Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 665, Section 79: The Client
"So, on her first day at work, Miss Mashi skipped work to hang out with us old classmates and our contact?"

Carl leaned against the iconic neon lights of the Rebirth Bar, watching Mashi, who had come with him and David in Delaman's car. The newcomer was staring wide-eyed at this mercenary holy land, her fingers unconsciously tracing the dents left by bullet holes on the bar. As soon as he finished speaking, he was immediately met with a huffy glare from Mashi.

“It’s not like I skipped work!” She pointed her index finger back and forth between David and Carl. “If you don’t believe me, ask David. Today was just the interview and going through the onboarding process. The company still needs final approval, and I won’t officially start working until tomorrow.”

David smiled apologetically, his school uniform tie swaying slightly as he turned his head. "The school did teach this. I thought you, Carl, did too."

"Hey!" Carl pretended to pinch David on the back of the neck. "Are you mocking me for dropping out of school?"

For the three who had all attended Arasaka Academy, today was indeed a bit like a class reunion. Their seating arrangement, since they had informed Claire beforehand that they didn't need to be greeted, didn't attract much attention at this lunchtime. After all, as the saying goes, in the afterlife, there is never a shortage of famous middlemen and mercenaries, so it's not surprising to see anyone. Only the newbies who see Rogue or KK for the first time will be surprised; everyone else is already used to it.

"Actually, I hadn't been thinking about joining the company before, so I didn't tell you, Carl."

As David spoke, he noticed a figure approaching them. Looking up, he realized the person looked very familiar.

"Hey, why is David with you today? And the women in the team have changed too. What, did you find the bug too fond of talking about philosophy and found a chattering little magpie instead?"

The old captain naturally plopped down next to David, holding a bottle of not-so-good wine and gesturing to Carl.

"It is you."

When Carl saw that it was the old captain, a subtle look of disgust appeared on his face: "Can't you see that there are a few people sitting here chatting happily? Why are you coming over? You don't want me to do that crazy driving job for you again, do you? You should leave that job to Oliver, that damn Santo Domingo driver."

In addition to his job as a middleman, the old captain also worked part-time, or rather, his original profession, in selling cars and 'used' vehicles. He often posted jobs that required mercenaries to drive cars and smuggled vehicles.
But Oliver was the only one in the team who often did that kind of work. For this Santo Domingo kid, driving was a pleasure in itself, and the life-or-death speed and wild racing that inevitably occurred when doing this kind of work was a reward. He was happy to do it even if the pay was low.

Hearing Karl complain about this right off the bat, the old captain waved his hand and said, "What are you talking about? Everyone knows that even when you, KK, are racing, you sit in the back and watch your teammates race, and then you just have a deadpan expression on your face."

"Ok?"

"Just kidding, just kidding. Anyway, I'm definitely not coming here to give you that kind of work."

While the old captain was chatting with Karl, his gaze swept over Mashi three or four times. In his line of sight, he had already sized up the girl who appeared next to Karl, dressed as a student from Arasaka Academy and wearing an identification tag.

This girl in the standard uniform of Arasaka Academy was too unusual. The identification badge she wore on her chest was not an ordinary holographic badge, but a high-level version of Arasaka badge with a quantum encryption chip embedded in it—the old captain had only seen a similar style on a few corporate executives.

The seemingly ordinary clip-on earrings on the girl's earlobes revealed intricate circuit patterns under the magnification of her prosthetic eyes. The old captain recognized them—they were biomonitors developed by the Biotechnology Institute, fetching up to 500,000 euros a pair on the black market. The red string on her wrist was even more outrageous; the woven rope contained nanoscale nerve conduction fibers, Arasaka's latest emergency data transmission line. What intrigued the old captain most were her eyes. Beneath the seemingly ordinary amber irises lay a dynamic hexagonal honeycomb structure, displaying extremely subtle color transitions as the light changed—these were definitely custom-made; an ordinary mercenary couldn't afford a single lens even after a lifetime of saving.

The girl's azure blue hair was so smooth that it didn't seem to have been exposed to the acid rain of Night City. The ends of her hair were even tinged with the nano-fluorescent particles unique to expensive biological care dyes. Not to mention her original skin, which showed no signs of cybernetic modification. Under the dim green lights of the Rebirth Bar, it was dazzlingly white, without even a basic subcutaneous armor implant.

The old captain took a swig of wine to hide his surprise. Where did Karl pick up this living, breathing Arasaka young lady? The girl's entire outfit could probably be used to buy any of the latest luxury cars on the market. For someone in the know, seeing this young lady is like seeing Euros walking around.

If KK and David hadn't been there, this young lady would probably have been targeted by a bunch of idiots who hadn't been around long as soon as she stepped out. As for why they were idiots who hadn't been around long, it's because anyone who understands a thing or two and has survived on the streets for so long would know that this young lady was definitely not someone they could mess with.

"Who is this"

As the old captain sized up Maki, Maki was also sizing up the old captain. After blinking, she seemed to understand something.

“Wait, could it be that Karl…” She poked Karl with her index finger, the fabric of her school uniform cuffs gleaming with the movement, “is the middleman?”

The old captain immediately made an exaggerated bow in his chair: "It's an honor to serve you, Miss." The slick tone in his voice switched so naturally, as if the middleman who had just spoken to Karl was just an illusion.

“If you encounter any troubles,” the old captain said, pulling out a business card, “whether you want to give a annoying colleague a little ‘surprise’ with their car,” he glanced meaningfully at Maki’s Arasaka badge, “or you’ve got your eye on a limited edition Herrera, I’ll make sure you’re satisfied.”

Mashi was amused by the exaggerated performance: "Unfortunately, I don't happen to be short of Herrera thugs."

“Hey, hey,” David couldn’t help but interject, “You’re being way too blatant with your business expansion! The apartment you found for me last time didn’t even have hot water!”

The old captain glanced at David without changing his expression: "Dear customer, we generally refer to orders under five thousand euros as 'charity projects'."

He said meaningfully, "With such a small amount of money, it's difficult for me to do anything for you, David."

"Damn, all middlemen are the same."

As David gave the middle finger, Carl spoke up: "Alright, stop joking around, old captain."

He smiled slightly: "So, is there something you need to talk to me about?"

(End of this chapter)