-running assignment was finally moving forward.

"Did they all arrive together?"

Karl began getting ready for the day, brushing his teeth as he spoke.

"Vanguard."

"Understood."

The city had calmed down—were they sending a team in to test the waters?

"Am I still the target?"

"Your registration as an official contractor for the Danger Girls was personally delivered to me by the intel department."

In other words, no one else below her knew about it.

"Looks like your higher-ups really want combat data on ACPA users. They're even willing to make this kind of sacrifice for it."

Blanca had warned Karl long ago that Militech's brass was obsessed with gathering combat data on exoskeleton-equipped ACPA users.

They needed an excuse to unleash their former trainees against him— And revenge was the perfect pretext.

Even after becoming an official Danger Girls contractor, Militech still hadn't changed their plans.

"Aren't they worried about wasting resources? Just throwing these guys at me?"

"Maybe they think you're not strong enough to handle them?"

Blanca's words made Karl chuckle.

"A squad wearing exoskeletons… completely sold out by their own company— Their movements, tactics, and intel fully handed over to me in advance— And I'm 'not strong enough' to handle them?"

"Quite the arrogance. What if you get blindsided?"

"Arrogance? No."

Karl rinsed his mouth with tap water, the taste slightly bitter.

"I just trust you corpos— You're way better at backstabbing your own than fighting wars."

"You know, Karl, that's not a very nice thing to say."

Blanca's tone held a hint of amusement.

But then, she casually admitted it.

"Still… you're not wrong."

"In the corporate world, you sell me out, I sell you out. If there's enough profit, we climb the ladder.

Stick around long enough, and you become part of the system."

Karl grinned.

"And yet, you wanted me to become a corpo?"

"Not exactly."

Blanca's next words took Karl by surprise.

"Maybe… I just had a personal reason."

"I thought you might be different. That you'd be 'the special one.'"

Karl rolled his eyes.

"You literally just said everyone who joins a corp ends up the same. Now you're calling me 'special'? What kind of corpo speech is that? Trying to stroke my ego?"

He grabbed a bottle of real water, took a sip, and fully woke up.

"For all you know, if I joined, I'd end up just like that former subordinate of yours— Waiting for the right moment to sell you out."

"Maybe."

Blanca's voice was calm—as if she had already considered the possibility.

"But if that happened… I wouldn't be able to find another KK to work for me."

She spoke lightly, but her meaning was crystal clear.

"Anyway— You remember our scheduled dinner, right?"

"Of course. You already paid, after all."

But Karl was more interested in something else.

"What about the intel on these newcomers? When are you sending it over? I'm free now, so I can deal with them immediately.

Do you need a survivor to deliver a message to the others? Or can I eliminate them all?"

Blanca didn't hesitate.

"Head to the delivery point in Little China. The code is set to our agreed time. The package contains the intel."

Then, she added:

"As for the targets—do whatever you want. Just don't destroy the chip in the back of their necks. I still need those for my 'professional relationship' with the research department."

Karl nodded to himself.

"So, I can kill them—Just not in a way that damages a specific 'critical point'?"

Then, he asked the most important question.

"What about the exoskeleton? Can I 'lose' it?"

Blanca's response was immediate.

"That falls under my authority."

Meaning—

It was fair game.

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