Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 744, Chapter 158: On Being Popular with Girls
"Your Excellency, who is this man?"

Under Akechi's command, the team changed their base and, after passing through the streets patrolled by the hounds, discovered that, in addition to "Slide," the local hacker from Dogtown mentioned in the previous communications, there was also a middle-aged man in gray standing quietly beside Akechi.

Normally, superiors have no obligation to explain any arrangements to their subordinates, but Mingzhi did not care about his subordinate's small question. He simply introduced him calmly: "You should treat the advisor sent by headquarters with courtesy. You can call this gentleman 'Mr. Tenkai'."

'An advisor from headquarters?'

Although everyone understood the arrangement, they still felt a subtle resentment towards Mingzhi.

Headquarters had already declared that this operation was entirely under the command of Lord Akechi, so why is there an additional advisor out of nowhere? Could it be that headquarters is still wary of Lord Akechi, or even of all of them?

Or perhaps this consultant was already lurking in Dogtown, and after hearing rumors, came to assist under orders from his superiors?
The four combatants' expressions changed slightly, and a wave of shame welled up in their hearts. They recalled their previous actions (and those of their colleagues)—the failed operation that ultimately forced His Excellency Akechi to personally risk his life and even alarmed the Hound of the Underworld.

Could it be that their mistakes led headquarters to overhear rumors and mistakenly believe that His Excellency Akechi was incompetent, thus prompting them to send an advisor to supervise? But this was clearly their fault; what did it have to do with His Excellency Akechi?
This thought wasn't just on the minds of the combat personnel; the hacker girl in the squad also considered it, glaring fiercely at the combat personnel. Why would headquarters suddenly send in an advisor if there wasn't a specific reason?

No wonder His Excellency Akechi went out alone to search for supplies and support instead of taking them with him. He must have urgently contacted his superiors and taken on the responsibility alone in order to get reinforcements from his advisors.

In Arasaka, subordinates who drag down their superiors are promptly abandoned, but now, it is they who have implicated Lord Akechi.

"However, the name 'Tianhai'..."

The hacker girl paused for a moment, her thoughts suddenly drawn to a distant legend.

Deep in her memory, the words 'Akechi' and 'Tenkai' were intertwined in a subtle way—that is, the unofficial historical secrets circulating during the Sengoku period: it is said that 'Nankobo Tenkai,' the 'black-robed prime minister' who assisted the Tokugawa shogunate, was actually Akechi Mitsuhide, who faked his death and went into seclusion after the Honnoji Incident.

Of course, this claim is merely a rumor circulating among the people due to the mystery surrounding Nanguangfang Tianhai's origins, and its credibility is almost zero.

But at this moment, when the names 'Mingzhi' and 'Tianhai' appear here at the same time, legend and reality create a strange resonance.

She subconsciously glanced at the gray-clad consultant's profile, trying to find some clue in his expressionless face.
In that split second of thought, she suddenly noticed a gaze—Lord Akechi was quietly watching her.

The girl looked up abruptly, her eyes meeting those deep gazes unexpectedly. To her surprise, those eyes held a calming quality, as if they had already seen through the historical associations in her mind.

A wise gaze flickered in her pupils, reflecting the hacker girl's instantaneous look of understanding.
--I see.

The girl's eyelashes trembled slightly.

Lord Akechi not only noticed her momentary lapse in concentration, but also keenly realized that she was the only one present who understood the 'Akechi and Tenkai' allusion. This almost imperceptible exchange of glances was clearly a signal for her to remain silent. So the hacker girl nodded almost imperceptibly.

A knowing, proud smile played on the girl's lips. Since the consultant needed to use the pseudonym 'Tenkai,' which was full of historical allusions, his true identity was probably far more complicated than it appeared.

Perhaps after the mission is over, this person will continue to lurk in other shadows—a pseudonym that evokes the image of a sage from the Warring States period is certainly more deceptive than a randomly made-up code name.

When her colleagues noticed her, the girl had already returned to her usual indifferent expression, but in a corner of her heart, a new realization was taking shape: in this secret eye contact, she had just become one of the few people who knew about His Excellency's secret.

A secret thrill surged within her chest, like a virus trying to escape a firewall. The girl had to bite down on the soft flesh inside her mouth to suppress this untimely excitement with pain. At the same time, the cool light from the holographic screen of her portable computer perfectly concealed the faint blush rising on the tips of her ears.

A decision had long been taking root in her heart—once the mission was over, she would apply to be formally transferred to Lord Akechi's command.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the tense profiles of her companions. She was almost certain that everyone shared the same thoughts. In Arasaka, a steel jungle woven from factions and interests, following a superior worthy of one's life was an unspoken rule of survival for intelligent people.

Moreover, the girl's breathing quickened imperceptibly; given the abilities and vision Lord Mingzhi had demonstrated, his promotion was only a matter of time.

When this important figure needs to build his own team, who is more suitable than these old subordinates who have gone through the siege of the hounds together and shared the secrets of the safe house?
Her knuckles unconsciously rubbed against the data chip hidden in the computer's external socket, the metal edges digging painfully into her fingertips.

It not only contained the logs of all the encrypted communications cracked during the operation, but also the vulnerabilities she had carefully marked—the spoils that best proved her worth.

As a member of the hacker team, she should have directly handed over the chip, which involved company secrets, to the higher-level regulatory authorities, bypassing Akechi. However, she had already made a decision: the chip would remain in her hands for a few more hours after the mission was completed, enough for it to be reviewed by Akechi before being submitted to his superiors.

Any event that might tarnish His Excellency's image—such as risking one's life to rescue subordinates, which would be judged by higher-ups as acting on emotion and weakness—will be carefully embellished or completely erased.

Lady Akechi must submit a mission report in an impeccable manner, one that even she, the 'observer' initially placed in the team, would find perfect.

While the hacker girl was pondering her next move, Mr. Amami, or rather, Kenichi Shiro, had already subtly observed her.

Compared to Akechi, who had only recently joined the company, the experienced Kenichi Shiro immediately recognized that this hacker was definitely the most outstanding person on Akechi's list of contacts.

Such talented individuals are often assigned to more covert surveillance missions in a hierarchical company like Arakasaka.

But judging from her behavior now, she actually dared to show a hint of hostility towards the person whom Akechi called an 'advisor' because she cared about Akechi. Could it be that she is really loyal to Akechi?
There's definitely something strange about this guy's popularity with young girls.

(End of this chapter)