Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 749, Section 163: A Responding Greeting

Aguilar recognized KK.

Rather, it would be strange if an assassin of his caliber didn't recognize KK.

Who doesn't know that this world-renowned young man, hailed as yet another living legend, has received a large portion of security and protection missions? From the former playboy of Arasaka, now the CEO of Arasaka, Arasaka Seigen, to ordinary gang leaders, his completion rate in every protection mission is 100%. In other words, he has never failed, whether it is a regular mission or a protection mission.

Aguilar is synonymous with 100% assassination. In the assassin world, they are like two sides of the same coin: Aguilar is the indestructible spear, while KK is the impenetrable shield—although everyone knows that KK's spear is sharper than anyone else's.

In internal meetings of the Cuban Group, executives always liked to compare themselves to them to raise their own value, but in private, the group had long ago given all 'Aguilar' a strict order: if they encountered a KK mission, they should immediately give up, without even trying. For this reason, they were even willing to kill the mission client who would encounter KK after accepting the mission, just to maintain the reputation of '100% completion rate'.

The legend of the 'spear and shield' has always circulated in the North American underworld, and countless people look forward to this showdown. But Aguilar knows the truth—these 'brand ambassadors' simply cannot afford the cost of confronting KK head-on. If KK kills him today, the murder myth carefully crafted by the entire Cuban corporation will collapse in an instant.

After all, if KK kills Aguilar, and he says that Aguilar is Aguilar, then no one will deny that person is Aguilar. At that time, Aguilar, which is essentially a brand composed of multiple Aguilars, will be ruined.

Why did they encounter KK? Did someone give them an assassination order? How can the group's brand survive? How can they escape? How can they maintain the brand after this?

All these thoughts flashed through Agilar's mind like a slideshow, but his trained combat instincts ultimately allowed him to quickly analyze the situation.

Although he didn't know why KK was targeting him as a representative of the Cuban group at Hansen's banquet, now that he had encountered this situation, all he needed to do was deal with it.

As the person who bears most of the reputation of this generation of Aguilar, and also the most outstanding bearer of the Aguilar brand name after it was established, Aguilar does not think that he is really much worse than KK. The fear and escapism that flashed through his mind earlier were just thoughts that arose because the people above him in the group emphasized it too much.

Let me see what KK is capable of!

Judging from the height, it's about twelve stories. Falling from a height of about thirty-six meters, the time is about three to four seconds, so you have enough reaction time.

Aguilar suddenly pressed a device in the middle of the car, and a hole instantly appeared under his seat. With the appearance of the hole, which had an emergency escape function, Aguilar's body began to fall.

He had to get out of the moving vehicle first. Although the car he was in had military-grade protection, it was useless against KK. The cramped interior would only hinder his movements.

Aguilar was not worried at all about whether KK would have any problems falling from a height; his first step was to make preparations to make sure that KK would be alright after the fall.

And KK certainly didn't disappoint him.

Even Karl would die jumping from a height of thirty-six meters. Although in Night City legends KK had become omnipotent, with five faces, eight mouths, and twelve arms, tearing apart iron like a monster and chewing it up as snacks, Karl knew he wasn't a fully modified Adam Hammer, nor could he pull off a stylish aerial landing. So, in the very first second of his descent, he took action to slow his fall. With a flick of his wrist, a silver monomolecular thread shot out silently. Just before reaching mid-air, these fine yet incredibly sharp nanowires precisely wrapped around the exposed I-beam.

His body traced an elegant arc in the air, drawn by the monomolecular lines towards the building's outer wall. Just as he was about to crash into the concrete wall, Karl's finger twitched slightly—the monomolecular lines were suddenly activated, and the I-beam was cleanly severed as if a hot knife were cutting through butter.

The severed steel beam, propelled by inertia, pierced deep into the outer wall of the floor. Using this force, Carl steadily climbed onto the vertical floor as if walking on flat ground.

His feet were planted one in front of the other on the exterior wall, maintaining a perfect 90-degree angle with the ground. The monomolecular lines were deeply embedded in the wall, gleaming coldly in the reflection of the glass on the floor.

Carl slightly bent his knees, and his whole body slid down the outer wall of the building as if he were on an invisible skateboard. The hem of his clothes fluttered behind him, and each step left tiny sparks on the wall, yet he was so light that he seemed to be unrestrained by gravity.

His movements were fluid and graceful, with an almost artistic ease. The monomolecular line tightened and loosened at times, precisely controlling the speed and angle of his descent. When he was four stories away from the target vehicle, Karl suddenly released and retracted the monomolecular line, and his whole body swooped down towards the target like an arrow released from a bow.

Four stories, but about twelve meters high, that height shouldn't be a problem for Karl.

Karl's body was still falling rapidly, the strong wind tearing his clothes and making them flutter loudly. Just ten meters from the ground, a figure suddenly flashed in his field of vision—Aguilar slid out from under the moving car with an almost uncanny flexibility, his movements as fluid as liquid.

In mid-air, Karl instantly captured every detail: Aguilar's dark brown skin gleamed with a metallic sheen, his signature black-and-white prosthetic eyes flashed with a cold, mechanical light, his striped suit remained perfectly wrinkle-free as he slid at high speed, and the custom-made revolver 'Death Apple' in his right hand was already aimed at Karl in mid-air.

The monomolecular beam shot out from Karl's wrist again, this time wrapping itself around a lamppost by the roadside. Using the pull, Karl drew a sharp zigzag in the air, narrowly avoiding the first bullet fired by Aguilar. The bullet grazed his ear and exploded into a crater the size of a bowl in the wall behind him.

“A good way to greet you, Mr. Aguilar.”

As Karl landed, he rolled to absorb the impact, the hem of his clothes spreading out and then closing like bat wings: "I was originally thinking of attacking your car first to force you out, but I didn't expect you to come out on your own. That's really great."

As Aguilar fired another shot while Karl rolled to dissipate the force, Karl's hand had already slightly risen.

"Ding--"

The sound of bullets colliding in mid-air rang out, and Karl raised KK.

"Unfortunately, the response was a bit impolite."

(End of this chapter)