Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 662, Section 76: Combat Squad
Carl and Mashi's playful bickering didn't last long, because Carl remembered another person he had come to see that day.

“Speaking of which,” Carl looked around at the interview booths where interviews were taking place, “Mashi, have you seen David? He should be here today for the direct recruitment event for outstanding graduates.”

“David, huh?” Ma Xi recalled the young man she had seen at a party at Carl’s house.

She knew about David's other identity as a mercenary, and the two would occasionally nod to each other when they met on campus. The classmate who always shyly avoided her gaze when selling Mewtwo at school had indeed left a special impression on her.

“He just went to the innermost interview room.” Mashi pointed to the corner at the far end. “The interviewer seemed very satisfied with his performance, so he kept him there for quite a while.”

"Satisfied?" Carl raised an eyebrow slightly. Although the interview duration and success rate are not directly proportional, the extended time did suggest a certain possibility.

Carl walked over there, and as soon as he got there, he saw the door open and David come out.

Carl's gaze immediately passed over David and went to the room David had come out of.

It was a space so simple it was almost eerie. Under the pale light, the arrangement of the living room-like room was deliberately plain: a faded fabric sofa, a glass coffee table with a supermarket logo, and even tacky landscape paintings on the walls. In the deepest part of the room, the holographic projection equipment had just been turned off, and the virtual image of the interviewer had dissipated like smoke, leaving only a flashing red indicator light on the metal base, a chair without body temperature, and a desktop without any signs of use. The entire space was like a carefully constructed stage set, and now that the actors had left, its artificial nature was exposed.

Judging from the setting, it's clear that David's background was investigated beforehand, and a rather traditional family home was prepared for him.

"Karl?"

David had just stepped out the door when he saw Carl standing in front of him, his gaze passing over him. He paused for a moment, then realized what was happening: "You've come to watch my interview?"

"almost."

Carl did come to see David's interview, but he also came to see another friend's interview at the same time.

"How did it go?" He put one hand in his pocket, his gaze following the automatically closing sensor door to David. "I heard the interviewer really liked you and kept you talking for a long time?"

David unconsciously rubbed his knuckles, the fibers of his disassembled jacket making a soft rustling sound as he shrugged. "What else can we talk about? Family background checks, loyalty questionnaires, the 'accidental' discovery of my mother's debt records at the prosthetic clinic." He chuckled coldly. "That's exactly what I used to imagine the company to be: all-knowing, down to the smallest detail."

"So, what about his mercenary status?" Karl raised an eyebrow.

“It was much more casual than I expected.” David frowned, seemingly finding it odd himself. “The documents they had showed that I did some street work as a ‘part-time’ job while I was in school, but they just mentioned it casually and moved on without delving into it. They didn’t take as long to ask me about that as they did about ‘what kind of Mewtwo I like.’” He shrugged. “I thought someone with that background would at least be interrogated for half an hour.”

Carl scoffed, his gaze sweeping over the security camera in the corner of the room. "Every company employs street mercenaries. Even current employees receive invitations to illegal jobs. Someone like you, a 'part-timer,' probably wouldn't even warrant a few extra lines in their file." He paused, then turned to Ma Xi, who was nodding to David. "Is there a break room around here? It's a rare opportunity for us to come all this way. Ma Xi, you're officially a employee now, we can't just stand here talking forever."

“There are staff lounges a few floors up, but this floor has space.” After nodding and greeting David, Ma Xi thought for a moment and then led Carl and David to the interview room she had just been in: “This room is fine, I’ll make you some coffee.”

As she spoke, she ran to the coffee machine and got busy, while Carl simply gestured for David to sit on the sofa in the room, and then sat down opposite him.

"So, what position did the company offer you?" Carl tapped his fingers lightly on the coffee table, the wood making a dull sound. "Combat Squad."

David said, "I originally thought it would be a research department or something, but it seems they think my combat skills are more useful than the knowledge I learned in the academy, so they offered me this position. I get three days of paid annual leave a year, and one day of personal leave every month. I work from 8 am to 8 pm, and my monthly salary is 120,000 euros."

"120,000 euros?"

This figure is not low for a newly hired employee. You know, a mercenary with a certain level of skill who takes on jobs in the afterlife can only earn this much a month if he is not very lucky. For a mercenary who hustles on the streets and begs for money from middlemen, 100,000 euros is a salary that can only be earned by working hard and risking his life for a month. David's status as an outstanding graduate of Arasaka Academy has clearly come in handy for getting a job like this right away.

"The salary isn't low, and you only need to work twelve hours a day, plus three days of paid annual leave and even one day of personal leave each month."

Karl inexplicably felt that the treatment Arasaka was giving him this time was comparable to the treatment he received in the world's black factories. Such treatment would have been considered extremely unfair in the past, but in this day and age, it was definitely a blessing.

"Such excellent treatment shows that the interviewer really thought highly of you."

Carl then gave his final assessment.

"Yes, if it were before, I think I would have been happy to accept this treatment, except for the potential danger. But now..."

David shook his head: "No matter how good the offer is, it can't tempt me anymore, so I only accepted the contract and plan to take it back to show my mom. As for signing it, I'll pass; the timing is too conflicting. This isn't like going to school."

While studying at Arasaka Academy, David still had time to do part-time work. However, if he became a full-time employee of the combat squad, David's mercenary career would obviously be over. Compared to becoming a corporate employee, David longed to be a mercenary.

"That's true. After all, if you become part of a combat squad, you might end up under Adam Hammer and have to take orders from that guy."

As Carl spoke, he suddenly remembered something.

Wait a moment.

Combat squad?

Does this word sound familiar?

"It may not be following the instructions of the security manager."

While Karl was still thinking, Mashi brought over coffee and said, "I think V's position is captain."

(End of this chapter)