Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 673, Section 87: Higher Up?
Carl leaned against the wall of the dimly lit alley, his fingertips fumbling in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a box of slightly crumpled chocolate bars. He took a bite, the sweet cocoa flavor spreading across his tongue as he mechanically crushed the crunchy biscuit layers between his teeth. Occasionally, flashes of car headlights would appear at the alley entrance, but his phone screen remained completely black—the hacker's response came later than he had expected.

Only when the entire box of chocolate bars was empty did the device in my palm suddenly vibrate, a fluorescent blue light piercing my pupils, and the information box slicing through the night like a blade:

[Blocked Number]

Please forgive my abrupt contact, but I had to repeatedly confirm that those backdoor programs buried in the data sludge, originally intended to catch a few small fish, ended up dragging a deep-sea giant like you, legendary mercenary KK, on ​​their first trigger. I really didn't expect that you would be the one to receive this message; you're so lucky.

Lucky?

Carl stared at the abrupt word on the screen, his knuckles clicking crisply on the virtual keyboard. He deliberately paused each keystroke for two seconds, as if counting down for some unseen opponent.

"Since we're meeting for the first time, I think we should get to know each other." The cursor blinked at the end of his message, like a dagger poised to strike. "You know who I am, so I should know who you are, right?"

The reply came quickly, suspiciously quickly: "I'm very sorry." The words seemed to tremble slightly in the chat box, "Please forgive me for not being able to reveal my identity at this time. Revealing my identity now might..." A meaningful ellipsis, "...might cause me to encounter some unexpected things. I cannot tell you who I am until we have established more trust."

"Can't tell me who I am?" Karl suddenly laughed.

He hovered his finger over the delete key for three seconds, then decided to end the conversation with the shortest sentence: "Then I think we don't need to talk anymore, you coward."

The chat box suddenly started shaking violently. The other party clearly hadn't expected KK to suddenly decide to end the conversation, and a long string of text flooded in like a burst dam: "Wait! I really didn't mean to hide the truth! It's just that... because of some special matters." A certain word was repeatedly deleted and rewritten, "That's why I had to hide my identity. Please believe me, Mr. KK, I swear I sincerely wanted to get to know you!"

The other person's words carried an almost pleading urgency, as if every punctuation mark was trembling. Karl stared at the screen, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table, the rhythm slow and cold, as if counting down the conversation.

"Are you sincerely trying to hide your identity so people will get to know me?" he murmured, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Then I feel like I don't deserve such an honor."

The moment he pressed the send button, he leaned back against the alley wall, the cold light from the monitor reflecting on his face, outlining his sharp features. Karl had originally thought that someone who could hide information behind a firewall, someone who could conceal and bury information, would be an interesting person—perhaps a top hacker, or a desperate outlaw who possessed some dangerous intelligence and was risking everything.

But now it seems that the other party is nothing more than a timid shadow, unable to even be honest.

“A bit boring,” he said softly, as if delivering a final verdict on the conversation.

Seemingly sensing that the next sentence would be the last, the other party hesitated for nearly ten seconds before finally sending a message, as if having made up their mind.

“I really cannot tell you my true identity, Mr. KK, but I can tell you that I am a person close to the president, and I have some intelligence or information that you might find interesting, Mr. KK. I hope you will give me a chance to explain.”

A person close to the president?
When Carl saw this word, his initial boredom suddenly turned into interest.

Carl's target for the intelligence he obtained this time was clearly the anti-presidential faction within New America or military technology. However, the person who set up the firewall and planted the seeds of sabotage was someone close to the president, which was quite intriguing. Was this person a spy planted by the president among the anti-presidential faction, or a spy planted by the anti-presidential faction among the president, or perhaps both—a double agent? This very speculation piqued Carl's interest.

"You can tell me the information that interests me."

Carl texted: "If your intelligence is indeed valuable enough to interest me, then we can continue our discussion."

Carl's message had a judgmental tone, appearing condescending.

After all, he wasn't asking for help, nor was he the kind of person who desperately needed information from the other party. The only connection between them was that the other party had planted a hidden program in the firewall, which he happened to crack. Since the other party had taken the initiative to come to him, what was wrong with him being in a superior position?

Carl had to be wary of this guy who was hiding his identity. If he were to be subservient to him, he would be falling into his trap.

The other party clearly understood Karl's attitude and did not delay any longer with the only piece of information that allowed them to maintain contact. He quickly sent a message that piqued Karl's interest.

“I have intelligence that Hansen of Dogtown is working with some people in Washington to take care of the president when he comes to Night City.”

Hansen is planning to work with people in Washington to get rid of the president?

Karl had to admit that he was indeed interested in this intelligence.

Meanwhile, Karl also mentally divided the mysterious person into factions.

Although this mysterious person is close to the president, he doesn't seem to be loyal to the president. Otherwise, he wouldn't have told me this information as if it were about to happen and would have informed the president earlier. Moreover, he obviously doesn't have any loyalty to the anti-presidential faction either, otherwise this information leak would be fatal.

In other words, is he a force operating in the gap between the presidential and anti-presidential factions?
He revealed this information to me and insisted on staying in touch.
It seems this person's power is very weak; is he just trying to survive in the cracks?
In just a few words, Karl had a general understanding of the mysterious man's situation and realized that he did indeed need his help.

Carl tapped his finger on the screen.

"Your information does pique my interest, but it shouldn't have anything to do with a mercenary like me."

The moment after sending that message, Karl received a reply as if the other party had anticipated that Karl would say that.

“Mr. KK, don’t you want to climb to a higher position in the tide of the times, a position that can determine the height of the world?”

(End of this chapter)