Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 688, Section 102: Believe
'Me, alone, protecting Haruko?'

When Karl saw the message from Kenichi Shiro, he immediately doubted whether it was really him on the other end.

This doesn't sound like something Kenichi Shiro would send.

However, after confirming that the covert communication had not malfunctioned and that the connection had been maintained, Carl's surprise quickly turned into doubt and confusion.

He doesn't understand.

"I think Arasaka should have enough security capabilities to protect Haruko. And even if those people aren't up to par, Haruko has Chiyome by her side. Although I have to admit that Chiyome has some shortcomings, she definitely knows better than anyone else how to protect Haruko in critical moments. Why would she send me, and specifically name me as the only one in my team? Has something changed?"

Carl immediately became suspicious of the subsequent meeting between Arasaka and New America. Could it be that Kenichi Shiro had obtained some hidden information, and that the meeting, which symbolized what could be called 'peace,' was not so simple after all? Could something extremely threatening happen, even affecting Haruko, who was not a key person?

His thoughts immediately turned to the upcoming Arasaka-New America Summit.

Could this meeting, touted by the media as a 'dawn of peace,' be hiding a deadly secret? Is there some kind of danger capable of breaching double security and threatening non-essential personnel? If so, what should Sei-nobu's side do?
Just as Carl's brain was racing, a new message notification interrupted his thoughts.

The explanation sent by Kenichi Shiro was beyond his expectations:
"Security at the meeting site has been taken to the extreme. Both Arasaka and New America have deployed their most elite troops, and all participants have undergone four rounds of background checks. Unless there are traitors at the highest levels of both sides—a probability even lower than the chance of the new US president's plane crashing en route—that's not what I'm worried about. What I'm worried about is..."

"But?"

Carl looked at the message Kenichi Shiro sent halfway through his game and felt that he didn't seem to know how to send messages on his phone very well.

Or rather, they're not very good at using mobile phones to chat, and when they send messages, it feels like they're trying to keep you in suspense.

"What I'm worried about is personnel-related issues. With Chiyome by Haruko's side in the open, I'm not worried that Haruko will be threatened in any way."
Even if the new America turns against us and tries to use this opportunity to start a new corporate war, we have taken corresponding precautions and ensured that we can declare war and strike the new America at the first opportunity. However, I suspect that some people may be trying to do something behind the scenes using this meeting.

"Doing something behind the scenes."

Carl flipped through the information above.

The message from Mr. Kenichi Shiro was that Carl needed to protect Haruko, and in the context of the present, it means...
It seems that I misunderstood.

Carl understood.

Kenichi Shiro's request wasn't that Carl and Chiyome should protect Haruko closely like that; he would never make such a request. He wanted Carl to protect Haruko secretly, and judging from his words, he clearly had suspicions about certain people and wanted Carl to ensure that nothing unexpected would happen during the meeting between New America and Arasaka.

And a person
That makes sense.

The more people there are, the easier it is to be exposed. The collective operation of the entire KK team is bound to attract attention; just the sight of a few of them on the street at the same time is enough to alert the company's intelligence department.

Carl recalled Kenichi Shiro's earlier inquiry about the weapons testing.

Now, well-informed people on the street and corporate intelligence know that he has been engrossed in practicing the new weapons he obtained from the Tsunami Design Bureau these days.

According to the intelligence they possessed, the design bureau assessed this weapon as a complex piece of equipment that would require a year of specialized training for even a KK to master.

In other words, in the minds of all intelligence personnel, Karl should still be at home engrossed in weapons training and would never be able to go out on a mission.

I see. Karl finally understood.

No wonder Kenichi Shiro immediately asked Karl how the weapon testing went. It turns out that he had thought of this. He had thought that while everyone thought Karl was at home practicing with the new weapon, he approached Karl alone, who shouldn't have gone out, hoping that he could act alone and protect Haruko in secret under the guise of not being able to go out.

As expected of Kenichi Shiro.

Carl couldn't help but admire him inwardly; he had even considered this aspect. But then he thought again and deliberately revealed a hint of concern in the message:
"Mr. Kenichi Shiro, are you so sure that I have complete control over that weapon?"

Karl paused for a moment on the virtual keyboard with his fingertips, then added:
"I never said I had mastered it. You know, while people like us can manage to fight with unfamiliar weapons, this kind of precision equipment—where even the slightest mistake could have catastrophic consequences"—is a different story.

The text flowed across the screen as Carl continued typing on the virtual keyboard:

"Four days is not even enough to familiarize yourself with the basic operating parameters, let alone reach the combat standard."

Before the hesitation he had deliberately displayed could dissipate, Kenichi Shiro's reply pierced through that facade like a sharp blade:

"Four days is enough for you."

The message flashed with a cold light.

"Only those clerks who make assessments based on data reports will truly believe that you need a year."

Then there is another one:
"Except for the most core encryption module—the part that the Tsunami Design Bureau is holding onto so tightly—which we haven't yet obtained, we've already acquired the rest through the efforts of our 'current' staff at the Tsunami Design Bureau."

Carl could almost picture the narrowed eyes the other person would have when he said that.

"If it were me, I could master the basics in a month, but you..."

The last message carried an undeniable certainty:
"Four days is more than enough for you."

"Do you trust me that much, Mr. Kenichi Shiro?"

"In my understanding, if you didn't have a weapon, it would be impossible for you to respond to me so quickly. The reason you responded to me so quickly and even had the leisure to tease me about the aftermath of our conversation must mean that you already have a weapon."

Seeing Kenichi Shiro turn the tables and use his own words as a basis for his response, Karl actually felt quite wronged.

He genuinely felt he could teach Kenichi Shiro some conversation skills; it's unbelievable that he would think that way.
“You trust me a lot, Mr. Kenichi Shiro.”

Karl's ease was conveyed to Kenichi Shiro through the message.

"I have many reasons to take this job, including protecting my friends, testing weapons, and getting some exercise. So tell me who you suspect."

Carl was just about to try 'KK'.

(End of this chapter)